*** The Official Elite: Dangerous Thread ***

[Bubo]

What are you planning to do next?

At the moment I am unlocking the engineers, some are ok for effectively hiding the grind, but some are pretty just out and out grind central, basically any that require you to scan ships for data, or search for missions for specific rewards. This is just the unlocking part, not the additional grind for the stuff for the actual upgrades which I am willing to accept as the price you have to pay to a certain extent. I am just finding the basic unlocking process to be a basic time sink for some engineers, rather that any feeling of being "part of the game" so to speak. To be fair most of the Reddit grind moaning threads are pretty much all to do with Engineer related stuff.

I drive around a lot too; great fun which will likely only get better with the Q4 update. FDev are currently looking for a Vehicle & Weapons concept artist for ED if you want to draw some conclusions from that about what may be coming to the game in the near future.

I would actually be ever so slightly wary of them introducing new weapons and SRV vehicles to be honest. I enjoy it at the moment because there is no grind associated with actually owning and running an SRV, since everyone gets the same one. I like the simplicity, you just get in your SRV and go, the focus and hence enjoyment is really all about the exploration. But if they add more stuff to SRV's, and the probable grind to unlock it, then for me it would "feel" as though I would have to start comprising or having to make choices, e.g. if you have to start outfitting it for specific tasks, like it is with ships. It all depends on what they have planned I guess. My long term wish would be for to add more and more to the environment on planets, leading up to the eventual atmospheric landing and planets with flora and oceans etc, which I believe is some years off.

 

[ttaskmaster]

But if they add more stuff to SRV's, and the probable grind to unlock it, then for me it would "feel" as though I would have to start comprising or having to make choices,

The whole game is built around risk vs reward, though and usually that means a compromise.

e.g. if you have to start outfitting it for specific tasks, like it is with ships. It all depends on what they have planned I guess. My long term wish would be for to add more and more to the environment on planets, leading up to the eventual atmospheric landing and planets with flora and oceans etc, which I believe is some years off.

But still, the SRV would be of no use on a planet with loads of oceans, would it?
Or if you were partaking in a planetary assault and needed something akin to a tank, a piddly little SRV wouldn't last long.
The more you add in, the more challenges to a standard vehicle and the more vehicle variants you'd need to counter those difficulties.

 

[Bubo]

The whole game is built around risk vs reward, though and usually that means a compromise.

What I trying to say is that at the moment with SRV's and general planet based activities there is no need to fine tune an SRV build for specific activities, regardless of the risk associated with whatever to task is, one size fits all. It is not currently not the same type of compromise you have to consider for ships. If they start adding, for example, mining specific weapons, or base assault specific weapons, or specific scanners etc, then you may end up locking yourself out of some planet tasks, or at least making some task a hassle if you don't set the SRV up specifically. God forbid if you have to go back to an orbital to change your SRV outfit for instance. I personally like not having to excessively phaff about with aspects of planet exploration as it is currently. As I say it is only a slight worry, it depends on what they have up their sleeves, I just hope they don't bugger it up for the simple folk like me.

 

[ttaskmaster]

I personally like not having to excessively phaff about with aspects of planet exploration as it is currently. As I say it is only a slight worry, it depends on what they have up their sleeves, I just hope they don't bugger it up for the simple folk like me.

It was faffed and FUBARed the moment they brought in Engineers...

 

[Vern1961]

Also apparently if you tank it (the SRV that is), no rebuy screen you just teleport back to your ship. No more SRV of course - unless you're carrying more than one - until you put in at a port stocking them, but given the severe penalties for dying in space... almost like a "proper" SP save mechanism .

 

[PinkFloyd]

Well just had moment that's put me off the game a bit. Few hours of bounty hunting in my vulture, racked up a good few million in bounties. Police cobra (or something small) goes in front of me whilst firing, he then goes red and starts firing on me. Suddenly all police decide to shoot me instead of the pirate everyone was firing at including an Anaconda, i manage to gtfo into supercruise with 50% hull and head to a station. Request docking, accepted, go through the letter box, 100m from the docking port when i get scanned, get fines for tresspassing and so on so try and get out of the station only to find 10s of police have turned up and melt me. Lost a few hours of bounties for scraping the shields of a guy who flies in front of me? fml...

 

[NeoWave]

Lost a few hours of bounties for scraping the shields of a guy who flies in front of me? fml...

That changes in Beyond. It will only a fine-able offense & the accidental friendly fire threshold is being raised.

 

[Haggisman]

That changes in Beyond. It will only a fine-able offense & the accidental friendly fire threshold is being raised.

Does that include if the person you hit dies? Got a 4k bounty and wanted status in my favourite res site the other night because the miner i was trying to defend flew across my beam laser and then got killed by the pirate I was shooting >_<

 

[ttaskmaster]

Police cobra (or something small) goes in front of me whilst firing, he then goes red and starts firing on me.

