Here we go again for an overview of this week’s news in Elite: Dangerous : « The Outpost #52 »!
Send me your best pics of your Cobra next to an outpost. I could feature them at the top of the upcoming The Outpost.
Frontier News
Bêta 2.2.03 and information
For the first time since Elite: Dangerous launched, the developers have decided to start a beta for an important Update, coming for the New Year. The betas are usually made for large updates such as the great milestones. An interesting strategy in order to gather even more feedback from the community, while fixing most of the bugs.
The beta 2.2.03 is available to anyone with a beta access.
► Check out the Patch Notes 2.2.03 ◄
PlayStation 4
Quick note on the side, Elite: Dangerous will be launched on PlayStation 4 around Q2 2017!
- VR Support is a tech in which they are very interested in, however no information have filtered regarding the latter;
- The PS4 Pro has better technologies. You will be able to play the game with even more advanced graphics;
- Cross-Play confirmed, we will all be playing in the same Galactic Simulation. Still, we won’t see players from other platforms;
- If you want to play on PS4, and you already have the game on PC: you will still need to buy a new license.
We recently analyzed the trailer.
With the announcement of Elite Dangerous coming to PlayStation 4 this week, we sat down with Senior Producer, Gary Richards, to discuss how the team are bringing Elite Dangerous to the platform and what you can look forward to.
Why PlayStation, why now?
We’ve always wanted to do a PlayStation version, but we also wanted to ensure we could take the time to do justice to the Platform. Elite Dangerous uses a lot of compute shaders to generate the Horizons Planets and Terrain and adapting and optimizing these for PlayStation has been a fair amount of work.
So what will PlayStation players get at launch?
The total package that anyone who bought Elite Dangerous: Horizons on PC or Xbox One would get. So that’s Elite Dangerous, Community Goals, Wings, Powerplay, CQC, Ships, Planetary Landings, The Engineers and The Guardians, plus 2.3: The Commanders which we’ll be launching before the PlayStation 4 release next year. The PS4 release includes the Horizons season pass, so, of course, you’ll get 2.4, too.
What challenges were faced in developing Elite Dangerous for PlayStation?
Elite Dangerous has quite a complex network infrastructure – all players across all platforms share the same Galactic Simulation to which we’ve added PlayStation players. We’ve also integrated PSN to support Virtual Currency and added support to our Frontier Store to allow PlayStation’s players to purchase custom items, such as Paint Jobs, Ship Kits, and Bobbleheads.
PlayStation 4 possess a unique peripheral with the DualShock 4, does Elite Dangerous use these?
Yes! The controller is one of the main areas we chose to focus on to create the best possible experience for PlayStation players.
As well as supporting the existing fully re-mappable context menus, we’ve assigned the corners of the touchpad to provide four extra buttons for quick access, which can be re-mapped to support different play styles.
The touchpad is also an option for controlling the Galaxy and System Maps. Players can navigate by using familiar gestures similar to most touch devices.
Combining DualShock’s built-in motion detection with the in-game headlook gives PlayStation players the ability to look around the cockpit, view menus and spot potential targets while keeping all the flight controls available.
Controls can be re-mapped via an extensive set of menu options, with classic controls available for those who prefer a traditional control scheme.
What does the PlayStation release mean for PC players?
More players interacting with the Galactic Simulation, allowing players to work together to help (or hinder!) Community Goals, Powerplay Factions and to Explore the Galaxy helping discover what might be out there in the depths of space. Not only does the Galaxy get bigger, it get’s better. The optimizations made for the PS4 release of Horizons will feed back into the PC version. Every improvement benefits every platform.
What’s next for the team?
2.4 and beyond….
Developers and community
A dedicated space to Devs’ messages from the forums and social Medias.
