In Elite Dangerous, a lot has happened in 2018. Although not much concrete information about the plans for 2019 is known yet, many fans are already looking forward to the upcoming year, including our author Sven.
In addition to the Destiny series, there’s only one other big love in gaming for me – Elite Dangerous. I am particularly looking forward to the upcoming year. But what does 2019 hold?
This is why I love Elite Dangerous
This is how I got into Elite Dangerous: As a child and teenager, I spent countless hours in Frontier: Elite II and Frontier: First Encounters, exploring space. Today, there’s still hardly anything cooler for me than getting lost in the infinite expanses of the virtual universe.
Since 2014, there has been no path but the fourth installment of the Elite series for me, where I was a proud early backer. No other game allows me to unwind from daily life so effortlessly while having so much fun as Elite Dangerous.
This is what I enjoy the most in Elite Dangerous
This is how I earn my credits in Elite: I love exploring undiscovered spots in the galaxy that contain nearly 400 billion star systems.
Additionally, I chauffeur wealthy VIPs from various mega-corporations on my over 200-meter-long space cruise ship, the Beluga Liner, from one interstellar sight to the next – for millions of credits.
By now, the recently revised mining has also become one of my favorite and most lucrative activities.
Overall, I love and appreciate the freedom that the game offers. You can choose to survive as a bounty hunter, trader, smuggler, merchant, or resource gatherer – Elite is what you make of it.
This is what makes Elite Dangerous special for me
Elite Dangerous has given me some of the most beautiful and memorable moments of my gaming life. I will never forget the feeling when the first system bears my name as the discoverer for everyone to see, my first visit to an asteroid space station, my first landing and drive on a planet, or the rescue operation by the Fuel Rats.
This is how the encounter with the Fuel Rats went: This rescue operation left a lasting impression: The Fuel Rats, a network of numerous selfless players, have made it their mission to help pilots who run out of fuel in the most remote parts of the galaxy and to rescue them from their misery – anytime and anywhere.
Some time ago, during my first steps as a discoverer in an uninhabited part of space, I ran out of fuel. There were no players around, no stations – just the infinite black void.
In panic, I searched Google for a solution and stumbled upon the aforementioned Fuel Rats. I contacted them through their website, and like an intergalactic emergency hotline, a friendly moderator accompanied me until my rescue.
I followed the instructions to shut down all systems, keeping only life support and my signal active. Soon after, my cockpit window froze, and the life support timer ticked down relentlessly. I had never felt such a suffocating and threatening feeling in a game before, as I did in that situation.
I truly felt alone and lost in the vastness of space. Only the moderator in the chat virtually held my sweaty hand. Just two minutes before certain death and the loss of my recently hard-earned ship, the long-awaited rescue finally arrived. A commander of the Fuel Rats had found me.
He greeted me warmly, refueled me, and guided me to the nearest space station, where he explained the basics of space exploration to me for over an hour. That night, thanks to him, I learned more about the explorer career and the game than during all my previous playtime.
This is why it’s worth taking a look through the VR headset: Another unforgettable moment for me was my first experience with a virtual reality headset in Elite Dangerous. It added the final touch to my great passion.
In my eyes, there’s currently nothing else on the gaming market that brings you closer to the stars than this experience. The Elite universe looks simply stunning in VR and elevates the gaming experience to a whole new level. Those who have the chance to try it in VR should definitely take advantage of it.
This experience is also the reason why a new computer with a VR headset and joystick setup is coming to my house at the beginning of 2019.
How Elite Dangerous changed in 2018
Here’s what has happened since the launch: Since the release in 2014, Elite Dangerous has been continuously improved and expanded over the years with numerous features such as planetary landings, passenger transport, multi-crew options, character creation, and the mysterious Thargoid aliens.
So also in the ongoing year 2018, where the now third season “Beyond” has continuously supplied the game with updates. Particularly with the last major update of the year in December, Elite Dangerous gained even more attractiveness for me and even Destiny 2 has been dethroned from my favorite games.
Here are some highlights from the December update:
- The game has received an overhauled lighting system. With the new light effects, the galaxy with its various planets and spaceships looks significantly better and more realistic.
- Life as an explorer has become much more varied and complex thanks to new scanning and analysis modes. It now requires more than just a quick keystroke to perform a system scan and then move on.
- The previously rudimentarily implemented mining, that is, resource extraction, has been significantly enhanced and has become one of my new favorite activities. There are now three new methods. For example, you can now hunt for explosives in asteroids with new tools, crack them open, and then collect the most valuable resources.
- Additionally, the long-anticipated Squadron feature has come, allowing space pilots to form and organize in a sort of clan – with their own communication channels, leaderboards, and hierarchy structures.
What can fans expect in 2019 in Elite Dangerous?
What we know about the coming year: Very little is currently known about Frontiers plans for 2019, i.e. Season 4.
However, David Braben, the head of Frontier Developments, recently stated that after the Beyond season, that is, in 2019, a lot of exciting things would be announced for Elite Dangerous. Some will be free, while others will be paid.
Frontier will transition from the current expansion model to large premium DLCs in 2019. For players, this means that instead of buying an expansion with multiple updates, they will be able to purchase individual large update packages separately.
Moreover, there are still some features that have already been announced or planned but have not yet made it into the game. Many fans hope that some of these will be coming in 2019.
Fans are expecting the following content for 2019:
- Squadrons were supposed to receive their own large carrier ships this year, which they can use as mobile bases for their operations. However, this feature has been postponed and is expected as DLC in 2019.
- Flight and landings on planets with an atmosphere have long been discussed and are eagerly requested by fans. Fans can hardly wait to land on Earth-like planets with flora and fauna and inhabited cities to explore.
- The “Space Legs” are also among the most desired features and are expected by many fans in 2019. This refers to the ability to walk around your spaceship and space stations, as well as to leave your ship or exploration vehicle and move freely in space or on planet surfaces.
However, please note: All these features are speculations and hopes of the fans. They have either been announced or taken up by Frontier, but there is no concrete date or further official information about them yet.
Numerous other features are planned as part of a “10-year plan” for Elite Dangerous. However, fans will likely have to wait longer than 2019 for features such as boarding other ships, first-person shooter-style combat, or procedurally generated cities on planets.
This is why I am looking forward to Elite Dangerous in 2019
Even if there is still little concrete information about 2019, I am very much looking forward to the upcoming year in Elite Dangerous and can hardly wait for the first official announcements.
In the past years, especially in 2018, Frontier has convinced me that they are working hard on the game and trying to implement all announced features as well as the wishes and criticisms of the fans.
If the features speculated by fans actually make it into the game, it could be a big year for Elite. With these mechanics, which all contribute to immersion, the game would take the next great step in its development and elevate the gaming experience to the next level.
In my opinion, Frontier has continuously managed to improve the game step by step. After numerous important milestones are in place, they still have great plans for the title, and I am very curious to see how Elite Dangerous will continue to evolve in 2019. Details shouldn’t take too long to arrive.
