Harder to play than the original Elite

[draytalon]

Ok, question. I am finding Oolite way harder to play than the original Elite. I even loaded up the original to make sure I wasn't dreaming this. For instance, you start of on Diso (Democracy), after buying what I can I fly to Leesti (Corporate State). Now this is where it gets interesting, in the original Elite, apart from not being able to torus jump all the way to the station because of other ships, no issue's. In Oolite, I manage to get maybe 5km on the torus jump before I am attacked by at least 4 ships in a group. I do have addons but they are all 'eye candy' ones, so I don't get it. Is it been made harder. Now I don't mind hard games, but coming up against 4+ ships right away with only a crappy pulse laser, kinda takes out the fun of the game. Handling 1-2 ships at the beginning is fine but this...........

Just curious, still going to perceiver with the game.

[another_commander]

It is true that Oolite is harder than the original Elite. At some time during the 1.8x version cycle the concept of remote pirate groups jumping into neighbouring systens was intoduced. While in earlier versions of the game the government type was a sure-fire indicator of its expected safety level, with this change the government type of nearby systems is now also taken into account when the populator script decides what to spawn. If your Corporate State has feudal or anarchy etc. systems nearby, then pirate groups from those systems may attempt raids in the otherwise safe Corporate system. If you are unlucky enough, you might meet them while traveling. Also, heavy pirate squadrons are more likely to become remote raiders than light ones, bevause light groups would have less chanve of surviving in the well-patrolled corporate system.

The result of this is that the chance of dangerous encounters is higher than that of the old Elite. It is also true that the change I mentioned has blurred the lines between which systems are considered safe and which aren't. Although you should not be encountering those ships every single time you play, I think that we currently have more remote raiders in the game than we should and that the easiest fix would probably be a reduction in their overall numbers. Maybe simply adjusting the number of remote raiders to 1/3 of what we currently have would restore some security in the supposedly more secure systens, while at the same time keeping the concept of renote raiders (which I find it to be a good overall gameplay concept) alive.

Having said that, are you sure that the OXPs you have added are not contributing to the increased difficulty? Some of them, despite being tagged as eye-candy, can flip gamne balance on its head. Custom Shields is a prime offender of this, do you happen to have it in your OXP list? If so, then you have just multiplied difficulty by a factor of 2 and you will probably either fix the OXP so that it does not unbalance the game or remove it until you have your ship iron-assed. If you do have it and want to fix it let me know and I can provide instructions.

[draytalon]

It is true that Oolite is harder than the original Elite. At some time during the 1.8x version cycle the concept of remote pirate groups jumping into neighbouring systens was intoduced. While in earlier versions of the game the government type was a sure-fire indicator of its expected safety level, with this change the government type of nearby systems is now also taken into account when the populator script decides what to spawn. If your Corporate State has feudal or anarchy etc. systems nearby, then pirate groups from those systems may attempt raids in the otherwise safe Corporate system. If you are unlucky enough, you might meet them while traveling. Also, heavy pirate squadrons are more likely to become remote raiders than light ones, bevause light groups would have less chanve of surviving in the well-patrolled corporate system.

The result of this is that the chance of dangerous encounters is higher than that of the old Elite. It is also true that the change I mentioned has blurred the lines between which systems are considered safe and which aren't. Although you should not be encountering those ships every single time you play, I think that we currently have more remote raiders in the game than we should and that the easiest fix would probably be a reduction in their overall numbers. Maybe simply adjusting the number of remote raiders to 1/3 of what we currently have would restore some security in the supposedly more secure systens, while at the same time keeping the concept of renote raiders (which I find it to be a good overall gameplay concept) alive.

Having said that, are you sure that the OXPs you have added are not contributing to the increased difficulty? Some of them, despite being tagged as eye-candy, can flip gamne balance on its head. Custom Shields is a prime offender of this, do you happen to have it in your OXP list? If so, then you have just multiplied difficulty by a factor of 2 and you will probably either fix the OXP so that it does not unbalance the game or remove it until you have your ship iron-assed. If you do have it and want to fix it let me know and I can provide instructions.

