New version of Ad Astra

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:02 am

Oh, is that what we are called playing a free game, I mean Beta testers?......LOL......

:P:P:P:P
I guess you can look at it that way.....

warsign · Post by **warsign** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:17 pm

I want to ask a question for Maarschalk. Is there track IR support somewhere in the game? Ahahahuhahahaaaha!

:P:P:P:P

[Edited on 3-10-2010 by warsign]

Knight Rider · Post by **Knight Rider** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:20 pm

Originally posted by thetiebers
Can't get it to work with Windows 7. Oh well.

I have Window's Vista and had problems getting the game to work properly. After playing around with my graphics settings, it resolved the problem and the game is working great now. That may help.

[Edited on 3-10-2010 by Knight Rider]

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:11 pm

Originally posted by Knight Rider
Originally posted by thetiebers
Can't get it to work with Windows 7. Oh well.
I have Window's Vista and had problems getting the game to work properly. After playing around with my graphics settings, it resolved the problem and the game is working great now. That may help.

[Edited on 3-10-2010 by Knight Rider]

I loaded the new version on my older XP laptop and it works fine (even got my old saves to load so I don't have to start over) so I won't mess with my Windows 7 for fear of effecting all my programs that run just fine (lol). Maybe they will come out with a Windows 7 one in the future. Thanks for the info tho.

[Edited on 3-10-2010 by thetiebers]

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 3:44 am

Originally posted by warsign
I want to ask a question for Maarschalk. Is there track IR support somewhere in the game? Ahahahuhahahaaaha! :P:P:P:P

[Edited on 3-10-2010 by warsign]

Nope, very fustrating.....keep turning my head left and right up and down as I'm used to in EL but all I see is Space in front of me and the four edges of my flat screen. Really I should not be playing this game, what can I say it is free....LOL....

:P:P:P

Ravenfeeder · Post by **Ravenfeeder** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 3:18 pm

Still giving this the odd go, haven't gotten anywhere with it yet. Tried picking up some wreckage, got beat to it. Followed the police, but they completely destroyed the craft they were attack. Hitched on to a miner, try some mining, couldn't mine anything - is there a mining tool somewhere - the tractor beam doesn't do it?

If I hadn't already been playing Renegades, and EL, I would probably have enjoyed AdAstra, but, EL is so good that it spoils all other space sims, imho.

warsign · Post by **warsign** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 3:43 pm

Originally posted by Ravenfeeder

If I hadn't already been playing Renegades, and EL, I would probably have enjoyed AdAstra, but, EL is so good that it spoils all other space sims, imho.

I am with you Raven...

Nigel_Strange · Post by **Nigel_Strange** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:08 pm

Sorry you're not getting anywhere with the game.

To mine, you need a debris collector and some weapons. You shoot the asteroid to dislodge rocks, which the collector scoops up. It's a totally different operation from the tractor/mining beam in EL. The tractor beam in AA is strictly for towing wrecks.

Nigel_Strange · Post by **Nigel_Strange** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:09 pm

AA actually has something cool for mining: an asteroid analyzer. It tells what the primary component of asteroids in the area is, so you don't have to waste your time getting iron.

TheTillinghast · Post by **TheTillinghast** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:10 pm

The game is very interesting.
Is there a way to enter a planet atmosphere more quickly ? The planets are wonderfull, but it takes too much to land on them

Knight Rider · Post by **Knight Rider** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:58 pm

This game is very interesting. It has a lot of potential. I had an opportunity to visit some of the planets. The quickest way I found to get down to the planets is to target one of the cities, it gets you there fairly quickly. There is so much to do , learn and visit, that I have to set some time aside to really enjoy it. To say, I'm overwhelmed with the vastness of this game would be an understatement. I wonder how long it would take you to visit each star system?

Ravenfeeder · Post by **Ravenfeeder** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:11 pm

Originally posted by Nigel_Strange
AA actually has something cool for mining: an asteroid analyzer. It tells what the primary component of asteroids in the area is, so you don't have to waste your time getting iron.

