On the 19th of the current month, in Epic Games Store, everyone will be able to get a space simulator for free on their account for free Elite: Dangerous. This review will show what Elite is, and also helps to determine the doubting in reasons to spend his precious time on this product from Frontier Development.
So that is, this is your cosmosim?
Both simulators in general and space simulators in particular, these are very niche games that require a well -thought approach to his entertaining ability. A lot of games of this genre can be described in one expression: “Enough yourself”, be it Eve Online or No Man’s Sky. Elite: Dangerous You can safely attribute to the list of such games, they throw the player in open swimming almost immediately, providing only a basic tool, and a superficial understanding of possible directions of development, and then leave the player alone with the same bewitching as the dangerous as dangerous Cosmos.
The main advantage and significant drawback
Cosmos in Elite is a native for us, a procedurally generated galaxy of the Milky Way, about 160 thousand. objects in which are recreated by developers manually, for example, the solar system, Sagittarius A* and Betelheze. The remaining 400 billion star systems are created using algorithms corresponding to the laws of physics. All this forms a reliable, as far as possible, a picture woven in the clusters of stars, gas-pile clouds and nebulae. And if you perceive the cosmos not only as a black abyss with rare, infinitely distant interspersed of light in the night sky, but also as a single system, as well as imagine how these or other processes in it work, then the environment in the elite is unlikely to be bored. It is the study of all these astronomical expanses that is the main occupation of the player, Since the vast majority of time, regardless of our desire, will contemplate the monotonous, at first glance, stars and planets, which can cause rejection in a person who is not interested in these gigantic structures.
The flights from point A to point B occupy a huge part of the gameplay, and the study of objects around helps to cope with a sense of monotony only for a while, because, as a rule, for the study of ordinary objects, the player receives only a symbolic fee, and The space itself is weakly filled with various kinds of activities, And this is especially manifested in flights outside the “bubble”, a small inhabited zone in which most political, economic, and armed conflicts between players and fractions are being conducted. At the moment, the players have studied only about 0.040% of the galaxy, but even in such a modest part of the cosmos a considerable number of interesting objects and phenomena have already been discovered. In particular, after the expansion release Horizons, And acquisitions Players of the opportunity to land on planets with an absent atmosphere, they began to gradually encounter various manifestations of an alien form of life – targoids, as well as the remnants of the ancient civilization of the guards.Although not without the hand of the developer, the traces of both were found by players independently during a routine study, and no one knows that the remaining 99.96% of the galaxy can hide the remaining 99.96% of the galaxy.
In early summer, the developers announced a new extension Odyssey, The main features of which will be the opportunity to land on planets with the atmosphere, as well as take control of your character directly, both on planets and space stations. The exit of the addition should take place at the beginning of 2021. If the developers manage to correctly realize everything, then, probably, the feasibility of waiting for the exit Star Citizen It will finally disappear.
And what about gameplay?
We talked about space, now it is worth moving on to the simulation. Management in Elite, although it is not intuitive, but also does not turn the learning process into watching time videos on how to configure each separate button for a comfortable game. The most convenient for playing the control device, of course, will be a joystick. The game on the gamepad or a keyboard with the mouse will only slightly increase the time to get used to local management. Fortunately, not so long ago, the developer added expanded training to the game, which will allow the player to deal with all aspects of the game quickly enough. The physics of ships in the game is simplified regarding the physics of the cosmos, and thanks to this it is felt perfectly. In my opinion, the interface of the game, and especially the spacecraft interface is ideal for games of a similar genre, it provides an opportunity to get the maximum volume of information useful at one time or another, without resorting to huge tables, harmoniously fit into the cabin of the ship.
In addition to research, the game provides two more areas of activity – War and trade, which in turn include a variety of variations of earnings and entertainment. Let’s start, perhaps, by trade. In addition to the standard buy, it’s cheaper/out of the outlet/sell more expensive, the transportation of passengers with various interests and related problems, resource mining, and the implementation of missions with similar tasks, but different wrappers can also be included here. And, oddly enough, for me the most attractive type of activity was resource mining. The booty of resources in the elite means digging stone blocks in asteroid fields or planetary rings. It would seem that this is in simple "mining" resources? Elite manages to make a whole ritual out of this process, accompanied by a requirement for the player’s skills and a chic audio-visual design of the process, moreover, being one of the most effective ways to earn a galactic currency.
Of the combat activities in the elite, several variations of the same – the destruction of other ships, be it an enemy player or bot. All this is presented both in the open game and in missions with a fixed award. Fights in Elite tense, and require the player skills to quickly respond to what is happening around and correctly distribute the resources of the ship.
