Yet more n00b questions

[Hendar23]

I read somewhere that the further you go from Sapphire, the more advanced the tech gets, but I can't find anything past level 4. What gives? I have loads of money but nothing to buy.

I'm bored of fighting identical fighters. Once you figured out how to beat one, you can chew up hundreds no problem. What else can I do? I hear exploring is fun, but where is all the cool stuff? How do I find it? Everywhere I go I just find (functionally) identical planets and stations selling basically the same stuff.

Any tips helpful community?

[Accountant]

but I can't find anything past level 4. What gives? I have loads of money but nothing to buy.

Not everything can be found on the beaten track. Some systems have planets that are not well known. Here is a hint: Press F3 to bring up the inventory screen, click News Console, and then click System Info (or something like that). If the system information indicates rumors about a secret weapons facility or an unknown planet, pay attention to them. They could be true Some of the best stuff in the game can be found at those secret locations. Think of the cool stuff in EL like trying to buy an RPG or a tank in the real world. You can't pick one up at your local mall; you must look around in out-of-the-way places for it.

Also, try completing the beacon quests if you have not already. The areas you must traverse, particularly in the Renegades quest, could be worth your while and lead you to new locations. You can also explore deep space, as there are undiscovered systems out there (so I've heard. I've not found any yet). In short, once you get a hang of the main systems, you will need to get off the beaten path to find the cool stuff. The stuff off the beaten path is what can really make Legends shine.

Finally, if you are bored of fighting identical fighters, join MP! No human pilot is identical so you will have a blast (maybe literally) with the challenge of fighting a real human pilot. If you want to stay with SP for now, try completing 4 or 5 waypoint missions in the warzones. Or maybe take a 4-5 waypoint mission in a place like Aries and challenge yourself to not rearm or repair during the mission. Maybe complete contracts using only guns. There are ways to make combat more challenging.

-Accountant

[Maarschalk]

Yep, find the hidden and lost and not remmembered places, explore and you'll be rewarded...

[warsign]

Beacon Quest!

[Hendar23]

Originally posted by Accountant

but I can't find anything past level 4. What gives? I have loads of money but nothing to buy.

Not everything can be found on the beaten track. Some systems have planets that are not well known. Here is a hint: Press F3 to bring up the inventory screen, click News Console, and then click System Info (or something like that). If the system information indicates rumors about a secret weapons facility or an unknown planet, pay attention to them. They could be true Some of the best stuff in the game can be found at those secret locations. Think of the cool stuff in EL like trying to buy an RPG or a tank in the real world. You can't pick one up at your local mall; you must look around in out-of-the-way places for it.

Also, try completing the beacon quests if you have not already. The areas you must traverse, particularly in the Renegades quest, could be worth your while and lead you to new locations. You can also explore deep space, as there are undiscovered systems out there (so I've heard. I've not found any yet). In short, once you get a hang of the main systems, you will need to get off the beaten path to find the cool stuff. The stuff off the beaten path is what can really make Legends shine.

Finally, if you are bored of fighting identical fighters, join MP! No human pilot is identical so you will have a blast (maybe literally) with the challenge of fighting a real human pilot. If you want to stay with SP for now, try completing 4 or 5 waypoint missions in the warzones. Or maybe take a 4-5 waypoint mission in a place like Aries and challenge yourself to not rearm or repair during the mission. Maybe complete contracts using only guns. There are ways to make combat more challenging.

-Accountant

Thanks. I've never used missiles, they cost money. How do you find hidden planet and such? I assume you have to fly close to them, but what is your radar range? I'm not just gonna jump around a system at random.

Also, how the heck do you hide a planet?!

The first beacon quest told me to just fly off in one direction from a city. Is there a way to see if you are staying on one axis on the HUD? Or do you just have to open the map every ten seconds to make sure you're flying straight.

I'm starting to get the impression this is one of those games you are not supposed to play SP....

[Sinbad]

To find the really cool stuff you have to be serious about doing deep space exploration. Be prepared for some long hours flying at least 80-100 sectors out in any direction from the center of a system. It can get a bit tedious sometimes but in MP you can pass the time chatting. And there's no feeling like it when you suddenly see a blip on the radar after hours of lonely, empty space!

To find the hidden systems you have to do a systematic search pattern. I fly out in one direction 100 sectors, then go up 15 sectors, then back another 100 sectors, etc. You have to be patient. Most systems show up on your nav map, so keep your eye on it as you make your jumps. A few systems seem to be cloaked and require a skilled science officer to locate.

Even better is to get chatting to a talkative experienced pilot who may give you some pointers.

