Hello from another UK dad with too little time and (probably) too much money spent on SC

Raven_King

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Hey everyone!

Just wanted to say hello. I'm brand new to Test Squadron, but have been playing a little bit of SC now and then since the beginning, when it was only hangars, lag and sub 10 FPS! I didn't bother playing for ages, but coming back to Alpha 3.11 in November was a revelation. How did I miss this game becoming so playable!! Yes, it's still buggy, unstable and both overcomplicated and over-simplified at the same time, depending on your point of view, but, well, I missed how much FUN it is now. I really hope it stays on course and eventually gets to the polished state that CIG are aiming for, because it's obviously a LOOOONG way off just now.

Personally, I'm a dad of two in primary school, based in Marlow in the UK. With family commitments I can only really play a few hours a week, but I spend a lot more thought (and money) on Star Citizen than I probably should. I have the feeling I'll be in equally guilty company here.

Is this the bit where I show you mine...? Ships, that is...

I started with the Rear Admiral pack back in December 2012 for USD $275, which included a:
  • Constellation Andromeda LTI, which I later upgraded to an Aquila LTI.
... and a bunch of other digital and physical stuff, most of which seems to have been forgotten about. Since then I added more ships and some cross-chassis upgrades, so I now also have a:
  • F7C-M SUPER HORNET - LTI
  • ORIGIN 350R RACER - LTI
  • AOPOA NOX KUE LTI upgraded to an Esperia Talon
  • Carrack Expedition with Pisces Expedition (ccu'd from something else, bought on eBay)
  • Crusader Mercury Star Runner (ccu'd from something else, bought on eBay)
I seem to have access to more ships than that in-game though. Vehicle Retrieval terminals in-game say I also have an Ursa Rover, which I think came with the Carrack, and a variety of other ships, including an RSI Aurora, an Anvil Arrow and an Aopoa Khartu-al, which I definitely didn't buy. Is the in-game logic that decides what ships you can retrieve is bugged, or a bit overly-generous with alternate ships for something not yet released?

After doing some box missions (feel like a lot of work for not a lot of money at the moment) and trading (can be lucrative, but a lot of tedious hanging around trade terminals waiting for them to update), I also bought a Greycat ROC a week or two ago, my first in-game vehicle. Since then, I've been trying to learn how to mine hadenite efficiently with my MSR and the ROC, which is great when it works, and SO FRUSTRATING when I hit a bug. My client seems to crash quite a bit when I interact with the ROC. Until a recent patch, it disappeared on me quite a few times when I had to get out of it. Flipping it back upright when it rolls is a nightmare. And can I just state for the record that I think it's really frustrating when my character can get out of a ship, but it turns out he can't get back in again. Carrack parked awkwardly on a landing pad too small for it, managed to jump off the ramp onto the pad, but then couldn't jump back in. Carrack or MSR on a hill, lowered the ramp, drove the ROC off, only to realise the bottom of the ramp was 10 foot off the ground and there was no way to get back on board. D'oh! We definitely need a way to re-enter our own ships when they are parked on uneven ground and the ramp doesn't extend all the way down to the ground! Anyway, soon learned that, and with some better piloting, care and use of the external camera, it's all surmountable and part of the learning experience!

So I guess I'm currently a miner, working my MSR and ROC to get enough money for my wish-list of ships, which include:
  • A Prospector and a Mole (probably for solo mining though, might have to see if I like it or not)
  • A Sabre (fun for combat?!)
  • A Vanguard Warden (might suit an old man like me more than the twitch reaction fighters!)
I'm not much good at space combat yet, but have done a handful of bounty missions successfully enough. I really need to learn more about target management, and how to see my own and my target's status during combat from the displays. I know I have bad situational awareness at the moment, and I feel task-loaded and all over the place in combat, so both those things need work! Any suggestions for improving and learning in a structured way would be welcome.

I've yet to upgrade the stock components on anything, but need to look at that in time, but the stock ships are plenty of fun so far.

Anyway, enough of a ramble. Hello! Glad to be here, and see you in the 'verse!
 

Cugino83

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Welcome ex-EU coomrade!!! And nice to have you back in the 'verse after a long time I suppose!

So basing on your introduction you need to pick up a lot since the hangar module day, first od foremost: for landing problem use 3rd person camera (F4) to see if the ramp is actually touching the ground... and to open it you can do that form the pilot/copilot seats using the interaction for "open exterior"... very usefull for ship like the StarRunner and the bigger Carrak.

For combat releted problem, yes, the Sabre is a fun ship to use in combat and actually is considered one of the best ship for dogfight, the other one is the Arrow that is smaller by way more agile (actually too much agile for my taste...), so good you are working toward that...

For the skill problem looks no further then the regular saturday TEST event:
a great way to both improve your skill, learn how things works and hand out with some felloow testies.
 

