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Elite: Dangerous' Stellar Forge tech powers planetary creation
Maybe you think that creating solar systems for an MMO is nothing more than plunking down a few spheres and programming in physics for a gravity well. Well, you've got some nerve! The developers at Elite: Dangerous think about nothing else day in and day out, and as a result the team has come up with special tech to create the billions of systems that players will encounter in-game. In a recent newsletter, the team elaborates on the Stellar Forge system that it uses for most of the game's celestial bodies: "In Elite: Dangerous, when we are generating a system procedurally, each planetary system is formed from first principles. Bodies are gradually aggregated over a very long simulated time from available matter, taking into account its chemical composition. Depending on the angular momentum, this might begin to form into a single central body, or into multiple co-orbiting bodies." This explanation goes on in detail -- great detail -- and if you haven't appreciated how planets are made before now, you certainly will by the time you finish reading it. [Thanks to Cotic for the tip!]
Elite: Dangerous prepares for beta 2, official app release
With Elite: Dangerous' first beta test now a thing of the past, it's time for the team to reflect and prepare for the next round of hot plasma space action. 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." In other news, the official app for Elite: Dangerous will be available soon on the iTunes Store with an Android release to follow. Also, players excited for the game can get together at FantastiCon in the UK on August 16th, where Elite will be shown on the Oculus Rift and the team will be there to hobnob with fans.
Elite's Beta 1 starts today, here's a new trailer
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. There's more, including a new trailer, which is embedded along with the official press release after the break. [Source: Frontier press release]
Elite's expansions to include planetary landing, ship interiors
Frontier's latest newsletter for Elite: Dangerous talks post-launch plans for the sci-fi space sim sandbox. Launch is currently scheduled for sometime in Q4 of 2014, after which Frontier will continue to expand the game. "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. [Thanks Peteris!]
Elite: Dangerous aims to be future-proof
Time is not always kind to video games -- especially MMOs. So Frontier Developments decided to plan ahead by future proofing its sci-fi space MMO Elite: Dangerous. "Moore's law is our friend," company head David Braben told Eurogamer in a recent interview. "Even if your PC of today can't run [Elite] with all the features on, your PC of tomorrow might." The thought is to plan ahead by implementing graphical features that are so advanced, they can't even be run on modern computers yet. So when technology catches up, the advancements will already be in place. Check out the entire interview for more on how the team at Frontier aims to plan for the future in Elite: Dangerous.
Visit every system in the Milky Way in Elite: Dangerous
Well kiss our cultured grits: We've now lived to see the day in which the New Yorker has devoted an article to an MMO. The magazine commented on the techniques that Elite: Dangerous is using to map out its replication of the Milky Way. Lead Developer David Braben said that he is using actual astronomy to map out the in-game galaxy: "I wanted to make the galaxy as accurate as possible so that the results of that exploration would make sense to people. In the game, every single star in the real night sky is present, some hundred and fifty thousand of them, and you can visit each one." Braben and his team drew from sky surveys and utilized procedural techniques to fill out sketchier sections that aren't as well-known. He said that the team had to add space dust to mimic the actual dust in space that obscures our view of much of the Milky Way.
Frontier opens Elite single-player combat build to all pre-order pilots
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. If you've pre-ordered or backed Elite, you can download the launcher by logging into the game's website and pointing your browser at the "My Downloadable Products" link. Frontier also wants you to know that you can still pre-order the multiplayer beta and receive immediate access to today's single-player release. [Source: Frontier press release]
Minor criminals in Elite: Dangerous will incur fines, compound interest
Frontier has published the 30th edition of its Elite: Dangerous newsletter. This issue features tidbits on ship decals, new code systems meant to enforce law and order within radar range of authority ships or space stations, and potential fines for minor criminal offenders. 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." There's a lot more to this week's newsletter, so follow the links below to give it a read! [Thanks Cotic!]
Elite: Dangerous enters Premium Beta 2
Frontier Developments has announced that its multiplayer sci-fi space game Elite: Dangerous has opened up for Premium Beta 2. 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. Also be sure to check out a video spotlighting the Giant Orbis spaceport just after the cut. [Source: Frontier Developments press release]
Elite: Dangerous heading into Premium Beta 2 on June 24th
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. Premium Beta 2 will begin with a wipe, although Frontier will be giving players in-game credits that correspond to progress made to date. Players can buy into the premium beta only through July 15th, which could indicate that the standard beta test is slated for later this summer. [Thanks to Cotic for the tip!]
