Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month

Frontier Developments announces plans to launch beta 2 of Elite: Dangerous on September 30th, which happens to mark the 30th anniversary of the original Elite. The new beta includes new features for the space combat remake, as well as special items to commemorate the occasion. Here's word on the new stuff:
Elite: Dangerous 'Beta 2' is a major gameplay upgrade to the Beta:

  • Combat ratings from ‘Harmless’ all the way up to ‘Elite’.
  • Reputations per system and galaxy-wide that influence attitudes and prices offered to you.
  • Ability to discover and explore and scan new systems and sell the data on them.
  • Detailed system maps.
  • Around 500 additional star systems to explore.
  • Lakon Asp Explorer ships added.
  • Much greater variety of upgradable Life Support modules, Engines, Hyperdrives, Power Distributors, Sensors, Shield Generators and Cargo Racks for all ships.
  • Ships are subject to gradual ‘wear and tear’.
  • New weapons including mines and a new non-lethal missile-deployed cargo hatch disruptor for piracy.
  • Outposts (small, exposed ‘roadside café’ stations in remote locations)
  • Occelus starports, a version of which can move around for early civilization of new systems and space tourism.
  • Visibility of other ships in supercruise, and track others through supercruise and hyperspace.
  • Newsfeeds about events from the rest of the galaxy and player activity in your local system.
  • All backers names (from the appropriate crowd-funding reward tiers) have been added to the NPC naming database.

Beta 2 also includes a host of other improvements and optimizations including additional rock, ice and metal planetary ring types, a lot more music and some optional ‘simulator’ tutorials.

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50.
 
Linux?
Sep 21, 2014, 20:32
Ant
 
50.
Linux? Sep 21, 2014, 20:32
Sep 21, 2014, 20:32
 Ant
 
"It needs Linux. --Mousey
Avatar 1957
49.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 20, 2014, 20:55
49.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 20, 2014, 20:55
Sep 20, 2014, 20:55
 
Slick wrote on Sep 20, 2014, 11:03:
harlock wrote on Sep 20, 2014, 09:24:
Slick wrote on Sep 20, 2014, 02:14:
1 million sales is by no means insignificant, but it's still a far cry from tens of millions of sales from other titles.

the game hasnt even been released yet. none of those "other titles" that sold 10s of millions were sold at all before they were released.. also you're talking about multi-platform games with mainstream marketing which is an entirely different thing altogether

really? none of those other games were sold AT ALL prior to launch??? you've never heard of a pre-order? nobody pre-orders the latest CoD game every year? no game has tried to shamelessly pump pre-order numbers through pre-order perks? you're telling me that the entire gaming industry isn't a slave to this insidious pre-order pandemic right now? are you living under a rock?

and i'm pretty sure that i've seen FAR more articles and press releases about $tar citizen than I have the latest CoD game this year... so how exactly do they have no marketing? everytime they raise another 10 cents for their "crowdsourcing" it's all anyone can talk about. shit, for a game without a good marketing plan they seem to be achieving INCREDIBLE FEATS OF MARKETING.

sorry, but your points fail on both counts.

sure, tons of games sell for over hundreds of dollars before they are released.. its all exactly the same, you are totally right
48.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 20, 2014, 13:11
48.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 20, 2014, 13:11
Sep 20, 2014, 13:11
 
Slick wrote on Sep 20, 2014, 11:03:
shit, for a game without a good marketing plan they seem to be achieving INCREDIBLE FEATS OF MARKETING.

Yep. And CIG is using subscriber money for marketing so it doesn't even cost them a single penny.
47.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 20, 2014, 11:03
Slick
 
47.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 20, 2014, 11:03
Sep 20, 2014, 11:03
 Slick
 
harlock wrote on Sep 20, 2014, 09:24:
Slick wrote on Sep 20, 2014, 02:14:
1 million sales is by no means insignificant, but it's still a far cry from tens of millions of sales from other titles.

the game hasnt even been released yet. none of those "other titles" that sold 10s of millions were sold at all before they were released.. also you're talking about multi-platform games with mainstream marketing which is an entirely different thing altogether

really? none of those other games were sold AT ALL prior to launch??? you've never heard of a pre-order? nobody pre-orders the latest CoD game every year? no game has tried to shamelessly pump pre-order numbers through pre-order perks? you're telling me that the entire gaming industry isn't a slave to this insidious pre-order pandemic right now? are you living under a rock?

and i'm pretty sure that i've seen FAR more articles and press releases about $tar citizen than I have the latest CoD game this year... so how exactly do they have no marketing? everytime they raise another 10 cents for their "crowdsourcing" it's all anyone can talk about. shit, for a game without a good marketing plan they seem to be achieving INCREDIBLE FEATS OF MARKETING.

sorry, but your points fail on both counts.
Avatar 57545
46.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 20, 2014, 10:02
Sho
 