Economics and ships
IN Elite: Dangerous There is a global plot that the players and the developers are moving forward smoothly. At the moment, one of the main events in the Galaxy is considered the attacks of the Targoids at the humanity station and the contradictions between the dominant factions of the world Elite. The player has the opportunity to join any of the fractions, and help her in the war for influence. Inside the fractions, there are also associations of players, wells.
Unlike Eve Online, The economy in the elite lives to a greater extent according to its own rules, most products in the market are generated from the air here. The exception is perhaps fossil minerals mined by players. Also, the complete absence of any system of production and craft can cause questions (except for the system of creating consumables from planetary materials), all ships and equipment that can be found at the stations is just a generation that does not stand another player who worked hard to create anything to sell.
As for the ships themselves and equipment, all this here looks attractive and convenient. All ships, with minor deviations, are able to perform all 3 types of activities +- equally good. This allows you to achieve a flexible system of adjusting the equipment of the ship. The appearance of almost all ships leaves a pleasant sensation.
Technical moments
I would like to separately note the sound in the game. It is artificial, and is due to the ability of the ship to project what is happening around the cabin, for a better understanding by the pilot of the situation.Sounds of ships, weapons, explosions, everything is done at the highest level. As for the graphics, if we take into account the games that have already been released, then subjectively the elite can be called the game with the best graphic component in the genre. At the same time, the game is perfectly optimized, and at low settings it goes to stable 40 FPS even on an old computer with a two nuclear processor, 1 gigabyte of video memory, and 4 gigabytes of RAM.
Results
Elite: Dangerous – This is an excellent cosmosim, and a mediocre game. If you are ready to spend dozens of hours, peering into the void in the hope of seeing the light, then in the middle of the endless space you will feel at home. If you want to play concentrated gameplay, then the elite will hardly be able to keep you for a long time. In any case, the game can be obtained for free, so I recommend that everyone try it on their own, and decide for yourself whether it is worth playing it.
Elite: Dangerous
The best comments
It is the study of all these astronomical expanses that is the main occupation of the player
Depending in what sense the study is the main lesson. One thing I came to the game not for war, trade or pharma, but for a kind of synthesis of discoveries and tourism with photo-leafy. Another thing is when a person came in a game for fighting, trading, mining or another matter that does not imply progress in the rank of a researcher. No one forces such a person to scan systems up to 100% and t.p.
In the vast majority of time, we, regardless of our desire, will contemplate the monotonous, at first glance, stars and planets, which can cause rejection in a person who is not interested in these gigantic structures.
Well, yes, the textures here need to be pumped first, and the AO-seconds to diversify T.To. I am generally satisfied with, I can pull out of the game the maximum for pleasure and screenshots, but many are bored.
Flights from point A to point B occupy a huge part of the gameplay
But already in Eve, how quickly everything is from flights. Hop and you have already flew through the entire space of the system and you enter the gate, although you have flipped through the space of another system and enters the gate towards the third.
If the developers manage to correctly realize https://mr-spin.co.uk/games/ everything, then, probably, the feasibility of waiting for Star Citizen will finally disappear.
Not really. Like it or not, Star Citizen is still offering a single star system, in which nevertheless it is already possible to land on land-like planets. And Odyssey just promises to open planets like conditional Mars.
Management in Elite, although it is not intuitive, but also does not turn the learning process into watching time videos on how to configure each separate button for a comfortable game.
Hy-ky, I remember the video of one person on YouTube, who complained that the management in Elite should be tuned for hours. True, then, responding to criticism, he said that he was interested in space, but not sick with him, so he would have made management easier, without freezing for different in the process of aerobatics.
In my opinion, the interface of the game, and especially the spacecraft interface is ideal for games of such a genre
And in my opinion, with all my love for Elite, the interface is too casual and essentially needs some complication. Rather, I would like to see the interface a little more serious. And, by the way, the interface in Star Citizen is just a variation on the topic of what I mean.
As for the ships themselves and equipment, all this here looks attractive and convenient.
And the screenshot of Beluga Lines, which I want to buy and turn into a ship for free flights. Yes, was seduced by a review from the cabin, appearance, speed, jump range and the number of slots that will remain at my disposal when I throw the cabin from there.
Elite: Dangerous is an excellent cosmosim, and a mediocre game. If you are ready to spend dozens of hours, peering into the void in the hope of seeing the light, then in the middle of the endless space you will feel at home.
I don’t know how the game is felt for fans of space battle, I don’t know how it is traded in it on a wide leg, how piracy is and gets, but I know that Elite is a game for cosmos romantics! For those who are pleased to feel the influence of the gravity of space bodies on the ship. For those who can put a mean male tear from the docking under the waltz of Strauss. For those who will enjoy the texture of the star and prooferens during refueling from this very star. For those who are happy to jump a hundred jumps through uninhabited systems to feel like a cosmic robinson. For those who will be happy to ride on planets not only for the sake of a primitive farm, but for the fact that they will accidentally stumble upon an interesting frame. And so on and the like!
