I do, too! Thinking of pre-buying an Orca.
I nearly bought an Orca for the first Jacques CG run. Common sense prevailed and I went in an Anaconda instead, but really, it would have been so much more fun with the Orca.
I did it, I bought one. With the engineering upgrade for the FSD, it’s acceptable. Lovely ship.
Haven’t played in weeks due to really getting into Fallout 4.
Here’s an excellent, quick written summary of all the shiny new things coming in patch 2.2, with pretty screenshots.
Really, I can’t wait. Elite Dangerous has its frustrations, but to me it feels like the developers somehow knew exactly what kind of game I have always wanted, and it’s just getting better and better.
All of you pilots who have drifted away over the past year? It’s time to come back.
ETA: there’s one small error in that article, though. I’m pretty sure both the new Beluga and the Orca will have capacity to equip luxury cabins.
Can someone tell me the diff between Elite and EVE? I played EVE for about a year and eventually got tired of the cloak-jump near the gate-jump to the gate escape bit.
Or, in an empty system looking for the good stuff…someone shows up…deploys their scanners…starts to triangulate you…you leave.
#1: Elite has the option of grouping with like-minded PVE-only commanders in which such bullshit is not tolerated.
Elite has no player corporations, does not force multiplayer, has more realistic physics and graphics, and has a much more sophisticated flight model. There is no way to augment the commander who is your avatar except by getting better yourself at the game and purchasing (in game only), more powerful ships and/or ship components. Dedicated exploration is viable and popular.
The game map is the Milky Way Galaxy, literally, procedurally generated. Known objects in the galaxy are in the game (for the most part.)
Thanks guys…sounds fun.
I should mention that fun in Elite Dangerous has to be self-directed. You’re on your own to create a narrative, identity, career direction. There are many options (pvp, combat, bounty-hunting, trading, smuggling, raiding, pirating (although most say this very difficult to get to work), exploring, mining, space trucking, some mix of all of these), but the game doesn’t hold your hand or lead you in any specific direction.
I highly recommend reading some of the newbie guides out there, following the Elite Dangerous subreddit, and avoiding a grind mentality. Being too driven and goal-oriented in Elite Dangerous seems to lead to fairly rapid burnout. It’s better to pursue a mix of things. Bigger ships, for example, are not necessarily better or more fun. ETA: although, you’ll want to get out of the starting Sidewinder pretty quickly.
Also, consider signing up for the Inara Commander’s Companion and joining the SDMB commander wing, “Bright Minds and Dark Steel.” Although, since presently there are only two of us in it, it would make sense if you joined a wing that had more people active. Here’s my commander’s page.
And of course feel free to add Commander Holdstock and I as friends in-game!
The beta for the upcoming 2.2/1.7 patch drops tomorrow. Lots of shiny. Hopefully this will attract some SMDB commanders back to the game. >cough< Skywatcher >cough<
In other news, here’s the current state of my fleet.
Thiasos, Federal Assault Ship. I’ve tried many other combat-oriented ships in a variety of builds and mods, and this one is my favorite. I always come back to her. She is my favorite ship, Vera to my Jayne Cobb. I fly her with a fixed beam on top, and three multicannons underneath. Very effective. Very destructive. Destroy, then party.
Cerastes, Asp Explorer. Smuggler/Explorer. I keep her essentially A-rated when exploring, since with a rank 5 FSD extended range mod, she still can jump 40 light years, but I drop the weapons and affix a size 6 fuel scoop. The Asp Explorer makes the best fast smuggler in the galaxy.
Fáfnir, Python. With engineering mods, especially dirty drives, the Python is the best all-around ship in the galaxy. This ship can do anything.
Maahes, Fer-de-Lance. This god-of-war is one of the most enjoyable craft to fly. Assuming one can get over the asymmetrical cockpit. I slightly prefer the brutish qualities of the Federal Assault Ship in most combat situations, but the Fer-de-Lance is a beautiful, deadly assassin.
Reckless, Imperial Courier. Very, very fast (with dirty drives). Also pretty.
Alacrity, Anaconda. I’ve never been satisfied with the Anaconda as a combat ship, so she is outfitted as a heavily armed heavy trader. Emphasis on the heavily armed. Interdictors are just splats on the windscreen. She’s not quick in real space, and sluggish in supercruise, but that jump range is sensational.
Inextinguishable, Federal Corvette. Because sometimes you just want the greatest projection of power available to a commander.
Mávros, Orca. In Black Friday livery, probably the sexiest ship in the game. You can’t help but love the Orca if you own one, ready to transport the hoi polloi through the cosmos in style.
Conflictor, Viper Mk. IV. I built this up for base assault missions, and realized that she’s a pretty terrific fighter, with an awesome boost noise. Properly outfitted, the Viper Mk. IV is very hard to kill, like a cockroach. Stamp, stamp, stamp, why is this thing not dead?!
Roasting Swan, Imperial Clipper. Explore the cosmos in style. With the FSD grade 5 extended range mod, she’ll give you over 30 light years per jump. With dirty drives, she’ll outrun anything that tries to catch you, and the view from the cockpit is extraordinary. I also use her for mining. If you have to engage in such a grubby task, may as well do it in comfort, right? (Get at least a rank 1 power plant boost to make this exploration spec work.)
*
Cathartes*, Vulture. The street thug that terrifies you in dark alleyways.
Anvil, Federal Gunship. Inspired by the example of CMDR Rinzler o7o7o7. Push the legal limits of fun that civilians are permitted to have. Sometimes, overwhelming firepower is the answer. Plus, she’ll get a fighter bay.
I’ll be around when it goes live. Sooner if I get bored with exploring the Commonwealth Wasteland.
Ferrying passengers is one of my favorite things to do in (modded) Oolite.
Honestly, I love the Orca. Looking forward to it having a purpose.
I’ve been playing a bit recently, although I’ve just been bumming around doing what I want rather than attempting to make any money, so I’m still sat in my Cobra III, although she’s got an upgrade or two.
What’s in the patch?
The Cobra Mk. III is a fine ship, probably the best multipurpose ship until you can afford an Asp Explorer.
Here’s the complete change log at the beta drop, which just happened.
It’s not short.
Will probably try out the beta, though I have a few tasks to complete in the main game first.
Last night I bought myself a “repositioning Adder” to switch from my Type 9 to my Python - it was 180ly away and I didn’t fancy flying the T9 all that way. So I found my Python, plotted my route, and off I went.
Only, I hadn’t actually found the Python. I ended up at a station where I’d stored some old Sidewinder I bought months ago for reasons I can’t even remember. Fuck’s sake.
Probably using the Sidey as a bookmark. Luckily, the game now includes actual bookmarks. 
I would like some advice from the more experienced players here.
I’m currently tooling around in This, a somewhat upgraded Cobra 3. I’ve been thinking of doing some more bounty huntery type stuff though, and was wondering if upgrading to a Viper 4, and then spending some cash on it, would help with the whole staying alive thing.
I’ve only just put the new shields in, upgraded from stock, so I’m quite hopeful that that’s going to help anyway.
If you can afford it, replace those medium lasers with turrets. That way you’ll still be doing damage without needing to be pointed at a target.
I’m sure somebody here would be up for patrolling a resource extraction site with you.