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minilogo Elite: Dangerous

Article published 12th December 2014, 21:19 by Talarin and last updated 12th December 2014, 21:19

A day in the life of a space hauler

All that fuss over 18 tons of coffee
article_main Elite is a game I have fond memories of. Many hours were whittled away as my friends and I explored the galaxy, fought off pirates and generally earned a virtual living as what can only be described as a virtual market trader; buying cheap and selling high.

The games successors Elite: Frontier and Frontier: First Encounters absorbed similar amounts of time, introducing vast galaxies of stars and political factions and missions in to the mix.

So it was with some interest I noted that Elite: Dangerous was on the cusp of release. I bit the bullet, paid a bit extra to be allowed to join the game at the Beta phase and prepared to be absorbed into the same world, albeit 20 years later.

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At it's core - this is essentially the same game I played so many years ago. Trading, bounty hunting, mining, exploring military and/or political missions are all part of the massive galaxy available to us. (Apparently 400 billion stars - I'm not counting them to check that.)

This is all supported by an underlying AI engine which simulates what NPC players and political factions (whether regional, as in planetary governments or major system presences, or major political entities - principally the corporately-led Federation or autocratic Empire.)

It has an added bonus - other human players. The game ships with a quasi-matchmaking / instancing function which allows other players to interact with each other - whether co-operatively or in conflict.

Occasionally - other players can be a bit mean:

Not long after I got into the game; I was hauling 18 tons of Coffee (a typical produce of an agricultural world) in a ship called with Hauler (loosely described as the Ford Transit of the game). This cargo was the most expensive I'd ever hauled - consuming all of my capital on purchasing the product and not leaving enough in my account to cover the insurance premium that would be incurred if I lost my ship (you can probably tell where this story is going.)

I drop out of hyperspace near the system's primary star. Business as usual. Align myself with my target station, orbiting an industrial world. Accelerate up to well past light speed to cruise from the star to the world and begin deceleration as I approach as per usual.

What I hadn't noticed was the other player on my radar approaching from the rear. Now, this isn't uncommon - if he's heading to the same station then this is usual. What I didn't expect was for him to pull me out of lightspeed (via a interdiction game mechanism). Shit.

He has a Viper. A typical mercenary or police ship. (Excellent for combat, useless at everything else.) I have a Hauler with a pissy little laser gun on the front. It turns out he wants my cargo.

So, deciding that I couldn't afford the loss, I attempt to accelerate away and jump back to lightspeed. Bad move. 5 seconds later, my shields have been stripped and I'm hearing the screeching thud of mini-gun shells hitting my hull. Another 10 seconds and my canopy blows out, exposing me to the cold of space. I haven't even got a shot off.

IT WAS BRILLIANT/
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