Elite: Dangerous. I broke down.

[Jarhead0331]

I only play solo and still riding my little Sidewinder as a trade vessel. It takes some time but I make around 1200 per trip so I soon have money for a bigger ship, looking at the Hauler to make more money per ride.

Is it possible to have more than one, i.e. have a ship for fighting and another for trading and then shift between them as I please?

I don't think you can have multiple ships presently. Not sure if it is a feature planned in the future.

It is going to take a long time for you to make decent money trading initially. My recommendation would be to use your sidewinder in the the Federal Distress Zone to raise quick money. A few sorties and you'll have enough to upgrade to a hauler. Then you can start making good profit by trading.

EDIT:

Found this post from Tom Kewell...

Multiple Ship Ownership

In Elite: Dangerous players can purchase and own multiple ships. The player can only pilot a single ship at a time, so other ships they own must be stored somewhere, and made accessible to the player in a believable, fun way.

    The player acquires ships from various traders and vendors around the Galaxy.
        Players will primarily purchase ships for credits from ship yards
        Ships may also be won through bets and competitions
        Ships may be given as rewards for events or missions the player completes
        When the player has acquired a new ship they will receive the choice to switch to the new ship or continue flying their current ship
            A choice like this is only offered in places where a ship can be stored otherwise the newly acquired ship will be somewhere else waiting for the player to go pick it up
    Players can trade in the ship that they are currently flying when purchasing a new ship
        Players will receive a percentage of the value of their ship if they decide to trade in their ship
            This percentage is based on wear and tear a ship can sustain over its career and its current state of maintenance so well maintained ships will have a higher percentage than beaten up ones
        Players will lose any cargo they have in the ship if they choose to trade in their ship to buy a new one
            Players will receive a warning allowing them to back out of a purchase and go sell their cargo
            Many shipyards have trading points where players can sell their cargo, although rates may be less competitive than at other markets
        Alternatively any cargo can be transferred to the new ship if able prior to being sold/disposed of
        Fitted equipment will need to be stripped out and stored as cargo for it to be transferred from the old ship to a new one
        Any transfers of cargo and/or equipment can be transferred for a fee.
        If the trade in value of the player's current ship is higher than the value of the ship they wish to buy, they will receive the surplus in credits
            The player will receive a warning when they choose to trade in to ensure they don't trade in a ship by accident
    Players can store ships they are not currently piloting
        Initially the player will have nowhere to store a ship
        The player will be able to rent (or buy) hangar space – for an initial fee, and then a rental. Not all stations will have storage space, and some will be cheaper than others. Storage spaces will come in a range of sizes (s,m,l). There isn't a cap to the number of ships a player can store this way, other than the drain on their cash
        A number of different facilities can offer ship storage, with a range of different prices
            E.g. functional - shipyard storage, luxury – High end Storage attached to high end residencies in central locations, cheap – warehouses in remote locations
        Storage fees are deducted daily from their account, and there is an additional fee in some locations (generally the cheap ones) to retrieve the ship from storage, when the player wishes to pilot the ship again
            The fee increases over in-game time only (i.e. if you're logged off it won't increase)
        Players can store their ships at multiple locations
            Registering a new location for ship storage costs a fixed one-time fee
            Once registered a player can visit that location or any other registered storage location they have to arrange ship transfers between them which costs a fee to transport them, based on distance and law level of the intervening route (though the transfer happens magically – perhaps on a giant freighter).
        Players can only swap their current ship whilst in a registered storage location
            If the desired ship isn't present then the player must arrange a transfer which costs a fee and takes time based on the distance the transferred ship needs to travel to get to the current storage location
                The same restrictions and pricing as above are applied here too
            Once the transfer is complete the player is notified and is able to dock and swap their ships putting their old ship in storage at that location providing they can also pay the storage fee accumulated for the transferred ship since it went into storage (including all previous storage locations it's been at and transferred from since last flown)
            Cargo and equipment can be transferred for a fee, as with ship purchase.
    Players can buy a new ship without trading in their current one but must choose which of the two ships they would like to pilot afterwards
        The ship the player chooses not to pilot will have to be sent to any of the player's registered storage location (possibly including the same station they're at)
            If no storage location is registered then the player is forced to register one
            If a storage location is available (or has just been made available as above) it can be selected for the ship to be sent to without needing to pay a transfer fee as this is included in the price of the new ship (i.e. ensures that the player can transfer their ship despite having no money left after the purchase)


Note: It was discussed with the DDF that we would consider giving those who have named a station a voucher for free large ship storage on 'their' station. This could be a nice way to reward our backers in game.

