New pilot help - frustrated, when does the game get fun?

[Xaturn]

Been playing 3 days. Hauled around enough cargo to eventually buy and upgrade a Cobra Mk III. Did a mission, accidentally hit some stationary NPC as I came out of hyperspace. Get wanted status. Headed to the system where I was wanted, to clear it up, because I didn't know how or what the process was for that. They wanted me to pay a 5,000 fine. I had less than that but about $250k in cargo that I wasn't allowed to sell because of the fine. I had no choice but to leave the station so they shot me down. Lost first ship and the cargo, now in significant debt. That right there is a terrible game mechanic.

Had an open assignment for a pirate hunting mission that should have been easy (for Harmless rating). Tried that, got destroyed again, now in more debt.

Went on another mission, got a wanted status and destroyed again and now in even more debt.

I want to give up, this is frustrating and not at all fun. There isn't even a way to reset from start or to reload so what is the point? I bought this for a single player experience, not whatever this idiocy is.

Can I reset from start? Should I have done more pilot federation missions before taking the job to explore and finding out only after that that kicks me out of the relative safety of the federation? CAN I STILL DO THAT? Just ed off and frustrated and stuck, do not know how to proceed in a way that makes the game an enjoyable experience. Also I hate combat, I do not have a good control setup (keyboard and mouse) for it and I have a condition that prevents my full concentration during time-sensitive things like that.

Just. I can't even.

 

[Drelthar]

You can reset from the start yes.

The main menu has options to delete your character.

Wanted status makes the game have rules, and being able to die and it having consequences gives it some level of challenge.

I'm sure once you get into it, you'll be more bothered there isn't enough challenge.
But, yes the game has a pretty steep learning curve, much less steep than it used to be, but I understand why you got bugged.

Good thing is, you're still at the start, so haven't really lost much.

 

[Dragsham]

Don't fit weapons saves weight and power.
Fit a A rated shields and some shield boosters also A rated.
Some hull and module reinforcements too. Those are D rated to save weight.
This will make your ship 3x stronger.
Don't accept missions above your weight namely opposition might be elite or master dangerous etc....only ones at lower rank.
When your interdicted **(
1) drop throttle to zero
2) pop a chaff and or a heatsink
3) boost. 4pips Shields 2 engines.
4) boost
5) boost
6) high wake ie enable jump to another system.
You'll get away

Use an website called inara.cz
Link your account to it
Itll help you find the modules

 

[Bigmaec]

Been playing 3 days. Hauled around enough cargo to eventually buy and upgrade a Cobra Mk III. Did a mission, accidentally hit some stationary NPC as I came out of hyperspace. Get wanted status. Headed to the system where I was wanted, to clear it up, because I didn't know how or what the process was for that. They wanted me to pay a 5,000 fine. I had less than that but about $250k in cargo that I wasn't allowed to sell because of the fine. I had no choice but to leave the station so they shot me down. Lost first ship and the cargo, now in significant debt. That right there is a terrible game mechanic.

Had an open assignment for a pirate hunting mission that should have been easy (for Harmless rating). Tried that, got destroyed again, now in more debt.

Went on another mission, got a wanted status and destroyed again and now in even more debt.

I want to give up, this is frustrating and not at all fun. There isn't even a way to reset from start or to reload so what is the point? I bought this for a single player experience, not whatever this idiocy is.

Can I reset from start? Should I have done more pilot federation missions before taking the job to explore and finding out only after that that kicks me out of the relative safety of the federation? CAN I STILL DO THAT? Just ed off and frustrated and stuck, do not know how to proceed in a way that makes the game an enjoyable experience. Also I hate combat, I do not have a good control setup (keyboard and mouse) for it and I have a condition that prevents my full concentration during time-sensitive things like that.

Just. I can't even.

Elite has a steep learning curve. It'll need time. Lots of time.
You can reset your CMDR, which gets you back to Zero.

One very important reason is to never upgrade your ship if you don't have enough money to rebuy it several times (NEVER fly without rebuy!)
Also new ships come equipped with E-rated modules, which are total crap.
About the only useful modules (except edge cases) are A-rated (max output) or D-rated (minimum weight).

KB+M is actually the best input method for combat, especially with fixed weapons.
I'd recommend getting a Hotas though, even a cheap one makes the game much more fun and immersive.

Then you need to get an idea what you want to do. Don't like combat? Fine, don't combat.
You can escape most situations against the NPCs if you know what to look for and equip your ship accordingly.

You can explore, haul, run missions, hunt pirates. There is so much to do in this game, find out what you like and equip your first ship accordingly.

And don't give up, Elite IS hard in the beginning.

 

[Pug]

Very frustrating getting going.
Old adage-
If you have never made a mistake then you have never tried anything New.

