Oh my...Elite Dangerous:Horizons

Started by JudgeDredd, August 28, 2016, 04:59:27 PM

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SirAndrewD

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 10, 2016, 11:42:34 AM
I'm feeling the urge to spend some money on a new ship. I'm pretty far off from the region of space where all of my other ships are parked and I'm stuck in a Vulture, which really only lets me take on combat missions. I want something that has range, firepower, durability and cargo space. I'm thinking either the Cobra MkIV or the Asp Explorer. The MkIV is markedly cheaper, but the Explorer seems to have the same amount of cargo space, plus heavier armor and weaponry. I presently own a Cobra MkIII, and had a lot of success with it, but I have never owned an Asp. Thoughts? Suggestions?

I really deeply dislike the Cobra Mk IV.  In my opinion, and the seemingly consensus opinion of the community, it's vastly inferior to the Cobra Mk III.  For only a marginal increase in cargo and shield capacity, you get essentially the same firepower, higher mass with less maneuver and the loss of the Cobra's fantastic speed advantage.

I absolutely adore the Asp Explorer, and I always have one kitted.  It's not for fighting, not even slightly.  It's got the firepower, but you will have a hard time turning with anyone and you're a BIG target that takes a lot of hits in a fight. 

However, the Asp is fantastic for everything smuggling, exploring, rare trading and even standard trading.  It's reasonably fast so it can get out of fights, it has enough firepower to ward off bad guys long enough to get away or get the occasional kill here and there, it's got obscene jump range, even with a full cargo hold, and it can land on outpost pads, which is great for smuggling.   You can just about do anything in it except reliably bounty hunt. 

You might also want to consider a Diamondback Explorer.  It's not as good as the Asp overall, but it is much better at combat.  The Diamondback has significantly less cargo space, but great jump range and an all important large hardpoint for combat. 
"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback

Jarhead0331

Thanks for the input. I'll steer clear of the MkIV and check out the diamondback before I make a decision. I do like the indulge in the occasional fight, so I'm hesitant to buy something that doesn't do it reliably well.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


undercovergeek

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 10, 2016, 11:42:34 AM
I'm feeling the urge to spend some money on a new ship. I'm pretty far off from the region of space where all of my other ships are parked and I'm stuck in a Vulture, which really only lets me take on combat missions. I want something that has range, firepower, durability and cargo space. I'm thinking either the Cobra MkIV or the Asp Explorer. The MkIV is markedly cheaper, but the Explorer seems to have the same amount of cargo space, plus heavier armor and weaponry. I presently own a Cobra MkIII, and had a lot of success with it, but I have never owned an Asp. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Had the same decision to make - I went asp, you can configure it for armed trader, explorer, smuggler much more versatile and a bigger hold than cobra and I think more weapon points if you go that way

YosemiteMark

I have to agree with the above.  I just bought my first Asp Explorer after flying the Cobra MkIII for quite a while.  I considered the Cobra MkIV for about 20 seconds, but rejected it pretty quickly for all of the reasons SirAndrew pointed out.

SirAndrewD

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 10, 2016, 01:55:20 PM
Thanks for the input. I'll steer clear of the MkIV and check out the diamondback before I make a decision. I do like the indulge in the occasional fight, so I'm hesitant to buy something that doesn't do it reliably well.

Two other really great multi role ships that can excel at combat are the Federal Assault Ship and Imperial Clipper. 

The Clipper is probably the best Pirate ship in the game if that floats your boat.  As an armed trader and sometime bounty hunter, it has fantastic cargo space, two large hard points and good maneuver for her size.  Only real disadvantage comes in really bad hardpoint placement. 

The FAS has none of the issues with hardpoints and has a very superior and tanky hull.  It's excellent in combat, very survivable when the shields drop and can be fitted for a decent, if slightly small cargo load, 56 tons or slightly north if you're kitting for armed transport. 

Of course disadvantage of both ships is high cost comparatively to ships like the Asp, and requirement for rank in the Federation and Empire.

All that said I really, really like the FAS.  It's actually compares in combat very favorably to the Fer de Lance, which is saying something considering how solid the FdL is.

"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback

Kushan

I only had my Asp outfitted for combat for a very brief time, and not optimally. It wasn't bad if I was taking on Anacondas, FAS, and Imperial Clippers (with AI help of course) in resource extraction zones, but I stayed far away from anything smaller that could out turn me.
PanzersEast: Have to think to myself.... will I play the first one by the Winter Sale?  Probably not, then I should remove Dragonfall
PanzersEast: but that is thinking too logically.... and Steam Sales are about ignoring Logic

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SirAndrewD

Quote from: Kushan on September 11, 2016, 01:02:01 AM
I only had my Asp outfitted for combat for a very brief time, and not optimally. It wasn't bad if I was taking on Anacondas, FAS, and Imperial Clippers (with AI help of course) in resource extraction zones, but I stayed far away from anything smaller that could out turn me.

