Elite: Game talk

Caydran
13 Dec 2017, 6:05pm
Phelbore
Apex Firethorn
CalteruThinking about taking out this Anaconda build for deep-space exploring in the direction of galactic center. Opinions?




Alright, so I think there is a fair amount of work that can be done to this build. You're packing a lot of stuff you don't need especially for deep space exploration. While you certainly can take that build to the core, you're only weighing yourself down. Chances are, you won't ever need 75% of the stuff in your current build.

Try something closer to this.



Why all those HS launchers? Bring one or two and materials to synth them. Of course, you only get those materials in the bubble, but it's just like any trip, you stock up before you leave.


I don't fully agree on not needing 75% of the junk you bring along for exploration. Sure, you can strip a ship to the core for max distance, and a few things might be unneeded along the way, but better to have them and not need them, than to have to do without, and then realizing what you really needed.

I always include a HS and synthesize what I need, if needed, but not to have one for such a long journey may increase your chances of not coming back. Along with this, as to the range you can get, or need to achieve, to carry along the extra stuff you need, like AFM's, at least two, counterbalancing this with lighter and less capable shields and engineering them for better output. Of course, you want an A class FSD, engineered to level five. As you add things like an SRV (who would go without one) and if you get the lightest one, I think it's 2H, then you can afford to take one. I take two, and counter this with no guns or lasers. You don't need that weight. Scanners can be engineered for lighter weight and greater distance without much hit on distance per jump. Using neutron stars and jumponium materials, you can get some of your jump range compensated for on the overall weight and round trip time and distance.

If you just want jump range records or distance traveled, yes, you can strip your ship to the core, but what a boring trip that is.

It's more of choosing the right ship for the job with a good set of tweaks. Good Engineering RNG rolls on the right sized equipment will make your ship a pleasure to fly, explore with and survive the journey.

Be well.
Scubadog
14 Dec 2017, 6:19pm
The way I see it, exploration can take on a couple of general choices. One would be focused on collecting as much cartography as possible for credits. The other would be to see/experience new things (with credits being slightly secondary). If you're truly focusing on scaling up to Elite and making the credits, then I should think jump range is much less important. Hitting as many systems with high-payoff bodies would be preferable. In contrast, if you're looking for uniqueness, jump range would be more important because you'd be looking to get somewhere as quickly as possible. Also, if you're looking out at the fringes, where stars are much more sparse, that jump range is going to mean the difference between running out of fuel or not.
James Hussar
14 Dec 2017, 9:29pm
Rebecca Hail
In short: No, I don't think it's FDev holding down the AI on purpose to cater to the community, because a stronger AI is what a significant part of the community wants. It just has to stay within the reasonable range of price and performance for FDev as they don't do this for charity.


I don't know, but suspect, that tuning the ED AI for playability is a major part of what FD tweak on a regular basis. Short of them explaining, it's hard to know.

I agree that ED has a lot more volatility to it than chess - it's not turn-based and there are many more variables that can change moment to moment. BUT, we're really talking about two very different kinds of problem. On the one hand is the BGS, which is strategic and purely a numbers game - the rules are simple and even though the galaxy is large, the click by click evolution of it is fairly straightforward. More like Conway's "Life" than chess, but in 3d and with player behavior tweaking the conditions of the world between clicks. This doesn't seem all that hard, but it is probably very bloated depending on how they store the state of the world.

The other hand is what we've been discussing - the flight sim AI. This is a pretty well established thing, and without the challenges of robotics in the real world, it's not that hard. Elite goes back a long way and there are many other flight sims with opposing AI that has been doing a decent job of opposing the player without being brain-dead or super-human. You're absolutely right that the challenge of NPC AI being able to effectively simulate humans - not to be superior to humans - and this is my entire point. The AI to beat a human is much easier to implement than one who can "put up a good fight". For an AI to have human-like reaction times and accuracy, who can "get a lucky shot" or "miss" credibly is hard - and this is what I mean when I say FD has their AI hamstrung/muzzled. So the ability of the AI isn't limited by computing power/cost, the credibility of it is the limiting factor. AND the AI is not so computationally intensive that it is the bottleneck - the graphics are the limitation. We lose frame rate and gain fan RPMs when there are too many sprites to render, but not when facing off against an "elite" AI or multiple enemy NPCs regardless of their "level".

NB, FD put out a great video recently that talks about how the Thargon swarms are animated, and this feeds into the capabilities of the AI and the tradeoffs FD make around their flight models. They put way more effort into making the swarm look pretty so the player has a fun experience, rather than making that swarm a more "credible" threat to the player.
Calteru
15 Dec 2017, 3:55pm
Wonder if we'll ever get to leave this galaxy and see a digital rendition of Andromeda or the Triangulum.
Van R Flyheight
15 Dec 2017, 4:06pm
Try flying through some Black holes. I wouldn't put it past Frontier to have programmed a whole galaxy and left it there as a surprise.
Phelbore
15 Dec 2017, 4:25pm
Your avatar is perfect for that post.
James Hussar
15 Dec 2017, 4:55pm
Van R FlyheightTry flying through some Black holes. I wouldn't put it past Frontier to have programmed a whole galaxy and left it there as a surprise.


I can see the Community Goal now - find the ONE black hole in the galaxy that leads to Andromeda, winner gets an invitation to an Engineer IN Andromeda who for the low cost of 1Billion tonnes of low-temperature diamonds will give you a 0.001% per day chance of making your hull plating Thargoid-proof.
Van R Flyheight
15 Dec 2017, 5:03pm
I'll take them odds
SirGambler
15 Dec 2017, 8:26pm
I Decatur X
15 Dec 2017, 11:42pm
Well that went well, first thargoid kill and i stupidly stay in the caustic cloud killing my cutter, 45mill POOF gone
Scubadog
16 Dec 2017, 11:25pm
Well, there it is. The official announcement of the Lakon Type-10 Defender. Apparently it will start showing up next week. Some enticing descriptions of its capability, too.
Van R Flyheight
17 Dec 2017, 8:53am
StalkerMac
17 Dec 2017, 12:14pm
Hi

I have just arrived in the Baker System and have noted there are 17 Checkpoints. Please will someone tell me what they are for in that are they important and do I need to enter and scan all the nav points in them?

Your assistance is greatly appreciated

CMDR
StalkerMac
Jack Dekerdt
17 Dec 2017, 1:29pm
Van R FlyheightJust putting this out here but who here would love Naval Uniforms as a commander customization option?

If you agree then let Frontier know here: Naval Uniforms commander customization


Too funny! Ithought about that last flight when I made Viscount... Got this measly 6-7 word notice about promotion. I thought to myself, it would be nice if we had Naval uniforms with rank, medials, etc, heck there's an EASY enough cash grab for FD right there!

Last edit: 17 Dec 2017, 1:41pm
Calteru
17 Dec 2017, 4:01pm
StalkerMacHi

I have just arrived in the Baker System and have noted there are 17 Checkpoints. Please will someone tell me what they are for in that are they important and do I need to enter and scan all the nav points in them?

Your assistance is greatly appreciated

CMDR
StalkerMac


Nah, those are just instances that pop up in War/Civil War systems. They're not really important for anything other than the BGS. So if you're working the background simulator and the minor faction you're choosing to help at the time goes to war or something then I guess they'd be important, but not for anything else. I'm not even sure they have nav points to scan. I never saw any but then again I was there to fight so I wasn't looking for any.

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