Thread for Gamers VIII: Revenge of the Sh**

[Kaedshi]

On the thread of alliances, I'm playing Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin for the first time. I've already killed the Giant and the Dragonrider bosses (giant guy with a halberd.) Any advice for covenants to join, for a first time player?

I always take the Way of the Blue on every new character, if just for the Blue Seal that boosts your max HP. It might be a small amount, but every hit point is helpful, and it pairs well with the Life Ring.

Ooh, THAT would be handy. I think I'll group up with them.

[Imperializt Russia]

I never joined the Way of Blue.

You have to defeat not-Ormstein to "beat" the Cathedral to receive it, yes?

Don't you need a certain level faith or intelligence for it? Sure my strength-dex build was turned away.

[New Naephak]

I never joined the Way of Blue.

You have to defeat not-Ormstein to "beat" the Cathedral to receive it, yes?

Don't you need a certain level faith or intelligence for it? Sure my strength-dex build was turned away.

No, that's the Blue Sentinels. Saulden is the covenant leader of the Way of Blue in Majula, at the big monument.
The Sentinels don't have a stat requirement, you need a Token of Fidelity in your inventory, which you get after a co-op session, and on is found in the world later on.

[Gristol-Serkonos]

Oooh, fellas.

Tax season's approaching and I am so excited. This year, I shall ascend to 21:9 greatness.

[The Huskar Social Union]

Right so i took some data delivery jobs last night in Elite Dangerous, just to get the hand of things and to build some cash, which allowed me to get a new power plant and a new shield generator for my sidewinder, and as i was going to do the last job, i went back through a system i had travelled through before, an Anarchy system, and literally just as i was about to go into hyperspace to my destination, some prick called Pierre interdicted me and blew me to facking pieces.

He took the damn dream!

edit: Also i almost got murdered by Federal security forces outside a spaceport, not sure why but as soon as i flew out of it they gave me a warning to leave the premises, do they get pissed at you if you go too slow? Because that is the only thing i can think of that would cause them to lose their shit.

[Imperial isa]

Right so i took some data delivery jobs last night in Elite Dangerous, just to get the hand of things and to build some cash, which allowed me to get a new power plant and a new shield generator for my sidewinder, and as i was going to do the last job, i went back through a system i had travelled through before, an Anarchy system, and literally just as i was about to go into hyperspace to my destination, some prick called Pierre interdicted me and blew me to facking pieces.

He took the damn dream!

edit: Also i almost got murdered by Federal security forces outside a spaceport, not sure why but as soon as i flew out of it they gave me a warning to leave the premises, do they get pissed at you if you go too slow? Because that is the only thing i can think of that would cause them to lose their shit.

Got the money for the rebuy costs?

[The Rich Port]

Managed to get all the way up to 650,000 cr in Elite.

Protip for beginning players, stick to space trucking and taking jobs from docking ports. Do not slow down for anything, whether it's random signals or some planet you want to sight-see or some nav beacon you don't want to compensate around. The game is only going to get harder.

Been doing the training scenarios in preparation for any possible assholes coming after me. I've managed to survive the advanced training mission and the skirmish scenario, but just barely; can't get the hand of strafing.

So far, I don't know if I've been lucky or if I've just been moving too fast, because I've had almost zero attacks on my cargo and person. I suppose it helps I've been doing a lot of planet-side missions, blowing up skimmers and salvaging cargo and whatnot. I was almost interdicted once, but I managed to hit the escape vector, and another time, I was sent a threat but I was apparently moving too fast for the asshole to interdict me, so I just kept going to my destination. I don't even have any shields on my Hauler. I didn't really bother with the Adder since it has awful default cargo racks, less than the Hauler, for almost twice the price. Maybe I'll buy it later to add to my ship collection, but I've been making good scratch with the Hauler so far, so don't know why I'd need the Adder.

