Frontier Developments announces Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four gets
underway a week from tomorrow on December 11th as a free update for the Windows,
Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 space shooter. They this is the biggest content
update for the game this year, adding two new ships, a new discovery system for
exploration, advanced mining techniques, additional multiplayer options, and
more. They offer this
trailer to show off what's new, and provide more details on the plan to
satisfy our curiosity:
Exploration
A new Analysis Mode, with the improved Exploration Discovery Scanner and
Detailed Discovery Scanner, is a game-changing new way for all Commanders to
explore the galaxy. After an initial scan of the system, players will then be
able to tune their scanners to find stellar bodies and other phenomena. Not only
is this new system a more realistic, satisfying and engaging exploration
experience, but also provides players with the freedom to make more informed
decisions on where to look next, and be ultimately better rewarded for time
spent exploring. Additionally, Commanders will have probes that can be arced
onto planetary surfaces, and planetary rings, to map them in detail, locate
points of interest and leave their mark on the galaxy in a new way.
Mining
New mining tools and mechanics provide a fresh, potentially lucrative mining
experience for all Elite Dangerous Commanders. Miners can investigate rings to
locate the best spots to start their mining sessions and identify mineral
deposits within individual asteroids. Then, with the right amount of skill, can
coordinate a detonation.
Squadrons
Squadrons is a new in-game way of uniting like-minded Commanders to support
factions of their choice, take part in Community Goals together and compete for
top spots in weekly leaderboards. Squadrons also feature new communication
tools, including in-game chat channels, to coordinate activities across the
galaxy.
More
Additionally, Beyond - Chapter Four also features a new lighting engine,
numerous visual improvements, background simulation updates, and a number of
cockpit interface changes to improve the flying experience of players.
jdreyer wrote on Dec 5, 2018, 11:05: Hey, you play a lot of space games. Got a VR headset yet? It's a totally different experience.
I am skeptical it is something I'd like. But to even try it I'd probably need to upgrade my system which recently passed its sixth birthday. So, I might give it a try when I finally acquiesce and buy a new computer.
If I said I disliked 3d film technology would that give any indication towards my reception of current VR techs?
ED works flawlessly on my GTX 670, 6 years old at this point. And it's just the most amazing thing to have the cockpit and outer space filling up your entire view. Landings and maneuvering are totally different when you can simply invert with the space station above you, pull up, and gently align with the docking port. Whereas on the monitor it feels like playing a game, in VR it feels like you're in the world. Just flying around is immensely satisfying.
As for the comparison to films, it's not really apt I feel, because you're interacting within the space not just passively viewing. Maybe you can find someone locally who can let you try it out. Or I think I heard you can try out PSVR at Best Buy?
The land in Minecraft is flat, Minecraft simulates the Earth, ergo the Earth is flat.
24.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
jdreyer wrote on Dec 5, 2018, 11:05: Hey, you play a lot of space games. Got a VR headset yet? It's a totally different experience.
I am skeptical it is something I'd like. But to even try it I'd probably need to upgrade my system which recently passed its sixth birthday. So, I might give it a try when I finally acquiesce and buy a new computer.
If I said I disliked 3d film technology would that give any indication towards my reception of current VR techs?
Truth is brutal. Prepare for pain.
23.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
Krael wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 22:40: Ha! had one last night that the binary star was 0.14Ly from the main one (~4,000,000Ls!) It literally took like 80-90 minutes to get there!
CJ_Parker wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 11:22: * infamous Hutton run = There are missions leading to the Hutton Orbital space station in the Alpha Centauri system. This station is a whooping 6,783,638 ls from the entry point at the main star, i.e. you will be traveling for approximately an hour real time.
Yeah, this is something they should have fixed a long time ago.
Hey, you play a lot of space games. Got a VR headset yet? It's a totally different experience.
The land in Minecraft is flat, Minecraft simulates the Earth, ergo the Earth is flat.
22.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
jdreyer wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 05:54: Yeah, binary star systems are annoying when the nav beacon is at one star, and the station you need is at the other star 5000 Ls away.
Ha! had one last night that the binary star was 0.14Ly from the main one (~4,000,000Ls!) It literally took like 80-90 minutes to get there!
Yeah, that's a bit silly. That's 1.5 light-months! Had one last night that was 300,000 Ls, and I got up and made a sandwich.
The land in Minecraft is flat, Minecraft simulates the Earth, ergo the Earth is flat.
21.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
Yep, the one I did was to 'Lunan Holdings' in the '36 Ophiuchi' system. I didn't pay attention to the distance before accepting the courier mission, thinking it was going to be an easy 750k cr......
Still, was a very easy (if boring) quick hit of cash...
20.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
Krael wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 22:40: Ha! had one last night that the binary star was 0.14Ly from the main one (~4,000,000Ls!) It literally took like 80-90 minutes to get there!
CJ_Parker wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 11:22: * infamous Hutton run = There are missions leading to the Hutton Orbital space station in the Alpha Centauri system. This station is a whooping 6,783,638 ls from the entry point at the main star, i.e. you will be traveling for approximately an hour real time.
Yeah, this is something they should have fixed a long time ago.
Truth is brutal. Prepare for pain.
19.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
jdreyer wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 05:54: Yeah, binary star systems are annoying when the nav beacon is at one star, and the station you need is at the other star 5000 Ls away.
Ha! had one last night that the binary star was 0.14Ly from the main one (~4,000,000Ls!) It literally took like 80-90 minutes to get there!
