I’m CMDR Topperfalkon, as always
UPDATE:
It’s actually been a while since I’ve played. I made to about ~15 mil before college picked up (I really oughta be studying for a midterm…), and haven’t touched it since. However, I decided that I didn’t want to trade for the moment, and made a decision that would prevent me from changing my mind any time soon - I went exploring.
I went the cheap route, and picked up a hauler. You know, that 50k ship. I really wanted a python, and wanted an asp, but I didn’t want to grind to do it. So, I got the hauler, which is the best cheap explorer ship one can get. I have an Adder and a T6, but the Adder doesn’t have as big as a jump range, and the T6 components were a little to pricey for my budget. Besides, I got tired of the cockpit styling, which is essentially the same in the T6 and T7. I got an A grade FSD, and pretty much the smallest d-grade for everything else. Obviously, advanced discovery and detailed surface scanner are installed.
My plans are to head down the main galactic arm, visiting most of the major nebula. First target: Veil Nebula West (or east… whichever is closest). Then up to the North American and Pelican Nebulas, then on to this big one further on that I forget the name of. From there, I want to go the the galactic center, and see what can be seen (and plaster my name on a few planets).
Currently, I am sitting about ~1,500 ly from wolf 865, my old hunting grounds.
I had a bright idea in a system while I was investigating a planet. I thought it would be a time saver if I slowed down near the sun, since my target was on the far side, and did some fuel scooping. I would just cruise by, and fill up my tank. I ‘cruised’ in doing .8 c. Oh, here’s a note: Don’t ‘cruise in’ doing .8 c. 20k LY to go and I’m already down to 99% hull integrity. I’m lucky I got off that easy. 
What made it worse was that it was a T type star, virtually impossible to scoop from in the first place. 
Pro Tip: FOG KBLAM. You can scoop from these, and nothing else if you value your life.
I don’t know how far I can make it, even on a weekly basis. I think I can manage about 1000ly per week, depending on what else is going on. Like Homeworld. Or midterms.
Funny you just picked it up again. I have too. My midterms are behind me and the semester is getting a little easier as far as work assigned is concerned. I’m planning to head near the Sol area and do some smuggling, piracy, and bounty hunting and see what trouble I can get into or friends I can make. I’m very poor with only a Viper and ~100k to my name, but that’s all I need.
If anyone is in the area or wants a wing buddy on some missions add me, Commander Soupy.
Edit: I just learned that very hard lesson too Ark. Except it took me down to 70%. Smart moves commander!
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How peculiar, because I’ve just started playing again! I’ve managed to scrounge enough to buy an Adder and I’m loving the extra cargo space. Upgraded it to 12 slots while trying to maintain a reasonable jump range. Almost got pirated by an NPC that took my hull down to 8%, before my ship lost its cargo and he went after that instead.
I’m beginning to get the hang of trading (I’m severely inexperienced at this game still) and picking up a bit of exploration data along the way. My hope is to switch to a more combat capable ship and splash out on some upgrades once I’ve earned a bit.
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If you are interested, [this][1] is a tool that can maximize your profits.
Just go to “Find Trades”, enter in your data, and search. It will usually come up with a tasty trade route. Just make sure that “Bi-Directional” is selected. Then it will search for a two-way trade route. Another tip is to keep the “Max Distance To Station”, the distance from the entry jump point and the station, to around 1000-1500. The best deals are those that are close to the star, and have a small travel time.
Or you can go with pencil and paper. 
[1]: http://elitetradingtool.co.uk/
Yeah, I’m planning on picking up trading for a bit…
If I can find anywhere that actually sells a bloody Hauler.
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Oh my juicy traders
I’ve still been hunting around for a new home. I’m in the Sol area at this point shoosting around with my Viper. I jumped into an USS the other night and found a wanted NPC Anaconda with a 220k bounty! I tried to fight it alone(after I let him engage first) but after a few minutes of potshots at each other he took my shields down. I don’t have the best fittings yet. I was about to run when I saw another blip on the scanner so I canceled my frame jump charge, it had 2 seconds left! It turned out to be a security ship so I knew from there I had this sucker in the bag. A few more police ships showed up and 10 minutes later we had eliminated the dirty pirate. It brought me up to over 500k which is the richest I’ve ever been.
I subsequently reinvested that into my viper for better fittings and I’ll continue hunting for a new home. Fighting and flying with FA off is certainly challenging and carries it’s own rewards as well. It’s almost too many buttons for my keyboard unfortunately, I really need a joystick.