Also, for anybody starting out, if you're smart and stick to space trucking, get a Hauler as soon as you can. Not only does it have more cargo space, it also has a bigger fuel tank, which means it can go distances the Sidewinder can't. I find that the Galaxy Map doesn't adjust routes to compensate for, say, refueling, so I couldn't find my way to certain star systems as a result, even if the Sidewinder can handle the cargo. After that, it's only been a few missions to my eventual Cobra. I'm hoping I can get a couple more hundred thousand credits in the bank before I upgrade.

Also, get a docking computer if and when you can. Much faster and less tedious than manual docking.

[The Rich Port]

Right so i took some data delivery jobs last night in Elite Dangerous, just to get the hand of things and to build some cash, which allowed me to get a new power plant and a new shield generator for my sidewinder, and as i was going to do the last job, i went back through a system i had travelled through before, an Anarchy system, and literally just as i was about to go into hyperspace to my destination, some prick called Pierre interdicted me and blew me to facking pieces.

He took the damn dream!

edit: Also i almost got murdered by Federal security forces outside a spaceport, not sure why but as soon as i flew out of it they gave me a warning to leave the premises, do they get pissed at you if you go too slow? Because that is the only thing i can think of that would cause them to lose their shit.

Didn't you get an escape vector? Did you miss the escape vector?

Also, huh, that's weird. Although, yeah, I've gotten in trouble with the stupid cops before over going to the wrong pad. The game should really just highlight the pad you're assigned instead of all of the pads.

[Lady Scylla]

EDIT: I thought I had clicked on TET.

[The Huskar Social Union]

Right so i took some data delivery jobs last night in Elite Dangerous, just to get the hand of things and to build some cash, which allowed me to get a new power plant and a new shield generator for my sidewinder, and as i was going to do the last job, i went back through a system i had travelled through before, an Anarchy system, and literally just as i was about to go into hyperspace to my destination, some prick called Pierre interdicted me and blew me to facking pieces.

He took the damn dream!

edit: Also i almost got murdered by Federal security forces outside a spaceport, not sure why but as soon as i flew out of it they gave me a warning to leave the premises, do they get pissed at you if you go too slow? Because that is the only thing i can think of that would cause them to lose their shit.

Got the money for the rebuy costs?

Oh yeah ive got a few thousand left, and i got the improved shield generator after i died. Next time i play im going to do some more of those missions and just build up a good bit of cash then try something else to get a general feel of the different mission types.

Right so i took some data delivery jobs last night in Elite Dangerous, just to get the hand of things and to build some cash, which allowed me to get a new power plant and a new shield generator for my sidewinder, and as i was going to do the last job, i went back through a system i had travelled through before, an Anarchy system, and literally just as i was about to go into hyperspace to my destination, some prick called Pierre interdicted me and blew me to facking pieces.

He took the damn dream!

edit: Also i almost got murdered by Federal security forces outside a spaceport, not sure why but as soon as i flew out of it they gave me a warning to leave the premises, do they get pissed at you if you go too slow? Because that is the only thing i can think of that would cause them to lose their shit.

Didn't you get an escape vector? Did you miss the escape vector?

Also, huh, that's weird. Although, yeah, I've gotten in trouble with the stupid cops before over going to the wrong pad. The game should really just highlight the pad you're assigned instead of all of the pads.

I got knocked out of it in like five seconds so i didnt even get to see the escape vector, it was probably there though, i was just caught off guard by it as i didnt see anyone near by on my radar, or i might not have noticed them if they were too close to planet or something.

[Wisconsin9]

Also, get a docking computer if and when you can. Much faster and less tedious than manual docking.

It's also less fun. And it's really only faster, in my experience, if you're in one of the big motherfuckers with shit maneuvering. It is, however, very good at making sure that the station doesn't blow you out of the sky.

For those flying without a docking computer, or for when you're flying around outside a station, for the love of all that is holy, don't crash into somebody if you're speeding. If you're speeding, crash into someone, and they explode, the station will register it as a murder and blow you to a billion tiny pieces. Some trolls like to swing over to heavily-populated systems, grab a Sidewinder, switch off their shields, and try to get people to hit them.