~ 
Recent communications ~
- [Beta 2.2.03] We invite you to provide us with your feedback in the dedicated beta forums – Source – Sandro Sammarco, Lead Designer
- [Beta 2.2.03] ECM charge to a 3km range over 3 seconds, but you do not need to charge them to full for them to have an effect, when you release they let off a blast proportional in size to the charge time. So if you hold for 1 second and release you’ll fry every missile/torp within a 1km range, half a second gives you 500m, two seconds gives you 2km. You probably want to never let them actually reach full charge when defending against short/mid range attacks. There are issues with Torpedoes used at short range being hard to avoid. It’s a valid concern but before any action we need more information than one frequently-posted video with little context – Source – Mark Allen, Programmer Gameplay
- [Mysteries] Doing the new missions for the Ancient sites? I think it’s a step in the right direction – Source – Michael Brookes, Executive Producer
- [Mysteries] The missions for the Ancient site will be unlocked for 2.2.03 release. It is not possible to obtain Ram Tah’s decryption key from Meene’s station for now on – Source – Michael Brookes, Executive Producer
- [Com Live] Next week is a Q&A about missions. We’ll be doing a livestream about 2.3 when it’s time to do a livestream about 2.3… I’ll let you know
– Source – Edward Lewis, Senior Community Content Manager
~ Devs Q/A Sandro Sammarco and Mark Allen ~
We have summarized the news from the recent Devs Q/A. Crispy news to share with your friends!
► Summary Q/A 6th of December ◄
Supporting: Special Effects and ED_RPG
Special Effects
We had until December 19th to reach the £10,000 goal and support Frontier’s initiative for Special Effect… we did it in a couple of days! 120% of the initial objective with more than 900 supporters; A remarkable feat that once again demonstrated the powerful support from our community.
Special Effect enable severely disabled people to use computers with whichever parts of their body that work best, enabling vital inclusion. Many want to play video games. They specialize in Eye Control Technology for those paralyzed & unable to speak. Through eye-movement alone, they enable people to communicate.
As I did last week, go on and support them by donating a little bit. Every help matters. Thank you!
As if it wasn’t enough, Frontier is registering 1 ticket for each 1$ you donated to the initiative. Your email will be kept to count the tickets. For example, if you gave 10$ to the association, you will gain 10 tickets that will go into a huge lottery. Fantastic prizes are waiting for you!
- Create your very own Elite: Dangerous paintjob;
- High End gaming PC! – Up to £2,000 worth of pure gaming awesome;
- Xbox One S console;
- PlayStation 4 pro console;
- Planet Coaster prizes, signed pictures and Thrillseeker Editions;
- Name your own rare commodity, a station, or even a lifetime pass to Elite: Dangerous;
- Check out the whole list of prizes here!
ED RPG
Did someone say Roleplay? Spidermind Games has embarked on the incredible challenge of making a Roleplay Elite: Dangerous game: ED RPG !
The first details are magnificent and their creativity unparalleled. Their Kickstarter will kick in January 16, 2017. More details to come.
Blast into a dangerous galaxy, where the police shoot on sight, entire systems are overrun with space pirates, and money is the only thing that talks. Gear up with high tech equipment to overcome heavily armoured combat drones, elite corporate assassins, and over-gunned soldiers of the interstellar powers. Each player owns their own spaceship, which is completely customisable with multi-cannons, plasma accelerators, enhanced shields and super-fast Frame Shift Drives. Land on alien planets and get behind the wheel of your Surface Reconnaissance Vehicle (SRV) to explore, or strap yourself into your own battle tank and storm pirate bases.
With fast-paced combat, a quick but deep character creation system, and the ability to earn money outside of your GM’s adventures, the Elite: Dangerous Role Playing Game is perfect for beginner and veteran role players alike. So power up your Cobra MkIII, keep your Micro-Shotgun handy, and launch into a galaxy packed with threat. For in this dangerous galaxy only the elite survive…
Download their demo-adventure « The Worst Intentions » on this page !
Initiatives around Colonia
As the Colonia bubble is being more and more developed, new operations arise in order to bring new pilots into the second human bubble. Will you take part in the CEI?
The Pilots Federation and the Colonia Council would like to thank you for your interest in expanding the newly established Colonia region. There has been an unprecedented number of responses and we have the final list of organisations that would like to help support our request for resources and in return set up their own base here in Colonia.
Simply visit the Colonia Council Migration website, log in and confirm which organisation your efforts should be added to. They will then be able to tell which organisations have delivered the most resource and the top ten organisations will be thanked with their very own faction here in Colonia!
A Community Goal has already started: may the best groups win!
Remember that Colonia is a Super-Power and Power free utopia. YOU have the power to decide which factions are developed and every commander has to contribute to the Colonia council, the more they contribute the more support they are giving to their organisation. How Colonia develops is for every Commander in the Galaxy to decide.
