The Elite: Dangerous news is hitting high gear today.
We've been told that 1.4 is coming in September. It includes:-
- Close Quarters Combat Championship - a team-based arena combat mini-game, separate from the main Elite galaxy.
- The Imperial Eagle - a tougher Empire version, with a medium hardpoint on top and bigger power supply with higher top speed.
- The DropShip Mk II - a variant of the dropship with higher top speed better handling and larger hardpoints.
- The Federal Gunship - little is known, except it will be Anaconda-sized. And it's not the Corvette.
- Improved and more varied missions.
- Player factions.
I addition they have announced "Elite: Dangerous Horizons"
[video=youtube;B4sAe16UTDg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4sAe16UTDg[/video]
This is the planetary landings expansion. With this comes a new ship - the Cobra Mk IV and the SRV (space buggy). The expansion is £29.99 for existing Elite players and £39.99 for new players (a bargain as this is the main game + the expansion).
Frontier have also brought back the "Lifetime expansion pass" this time for £130 (instead of £100 as it was during the Premium Beta). There is (already) loads of moaning from people about losing their bragging rights to this option, but I for one welcome its return, as I didn't have the cash last time around. This will give purchasers every DLC released for the game over the next ten years.
I will post more details as they appear.
Be nice if we have it by october
From 3pm Twitch Stream:
QuoteYou see a planet, descend to orbital cruise, fly over the planet and land then deploy Surface Recon Vehicle (SRV) the "Scarab". Every ship can carry a scarab, but not all SRV's, as there will be others (bigger & specialist task vehicles).
SRV occupies internal rack space.
yeah being able to land looks mighty nice and going round in a buggy looks great, be nice to see what limitations will be put on us tho, ie.what area we can travel with the buggy and what places we will be able to land at.
Q: Is landing seamless?
A: Yes. You land, deploy SRV and drive around.
SRVs will be visible from ships flying over planet surface. You can explore in SRVs with other commanders.
Surface will have minerals, crashed ships and surface bases for trading.
Flight model will alter due to gravity, so bigger ships will sink as they slow down.
Cobra Mk IV - available only to people who buy Horizons who bought main game.
After CQCC there is one more major content update for core game.
Q: Will Cobra paintjob work on new Mk 4 ?
A: Hope so - confirmation in next week's newsletter.
Q: By "Holiday" release, what the hell do you mean?
A: The grey area between November and December..
[in game] You will have to buy SRV and SRV deployment module. Your ship may (or may not) be invulnerable while you are off SRV exploring...
Assets from CQCC will be appearing in main game.
1.4 stuff
CQCC to PC (within days).
New ships.
Hinting: loot. Crafting.
Minor (player) factions.
Land on any airless body anywhere in the galaxy unless permit-locked.
SRV buggy has thrusters, so it can thrust down to grip surface or thrust up to bunny-hop.
EDIT: Michael Brooks has said atmospheric landings will not be in initial release of Horizons, but will follow further down the line.
At the age of 73, I don't consider a £130 'Lifetime Expansion pass' as value for money :roflmao:
Quote from: Lameduck;402104At the age of 73, I don't consider a £130 'Lifetime Expansion pass' as value for money :roflmao:
I think 'Lifetime' means 10 years in this case :g:
Glad I bought the lifetime expansion at £35 back in the day.
As did I
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From GamesCom Q&A
This covers what happens when landing in planets. If a non horizons player approaches a planet, when they get close they will be kicked out of SC as they are today. Horizon. Players will keep going. The transition is seamless with no cut scenes
When asked about Thargoids. Said won't ruin the surprise. Also said the UA was added in Wings and it took a long time for people to find them. Strongly hinted that Thargoids are already in the game somewhere
Background sim is not as manual as some people think. Overall they think it works fine but still need to tweak it so it reflects real life. e.g. is a planet has a famine then prices reflect that. They are working on that
Asked about the SRV. When you activate it they will be a fade to you in the cockpit. i.e. no cut screen or need to walk through the ship to get there.
If you die in the SRV you'll be placed back at the ship.
SRV will be customisable.
Permit sectors: They already know what most of them will be used for. They have a couple of spare ones they are not sure about yet
£40 per expansion means they have to at least develop 4 to make that lifetime pass viable. That's 4 more major upgrades assuming a major upgrade doesn't become smaller over time and the content diminishes.
I feel having watched the launch info of Horizons whilst it looks very cool there still needs to be "something to achieve as a team!" and making the environments expand and look pretty is one thing but if you have to just grind grind grind then where is the fun.
I'll be asking about this at Gamescon on Friday.
Before "Horizons" is released in November/December and after 1.4 is released next month the main game will get one last
major update.
