Elite: Dangerous

[Morreion]

Elite: Dangerous official site

Elite: Dangerous (Wikipedia)

Elite: Dangerous is a forthcoming space trading and combat simulator that represents the fourth instalment in the Elite video game series. Having been unable to agree a funding deal with a publisher for many years, the developers crowdfunded the project through a Kickstarter campaign. The Windows version is due to be released in March 2014, with a Mac OS version three months later. On the 10th October 2013, it was announced that the game will officially support the Oculus Rift VR headset.

Elite Dangerous newsletter focuses on algorithmic space stations (Massively)

Much of the focus is on the sci-fi sandbox title's space stations. The dev team at Frontier is keen on variation, of course, so Elite "will be using procedural algorithms to to construct stations out of a range of modular assets." This approach will also allow players to see stations change over time "in response to player-driven events." There are also plans for game-driven station construction via the event system, which would generate missions for players, "allowing you to help or hinder the progress of a station."

Elite: Dangerous newsletter talks weapons, dev diaries, and more (Massively)

This is issue number 12, and there's a fair bit of ground to cover including last week's dev diary video (which you can see after the break) as well as bits of fiction and bobs relating to both planetary and weapon design. This last one gets a fair amount of virtual ink, as Frontier has plenty to say on customizable rail guns, gimbal-mounted tracking and targeting systems, and more.

See the universe of Elite: Dangerous through Oculus Rift (Massively)

That's right: Frontier has announced that the upcoming space sim will support the goggles that really immerse the player in the universe through virtual reality. Additionally, Executive Producer Michael Brookes has stated that all backers of the game who have access to an Oculus Rift headset will have free access to the Oculus Rift version of the game.

Elite: Dangerous dev diary takes you inside the cockpit (and the art department) (Massively)

Art director Chris Gregory does the voice-over honors, and he's got a lot to say about taking game assets from the concept stage to the building stage. He also explains how the dev team added animations to its static designs and came up with the previously released capital ship video, which helped both artists and game designers to get a clearer picture of their concepts in action.

Gregory also shows off Elite's virtual cockpit functionality, complete with jostling cockpits and fluid, natural camera movements that suggest those of a real pilot.

Elite: Dangerous alpha starts today [12/12/13] (Massively)

In a nutshell, the alpha entails single-player combat, including different weapons, loadouts, battles, and more. Frontier says that the aim of its phase one alpha is to "test key aspects of ship control and combat systems. Piloting a Sidewinder with varying weapon configurations, players progress through eight single-player scenarios [that are] initially designed to familiarize players with the controls [while] gradually increasing in difficulty and complexity.

Elite: Dangerous newsletter talks 'accessibility plus depth' (Massively)

Frontier has released its 15th Elite: Dangerous e-newsletter. The publication focuses heavily on the sandbox space sim's recent alpha kickoff, and it features plenty of developer commentary on everything from art and audio to code and design.

[Regolyth]

I like seeing some of these new games supporting Oculus Rift. I think it's a good step forward.

[Loendal]

I played the original Elite and it's sequel Frontier on my Commodore 64 and Amiga. I always thought it would do well as a multiplayer game, especially Frontier, but of course the technology didn't exist back then to do it. The detail in Frontier was awesome, though I absolutely loathed the use of real-world physics for space travel. If you're thrusting forward at 1000 kmh, you must apply 1000 kmh of thrust the opposite direction to slow down, or you kept moving. Being as there were no thrusters on the front of the ships, you had to flip over, fire the rockets up until you reached the proper speed and then start accelerating again to stop forward momentum and usually I wound up overshooting my target and taking forever to get back the other way; it was irritating enough to make me stop playing (That and the machines I was playing it on weren't powerful enough to handle all the graphics, so I had FPS lag as well). You can find a DOS version of Frontier out there that can be played with DOS-box if you wanted now, but I haven't had the gumption. I really hope the new game lives up to the reputation the series has built up over the last 27 years

Elite can be found here and Frontier can be found here

[Morreion]

Elite: Dangerous moves into multiplayer alpha (Massively)

With Alpha Phase 2.0, Elite: Dangerous players can try out four multiplayer scenarios, including free-for-all, two-team melee, co-op defense, and an advanced pirates and bounty hunters mode with "fluid choices and roles." Players who engage in these scenarios can earn credits for better ship loadouts.

