We previously ran a bounty asking you to send in recommendation for Elite guides, content creators, and online resources. In that bounty, we said there was one thing we weren't looking for: third-party tools. To recognise the array of fantastic tools, we felt that merited it's own distinct bounty - this one!
To win a prize, select a third-party tool and explain as clearly as possible what it does and why you like it.
What happens if someone has already nominated your third-party tool of choice? Our general approach for repeat submissions is that we'll award the first person to submit an award-worthy nomination for it, unless the subsequent nominations add a significant amount of extra value. In those situations, we'll either award both entries or the superior entry, depending on the number of prizes available.
You're more than welcome to nominate more than one tool. However, long lists of tools with minimal detail are less likely to win than detailed entries with a narrow focus.
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This reward closed to entries at 11:33am on September 25, 2024 but you can still reply, react, and join the conversation below! If you’d like to enter other rewards which are still open, click here.
Inara is the best app for Elite Dangerous, it allows you to search for a registered system and see if there are settlements, it also allows you to see the modules for the ship and their price and much more, it is a great app to help you explore the Elite Dangerous universe
A very interesting tool is Touch Portal! It is possible to connect a tablet or a phone (Android or IOS) and control the game by it. There is a free version that you can use a limited set of bindings, and the payed version is a one time bought, so no subscriptions required. There are specific plugins for Elite Dangerous, so if you're not in the mood to customize it yourself, just download it and be happy!
I like to pair it with AI track and OpenTrack: with these two, you are able to control the camera in-game by only using a common webcam. It is like having a simpler eye tracker, but very effective. It is very easy and fast to set up following the tips in their gitHub and youtube tutorials.
To summarize:
Touch Portal for controling the game in a more cool simulation way.
Ai Track and Open Track to control the camera using your webcam.
Can't go past inara, the most comprehensive coverage of ALL game aspects, in the last 8 years i have tried most 3rd party apps, inara has to be the most user friendly tool i found, just bring the site up, and start rearching, you don't have to have an account to find what you need, however, having an account and linking it, you will have access to your inventory, shipyard, ranks and reputation in the game, if you are planning to engineer it will tell you what mats you have/need for your project, due to recent changes to the engineering mechanics (which to be honest, was a random generation and impossible to calculate as it it sucked sweaty ones previously} this is invaluable, if you just want to find trade routes, best prices for commodities buy/sell, ship modules/weapons/ships, mat traders, nearest stations/systems, tech brokers ect. it is my go to for everything elite, if your into reading stories there are many creative commanders writing some entertaining material, 07
Useful app for engineering and purchasing unlocks/unique modules. Especially when you're trading materials to get what you need. The "shopping list" function is extremely useful as it lists what you need to buy and shows how much you have/how much it needs. Syncs with your inventory in real time. Plus you can plug in the API from your build on Coriolis.io to get a full shopping list automatically.
Well, its relevant! You guys are fast becoming a great place to find concise, well written guides and articles that would definitely assist any commander no matter their experience. I myself have seen trivia in the factoids, content creators' guides and opinions that I had yet to see or consider. What's more is it's been done in a fun and positive fashion.
It says "trade" but in reality is a quite extensive tool that will help you organize your stuff during the playthrough. Starting from casual destination info like what services have installed Fleet Carrier:
This tool is also suitable for the cartographers who don't want to remember all planet values, it shows how valuable is the scanned planet (unfortunately only after you have scanned the planet):
But besides that, it tracks your planned route between star systems, specifying which stars are scoopable so you don't need to open galaxy map and check if the star 3 jumps away is suitable for the fuel scoop. Continuing explorer utilities, it also shows all your materials so you don't need to check through right panel how many materials you have.
For a little more time-saver you can open missions tab with preview of all the active missions, their destination and rewards.
In general, this tool is more from these ones that give the in-game info, but it puts everything on your screen in one spot so it is great time saver and you have always a preview of the information you currently need. There is even a planet minimap where you can pin the interesting landscapes and other points of interest not mapped by the default ED systems to save for later.
One of the main tools that I believe is great for any commander no matter their experience level is Inara. Using this tool you will be able to check trade routes, look up stations that may have certain materials or Technology brokers, planets, moons, stars, factions and even more detailed information that would normally be really difficult to find by yourself.