Not much has been said yet, but Frontier announced that a 1.5 update would come
before the Horizons expansion and it would be titled ''Ships''. Its purpose is to make the total count of ships in the game
over 30, which is of course more than what Frontier had planned, along with this, the update is supposed to ''prepare the game for Horizons''.
I can only speculate that this update will include the ships still missing in action (Federal Corvette, Beluga Liner, Panther Clipper, Dolphin passenger ship and Imperial Cutter) and by extension, passenger transport.
That means we'll be getting a major update next month with CQCC in 1.4 and 1.5 to follow in October to be followed by Horizons in late November or December.
Also, I plucked this "compiled" list of information from about Horizons from Reddit.
QuoteWhat is Elite Dangerous: Horizons?
According to the official site (https://elitedangerous.com/en): Elite Dangerous: Horizons is a new season of major gameplay expansions for Elite Dangerous, beginning with Planetary Landings across the Elite Dangerous galaxy. Elite Dangerous: Horizons will continue to introduce new features and gameplay as the season continues into 2016, enriching the Elite Dangerous experience with new activities and new ways to play. (https://elitedangerous.com/en#horizons)
Horizons is an all-access pass to all Season 2 content. The first Season 2 content, airless planetary landings, will launch this holiday on PC. That is the only confirmed Season 2 content we know so far.
Is Horizons just planetary landings?
Nope! This stage of planetary landings is just the first expansion in this season.
What is a season?
A designated time period of Elite: Dangerous content. The initial purchase of the base game is considered Season 1, which includes things like Wings, Powerplay, and the upcoming CQC.
Horizons is the next designated Season of Elite: Dangerous content, meaning you will have to pay for it like you did to access the Season 1 content (the game we have now).
How long will Season 2 last?
If we're counting the airless planetary landings release as the first Season 2 content, then it will begin in Holiday 2015 and end at some point in 2016. Elite Dangerous: Horizons will continue to introduce new features and gameplay as the season continues into 2016 (https://www.frontierstore.net/games/elite-dangerous-cat/horizons/elite-dangerous-horizons-pre-order.html?_ga=1.116322502.1334761742.1437932601)
What do I get in Horizons?
We don't know the full feature list yet. This is what we know so far:
- Access to airless planetary landings (what was shown in the teaser trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4sAe16UTDg)). This gives you access to SRVs, the buggys you can use to drive around full scale planetary surfaces. There will be fortified sttlements, low-level flight, access to special events, and more. (https://www.frontierstore.net/games/elite-dangerous-cat/horizons/elite-dangerous-horizons-pre-order.html?_ga=1.116322502.1334761742.1437932601)
- The second expansion in Season 2 is some sort of crafting and loot system.
This second major update will include additional gameplay-focused content including an all-new game-changing loot and crafting system. (https://www.frontierstore.net/games/elite-dangerous-cat/horizons/elite-dangerous-horizons-pre-order.html?_ga=1.116322502.1334761742.1437932601)
- It will also not include atmospheric planets (https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=172167&page=66&p=2640554&viewfull=1#post2640554), which will instead be added in a later season.
That's all we know about it.
How does the pricing work and what does each package do?
The 3 current expansion packages are £40, £50, and £130. If you already own Elite: Dangerous you will get £10 off any of those purchases, but that loyalty discount will expire when Horizons is officially released.
If you do not own Elite: Dangerous and buy one of those packages, you will get the base game as when planetary landings launches with Season 2 access. (https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=172167&p=2641611#post2641611)
- The base package (https://www.frontierstore.net/usd/games/elite-dangerous-cat/horizons/elite-dangerous-horizons-pre-order.html) is £39.99 (or £29.99 with loyalty discount) and gives you Season 2 access with planetary landings on it's full release.
- The beta package (https://www.frontierstore.net/usd/games/elite-dangerous-cat/horizons/elite-dangerous-horizons-beta.html) is £49.99 (or £39.99 with loyalty discount) and gives you Season 2 access as well as beta access to all Horizons updates that have betas, meaning you'll probably get to play the planetary landings beta before it's full release.
- The lifetime expansion pass (https://www.frontierstore.net/usd/games/elite-dangerous-cat/horizons/elite-dangerous-horizons-lifetime-expansion-pass.html) gives you access to all expansion that will ever be released, and is £130 (or £120 with the loyalty discount). It will also grant you beta access.
I am an alpha/beta/lifetime pass backer, will I get free access to Horizons?
This is answered here. (https://support.frontier.co.uk/kb/faq.php?id=164)
- If you are an alpha backer, you will get access to Horizons and it's beta for free, as well as all seasons of expansions.
- If you are a premium beta backer, you will get access to Horizons and it's beta for free, as well as all seasons of expansions.
