Ship Upgrades

Jumpin' Jack Flash · Dec 30, 2012

I couldn't see any specific topics with this as a title, so I thought it would be interesting to see which 3 upgrades to your ship would be first on your agenda.
(obviously this would depend on what upgrades would be available in the game, so I'm basing this on FE2's content as an example))

Mine would be a fuel scoop, spare cabins (for passengers) and a larger drive, in that order.

Jack.

Cmdr Sharky · Dec 30, 2012

ECM, cargo scoop, beam laser

Unless a "large cargo bay" would result in getting the above more quickly, that is, any equipment that is likely to repay its investment before being able to afford the above would come first.

DrBaggy · Dec 31, 2012

PhilHibbs said:
ECM, cargo scoop, beam laser

Unless a "large cargo bay" would result in getting the above more quickly, that is, any equipment that is likely to repay its investment before being able to afford the above would come first.

The controversial one is docking computers: to some of us docking manually with a Coriolis station was a rite of passage, albeit one that could lose us the last hour of gameplay ...

Cmdr Sharky · Dec 31, 2012

DrBaggy said:
The controversial one is docking computers: to some of us docking manually with a Coriolis station was a rite of passage, albeit one that could lose us the last hour of gameplay ...

Docking computers are way down the list for me.

DrBaggy · Dec 31, 2012

PhilHibbs said:
Docking computers are way down the list for me.

Good man! Thus speaks a hardcore elite gamer!

The Space Pirate · Dec 31, 2012

PhilHibbs said:
Docking computers are way down the list for me.

That depends. Will docking be like Oolite, or Frontier? If the former, then I'm happy to learn how to do it manually. If the latter, then I wouldn't dream of trying to land/dock without one.

Geraldine · Dec 31, 2012

Jumpin' Jack Flash said:
Mine would be a fuel scoop, spare cabins (for passengers) and a larger drive, in that order.

That sounds to me that you want to be a long range passenger carrier so that choice of equipment sounds ideal for getting the most expensive charters.

Me? I like exploring dangerous uncharted areas of space, so a ship with a good thruster rating and manoeuvrability (to get out of high gravity wells or tricky combat situations), decent weaponry (you never know who or what you might run into), a big Hyperdrive, a fuel scoop and a shield generator or two incase I need to do some sun-skimming for fuel.

Kipper · Dec 31, 2012

You have to know how to do a manual dock; pre-docking computer and of course if pirates break yours.... Elite was okay, not as hard as people make out I don't think.

FE2 was super easy though - at least with small ships. I used to like going in backwards or sideways just for variation.

Based on traditional elite; I'll be wanting a beam laser, extended cargo bay and fuel scoops. Bounty hunting or even just opportunist pirate-hunting between trades is pure profit as you don't have to 'buy' cargo!

JazHaz · Dec 31, 2012

Having all the starts available I'll probably do the one that has 3k credits and an upgraded ship (explorer start). What those upgrades are remains to be seen.

If this was Oolite then my first upgrades are usually large cargo bay, followed by advanced space compass, then ECM or beam lasers.

SnowGhost · Dec 31, 2012

DrBaggy said:
The controversial one is docking computers: to some of us docking manually with a Coriolis station was a rite of passage, albeit one that could lose us the last hour of gameplay ...

I've gotta admin I never had a major problem with docking back on the BBC version. I'd read and re-read and then read again the pull out Elite guide from the Micro user.

I've recently fired up oolite and again, it's not hard. I've smashed once and scrapped once. But now, after maybe 15 trips I can do it easy without incident. In fact oolite makes it even easier with the docking bouy out front.

Put the space station to your right hand side of the screen, smack in the middle. Aim to pass just in front of the docking bouy, with it also sliding past, to your right hand side. It should be lined up nicely with your aiming reticle. Slow down and yaw around (joystick twist works well for this) the bouy until the station appears and then line up with the entrance. Rotate with the station, speed up and just slot straight in.

Docking computer not required - (but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be available to purchase, either).

Non Grata · Dec 31, 2012

based on fe2 all I'll need is an automatic pilot and a pulse laser and I'm good to go. my third upgrade would be a radar mapper

The Land · Dec 31, 2012

I never even attempted manual docking in Frontier or First Encounters.... I mean, when you've had to rely on the autopilot to get to the planet, it feels a bit silly doing the docking for yourself as well.

But what I would like in Elite

angerous is a manual navigation tutorial, so that those "oh crap the autopilot's shot!" moments become a challenge you can realistically deal with, rather than a reason to reload the game...

Susimetsa · Dec 31, 2012

The Land said:
I never even attempted manual docking in Frontier or First Encounters.... I mean, when you've had to rely on the autopilot to get to the planet, it feels a bit silly doing the docking for yourself as well.

But what I would like in Eliteangerous is a manual navigation tutorial, so that those "oh crap the autopilot's shot!" moments become a challenge you can realistically deal with, rather than a reason to reload the game...

It wasn't _that_ hard to dock manually, or reach the planet that way. I did it all the time. Just accelerate almost to half-way point and then turn around and decelerate the rest of the way. You meet few pirates that way (unless you did the mistake of hitting the max time acceleration, which would automagically teleport them to you). Then just catch the station and dock.