You can also search modules to modify your ship, check if certain Fleet carriers are buying or selling certain materials that you may need or can sell to them in order to earn easy credits.
The best 3rd party apps for Elite Dangerous in VR!
1) ED Co Pilot
This is an all in one ship panel + assistant window you can pin in VR, it shows you details, locations, resources, and even talks to you. You can make it a pinnable window in VR too.
An app that lets you see your hands, controllers, HOTAS, and even keyboard while in VR. It's still in beta, but it allows you to track your hands if you have a supported headset (like a Quest)
If you don't have a headset with hand tracking, you can use Reality Mixer instead. It allows you to create passthrough portals to see squares or shapes in the real world.
This works very well in VR, as you can use a lot of voice commands to do things. It can be quite a pain to set up the first time though, but once you get used to it it's great
This one should not be the most useful one but it will work as curiosity and info tool and for more expert players it will help to plan their combats, since the ship has vulnerabilities and position strategically their weapons in the hardpoints.
How you can see this site show every single location of the modules of the ship. Where the weapons will be and which ship will have less vulnerability in important modules .
Inara.cz is a website I use a lot when playing Elite Dangerous, and honestly, it’s a real game-changer. The site is like a massive toolkit for the game, offering tons of useful information and resources that make playing easier and more fun. It’s got everything from trade data, ship builds, and engineering materials, to detailed info on factions and community events. Basically, if you need help with anything in Elite Dangerous, Inara is the place to go.
One of the things I love most is the Commander Profile feature. After linking your account, it tracks everything you’ve done in the game—your ship fleet, ranks, reputation with different factions, and more. It’s super convenient because you can see all your progress in one place and it helps you keep track of what to focus on next.
Another big thing for me is the trade route tool. Trading in Elite Dangerous can be complicated, with prices constantly changing and stations spread across the galaxy. Inara simplifies all of that. You can quickly find the best trade routes and compare commodity prices, which saves a ton of time. It makes trading much more efficient and, honestly, less stressful.
The site also has a section for missions and community goals. This is great if you want to work with other players on big objectives or just see what’s going on in the galaxy. It helps you feel connected to the larger community, which can make the game feel less lonely, especially with how huge the galaxy is.
What I really appreciate about Inara.cz is how it makes the whole Elite Dangerous experience smoother. Instead of spending hours trying to figure things out in-game, I can just look it up on Inara and get straight to the fun stuff. The site is easy to use, well-organized, and regularly updated, so the info is always accurate and up-to-date.
Overall, Inara.cz just makes the game more enjoyable. It helps me plan, save time, and stay connected with other players. I honestly can’t imagine playing Elite Dangerous without it.
Easily one of my most used tools allows any aspiring explorer to get into the grove and make a pretty penny while pushing for those really distnt stars like sag A* or beagle point.
A perfect tool for locating stations, trade routes, commodities, outfitting parts, components, and more.
Select which one fits your needs (ex. Trade routes), then input your location within the galaxy and then itll instantly provide you with the most profitable trade route locations
Let's say I want to outfit a Viper MK IV with specific modules,
I can just input all the modules I need in the Outfitting tab, and it'll show me the closest locations so I dont have to hunt around to different stations aimlessly.
INARA is a essential for the game and it makes coordination as a pilot a whole lot easier and removes many troubles.
It provides on-screen assistance when a player is near a planet in the SRV, on foot or in ships. It has 3 main functions:
Organic scans: Track the location of organic scans and the distance required for the next scan.
Ground target tracking: Aiming guidance towards latitude/longitude co-ordinates.
Guardian sites: Track visited areas and the locations of items within Guardian ruins and structures.
The application works by analyzing journal files written by the game when played on a PC, tracking the location of the player at the time of various events. It uses this information to render overlay windows atop the game, updated in real-time as the player moves about. For the most part the application is fully automatic, players need to start the application and then just play the game. It will remain hidden until triggered by events from the game.
This Tool is a Great and easy way to get hot spots Live locations of the most rare Metals and Ores in the universe of Elite dangerous , If you want to make big money this is the place to start :
1- First copy past your location (system name) 2- Then chose the thing you want to mine and wait for results 3- Filter the result by distance from your location if you want to get there fast 4- Copy past the spot you like then plan rout 5- Get there scan the hot spots and start Mining Big Money !
