Elite: Dangerous. I broke down.

[Grim.Reaper]

So the next update and standard beta starts tomorrow....and of course I find out work requires me to be out of town...that's just how things go for me:)

[SirAndrewD]

Big wipe with the new Beta tomorrow as well.  Time for me to go try out some alternating builds on my Sidewinder.

[Grim.Reaper]

Big wipe with the new Beta tomorrow as well.  Time for me to go try out some alternating builds on my Sidewinder.

I will be reading your impressions while I am away:)  I am very interested in trying out the single player mode as well since that is likely how I mostly will play.

[mikeck]

Anxious to see single player

[SirAndrewD]

Beta is a bit of a mess so far for me.  Lots of bugs entering the Azeban City station and CTD's.  Also, the servers won't even connect for single player reliably right now, probably due to load. 

I'll give it a try later.  The change log looks amazing, and as soon as they iron out the launch day kinks I think we'll really be impressed. 

[Grim.Reaper]

Beta is a bit of a mess so far for me.  Lots of bugs entering the Azeban City station and CTD's.  Also, the servers won't even connect for single player reliably right now, probably due to load. 

I'll give it a try later.  The change log looks amazing, and as soon as they iron out the launch day kinks I think we'll really be impressed.

Makes me feel good that I can't play for a number of days:). Hopefully kinks worked out by then...

[Jarhead0331]

Not my experience at all. So far it's a dream. Has to be seen to be believed.

[SirAndrewD]

Second run was as smooth as Jarheads.  No problem at all.  I still haven't quite figured out the missions, and credits don't seem as easy as just heading to the Federal Distress Signal and cleaning up. 

I like that you start with a second laser, it helps.  I almost beat an interdiction pirate without taking any damage at all.  I slipped up somehow and he got a solid crit on me and won the dogfight despite my having him at no shields and 25% hull while I was untouched.  I really don't know how I lost that fight, but it was, to say the least, interesting. 

Graphics are much improved.  Seeing a star in all its glory was impressive. 

Frame Shift and Hyperdrive got merged, so that it chooses which is best depending on target and distance. 

There's fuel!  And you can't just jump directly to wherever you want.  You have to follow nodes.

Lots of commerce passes by nav beacons.  Fertile picking grounds for the pirates out there.

So, yeah, that's my takeaways from my clean and bug free run.  Seems like an amazing game coming together. 

[Toonces]

Can you guys (ie. Jarhead) sort of summarize the various space games on the plate, and how they compare to this one?  I'm getting confused between this, Star Citizen, and there are at least one or two more that are of this genre...

[Toonces]

Or, if I was to buy one, which is the one to get in on at this point?   ???

[SirAndrewD]

Can you guys (ie. Jarhead) sort of summarize the various space games on the plate, and how they compare to this one?  I'm getting confused between this, Star Citizen, and there are at least one or two more that are of this genre...

I can't speak for Jarhead, but I can say this.  Right now, Elite is playable and has a fairly rich universe.  Star Citizen is just a dogfight module. 

I've backed both, and spent money to get in on the Elite Beta.  But if you're starting out fresh, I would recommend Elite over Star Citizen since it's the game that actually looks to be realized and released in a playable and enjoyable state in the foreseeable future. 

Star Citizen has greater scope and a great pedigree.  I trust Chris Roberts based on his prior experience.  However, I don't see it coming along for quite a while.

[Cougar_DK]

Is there single player content in the beta?

[RooksBailey]

As I just wrote elsewhere, it is a very good thing that I don't generally get interested in space games until the dark days of Fall arrive, because I could easily find myself forking over $75 that I can't afford to fork over.   ;D

This really looks excellent already:

Praise be I still have the warm days of summer to distract me from indoor hobbies.  But I don't know how much longer that will act as a shield for my wallet.... :-\

EDIT: Combat vid went up 4 minutes ago.   ;)

[Jarhead0331]

I agree with SirAndrew.  Elite is much further along in its development than Star Citizen. As such, it currently has a lot more polish and content. As a game, it is totally playable and enjoyable in its present state. I'm still so enamored by the visual and audio attention to detail that I find myself just wanting to fly around and dock at stations. I want to share the experience with anyone who happens to walk into my office during game time...."hey! I know you don't like games, but you have to check this out."

My only problem with it is that it is taking me sometime to really get into it. Space is just so vast, and it really feels so vast, that I'm nervous to really get out there and explore. Right now there are 55 star systems that are playable representing I think something like 33,000 cubic light years of space. I'm not really sure how that quantifies, but it sounds really damn vast.  Anyway, having the single player online option in beta is definitely helping to reduce my anxiety, I jumped to a new system for the first time last night. Yay!

On the other hand, I'm annoyed with star citizen. It has raised over 43,000,000 and there is very little to show for it at this stage. Yes, eventually  I believe there will be a solid fully featured game, but right now it's a pretty poor tech demo. Although you can experience it now for a relatively inexpensive price, I don't see the reason. They certainly don't need your money for backing at this point, and until they reach a reasonable development milestone I say, why bother?

The only other serious contender in the open world space combat and trade genre is Rebirth, and I know you are all familiar with the drama there. It's a respectable effort and it has been significantly improved since release. It's worth a look, but Elite is still the superior experience.

On a final note, I still keep X3 installed on my hard drive. It is an outstanding game that remains totally beautiful to this day. Flying around space stations still inspires awe. There is just so much to do, so much to build and so much to accomplish in x3 that it deserves to be mentioned in any serious discussion about the genre.  If you haven't already given this one a shot, do so. It's totally worth it, and the community is hardcore and thriving. There is a tremendous knowledge base.

[undercovergeek]

walk into my office during game time...."hey! I know you don't like games, but you have to check this out."

:o

i knew i should have been a solicitor