Frontier COO talks Elite, dev team size, and more
Elite: Dangerous is often compared to Star Citizen, at least here in the Massively comment section. While it's certainly a fair comparison since they're both crowdfunded space sims made by veteran developers, Elite seems to get more slack, possibly due to its accelerated development schedule and the perception of Frontier as a smallish indie firm. 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. Frontier devs aren't just working on Elite, either, as the studio is also responsible for titles like Kinectimals, Zoo Tycoon, and Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. "Everyone in the company is plug-and-play between the different projects. They're all using the same tech," Walsh explains. "The engine we use for Elite: Dangerous is the same as the engine we use for LostWinds on smartphones. There are different technology modules that you plug in there, obviously, but it's the same fundamentals."
E3 2014: Hands-on with Elite: Dangerous and the Oculus Rift
Is it possible that a hands-on demo of Elite: Dangerous and a talk with Frontier Development's Adam Woods, producer, and David Braben, CEO, would make a space sim fan out of me? Yes! I liked what I'd heard about the game before, but after experiencing it for myself at E3 2014, I can definitely say I am hooked. And it isn't just because of the Oculus Rift. I got a tour of the newest playable build, a sneak peek of the upcoming system and space station, and watched a brand-new trailer on top of the VR time.
Elite: Dangerous newsletter focuses on E3 offerings
It's impossible for any development studio not to be thinking about E3 next week. It sort of dominates the industry landscape, after all. So it's no big surprise that the latest Elite: Dangerous newsletter focuses chiefly upon what Frontier Developments will bring to the convention. In short, it'll be a chance for everyone in attendance to get their hands on the game and preview the game's current beta as well as chatting with the development staff. 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.
Elite's premium beta starts today
Frontier is adding more than 10,000 players to Elite: Dangerous today via the crowdfunded sci-fi sandbox's premium beta launch. The firm is also featuring three user-generated gameplay videos showing of ED's heat mechanics, super-cruise, and voice control. You can view those, as well as read the full press release, after the cut. [Source: Frontier press release]
Elite: Dangerous posts newsletter, teases alpha 4 images
Hot on the heels of the progress video released yesterday, Elite: Dangerous has today posted its 24th newsletter, this one with a slew of new screenshots from alpha 4, including a shot of the open cockpit of the Lakon Type 9 and the multi-seat bridge of the Anaconda. The newsletter also reminds backers that premium beta begins on May 30th. Commander-level players should note that ships, credits, and other forms of progress will be wiped for this round of beta in order to "[level] the playing field as [the game] welcome[s] lots of new people." Enjoy the new images! [With thanks to Cotic for the tip!]
Elite's new progress vid demonstrates scale, stimulates imagination
Frontier's twelfth progress diary video for Elite: Dangerous has been released. The six-minute clip focuses on Alpha 4 and features Frontier boss David Braben offering hearty thanks to backers whom he says have been crucial to design discussions on topics like the new supercruise travel system. 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." Click past the cut for the full clip. [Thanks Cosmos and Cotic!]
Elite's Alpha 4 is here, beta starts May 30th
Development on Elite: Dangerous is moving right along, as evidenced by this week's release of the space sim sandbox's Alpha 4 client. The latest patch represents the final Alpha phase, and it "vastly expands scale, scope, and depth over previous alpha versions," according to a Frontier press release. Elite's already massive universe just got bigger, and the devs have released two additional travel methods to assist with traversing it. Hyperspace jumps are now a thing as is super-cruise for accelerated in-system jaunts. Alpha 4 also introduces inter-system trading via a dynamically evolving market. [Source: Frontier press release]
Braben on Elite's GTA successors and friendly competition with Star Citizen
Space sims are in vogue again, thanks in large part to crowdfunded darlings like Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen. Prior to the past couple of years, though, the genre was basically dead in the water aside from occasional indie gems. Elite mastermind David Braben says the lull happened because game devs and publishers lost sight of the freedom that defines space sims. "The true successors to Elite and Frontier were the Grand Theft Auto games. For me, the setting is secondary to the feeling of freedom," Braben recently told Tech Radar. "The success of the Elite series has always been based on the freedom that players are given. It's all about individual choice in an open world -- you don't select 'pirate' or 'bounty hunter' or 'trader' from a list, you simply do what you want and events will unfold accordingly." Braben also addresses the "friendly competition" between Elite and Star Citizen, saying that he and Chris Roberts are "both alpha backers of each other's games and both want the other to succeed."
Elite newsletter talks star systems and an unofficial dangerous rating
It's Friday, which must mean that there's an Elite: Dangerous newsletter winging its way across the universe toward my inbox. Yep, there it is now. 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.
Elite: Dangerous newsletter clarifies alpha and beta phases
In the latest edition of the Elite: Dangerous newsletter, David Braben and crew refine the game's alpha and beta schedule. "The final stage of the Alpha [Alpha 4] will be released on May 15th and will be followed two weeks later by the first stage of the Premium Beta on May 30th," the letter states. Until then, Premium Beta purchasers are able to download the single-player combat build. 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. [With thanks to Cotic for the tip!]