It's not only for elite but I use it only when playing elite as it allows me to use my phone or tablet as another input panel for my ship. If immersion is really important for you I highly recommend it.
This is my phone panel, It allows me easy access to necessary functions for my mining operations.
The application needs to be downloaded on your computer and your phone/tablet.
In your computer you can configure, customize the buttons and even create some macros if you so desire.
There's a pro version which gives you access to the use of a plugin that's specially made for ED.(I haven't tried that yet)
All in all it just makes me feel like I'm improving my ship IRL by configuring and customizing the buttons to improve my efficiency.
I have used this application for years on Elite Dangerous. It also has the ability to work with almost any game or computer process you desire. its as simple as creating a profile for what you would like to voice control and type verbal commands that will execute a key bind, or if you're into macros, then it also has the ability to do that as well.
Want to automate shields while raiding a settlement? done!
Want to plot a course while searching inara for a commodity buyer? DONE!
Just bind the keys to a voice command and VIOLA!
Voice Attack also has come very far with the implementation of other elite dangerous third party tools and allowing the user to apply an API for whatever function you require it for, even if you're trying to create a sentient co-pilot to be with you in the Black. Also worthy of a mention are all the voice packs available for purchase, especially HCS packs that allow you not only to change the voice over that your profile uses to communicate back to you, but also allow for more in depth controls to help you with you Elite journeys.
If you're interested in exploring very long distances, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the process of using neutron stars to boost your FSD range. Thankfully there is a very helpful tool made by Gareth Harper which allows you to plot a course from one star system to another using neutron boosts to minimize travel time:
This one is a complete tool for efficient route planner for most types of activity in Elite Dangerous. The route calculator and planners are the following:
Neutron Router: This one will help to plan a high way to travel faster using the FSD overcharge using the neutron stars creating the famous neutron-highway
Road 2 Riches: This is specially useful for beginners trying to make some money to buy the dream ship. It will calculate a specific route for exploration focusing the maximum profit possible, directing you to systems with high value planets to scan.
Besides that there is other two routes planners that do a similar function than the Road 2 Riches but focusing in one kind of planet that are the Ammonia World Route and Ammonia World Route
Trade Planner: Will make a plan of trading to help you to make a profitable trade plan, where to buy the cheapest material and where to sell them with high value
Tourist Route: Is when you are doing many tourist missions at once, it will calculate the most efficient route to do it in the minimal time possible.
Fleet Carrier Router: This will help to make the most efficient route to travel distant distances where it requires more than one jump since the jump with a Fleet Carrier is expansive.
Galaxy Plotter: This one is a calculator which will trace a route, show you the fuel spent, the need of FSD injections and neutron supercharges. It is similar to the Neutron Router but with a lot of more variables to make it preciser
Expressway to Exomastery: Is a router planner for the Odyssey DLC owners that will make a route foucosing in the profit by the bio scanning.
If you are looking for Maps, Charts, Expeditions, Journeys, Records, and POIs about the vast universe of ED, this is your perfect tool.
Maps, Charts, and Graphs Maps of celestial bodies, discoveries, Fleet Carriers, Codex elements, charts, etc... you name it, you have it.
Interactive Galaxy Map Interactive map to scrutinize every detail of the galaxy.
Sector Viewer Analyzer of the different sectors of the galactic map.
Galactic Records To know EVERYTHING about the different elements you can find while exploring the Elite Dangerous universe,
Travel History Video Creator Incredible travel history video creator from the game journal's own data.
Exploration tips and info Tips and information for the beginner... and not so beginner explorers.
Ship Templates Different builds of exploration ships, with direct access to Coriolis.
Ship Name Generator Don't even know what to name your new ship? Here you have a great random name generator.
GEC - Galactic Exploration Catalog Impressive catalog of interesting, beautiful, rare, etc... POIs from Commanders for Commanders, with their location, lore, categorization and screenshots.
I love this one, discovered it in very early together with the ED Discovery. Those tools and sites give an extra level of immersion in the game, make us feel like real explorers!
I always test build my ships in Coriolis IO before buying anything . It's a great tool and easy to use, you just need to pick the desired ship and start testing which modules you would like to use.
