A post to the Elite: Dangerous forums announces that Elite: Dangerous has entered the final frontier, as Frontier Developments' space combat game has left beta testing, and has entered the gamma phase, if not the gamma quadrant (thanks Dave). This paves the way for the game's planned official release on December 16th, as gamma is an infrequently used term for a release candidate. Here's word on the changes that mark the occasion

The first gamma build will be released in a little over an hour. People will be kicked from the server shortly . Here is the change log for the build:

• Playable area no longer restricted to beta bubble
• Playable ship Python added
• Playable ship Orca added
• Kickstarter starting ships and locations added
• Freagles added
• Capital ship events added
• Fix crash following docking and accessing starport services
• Fix for multiple input devices not working - for example pedals and throttle from multiple input device controllers
• Chances for USSs increased
• Fix for cargo hatch not ejecting any cargo when malfunctioning
• Workaround for AMD white lines issue
• Check to make sure the target is this machine that this machine is ready to receive authority
• New games account for fines, bounties, and permits
• Added missing text strings for Federal and Imperial missions
• NPC Comms in Another Castle Unidentified Signal Sources should now only display the new target destination rather than listing multiple destinations

The Roberts Space Industries website has a write-up on how character health, damage, and healing will work in the FPS mode in Star Citizen, Cloud Imperium's upcoming space combat game. They outline a detailed limb-damage system which tracks four different damage levels for ten different limbs, explaining the visual and gameplay impact of injuries. They also discuss their version of respawning, available medical devices, how injuries can be healed, and how incapacitated teammates can be dragged to safety, offering a short video to show how this looks, which is exactly how you'd picture it. Thanks 88fingers. Continue here to read the full story.

Here's Valve's accounting of the 10 bestselling games on Steam last week:

1. Far Cry 4
2. This War of Mine
3. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
4. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
5. Far Cry Franchise Pack
6. Football Manager 2015
7. Assassin's Creed Unity
8. The Binding of Isaac Rebirth
9. DayZ
10. Rise of Nations: Extended Edition

The annual Steam Fall Sale will begin on November 26th, reports VG247 based on details in a promotional spam they got from PayPal touting the ability to buy Steam Wallet codes to spend during the sale (hopefully purchased with funds that were converted from bitcoin). Word is the sale, which Australians are presumably calling the spring sale, will end on December 1st.

• Seriously!'s Hellfire Duel Tournament 2014 using Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter.

• Limbo Xbox One Coming To Early Adopters For Free.
• Smash Bros. GameCube Adapters Sold Out, Online Prices Go Nuts.
• Gamer alert -- you can now play Tetris on your Roku. Thanks Ant.
• Stunning GTA5 Snapmatics Captured on PlayStation 4 & Xbox One.
• Xbox One: The Year One Review.
• Will Xbox One succeed in China?
• Face-Off: Grand Theft Auto 5 on PS4 and Xbox One.

• T-Mobile Unleashes $5 a Month Overseas Calling Plan for Simple Choice Customers. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Mythbusters vs. Gorilla Glass- Adam and Jamie have a smashing time. Sponsored study busts myth of impartiality? Thanks HARDOCP.

• This FCC Commissioner Did A Reddit Chat. It Did Not Go Well. Thanks Acleacius.
• Duke it out on Middle-Earth via a Chrome Experiment. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Amazon Starts Shipping The Fire TV Stick, Its “Fastest Selling” Hardware Yet. Thanks HARDOCP.

Thanks Ant.

• New battery composed of lots of nanobatteries.
• Barbie becomes a Debian developer and creates systemd. Thanks Linux Today.
• Dish Restores CNN, Cartoon Network in Contract Extension. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Alibaba smashes Asian record.
• Microsoft confirms that Windows 10 kernel will be 10.0. Thanks HARDOCP.

• DerpTrolling leaks PSN, 2K, Windows Live customer logins. Thanks Business Insider via HARDOCP.

• Aereo loses battle, cord-cutters may win war. Thanks HARDOCP.

• Wasteland 2 on rpg codex. Thanks Acleacius.

• HGST Deskstar NAS 4 TB on AnandTech.
• Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. M Wireless Mobile & PC Keyboard on eTeknix.
• SuperTooth HD VOICE In-Car Speakerphone on Nikk Tech.
• Transcend Drive Pro 200 Wi-Fi Car Video Recorder on TweakTown.

• Game Giveaway of the Day - Fairy Island. Thanks Ant…
• i hate skool is a free (pick your price) throwback sandbox life simulator…
• IGDA Founder Responds To Indie Devs Being Blocked On #GamerGate Blocklist…

I cleared a bunch of leaves from around the BlueTower yesterday, and have some more to deal with today. Luckily the weather is being cooperative, as it wasn't freezing yesterday, and today may be the warmest day remaining this year. I just wish the trees were more cooperative, as not all of them have shed their leaves yet, so there will have to be another clean-up session down the road. We have this one giant maple tree in particular that is staying so green that I'd swear it's doing it on purpose

Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Mara. Tim, Wellington, or John? Men of Iron.
Stories:	Savior of France’s art: how the Mona Lisa was spirited away from the Nazis. In the run-up to Black Friday, Walmart and strikers wage a war of words.
Science:	Man’s headaches due to tapeworm living in his brain for four years.
Media:	Freeman's Mind- Episode 61.5. A Rainy Day in GTA 5. Thanks nin via reddit. The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies - Billy Boyd- The Last Goodbye. Thanks nin. A Random GTA V NPC Saved This Guy's Life Like An Action Hero.