That's always been a 'thing' in such games.
Of course the cops don't like it when you shoot them. They allow a damage limit, but high powered weapons can often break that limit in just one or two shots, especially things like Vultures that carry massively powerful kit.

With great power comes great responsibility... and when one is booming and zooming with greatly powerful energy weapons fitted to one's spaceship, one is expected to bloody well watch what one is shooting at!!
I mean, seriously, do you think you own the Trade Lanes, or something?
What are you flying, a BMW?
Do you even *look* at your scanner display?

If you're Wanted in a system and you go to dock at that system-owner's own station, then yeah it's tresspassing.
Pay the fines off before you leave, else people will come looking to collect... and if it's the cops that Want you, definitely pay up!!

 

[PinkFloyd]

I'm fine with the idea of Police being annoyed by me shooting at them, I have no issues with paying a fine. It's just the mechanics around how it all worked out which felt massively broken.

All police suddenly reverting to shooting me with my 400cr bounty instead of the Anaconda (or whatever) with it's 200,000cr bounty... Really?!
Station allowing me to dock, before then suddenly changing it's mind as I'm docking... Really annoying!

How do I pay the fines before leaving? I thought I can only pay fines whilst docked at a station? From where I am the mechanics just appear to mean there is nothing you can do once you get a bounty on yourself from the police, so I'm pretty confident I'm missing something I just want to know how to avoid it happening again.

 

[ttaskmaster]

I'm fine with the idea of Police being annoyed by me shooting at them, I have no issues with paying a fine. It's just the mechanics around how it all worked out which felt massively broken.

Just a series of individual circumstances in the wrong combination, really.
I once lost dozens of millions due to a simple random assembly of an NPC wing, which meant they were able to interdict and destroy me in seconds. I had about 5,000 Cr at the end of it all, which basically meant starting again. That one really hurt!!!

All police suddenly reverting to shooting me with my 400cr bounty instead of the Anaconda (or whatever) with it's 200,000cr bounty... Really?!

How near-dead was the Anaconda?

Station allowing me to dock, before then suddenly changing it's mind as I'm docking... Really annoying!

Most scan you on approach anyway, which is why Smuggling is usually done at high speed. If you're in any way dodgy, the worst moment is just before you reach the letterbox.
You specifically mentioned Tresspassing, though - This usually means you were trying to dock at, or spent too long blocking, a bay which wasn't the one you were assigned. That, or blocking the letterbox itself.
That is an outright crime and usually attracts a lethal response from the station. They even say so on the voice announcements

How do I pay the fines before leaving? I thought I can only pay fines whilst docked at a station?

Rephrase - Pay the fines before undocking.
There's an option in the Contacts section that lets you pay off fines, and last I checked there were some that let you pay off Bounties, including any dormant ones.

From where I am the mechanics just appear to mean there is nothing you can do once you get a bounty on yourself from the police, so I'm pretty confident I'm missing something I just want to know how to avoid it happening again.

I can't access the FD forums form here, but there's a section on there that explains all about the justice mechanics.

 

[Vern1961]

In other games you just reload your last save and don't lose all your accumulated achievements since you were last docked.

I've resigned myself to the Rebuy scenario if I bite the big one but the mechanic is very harsh if you've been undocked for an extended period - as I am currently, doing exploration - and one stupid mistake can cost you days or even weeks of work. There needs to be a better system to get round this. I'm positively dreading when I emerge from The Black to land at a station - even with auto dock. If I was to get killed or gank myself on the letterbox, me and the game would probably part company at that point!

 

[PinkFloyd]

Can't recall how dead the Anaconda might have been, guess it's possible it got killed around the time everyone switched to me. Know way of knowing now!

As for the station, I'd requested docking and been given a landing port. I think I got scanned after that, then my docking right was removed and I got the tresspassing prompt. I definitely wasn't loitering around, was coming in pretty hot!
Regarding paying fines - yep I'm familiar with the menu and have done it before. I just got confused by thinking you could do it in space

I'll go re-read the justice mechanics. Maybe in hindsight I'd have been better off jumping elsewhere...

 

[ttaskmaster]

one stupid mistake can cost you days or even weeks of work. There needs to be a better system to get round this.

There already is - It's called your own personal assessment of Risk vs Reward.
If that is too much risk for you, don't fly out for weeks on end. Kinda like taking a long trip and not packing a Fuel Scoop... might be alright, but one single mistake and you jump into a system you don't have the fuel to escape from. No different to that "Just one more bounty kill" mistake before you leave the RES, really.

Can't recall how dead the Anaconda might have been, guess it's possible it got killed around the time everyone switched to me.