Impressions – Elite: Dangerous Alpha (Rock Paper Shotgun)

Chasing an enemy as he spirals, dives and weaves is tense, particularly if he has companions closing in for a kill of their own. The Sidewinder is a marvel of engineering though and with some practice, it can pull off remarkable manoeuvres, seeming to turn on a sixpence (probably actually half the distance from here to the moon) or to turn a spiralling dive into an angled sidestep.

The thrusters feel punchy. That’s definitely the right word. Every time I adjust the power to the engines or shift the ship on its own axis, there’s a jolt, a sense of the scientific ingenuity that carries these machines. They slam into position and the crackling of their skin when a shield fails under fire is vivid and terrible. The designs are future-sleek, particularly when shields enclose them like tight rubber, but the Sidewinder’s cockpit has a lived-in feel, with its bobblehead mascot on the dash.

Hands-on with the Elite: Dangerous alpha (Massively)

The ships themselves can be hard to see simply because they're moving so damn fast. You can't watch your own, naturally, since this is more of a sim than an arcade shooter and you're in the cockpit as opposed to a third-person view. Even so, Elite: Dangerous is shaping up to be one of those games that's going to be fun to play and fun to watch. I'm certainly enjoying the Fraps footage I captured, and picking out little details that I missed in the midst of a firefight is strangely rewarding.

Elite: Dangerous discusses alpha plans and docking procedures (Massively)

But the newsletter isn't just about the continued test process; it's also about docking. As simple as that might sound, docking is a very involved portion of the game, requiring careful positioning for a proper lock. It's so complex that the most recent build of the game has actually simplified the process with an improved docking interface, making it easier for players to line up their ships correctly.

Elite newsletter talks alpha progress, to-scale celestial bodies, and more (Massively)

"Celestial bodies and the distances between them will be correctly scaled wherever possible [and] real astronomical data is being used," Frontier says. "To give you an idea we're currently at 116,000 stars from various catalogues and [that] includes pulsars and black holes as well as main sequence stars. Exo-planets are the other big import which we're about to start working on."

Elite's premium beta starts today, expands May 30 (Massively)

The Premium Beta effectively starts today, with Premium Beta players able to download a single player combat build of the game. The full Premium Beta will start on 30th May 2014, and until then, players will be able to practice with the single player combat build.

Elite's latest newsletter talks hyperdrives, the Cobra MK III, and more (Massively)

There are two modes of super luminal (faster than light) travel. Super cruise (or frame shifting) is used for travel inside systems. It was originally conceived as a sub-luminal drive, but based on the fantastic collaboration we have been having with our Design Decision Forum backers it was re-worked and is now itself a super luminal system to allow relatively rapid travel within systems. Hyperspace drives are used to travel between star systems.

Hyperdrives with different ranges, charge up times and fuel consumption parameters are available, and so your particular model of hyperdrive governs your specific ability to move around the galaxy.

Elite: Dangerous goes in-depth on trading (Massively)

The developers explain how Elite's thousands of systems will help to create a huge economy once the MMO goes live: "Each star system has a different basic type of economy –- for example agricultural, industrial, hi-tech, extraction, refining or service, and some have a mix of these basics –- such as extraction and refining are often (but not always) in the same system. From a commodities perspective all but a service economy produce items for consumption. This creates an active trade network."

Elite: Dangerous newsletter clarifies alpha and beta phases (Massively)

Frontier also talks up Alpha 4's 400 billion star systems, discusses its proprietary Cobra software tech, explores the Boötes constellation, and dishes on the game's three modes of travel: conventional drives, frame shift drives, and upgraded frame shift drives that permit full hyperspace jumps.