[Imperializt Russia]

Also, get a docking computer if and when you can. Much faster and less tedious than manual docking.

It's also less fun. And it's really only faster, in my experience, if you're in one of the big motherfuckers with shit maneuvering. It is, however, very good at making sure that the station doesn't blow you out of the sky.

For those flying without a docking computer, or for when you're flying around outside a station, for the love of all that is holy, don't crash into somebody if you're speeding. If you're speeding, crash into someone, and they explode, the station will register it as a murder and blow you to a billion tiny pieces. Some trolls like to swing over to heavily-populated systems, grab a Sidewinder, switch off their shields, and try to get people to hit them.

...
why

[Wisconsin9]

It's also less fun. And it's really only faster, in my experience, if you're in one of the big motherfuckers with shit maneuvering. It is, however, very good at making sure that the station doesn't blow you out of the sky.

For those flying without a docking computer, or for when you're flying around outside a station, for the love of all that is holy, don't crash into somebody if you're speeding. If you're speeding, crash into someone, and they explode, the station will register it as a murder and blow you to a billion tiny pieces. Some trolls like to swing over to heavily-populated systems, grab a Sidewinder, switch off their shields, and try to get people to hit them.

...
why

Welcome to Elite, where robbing the dead is punished by nothing more than a small fine and, and this is a direct quote from the game that you can hear on station announcements sometimes, "Loitering is a crime punishable by death."

[The Rich Port]

Also, get a docking computer if and when you can. Much faster and less tedious than manual docking.

It's also less fun. And it's really only faster, in my experience, if you're in one of the big motherfuckers with shit maneuvering. It is, however, very good at making sure that the station doesn't blow you out of the sky.

For those flying without a docking computer, or for when you're flying around outside a station, for the love of all that is holy, don't crash into somebody if you're speeding. If you're speeding, crash into someone, and they explode, the station will register it as a murder and blow you to a billion tiny pieces. Some trolls like to swing over to heavily-populated systems, grab a Sidewinder, switch off their shields, and try to get people to hit them.

Boy am I glad I opted for solo play.

Also, honestly, after, like, the 30th backwater generic orbital station I've had to dock at, docking got old real quick, especially when I have to cram my big, fat, long, hard Hauler or my wide, soft, short Sidewinder through a tight smooth access lane of the kind the bigger fancier stations have. It's bad enough I have to put up with NPC interdictors, almost crashing into a star because my controller slipped from my hands and not crashing into random cruise ships.

I used to think rotating the ship would have been easy enough, but the ship instead has a bad tendency to also shift, and any minor fuckup on my part would mean crashing into a wall or a pylon or another ship.

I've yet to master orbital cruising, too, so don't get me fucking started with planetary docks.

P.S.: is it possible to play as a cruise ship captain? That sounds like a barrel of possible laughs. I wanna be like that an hero who was the captain of the Costa Concordia.

[The Rich Port]

...
why

Welcome to Elite, where robbing the dead is punished by nothing more than a small fine and, and this is a direct quote from the game that you can hear on station announcements sometimes, "Loitering is a crime punishable by death."

To be fair, I imagine it'd be almost possible to truly police fucking space.

IMO, you shouldn't get any fines if there's no witnesses.

Also, loitering in a major shipping lane, pad or at the entrance to a station = interrupting vital services and commerce.

In a universe where there's apparently trillions upon trillions upon trillions of humans, what's one more asshole in a Sidewinder worth?

That's right: 32,000 credits.

[Lady Scylla]

Managed to get all the way up to 650,000 cr in Elite.

Protip for beginning players, stick to space trucking and taking jobs from docking ports. Do not slow down for anything, whether it's random signals or some planet you want to sight-see or some nav beacon you don't want to compensate around. The game is only going to get harder.

