ship interiors - will they happen

[kofeyh]

Here's the thing. The only people who know for sure whether interiors are achievable or not, are Frontier. They own the IP, they employ the developers, they know how much effort it would be.

If it was doable in a reasonable timeframe, for an achievable budget, without causing critical risk to a game that is now a decade old, that Frontier have also become a little more financially dependant on, I do believe said interiors would already exist, in some fashion.

The developer also learned a difficult, painful lesson post launch of Odyssey. That half-measures don't cut it for the really big ticket items. If they were to do interiors now, they'd surely want to do it right. And that only makes the entire thing so very much harder as a result.

Will they happen? Only Frontier knows. But I think if we look where Frontier invests their time and energy, the answer is perhaps already present.

 

[Cosmo]

The official trailer: Elite Dangerous: Panther Clipper MK II | Available Now (22 July 2025) is remarkable because:

Top 2 Most Liked Comments:

1. "I would pay for a ship interior expansion for each ship" - Okarine-n4h
   1. 247 likes, 32 replies.
2. "FANTASTIC WORK FDev! Now we just need ship interiors so we can explore these awesome new designs from the inside " - Devcon01
   1. 154 likes, 13 replies

Related Comments:

1. "Great. Now do the ship interiors please Fdev please!" - san_devs
   1. 48 likes, 2 replies
2. "I want ship interiors and more paintjobs for my adder. Other than that stay awesome Frontier. You are on the right track!"- diagonalcircle9553
   1. 4 likes, 1 reply
3. "I would play the game again if they finally decided to atleast add instanced interiors for every ship. The cockpit is already a phisical place just let us walk around the cockpit and the door leading to the rest of the ship could be the entrance to the instanced interior."- sickmit3481
   1. 3 likes
4. "
   
   Frontier - PLEASE MAKE VR SHIP INTERIORS & vr the existing ground missions. I know it's a pivot, but you'll also see a pivot in your sales. Lastly, add custom cosmetics inside our interiors." - proxiemail814
   1. 9 likes, 5 replies
5. "If we'd get Ship Interiors for the love of god, this game would have the perfect unparalleled immersion. It's the missing piece. Come on Frontier, show Star Citizen what a real Space Sim can be like." - silviu94
   1. 2 likes
6. "Add ship interiors and I'll come back" - evaone4286
   1. 9 likes, 4 replies

There's a tangible (high) demand for interiors, because many people keep asking and liking this. It would also bring back a significant amount of inactive players.

The developer also learned a difficult, painful lesson post launch of Odyssey. That half-measures don't cut it for the really big ticket items. If they were to do interiors now, they'd surely want to do it right. And that only makes the entire thing so very much harder as a result.

Many people expected Odyssey to include ship interiors. They were very disappointed when it didn't.

 

[MUTILADOR]

The official trailer: Elite Dangerous: Panther Clipper MK II | Available Now (22 July 2025) is remarkable because:

Top 2 Most Liked Comments:

1. "I would pay for a ship interior expansion for each ship" - Okarine-n4h
   1. 247 likes, 32 replies.
2. "FANTASTIC WORK FDev! Now we just need ship interiors so we can explore these awesome new designs from the inside " - Devcon01
   1. 154 likes, 13 replies

Related Comments:

1. "Great. Now do the ship interiors please Fdev please!" - san_devs
   1. 48 likes, 2 replies
2. "I want ship interiors and more paintjobs for my adder. Other than that stay awesome Frontier. You are on the right track!"- diagonalcircle9553
   1. 4 likes, 1 reply
3. "I would play the game again if they finally decided to atleast add instanced interiors for every ship. The cockpit is already a phisical place just let us walk around the cockpit and the door leading to the rest of the ship could be the entrance to the instanced interior."- sickmit3481
   1. 3 likes
4. "
   
   Frontier - PLEASE MAKE VR SHIP INTERIORS & vr the existing ground missions. I know it's a pivot, but you'll also see a pivot in your sales. Lastly, add custom cosmetics inside our interiors." - proxiemail814
   1. 9 likes, 5 replies
5. "If we'd get Ship Interiors for the love of god, this game would have the perfect unparalleled immersion. It's the missing piece. Come on Frontier, show Star Citizen what a real Space Sim can be like." - silviu94
   1. 2 likes
6. "Add ship interiors and I'll come back" - evaone4286
   1. 9 likes, 4 replies

There's a tangible (high) demand for interiors, because many people keep asking and liking this. It would also bring back a significant amount of inactive players.