- If you are a standard beta backer, you will not get access to Horizons for free.
- If you bought the lifetime expansion pass when it was available the last time, you will get access to Horizons for free and all future seasons. This applies no matter what your beta backing level was, so if you were a standard beta backer with this pass you're good.
What's the deal with the Cobra Mk. 4?
The Cobra Mk. 4 is a new ship only available to pilots who played Elite: Dangerous in the first year of it's release. You still have to purchase it with credits in-game, though. The Cobra Mk IV will be available in the game only to players who joined us in the first year â€" forever. It’s our ‘thank you’ for your faith in the game, and you’ll see more of the Cobra Mk IV in Friday’s Peek Of The Week. (https://community.elitedangerous.com/node/247)
If you are an existing Elite: Dangerous user, you will get the Cobra Mk. 4 with your purchase of a Horizons pass along with your loyalty discount.
Will Horizons and base game players be grouped into the same instances?
It seems like it. They haven't directly said yes, but this PC Gamer interview hints towards that. (http://www.pcgamer.com/planetary-landings-are-coming-to-elite-dangerous-this-year/) But they’re keen to stress that support for players who don’t upgrade will continue, and owners of both versions of the game will still share the same connected galaxyâ€"and be able to fly together in the same wings. (http://www.pcgamer.com/planetary-landings-are-coming-to-elite-dangerous-this-year/)
That last line seems to imply that they will still be able to directly interact with eachother. It would be logical that they can play together, but only Horizons players have ships that are suitably equipped to land on planets.
Will the base game still be supported?
Yes! I don't have an exact time stamp, but it is discussed here. (http://www.twitch.tv/elitedangerous/v/9785997) 1.4 and 1.5 are also both due to hit before the first part of Season 2. The game will be playable without the season content and development will continue for all versions of the game. Where changes are quite fundemental (like some aspects of missions) then that would be available to all players. Other content and features would be specific to the seasons. So the simple answer is yes, there will be continued development of the core game. We'll reveal more details as we progress.
(https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=172332&p=2640706#post2640706)
Can I get Horizons on Steam?
Yes, before the end of the year. For now it will only be available through the Frontier Store. (https://support.frontier.co.uk/kb/faq.php?id=161)
Much like before, If you buy Elite Dangerous: Horizons from the Frontier store you will have the option to generate a Steam code when it arrives on that platform. (https://support.frontier.co.uk/kb/faq.php?id=161)
So it's not available yet, but you can rest easy ordering your package from Frontier's store and generating a key for it later.
Will Horizons be on Xbox?
Probably, but it is only currently confirmed for PC (https://support.frontier.co.uk/kb/faq.php?id=160) (I would assume that includes Mac as well). In any scenario, it's coming to PC first.
Some new info has slipped out of Frontier towers today.
Quote from: Sandro SammarcoHello Commanders!
Just to let you folk know: the plan for loot, is for it to be a core system update (all seasons), so everyone will be able to use loot.
However, there will be a bunch of loot content that is season 2 (Horizons) only.
Hope this info helps.
This clearly means that although the first Elite expansion will be released in December, they are planning to continue injecting game-play and content into the core game
after the final "season 1" update (1.5) has been released.
Whether this implies that crafting (also slated for Horizons) will follow suit and find its way into the core game, is purely guesswork unless Sandro comments on the issue (the question has already been asked).
So next year we may well be crafting our own ship modules and weapons. Twin hyperdrive for your Anaconda anyone?
So current players, who joined after the game went live will be able to purchase the Cobra IV with credits right?
That's how I'm understanding it.
Quote from: Gorion;403367So current players, who joined after the game went live will be able to purchase the Cobra IV with credits right?
That's how I'm understanding it.
If you have Elite or buy Elite before December and then
buy Horizons, you will be able to purchase the Cobra Mk IV in game. If you don't buy Horizons or only buy the game (for the first time) after December, you won't be able to obtain the Mk IV in Elite.
From here (https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=180372)
Questions from Xbox Players
Q: Paint jobs! Will we get them? When will we get them?
Paint job support is planned for Xbox One, but it won’t be in the initial release. They will hopefully be coming this calendar year.
==
Q: Will Elite Dangerous: Horizons release on the XBOX? Is there a general idea of when?
Yes we do plan on releasing Elite Dangerous: Horizons on the Xbox One. A release date isn’t available for it yet.
==
Q: if you buy the Lifetime Expansion pass on the PC will it cover you for console as well?
No, the lifetime Expansion pass is not currently available for Xbox One.
==
Q: Can I use my PC commander on the XBOX if I get the XBOX version?
No, PC /Mac and Xbox One commanders are separate.
==
Questions from PS4 owners:
Q: Is a Playstation version of Elite in development? Will it happen?
