Elite Dangerous: new voices to keep you company
Elite Dangerous can feel lonely when you’re out there in the Universe. That’s the reason why you should get a crew: Not Elite’s crew, but one that speaks with you. A crew from HCS Voice Packs! There is a new ASTRA voice pack coming.
This week I tried the Virtual Reality version of No Man’s Sky, and while it’s a promising step ahead for the game, I could not stop thinking that I prefer the more realistic approach of Elite Dangerous. So, despite the fact that Elite is now living in a kind of limbo (more about this another day), I opened it, to hear the familiar voice of Carina welcome me, while the grumpy Orion kept saying stuff in the background. These two, if you are familiar with the HCS Voice Packs, are the voices of Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation) and William Shatner (yes, Captain Kirk himself).
Having actors that we know from sci-fi series giving their time and voice to the crew you get to enlist in Elite Dangerous is one of the key aspects of interest of the space simulation, at least for me. I also have Eden (Idun Vik voice) and Vega (voice of Brent Spiner). Eden was my first voice pack acquisition, as I knew the actress voice from the TV series Aber Bergen. Brent Spiner, you all know: is Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
One note: Brent Spiner’s voice pack Vega is half price until September 2019, so if you don’t already have him aboard, you might want to pick him up. I’ve Vega in my crew and I must say he is one of the most interesting and surprising characters you can have in the cockpit. Watch the demo of Vega that Obsidian Ant put together — Brent Spiner also performed a set of Stephen Hawking quotes that are included in his voice pack.
Different crews for different ships
The crew of four I’ve in my DBX could be expanded, because HCS Voice Packs has a series of other voice packs available, but as I do not spend a whole lot of time in Elite Dangerous, and mostly fly in one ship, a DBX, I’ve stopped there. If you’ve a whole fleet of ships, then it might be a good idea to invest in more voice packs, as then you can have a crew for each different spaceship you command. That’s an interesting idea, I believe.
Now, I tried the first voice pack created, ASTRA, which is my son’s, and that’s when I decided to buy voice packs for me, as I felt it was “the thing” that made the difference. I did not buy ASTRA, though, but I might just do that now that HCS Voice Packs announced that a new voice pack by ASTRA is in production. This is something completely different from what is available, and is presented as a product to complement the voice packs already available for Elite Dangerous.
According to HCS Voice Packs, this new pack does not assist you with flying the ship. Instead, it will help you find your way around the galaxy, and give you useful tips and information about your surroundings. That’s an interesting crew member to have in your ED cockpit, I believe. I’ve used EDDI (a free tool available) for sometime, but I’ve decommissioned it because I was, somehow, tired of his/its continuous flux of info. I know there are ways to control some of that, but I did not want to bother with editing commands, so having a pack that replies to my queries is probably the right solution.
New ASTRA voice pack has new tricks
The new ASTRA voice pack also sounds like a good helper for those coming to Elite Dangerous for the first time. The pack itself explains all of the in-game roles (Combat, Trading, Exploration, Mining and so on), and it will will advise you about what you’ll need in each of these roles and enrich your experience within the game with voice responses. It will also give you advice about what you see in-game, such as how much your cargo is worth and this sort of thing. You’ll be able to ask, “How do I upgrade my power plant”, and be given information on how that works and what might be best for your overall objective.
HCS Voice Packs also says that the new ASTRA voice pack “will help you with getting to grips with which direction to go in as well, and act as a very useful guide for most situations you may encounter. It will explain, in detail, about forming alliances and the pros and cons attached to that. It will also explain how to accomplish specific tasks, like upgrading your ship modules and all manner of things. It will be packed with relevant information about the different roles in-game as well as guides that will prove to be invaluable.”
Although there is no confirmation if the new crew member will also make fresh coffee, HCS Voice Packs also indicates that, as an option, “it will also introduce you to real-life and useful members of the community that know a great deal about the game, what’s available for it, and what they believe is the best approach to playing, in whichever role you choose.”
Voice packs enliven Elite Dangerous
“How does this work?” you may have asked by now. Well, HCS Voice Packs says that “with an optional free community pack, notable community members can be called upon by ASTRA, and each of them have something valuable to tell you, it could be that you want to kit a ship out for exploration, or, mining.” The company says that “whatever you need, the new pack and the optional community add-on pack can help, in-game. Think of it as an onboard ‘go-to’ Ai for advice on how to get something done. It is something extra that will compliment the various guides and help tutorials that are scattered throughout the Elite Dangerous world both in, and outside of the game. We aim to make it the most informative simulated Ai that’s ever been created! The dialogue and content will be vast, and built upon with every update –This will be THE most wanted pack in the galaxy!”
While I will not hold my breath waiting for this to work as suggested, it’s an interesting solution. If they can make it happen, I believe Elite Dangerous cockpit will become some of the most exciting places to be in the near future. The space simulation may be “frozen” by Frontier not talking much about it these days, but there is still a unique magic in the universe waiting for you to explore it. No Man’s Sky made me want to go back and feel the loneliness of crossing the skies between stars and planets, or exploring the surface of a planet using the SRV. Then, having a voice talking to you, makes quite a difference.
