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

IvanDobskey said:
Just got back from my trip to Sag A, took me weeks. Was hoping to make elite for exploration, but only made 16% pioneer from trailblazer. Pulled in 130m credits.
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I know the feeling! On my own trip back in from SagA I inadvertently switched the DSS off until about halfway home when I realised it hadn't got fried in a binary star mishap but in trying to remember the key command for heatsinks I'd toggled it off. Even so the payment and rank gain was disappointing, especially as I'd taken time to close up scan quite a few stars and planets plus numerous first finds.

I'm currently on my way back in from Beagle Point (only another 50k ly to go :) ) and hoping that will be enough to get Elite in exploration. I've been out in the Black over a month and must have a ton of scan data to cash in.
 
Well the whole control setup interface, not just for the joystick, is one of the most user unfriendly ones I've ever come across. You would have thought, in a game where you can't actually pause it in the middle of combat or dying in the heat of a star, to check the forgotten key command for heatsinks (see above) all the basic functions would be mnemonically set up by default.
 
Vern1961 said:
Well the whole control setup interface, not just for the joystick, is one of the most user unfriendly ones I've ever come across. You would have thought, in a game where you can't actually pause it in the middle of combat or dying in the heat of a star, to check the forgotten key command for heatsinks (see above) all the basic functions would be mnemonically set up by default.
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This is why VoiceAttack is essential for Elite. I couldn't play the game without it fir that very reason.
 
Doggie2k said:
wooo finally and I mean finally got around to buying a thrustmaster T16000 so I should be able to get stuck in and play this game now. I've owned ED for almost two years now and only just fired it up in VR the other day using a mouse and keyboard lol
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Whats the VR like and what VR set do you have? Does the game still become boring in VR after a while or does the whole VR thing make you want to just fly around the boredom?
 
One Vision said:
Whats the VR like and what VR set do you have? Does the game still become boring in VR after a while or does the whole VR thing make you want to just fly around the boredom?
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VR really makes the game for me I have literally spent hours just flying around space stations and suns in amazement. I've tried ED just using the monitor and it doesn't feel the same but I'm only 6 hours in so I can't comment on the boredem just yet
 
FDev have announced details of ED's in game guild system. Looks good but needs tweaks, such as the cap on number of commanders which is far too low.

SRC: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/425830-SQUAD-GOALS

What is a Squadron?

A Squadron is a group of Commanders who want to band together and organise themselves in-game. This might be to play together, or to focus on certain types of gameplay such as bounty hunting, Community Goals, or perhaps rescuing Commanders who find themselves out of fuel.

The idea of Squadrons is to provide a series of features that support multiplayer organisation and gameplay. In this Focused Feedback forum, we’ll be covering the creation and management of Squadrons.

How do I create a Squadron?

Once Squadrons are introduced they will have their own full screen GUI page. When opening this without having joined a Squadron you will have the option to search for a Squadron to join or to create your own. Creating your own Squadron will involve paying a credit fee (amount to be decided) and then setting the following values.

Squadron name: This has to be a unique name that cannot be changed once the Squadron is created.
Squadron ID: A short ID or tag.
Language: The primary language the Squadron will communicate in.
Attitude: Choose from a pre-set list of attitudes. The list is currently – Relaxed, Family, and Devoted.
Tags: Each Squadron will be able to select a few tags from a wider list. This list includes elements such as “PvP”, “Bounty Hunting” and timezones such as “UTC+3”.
Superpower: Choose one of the following: Empire, Federation, Alliance or Independent.

Our list of tags is a work in progress, what tags would you be keen to see?

Once all of these values have been set and the Commander is happy, the credit fee is paid and the Squadron is created. The Commander who creates the Squadron will be automatically assigned as the Squadron leader.

How do I find/join a Squadron?

As I mentioned previously, if a Commander accesses the Squadron page and is not currently part of Squadron, they will have the option to search for one to join. Using the same fields as listed above the Commander can search by whatever is important to them and will receive a list of Squadrons based on that criteria.

The Commander will be able to look a set of Squadron statistics and use this to decide which Squadron they want to apply to.

Once the Commander finds a Squadron they like, they can send an application. This application will include a small amount of text that, by default, will include some information on the Commander (highest Elite rank, for example) but can also be edited if required.

The Squadron Leader (and Officers) will be able to see a list of all Commander applicants and, at this point, can send the applicants an invite. Both the invitee and inviter must be online at the same time for the invitation to be sent and accepted. This option to invite will also be available on other areas of the HUD where Commanders can select other Commanders, for example a Commander’s friend list.

We are currently considering capping Squadron membership at 250 Commanders, but we’re interested to hear your feedback on the matter.

Can I leave a Squadron?

Commanders can leave a Squadron at any time. If a leader chooses to leave a Squadron then they must pass the leadership mantle onto another Commander. If all members leave a Squadron then it will be disbanded and any assets the Squadron holds will also be lost.

The only time the leader can leave and not pass on the mantle of leader is when they are the last member to leave (and the Squadron is disbanded).

The Squadron hierarchy and privileges.