[Edited on 25-3-10 by MCCON]

[Accountant]

How do you find hidden planet and such? I assume you have to fly close to them, but what is your radar range? I'm not just gonna jump around a system at random.

Hidden planets will show up in the Navigation map. You just have to fly within 8 sectors of them to see them.

Also, how the heck do you hide a planet?!

Uh, I guess that was bad wording on my part. The planets aren't really hidden, they just aren't known. So, they are there for anyone to find, but you have to look for them.

The first beacon quest told me to just fly off in one direction from a city. Is there a way to see if you are staying on one axis on the HUD? Or do you just have to open the map every ten seconds to make sure you're flying straight.

Unfortunately, because the HUD resets to the planet atmosphere, it is a bit onerous to keep in one axis relative to the rest of space. That beacon may require some tedious effort to find. They are not all that difficult to find...at least not in that manner.

I'm starting to get the impression this is one of those games you are not supposed to play SP....

I wouldn't say that. You can get a lot of assistance on MP, but I spent 2-3 months playing SP (maybe longer) before I ever ventured on MP. And in that time I completed the Renegade beacon quest (though with some help by searching on the forums). Even now I still often play SP and enjoy it just as much as MP. You just have to find your niche, that one thing you really enjoy doing. Keep exploring the possibilities of EL and you may find that one thing you really enjoy both in SP and MP.

-Accountant

[MMaggio]

Most players don't spend enough time in Sapphire. They are too eager to "kill something" and admittedly, mining is boring.
But the truth is, Sapphire offers a sample of just about everything you can do and find in other systems. There are hidden nebulas, hidden stations, caves, jumpgates, wormholes, docking with a carrier, hidden crates, etc. Everything you might do in another system. And all w/o worrying about a sudden attack.
If you feel frustrated, try returning to Sapphire and give it a good "going over" and you will learn how easy it is to set up search patterns and get rewarded. Never underestimate what you might find in Nebulas or what you think is "deep space".
Good Hunting...

[Maarschalk]

To find the first beacon on the planet surface you fly up or down towards the equator of the planet till your coordinate system gives you the right coordinate you are suppose to fly at. Once you reach that point fly around the planet keeping the given coordinate. If I'm not mistaken it is the Y coordinate you need to keep at its setting and on planets the y axis points to the North pole and z is your elevation or height from the planets surface so you fly around the planet along the x axis keepintg your height and y coordinate steady and your x coordinate should be the only one changing and you should be able to hit the beacon some where on the darkside of the planet I think .....it has been a long time ago for me...

[Edited on 3-25-2010 by Maarschalk]

[Marvin]

Originally posted by Hendar23

Is there a way to see if you are staying on one axis on the HUD? Or do you just have to open the map every ten seconds to make sure you're flying straight.

I always thought of "staying on one axis" as flying so that the "one axis" coordinate changed while the other coordinates remained the same. For me, the easiest method of doing that is to open the navigation map and enter a waypoint along that "one axis" only ... then keep that waypoint vertically in line with my crosshairs.

[Hendar23]

Originally posted by Marvin

Originally posted by Hendar23

Is there a way to see if you are staying on one axis on the HUD? Or do you just have to open the map every ten seconds to make sure you're flying straight.

I always thought of "staying on one axis" as flying so that the "one axis" coordinate changed while the other coordinates remained the same. For me, the easiest method of doing that is to open the navigation map and enter a waypoint along that "one axis" only ... then keep that waypoint vertically in line with my crosshairs.

Genius! Thanks.

Originally posted by AccountantUh, I guess that was bad wording on my part. The planets aren't really hidden, they just aren't known. So, they are there for anyone to find, but you have to look for them.

Lol I was trying to be funny. I mean, we spotted Eris from Earth. Heck, we are now finding planets in other solar systems. Here and now. In the 21st century. From Earth (or near Earth orbit ) You'd think by the time Fulcrum drives get invented a system would be mapped down to a pebble before people even got there.

One of the things that really annoyed me about the X games was when a massive space station I can clearly see with my naked eye is not yet within my radar range. My game (horribly early Alpha) has a radar that works on a combination of the targets mass and heat signature, so that larger/hotter objects can be see from further away than smaller objects and will initial appear as a radar 'trace' so you don't know exactly what you are dealing with until you get closer. Instead of an arbitrary range where objects suddenly pop up in perfect detail. It's fun.

Anyhoo, I digress. Thanks for all the tips guys. The Evochron community is very helpful. I have a warm fuzzy feeling.