[undercovergeek]

Also, is the Viper flyable yet? Seems like another good option between the Eagle and Cobra.

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3989751/Viper#Post3989751

same question from a guy here - he bought it and liked it but hull seems weak

[Cougar_DK]

Thanks Jarhead. I will try the combat out, but really like the trading pace even though 4 units is so little. But I have around 18k so I will make some more runs just to check out the hauler.

[undercovergeek]

Thanks Jarhead. I will try the combat out, but really like the trading pace even though 4 units is so little. But I have around 18k so I will make some more runs just to check out the hauler.

theres a few posts knocking around the interwebs about what to trade between starting zone and the next system - enough to upgrade within a few trips

[mikeck]

10-4...thanks jarhead. About time for me to fire  it up again

[Cougar_DK]

Those fighters are pretty easy to take out in the starting Sidewinder. Thanks for the tip Jarhead.

[Jarhead0331]

Those fighters are pretty easy to take out in the starting Sidewinder. Thanks for the tip Jarhead.

No problem. Good luck. The fighters are really easy to take down, yet the action is still enjoyable. I do feel challenged. I've never actually been shot down and the only times I have died have been from head on collisions at high speed. Its definitely the best way to raise quick funds.

[Toonces]

I know this has probably been covered...and a search would turn it up...but I'm going to go the lazy route.

So the beta is $75.  Is this higher than the expected retail price?  When is this expected to go to it's "normal" retail price...if it is going to change prices at release?

[Grim.Reaper]

I know this has probably been covered...and a search would turn it up...but I'm going to go the lazy route.

So the beta is $75.  Is this higher than the expected retail price?  When is this expected to go to it's "normal" retail price...if it is going to change prices at release?

Retail is $50 and you can already place pre-orders...

[Toonces]

When is he speculating on full release?

Edit: I'm trying to gauge whether the extra $25 is worth it, if you know what I mean.

[Grim.Reaper]

When is he speculating on full release?

Edit: I'm trying to gauge whether the extra $25 is worth it, if you know what I mean.

All we know is by the end of 2014.....that is all the developer's have given...if I was a betting man, some time in December.

[Jarhead0331]

When is he speculating on full release?

Edit: I'm trying to gauge whether the extra $25 is worth it, if you know what I mean.

Its worth it. Every penny. The game is f*cking awesome.

...anyway, today's important lesson...power management, who knew?

So I've got my shinny new Eagle Mk.II and I saved up enough credits to kit it up with 3 C2 BURST lasers.  The burst lasers are much more powerful than the standard pulse laser...they totally shred $hit up.  So in looking at the stats, I noticed that the power requirement for the burst lasers were nearly twice that of the pulse lasers, but since I had never really been aware of the need for power, I said, who cares? Cha-ching!

I frameshift myself back over to the Federal Distress zone and deploy my three lasers...instantly, shields go down, I start breathing through my mask and I have a warning that I'm going to deplete my oxygen in 10 minutes.  Obviously, a power problem...shoot, what do do? So I saved my game and hopped onto the official forums and read all about power management.  On the right console you have your function menu which shows the status of all your ship systems. You can prioritize the order in which they receive power, and more importantly, you can shut non-essential systems off. I shut off the cargo hatch and reduced power priority on a few systems, but I still didn't have enough power to deploy all three lasers and still have life support. Damn...

I killed another 20 bad guys just using two burst lasers (Still supper powerful) and headed back to Azeban City. I sold one of my burst lasers and traded it in for a pulse laser. Hopefully now I'll be able to fight with all three.

Is anybody operating out of any station other than Azeban City? I find Azeban City to be getting old.  Not a lot of options in terms of outfitting your ship. No missile launchers, no cannons, etc. I;ve heard talk about I Boote, but that place is really damn far away. Anything else, closer to Eranin territory?

[SirAndrewD]

Well, never mind my statement of not getting griefed around a station.  Apparently a player Commander Spindal managed to take me out while INSIDE Azeban station.  I don't quite know how he accomplished that, but that wiped out quite a bit of progress for the evening. 

[GDS_Starfury]

Edit: I'm trying to gauge whether the extra $25 is worth it, if you know what I mean.

is it going to detract from your watch budget?   O:-)

[Jarhead0331]

 >:D

Well, never mind my statement of not getting griefed around a station.  Apparently a player Commander Spindal managed to take me out while INSIDE Azeban station.  I don't quite know how he accomplished that, but that wiped out quite a bit of progress for the evening.

What would he gain by doing that? It's a crime that ultimately probably led to his destruction from the local law enforcement response and what would he gain from killing you? Unless you had a large bounty on your head...