Many people expected Odyssey to include ship interiors. They were very disappointed when it didn't.

You saved me the work, I was going to do the same with the comments that came out with Buurs video Xd

 

[thistle]

Well that's nice and all, but I'm sure fdev are well aware what vocal forum and youtube commenters post all the time, not to mention rude chat comments in fdev streams.

I'm not sure it's really that remarkable.

 

[Lukaz_Chrom]

I'm not sure it's really that remarkable.

It is.

 

[kofeyh]

Wanting something, and getting something, do not have a 1:1 relationship. Further, whether or not a feature would indeed be 'bangin', it still has to be built.

Frontier have to build this. They have to do the work. With finite time, finite resource. I don't think the equation has ever been the popularity of the feature, it's Frontier having to grapple with bulding it.

That's the part that I think people very much underestimate.

 

[varonica]

Many people expected Odyssey to include ship interiors. They were very disappointed when it didn't.

Dreams.txt created by the vocal ship interior group, that's all it was, I certainly didn't expect ship interiors, I expected thin atmospheric plants because that's what they told us we were getting.

 

[Cosmo]

Wanting something, and getting something, do not have a 1:1 relationship. Further, whether or not a feature would indeed be 'bangin', it still has to be built.

The creator of the Elite series (Braben) repeatedly said that we will be able to walk inside ships in the future. Many staff members said they're looking forward to walking inside ships. That makes it more than a dream, it became a promise for the future and a reason for many people to back the project.

FYI: This is what David Braben said about ship interiors during kickstarter.

 

[kofeyh]

Dreams.txt created by the vocal ship interior group, that's all it was, I certainly didn't expect ship interiors, I expected thin atmospheric plants because that's what they told us we were getting.

Yes. Frontier had to abandon an entire terrain and planet building model at one point because they couldn't get it to work. And that model was needed for atmospheric planets.

Which goes to show that developing this game was never, is never and will never be the simple process oft imagined.

Just create ship interiors. That are navigable. With required interactions. Now do that 46+ times, and don't add more load to the servers, also it has to work flawlessly and not have me clip through or fall out of my ship or have the ship leave without me or prevent me from returning to my ship because of terrain or obstacles or lock me out so now I'm stuck in a station or break so I can't use the ship at all or

 

[kofeyh]

Repeated statements by the creator of the Elite series (Braben) that we will be able to walk inside ships in the future, and many staff members said they're looking forward to walking inside ships that makes it more than a dream. It became a promise for the future and a reason for many people to back the project during the early days.

FYI: This is what David Braben said about ship interiors during kickstarter.

Wanting a thing, and being able to do a thing, is not always the same thing. People fixate on the want, and ignore the ability to do.

Frontier have talked about many things they'd like to do; I am sensible enough to know they cannot possibly do it all.

 

[Cosmo]

Have you done everything you hoped you could do, from 10 years ago?

Not yet, I'm still waiting for interiors "walk around inside your ship" like Braben promised during the Kickstarter. Braben also mentioned: cityscapes, life, animals, trees, being a big game hunter.

 

[kofeyh]

Not yet, I'm still waiting for interiors "walk around inside your ship" like Braben promised during the Kickstarter. Braben also mentioned: cityscapes, life, animals, trees, being a big game hunter.

That was not the question. Nice deflection tho.

