Elite Dangerous FAQ: Difference between revisions

: The differences are predominantly in issues surrounding scale, complexity of background simulations, adherence to recognized science of the universe and release schedule.

 

 

: ''Elite: Dangerous'' is the ''4th'' instalment in the [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#What is .22Elite: Dangerous.22.3F|''Elite'' series dating back to 1984]].

: ''Star Citizen'' has a heritage in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Roberts_%28game_developer%29#Biography ''Wing Commander'' / ''Privateer'' / ''Starlancer ''/'' Freelancer'' series dating back to 1990].

 

 

: ''Elite: Dangerous'' was released on December 16, 2014.

: ''Star Citizen'' is projected for a general [http://starcitizen.wikia.com/wiki/Anticipated_Release_Schedule#Star_Citizen release in late 2016].

 

 

: ''Elite: Dangerous'' has and ''Star Citizen'' will have an on-going [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#I have heard that the .22Elite.22 series have no actual storyline. Is that true.3F|background story]] which will be influenced by the players and augmented with developer injected events.

: ''Star Citizen'' comes with a [http://starcitizen.wikia.com/wiki/Squadron_42 single-player focused cinematic scripted campaign] called ''Squadron 42'' and is projected for general episodic releases starting from late 2016, followed by [https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/31pk2q/for_those_confused_about_squadron_42_and_what/ two DLC sequels in the future]

 

 

: In ''Elite: Dangerous'', the [http://i.imgur.com/vXLnJea.png ships] are relatively [https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/33305725/Elite/comparison.jpg larger] for [[Ships#Faction Ships|their class]], and atmospheric capable ones are modeled to be [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Why are the ships simpler in design compared to other games.3F|aerodynamically streamlined and symmetrical]], and therefore carry their weapons within a bay. This provides ships with hulls that are able to enter and [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Will landing and docking be seamless in .22Elite: Dangerous.22.3F|freeform (manual pitch/yaw/roll)]] fly through planet atmospheres at hypersonic speeds. Capital ships are in the [http://elite.frontier.co.uk/images/newsletter_2013_09_06/schematic_flat_FEDCAP.png 2 km range]

: Landing on populated planets in ''Star Citizen'' will use [https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/3zhc6c/10_for_the_chairman_episode_74_notes/ virtually guided paths] to point you to a dedicated landing zone. Unpopulated planets, or planets with no landing zone, will allow for [https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/3zhc6c/10_for_the_chairman_episode_74_notes/ freeform flight and unrestricted landing].

 

 

: ''Elite: Dangerous'' has freeform (manual pitch/yaw/roll) [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#How will we travel those vast distances in such a huge galaxy.3F|interplanetary fast travel]]; aka Super Cruise. Due to the [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#How big will planets and star systems.C2.A0be.3F|realistic 1:1 scale galaxy]] with proper distances, it necessitates [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#How will we travel those vast distances in such a huge glaxy.3F|faster than light speeds]], specifically up to 2001 times the speed of light (2001c). These high speeds make travel times practical with [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Will there be detailed ship managment and avionics.3F|very long range sensors and combat interaction]]. Players are able to seamlessly enter [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#How will we travel those vast distances in such a huge glaxy.3F|hyperspace]] to travel from anywhere in a system to another star.

: ''<nowiki>Star Citizen'</nowiki>''s interplanetary fast travel - Quantum Drive - allows for speeds up to 0.2c (20% the speed of light) across a solar system. This limit is for realism reasons, [https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/3yhcx1/can_i_ask_why_02c_was_chosen_to_be_the_maximum/cydjw8m as there is no lore explanation for radiation shielding beyond 0.25c]. Due to this, distances between planets are [https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/3yhcx1/can_i_ask_why_02c_was_chosen_to_be_the_maximum/cydhde1 scaled down] in order to make travel times practical. QDrive allows for freeform travel within a solar system, although[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HvTwW055KE only in a straight line.] Travel between solar systems requires [https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/comment/1738871/#Comment_1738871 wormhole-like jump points (which will allow some interactivity) at fixed locations]

 

 

: In ''Elite: Dangerous'' the [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#How big will planets and star systems.C2.A0be.3F|galaxy is scientifically accurate]] and includes around&nbsp;a 100 billion star systems (around 400 billion stars considering most systems contain multiple stars). The ''Elite'' Universe is modeled on current galactic charts. [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Will planets rotate and orbit around stars.3F|Planets and moons will rotate and orbit in 1:1 scale real-time]], therefore constantly changing a system's environment.

: ''<nowiki>Star Citizen'</nowiki>''s galaxy will have [https://robertsspaceindustries.com/starmap 120 star systems] at launch, and an unknown number of explorable, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69ck049Bg_I procedurally generated] systems. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXqoyZxI_GE&t=1286 Time is compressed to 2 hours for each day (1:12 scale time)]. Due to QDrive speed limits, distances between planets are [https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/3yhcx1/can_i_ask_why_02c_was_chosen_to_be_the_maximum/cydhde1 scaled down] to around 1/100th scale. Gravity & Orbits will be [http://imperialnews.network/2016/01/reverse-the-verse-january-subscriber-edition/ simulated where practical].

 

 

: ''Elite: Dangerous'' has lightspeed [[Pulse Laser|pulse]] and [[Beam Laser|beam lasers]] on all ships fitted with energy weapons, along with missiles, railguns, cannons, and other [http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Weapons weapon types]

: Star Citizen has a mix of slow-firing lasers (akin to Star Wars), missiles, gatling guns, railguns and ballistic weapons [https://robertsspaceindustries.com/voyager-direct/weapons available]

 

 

: In ''Elite: Dangerous'' there is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4-gyDLRMXg&t=219 no artificial gravity], so [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Will landing and docking be seamless in .22Elite: Dangerous.22.3F|space stations]] are [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6AxOoBF7SM&t=34 designed to rotate]

: In ''Star Citizen, ''space stations and ships use [https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/14287-LORE-BUILDER-TWENTY-ONE-ARTIFICIAL-GRAVITY artificial gravity.]

 

 

: There are major differences in how each game handles close combat flight (as you can see from [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY5x85F-DKM this video]). There is an [http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showpost.php?p=123326 inherent flaw] with the premise of close combat space flight, leading to endless turreting and circle-strafing especially in PVP multiplayer due to the lack of terrain features in mid space, compound that with the fact that ''Elite'' also features lightspeed pulse and beam lasers making this issue even more apparent.

: In ''Star Citizen'' ships can be pointed more intuitively in a fashion akin to FPS, requiring a strong yaw. It deals with turreting by having a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-LOC G-LOC] system [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY5x85F-DKM&t=191 as seen here], but this alone [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY5x85F-DKM doesn't alleviate the problems completely], and it's up to the pilot's skill to deal with it correctly. Star Citizen features a [https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/engineering/13951-Flight-Model-And-Input-Controls fully simulated IFCS] that translates pilot input to thruster/gyro activation on the ship.

 

 

: Multiplayer is handled with a [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Is .22Elite: Dangerous.22 an MMO.3F|grouping system]] in ''Elite: Dangerous'' and a [http://starcitizenstuff.wordpress.com/tag/pvp-slider/ PVP-PVE slider] which doesn't completely control engagements in ''Star Citizen''.