Elite: Dangerous is a gigantic space sandbox. You do what you want, including creating your own stories and game modes!
The space game Elite: Dangerous is a complex space sandbox. This means that players are truly the main actors. Most of what happens in the game comes from the players. Occasionally, there are public events from the developer or most recently the invasion of the alien Thargoids.
Nevertheless, many players are especially fascinated by the open sandbox aspect of the game. We attended the Frontier Expo 2017, the large fair of the Elite developer Frontier Development, and asked players there what makes the game so appealing to them.
A streamer prefers to fly in crash races in space
Elite Dangerous offers a lot of missions and tasks. You can transport cargo, ferry passengers, explore planets, or engage in wild battles as a pirate or bounty hunter. But sometimes all of this is too serious. Then it’s time for a Sidewinder crash derby!
Watch Frontier Expo Sidewinder Sports Day by Kate on www.twitch.tvIn conversation with streamer Kate Russel (Kate Click on Twitch), we learned that there are regularly wild crash races with Sidewinder ships without shields in Elite. The goal is to ram and demolish each other. Since the Sidewinder is the free starter ship, no one has to waste valuable resources if they want to participate in the crash race.
Radio Sidewinder – A radio station by fans for fans
In Elite there is a galactic news channel called GalNet, which will also read out news with a future update. Currently, there is already a fully voiced radio station called “Radio Sidewinder” in the game. The station is run by 15 to 20 players worldwide who announce news from the Elite universe and play music around the clock.
In addition to political events and alien sightings, there are often interviews with well-known players. For example, there have even been interviews with the infamous rogue Harry Potter, who has rewritten entire novels with his misdeeds! You can find Radio Sidewinder at this site.
Stranded in space? Call the Space AAA!
One of the cruelest fates you can encounter in Elite Dangerous is to be stranded in space without fuel. If no one comes to help you, you must abandon and destroy your ship. You can respawn at the next station, but your collected data, resources, and a lot of money will be gone.
To ensure that no one has to suffer this fate, there are the Fuel Rats. This is a purely player-run galactic breakdown service. Under the motto “We got Fuel, you don’t!” you can find the Fuel Rats on their website. Shortly thereafter, they will contact you in the game and bring you fuel.
The Rats work selflessly and fearlessly fly through space to help any pilots in need. Even if it means they occasionally fall victim to malicious pirates who pretend to send distress calls to rob the poor Rats. Fuel Rats are the true heroes of Elite!
Elite audio dramas and interactive storylines
The many small stories that come from players and have their place in the large meta-plot of Elite inspire literature outside the game. There are official novels whose key scenes occur in the game and are determined by players.
This led to the fact that the space pilot and novel heroine Salomé was murdered by the aforementioned archvillain Harry Potter. Now it actually states in the book that a certain Harry Potter was her murderer.
In addition to novels, there are more works related to Elite, such as the audio drama “Escape Velocity”. This elaborately produced work was sponsored by fans via Patreon, and you can listen to it online for free. Also cool: those who want to experience Elite as a role-player outside the computer can get the stylish Elite Roleplaying Game, a pen & paper role-playing system in the Elite universe!
Conclusion from the Frontier Expo 2017: Cheers to the sandbox!
Elite: Dangerous truly does justice to the sandbox genre. Those who bring enough time and creativity can experience a lot in the large universe of the game and do far more than just mindlessly checking off tasks.
According to many players we interviewed at the Frontier Expo 2017, this is exactly what makes the appeal of the game. Those who only go through official content are likely to have less fun with the game than sandbox enthusiasts who lose themselves entirely in the alternative sci-fi world of Elite.
Currently, it is primarily the aliens from the Thargoids that are causing trouble in Elite. The aliens could actually exist according to an astrobiologist!
