Elite Dangerous
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Elite: Dangerous Kickstarter page updated with video, concept art
What is it with super-cool space sim reboots and their gooftastic titles? First it was Star Citizen, and now there's Elite: Dangerous, which, with a name like that, should probably feature a soundtrack by Kenny Loggins. In any event, Frontier's Kickstarter page has updated with some concept images and a new video. This is quite a step up from last Tuesday's announcement that was heavy on nostalgia and light on everything else. The video is mostly David Braben talking, though to be fair, he does chat up some cool stuff including procedural generation and adding do-anything-you-can-imagine multiplayer to Elite's vast universe. Head to the official Elite Kickstarter page for further info, and have a look at Braben's video after the break.
David Braben is kickstarting a new multiplayer Elite sequel
Elite and its sequel Frontier: Elite II were arguably two of the most influential early space games ever made. They dropped the player into an immense sci-fi sandbox with just a tiny ship and a handful of credits. You could work your way up to larger and larger hauling ships, fight off pirates intent on taking your loot, travel the stars in search of lucrative deals or just wormhole into deep space. If that sounds familiar, it's because Elite was part of the inspiration for sci-fi MMO EVE Online. Space in Frontier was especially deep, with a full-scale galaxy containing 100 billion stars and several empires with their own legal systems and trading outposts. Players could choose to raid other ships or play it straight, mining moons, scooping fuel from gas giants, and landing on planets to survey them for materials. The magic that made this colossal universe possible was procedural generation and some incredibly good programming by developer David Braben. Today David took to Kickstarter to launch possibly the most anticipated sequel in the history of sci-fi sandbox games. Elite: Dangerous promises a Frontier-style sandbox with modern 3D graphics, a ton more content, and a seamless peer-to-peer multiplayer experience with no lobbies. Whether this will qualify as an MMO or not remains to be seen, but the project promises to blur the line between what is and isn't massively multiplayer.
Elite co-creator plans to resurrect series with Dangerous Kickstarter
Elite co-creator David Braben is the latest grandfather of space sims to turn to Kickstarter, with plans to resurrect the classic series through new game Dangerous. Braben set up a minimum of £1.25 million (roughly $2 million) in funding to launch Elite: Dangerous, but is hoping for more so his team at UK-based Frontier Developments can be "more ambitious with content and platforms." As it stands, Frontier plans to release Elite: Dangerous on PC in March 2014.If Dangerous does arrive then, it will have been almost three decades since Elite left its indelible mark on gaming back in 1984. Two true sequels were released: Frontier: Elite in 1993 and Frontier: First Encounters in 1995. Braben has headed Frontier Developments since then, a studio more recently known for Kinectimals and LostWinds.As Braben notes on the Kickstarter page, Frontier diced with trying to make the fourth Elite game, including developing it as a MMO back in 2000. It's been on the backburner at the British studio for a few years now, but going by the six figures raised in a matter of hours it's likely Elite: Dangerous marks the return of one of gaming's most venerable names.
