So let me get this straight; they want you to not disturb the Non native, batch farmed birds that they will then be allowing people to shoot for fun later on?

Ffs.

Request sent! 🙂

Approved; welcome to the Squadron, o7

At last, new story content! Terrorist attacks, stations burning. Rescue missions into burning stations. News of a two year multi arc storyline plan. It’s all good.

SIngle Track Galaxy

Should be a ‘join squadron’ button on the linked page somewhere.

Single Track Galaxy Squadron now listed on Inara. Join up folks!

Thanks for setting up a Discord for us D0NK, that’ll be my first foray into that tool.

Errrr, Oi! 😂😂😂

o7 Cmdrs! Managed to get on for an afternoon and won a massacre mission by winning a couple of Hi intensity CZs. Not much I know but at least I’ve contributed now.

I wonder if it may be an idea to take discussions of war tactics to a private space. This thread now comes up on google results if you google ‘Akuntsu’ ‘war’ and ‘elite dangerous’. Plus I’ve got som tactical ideas that I’d like to share but they won’t work if the empires henchmen get wind. As such, I’ve created the ‘STW Galaxy’ discord server for NKP war room type discussions. I’ve sent PM invites to the usual suspects on this thread; PM me if I’ve missed you out and I’ll reply with an invite.

Bit of advice I have been given re combat bonds; transactions are weighted more highly than absolute value, so turn in bonds frequently rather than saving them up. Apparently around a mill at a time has been found to be optimal.

Gutted I can’t help out; can’t get near the console until next week sometime.

In other news; ‘something’ is happening on Thursday. The word in the black is that Galnet will be returning; and a new Dev Diary episode date will be released.

Haha I was about to offer my services as a fuel rat, you’re PC right?

Me? PS4 bud. Hankering after a mega VR machine, but need a small inheritance or something first.

Thank you for the thought, it’s appreciated ☺️ but I’ve just had notification that my lift has arrived in system and I’ll be boarding in the morning. It’s a great community on E:D, it’s just not immediately obvious how to access it!

Entering Akuntsu system now and heading for the outpost to sell my exploration data.

Woop woop! Make sure you honk as you go through the slot. Welcome back to the bubble Cmdr.

In other news I’ve secured berthing for my trip back to the bubble via the wonder of multiple Discord server memberships. I’ll be back soon too.

DBX is the go to for guardian sites, but I’ve only ever been in a Phantom with twin point defence turrets and never had an issue. You can’t get a fighter blueprint from a surface site though; it’s a space beacon thingy I think. It’s on my to do list too. Surface sites still useful for all the flipping guardian stuff you need though. And as mentions above, make sure you’ve at least a plinky laser to charge the space based guardian thingy. (Although I’ve heard you can repeatedly ram it out of frustration and it kinda works if you’re lucky).

In other news; I’m still stuck in HIP 36601 without a fuel scoop in my mining Python, because I missed the boat back whilst mining a bit o trit to help out with the ride. Currently docked on a random carrier, thinking no one is going to stay out there for very long, right? Right?? 😳😳😳😳

(I think) Power play is not related to minor faction simulation. You can ally your Faction with one of the superpowers (or remain independent) but the ‘exploited system’ mechanic remains variable. Of course, as a group we could decide which Power Personality We want to align with (they all give different benefits to how stations run) and manipulate it as such. Wouldn’t be very difficult, I don’t think.

They aren’t random, they’re New Kuwembaa Labour! NKL! NKL! NKL!!

(Also it was Matts little experiment with the background situation that we’ve all been sucked into. I do wonder that if we enjoy it and there’s enough of us (Player Controlled Minor Factions need at least ten players) we could either apply for our own new minor faction or possibly get NKL registered as ours. No idea if that’s possible, but it’s a minor difference only anyway).

So there was no opposing faction after all? Just our own bungling incompetence?

I think we have to consider that as a possibility. The system being in a boom state may well have exaggerated the effect in favour of IPP, too.

I presume trade missions for NKL in akuntsu dont count as profitable trade?

I think it’s the destination system faction that gets assisted in that situation.

Addendum; we own a couple of planetary ports in Akuntsu; they would be excellent places to dump carto data and profitable trades. Still no bounties though, as they help the faction controlling the system (upholding law and order etc).

Can we arrange an escort for BeagleBoy’s triumphal return? Seems quite an impressive achievement that should be marked by several ships alongside firing off chaff and such 🎊🎉🎊🎉 Who’s on the same platform?

Also, if you sell the data in Gagnan Port, Kuwembaa, you’ll immediately become allies with NKL, AND help the cause there. 👍🏼

On the subject of helping NKL; I’ve been doing some research. I have done a little bit of ‘spinning the wheel’ for The Dark Wheel before aligning more closely with NKL. I am on their Discord server and receive the daily standing orders, which have been very effective in producing the results they are looking for. Below is an example of their excellent daily orders, and the principles will apply to our situation, too;

.
**Orders 31 Aug – 1 Sep 3306**
<@&724509189258346531>

War in LTT 5455 is 3 days won. Today should finish it off and we then begin our climb to the top.