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For an excellent entry-level stick, I would recommend the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. Don’t ask why it’s extreme, professional, or in which way it’s 3D. But you can probably pick one up for under 20 if you look. I got mine used for 10 off ebay several years ago. Several flight sims and countless hours on X3 later, it still (technically) works. My set deadzone is pretty huge right now, but one can dis-assemble and clean the sensors, which I have done before, and that makes it work almost like new.
Otherwise, be thinking of spending 150-250 bucks for an X55 class model.
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Well seeing as I’m a student, budget is best 
. I think we’ve talked about sticks on this thread already in the past, and I’ve done some research on them too, but I’ve never gotten around to purchasing one. I’ve always found that I fly just fine on mouse and keyboard. I have only used one once at a friends house playing bf4 and I was terrible compared to flying with a mouse, but I can see the advantages especially in elite with so many buttons to be pressed. I’m constantly translating in some direction in addition to managing power and aiming! Although, to help with my non-stick handy cap I have bound spacebar to pitch up which is probably where the too-many-keypresses-lockup happens and all digital input fails.
Consider me on the hunt! I’ve heard Hotas sticks are pretty good but also pricey when I’ve looked. If memory serves me right they were around 80-120 or something which is a bit more than I want to spend right now.
edit: Found one on ebay for 13$ and 7$ shipping. Looks like I’ll finally be getting a stick. Impulse buys are the best(worst).
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I know FTL travel in Infinity has been discussed elsewhere, but it occurred to me that Elite’s “evading interdiction” mechanic might be good inspiration for I-Novae.
I really like the slightly wayward feel of trying to follow the escape vector. Perhaps doing a long FTL jump in Infinity could lead to a higher chance of your path being warped.
I think this might help the seamless feel to the universe, since there might be less sitting and waiting for what is effectively a cutscreen.
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The Logitech Extreme 3D Pro is a brilliant entry-level stick. I’m currently using it for Elite until the X52 Pro hits a low enough price point.
Discussing with one of my fellow Commanders (@Margrigas to be precise), it seems that the bounties have improved a bit since the Wings update, so it’s now a viable choice again when flying with friends. That and the split bounties makes loitering in criminal hotspots very profitable compared to before.
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Really. Hmmm, I might get back into bounty hunting once I get back to civilized space. Which probably will take a loooooooong time at the rate I’ve been going lol.
Well, I can only speak for the little time I’ve been back in, but it seems that the bounties are higher, and bigger ships seem to more reliably have decent bounties.
But I dunno, I really need to play some more.
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I’m in the Sol area if you want a wingman 
I realize that trading will always be more profitable than bounty hunting, but the shoostings are always just more fun. Since there isn’t much use to flaunting money around it’s really only to upgrade your ship. I cannot influence the game, no market manipulation(in a serious manner). So I’ll take my time and enjoy getting better at dog fighting. I’m going to be picking up the 3d pro extreme sometime this week and I’ll need practice with it too
Ark is on his own since he’s in bfe…
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I’m currently taking up bounties in Imperial space, but if you ever find yourself out that way and I’m online feel free to join me. My CMDR is the same as my username here.
I don’t know the layout of political boundaries at all. I’m just wandering around because I don’t know what else to do. I guess it doesn’t really matter. How far is that from Sol?
I think you can start hitting Empire systems from as near as 100ly out from Sol, not sure exactly though. It helps if you move “z-” on the galactic plane. Or in other words, perpendicular to it, going “down”. Alliance space is roughly the other direction, as far as I can tell. It’s hard to tell because the in-game map only shows individual system allegiances and doesn’t highlight sectors, and I’ve not seen any decent maps yet that show it.
I did find empire space. I’ve been looking for a good new home for awhile now. When I do find one I’ll start the move.
I plugged in the joystick today and flew for the first in my life with a stick. It is so different and I am terrible at aiming. I did some practice runs launching from the station and then docking for about 15 minutes, then I went to the tutorials against the harder AI.
I got my ass kicked! The first dogfight lasted 15 minutes and I never dropped his shields once. I can definitely hold my ground in dodging and orbiting out of his sights but, again, my aim is piss poor. The second fight lasted 25 minutes and I brought him down to 70%. I’ve got a long uphill battle against me. I miss the mouse already.
I think you’ll find the joystick superior in the long run, but it does take some practice to get a feel for the stick. If you mix that up with throttle control and using the navigation thrusters, you can pull off reasonably tight turns in dogfights. The rest is just down to getting your aim right
Also, having a mix of gimballed and fixed weapons will be helpful when you’ve got a bit of money behind you.
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Do that already
It’s just getting my aim down. It’s downright awful. When I get close I’m flying circles around the AI but I can’t hit him at all. It’s just practice practice practice.
I don’t want to use gimballed weapons. Mostly because they do less damage, which in turn leads to less min/max of damage per tonnage on the ship.
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