[Morreion]

Elite newsletter talks star systems and an unofficial dangerous rating (Massively)

Issue #22 covers everything from Pilots Federation lore and rankings to capsules on the three power blocs (Empire, Federation, Alliance) you'll encounter whilst adventuring through ED's vast virtual universe. There's also a blurb about the five star systems centered around the Bootes constellation as well as a shout-out to Commander Starwind, who is the first player to reach the coveted -- and currently unofficial -- "dangerous" rating with over 2000 confirmed alpha kills.


'The tech caught up to our ambition': David Braben on the return of Elite (TechRadar)Interview The Elite: Dangerous designer on pushing the boundaries of gaming

Is it generally easier or harder to program a game now compared to the 1980s?

DB There are several dimensions to it, I think. Put in today's language, Ian and I were a micro-studio, and when you're in that environment, communication is so much easier. The largest game that Frontier Developments has made to date involved almost 400 people! While the Elite: Dangerous team isn't quite that huge, between 70-100 people are closely involved. It's still a different world when it comes to communication and getting a shared vision for all the different aspects of the game. In modern game development, team communication is probably the biggest challenge, and this didn't really exist in the 1980s.

Looking at just the programming, I think today it is a lot simpler to do the same sort of thing. Debuggers and the fancy programming aids we have nowadays make it much easier, but the expectations are also very much higher. The scope of what happens in a ship in Elite: Dangerous, and hence the complexity of the programming task, is far greater. This more than makes up for all the fancy tools we have available now. With the original Elite we literally used every byte of memory the BBC Micro could offer. We are trying to make sure we similarly push the boundaries of what's possible in Elite: Dangerous using modern computer hardware.

Elite's Alpha 4 is here, beta starts May 30th (Massively)

Alpha 4 vastly expands scale, scope and depth over the previous Alpha versions, being set within a 200 cubic light-year volume containing five star systems centred around the Boötes constellation: Eranin, Dahan, i Boötis, Assellus Primus and LP 98-132.

They include spectacular sights such as an unusual quaternary star system and ringed gas giants, and are part of contested space between the Federation and Independent systems. Additionally IP 98-132 is an anarchy which is rife with pirate activity.

Two additional methods of travel make their full debut in Alpha 4; super-cruise for accelerated within-system travel and hyperspace jumps for travel between systems. There are also new ships available to pilots, including the Anaconda.

The five Alpha 4 star systems are themselves set within 400,000,000 star systems of the Milky Way galaxy, all of which are moving correctly; spinning and orbiting in an incredible ballet. Whilst exploration is currently limited to the five Alpha 4 systems, the 'night sky' is accurate wherever you travel.

Trading between systems is introduced for the first time, using a sophisticated market that dynamically evolves according to local supply and demand. Because the markets take into account buying, selling and capacity changes that take place across the galaxy, an individual's actions - such as stockpiling or attacks to restrict supply - can be used to shift pricing for their benefit.

Elite: Dangerous Alpha 4 offers total freedom as you trade your way through the star systems, pirate, hunt for bounties, and become immersed in exploration and combat with a choice of ships and weaponry.

Elite's new progress vid demonstrates scale, stimulates imagination (Massively)

If you haven't seen any footage of Elite's galactic map yet, the video is worth a look, as it shows a zoom down from the Milky Way to a single star. Braben says that this scale is also apparent as you're crossing systems or watching one of the game's gas giants grow from a spec in the distance to a view-blocking monstrosity. The massive scale is "only a backdrop for the game, but it really appeals to me," Braben explains. "This or something very like it is really out there, whether it's the rings of Saturn or some gas giant that we've only seen as a blip on some graph."

Elite: Dangerous posts newsletter, teases alpha 4 images (Massively)

Elite: Dangerous newsletter focuses on E3 offerings (Massively)

The newsletter also answers a few community questions. Many of the locations in the game are meant to be far away from the core of gameplay without any shortcuts, specifically to enhance the feeling of being far from core hubs and the majority of players. The game will have Imperial content, but that will come into play as the game's play space expands rather than being an immediate focus. For a few more answers, take a look at the full newsletter.