This isn’t a fantastic third party tool but one thing is cerain the orange hud is bad, not terrible, sometimes ok, but could be a lot better or could be a default option to change the colors as you like. You already were able to change the HUD color changing some values in settings files but it wasn't so practical and most of the time it messed up some color schemes especially of the people images in missions menus.
With EDHM UI you can change those values inside the tool, it won’t mess up the other color schemes and the best part is that you can change the elements of the hud individually. For example I keep my hud blue but I put the night vision with the red color to create a better contrast between HUD and Terrain.
If you're in the dangerous business of flying in open against Thargoids, it's even more dangerous when being stalked by agents of FarGod, gankers by another name. Time and again we come up against the same commanders who take perverse pleasure in destroying agents of humanity, traitors by another name. For a heads-up against these ruthless individuals, and sometimes groups of likeminded, bloody-minded, 'wanna be thargoid' commanders, we use a tool called EDRECON, or EDR. This plugin for 'Elite Dangerous Market Connector' lets us know who is in the system we're on our way to, sorting the resident commanders by their bounty record if they're 'clean' - or not. Also useful for several other features, including an option to send a discord notification to a specific channel when you jump your carrier. Farm the Green! For The Hive! For Humanity! Oh Seven
Elite Dangerous Odyssey Material Helper. The ultime multitool. Engeenier, tier list, materials, commodities, locker, and much moore.
As I say in summary, it is the ultimate tool because with it you have access to the management of all the materials you have, those you need for the different engineering, be it modules in Horizons or weapons and suits in Oddysey, the unlock requirements for each engineer and the requirements for the presentation of the next one.
A complete management of the locker of elements, data and materials, with an explanation of what each one is for.
A tab to pre-build your ship or avatar on foot and move it to a wish list or follow-up. You can make as many lists as you want and also, by giving access to your account in Frontier, move your current equipment to a cloned model in the tool. In turn, you can duplicate it to work with it, making changes or improvements.
Each list tells you what materials you need and which ones you are missing and where the best places to get them are.
By the way, I have coincided with another commander in this proposal, but it has been pure coincidence.
Thanks Gofioman and welcome to Just About Elite! To be in the running for a reward, we'll need a bit more info about how it works and why you recommend it. Feel free to edit your submission. o7
Why is that so good? So, you have a build, of a ship, suit or on foot weapon to engineering. For make this build you have to gather and use specifics materials and that is in most of the times a arduous task and it's common you lose track of the materials you need, you have to make an annotation in some where and always be comparing with your inventory in the game. And the the Elite Dangerous Odyssey Materials Helper do the same thing but efficiently.
When you open the software you will face some menus the mains ones are:
ODYSSEY - Here you will manage your builds for suits and on food weapons and the materials of Odyssey DLC
HORIZONS - Here you will manage your ships builds and the materials
SETTINGS - Here are the options to configure the third party tool
The ODYSSEY and the HORIZONS menus are the ones that you be using while playing, it will have some submenus and basically is the current building that will show what suit, weapon and ship you are currently using. A wishlist that you create your build and this is the most helpful thing in this software. The inventory of your materials and a list with all the engineers and if they are blocked or no for you.
The wish list probably will be similar to sites like coriolis.io and edsy.org, that are tools to plan yours ship build. But the main difference is that after you make this build plan the tool will show you how many materials still missing to be able to be able to make the engineering and will show the closest unlocked engineer to go make the upgrade of your ship, suit or weapon. You can see in the image bellow how this screen works.
Above you have have te blueprints you want to upgrade, you can hide some of those upgrades and make one or some at a time or make everything once.
Bellow will show the material required, when showing green it means you have enough materials red means you still don't have enough and yellow mean you don't have enough but you can trade to get the remaining materials.
And a tip, if you can afford a second monitor could be a really cheap one you be worth to play Elite. Those tools, no just this one I recommended, you be a way more useful when you are able to see them while playing. The materials inventory is updated in real time in ED Odyssey Materials Helper.
Input your current system and it'll advise you on nearby systems (and exactly how far you'll need to travel) with the resources you may be after!
It has recently been updated to include Compromised Nav Beacon locations too, helping you gather some extra cash and hunt for those value bounties in the more densely populated areas.
if i wold use a third party tool on elite it wold be EDCoPilot and that s why i recommed it to you is one of the best third party tool and you showld check it out
