Elite: Dangerous - updates!

Well hello everyone,
my name is Komemiute and I love the Elite series of games. Also I can’t quit them, but that’s beside the point.

As of now Elite: Dangerous has reached its second year of life after launch, and while it’s far from a finished product it’s also far from its end of development.

It all began in Christmas 2014.
Elite: Dangerous released with minimal embellishment (is that a word, yes?) but, simply put, the biggest map a game ever had (so far, No Man’s sky is rearing it’s procedurally Generated face anytime soon- but I digress).
The map is a 1:1 Galaxy.

Our galaxy.

That said, and since human knowledge only can answer some questions, most of this representation of our galaxy is de-facto just a preocedural generation based on a very complex Stellar Forge program.

This magnificent software judged by many (including, but not limited to, me) a real game changer, can create a Galaxy based on the knowledge we have- and while not every single stellar body is represented ( Kuiper’s Belt and others are missing, black holes are just represented by gravitational lensing and no accretion disk, etc. etc.- so far) it’s still impressively full/empty.

Now, without writing an entire essay I can say space is really big and stuff in it is really far in between.
Luckily there’s the so called Bubble which is an imaginary sphere, several hundred light years wide, centered more or less around Sol (our own solar system where we reside) which contains 100% of human carbon-based life.

There are three main factions, Federation (some sort of Space USA), Empire (Space Imperial England) and Alliance (uhh, Space… ehrm… Italy?).

All of those have facets and philosophies that drive their actions.

None of the players (henceforth rightfully called Commanders, often shortened in CMDR) must bow the one of these Political factions even though there’s some plus/cons in doing so.

Basically the bubble is dotted with human-made structures (space borne or planet-side) which work as harbors/drydocks/cities/factories/industries/etc. you name it, there’s probably at least one.

Again, leaving aside for a short moment the relative low variety of structural designs, we’re still just in the second year worth of development A.L. (After Launch).
Every year, in fact, Frontier (the developers) has plans to release new content- for a price.

Now, the base game will always be updated and can be played forever on- except some parts that are only available with the expansion pass.

Enter Christmas 2015, the epxansion Horizon began its release- it allowed for the first time in this Elite game to land on airless planetoids. Not planets- only those without an atmosphere.

The Planetary suite for our ships in game (bought, as for the rest on in-game content with in game money only) allows Commanders to trace a landing pattern to the surface, and provided our ship is fitted with an Hangar, and the Hangar populated with a Space Buggy, to roam around.

Lucky sods like me have the Lifetime pass (available for a price only during the Kickstarter and shortly afterwards but strictly before launch) that grants free expansions for the whole life of the game.


I’m writing too much.
I stop here in case someone wants more details.
But maybe it’s better I start a new thread for that.

Next post will be actual info about the news

Komemiute,
out.

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Absolutely!

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:smiley: Ok then. I think I’ll gladly oblige.

Some more info- I hate myself.
I write too much and off point too. :frowning:
I’ll do better I promise.

Please don’t kick me out! :open_mouth:

Now for some news…

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It’s like you’ve never read some of our rambling threads both here and that other place…

:wink:

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:smiley: Well, this DOES makes me feel better.

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First Proper update…
The Engineers Update - Part.1


Update 1.2

There are effectively 2 updates, to be released the week from May 2nd to 8th.

1.6 which goes to everyone who owns the game.
2.1 (The Engineers) - which is available for Horizons season pass owners.

Loot and Crafting is 2.1 but all of 1.6 is included, obviously, in 2.1

Of Multiplayer - related Updates.

The Dangerous Games: The Rise to Power!


Update 1.1.1
Zac Antonaci clears up some doubts amongst players. (A sequence of very good posts after the first one)

Newsletter Update.

Newsletter #120


Enhanced Starport Outfitting
Some pics…


New Weapons and Drives

Heavy Multi-Cannon. W00t!


Enhanced System States Feed on Galaxy Map

Many Commanders have their favourite systems and work hard within
them, so they are usually already aware of the local situation.
For Commanders who prefer to roam the galaxy looking for wars, the
Pilots Federation has upgraded the GalNet system, so Commanders using
2.1 AND 1.6 will have a ‘state’ filter in the galaxy map which will
highlight if a system is at war, or suffering a famine, or some other
situation Commanders want information about.
As well as making it easier to locate systems that are in particular
states, all Commanders will also find the state of a system has a more
direct impact on its factions and markets.


More Surface Encounters

Points of Interest (POIs) are encounters that Horizons players can
discover upon the surfaces of planets and moons. The Engineers update
adds new types of POIs to be discovered, and so new things that can
happen on the surface, and others have been improved – including being
guarded by low-flying ships. Also, human-created POIs will also not be
encountered as far out from human space as they are at the moment.
The in-game, unedited, images below show a Diamondback wrecked on a
planet surface. This is just one example of the new POIs you will
encounter.

There’s also been a major re-vamp of Unidentified Signal Sources
(USSs). Some are related to specific Missions in both 2.1 AND 1.6, so
Commanders will need to seek specific locations using the discovery
scanner, or by scanning the nav beacon (if the system has one). Scanning
a nav beacon will give Commanders the exploration data for the system
(if you don’t already have it).

In addition, a breakthrough in sensor technology, will be rolled out
across all Pilots Federation ships as one of the many membership
benefits, allows USSs to be scanned while in supercruise, so Commanders
can make a better-informed judgement of whether to get involved or not.

Enhanced NPCs
NPC behaviour will be receiving a large number of changes for both 2.1
and 1.6 Commanders. We’ve include a vast number of fixes and changes to
NPC AI, addressing previous feedback from the community as well as
improving high-ranked NPC pilot’s effectiveness in combat. In addition
these changes will mean that Commanders in The Engineers (2.1) can
expect to experience an increased level of activity near to planetary
surfaces. You’ll see much more traffic flying between ports, or
patrolling around bases, and as I’ve mentioned, some settlements have
been spotted with defending ships, making strafing them a riskier
business!


Some of the upgrades that Engineers will bring to the table



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The old thread was in flight sims and this one is in gaming - and they are both right :slight_smile: See, this is why we need a new space sim category. :rocket:

Keep putting updates in this one @komemiute - they are appreciated. Looking forward to Engineers. After I got horizons I must admit I just did a few planets and then left it again, but looking for an excuse to get back into it.

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Make it so, Number 1

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Looks like it might be time for me to dust off the Wanderbus and Carry-On, Hunter. Those are two of my ships. I’m still trying to come up with punnier names.

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Maybe at the next Space Sim article that gets added - I’ll check with my bosses :wink:

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So, Elite Dangerous Wing-Up?

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It is done.

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LOL…

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I’ll repeat myself, but… I’ve found my people! :smile:

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On the Horizon - Countdown to The Engineers Beta Livestream: Part 1

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