I've got the asteriod analyzer, still not able to mine the roids though - is there a special tool for mining?

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:32 am

Originally posted by Ravenfeeder
Still giving this the odd go, haven't gotten anywhere with it yet. Tried picking up some wreckage, got beat to it. Followed the police, but they completely destroyed the craft they were attack. Hitched on to a miner, try some mining, couldn't mine anything - is there a mining tool somewhere - the tractor beam doesn't do it?

If I hadn't already been playing Renegades, and EL, I would probably have enjoyed AdAstra, but, EL is so good that it spoils all other space sims, imho.

I had the same thing happening to me. It looks like you have to have enough free cargo hold to mine or salvage wreckage. and to salvage wreckage you have to have a bigger ship than the one your trying to salvage and it has to be part of a contract to get credit for it. For example I just got rank promotion to constable and did a seek and destroy mission and before I would not get credit for destroying a pirate or some other that has a reward on them. But if you choose a contract seek and destroy then you get credits for destroying the wanted but you have to be carefull with your weapons aim if you hit the police you will get destroyed by the police or friendly fire return....LOL....So I guess everything is based on contracts in AdAstra....but Mining I'm not sure yet, I did not see any mining contracts thou...

DocHogan · Post by **DocHogan** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 1:40 am

Originally posted by Maarschalk
Originally posted by warsign
I want to ask a question for Maarschalk. Is there track IR support somewhere in the game? Ahahahuhahahaaaha! :P:P:P:P

[Edited on 3-10-2010 by warsign]
Nope, very fustrating.....keep turning my head left and right up and down as I'm used to in EL but all I see is Space in front of me and the four edges of my flat screen. Really I should not be playing this game, what can I say it is free....LOL....:P:P:P

Not sure if this is possible with the TrackIR software, as I haven't used it, so YMMV.

With FreeTrack, I know that the software lets you configure the headtracking as key-presses, so that you can use it for games that do not implement the TrackIR interface. So if AA has keyboard shortcuts for look left/look right, etc, you would be able to bind those shortcuts within FreeTrack.

If TrackIR does *not* have this functionality, you can install and use FreeTrack with your TrackIR hardware, so that you can do this. Note that the newest release of FreeTrack (v2.1) does NOT support TrackIR hardware (NaturalPointing asked them the remove that support, which irks me), but the next most recent version (v2.0) does fully support TrackIR hardware. You can Google for the older version.

HTH. YMMV. HAND.

Ravenfeeder · Post by **Ravenfeeder** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 7:20 pm

I don't know about track IR, but, I can use the top cap, on my joystick, for looking around, same as with EL.

Anyway, should we be discussing another game on this forum??

MMaggio · Post by **MMaggio** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:52 pm

I was wondering when that came to someone's mind.
I didn't want to be the one to close the thread.

Post by **Marvin** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:27 pm

This is the General Discussion forum. As long as it's clean and respectful of our alma mater, there should be no problem. I suspect even Vice plays other games now and then. Besides, the discussion here might give him some ideas ... what with space simulations always borrowing from one another. Aren't they all offspring of Elite?

Knight Rider · Post by **Knight Rider** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:24 pm

Yep. I agree.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 12:49 am

Yes I agree this is a general discussion and it's thread is about AA. I finaly figured out a bunch of things.

I found SOL and Earth in AA, I figured out how to use the Debris collector took me 5 hours...LOL....And
how to do seek and destroy missions succesfully.

First, to use the debris collector you have to install it under the weapons menu(I was wrong in my previous post about this) to do this you have to buy the collector and install it while docked but you have to remove the correct cannon first and then you get the choice of which of the two you want to install. Once the debris collector is installed you can collect debris. At first collecting debris did not look that easy you can not just fly to it and stop in front of it like in EL. You have to fly at a certain speed close above it like your scooping it up and the collector will do the rest if you have free cargo space that is....LOL...