Been doing the training scenarios in preparation for any possible assholes coming after me. I've managed to survive the advanced training mission and the skirmish scenario, but just barely; can't get the hand of strafing.

So far, I don't know if I've been lucky or if I've just been moving too fast, because I've had almost zero attacks on my cargo and person. I suppose it helps I've been doing a lot of planet-side missions, blowing up skimmers and salvaging cargo and whatnot. I was almost interdicted once, but I managed to hit the escape vector, and another time, I was sent a threat but I was apparently moving too fast for the asshole to interdict me, so I just kept going to my destination. I don't even have any shields on my Hauler. I didn't really bother with the Adder since it has awful default cargo racks, less than the Hauler, for almost twice the price. Maybe I'll buy it later to add to my ship collection, but I've been making good scratch with the Hauler so far, so don't know why I'd need the Adder.

Also, for anybody starting out, if you're smart and stick to space trucking, get a Hauler as soon as you can. Not only does it have more cargo space, it also has a bigger fuel tank, which means it can go distances the Sidewinder can't. I find that the Galaxy Map doesn't adjust routes to compensate for, say, refueling, so I couldn't find my way to certain star systems as a result, even if the Sidewinder can handle the cargo. After that, it's only been a few missions to my eventual Cobra. I'm hoping I can get a couple more hundred thousand credits in the bank before I upgrade.

Also, get a docking computer if and when you can. Much faster and less tedious than manual docking.

If you're smuggling, manually docking is a necessity. Learning how to manually dock, and practising will get you pretty good at it. Especially since a computer takes up space. I've humorously boosted into stations the moment I started to get scanned, scaring the shit out of anyone passing through the gate. "HAI! BAI!"

[Lady Scylla]

It's also less fun. And it's really only faster, in my experience, if you're in one of the big motherfuckers with shit maneuvering. It is, however, very good at making sure that the station doesn't blow you out of the sky.

For those flying without a docking computer, or for when you're flying around outside a station, for the love of all that is holy, don't crash into somebody if you're speeding. If you're speeding, crash into someone, and they explode, the station will register it as a murder and blow you to a billion tiny pieces. Some trolls like to swing over to heavily-populated systems, grab a Sidewinder, switch off their shields, and try to get people to hit them.

Boy am I glad I opted for solo play.

Also, honestly, after, like, the 30th backwater generic orbital station I've had to dock at, docking got old real quick, especially when I have to cram my big, fat, long, hard Hauler or my wide, soft, short Sidewinder through a tight smooth access lane of the kind the bigger fancier stations have. It's bad enough I have to put up with NPC interdictors, almost crashing into a star because my controller slipped from my hands and not crashing into random cruise ships.

I used to think rotating the ship would have been easy enough, but the ship instead has a bad tendency to also shift, and any minor fuckup on my part would mean crashing into a wall or a pylon or another ship.

I've yet to master orbital cruising, too, so don't get me fucking started with planetary docks.

P.S.: is it possible to play as a cruise ship captain? That sounds like a barrel of possible laughs. I wanna be like that an hero who was the captain of the Costa Concordia.

Yes. There are cruiseliners in the game where you can transport people around for multi-million credit contracts.

[The Rich Port]

Managed to get all the way up to 650,000 cr in Elite.

Protip for beginning players, stick to space trucking and taking jobs from docking ports. Do not slow down for anything, whether it's random signals or some planet you want to sight-see or some nav beacon you don't want to compensate around. The game is only going to get harder.

Been doing the training scenarios in preparation for any possible assholes coming after me. I've managed to survive the advanced training mission and the skirmish scenario, but just barely; can't get the hand of strafing.

So far, I don't know if I've been lucky or if I've just been moving too fast, because I've had almost zero attacks on my cargo and person. I suppose it helps I've been doing a lot of planet-side missions, blowing up skimmers and salvaging cargo and whatnot. I was almost interdicted once, but I managed to hit the escape vector, and another time, I was sent a threat but I was apparently moving too fast for the asshole to interdict me, so I just kept going to my destination. I don't even have any shields on my Hauler. I didn't really bother with the Adder since it has awful default cargo racks, less than the Hauler, for almost twice the price. Maybe I'll buy it later to add to my ship collection, but I've been making good scratch with the Hauler so far, so don't know why I'd need the Adder.