In addition to the standard buy, it’s cheaper/out of the outlet/sell more expensive, the transportation of passengers with various interests and related problems, resource mining, and the implementation of missions with similar tasks, but different wrappers can also be included here.
Add mining, passenger transportation and execution of missions to trading, I think not very correct, but for beginners in the game it will come up.
All ships, with minor deviations, are able to perform all 3 types of activities +- equally good
I disagree on "equally good". I would say that any ship can play any role, but usually less effective than its main. For example, from the Type-9 Heavy a good fighter or a researcher with all the desire you can’t collect. He will be able to fulfill these roles, but much less effective than Anaconda, DBE, ASP Explorer or Krait Phantom, if you take research. It is also impossible to assemble a sane freedom from Federal Corvette, it will completely lose the Type-9 Heavy and Imperial Cutter, which are best for this purpose for this purpose.
Sounds of ships, weapons, explosions, everything is done at the highest level.
I fully support. Sound Design in the elite is excellent, I didn’t see it anywhere/I heard.
In general, Elite Dangerous cannot be recommended to everyone, but those who are interested in space, spacecraft flights, astronomy/astrophysics will probably like. Thanks for the review!
Depending in what sense the study is the main lesson.
By this I meant rather the general orientation of the game, and not a conditional strip of level of the researcher.
Well, yes, the textures here need to be pumped first, and the AO-seconds to diversify T.To. I am generally satisfied with, I can pull out of the game the maximum for pleasure and screenshots, but many are bored.
Personally, the textures and their diversity are quite satisfied and at the moment. With my description, I tried to talk about what to expect new players and what to be prepared for.
But already in Eve, how quickly everything is from flights. Hop and you have already flew through the entire space of the system and you enter the gate, although you have flipped through the space of another system and enters the gate towards the third.
Yes it is, but there it applies more to the MMO component. Personally, I do not consider EVE cosmosim, for me the cosmos is not a decisive factor there, it plays only a background role, setting. Well, and as I said above, this is just what a newcomer should expect. Such a meditative gameplay is absolutely suitable for me.
Not really. Like it or not, Star Citizen is still offering a single star system, in which nevertheless it is already possible to land on land-like planets. And Odyssey just promises to open planets like conditional Mars.
But it is also worth saying that both SC and Odyssey just expect a release. And personally I am making a large bet on Odyssey. One way or another, wait and see.
And in my opinion, with all my love for Elite, the interface is too casual and essentially needs some complication. Rather, I would like to see the interface a little more serious. And, by the way, the interface in Star Citizen is just a variation on the topic of what I mean.
I agree, it would be interesting to look at the interface like SC in the context of the elite.
And the screenshot of Beluga Lines, which I want to buy and turn into a ship for free flights.
If you are talking about the penultimate screenshot of the ship against the background of the land -like planet, then this is not Beluga Liner, but Imperial Clipper. Both ships are quite similar in design, although they have different manufacturers.
I don’t know how the game is felt for fans of space battle, I don’t know how it is traded in it on a wide leg, how piracy is and gets, but I know that Elite is a game for cosmos romantics! For those who are pleased to feel the influence of the gravity of space bodies on the ship. For those who can put a mean male tear from the docking under the waltz of Strauss. For those who will enjoy the texture of the star and prooferens during refueling from this very star. For those who are happy to jump a hundred jumps through uninhabited systems to feel like a cosmic robinson. For those who will be happy to ride on planets not only for the sake of a primitive farm, but for the fact that they will accidentally stumble upon an interesting frame. And so on and the like!
Beautiful. Thank you for reading the article and a comment left!
I was thinking of writing this blog. Thank you for doing it yourself. 🙂 what can I add:
It is the study of all these astronomical expanses that is the main occupation of the player,
Still, no. Moving on them – yes. It is not necessary to investigate. Here it would be reformed.
Well, what are you so?(
Elite: Dangerous is an excellent cosmosim
Oddly enough, but I would not call Elite just cosmosim. Despite the rather high threshold of entry, it is the same arcade simulator, with the so -called “liquid vacuum” and other attributes of all cosmic operas, such as explosions in space and laser rays visible to the eye. About the maximum speed of a ship of 500 m/s in space, I’m generally silent. I understand why and for what purposes there are these simplifications and jewelry, if that.
Simulators – another cohort of games. But this is so, rather, my pickup, without a desire to belittle the game, in which he already has 1600 hours. 🙂