Now to kill and destroy a Pirate to get credits you have to be very carefull not to hit the police or navy and only make sure you hit the pirate acurately with all you got. There is a setting under tactical in your weapons menu to set your turrets to target only selected target and make sure the two check boxes to not target police and navy are checked . The police and navy and other ships are trying to get the bounty and reward for themselves so you have to try to beat the competition by delivering the destroying blow before any one else gets a chance to do so and others will try to scoop up the wreck before you get a chance to deliver the destroying blow. Just save the game before you enter in to combat... and every time you fail just reload the saved point and try again till you succeed...Some times you become a wreck your self and you will get scooped up by others with their tractor beam or you get the Game Over Screen....LOL....

:P:P:P

This game needs a getting used to, to start appreciating it....now if only I can get a look around view to work. AA does not have controls assigned for looking left, right up and down and behind. I did not try an observation camera yet, maybe that can be used.

[Edited on 3-13-2010 by Maarschalk]

Knight Rider · Post by **Knight Rider** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:22 am

I tried the observation camera and it gives you a great rear view. You can adjust the distance. Also, I happen to be cruising down to one city, and I saw high speed trains zipping through rail tubes. That was different.

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:33 am

I have my mouse wheel set to look left and right. I fly the PHANTASM with a lot of alien weapons. I would like to get an EXECUTIONER but not sure if they are for sale anywhere. They need a forum LOL

:P. To be truthful Ad Astra does not come close to Vice's work.

[Edited on 3-13-2010 by thetiebers]

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:55 pm

Originally posted by thetiebers
I have my mouse wheel set to look left and right. I fly the PHANTASM with a lot of alien weapons. I would like to get an EXECUTIONER but not sure if they are for sale anywhere. They need a forum LOL :P. To be truthful Ad Astra does not come close to Vice's work.

[Edited on 3-13-2010 by thetiebers]

Yes, you can do that with the observation camera, but it only gives you a tiny camera screen window. And I agree that AdAstra does not come close to Vice's work.

1. No Track IR support.
2. No smooth transsition from system to system, you have to wait for system data to load when jumping.
3. Manual and Strategy does not give you enough info. You have to figure a lot out on your own.
4. Not much control of your ship when docking, the docking is done by the station or city to a free docking bay.
5. No hangars for storage.
6. No bribing.
7. No trading between ships, well maybe there is when you buy a communication device, have not tried that one yet... see point #3 in regard to this and there are probably a lot more.

Now the things I like about AdAstra..

1. It is free so it is worth every free peny...LOL
2. A big Universe, more systems and planets and cities
3. You can do Rescue missions and tractor ships to Stations
4. You can do Salvage operations.
5. More choice of ships, Weapons, Equipment, commodities....etc...
6. Huge ships with more storage in their cargo hold then the biggest one in EL....
7. Variety of life on planets and Scenery......

I guess, EL is better balanced to get better and smoother performance and gameplay.

AdAstra is more of a Huge game and takes more of your time to do things and is slower in lot of things like docking planet descent, jumping from system to system....etc.....

But to be fair I have been playing EL much longer than AdAstra so some of these points might change as I explore AdAstra more......

Nigel_Strange · Post by **Nigel_Strange** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 11:30 pm

There should be a forum for it. Anyone know how to start a forum on the cheap? (By cheap, of course, I mean free.)

There are some 100,000 stars in the catalog that generated the galaxy for AA...plenty big. It's all procedurally generated, so it can do this with a relatively small HD footprint.

I do like how you can see what the craft in each system are doing. You see some mining, some trading, some pirating, so there's no ambiguity about who you can attack with impunity.

AA and EL are very different and each is unique in its own way. I won't directly compare them because they each fill different niches (appeal to different cravings).

Post by **Marvin** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:35 am

Originally posted by Knight Rider

Also, I happen to be cruising down to one city, and I saw high speed trains zipping through rail tubes.

It wasn't, by any chance, the Galaxy Express? ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Express_999

MMaggio · Post by **MMaggio** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:44 am

Hey! That sounds pretty cool!

I wouldn't mind watching that.