46.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 20, 2014, 10:02
Sep 20, 2014, 10:02
 Sho
 
harlock wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 21:06:
Sho wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 19:21:
But I tried to get into Skyrim 2-3 times and never got far. I think it's because of the procedurally generated cookie-cutter missions.

what? are you thinking of daggerfall? yeh that was 20 years ago

nothing in skyrim is procedurally generated

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Radiant
45.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 20, 2014, 09:24
45.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 20, 2014, 09:24
Sep 20, 2014, 09:24
 
Slick wrote on Sep 20, 2014, 02:14:
1 million sales is by no means insignificant, but it's still a far cry from tens of millions of sales from other titles.

the game hasnt even been released yet. none of those "other titles" that sold 10s of millions were sold at all before they were released.. also you're talking about multi-platform games with mainstream marketing which is an entirely different thing altogether
44.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 20, 2014, 02:14
Slick
 
44.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 20, 2014, 02:14
Sep 20, 2014, 02:14
 Slick
 
while the $tar citizen saga is funny because of shameless cash grab after shameless cash grab (who the fuck buys a $300 toon for a game that isn't released yet?), one thing worth remembering is that $53 million isn't really that much.

it sounds like alot because it's $53 mil in "crowdfunding", which is bullshit, their kickstarter ended a long time ago, they're just selling pre-orders. and $53 mil of sales is only 1 million units sold at $53 bucks a pop.

1 million sales is by no means insignificant, but it's still a far cry from tens of millions of sales from other titles.

...although i'm justifying it as $53 spent per person, i have a strange feeling it's alot higher than that... shit, you can't buy just ONE $300 plane for a game in PRE-MOTHERFUCKING-ALPHA right? gotta buy em ALL!

btw, E:D looks cool, we should make a blues corporation or whatever there is in this game, one central server amirite?
Avatar 57545
43.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 21:54
43.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 21:54
Sep 19, 2014, 21:54
 
Haha and look at the other game. Even though the racing ship sale has not even ended yet, they are already working on more sales (of unfinished ships in the concept stage at that, since selling ships when they're finished would be too boring and too much of a gap between sales apparently):

Future Concept Sale Plans

The accompanying blurb includes this beautiful line:

Sales like this are what keeps Star Citizen funded

You know, because $53 million is barely enough. I mean Chris Roberts only said originally that $20 million or maybe $23 million max should get the project fully funded.
We're only at a little more than twice that number now so it's fully understandable that all wallets must be emptied IMMEDIATELY to keep this thing funded. HELP SAVE STAR CITIZEN EVERYONE!

Honestly, I had such high hopes for SC and now they are fucking ruining it with their fucking greedy monetization trip. Sales. Sales. Sales. Reveal. And a Sale. Sales. Reveal. Sales... ad nauseam.
I'm so fucking tired of this shit that words can barely describe how disappointing this is to someone like me who just wanted a new Wing Commander/Privateer/Freelancer *sigh*...


However, on the bright side, this makes me look forward to Elite Dangerous even more and I'll be sure to support them as much as possible while I keep auctioning off my SC assets.

42.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 21:09
42.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 21:09
Sep 19, 2014, 21:09
 
harlock wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 19:14:
does anyone know if there are plans for player owned stations or factories or something like that?

pretty sure that this won't happen, I can't remember the specifics as to why not.

Avatar 6174
41.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 21:06
41.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 21:06
Sep 19, 2014, 21:06
 
Sho wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 19:21:
But I tried to get into Skyrim 2-3 times and never got far. I think it's because of the procedurally generated cookie-cutter missions.

what? are you thinking of daggerfall? yeh that was 20 years ago

nothing in skyrim is procedurally generated
40.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 20:47
40.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 20:47
Sep 19, 2014, 20:47
 
DangerDog wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 18:05:
If you never played Elite before then I guess the lack of a linear story mode might seem confusing but you can't say that there's no content in the game worthy of buying because it lacks that kind of structure.

It's not a game that you have a "winning" condition, maybe you could set a goal to become "Elite" but there's no end game cinematic once you achieve that goal.

True this. In open ended games like this, I mainly play them with the goal simply to "live" as long as possible by sticking to some goal of either playing it safe or going "rogue" to see how far I can get without getting caught or vaporized.

That's what I did when I first tried Minecraft on open ended Survival PvP servers. I would gather up supplies without being noticed and trek out into the zones where "anything goes" and make a home inside a mountain.
Avatar 37119
39.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 19:21
Sho
 
39.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 19:21
Sep 19, 2014, 19:21
 Sho
 
CJ_Parker wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 18:29:
Yes. Think of it like Skyrim. You can probably finish Skyrim's linear story in a couple dozen hours or so but then you have people who have 500+ hours on their in-game clock just because they enjoy exploring and doing their own thing in that huge world. Some of them might not have even touched the main story.

Skyrim is an interesting case.

First of, I tend to prefer story-driven linear games, but I'm totally OK without in some genres, e.g. 4x.

The story part in Bethesda games almost universally sucks. They can't do memorable characters to save their lives. But the Elder Scrolls games somehow trigger the completionist impulse in me. I spent 200-300 hours on both Morrowind + expansions and on Oblivion + expansions doing every quest in them, and I usually did the main quest last.

But I tried to get into Skyrim 2-3 times and never got far. I think it's because of the procedurally generated cookie-cutter missions. It doesn't feel like you actually can complete Skyrim, or at least not without too much tedium (the endless samey dungeon missions in MW and OB were tedious enough).

So I guess it's about open ended vs. not for me, or how far the end is away ... and how hand-made and variegated the content before that end is.

This comment was edited on Sep 19, 2014, 19:27.
38.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 19:14
38.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 19:14
Sep 19, 2014, 19:14
 
does anyone know if there are plans for player owned stations or factories or something like that?
37.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 18:29
37.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 18:29
Sep 19, 2014, 18:29
 
Frode wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 18:21:
Cutter wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 17:52:
I'm talking about actual real gameplay included. Not just a sandbox

You seem to be confusing "gameplay" and "linear story". I'm not saying it's wrong to want a linear story to follow in a game, it's a matter of preference, but that's not in any way a requirement for having "real gameplay". ED has plenty of gameplay already, with more to come. The story is up to the player, however.

Yes. Think of it like Skyrim. You can probably finish Skyrim's linear story in a couple dozen hours or so but then you have people who have 500+ hours on their in-game clock just because they enjoy exploring and doing their own thing in that huge world. Some of them might not have even touched the main story.
It's definitely not for everyone. Many people require handholding and a linear path to follow and they need a "purpose".
But for everyone who enjoys slipping into a universe to roleplay and do whatever and wherever adventure may take us, this kind of game is pure heaven.
36.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 18:21
36.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 18:21
Sep 19, 2014, 18:21
 
Cutter wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 17:52:
I'm talking about actual real gameplay included. Not just a sandbox

You seem to be confusing "gameplay" and "linear story". I'm not saying it's wrong to want a linear story to follow in a game, it's a matter of preference, but that's not in any way a requirement for having "real gameplay". ED has plenty of gameplay already, with more to come. The story is up to the player, however.
35.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 18:05
35.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 18:05
Sep 19, 2014, 18:05
 
If you never played Elite before then I guess the lack of a linear story mode might seem confusing but you can't say that there's no content in the game worthy of buying because it lacks that kind of structure.

It's not a game that you have a "winning" condition, maybe you could set a goal to become "Elite" but there's no end game cinematic once you achieve that goal.
Avatar 6174
34.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 17:52
34.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 17:52
Sep 19, 2014, 17:52
 
Kevin Lowe wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 13:28:
Cutter wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 12:30:
Yeah, see ya when this game gets down to a sane price.
Isn't this what gamers are always saying they want? A game tailored first and foremost to take advantage of their own platform? True expansions instead of DLCs? Broad control schemes instead of context buttons?

But now that someone does all that, in a genre long in need of a commercial revival, and charges an industry standard price, they're asking too much? Jesus, what do developers have to do to make you people happy?

What the fuck are you talking about? I'm talking about actual real gameplay included. Not just a sandbox of 'make your own shit up'. If I have to provide that then what am I paying a developer for? Or at least be realistic like Minecraft was with a 20 dollar price point. So yeah, providing actual gameplay is something most people would like. Jesus that's really asking a lot for 70 bucks isn't it?
Rolleyes

“With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." - Aaron Sati
33.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 17:49
33.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 17:49
Sep 19, 2014, 17:49
 
nin wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 13:33:
Kevin Lowe wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 13:28:
Cutter wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 12:30:
Yeah, see ya when this game gets down to a sane price.
Isn't this what gamers are always saying they want? A game tailored first and foremost to take advantage of their own platform? True expansions instead of DLCs? Broad control schemes instead of context buttons?

But now that someone does all that, in a genre long in need of a commercial revival, and charges an industry standard price, they're asking too much? Jesus, what do developers have to do to make you people happy?


Basically, if you take whatever cutter says and think of the exact opposite, that's reality. He's in his own little bubble, thankfully.


Shouldn't you have your lips fully planted on Blue's ass about now? I may be delusional, but at least I'm not a sniveling sycophant.
“With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." - Aaron Sati
32.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 17:05
32.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 17:05
Sep 19, 2014, 17:05
 
I should probably start paying attention to this game, huh? If my friends here at Blues (Oddly enough, i hold you all in high regard when it comes to game reviews and impressions) say this game is good.. then I should really give her a look.
31.
 
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month
Sep 19, 2014, 16:42
31.
Re: Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 This Month Sep 19, 2014, 16:42
Sep 19, 2014, 16:42
 
Minuit wrote on Sep 19, 2014, 15:30:
Maybe the world just isn't ready for that many penis-shaped space ships.

Well, that sure would be a damn sight more varied than the cheese wedges we have now from all the ships they've shown thus far...
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