Pretty much the only problem with the Asp.  It can't turn.  Good, very good forward firepower but it can't keep those guns on target enough to get solid kills.  The Asp Gunship concept was viable prior to the recent AI buffs, but not really anymore.  Nowadays, an Asp runs or dies, its guns are to catch an unfortunate target that overshoots or a victim of piracy.


Again, that said, I love the Asp.  I've got an A-Rated Python, A-Rated Engineered FdL, an A-Rated Vulture and an A-Rated Engineered Explorer kit Asp.  Of all those my Asp is my favorite, she's my flagship, my Enterprise.  Flying in her is like coming home, aka Major Tom.

Ok, this is getting creepy.  I just really like the Asp.
"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback

sandman2575

Finally decided to set aside my venerable Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X for a bit of an upgrade -- a Saitek X52Pro.  (I heartily recommend the T-Flight X btw as an entry-level flightstick -- have used it for a couple of years and it's well priced, well made, has a good amount of buttons -- indeed with combos I was easily able to map all of Elite's important & several secondary functions to it).

Spent all of my 'kids are finally asleep' gaming time last night to trying to set this up for E:D... Knew it would be a chore, which is why I had been putting it off... still not happy with my set-up, and wondering if it's worth using Saitek's fiddly profile software to set up something more sophisticated than the mappings you can get in-game.. Intrigued by the possibility of setting up different "Modes" for different functions, but not sure I can handle the headache...

JudgeDredd

I've tried a couple of times to setup the X52 with Saiteks software...and didn't succeed. It came across as complicated and the sheer number of options made me think "How would I ever remember?"...so I just stuck with the assigned buttons and never use the "modes" on the stick.

IIRC I couldn't get the "modes" to work in the way I thought (and I think you think) they would. But maybe I gave up too quick.
Alba gu' brath

sandman2575

Yeah, I'm kind of thinking that using the 3 modes for different inputs on the X52 is unnecessary for E:D.  There aren't that many complex commands in E:D especially compared to a serious "DCS" type flight sim. I see some folks on the Frontier forums have different modes for "flight", "combat", "landing" -- and yet I can't really think of any controls you'd need for "flight" that you wouldn't *also* need for "combat," so is there really a need for a whole different mode?

Kushan

Quote from: SirAndrewD on September 11, 2016, 02:06:50 AM
Again, that said, I love the Asp.  I've got an A-Rated Python, A-Rated Engineered FdL, an A-Rated Vulture and an A-Rated Engineered Explorer kit Asp.  Of all those my Asp is my favorite, she's my flagship, my Enterprise.  Flying in her is like coming home, aka Major Tom.

My Asp is outffited as a A-Rated explorer too. Absolutely love it. The view it offers is one of  the best thing about it.


Quote from: sandman2575 on September 11, 2016, 08:24:17 AM
Spent all of my 'kids are finally asleep' gaming time last night to trying to set this up for E:D... Knew it would be a chore, which is why I had been putting it off... still not happy with my set-up, and wondering if it's worth using Saitek's fiddly profile software to set up something more sophisticated than the mappings you can get in-game.. Intrigued by the possibility of setting up different "Modes" for different functions, but not sure I can handle the headache...

I mapped my X-55 in game. Took me awhile and some trial and error while playing around with mappings to find one I liked. Eventually, I have been able to get all of the functions I need for flying/combat mapped to my HOTAS and secondary functions like opening the galaxy and system maps, menu browsing, mapped to my keyboard.
PanzersEast: Have to think to myself.... will I play the first one by the Winter Sale?  Probably not, then I should remove Dragonfall
PanzersEast: but that is thinking too logically.... and Steam Sales are about ignoring Logic

---
Twitch Channel
YouTube Channel
Twitter - @KushanGaming
Discord Chat
Command Northern Inferno Let's Play

SirAndrewD

Quote from: sandman2575 on September 11, 2016, 09:13:43 AM
Yeah, I'm kind of thinking that using the 3 modes for different inputs on the X52 is unnecessary for E:D.  There aren't that many complex commands in E:D especially compared to a serious "DCS" type flight sim. I see some folks on the Frontier forums have different modes for "flight", "combat", "landing" -- and yet I can't really think of any controls you'd need for "flight" that you wouldn't *also* need for "combat," so is there really a need for a whole different mode?

Don't underestimate the power of voice commands on your ship.  They're even useful in combat for things like dropping shield cells with heat sinks and fast max pip management.

https://voiceattack.com/

http://www.elitedangerousvoicepack.com/
"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback

sandman2575

wow -- i didn't even know voice commands was a thing.  Very Star Trek.

Jarhead0331

What the hell is up with the SRV? The thing is damn near impossible to control. The planetside missions can be very time consuming and dangerous due to control issues. What is the optimal control config?

I ended up going with the Asp, tricked it out with mostly top of the line upgrades and I'm happy so far. Only flew one mission in her so far, but it yielded $1,100,000. Most I've made in one sortie in the history of playing the game.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


GDS_Starfury

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