We are looking at additional release platforms, but there isn’t a timeframe for this yet.
==
Questions from PC players:
Q: Will we see co-operative missions and objectives in-game aimed at Wings?
Wing missions are being considered, although they’re not in the immediate roadmap. We have a number of more general improvements which apply to all players with regards to missions that we want to look at first, such as chained missions.
==
Q: Will Anaconda paint jobs be available from 1.4?
Anaconda paint jobs are coming soon. The first Anaconda paint job will be released after 1.4 with more following in later releases.
==
Q: There are few decals right now. Will we be seeing more any time soon? Will they be DLC, or in-game awards, or both?
We do want to do more with decals and will reveal more once things are finalised.
==
Q: Currently there are two station interiors. White/pink stations are rare. Will we see more variants in the game?
It’s something we’re looking at, but is low priority for now.
==
Q: NPC chatter. Could it be more varied? Could it be audio instead?
We added a load more chatter variants as part of the CQC Update and as new NPC circumstances are added (such as new scenarios, or triggers) then we add more chatter. We also want to look at chatter providing hints and clues to hidden or secretive events like treasure hunts. There are no immediate plans for text to speech.
==
Q: Early on we could make our ships go "cold" to the point of cockpit freezing. Will this ever come back? Will we see stealth along the lines of dry ice jets on the FDL?
You can still get the ice effect if you go cold, however we’ll look at tweaking this for a future release to make it more likely to occur.
==
Q: Can we have "last five jumps" shortlist in navigation please?
A history of jumps is something we want to add.
==
Q: Will we see "repair limpets" (the fuel rats would very much like these) - any chances?
There are no plans for repair drones at the moment, but they could be a fun addition.
==
Q: Any chance of getting player-generated missions? For example (from a player) - Automated "out of fuel" distress signal generates BB mission for refuelling. OOF player would get "your refuelling ship is 1,200 ly away" messages at each jump from player that accepts mission, as well as being able to communicate with them.
These aren’t currently planned. The distress beacon is something we have considered and might well be something we look at further down the line.
==
Q: Bounty hunting. The "Top 5 most wanted" player locations. Are these updated in solo/private & open or just open? Could they state station last seen?
Yes, these apply to players in all game modes. We’ll look to add the last station seen in a future release â€" assuming that the player was last seen at a station.
==
Q: Can we have the ability to store components in station storage? This would enable ship role changes without long parts hunting and would make a "sales tax" on internals viable. A nice to have would be a named loadout. i.e. "Trade" or "Combat".
This isn’t in the plan at the moment, we do want to make it easier to retrieve distant ships though, so multiple ship ownership is more practical.
==
Q: Will players alone or in groups ever be able to establish outposts?
Maybe, although it’s a long way out if it happens. Before this we need to change the background sim so that it is capable of creating new outposts or settlements.
==
Q: With the end of the "season 1" with 1.5, will that be "it" for content, ships, missions and so on for the core game?
No, while there will be a lot of content that is exclusive to the new season, some changes and additions (in particular those that are game wide) will be available for those who only play the base game.
==
Q: The DDF; There is actually only a few things from the DDF that completely MIA. Skirting any debate of the implementation of existing features as compared to the DDF, can you comment on what of the following MIA features are off the table, in a wish-list or coming SoonTM for the core game? Any news is good news!
The DDF topics provided a wealth of information and opinion for features we want to include in the game at some stage. Design always changes when you come to implementation for various reasons. NPC comms is still on the cards. Misjumps and mini-jumps are unlikely and not part of the current plan. Player alliances is something that is likely to evolve from the player minor factions. Player trading is an unknown at the moment. Ship transfers and passenger missions are in the current dev plan. The tier 2 NPCs is likely to change, but we need to see how other factors like NPC comms fit in and what we can take from there.
==
Q: Will the centre cockpit screen between the pilots knees ever do anything? Apart from streaming Netflix...
Yes it will...
Q: Will we see co-operative missions and objectives in-game aimed at Wings?
Wing missions are being considered, although they’re not in the immediate roadmap. We have a number of more general improvements which apply to all players with regards to missions that we want to look at first, such as chained missions.
I really hope they find something to fill the void. This would have been a logical choice to get people playing together.
I asked Zac that specific question from what was discussed on the admin's forum.
Me and my bro will be purchasing the lifetime pass this week hopefully
Sneaky, didnt you already have premium Alpha backer status? as you have access to Shinrata.
Fly safe, and dont pay twice (unless you are generous).
Shinrata was also open to all Kickstarter backers.
We went through this Ranaulf, he had standard not premium beta,
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=553mTYXSGPU&feature=youtu.be
New Horizons footage, yummy!