CIA in LFT 926 is in another election. Run some more missions there to win it for them. We can afford to drop TDW influence a bit to give them a safety buffer so this doesnt keep happening.

Please do not do any of the following as they help the enemy:
Do NOT work for other factions in our systems, unless requested in the orders.
Do NOT hand in bounties for any faction other than The Dark Wheel in our systems.
Do NOT hand in trade goods or cartography data to stations that we do not own.

Tasks for today:

__**Bounty Hunting & Combat:**__
– Bounty Hunting in LFT 926, Anyanwu or HR 4979. Hand in to help the war in LTT 5455
– Conflict zones in LTT 5455. There is another war here, be sure to select the correct one! Last day!

__**Commodity Trading**__
– Profitable trades into TDW owned ground stations in Shinrarta

__**Missions & Passengers**__
– Missions for TDW in Shinrarta
– Combat missions for TDW in LTT 5455
– Missions for CIA in LFT 926 (Non combat ones)

__**Exploration Data:**__
– Hand in TDW ground stations in Shinrarta

Please continue to use EDMC or similar tools to keep local data up to date.

Keep Spinning The Wheel, Hamsters!

With thanks to Cmdr Cryptography who write this stuff. Good work.

We can apply the principles of the above orders and achieve NKL objectives.

So;

Run NKL missions out of Wylie and other ports in Akuntsu.

Don’t hand bounties in anywhere in Akuntsu as it helps the enemy. If you need the money, utilise an Interstellar Factor. Also, no profitable trades anywhere in Akuntsu please; trades and Carto can go to Kuwembaa.

. I am concerned though that we may not be doing this right and by working out of Wylie we may be the ones boosting IPP unwittingly.

There may be something in that. I know I’ve cashed in bounties for NKL at Wylie and that may well not help NKL but rather IPP as the controlling faction. Seems harsh but it could be the case. Same with carto data.

That’s really frustrating. I chose Inf+++++ over some pretty fancy pants materials a few times, too 😡

We need to kill the ‘boom’ state in Akuntsu.

Well I’ve spent a good few hours today doing the dirty work of NKL out of Wylie Dock. I’ve done some things*, I’ve seen some things. Things I don’t really want to talk about. Bit hopefully NKL will be sitting in a slightly better position tonight.

17 civilian things, to be precise. That kept bloody running away… 😡
Plus numerous delivery, courier and pirate assassinations that I don’t feel quite so bad about; at least they fight back 😏

I would have to drop the docking computer

Time to lose the training wheels, Mol! 😉😘

Got to admit; I think all the dedicated hauler ships should be given a large, cargo only slot to make them relevant again now that credits are so easy to come by compared to the olden Elite days. A cutter just shouldn’t be able to haul more than a T-9, and a Python shouldn’t be able to haul more than a T-7. It’s a bit daft.

@Matt_bl 👍🏼 Thank you

Hi Matt, I have a rather pleasing 888tonnes on board, from four trips last weekend. I’m not going to be able to get online for a few days though; would you mind holding my deposit for me? Appreciated.

Also; more than happy to donate a percentage of my take to the carrier upkeep fund; what do you reckon?

Ooh… further odyssey teaser/dev diary goodness

Those icy planets look gorgeous!

Cmdr V8ninety destroyed your ship

Blimey, I didn’t even notice! I do apologise.

Did a bit of engineer unlocking this afternoon, ferrying cigars around the Galaxy, and stopping off at any HGSS that I see along the way. Nice and relaxing :-)

Matt; I remember you asking about ‘Mysterious Stranger’ type missions; well I came across this in the Dark Wheel Discord today; thought it may be of interest to you;

OK gonna respond to this question and pin it once and for all so its reoccurring status will be much easier to deal with. ***__TIP OFF MISSIONS: WHATS THE DEAL??? __*** Well you see as you do missions for a faction you will from time to time get these generated tip off missions telling you to go somewhere and do a thing. Many players ignore and delete them as they are quite often telling you to fly a long distance and do something shady or hard for a reward that seems not all that great. the thing is though that quite often these missions tie directly to POI’s and such that may or **__MAY NOT__** have ever been discovered. For this exact reason Canonn Interstellar actually has a program where you can report these tipoffs to them and they will check it against the known shit list and if it seems it’s not known they will go there themselves to catalogue the site! **__IN ADDITION FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE DARK WHEEL:__** It is established lore for TDW that you have to get their attention and then *PROVE YOURSELF WORTHY* by undertaking some difficult task and only after passing this test will they let you in on a secret that it wasn’t a standard mission but rather that it was a test. for __THIS__ exact reason. I myself (and most of the hard core Raxxla heads) do ALL these tipoff missions in the hope that somewhere somehow it will lead to some clue. if you choose not to do the missions that is entirely up to you but now you can decide with all the relevant information. That is all.