Persevere Cmdr it does get easier. You just have to be extremely careful at first.
Pug

 

[Xaturn]

You can reset from the start yes.

The main menu has options to delete your character.

Wanted status makes the game have rules, and being able to die and it having consequences gives it some level of challenge.

I'm sure once you get into it, you'll be more bothered there isn't enough challenge.
But, yes the game has a pretty steep learning curve, much less steep than it used to be, but I understand why you got bugged.

Good thing is, you're still at the start, so haven't really lost much.

Thanks for the tip about a reset/delete.
Wanted status is one thing but being unable to pay a fine because I am locked from selling cargo to raise money to pay the fine until I pay the fine is inexplicably silly, especially when getting shot out of the sky for leaving to sell the cargo so I can come back to pay the fine.

 

[Old Duck]

The second I climbed into my first loaner Sidewinder, I was having fun. If you've been playing for three days and still aren't having fun yet, then perhaps this game is not for you. That's totally cool - ED is not for everyone, and that's okay.

 

[Xaturn]

Don't fit weapons saves weight and power.
Fit a A rated shields and some shield boosters also A rated.
Some hull and module reinforcements too. Those are D rated to save weight.
This will make your ship 3x stronger.
Don't accept missions above your weight namely opposition might be elite or master dangerous etc....only ones at lower rank.
When your interdicted **(
1) drop throttle to zero
2) pop a chaff and or a heatsink
3) boost. 4pips Shields 2 engines.
4) boost
5) boost
6) high wake ie enable jump to another system.
You'll get away

Use an website called inara.cz
Link your account to it
Itll help you find the modules

Don't fit weapons? Why? I would be defenseless, wouldn't I?
I haven't acepted any missions above my grade.
Have escaped interdiction attempts but getting engaged by pirates or authorities is nearly impossible to get away from. I find I cannot change fire groups quickly enough to use a chaff and sometimes when I get a pain spike in the middle of combat, I cannot do anything at all because my body siezes up.
Thanks though.

 

[Xaturn]

The second I climbed into my first loaner Sidewinder, I was having fun. If you've been playing for three days and still aren't having fun yet, then perhaps this game is not for you. That's totally cool - ED is not for everyone, and that's okay.

Well cool advice, not like I can get my money back on it.

 

[CMDR Deano The Imperial]

Been playing 3 days. Hauled around enough cargo to eventually buy and upgrade a Cobra Mk III. Did a mission, accidentally hit some stationary NPC as I came out of hyperspace. Get wanted status. Headed to the system where I was wanted, to clear it up, because I didn't know how or what the process was for that. They wanted me to pay a 5,000 fine. I had less than that but about $250k in cargo that I wasn't allowed to sell because of the fine. I had no choice but to leave the station so they shot me down. Lost first ship and the cargo, now in significant debt. That right there is a terrible game mechanic.

Had an open assignment for a pirate hunting mission that should have been easy (for Harmless rating). Tried that, got destroyed again, now in more debt.

Went on another mission, got a wanted status and destroyed again and now in even more debt.

I want to give up, this is frustrating and not at all fun. There isn't even a way to reset from start or to reload so what is the point? I bought this for a single player experience, not whatever this idiocy is.

Can I reset from start? Should I have done more pilot federation missions before taking the job to explore and finding out only after that that kicks me out of the relative safety of the federation? CAN I STILL DO THAT? Just ed off and frustrated and stuck, do not know how to proceed in a way that makes the game an enjoyable experience. Also I hate combat, I do not have a good control setup (keyboard and mouse) for it and I have a condition that prevents my full concentration during time-sensitive things like that.

Just. I can't even.

It's a shame you're on PC. I would gift you a few million credits to help you on your way through wing missions.

 

[Xaturn]

Elite has a steep learning curve. It'll need time. Lots of time.
You can reset your CMDR, which gets you back to Zero.

One very important reason is to never upgrade your ship if you don't have enough money to rebuy it several times (NEVER fly without rebuy!)
Also new ships come equipped with E-rated modules, which are total crap.
About the only useful modules (except edge cases) are A-rated (max output) or D-rated (minimum weight).

KB+M is actually the best input method for combat, especially with fixed weapons.
I'd recommend getting a Hotas though, even a cheap one makes the game much more fun and immersive.

Then you need to get an idea what you want to do. Don't like combat? Fine, don't combat.
You can escape most situations against the NPCs if you know what to look for and equip your ship accordingly.

You can explore, haul, run missions, hunt pirates. There is so much to do in this game, find out what you like and equip your first ship accordingly.

And don't give up, Elite IS hard in the beginning.

No I had enough money, I just accidentally ran into a pirate mission and an incidental NPC while I was in the middle of hauling cargo to sell. Then I didn't have enough money.