Also, for anybody starting out, if you're smart and stick to space trucking, get a Hauler as soon as you can. Not only does it have more cargo space, it also has a bigger fuel tank, which means it can go distances the Sidewinder can't. I find that the Galaxy Map doesn't adjust routes to compensate for, say, refueling, so I couldn't find my way to certain star systems as a result, even if the Sidewinder can handle the cargo. After that, it's only been a few missions to my eventual Cobra. I'm hoping I can get a couple more hundred thousand credits in the bank before I upgrade.

Also, get a docking computer if and when you can. Much faster and less tedious than manual docking.

If you're smuggling, manually docking is a necessity. Learning how to manually dock, and practising will get you pretty good at it. Especially since a computer takes up space. I've humorously boosted into stations the moment I started to get scanned, scaring the shit out of anyone passing through the gate. "HAI! BAI!"

I haven't found any lucrative black market dealings, and the ones that were lucrative I couldn't access due to my having the Sidewinder when I saw them.

Besides, I didn't get the docking computer because it's hard. It's just tedious, especially if you're a cargo hauler like me.

[Lady Scylla]

If you're smuggling, manually docking is a necessity. Learning how to manually dock, and practising will get you pretty good at it. Especially since a computer takes up space. I've humorously boosted into stations the moment I started to get scanned, scaring the shit out of anyone passing through the gate. "HAI! BAI!"

I haven't found any lucrative black market dealings, and the ones that were lucrative I couldn't access due to my having the Sidewinder when I saw them.

Besides, I didn't get the docking computer because it's hard. It's just tedious, especially if you're a cargo hauler like me.

Ah, you're new! I was very much the same way, it gets better. The hauler suuuuuuucks. Adder is so much better, I'd suggest really working up to that, and plus, outfitted, an Adder can hold its own if you get interdicted. She's also got a beautiful cabin interior, and she's pretty good at handling. You'll get more lucrative work going to Independent states -- usually stars that have the pirate docks and what not. After awhile, you'll get the hang of docking. I've not crashed while docking in a long ass time (and now Ive gone and jinxed myself).

Put it plainly, I went from the Sidewinder > Hauler > Adder > Viper Mk IV

And the viper has got pretty good cargo, nowhere near the Adder, but she does have size class 4 spaces and that allows for speciality and larger modules such as the Passenger cabins. Since the Adder only has SC 3

[The Rich Port]

What threw you off my being new, my big sexy steamy bank account?

I was thinking more Side -> Hauler -> Cobra.

What's the difference between the Cobra and Viper?

[Lady Scylla]

Put it plainly, I went from the Sidewinder > Hauler > Adder > Viper Mk IV

And the viper has got pretty good cargo, nowhere near the Adder, but she does have size class 4 spaces and that allows for speciality and larger modules such as the Passenger cabins. Since the Adder only has SC 3

The other benefit of using a Viper Mk IV for smuggling is that no-one is going to dare interdict you. It's the second best fighter in the game (Behind the Eagle), and fully decked out, it will shred just about anything. Scans don't show you people's arms, so nobody knows if you've got teeth or not. The few times people do interdict you (I've been interdicted only twice in the last 6 months), they're either very stupid, a security vessel, or someone you do want to fear (like an Anaconda).

Also, some people will swear by them, but, especially starting out, when you're looking for weapons a) pay attention to the power consumption it's going to cause before you buy it. The last thing you want to do is deploy your hardpoints and either cause your ship to shutdown or lose power to your engines and life-support. Yes, it pools power away from the other two services. b) GIMBAL. GIMBAL. GIMBAL. This is an edgy issue in E:D that people argue over. They're basically two types of platforms you can put on your hardpoints -- fixed weapon systems where you'll have to lead the target for kinetic energy weapon, and physically aim with direct energy or other. Gimbal are hardpoint platforms that move on a gimball meaning you do not have to directly aim at them -- so long as you're looking in their general direction, they're going to feel the wrath of whatever you've put on your ship.

