Morning all.
I've been playing Elite on PC for the last couple of years (the first year and a bit on a Mac) and I've got it specced out nicely. Nothing too fancy, but it's a good gaming rig with an expensive HOTAS (A10 Warthog) and it's pretty well perfectly suited to Elite.
Over the weekend I bought the PS4 version, partly because I could afford it and wanted to help fund FDev (no, no, thank _you_) but also because I fancied having a second Commander and to see what it's like playing from scratch. Plus I'm a lazy sod and I like gaming on the sofa.
Some observations:
The PS4 version will, I hope, have a lot of optimisation patches in the not-too-distant future. The PS4 isn't exactly an underpowered console but Elite is stressing it. Menus are a tad sluggish. Not enough to be a problem but enough to notice. I also had one Connection Error when exiting SC, except that all I got was a looooong exit animation followed by a blank screen. I had to quit and restart the game. That needs looking at because as user experiences go, it's not great.
The controller mapping is _really_ good. The only exception is that the boost button is also the shift key you need for landing gear. That's going to catch me out at some point!
Since I don't have a Playstation Plus account, I can't play in Open, so Solo it is. That's kinda sucky, but that's Sony for you, I guess.
I got lucky right from the start: At my starter station I had a mission to deliver two tons of stuff for 188,000 Cr! 20+ jumps, no fuel scoop, minimal jump range...hilarious. Switched over the Jump to Fastest (it was set for Economical) and it was still 18 or so jumps. This was going to be fun...
After docking up at my third or fourth platform for fuel I decided to check soemthing, and lo and behold my Basic Discovery Scanner wasn't mapped to a firegroup. Fixed that and started to get some more cash in. In fact I was making a profit simply from selling cartographic data, and that was even before I had the DS working!
About halfway to my destination I realised I had enough money for a fuel scoop, so I diverted and fitted one. Yay! No more pointless docking! Granted it was a 1E, but by Zod it was better than nothing!
Finally dropped off the cargo at a big Orbis station (I forget which) and upgraded to a Hauler (after remembering to sell the fuel scoop...it's been so long since I had to worry about such things that I almost forgot).
Now, I went for the Hauler based on the advice of CMDR Yamiks, and it's good advice I think. It's cheap (52,000 Cr). It has decent cargo (8 tons) and decent-ish jump range. I swapped the size 2 cargo rack for a size 3, giving me 8 tons in one slot, and swapped out the other size 3 slot for a fuel scoop. I think I must have upgraded the FSD to a D as well, as my jump range is about 12Ly, which is respectible for this stage of the game. It's purely a mission runner, with a Cobra III as the aim, but I'm enjoying flying it. I never had one when I played for the first time, somehow sticking with the Sidey until I had enough for the Cobra. CMDR Yamiks also mentioned that Haulers are haunted and he's not wrong! If I get chance to play tonight I'm reasonably certain I can get enough for a Cobra, and then the Biowaste gets real
Here's the most important thing for me: it still *feels* like Elite. I was a tad worried it would be...I don't known, more arcady or something, but it's Elite. What I *am* finding is that I'm treating it as a much more casual account, partly because I'm determined to use the PS controller and not get another HOTAS. If I want to play Elite with a HOTAS then I'll toddle upstairs and fire up the PC. The PS version is, for me, for when I want to just bimble around in Elite with no goals, no agendas, just flying around this Bubble I love so much and have some fun.
And after all, that's what it's all about at the end of the day.
CMDR GreyAreaUKScot
I've been playing Elite on PC for the last couple of years (the first year and a bit on a Mac) and I've got it specced out nicely. Nothing too fancy, but it's a good gaming rig with an expensive HOTAS (A10 Warthog) and it's pretty well perfectly suited to Elite.
Over the weekend I bought the PS4 version, partly because I could afford it and wanted to help fund FDev (no, no, thank _you_) but also because I fancied having a second Commander and to see what it's like playing from scratch. Plus I'm a lazy sod and I like gaming on the sofa.
Some observations:
The PS4 version will, I hope, have a lot of optimisation patches in the not-too-distant future. The PS4 isn't exactly an underpowered console but Elite is stressing it. Menus are a tad sluggish. Not enough to be a problem but enough to notice. I also had one Connection Error when exiting SC, except that all I got was a looooong exit animation followed by a blank screen. I had to quit and restart the game. That needs looking at because as user experiences go, it's not great.
The controller mapping is _really_ good. The only exception is that the boost button is also the shift key you need for landing gear. That's going to catch me out at some point!
Since I don't have a Playstation Plus account, I can't play in Open, so Solo it is. That's kinda sucky, but that's Sony for you, I guess.
I got lucky right from the start: At my starter station I had a mission to deliver two tons of stuff for 188,000 Cr! 20+ jumps, no fuel scoop, minimal jump range...hilarious. Switched over the Jump to Fastest (it was set for Economical) and it was still 18 or so jumps. This was going to be fun...
After docking up at my third or fourth platform for fuel I decided to check soemthing, and lo and behold my Basic Discovery Scanner wasn't mapped to a firegroup. Fixed that and started to get some more cash in. In fact I was making a profit simply from selling cartographic data, and that was even before I had the DS working!
About halfway to my destination I realised I had enough money for a fuel scoop, so I diverted and fitted one. Yay! No more pointless docking! Granted it was a 1E, but by Zod it was better than nothing!
Finally dropped off the cargo at a big Orbis station (I forget which) and upgraded to a Hauler (after remembering to sell the fuel scoop...it's been so long since I had to worry about such things that I almost forgot).
Now, I went for the Hauler based on the advice of CMDR Yamiks, and it's good advice I think. It's cheap (52,000 Cr). It has decent cargo (8 tons) and decent-ish jump range. I swapped the size 2 cargo rack for a size 3, giving me 8 tons in one slot, and swapped out the other size 3 slot for a fuel scoop. I think I must have upgraded the FSD to a D as well, as my jump range is about 12Ly, which is respectible for this stage of the game. It's purely a mission runner, with a Cobra III as the aim, but I'm enjoying flying it. I never had one when I played for the first time, somehow sticking with the Sidey until I had enough for the Cobra. CMDR Yamiks also mentioned that Haulers are haunted and he's not wrong! If I get chance to play tonight I'm reasonably certain I can get enough for a Cobra, and then the Biowaste gets real
Here's the most important thing for me: it still *feels* like Elite. I was a tad worried it would be...I don't known, more arcady or something, but it's Elite. What I *am* finding is that I'm treating it as a much more casual account, partly because I'm determined to use the PS controller and not get another HOTAS. If I want to play Elite with a HOTAS then I'll toddle upstairs and fire up the PC. The PS version is, for me, for when I want to just bimble around in Elite with no goals, no agendas, just flying around this Bubble I love so much and have some fun.
And after all, that's what it's all about at the end of the day.
CMDR GreyAreaUKScot
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