Photography and Games by Jussi Laasonen
The Keelback is the cheapest ship which can fit a fighter hangar. I bought it to have some variation while bounty hunting for community goals. It is surprisingly fun to fly, and the rotating thrusters look cool. The mothership is not very agile, but the option to switch to the fighter makes up for that. I outfitted turrets to make aiming easier and missiles to finish off enemies.
[Elite Dangerous © 1984 – 2017 Frontier Developments Plc]
I first tried passenger missions with the Hauler, but due to limited space and jump range, I did not find enjoyable. After getting more credits via trading and community goals, I wanted to give passengers another try and bought a proper passenger ship.
The Dolphin has sleek looks and is fun to fly. So far I have been doing sightseeing missions which are relatively effortless with Dolphin’s decent jump range and a fuel scoop. I want to try a data collecting mission next, but so far I have not had the time for a long trip.
[Elite Dangerous © 1984 – 2017 Frontier Developments Plc]
I got the Type-6 to try out bulk trading but found the endeavour boring and the cargo space limited. It is still a fine ship to get the lowest tiers of community goals and nimble enough to evade most pirates.
I plan to upgrade to Type-7 but will keep my Type-6 around. Maybe set it up for exploration.
[Elite Dangerous © 1984 – 2017 Frontier Developments Plc]
Diamondback Scout is a nimble and affordable ship bounty hunting, and it has an excellent jump range.
[Elite Dangerous © 1984 – 2017 Frontier Developments Plc]
Cobra Mk. III is a well rounded ship, but I like the more specialized ships. Diamondback Scout has better turret placement and Type-6 can haul more tonnage so I ended up fitting the Cobra as planetary explorer while saving money for Asp.
[Elite Dangerous © 1984 – 2017 Frontier Developments Plc]
The trusty Hauler brought in the money for a Cobra Mk. III. Then I sold it.
[Elite Dangerous © 1984 – 2016 Frontier Developments Plc]
I first tried Elite Dangerous when it was still in the game preview on Xbox One. I did a bit of exploring and tried combat missions and hauling but did not find it interesting enough to continue. Recently I got back to the game and even bought the Horizons expansion.
I have not played a space sim since Independence War II: Edge of Chaos. Elite requires a lot of time to get into and grinding for credits can be tedious. The combat mechanics and exploration are fun enough and flying around in super cruise on kind of a soothing experience.
The real depth of Elite appears to originate from the community. For example, there are subreddits for coordinating the powerplay, which is fairly dull as a game mechanic, and community events like the Christmas carriers convoy. And of course, the game has superb opportunities for taking pretty screenshots.
I definitely want to invest more time to Elite Dangerous. Most likely it will not be my most played game for the next year, but I am looking forward to getting some material for screenshot posts.
[Elite Dangerous © 1984 – 2016 Frontier Developments Plc]