Downsides? Gimbal mounts are somewhat less effective insofar as damage. Because they're gimbal, much of the weapon isn't set into the ship's hull, and thus you've not the same barrel length, or capacitor size etc as a fixed weapon platform. For the fixed weapon, unless you've got a ship with good manoeuvrability (such as fighters, sorry freighters) and are really good at leading your targets in a 3-D environment, you're going to get shredded with doing hardly any damage to them.

So, get gimbal. You get independent weapon targeting systems for a difference in damage, but you're guaranteed to hit them.

My next point.

Always, and I mean ALWAYS have some energy weapons like lasers. These little bastards will do far more work against your target's shields than kinetic energy, and once you get up into the more heavily outfitted ship, most shields will simply shrug off a kinetic energy barrage. Once their shields are down, unleash hell with your kinetic energy and missile systems.

[Lady Scylla]

If you're smuggling, manually docking is a necessity. Learning how to manually dock, and practising will get you pretty good at it. Especially since a computer takes up space. I've humorously boosted into stations the moment I started to get scanned, scaring the shit out of anyone passing through the gate. "HAI! BAI!"

I haven't found any lucrative black market dealings, and the ones that were lucrative I couldn't access due to my having the Sidewinder when I saw them.

Besides, I didn't get the docking computer because it's hard. It's just tedious, especially if you're a cargo hauler like me.

The Cobra Mk III which is all you can get from that line, since the Mk IV was a gift to those of us who played E:D when it first launched, is a nice nimble ship. Cargo wise, it's got more space than what you're flying now (the hauler) and it's really good for doing smuggling. She's fast, and she's got roughly the same jump range as my Viper, as an example. She has smaller weapon mounts though, and is not very agile in combat. Any of the larger fighters are going to out-turn you at every chance you've got, and the smaller hardpoints means you're not going to do much. What the Cobra excels at is running. Running away, and doing so fast. She's good for bounty hunter missions because she can pop in and out and usually make short-work of vessels in her class, and lower. And her cargo space means she's good for jumping around with goodies. As a choice, you're definitely got a good goal, but keep in mind her short-comings.

The other issue, and what a lot of people don't consider when looking at ships is that, while she is a twin-seat cabin, she's got poor visibility. The cockpit is fitted further into the body of the ship to protect the pilots, but this means you've not real well visibility with things both above, or to your peripherals (especially with the twin-seat cabin). Have a look

You've also got a wider-profile. Now compare its cockpit to what I fly, the Viper MK IV

[Lady Scylla]

On the plus side, if you've got the Horizon season pass, when they implement player co-pilots and crew, you can have someone sitting next to you in your Cobra. I'll be by myself in the Viper.

[The Rich Port]

Well, I won't be fighting any wars with lots of fighter combat any time soon, so Cobra it is then.

Although, yeah, now that you mention it, the Hauler has a horrible narrow cockpit. More than once, it's obscured my vision of a planetary outpost when I need to see how close I am to it before I drop out of orbital cruise into glide mode.

So, let's say, if I were to fight you in a Cobra and you were in, say, an Adder, without taking into account skill but taking into account we both have a beam weapon and something to shred armor.

Would I defeat you in the Cobra?

I haven't encountered anything bigger than a Cobra, so I think I'll be good if I can beat off smaller ships.

I've been noticing that I've been flying in well-developed space that always has economic booms going on.

As to where I specifically am...

http://i62.tinypic.com/2rgjs0p.jpg

... I'll post it tomorrow.

[Frenline Delpha]

Elite seems to name all its ships after types of snakes. Therefore, Elite is the best game ever.

But seriously, snakes are awesome.