Elite Dangerous aims to make a significant leap forward with the update series Beyond. The focus is on new ships, more multiplayer options, and the story involving the aliens. We asked the lead designer what the Beyond update holds for Elite Dangerous.
In Elite Dangerous, you can explore our galaxy to your heart’s content and do whatever pleases you. However, with the planned update series Beyond, the range of activities is set to expand significantly.
We spoke with Sandy Sammarco, the lead designer of Elite Dangerous, and received some information on the progression of the upcoming Beyond updates.
Ships, Aliens, and Squadrons
With the update “Beyond: Chapter One”, you can expect known changes to some core systems – including the new crime system – as well as the multiplayer wing missions. In the subsequent two updates of Beyond, new ships, more missions, and a continuation of the story will play a significant role.
Aliens in Retro Style
The aliens of the Thargoids have been a part of the game for a while, and it remains unclear what these foreign beings truly want. The mysterious machinations of the invaders continue to be an important topic in Elite.
The developers plan to weave more details about the aliens into upcoming updates and also address the mysterious first conflict with aliens in the past. A hint of this is the appearance of “new” Thargoid scout ships, which just happen to look like the alien ships from the original Elite from 1984.
Why this is the case should be revealed to players in an upcoming update of Elite.
Furthermore, the aliens will make no attempts to withdraw. However, those who are not interested in battles with the Thargoids should still be able to keep their distance and continue with their normal daily tasks in the universe.
Arms Race with the Alien Creatures
But it’s not just the aliens that are getting new ships. Those who don’t care about peaceful contact can look forward to the new ship Chieftain. This ship has been specially designed to kill aliens.
However, the developers don’t want to stop there and plan to introduce even more new ships in later updates. An exciting arms race is ahead.
Focus on Multiplayer
As another focus, the developers plan to add more multiplayer content to Elite. The cooperation with other gamers is a big feature in Elite. Therefore, with the first chapter of Beyond, cooperative wing missions will come that you can complete together with other players.
By the end of 2018, the long-awaited squadrons are set to arrive. These player groups can appoint a “squadron leader,” who can then assign players hierarchically. There will also be improved tools and communication options within the squadron.
Squadrons can acquire a large carrier ship to reload, repair, and refuel on the go.
Whether multicrew ships can also be part of squadrons could not be answered yet.
No Fear of Star Citizen
Star Citizen is the major competitor of Elite Dangerous and receives a major update in 2018. However, the developers at Frontier Developments remain calm. They have always anticipated that a genre like “space simulation sandbox games” would not consist solely of one game.
Therefore, there’s room for two major games of this kind. Just as the existence of Call of Duty does not prevent new parts of Battlefield from regularly appearing. They do not fear competition. Rather, at Frontier, they welcome the fact that the long-neglected space genre is finally moving forward.
A major feature of Elite: Dangerous is the complex stories that arise from the interactions of the players around the sandbox. Among them the touching story of a doomed player and his difficult final journey to the edge of the galaxy.
