Thinking about returning to the game after a long hiatus

[Acenoid]

Hey there!
I took a very long break from elite dangerous (last versions I played was horizons). Sometime during the gameplay, when I wanted to buy some modules and had to search over 40 minutes for them (flying around from tech world to tech world) I went full tilt and left the game.

I wanted to look into the game again, is it still a massive time investment in regards of accomplishing missions and completing things?

Has the game world improved in a sense that the current system is more static/realistic, when i enter/leave/enter "subspace" , that all ships, contacts, courses are completely reset...

Are the old gameplay mechanics (get rewards from a faction , and then it resets after some time) still there? I think it was called power play!

I will read through the patch notes now, but maybe you have a few words about , what has been significantly improved compared to horizons?

Do I still need additional tools for better / feasible trading routes, or can I use the in-game tools for that now? If not - what do I need?


See you in the void

 

[SteveWW57]

If you are playing the old Horizons (legacy) and not using Odyssey (live), then your options are restricted as many of the 3rd party tools do not cater for the legacy version of the game. If you do not have Odyssey, there is a steam sale on for £10.99.

As for improvements, legs. No longer are you stuck in a ship or SRV.

Steve

 

[Acenoid]

I have the lifetime pass, so I am about to finish the training, which was a bit fun. Though I fear, that a lot of that stuff will not be available when in the game later...

 

[Spacerschoice-00]

Has the game world improved in a sense that the current system is more static/realistic, when i enter/leave/enter "subspace" , that all ships, contacts, courses are completely reset...

still same, unlikely to change without dedicated server running real time galaxy. ( also unlikely)

power play hasn't changed, for better or worse.

time investment depends on area of game varies to the same as before.

 

[Lhorndra]

Welcome back!

Hey there!
I took a very long break from elite dangerous (last versions I played was horizons). Sometime during the gameplay, when I wanted to buy some modules and had to search over 40 minutes for them (flying around from tech world to tech world) I went full tilt and left the game.

You can search for modules on Inara. Or, if you achieve Elite rank, you get a permit for the Shinrarta Dhezra system. Jameson Memorial within that system has all ships and all modules on stock, and for a discount too. i Sola Prospect on planet Brestla A 1 also has (almost?) all ships and modules on stock, but for a higher price.

I wanted to look into the game again, is it still a massive time investment in regards of accomplishing missions and completing things?

It depends on what you are doing, but generally: yes. I don't find missions themselves to be massive time investments, but other things in the game (gathering engineering materials, Federal/Imperial Navy ranks, or getting good at anti-xeno combat) take time.

Has the game world improved in a sense that the current system is more static/realistic, when i enter/leave/enter "subspace" , that all ships, contacts, courses are completely reset...

Hmmm, I don't know what you are refering to exactly. Your relationships with local factions only change if you are doing them a favour or the opposite, but that was always the case.

Are the old gameplay mechanics (get rewards from a faction , and then it resets after some time) still there? I think it was called power play!

Powerplay hasn't changed. It's a different gameplay element than local factions, though.

I will read through the patch notes now, but maybe you have a few words about , what has been significantly improved compared to horizons?

Space legs: You can walk around now. On planets, in settlements, in station concourses. Not in your own ship, though.
Settlements: they serve mainly as a backdrop for FPS-style gameplay, but you can also walk around there peacefully.
Fleet Carriers: Your own mobile space station so to speak. (They were introduced in Horizons, but maybe you left the game prior to that.)
Exobiology: Go salad hunting planetside, earn a lot of credits.
Scorpion: a new SRV with two seats.

And the big alien elephant in the room: the Thargoid war. I can't recap that here, but perhaps this article is a good start.

Do I still need additional tools for better / feasible trading routes, or can I use the in-game tools for that now? If not - what do I need?

Inara.
EDSM.
Spansh.
Coriolis and EDSY for ship builds.
Elite Dangerous Utilities ("What's near me?")
Galactic Exploration Catalog (GEC) by Elite Dangerous Astrometrics, if you want to visit interesting places.