Bambooza

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Welcome to TEST! The Aquila comes with an URSA, does it not?
It does. It really is a beautiful ship and I'd be flying it if not for the Carrack...

I do always find it entertaining the more money I have the less time I have to game, so I think you are in the right crowed. Unless you don't drink and fly. In which case will need to have you spend some time with @Blind Owl
 

Raven_King

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For the skill problem looks no further then the regular saturday TEST event:
a great way to both improve your skill, learn how things works and hand out with some felloow testies.
Thank you Cugino83, that's really useful!
 

NaffNaffBobFace

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Welcome aboard!

Nice to have another Islander about, I like your ships, have you made the mistake of naming them yet? Half of mine have names and I just can't bring myself to change those ones now 😅
 

Zookajoe

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Hello fellow Testie!

When it comes to the Prospector/Mole debate, my thoughts on it are: If you are soloing, I would go Prospector. If you got a crew of 2 or more friends (ideally 3), I would go with Mole. The Mole really shines when you have a full crew.
 

Sayora

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Welcome to Test!

My 2AUEC's on the Mole/Prospector - Get the mole if it's in the price range. As a solo miner it really works just as well with 3 times the capacity, and when you have friends you can multi crew. I ran mine like that (till I remembered I don't like mining, I keep having to remind myself once a year or so by buying one then melting it a few weeks later)
 

Raven_King

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Raven_King
Welcome aboard!

Nice to have another Islander about, I like your ships, have you made the mistake of naming them yet? Half of mine have names and I just can't bring myself to change those ones now 😅
Thanks NaffNaffBobFace! I haven't named mine yet, mostly because crashing them or being in them when I get a client or server crash might be too traumatic. I'm tempted to upgrade my Constellation Aquila to a Mole, but I have sort of become quite attached to it. With a Carrack for exploration and a Mercury Star Runner for small-to-medium sized trading (among other things), I can't quite work out what I'd use the Connie for now.

Then again, I see YouTubers with dozens of ships and tens of millions of aUEC and get the impression that as you progress up the path of the various in-game careers, and find one (or more than one) where you enjoy farming aUEC at a high level, you can reach a point where buying new ships in-game isn't too much of a challenge any more, and the game will become about something else - optimizing their loadout, having adventures, big raids etc.
 

Raven_King

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Get the mole if it's in the price range. As a solo miner it really works just as well with 3 times the capacity, and when you have friends you can multi crew.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts on Mole vs Prospector. I kind of think I'm not going to be satisfied until I've given both a good go :) So far I'm up to about 1m aUEC mining Hadenite with a ROC and an MSR, and it's okay except for all the bugs. It's early days, so may change my mind, but I don't hate the loop with that combo. If I'm getting in and out of the pilots seat and the ROC all the time there, how bad can it be doing something similar in a Mole? They fixed some key bugs in the 3.12.0b patch, and there are more fixes for this loop coming in 3.12.1.
 
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Cugino83

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...

Then again, I see YouTubers with dozens of ships and tens of millions of aUEC and get the impression that as you progress up the path of the various in-game careers, and find one (or more than one) where you enjoy farming aUEC at a high level, you can reach a point where buying new ships in-game isn't too much of a challenge any more, and the game will become about something else - optimizing their loadout, having adventures, big raids etc.
Yes is exactly like that: at the begining you'll struggle to just be able to rise money for the ship you have, grinding for that powerplant or that shields generator feel like etherninty, then whel all is set you start to looks at other ships... and they feel impossibile to reach in your short life span... after a few monts you'll be finally abel to buy your first ship in game and HURRA 🍻 it's actually possibile!!!
From then is only a matter to looks at the next shiny ship you'll like and work for it, then optimise it for your need... and once you have all the ship you'll like setted to your taste, youu just start to party and explore, maybe try other game loop you never considered before... and at that point the circle began again....:thump:


Thanks everyone for your thoughts on Mole vs Prospector. I kind of think I'm not going to be satisfied until I've given both a good go :) So far I'm up to about 1m aUEC mining Hadenite with a ROC and an MSR, and it's okay except for all the bugs. It's early days, so may change my mind, but I don't hate the loop with that combo. If I'm getting in and out of the pilots seat and the ROC all the time there, how bad can it be doing something similar in a Mole? They fixed some key bugs in the 3.12.0b patch, and there are more fixes for this loop coming in 3.12.1.
Mole or Prospector...??? Rent them and try them out then decide...
Keep in mind that ship-mining at the moment is a bit contrained do to the introduction of refinery gameplay, that is not a bad thing on his own (quite the opposite in fact) but it still need some... well ...refining, and most important involve actual cargo runing that is a bit of a PITA right now do to server instability and bug...
 
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