– Cmdr Kai Zen, TDW

Am I gonna make my money back? 🙂

Goodness me yes; this is ED mining after all! My Python is worth a measly 122 mil, according to Inara. I could buy 3 or 4 with the anticipated profits from last night alone.

I’ve a dedicated Mining Anaconda and a dedicated Python miner so I can offer an opinion here. The Python is an amazing ship for mining; probably the optimal ship in the game in my opinion. My Anaconda is better on paper than my Python, but in use it feels heavy and lumbering, and the hold feels like it takes forever to fill. Around 200t just feels about right for a mining trip to me, which the Python manages nicely.

I’ve never flown a Beluga, so couldn’t comment. Imperial ships are popular for mining, but I don’t fancy them much, would feel like towing a caravan with a Bentley. For carrier mining, the Corvette would be awesome too, as it’s shocking jump range would matter not. Type 9; see my comments re the Anaconda, but add even more lumberingness, with the slight positive of a better view. Never looked into a T10 but could work maybe?

Don’t forget to swap out the fuel scoop for extra cargo when doing carrier supported mining today 👍🏼

And don’t forget your limpets, like I did last night, twice 🙄. At least the carrier is nearby…

I hear Quent voted leave, too…

How do wings help with mining? Surely there’s limited resources inside the asteroids? or do wings increase the payload or something?

Wing laser mining has three main advantages over solo mining.

Firstly, the game allows all members of a wing to deplete an asteroid separately; so if I prospect a good roid and deplete it, you can target my prospector and it will still show full of stuff, which means that you’ve effectively doubled your prospecting power with two sets of eyes and four active limpets instead of two.

Secondly, when you sell and make a profit when winged up, the other members of the wing get a trade dividend of (I think) 5%, which when selling 100mil of painite at a time, is worth having.

Thirdly (and most importantly), it’s a bit of a laugh, and can make an otherwise potentially dull activity quite entertaining 😎

Sadly these advantages are largely not applicable to core or subsurface mining, which is a shame, but after a brief flash in the pan these mechanics seem to have faded into the background again.

STW Mega Mining Extravaganza™️

I’m very up for that. My windows of opportunity may actually fit for once too; I’ll be on 2000-0000ish on Friday and Saturday evening :-)

Winging up would still be useful from a many eyes/prospector limpet point of view, and wung (winged?) up for the final sale would still be worthwhile financially too 👍🏼

Do you really think that a Bratwurst is better than a British sausage?

Not better per se, but a different beast. Part of the great tapestry of sausage life.

Did you sell your exploration data yet Mol? If so, how much did you get? If not, ask Matt where best to sell for most useful influence 👍🏼

Can’t get on tonight, but I’ll be on tomorrow and Thursday evening for some Merc’ing 😎👍🏼

Also – you should be able to give money to or request money from other CMDRs. This would allow you to hire them to do stuff for you.

You kinda can, via high price minerals. But it’s not easy. What would really improve the game would be better in game comms; the need for which is kinda proven by the multitude of reddit and discord servers that have sprung up (just counted; I’m a lurking member of seventeen different discord servers, all of which are active little communities in their own right to a greater or lesser extent, plus four subReddits). Probably missed the boat now though; all the disparate comms channels exist and are used. Just a pity it’s so fragmented.

Also, what I’d really like to see is cross platform play. This thread alone shows how good/useful it would be.

I’m not sure I’ve ever played a game which is so dependant on 3rd party tools to make it playable day to day.

You’re not wrong, but to put a different spin on it, I’ve never known a game that inspires and encourages such player enthusiasm and activity outside the actual game. Some of the 3rd party tools are amazing in both their execution and utility, and there’s no monetary reward as such for the owners of the tools. Maybe a bit of advertising? Dunno. Not a lot anyway. Amazing.

Apparently there’s a (less than perfect, but workable) way of seeing who’s on board on Inara. There’s a ‘miscellaneous’ tab that shows Cmdrs visited, and you can filter to last 15 mins. I’m guessing it works better for PC brethren though, who can run real time updates on Inara, as opposed to our 48hrs/manual updates 🙄

I also think it’s amusing/a little disappointing that your carrier flight control whinges at you for speeding, etc, still. It should be all; “that’s excellent ship handling sir; we will clear your flight path. Welcome home. Ooh a barrel roll, very good sir” instead…

I’m on. Only one ship though; can’t transfer ships in without a shipyard it seems, which is a pity. Probably not worth the cash/upkeep though tbf. No matter; I’ve transferred a couple of useful ships to a nearby starport. Let the shenanigans continue 👍🏼

I wonder what changes this latest update will bring…

Erickson fan? I always preferred nokia 😉

That is just ridiculous for something that just sits there

I’m not particularly tempted myself but it’s truly small fry compared to the useless shite people will spend money on. Private number plates, anyone? Beer? Fags? Fancy wrist watches? Each to their own cash sink. I’d say Lego has far more intrinsic value than a lot of ‘wastes’ of money. And I like beer. 🍻