E3 2014: Hands-on with Elite: Dangerous and the Oculus Rift (Massively)

By this time, I was already more impressed by and interested in the game. But that feeling paled in comparison to playing on an Oculus Rift. Talk about an immersive experience! When I first put the goggles on, I was immediately blown away by how much I felt like I was in the cockpit of that ship. The depth was so palpable, I fully expected to see my arms enter my vision when I raised them. Swinging my head around, I saw everything from the flight controls to the cockpit door. And nothing on a flat screen can compare to the anxiety that hits when you catch sight of an enemy flying by out of the corner of your eye or watching cracks spider-web along the glass of your cockpit while your controls literally blink out.

Frontier COO talks Elite, dev team size, and more (Massively)

In reality, the company employs some 240 developers and is in the middle of a recruiting drive that will add nearly 50 more. COO David Walsh talks about that and more in a new interview at GamesIndustry.biz that touches on Frontier's success in the midst of a rocky period for the British games industry.

Elite: Dangerous heading into Premium Beta 2 on June 24th (Massively)

The next stage of Elite: Dangerous' premium beta is coming next Tuesday. In newsletter #28, Frontier Developments said that Premium Beta 2 will begin on June 24th and include several new features, including gameplay optimizations, three new star systems, high-resolution screen capture, German localization, and the Zorgon Peterson Hauler trading ship.

Elite: Dangerous enters Premium Beta 2 (Massively)

This newest stage of beta will bring several improvements, including three new star systems, Giant Orbis starports, a new space ship type, and much more. You can jump into the game now by purchasing the Premium Beta for $150, which is significantly lower than the alpha at $295. The standard beta will be available for $75 and the retail pre-order for launch is $50.

Minor criminals in Elite: Dangerous will incur fines, compound interest (Massively)

Fines will "give the authorities a proportionate level of response rather than shooting to kill regardless of the severity of a crime. Minor crimes and non-threatening infractions will incur a fine, which can be paid off to your local space station authority representative," Frontier explains. "If you don't pay off your fines, they will initially attract compound interest and then, once the authorities lose patience with your tardiness they will be converted into a bounty, and lead to you being hunted down."

Frontier opens Elite single-player combat build to all pre-order pilots (Massively)

Frontier has doubled the number of players fighting, trading, and exploring their way through the sprawling cosmos of Elite: Dangerous. The firm released Elite's single-player combat build to all beta backers earlier today in preparation for the multiplayer beta launch on July 29th.

David Braben explains Elite's high prices (Massively)

If you looked at the £200 alpha and £100 premium beta price tag for Elite: Dangerous and thought, wow, that's pretty damn expensive, you're not alone. Frontier boss David Braben recently explained the price points to Eurogamer.

"We've taken flak for it," Braben said. "But the important thing for the alpha is, for it to be a genuine alpha, we didn't want huge numbers. Maybe we shouldn't have restricted it by price but it seemed like a logical thing to do. It seemed like a fair thing to do."

[Morreion]

The Video Game That Maps The Galaxy (The New Yorker)

Elite: Dangerous collates a great deal of up-to-date astronomical information into one publically available simulation, but Braben believes its true importance lies not in the accuracy of the model or its predictions but in its value as a story about the universe in which we live, the flowering sense of awe that, contrary to most narratives, grows with understanding and familiarity, rather than diminishes. “If there is any practical application, then it is largely educational,” Braben said. “But, most important, the game creates a sense of wonder based on what is truly out there.”

Frontier's drive to make Elite: Dangerous on PC future proof (Eurogamer)

Frontier chief David Braben told Eurogamer that the developer is adding a raft of graphical effects to the game that some players won't have a powerful enough PC to enable. But there are plenty of graphical sliders and checks that should help the game run on a variety of specifications when Elite launches proper before the end of 2014.

...The hope is that with the help of Moore's Law, which predicts that computing power will increase significantly every two years, and ever cheaper prices of graphics cards, Elite will continue to look impressive for years to come. "Moore's law is our friend," Braben said. "Even if your PC of today can't run with all the features on, your PC of tomorrow might."

In the current beta build of the game, you can take a screenshot by pressing the F10 button. But if you also hold down the alt button you get a HD screenshot of four times the resolution of what your rendering the game out at. The way it works is the game will briefly go into the high resolution, write out your screenshot, then go back again. This, Braben said, provides a glimpse at the Elite: Dangerous of the future.

Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #32 (Elite: Dangerous)

GalNet News Transmission 18th July 3300
All information ©3300 Elite Pilots Federation. Copyright violation is a crime in all jurisdictions.

::Elite Pilots Federation Alert::
Black market profits remain stable at around the 50M credits mark, with a dramatic rise in contribution from Progenitor Cells.

Most Profitable Black Market Goods:

Liqueurs
Progenitor Cells
Personal weapons

Concern is easing over rogue attacks on Pilot Federation members; automatic bounties remain in force and we ask members to continue both their vigilance and their bounty hunting.

Elite's expansions to include planetary landing, ship interiors (Massively)

"Major new features will include planetary landings and even walking around inside ships, stations, and planet surfaces," the firm says. Elite users with a lifetime expansion pass will get "all such significant expansions" at no extra charge. The LEP is currently packaged with the game's premium beta access or available separately via the Frontier store.

Elite's Beta 1 starts today, here's a new trailer (Massively)

Frontier has released its Beta 1 build of Elite: Dangerous. It "covers a greatly expanded 38,000 cubic light-year volume of Elite: Dangerous' accurately modeled Milky Way galaxy centered around the Boötes constellation."

Beta 1 also introduces new features including fuel consumption, player communication, docking computers, mission system functionality, and friend management/matchmaking capability.

Elite: Dangerous prepares for beta 2, official app release (Massively)

In today's newsletter, the team reports that it saw players from 122 countries in beta 1, with 4.2 million light years travelled collectively. The devs are working hard on beta 2, saying, "The key areas of focus for development now is extending the online mission system to deliver a compelling experience, the accessibility of the game for those that haven't been intimately involved in its evolution like our alpha and premium beta backers, and of course vast quantities of new content, polish, and optimizations."

New Elite newsletter features outposts, smuggling, and more (Massively)

The latest Elite: Dangerous newsletter is here, and it's worth parsing if you're high on Frontier's gorgeous space-sim sandbox. Outposts are coming to Beta 2, which might cause some of you to ask "what's an outpost?" Well, it's the "equivalent of the run-down road-side cafe, the isolated fuel station, the research outpost, the deep-space shack where Joe the Hermit lives."

Elite: Dangerous explores the path of... exploring (Massively)

So what do you want to do in Elite: Dangerous? Do you want to get into space dogfights? Build up a trade empire? Or do you really just want to accelerate to high speeds, jump out into the unexplored portions of space, and start seeing what's there?...To really explore a system, players need to determine how many major bodies there are in orbit around the star and scan the lot of them before returning home to tell about it. Having a full set of data and being the first to return with it will provide big rewards to the explorer, but if another ship comes across yours and it wants the prize of being the first to explore the system... let's just say there are no laws against loading weapons and opening fire.

Elite: Dangerous, A Journey (Voo's Review)

...As the months passed I got to know more and more people. Finally in December of 2013 Alpha was released, finally a chance to get to grips with this game. It couldn’t download fast enough. A number of us were on Skype ooo’ing and ahh’ing, the game was spectacular and although we’d seen a fair few videos from David, newsletters and development diaries alike, there is nothing quite like playing a game and developing your own opinions. The game was amazing the sounds, the lasers even the A.I seemed to be everything I dreamt of all those years ago as a boy of 8. More and more content was released the game grew slowly then came the day they put the space stations into the game. I remembered the old wireframe models with its letterbox spinning on its axis to induce a sense of gravity within.

The new ones were something else, the detail on the outside alone was mesmerising each little window, towers, and antenna looked as if someone really lived inside. I slowly requested permission and began the docking sequence. Suddenly I was taken back 30 years, I slowly maneuvered my ship through the port but there was no cut sequence no loading screen, just the inside of the docking bay, pads lit up with bright orange numbers above them. I was blown away I was so busy watching the inertia I didn’t realise the clock was ticking down. I quickly docked. I marvelled at how my ship was put away, I was and still am in a state of stunned shock. Elite was a game I thought could never be any better than it was. Frontier Elite 2 I thought was so amazing that it blew other games out of the water.