You may have noticed above that I have referred to both the Squadron Leader and Officers.

There are three classes of Squadron member and these are:

Leader: The Squadron Leader has all privileges and can set which privileges officers have.
Officer: The Officers have whatever privileges the leader has set for them.
Pilot: This is the standard level, and the majority of Squadron members will be pilots. They have whatever privileges the leader has set for them.

What privileges can the leader set?

The Squadron leader can set the following privileges:

  • Officers can invite Commanders into the Squadron (yes/no) (greyed out if new members cannot join)
  • Officers can kick Pilots from the Squadron (yes/no)
  • Officers can plot a jump for a Fleet Carrier (yes/no)
  • Officers can select purchase upgrades for a Fleet Carrier (yes/no)
  • Officers can set the ‘Message of the Day’ (yes/no)

This is the current list of privileges but we expect to add more as development progresses and we discover the need for them!

Squadron communication

One of the most important features that Squadrons adds is the ability for groups of Commanders to communicate with each other. Squadron facilitates this with the following features:

Group Comms – A new feature that will be used by Squadrons is group comms, this will add channels and other functionality to the chat panel. When a Squadron is created, the Squadron channel and the Squadron officer channel (which is only available to Officers and the Leader) are automatically created and any Squadron members are added to the relevant channels. This allows Squadron members to communicate regardless of where they are in the galaxy.

The Feed – The Squadron overview page (which becomes available once a Commander joins a Squadron) will have a list of automated posts that are added to a feed. This feed will provide essential feedback on the Squadron, the fleet carrier and their activities. For example when a player joins the Squadron a message will automatically be added to the feed. The feed is limited to a certain amount of posts (amount TBD). Those members with the correct privileges will also be able to add a message of the day to the feed, the latest message will always remain stickied to the top of the feed. This provides a place for Officers to provides orders for the rest of the Squadron.

We are investigating the possibility of an external Squadrons website. We would love to hear what functionality you would like to see on a Squadrons website.

The Fleet Carrier

As you might have noticed above, it will be possible for Squadrons to possess a Fleet Carrier. We will be devoting an entire Focused Feedback thread to Squadron Fleet Carriers, so please refrain from discussing it at this time.

Squadrons and factions

We are aware that some groups will want to align their Squadron with a faction. We are currently looking at how we can make this work and allow Squadrons to ‘fly the flag’ of a faction. This is something we will be discussing during a latter Focused Feedback thread, so please avoid discussing this for now.
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Looks like another "great opportunity", probably to be squandered by FD.

Here's a few thoughts:
- No mention of how to acquire the carrier, but you can bet your life that it'll include a LOT of grind
- No mention of what Squadrons will actually get to do. Will there be new missions?
- Can the carrier move to conduct operations, or will it be like a capital ship, e.g. seemingly just jump to a specific point in space, then sit there
- The netcode barely worked for wings. How's this really going to work for Squadrons? Imagine a Squadron turn up with 50 ships and decide to have a scrap with a similar sized enemy. Do we have any confidence that it will actually work?

Can't FD stop buggering about with "potentially" good ideas and sort out the basics, which is what they claimed 3 was all about.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
Looks like another "great opportunity", probably to be squandered by FD.
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I think they may get this right you know. Elite: Dangerous now, finally, has a new Executive Producer, Adam Woods, who replaces Michael Brookes (who allegedly viewed ED as primarily a single player game in a shared world). Brookes moved to pastures new in June 17 so the project has kind of been rudderless since then.

Mr_Sukebe said:
- No mention of how to acquire the carrier, but you can bet your life that it'll include a LOT of grind
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They are going to do a specific focused feedback on that. Rumour is you'll need a minimum number of Commanders in a squadron & it'll cost 10B CR (but it can be a group purchase).

Mr_Sukebe said:
- No mention of what Squadrons will actually get to do. Will there be new missions?
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There will be new missions as part of Beyond but they won't be specifically for Squadrons. Squadrons are the guild system, Wings are the mission bit if that makes sense.

Mr_Sukebe said:
- Can the carrier move to conduct operations, or will it be like a capital ship, e.g. seemingly just jump to a specific point in space, then sit there
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If it has fuel it is suggested you can move it like a normal ship - though if so I suspect very slowly! We'll probably learn about specifically how it moves in its focused feedback but they have said it won't be like a Mega-ship & on the server tick.

Mr_Sukebe said:
- The netcode barely worked for wings. How's this really going to work for Squadrons?
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Wings aren't changing so even though they are looking at the netcode you won't be able to have more commanders in a Wing or Instance than you can now.

Mr_Sukebe said:
Can't FD stop buggering about with "potentially" good ideas and sort out the basics, which is what they claimed 3 was all about.
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I sense they are trying to do 2 things; shift ED from the original design implementation of a single player game in a shared curated galaxy to something more along the lines of a sandbox MMO whilst at the same time improving/correcting the mistakes of the previous regime. The most obvious example is Engineering which is now significantly better with the RNG largely removed. If this is the case, as it seems, then it isn't easy as they don't have a blank sheet and have to change something that already exists.
 
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