I know you say that I can escape most situations against the NPCs but I don't actually know what to look for or how to equip my ship. Tutorials didn't really cover that.

 

[Xaturn]

Very frustrating getting going.
Old adage-
If you have never made a mistake then you have never tried anything New.

Persevere Cmdr it does get easier. You just have to be extremely careful at first.
Pug

Okay.

 

[Bigmaec]

Don't fit weapons? Why? I would be defenseless, wouldn't I?
I haven't acepted any missions above my grade.
Have escaped interdiction attempts but getting engaged by pirates or authorities is nearly impossible to get away from. I find I cannot change fire groups quickly enough to use a chaff and sometimes when I get a pain spike in the middle of combat, I cannot do anything at all because my body siezes up.
Thanks though.

Weapons are useless if your only goal is to survive, for example to bring the cargo to it's destination. You don't have to shoot ships that interdict you. (It's fun though).
You have to select a keybind for chaff and heatsinks, so that you don't need to change firegroups. I have chaff and heatsink on a hat on my throttle for example.

If you have medical conditions that constantly hamper you, you propably should consider not playing this game, because it's fast paced, can be quite stressful and
has no pause. I can't stress that enough, you cannot pause in this game! You can log out, or dock, to be safe.

 

[Xaturn]

It's a shame you're on PC. I would gift you a few million credits to help you on your way through wing missions.

I pre-ordered the game when it was first available. Was waiting to get a VR-capable system before playing. Then I stopped using my Oculus because Oculus and decided to just plunge in and start playing it because it was on my list for so long.

 

[[PS4] Lorenzo Waringos]

I posted on another thread last night, every lesson learned in Elite is like a hammer blow to the face, however, that they're so devastating means that you only ever occasionally make that same mistake again. You did far better in your first 3 days than I did in mine.

Take what you have learned from before, start again. It is a remarkable game once you get to grips with it.

Most people on this forum love this game and want you to love it as much as they do, they will patiently give you all the help/advice you need.

The tutorials don't cover it, this is why this forum is going to be a new home for you for a while.

 

[Old Duck]

Well cool advice, not like I can get my money back on it.

Oh I understand, I have a collection of games that fall into that category (the disadvantage of easy purchases through Steam). I guess the question is whether your frustration is based on lack of knowledge, in which case there is hope that you might someday have fun with this game, or is it based on the game design (you point out game mechanics that you dislike), in which case you might never get to the point where you enjoy it.

I was pretty clueless when I started out, making mistakes all over the place, and yet I loved every minute of it (some of my best memories to be honest). The fact that you're hating the same experience that I loved is what makes me question if this game is for you. But if you want to stick it out and try to make it work, don't let me stop you!

 

[Xaturn]

Weapons are useless if your only goal is to survive, for example to bring the cargo to it's destination. You don't have to shoot ships that interdict you. (It's fun though).
You have to select a keybind for chaff and heatsinks, so that you don't need to change firegroups. I have chaff and heatsink on a hat on my throttle for example.

If you have medical conditions that constantly hamper you, you propably should consider not playing this game, because it's fast paced, can be quite stressful and
has no pause. I can't stress that enough, you cannot pause in this game! You can log out, or dock, to be safe.

Yeah. I found out I have them bound but I did not know that they work without being in a fire group. That bit about the medical condition - just don't. I'm not asking for the game to be accessible but it is not up to you to tell me that I shouldn't play because of it. Thanks for the tip though.

 

[Xaturn]

I posted on another thread last night, every lesson learned in Elite is like a hammer blow to the face, however, that they're so devastating means that you only ever occasionally make that same mistake again. You did far better in your first 3 days than I did in mine.

Take what you have learned from before, start again. It is a remarkable game once you get to grips with it.

Most people on this forum love this game and want you to love it as much as they do, they will patiently give you all the help/advice you need.

The tutorials don't cover it, this is why this forum is going to be a new home for you for a while.

Thanks. I am trying to take all this advice on board. Maybe after a reset things will improve.

 

[yelboc]

Paying fines and bounties - dont hang around in the jurisdiction if you have a bounty. Find and interstellar factor and pay it off there - you won't be prey to the station then.

Fines are different - as long as you pay them in time, no serious consequences. You had a bounty which is much worse - its a kill on sight thing for the station authorities.

Inara can help you find interstellar factors.

 

[Xaturn]

Paying fines and bounties - dont hang around in the jurisdiction if you have a bounty. Find and interstellar factor and pay it off there - you won't be prey to the station then.

Fines are different - as long as you pay them in time, no serious consequences. You had a bounty which is much worse - its a kill on sight thing for the station authorities.

Inara can help you find interstellar factors.

That's the thing, it was a fine but it said wanted. Also I only found out about the legal contact thing at the time I was docked there - had no idea that this can be done from elsewhere. WHY GAME NO TELL US?