There are a ton of others, of course.

 

[Pville_Piper]

I have the lifetime pass, so I am about to finish the training, which was a bit fun. Though I fear, that a lot of that stuff will not be available when in the game later...

If it's free, jump back in... If it feels like putting on an old pair of jeans, stick around and have some fun.

The on foot engineering is the worst grind, but EDHM is a fantastic program and there's a really nice program to get rid of the orange interface.

If you get frustrated, reach out and someone will help.

 

[Pville_Piper]

If it's free, jump back in... If it feels like putting on an old pair of jeans, stick around and have some fun.

The on foot engineering is the worst grind, but EDHM is a fantastic program and there's a really nice program to get rid of the orange interface.

If you get frustrated, reach out and someone will help.

Thread 'Elite Dangerous Odyssey Materials Helper' https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/elite-dangerous-odyssey-materials-helper.610816/ got confused, but this a fantastic resource

 

[Ydiss]

It's a time investment, no doubt. From fresh Horizons to now there's a ton of new stuff to do. Doing new stuff in Elite tends to require varying levels of preparation though. It just depends how much you like doing that first. I personally quite like setting out on a mission to build some new gear to do something but very little of the preparation needed is a quick win in this game.

EDO does add a whole new layer to the game. I honestly couldn't go back to only playing in my ship now. If you enjoy FPS style content then there's lots of that. If you do not, you can still do a ton of stuff on foot (although, ultimately, upgrading your suit and weapons is mostly purposeful for combat). Being sneaky and stealthy is an option for a whole bunch of the stuff you do on foot, which I think is pretty neat.

The missions are mostly fun and challenging and I think it makes the game feel a lot richer.

The current state of the Thargoid conflict is hot right now and that has just extended to on foot game play for the first time. The good news about that at least is you don't need a ton of engineered gear to take part in that if you like. But, as it would have been when you played Horizons, taking time to engineer your ship is almost always useful. Engineering your ship has become a lot less arduous than it was initially but the whole process is still hugely detailed and I recommend you look into getting EDEngineers (free third party tool) to manage this. It is quite simply a game changer if you wish to try engineering both your ship and your on foot equipment.

Also, just ask questions here. I only recently returned back to the game after about 8 months out and I had lots of questions and everyone here is eager to help and give you the information you may need.

 

[Lhorndra]

Do I still need additional tools for better / feasible trading routes, or can I use the in-game tools for that now? If not - what do I need?

A short addendum to my first answer: you don't need additional tools to enjoy the game at all. The galaxy map has gotten much better (in my opinion), and while it's still quicker for me to just use Inara or EDSM, you can find trade routes, commodities etc. if you know exactly how the galactical economies work. You can find threads here explaining that.

However, I would suggest to use a 3rd-party tool on your own computer like EDMC or EDD. They read your journal files and upload almost all data to EDDN (Elite Dangerous Data Network) anonymized, which in turn is used by Inara, EDSM and a lot of other web sites and tools. Plus, you can easily export your actual ship builds to Coriolis or EDSY.

 

[Sylveria]

Is it still a massive time investment?

Yep.

 

[SteveWW57]

Is it still a massive time investment?

Yep.

Nope. You can play as much or a little as you want. Have an hour to spare, do some mining, trading or loot a settlement. Pick up and put down as you fancy. The thing to check on weekly are the community goals, as the rewards on offer may be attractive.

Steve

 

[CJ57]

Yes - welcome back! Consider joining a Squadron. Many have a Discord where they share tips and events - and the advantages of Wing Combat, Wing Mining and Wing Trading (especially) will help you build a fortune in no time. You will enjoy collaborative play and fellowship (which you can take or avoid if you wish) and maybe get to do some Background Simulation work which will show you a different side of the game. I could recommend a really good, small, friendly team if you wanted an introduction to such play-style.......