Monday 22 June 2015

Grinding for my mistress

Greetings, Commanders,

So 1.3 landed, we all picked sides, or avoided them and we've had time to come to terms with that decision, right?

I went for Felicia Winters, the shadow president of the Federation. It tessellates nicely with my 'I'm Federation, but not a total arsehole' ethos.

So far, so good. The first few days I got badly spec'd Eagles after me, and the occasional Cobra. Then the attack rate dropped off, then I started getting Pythons and Anacondas. I had actual clenching moments flying. It was AMAZING! some genuine fear and and you start investing all over again. Having had a crazy run of Annie attacks, I went on a rare run around Lave/Witchhaul/Altair etc to crank up some credits and repair my ship (Yes, I took a beating)

I'm looking forward to returning to Winters space to grind some rep and (Hopefully) get my Fed Dropship (Finally!!)

She could use the help, judging by the drop from 1st to 4th place.

How are you all finding the factions?

Friday 29 May 2015

The danger of assumptions

This week saw the launch of the 1.3 Beta for Elite:Dangerous. I was stoked to see the new Diamondback ship from Lakon Spaceways. Due to the images, I was looking at a ship pitched at the Non-Federation players looking for an equivalent to the Federal Dropship. You know, that angular looking beast sitting at 19 Million credits with some sweet options and quite nimble. The clues were it was being built on an Alliance world, there as a pre-update mission to help get the shipyard built, the Imperials have the Clipper and the forthcoming courier, so, like all vapourware followers I started making assumptions. The path to wrack and ruin starts here.

So....when I logged in to Beta, I bought one. I had spare cash, and Beta prices, party time! Was it f*ck!? Due to my, by now, mythicall proportioned assumptions, the Diamondback was crap. I got less options than I expected in load out, (The penny hadn't dropped at this point) I picked a tough combat mission, got smacked liked a redneck kid in a supermarket, res'd at the station, bought my old loadout, bought some better slots, (Beta prices!) went back out, more of the same. Crap!

However, after a rage quit (yeah, that as me, not proud) I reflected. I looked at the stats, it was larger than the ubiquitous Cobra and smaller than the well rounded Asp, I looked at the mental image I had and the actuality of it, and my assumptions were found wanting (And I felt like a pratt)

The truth of it is the Diamondback is a very capable combat explorer that sits between the Cobra and the more expensive Asp. It's nimble, good looking and has a good array of options available. I hope it's priced accordingly. I could allow pilots to avoid the Type 6 grind stage moving up from the Cobra, which I remember fondly, much like my other half remembers labour.

What this means is I have to try and get some serious rep in and the last rank jump with the Feds so I can get the Dropship, as it's the multifunction I need until the Python or Fer De Lance falls into my budget bracket. Bad news, I have less than a week to get it. Let me explain, due to Powerplay, we will have rep with factions. Those factions include 2 Federation leaders, 3 Empire, 2 Independent but only one Alliance. I'm thinking of going Alliance. They have the most to gain (Especially in ships, see above) so I may tack my colours to that mast. Also looks like the Fed president has disappeared, so there's more afoot.

IRL crept out for a cheeky Nandos this week, Twas magical!

anyhoo, nearly at my destination. So...don't assume, look what it does!

Commanders, be good (Or be careful)

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Delays in life as in Elite Dangerous

The season of not quite anything is upon us. We have blazing sunshine and 14 degrees, we have rain and sun and sleet in the same day, and yet we're in the dog end of May. Many are waiting for Summer to happen.

And so in Elite:Dangerous.. The 1.3 Powerplay update has been delayed, the Beta was announced for the 20th, and has been put back. Some of the comments on the forum are ridiculous, decrying the devs, how very dare they delay the beta, this whole game's a beta, I'll scweam and scweam and scweam* etc etc

However, perhaps the delay is due to dev burnout, perhaps, knowing the level of support required they're getting some family time/R&R/Pizza action before the beta hits, then the update itself (Generally a week later) and the extra work on patches and bug fixes required. Perhaps the devs have been given a break due to the sterling work they've done already, and this allows them to come up with new stuff. Perhaps they're waiting on the Corvette model. Perhaps perhaps perhaps. However disappointed I am, I'll wait for the beta, and I'll hope that extra time has been spent wisely.

One thing to note on the forums was that the noisy minority hating on the devs were exactly that, a minority. The sheer love for Frontier E:D dev team was touching. Most comments I found ran to 'They'll release it when it's good enough' 'They know what they're doing' and picking apart the redonculous diatribes of the haters.

Devs are human too. E:D's ones are just a bit better. In the meantime, I'm playing Borderlands - The Pre Sequel, some E:D, and dribbling over The Elder Scrolls online. SO tempted now it's not subscription based. Also preparing for the arrival of my Thrustmaster Cougar MFD button panels and my E:D pirate faction T-Shirt. A captain's chair is in the offing, waiting for news on a suitable donor chair. Good times!