Hey, psshhht, use the Neutron Highway 😉 (350 jumps instead of 550 jumps with 45 LY)
Powerplay and Lore
Powerplay is an ongoing battle for interstellar conquest and control. Players can choose a Power, help guide their strategy, and take on special objectives to advance their shared cause. Player choices and actions have a direct and visible impact on the balance of galactic power.
Zemina Torval +2
Edmund Mahon =
Aisling Duval +1
Li Yong-Rui +3
Zachary Hudson = // Turmoil
Arissa Lavigny-Duval -5 // Turmoil
Pranav Antal +1
Felicia Winters -2 // Turmoil
Yuri Grom =
Denton Patreus =
Archon Delaine =
Cycle 80. We are in the cycle 81.
Top 10
8 December – Authorities in the Aeternitas system have reported a sharp increase in the number of criminals operating in the area. Reports indicate that the agitators are attacking pilots traveling in the system, disrupting trade and generally causing discord. To counter this threat, Aeternitas Industries has placed a kill order on all wanted ships operating in the Aeternitas system, and has promised to reward pilots who deliver bounty vouchers to Houtman City.
9 December – Ram Tah claims to have created a decryption algorithm that can decipher the data patterns contained in the mysterious obelisks at the Synuefe ruins. The reclusive engineer believes the algorithm will allow independent researchers to decrypt data from the site. – Please note that the algorithm decryption key can’t be gathered YET at Meene’s station. This will be unlocked when the 2.2.03 releases!
Community Goals
Community Goals allow the community to work together on an ongoing project within a system. Fight, trade, smuggle, explore and help the factions and super powers to achieve their goals. There is no good or bad CG, write your & Elite’s stories while earning credits!
Three Community goals are available this week: Transport and Combat.
◘ Colonia Migration Appeal
- Location: Jaques Station | Colonia
- Objective: Deliver Galactic Travel Guides
- Rewards: Creation of multiple minor factions in the Colonia bubble
- Progress: 0/1
- Until: January 5th
- Description: Gather your Galactic Travel Guides via the LHS 3447 system, Bluford Orbital. For more details, check the Colonia’s chapter
◘ People’s Tutumu Confederacy Appeal
- Location: North Ring | Tutumu
- Objective: Deliver Gold, Pyrophyllite and Mineral Oil
- Rewards: Crédits
- Progress: 9/10
- Until: December 15th
- Description: See Lore
◘ Restoring Order in Aeternitas
- Location: Houtman City | Aeternitas
- Objective: Hand in your Bounties
- Rewards: Crédits
- Progress: 3/8
- Until: December 15th
- Description: See Lore
- Notes: Destroy every « Wanted » ships
Pics of the week
More, more, and more fantastic creations thanks to the marvelous Elite community. Let’s have a look at what you’ve created this week, with a big batch of pics for the first The Outpost in English!
- Foxlider Atom visited a gloomy planet… Surprise: Pink geysers!
- CurbinBabies has accomplished the incredible performance of 500 rescues with the Fuel Rats. He is also a Dispatcher (Interventions’ manager) and has many Red Cases (Fuel 0%) in his merits’ box. Round of applause for the souls’ savior!
- Aymerix proposes this superb landscape on the surface. These new surface textures are definitely too pretty.
I had a good laugh with Boyareen’s movies parodies this week! Check out his albums too #1 and #2.
VinnyTheKnight has a 3D printer… yup… check out these very detailed ships!
BigRedFrog has golden hands! The proof with this magnificent Coriolis table. Have a look at his album.
This week, JackMoss reported some great images showing the very destructive power of space fights. Look at this poor Majestic Class Interdictor… Well done Edmund, Bahaha! #SupportAlliance
Let’s end this chapter with the lovely chap GhostGiraffe. This Coriolis eclipse, oh man!
Videos of the week
PvP Fer de Lance anyone? Chris Lane is about to kick your spacegirls and boys out of your cockpits. Fixed weapons, go go!
SpaceBear recently created this phenomenal Exploration video. Experience an intrepid life on Elite: Dangerous!
An astounding exploration video, already highlighted on my Twitch channel: Pioneer, A Journey to the Unknown. By Wizard_IRL
[Beta 2.2.03] Admire the changes on stealth gameplay against artificial intelligence. It promises a good comeback of the sneaky stealthy players! By Graventhel
Feel free to discuss this week’s content!