Glad it just wasn't me thinking it was harder. No custom shield addon, I went through all my addons, nothing contributes to the difficult. Not a big issue, I will play it as is and make as much cash as I can to level up the Cobra MKIII and seek justice.

[Cholmondely]

Ok, question. I am finding Oolite way harder to play than the original Elite. I even loaded up the original to make sure I wasn't dreaming this. For instance, you start of on Diso (Democracy), after buying what I can I fly to Leesti (Corporate State). Now this is where it gets interesting, in the original Elite, apart from not being able to torus jump all the way to the station because of other ships, no issue's. In Oolite, I manage to get maybe 5km on the torus jump before I am attacked by at least 4 ships in a group. I do have addons but they are all 'eye candy' ones, so I don't get it. Is it been made harder. Now I don't mind hard games, but coming up against 4+ ships right away with only a crappy pulse laser, kinda takes out the fun of the game. Handling 1-2 ships at the beginning is fine but this...........

Just curious, still going to perceiver with the game.

As a_c states, this increase in difficulty was introduced with Oolite v.1.80 (c. 2014).

Three suggestions:

If your heart is set on the Diso-Leesti trade run, add in Redspear's Systems OXP: Paddling Pool to your OXP cocktail recipe!

Or, do what I do - on arrival at the witchpoint, turn at 90° to the planet and whizz along for a few seconds, so that you totally leave the pirate-infested space lane between the witchpoint beacon and the main orbital station. Keep well outside it until you can approach the main orbital station from a different angle.

Or, give up on Diso-Leesti as too dangerous, and waltz over to Zaonce, instead. Then settle for the Isinor-Tionisla milkrun until you have equipped your ship enough to cope with the pirates in Qutiri or those invading Ensoreus from its neighbouring systems. The I-T milkrun is superior, anyway (better trade price differentials).

Personally, I prefer the way the pirates are in the current Oolite, despite my utterly lousy combat skills. It just seems so much more realistic - and in keeping with the words of the Oolite.org web page introduction:

Among the seven trillion people who are - at least officially - Cooperative citizens, you are nobody. So far, anyway. You've got a ship, some weapons, and enough spare cash to get started - and one day, you might get the fame, wealth or glory you want. Perhaps one day, everyone might know your name. If, that is, you can survive that long.

The two thousand star systems of the Cooperative once enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity, and perhaps the wealthiest of them can still pretend to. The trade ships that once safely travelled between planets now have to be well armed and escorted to fend off pirate attacks, from small-time criminals desperate for their next meal, to powerful robber barons extracting tithes from everyone who passes through their space.

The Cooperative's police force, concentrated near a few influential planets, can no longer maintain order. The mercenaries they hire for a few credits a kill are too few, too unreliable to do so either. And in the darkness between the stars, an old enemy lurks, fearless, perhaps waiting for order to collapse entirely.

Good luck, Commander.

[Cody]

Yep! As noted, going off-piste works - and Zaonce (Isinor/Tionisla/Qutiri) is the place to go early on.
If you want to tempt the fates, sell the pulse laser, and trade hard 'til you have injectors.

Pick your fights carefully, learn to evade, and dropping a few cargo pods for pirates helps.

[draytalon]

Good suggestions guys, but there is no way I am giving up my cargo to some lame outlaws. I will keep at it and when I have enough space money to upgrade, then these pirates won't bother me that much, my pew, pew, pew laser will be zap, zap, zap and they are dead. Enjoying the difficulty I must say, but I thought it was only me that noticed a change, seems I am mistaken. Well time to get off and traverse the realms that is Oolite and beef up my meagre little Cobra MKIII.

PS, I know there are OXP's out there that can enhance your ship, I prefer the 'eye candy' look with the original feel of the game, so I will not be downloading anything that makes it easier, in my eyes that's cheating. I die, I reload and try, try, try again.

[Cody]

The best (as regards eye-candy) Cobra MkIII out there is Griffs HighPoly Cobra III MultiDecal - but I can't find a link for it, and I don't see it in the expansion manager list. I know it exists as I fly it myself, but my search-fu has again deserted me. Nurse... my medication quick!

Ah... this is it (I think).