18.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
HorrorScope wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 19:21: Elite: Where the paint never dries.
I dunno, I'm loving the kind of laid back "space trucker" game play. Just exploring and hauling things to new systems is pretty cool. I'll start exploring factions and how all that stuff works next. At some point, maybe I'll get involved in combat, but that doesn't really interest me all that much at this point in my life.
The land in Minecraft is flat, Minecraft simulates the Earth, ergo the Earth is flat.
17.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
VaranDragon wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 07:44: So I only have the base game that I bought at release. I found it way to dry and quit playing after about 30-40 hours or so.
For me it was a few hundred hours, IIRC I was doing reasonably well -- I had three ships, an explorer, a fighter, and freighter/trader/whatever. But I got distracted by something else. I keep telling myself I should give it another whirl. Maybe I will come January... (my sister will be visiting for a couple of week over xmas, so no reason to start now)
Do you have a VR set? Game is so good in VR.
The land in Minecraft is flat, Minecraft simulates the Earth, ergo the Earth is flat.
15.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
Im mostly into combat, but it was always the same old thing over and over again. Get into that anomaly, hunt pirates or run away. Go into another anomaly, hunt pirates or run away, etc. etc.
Are there at least more varied combat missions available now, maybe even some cool PvP encounters?
13.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
VaranDragon wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 07:44: So I only have the base game that I bought at release. I found it way to dry and quit playing after about 30-40 hours or so.
For me it was a few hundred hours, IIRC I was doing reasonably well -- I had three ships, an explorer, a fighter, and freighter/trader/whatever. But I got distracted by something else. I keep telling myself I should give it another whirl. Maybe I will come January... (my sister will be visiting for a couple of week over xmas, so no reason to start now)
Truth is brutal. Prepare for pain.
12.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
Cutter wrote on Dec 3, 2018, 22:39: Does this mean you'll be able to see what stations are paying what for item XYZ without actually having to physically visiting them?
It has been possible since launch to buy trade data for most systems with an economy from the galaxy map. Open the map, click on the system and then it is usually the icon farthest to the right.
No one really does that though except newbs. If you want to find a lucrative trade route then 3rd party websites have always been the way to go like EDDB.
What about arriving in systems nearby stations instead of the sun and wasting 5 minutes real time to get to one.
I agree that they should have in-system jumps for the extreme distances like the infamous Hutton run* but space is vast so a certain amount of "space trucking" should be required imo.
Well, with the exploration changes you can now at least scan the system from the entry point instead of flying 300K ls to an earth-like planet at the other ass end of the system.
* infamous Hutton run = There are missions leading to the Hutton Orbital space station in the Alpha Centauri system. This station is a whooping 6,783,638 ls from the entry point at the main star, i.e. you will be traveling for approximately an hour real time.
As a "reward" and a badge of honor the devs have added a Hutton space mug as a purchasable item to the Hutton market. What sucks is that you don't really have a personal storage for market items (instead only for materials) in Elite so you can really only keep it temporarily in your cargo hold.
11.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
VaranDragon wrote on Dec 4, 2018, 07:44: So I only have the base game that I bought at release. I found it way to dry and quit playing after about 30-40 hours or so. Is there much more to do now, or do I have to purchase all the expansions to do so?
The game has only had one expansion, "Horizons". All of these updates have either been free content or part of Horizons. The game still feels the same as it did when it launched, but it has filled out and matured. There's a lot more to do now, but if you insist that "space legs" or "atmospheric planets" is a crucial feature, then you are going to be disappointed for now.
10.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
So I only have the base game that I bought at release. I found it way to dry and quit playing after about 30-40 hours or so. Is there much more to do now, or do I have to purchase all the expansions to do so?
9.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
Cutter wrote on Dec 3, 2018, 22:39: Does this mean you'll be able to see what stations are paying what for item XYZ without actually having to physically visiting them? What about arriving in systems nearby stations instead of the sun and wasting 5 minutes real time to get to one. Without changes like that the game will still suck.
Yeah, binary star systems are annoying when the nav beacon is at one star, and the station you need is at the other star 5000 Ls away.
The land in Minecraft is flat, Minecraft simulates the Earth, ergo the Earth is flat.
8.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
Played some ED tonight in VR. What sets this game apart from other games is how they have integrated the VR into the gameplay, like screens popping up when you look at them. It really adds to the feeling of being in that world. And the interior of the ships is so well done that it feels like a real place. The game has fantastic immersion in VR.
And don't even get me started about the star map in VR...
The land in Minecraft is flat, Minecraft simulates the Earth, ergo the Earth is flat.
7.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
Ravor wrote on Dec 3, 2018, 21:53: Is this still a super complicated game? It always seemed odd (really stupid) to me that it's flying around in space and absolutely nothing was automated..
If the game were truly futuristic, there'd literally be no game. As someone pointed out a few weeks ago, it would be like Wall-E.
Right. Nobody would fly his own ship - drones would be everywhere doing all the hard jobs.
They're waiting for you, Gabe, in the test chamber!
6.
Re: Elite Dangerous: Beyond - Chapter Four Next Week
Ravor wrote on Dec 3, 2018, 21:53: Is this still a super complicated game? It always seemed odd (really stupid) to me that it's flying around in space and absolutely nothing was automated..
If the game were truly futuristic, there'd literally be no game. As someone pointed out a few weeks ago, it would be like Wall-E.
The land in Minecraft is flat, Minecraft simulates the Earth, ergo the Earth is flat.
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