 

[GraXXoR]

This is the problem. There's plenty of areas where ship gameplay could exist, but in the meanwhile Frontier had to make a game where you can do everything from a chair. AMFUs and many other things got added as a placeholder, now any possible repair gameplay space is being squatted on by a button, you press it and repair happens.
Any meaningful change would have to completely strip out and replace the placeholder, but there's no good way to do that. It would surely not be viable except as a paid expansion, but then you have to leave the placeholder in for those who don't have the DLC which defeats the whole point

Just off the top of my head … could make the AFMU only able to 100% repair mechanical items like weapons, thrusters, MRPs, cargo hatch. Etc. other complex electronics repairs could be limited to a lower percentage, 50/75/80% (for example) by AFMU.

Shields+Cells/FSD+booster/computers/scannes and other “high tech” might need manual repairs to get back to 100%.

The last 20% would (say) need the maverick suit and the cutting tool (now upgraded to the multitool) with repair / tractor beam capability could use odyssey assets or purchasable materials or “repair kits” to affect repairs.

The components still work fine even at 50% it’s just a small debuff for an existing mechanic. And they can always be repaired at stations or even by another player using telepresence who DOES have Odyssey.

 

[Cosmo]

That was not the question. Nice deflection tho.

Then you formulated your question poorly.

You said: "Have you done everything you hoped you could do, from 10 years ago?" I said: "not yet" and gave examples of features that Braben promised during the Kickstarter that are not in-game yet.

 

[kofeyh]

You said: "Have you done everything you hoped you could do, from 10 years ago?"

I said: not yet.

Then you formulated your question poorly.

Fair cop, guv. You'll excuse me though if I don't piously demand Frontier do everything they've ever talked about.

 

[GraXXoR]

There is no saving the Asp Scout without altering it quite substantially. It's got the guns and the Maneuverability of a Cobra class ship, but it has a hitbox like a fat medium, because it is a medium ship. And all it gets over the old Cobras for that is a size 5 optional slot, a slot that already exists on the small DBX. And now the Cobra V beats the AspS in literally everything. It is smaller, flies better, has more firepower and a size 5 internal as well.

In all fairness the Cobra Mk 5 is basically a medium ship in a small ship’s body with a small ship’s manoeuvrability.

 

[GraXXoR]

Ship interiors done right can be a big win. Unlike a game like Starfield ED can't rely on a modding community to implement things the developers were too busy/uncreative/unwilling to put in though. Starfield in the beginning had pretty interiors, but no other function than a bed to sleep/wait and crafting stations. Modders have added massively to that. One of the first things was making infirmaries actually work as healing stations. A whole framework of capturing enemies alive, putting them into the ship's brig and then selling them off to the authorities was added from scratch by modders. Next up were mess halls that you can actually call your crew to to meet up and eat. In a really big ship this is also a nice way to find all crew members, simply get them all together. Another mod added EVA. Yet another removed the randomness of where your crew is and what it does by actually assigning stations to them which they occupy in flight, work and off time schedules. One mod added actual Star Trek teleporters, allowing you to board another ship that has its shields down, without the need to physically dock. Holodecks with shooting ranges exist too. I'm fairly sure I've forgotten some things, and I'm even more sure that even more things will be added in the future.

Holy spitsticks!!! I bought ”Starefield” on release and was massively disappointed.

I did play it again a few months later after some mods were released such as “star inventory” and such. But had no idea so many mods have been created.

 

[Lukaz_Chrom]

Fair cop, guv. You'll excuse me though if I don't piously demand Frontier do everything they've ever talked about.

Neither do we, but when it comes to Ship Interiors, you'll excuse us if we "piously demand" these

 

[Cmdr Esteban]

Nah, I blocked that one on youtube ages ago.
Anyone claiming to know what players want is a big fail on my part, streamers and fanatics both just seek attention.

I can’t pass up this opportunity to invoke my best OA impression. Ahem, here goes.

“So then, is this the right direction for Elite Dangerous? Is this truly what the community wants? Maybe it is, but then again, maybe not. There’s certainly no denyin’ that it’s a game with a massive scowl. Let me know what you think in the comments below, and don’t forget to like and subscribe and click that little bell icon so you never miss any of my content. And I’ll catch you guys and girls next time.”

 

[galahad2069]

Wanting something, and getting something, do not have a 1:1 relationship.

Guns N'Roses agree: