Elite / Frontier Ok where to go for basic questions as a Frontier newb

[Arbanax]

HI all

whilst we await Elite Dangerous I am venturing into Frontier for the first time and finding somethings really hard.

Ok so for those of you who know what this is like, perhaps you can point me in the right direction. I have found a website that is ok, but I'm still finding some things difficult.

So for instance I read that a good thing to get some money to get trading on the sol >Barnards star route, is to do some delivery drops to Fomalhaut. But the stuff doesn't come up on the bullitin board. So whilst I wait I've been selling stuff back and forth between Bernards star and Merlin. However I keep getting attacked and no matter what I do I can't see to hit the other ship.

I have two missiles that are supposed to be guided, but they do nothing, and a front loaded laser but never seem to be able to get the ship in sight. I'd prefer to run, but I can't see to get away in auto pilot and manual means you end up using all your fuel running all over the shop. I also try to broadcast for help but so far no help comes.

So is there any good guides to fighting or not fighting. Also in terms of profitable trade, what is good for a beginner that isn't illegal. I realise it might be harder, but I'd really like to play the game without dipping into the murky world of illegal trade.

Anyhelp or direction would be much appreciated

Ab

 

[Styggron]

Hello Arbanax,

First which game are you playing ? Frontier Elite 2 or Frontier First Encounters ? Needa bit more info than calling it "frontier".

This might help get you started if it is Frontier Elite 2 you are playing.

http://www.sharoma.com/frontierverse/

 

[Slopey]

If it's Frontier (and not FFE), then go between Barnards Star, and Sol, with Robots and Computers. Take Luxuries on the way back to Barnards Star.

Sell everything on the ship - scanner, laser, missiles, atmospheric shielding, and use that for capital for trading. You won't get attacked in Sol/Barnards (or at least very rarely, if you are, accept the loss and reload from a save).

Check the BB in Sol when you get there - I prefer the stations around Earth, and if nobody has a board post for Robots/Computers, simply undock and fly to one of the other 2 stations till you find one.

After a handful of trips, you should be able to afford an Adder, or you can hold out for a Viper at around 60k. Note that an Adder will get you about a 12 ton cargo capacity, then rinse/repeat.

Also look out for jobs to Van Maeens Star, or Ross 128 so you can get a permit.

And check out the trading page on the link at Styggron's post which has all the main routes for the Ross start position in Frontier. But don't attempt ones where you'll get into combat until you have an iron-ass, or at least something better than an Eagle, as you'll just get owned by pirates.

 

[deMangler]

There are plenty of trade guides to which I have nothing to add really. As far as combat goes then the best advice I can give is that to start with get the hang of matching velocities with your enemy. Otherwise you just end up in a kind of jousting situation that is not really that much fun. With the smaller enemies like the Hawk Airfighter or the Kestrel this is unavoidable, or at least I found it so. The medium to large ships can be fun to dogfight against but until you get the hang of matching velocities with them this isn't going to happen.
Practice makes perfect.

 

[Arbanax]

HI all

sorry for slow response, been busy since writing this never expected so many responses so quickly. So firstly a big thanks.

Ok the game is GLfrontier (it doesn't say elite even) but the tags at the beginning say - Gametek and Konami and it has the wonderful opening sequence where the letters fro frontier flip over and have the sort of ring around it.

Anyway aside from that getting started in the game seems to be a big problem. Slopey had never enough cash for that run, but you suggestion about selling stuff on is a good one.

One other question I've got is why is it that when I sometimes select a planetary station, and fast forward, I still crash on autopilot! Most annoying.

Out of interest what is the best version of Frontier out there to play on. The one I've got opens in a tiny window and I can't even get the sound to work. Also saving it is a nightmare, can't even change the file names, nor save over or alter them in anyway. Any further suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks again guys.

Ab

 

[Geraldine]

Out of interest what is the best version of Frontier out there to play on. The one I've got opens in a tiny window and I can't even get the sound to work. Also saving it is a nightmare, can't even change the file names, nor save over or alter them in anyway. Any further suggestions would be much appreciated.

Hi Arbanax
People vary in what they think is the best version of Frontier. For me it will always be the 1.01 version for the Amiga, but that's very old and difficult to get hold of. The 1.05 version is easier to find and still worthy of a look if you have an Amiga or an emulator to run it on.

Also, there is a special edition of the Amiga version which included some bug fixes by the Amiga community. It was originally based on the CD32 version and is available here

The PC version is good, and easy to run on a modern machine if you use D-Fend Reloaded to run it from. Many screen options are available if using D-Fend

Finally Frontier also has a free open source re-make being developed, called Pioneer, have a look on ModDB for more details

Oh...nearly forgot, for more general info also have a look at Frontier Astro, a site full of Elite goodness.

And finally Synchromesh set up a neat fan site called Elite Forever here if you want to take a look

 

[OneoftheLost]

GL Frontier is probably the best version for learning the game on. Unless you know a thing or two about Amigas.

GL Frontier is a fancy graphical version of Frontier Elite 2, so that is what you are playing. Press Ctrl + E to change back to original graphics.

As for combat, I would HIGHLY suggest a beam laser until you get a hold of things. The pulse laser is kind of hard to hit with. So just keep trading until you can get your hands on a 1mw beam laser.

I would NOT reccomend Pioneer to someone new to Frontier. Pioneer has different controls, and frankly isn't even finished. ALOT of gameplay still hasn't been implemented, and combat is EVEN HARDER due to the lack of lasers. (Pioneer uses projectile weapons.) Also, its got a completely different ship set and galaxy. Its great for vets, but for a new player, no. I wouldn't touch it until you've played the real thing.

 

[gunbladelad]

As the others have suggested, keep to the safer traderoutes until you're in something that's a little more suited to combat. Once you've got a fight-worthy ship (known as an "Iron Ass"), then feel free to go exploring and getting used to dogfighting. (The "tank" of Frontier is a pimped out Panther Clipper with a load of shield generators - those pesky pirates get squashed like bugs if they try to ram you. It is, however, the most expensive ship in the game.)

D-Fend is a nice little front-end for DOSBox and is highly recommended if you want to run the proper game on the PC. Personally I'm quite happy setting DOSBox up the old-fasioned way, but I know that's not for everyone.

If you go for FFE then I'd highly recommend looking into JJFFE if you want to keep the original look, otherwise look into FFED3D for a graphical overhaul - a word of warning though, FFE has a much steeper learning curve than Frontier does...

 

[Havana]

I always found the best way to make fast money in the early game is the Barnard's Star / Ross 154 route.

Sell everything except Autopilot and Atmospheric Shielding, take a ton of fuel and load up on Animal Skins in Ross 154 (legal there, buy for about ~650c / ton, illegal in Barnard's Star, sell for ~1600-3200c / ton), and within a few trips you'll be able to buy a Viper, Cobra 3, or something with similarly large capacity that allows you equip a Beam Laser (pretty much essential if you want to survive a pirate attack) and carry some decent sized cargo.

I usually "cheat" a little in the early stages, saving in Barnard's Star (you'll pretty much never get attacked on that leg) and then if you get attacked on the way to Ross 154 just load again from your save and try again. You won't get attacked every time.

/edit The return leg of the trip you should buy Robots. Always out of stock on Ross 154 so sometimes you get a BB post for them, but either way you net a tasty profit on both legs of the journey and you'll be in something a bit more combat ready before you know it.