That's generally how it goes. That and, being a smaller ship, it wouldn't take many cops hitting you as they flay past on their way to the 'Conda.

As for the station, I'd requested docking and been given a landing port. I think I got scanned after that, then my docking right was removed and I got the tresspassing prompt.

I do know the crime mechanics have changed a bit since I last broke any laws. ISTR something being added about docking in the base of the same faction that Wants you... But I generally don't get in trouble, so I've no definite idea.

Maybe in hindsight I'd have been better off jumping elsewhere...

If you have a fine, just pay it.
If you have an actual bounty on you, then yeah - Usually small ones expire after just a few minutes in a neighbouring system and then you can get them paid off in the usual fashion.

 

[Vern1961]

There already is - It's called your own personal assessment of Risk vs Reward.
If that is too much risk for you, don't fly out for weeks on end. Kinda like taking a long trip and not packing a Fuel Scoop... might be alright, but one single mistake and you jump into a system you don't have the fuel to escape from. No different to that "Just one more bounty kill" mistake before you leave the RES, really.

True enough, but the loss of days or weeks of gameplay vs. maybe half an hour trading or fighting is massively disproportionate. There's actually a discussion on this issue currently at FDev in the Suggestions forum. One sensible suggestion would be some means of offloading a canister with your data when landed on a planet. This might require a module in your ship and an expensive price for each canister. It would also negate the "SuicideWinder" as you would still need to travel out to where you left the canister in order to retrieve it. No other game I'm aware of imposes such a punitive hit to game progress.

 

[Haggisman]

There already is - It's called your own personal assessment of Risk vs Reward.
If that is too much risk for you, don't fly out for weeks on end. Kinda like taking a long trip and not packing a Fuel Scoop... might be alright, but one single mistake and you jump into a system you don't have the fuel to escape from. No different to that "Just one more bounty kill" mistake before you leave the RES, really.


That's generally how it goes. That and, being a smaller ship, it wouldn't take many cops hitting you as they flay past on their way to the 'Conda.


I do know the crime mechanics have changed a bit since I last broke any laws. ISTR something being added about docking in the base of the same faction that Wants you... But I generally don't get in trouble, so I've no definite idea.


If you have a fine, just pay it.
If you have an actual bounty on you, then yeah - Usually small ones expire after just a few minutes in a neighbouring system and then you can get them paid off in the usual fashion.

You can dock at a station even if you're wanted, as long as you don't get scanned on the way in (I did this the other night after aforementioned incident). Doesn't seem like you can pay off bounties though, until they become fines

 

[Somerled]

S'cuse me for butting in here

I've been playing since beta days and have just been helping a m8 play this over that last few weeks - spending a lot of time at busy hazres sites where accidentaly shooting the cops is part of the learning process.
Most people don't seem to realise that if you look in the navigation window (left pane), Transactions Tab, you'll find info on the bounty on your head with a timer on how long before it turns into a fine (typically 8 minutes) and what to do to remove the "Wanted" tag. Usually it says "On H-Jump"

If one of us gets "Wanted" the guilty pilot immediately jumps to a nearby system, waits out the timer and jumps back to pay the fine next time when handing in bounties.
If you do have to land in a station when Wanted, then do it at full tilt and hammer on the anchors when going through the slot. Judging where the slot is and your position to it when you come out of supercruise is part of the skill thats worth learning.
Pays dividends when smuggling.

Oh, same goes for leaving a station when wanted. Just ignore any warnings about speeding.

 

[PinkFloyd]

That wanted timer bit was what i was missing. At least I know what to do next time!
In other news, bought horizons last night since it was on offer. Done the initial tasks to engineer my fsd for more range on my dbx, can already see what a horrific grind this would be with no guides!

 

[wolfie138]

Well just had moment that's put me off the game a bit. Few hours of bounty hunting in my vulture, racked up a good few million in bounties. Police cobra (or something small) goes in front of me whilst firing, he then goes red and starts firing on me. Suddenly all police decide to shoot me instead of the pirate everyone was firing at including an Anaconda, i manage to gtfo into supercruise with 50% hull and head to a station. Request docking, accepted, go through the letter box, 100m from the docking port when i get scanned, get fines for tresspassing and so on so try and get out of the station only to find 10s of police have turned up and melt me. Lost a few hours of bounties for scraping the shields of a guy who flies in front of me? fml...

all this clever future tech and they still haven't invented an IFF system to shut the weapons off if a non-hostile is under the crosshairs. you'd think that would be a fairly doable/useful weapons system upgrade.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Haha yeh, should be a thing. Would be really useful with some weaponry! Running a beam laser and an autocannon on the Vulture right now and it's obviously easy to not miss with the laser but with the autocannon's lead more attention is required. Can only imagine the chaos that would arrise if using the shotgun like weapon!