This week, I purchased Elite Dangerous for the PlayStation 4. It’s a game that has been on my radar for a couple of years now and that $14.99 price point was just too good to pass up. One of the reasons I didn’t purchase it sooner is that it’s not the type of game I typically play. It’s way more complex and time consuming than the traditional quick pick up and play or narrative driven games I tend to enjoy.
Elite Dangerous is a space flight simulation that exists in a 1:1 scale simulation of the Milky Way Galaxy. That means it has 400 billion star systems to explore and at the current rate of exploration it’ll take around 30,000 years to explore everything. Around 150,000 of the star systems are taken from real astronomical data.
The game is open ended MMO, but the galaxy can be explored off line as well. I like to do things at my own pace, so I’ll be playing the game off-line at least for the foreseeable future.
Yesterday, I spent some time reading some tutorials for Elite Dangerous and various tips and tricks. I wanted to be somewhat prepared knowing that I was getting into something with a lot more depth than I’m used to. Its the type of game I’d probably prefer to play on PC, but I don’t have a gaming rig. Luckily for me, the developers did a great job utilizing the PS4 controller.
Last night, I decided to play through part of the tutorial and begin my time with Elite Dangerous. I learned basic maneuvering, faster than light jumping, and combat. I also got some experience with the in-depth menus and I really liked what I saw. While slow, the tutorial did a great job of introducing me to the game and I’m glad I decided to stop where I did. I think until I get my bearings an hour or two here or there is probably the best way for me to approach this game.
I’m not sure what career I want to pursue in the game, but I’m thinking of just being a lonely space miner. I’m hoping the game can offer me some peace and quiet in a fun, interactive environment. Maybe down the road I’ll look into some combat or even hopping online, but I think for now I just want to chill out and have this be a somewhat relaxing experience exploring the stars in real time.
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