AMA about Elite Dangerous

[TorTorden]

First reason inhazard is.
Because game and they wanted something that sounds different than yet another space game using "warp engines" or better yet an alcubierre drive that has also been retconned into trek as I suspect is one explanation for why there are so many similarities.

But looking aside from the name hypercruise is almost practically the regular star trek warp drive to a tee, outside of how warp factor/efficiency is dependent on proximity to a gravity object.

I don't really like comparing to trek since honestly it's I'll defined and littered with retconning like most long running Hollywood pieces of fiction. Still better than Lucas that confuses speed and distance measurements.

But in generally the max cruise speed of 2001 (pun intended I'm sure) fits somewhere in the upper warp factor of 9 something.

The jump drive is simply a point to point wormhole.

The Alcubierre Drive theory was the one that placed Starting point A on Destination B by folding Space was it ?

Now that's a wormhole (Einstein /Rosen ) bridge.
An Alcubierre drive would create a pocket of space around an object.
And only way I can comprehend it, is to think of the space bubble like a airplane wing where you create high pressure on one side and low pressure on another. causing the bubble to be pushed through space at greater than light speed.

Like warp bubbles in star trek and supercruise in ED.

[Cmdr Kharma]

All in all the lack of alien races is probably simply a case of lack of developmental resources on Frontier's part. To be honest the coming update in 2.1 adding faces to npc's is probably something they wanted in play before adding alien races in the first place. After all what is the fun in seeing a ship but not being able to see the type of alien inside of it.

You might be right. But I hope it's wrong.

Thargoids and or other aliens make for an amazingly powerful boogie man.
At this point it's most player created but I really hope FD doesn't play the Thargoids invasion card for at least another three to four years from now.

FD and us players he has the most to gain by playing the slow card on this.

The very minute they actually introduce thargoids the mystery will be over and one less mystery to discover.

With you on that one......

[Falcon_D]

Hello,
We have yet to explore even a significant portion of our galaxy, let alone Andromeda and the other know galaxies out there. So why all this talk in ED lore about finding an entire unknown Universe via Raxxala? I read somewhere that Thargoids are actually from a another dimension. Why go so far?
Would we ever have a wormhole gate to access other parts of our own universe?

Have fun, fly safe. o7

[StaticRadion]

Hello,
We have yet to explore even a significant portion of our galaxy, let alone Andromeda and the other know galaxies out there. So why all this talk in ED lore about finding an entire unknown Universe via Raxxala? I read somewhere that Thargoids are actually from a another dimension. Why go so far?
Would we ever have a wormhole gate to access other parts of our own universe?

Have fun, fly safe. o7

Frontier is going as far as they feel is necessary to set up a universe in which to tell the story they feel will offer the best experience to the player while holding over option for the future within a science fiction universe.

It is my understanding that wormholes, black holes, pockets of time, higher or lower planes of existence, alternate realities, alternate universes, witchspace, galaxy expansion and galaxy travel all have tiny threads binding them to pseudoscience and or the basic concepts within String Theory and Quantum Physics. So, for Frontier's part in all this, they have done a masterful job of including the potential to expand the narrative within the Elite universe to include one ore more aspects at any time. This gives them a ton of option when it comes to season content and forming a road map for the game.

So it is not outside the realm of possibilities that a portal to a deeper section of galaxy may be created, though it is far more likely that travel within our own universe will simply be made easier.Many commanders, because of lack of interest, probably don't know that it is possible to bank FSD boosts. I know of one commander that has over 30 normal FSD boosts banked right now and his journey to the center of the galaxy will be made significantly easier when he sets out for his trip. With that in mind I don't think it is out of the question to think that in the future FDev might add another type of FSD in the same way we now have three different types of shields.

Remember, as realistic as the Elite universe now is you have to remember that the 400 billion stars are mostly procedurally generated and don't really reflect what is really up there in the sky with possible exceptions being the main star. It seems that they want as much of the base game as possible to be rooted in reality and that is probably because having points of reference within reality opens the doors to amazing storytelling. As long as you don't jump the shark after having created a universe that people want to live in and you offer meaningful, lasting, or fun experiences then you will have a game that people play for a decade or more.

o7

[Flip]

I read a couple of suggestions in the last few days that UA’s might not be of Thargoid origin, but made by an AI (or AI’s) that has/have been banned (which would justify they use of Morse code). Know anything about banned AI’s?

[StaticRadion]

I read a couple of suggestions in the last few days that UA’s might not be of Thargoid origin, but made by an AI (or AI’s) that has/have been banned (which would justify they use of Morse code). Know anything about banned AI’s?

The problem in researching the topic is that the two main sources, Drew Wagar who writes official fiction and EP Michael Brookes seem to have said all that they seem to want to on the subject. The basic rudimentary facts are that it is in the history of the game series, Michael Brookes has stated there maybe more than one rogue AI out there, and it is something that interests people so with time it will probably make its way into the story, but probably not through the UA tangent.

In the same video diary by Michale Brookes listed above he also talked about sentient life in E:D (source). On that topic he lists off the limited sentient species including the "alien artifact" among them, but as a separate subject from the Thargoids and AI. Modify this information with your background in the Elite universe and the info listed on Drew Wagar's elite lore page, "The original mysterious alien artefact – Long before the current obsession with the UA, there was another. A mystery that remains unresolved even now", and you can come to a much more solid conclusion.

UA's are not some fly by night seat of your pants addition that Frontier put in E:D like some say. They have been a part of the original story narrative as it was created by Brookes, the writers, and the DDF group in 2013. While the execution of there inclusion has been passable at best there is a plan for them and it probably does not involve the Thargoids. I have some ideas about the role they play and I may share them in the future, but for now I need to be back IRL.

Cheers o7

[Flip]

Thank you, StaticRadion. The link between UA’s and the Thargoids has always seemed dubious to me. Assuming that Thargoids would use Morse code seems like an insult to the writers' intelligence, IMO.

[Nethaufer]

Have you done research on the effects the three standard bulkheads (light alloy, reinforced alloy, and military comp) have on the reduction of damage to interior modules?

[StaticRadion]

Have you done research on the effects the three standard bulkheads (light alloy, reinforced alloy, and military comp) have on the reduction of damage to interior modules?

Yes, I have indeed.
You may want to review my original post that I ripped that from here, but what it comes down to is that the three "standard" bulkheads, as you call them, have no effect on module damage. They do however have a substantial effect on the amount of damage the hull absorbs before failing. The two higher tier bulkheads have negative side effects when you look at module damage so I recommend staying away from them, but they do offer better damage reduction to the hull for their respective damage types.

Something else worth mentioning is that hull reinforcements are not a substitute for bulkheads as they seem to just add hull "points" like health without adding the additional defense. So, they are best used in tandem or probably not at all because they slow you down and take up space you could use for SCB's.

[Nethaufer]

Got another question for you. How do lower level FSDs affect distance per jump when weight is added? I just tried to do something myself through Coriolis, and found that an Asp Explorer with a 4A loses .69 Ly with 12 additional tons, while a Type 6 using a 4A loses 2.12 Ly with 12 additional tons. Is it something to do with the base weight of the ship itself, because an Asp is heavier it takes more out of the total jumprange first, and any additional weight is somewhat negligible, or is there some form of wonky magic going on?