Remember commanders: Fly safe or have the insurance money set aside!

Friday 15 May 2015

Powerplay Beta is coming - May 20th

At last!! Powerplay, Elite:Dangerous is coming. The Beta drops on the 20th of May, and Betas tend to last a week before they go live.

I have some wishes for this update: Faction rewards in internal components - Better quality internals or weapons - I totally want C3 Multicannons, or some sort of multi point mount, eg 2 x C2 in a C4 slot, could totally 'multimulticannon' my little old Asp. Anothger perk I hope Powerplay folds in to the game - Faction discount on insurance. If it costs less to replace you might take more risks, my last replacement wascostly, but it did prey on my mind for a while after that I didn't want to lose that much money, meaning I bailed on combat earlier than I could have.

I'm hoping to take the new Diamondback for a spin, hoping it's an Asp on steroids. With a bit of luck the Diamondback is a heavier multipurpose with at least C3 harpoint, and that the hardpoints are all on corners for extra gimballed shootiness. The concept drawing looks the nuts, but not seeing any other images. I would love Frontier to rectify that soon, or I can just joy-puke/cry into my keyboard when the Beta lands. I'm mildly nervous about the whole experience.

In other Elite:Dangerous news I finally made 'competant' in combat - Which is great as it's the first combat rank that doesn't sound like you're completely crap, which was nice.

Considering a cheeky Nandos for lunch, it's FRIDAY!!

Anyway, fly safe, or make sure you have your insurance money saved.

Monday 27 April 2015

OK, so where's 1.3 Powerplay?

Hello good peeps of the interwebz,

Patience has never been my strong suit, but I thought we'd have 1.3 Powerplay by now? I'm keen to see the Diamondback in the hope it's the ship to suit me perfectly. I want something tough, but with a bit of cargo spacce. The impression I get from reviews is that the Fed Dropship is not good value for money. I love my Asp, but it's getting OLD, and it's that awkward size/price point that you have no choice until you get to the Python.

Talking of which, one interdicted me yesterday, scared me silly. I've killed one before, but this guy was guns blazing from the off, ended with 53% hull and thought myself both wise and fortunate for getting the duck out of fodge with some hull to spare.

Anyhoo, waiting with baited breath for 1.3, rep for that Dropship won't farm itself.....

Never Give Up! Never Surrender!

Friday 24 April 2015

Powerplay and Fer De Lance and Vultures, oh my!!


Apologies for my tardiness in posting, there's been a combination of stress, malaise, work and Elite why I'm not posting so often. My 'Little Asp that could' is nearing the end of it's upgrade journey. It's a toss up between a Vulture with lots of  cargo space, a Fer de Lance armed to the teeth, or grind Fed rep and get the Dropship. I can afford the Drop ship right now, and I think I could afford the Vulture, but feel either would be a compromise. Decisions, decisions....

Powerplay...ahem plays a part in this... If I grind Fed rep to Petty Officer I can get the ship, and Powerplay  will tesselate nicely in that it should allow for more and easier rep grinding missions, and maybe some discounts. Yay!! Because who doesn't love a discount on something you've been saving for? Amiriiight?

Especially interested to see what the Alliance will pull out the hat as a loyalty reward. I'm hoping some unique or A+ modules or twin Smalls for Medium moints etc. Their own ship would probably be tidy, too. We'll see, soon enough.

Starting to love a bit of combat. Made 'Novice' rank in combat and getting some nice bounties, killed a Python and an Anaconda in one week, I was like a dog with two willies. I bet my ship looked like it was dragged through a combine harvester backwards, mind, but what the hey.

Also got my Asp handed to me (see what I did there?) ...in small pieces after getting cocky and trying to take on two Annies and a Cobra. The Cobra was 'Dangerous' and the Annies were Master, so bit off more than I could chew would be a gentler version of my prognosis.

However, doing the (as described by one Elite forum member) Baby's first rare run at this time until I can afford something meatier. the run consists of buying rates in the  Lave, Diso etc cluster, then haul it to Witchhaul, flog the cargo, buy stuff over that side of the map, then haul ass to Zaonce and flog everything. Makes a Million easy if you wait for stock refreshes. If not, half a Million. Not shabby, even so.

Anyhoo, IRL beckons. Fly safe and Bon weekend!!

Monday 30 March 2015

The wait for us is over

The race to Elite is over, at least for these guys. My hearty congratulations - Hard work, and hard won. Well done:
CMDR Tequila (Exploration)
CMDR Lordkee (Trading)
CMDR Fromtonrouge (Combat)
And ultimate bragging rights go to CMDR Onepercent (Triple Elite)

However, this is the opening stanza of my personal journey to Elite, in at least one category. So far I'm Scout (Exploration), Merchant (Trading) and the rather deflating Mostly Harmless (Combat) although it's a Douglas Adams Hitchhikers book title, so there's some comfort in that, at least.

Lugh, here I come. On the one hand it's the story of The Republic of Ireland, and I'm a republican by inclination, but in the other I'm totally a Fed too. Probably grind Fed rep. UPDATE: Got there, nothing doing. Back to Lave for rares - Those A class upgrades to the Asp won't buy themselves.

In non-Elite news, there's a new Borderlands Pre-Sequel DLC pack - The Claptastic Voyage! Tried it, loved it, but got totally owned.

Monday 16 March 2015

Painite? Sounds, er, painful

Greetings, fellow commanders

So, there's a new mineral, Painite. We know it exists by it's crazy 30+k prices in the commodities markets, but we have no clue where to get it, the ultimate phantom resource.

I do hope this is FD's way to make mining a worthwhile venture. In the meantime I hope you're all updating Thrudd's Trading Tools or Slopey's BPC (I don't have a good link, sorry)

I've used both, and was very impressed by what I found. Turns out Painite is a real thing: See HERE

I thought it was cobblers, turned out I was wrong. I may try my hand at mining if these are not a wild goose chase.

Rare Runs - Currently tooling around Lave/Leesti/Diso picking up 60 tons of rares so I can make my limited 60 tons of space pay for themselves. We'll see how that pans out

Spray painting my backpack. Always fun doing sprayjobs on my gear. I recently sprayed a stencil based on the Elite logo that came on my Elite logo T shirt onto my jacket. Now I plan to give my Boblbee backpack the same treatment, so I'm spraying a combination of black, red and white digital camo, over a black and red honeycomb background, with a yellow Elite Logo on one side. Should be interesting.....pictures to follow.

As ever, your humble overlord

Jimbob(CMDR Jim Backer #5224)

Sunday 15 March 2015

Widdershins/Terry Pratchett station, anyone?

Hey, back in the chair! Loving Elite:Dangerous, and finally flying my Lakon Spaceways Asp Explorer. Although it does sound a littler close to Ass Explorer, which I'm sure is probably an adult movie franchise. If not, I came up with the name and want a slice of the profits.

The Asp is a lovely ship and the first thing you notice after selling your type 6 (The White Van of Space) is that it handles so much better. Even with all the weapon slots filled and as much cargo as you can carry (80 if my memory serves) it still handles like a viper compared to the Type 6. I did like my type 6 but (a) it had a 'Shoot Me!' bumper sticker on the back and (b) you could only get it in dull white. Compare and contrast the old Ford Transit, famously the mount of British 'White Van Man' see HERE for details. The Lakon Type 6 doesn't even have a 'Trotter Independant Trading' paint job

If you get a chance, donate to wikipedia. They give you free information, and -most- of it is good. Almost all of it.
Leonard Nimoy died recently, that was sad, he seemed like a really nice chap, and seeing Bill Shatner talk so warmly about him in Frankfurt last year, I reckon he must have been a solid guy. Frontier Developments have honoured him with a station orbiting Vulcan, and rightly so. Me, I reckon Sir Terry Pratchett is also deserving of a station/world/something. I've posted on the Elite Facebook page to get a world within a 12LY radius of Wolf 359 called Widdershins in honour of Terry's book dark side of the sun, one of his few Sci-Fi books.

Talking fo the commander's chair, considering building a chair in the likeness of the Flight Chairs in the film Alien, aboard the Nostromo. Like this:

The main reason is it's cool as all hell, but it also look confortable, and I can mount the Saitek X52 Joystick control system on the ends of the armrests. I will need to go speak to the lovely people of the RPF (Replica Prop Forum) who are a practically bottomless pit of information

Anyhow, I'm being called to iron stuff for the kids (It's Mothers' day here, so I go to help the smashing mother of my smashing kids)

Be nice to your Mum, you only get one.

Fly safe, fly true!

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Back in the chair, the CMDR's chair

Hey Everybody, I'll not mention how long it's been. You can check. I've kinda missed you. Let's see. Eldest is 7, youngest will be 4 in May. I still don't play WoW. However, I am playing Elite:Dangerous. Currently rocking that most awful of ships, the Type 6 by Lakon, a huge, lumpen brick of a ship. You know when a ship is transitory when it doesn't come with paint jobs. Surprised really as I reckon Frontier Development could have made a fortune with Trotter Import Traders decals for the side. "Lave, Witchhaul, Sol, Putney."

Currently only half a million from an Asp. This does come with paint jobs. It's also a lot more shooty.
Anyhoo, new ships beckon, the Beta for Wings (Update 1.2) is out today, and images are appearing of the two new showstoppers, the Vulture (Core Systems new heavy fighter, and the Fer De Lance, Falcon DeLacy's new multipurpose beasty.



Photos courtesy of Roy van Rumpt and Mike Pearson
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