[Marvin]

Originally posted by Hendar23

My game (horribly early Alpha) has a radar that works on a combination of the targets mass and heat signature, so that larger/hotter objects can be see from further away than smaller objects....

That would work with stars, too ... assuming you want to place your stars in their actual locatons in the galaxy (so that you see, from Earth, the constellations as they really look from Earth ... and also as they would actually appear if you traveled across the galaxy). Otherwise, your sky would look great from Earth ... but, as you move further away, the more the stars would clump together when looking back toward where you started.

[Hendar23]

Originally posted by Marvin

Originally posted by Hendar23

My game (horribly early Alpha) has a radar that works on a combination of the targets mass and heat signature, so that larger/hotter objects can be see from further away than smaller objects....

That would work with stars, too ... assuming you want to place your stars in their actual locatons in the galaxy (so that you see, from Earth, the constellations as they really look from Earth ... and also as they would actually appear if you traveled across the galaxy). Otherwise, your sky would look great from Earth ... but, as you move further away, the more the stars would clump together when looking back toward where you started.

Yeah, I haven't thought about rendering stars yet. I don't want a skybox, I want every object in the sky to be and actual in-game object. I'm having problems working on the scale I want to. I want to pick up sensor traces from your averages ship from about half a million kilometers, engagements happening at thousands of clicks. Most missiles will have megaton yields, blast radius's of hundreds of clicks. I've been programming for years, but I only recently made my first dip into 3D games. Realistically it will be years, if ever, before I release.

In the meantime I'm making a kinda rogue-like spacegame and trying to keep it simple so I can actually finish a project for once. Hard, because I spend all day thinking of ways to make the thing more complex! It has my radar idea, but so far I'm resisting tracking the temperature of individual ship components....

[soulsacrifice]

Originally posted by Hendar23

Originally posted by Marvin

Originally posted by Hendar23

Is there a way to see if you are staying on one axis on the HUD? Or do you just have to open the map every ten seconds to make sure you're flying straight.

I always thought of "staying on one axis" as flying so that the "one axis" coordinate changed while the other coordinates remained the same. For me, the easiest method of doing that is to open the navigation map and enter a waypoint along that "one axis" only ... then keep that waypoint vertically in line with my crosshairs.

Genius! Thanks.

If you line up the darkest circle on the radar sphere vertically and keep it vertical as you move you will stay on whatever y coordinate you are on.




i.e. line up the white circle so you see it as a vertical line where the red line is.

[Edited on 3-27-2010 by soulsacrifice]

[Marvin]

Well, that's just too cool. I never realized those circles actually represented the x,y,z planes.

[Hendar23]

Yeah, nice!

[Maarschalk]

Originally posted by Marvin
Well, that's just too cool. I never realized those circles actually represented the x,y,z planes.

Yes, they do, but you have to remember on the planet the y axis in space wich is your location above the galactic plane becomes your north to south pole axis and your z axis becomes your elevation or distance in height from the planets surface......

[warsign]

So cool!

[Marvin]

Originally posted by Maarschalk

Yes, they do, but you have to remember on the planet the y axis in space wich is your location above the galactic plane becomes your north to south pole axis and your z axis becomes your elevation or distance in height from the planets surface......

Yes ... and the whole thing becomes very confusing when you try to place a beacon inside a city and orient it so it stands vertical to the city ... which is at an angle, relative to the galactic plane.

[Maarschalk]

Yep, it can be confusing if you do not get the concept of the orientation and function of the ships compass in open space and its funtion on a planets surface. On the planets surface the ships compass works as a regular compass just like a plane's gyroscope. y-axis points north like the needle of a compass and the x-axis points east and your pitch ladder and z-axis gives your angle and height relative to the planets surface.....

[Marvin]

But a message buoy is always oriented relative to the galactic plane ... so, sticking it in the mud (so to speak) when the mud is about halfway between a planet's equator and its north pole, puts the buoy at a rather odd angle.

[Maarschalk]

Yep, but the y coordinate given for the beacon on the planet is the coordinate given relative to the planets northpole regardless of how the beacon is oriented in the mud relative to the galactic plane..LOL

At least that is how I found the beacon on the planet by flying north or south on the planet till my y- coordinate matched the y-coordinate given by the previous beacon and then keeping my elevation or height from the planets surface between 800 and a 1000 units and flying straight east around the planet and keeping my y-coordinate steady till hitting the beacon....

[Ravenfeeder]

There again, you could try flying to the planet station, do a sharp right turn, and keep flying!

[Marvin]

Just make sure you don't take a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

[Maarschalk]

ROFL...Marv.....Hahahaha....unless you are an explorer of course....