Edit: 4th August 2016 - You can read the below (which is probably out of date) or better still go look at my little blog here to get all things related to Horizons and future updates.
You can however view the pretty picture version of the previous information here
Release Dates & Prices
Basic Information
Ship-Launched Fighters
Multi-Crew
Commander Creation
Looting & Crafting
1.5 Update News ('Ships')
Future Horizons Updates
Core Game Improvements
Power Play
Bobbleheads!
Future Seasonal Expansions
The Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #29 provided a list of what at the time was Frontier's roadmap for expansions. In no particular order:
You can however view the pretty picture version of the previous information here
Release Dates & Prices
- Horizons is out now.
- The price of Horizons and what package you are eligible for can be seen by looking at this handy flowchart.
- The possibility of the Lifetime pass re-appearing on sale was answered with, "It’s not available at the moment, but the lifetime could return to the Frontier Store again at some point in the future."
Basic Information
- The Frontier trailer for Horizons can be seen here.
- A piece of Frontier concept art for the game can be seen here.
- Horizons is a 'season' expansion to the original Elite: Dangerous release.
- A season can be seen as roughly 12 months long.
- There will be 4 expansions within the Horizons season. [Link]
- The price includes the content you will get when you purchase Horizons, plus all other content released in the Horizons season.
- Cobra Mk IV - Photo HERE access available to buy in-game for all early backers, plus anyone who has the original game and orders Horizons. The new ship is apparently 'better in lots of ways, better weapons placement and 1 more hard point.
- Further questions might be answered by looking at the last entry in this list, 'Future Seasonal Expansions'.
Ship-Launched Fighters
- Larger ships in the game (for example the T-9) will be able launch and/or dock smaller vessels from their bays.
- These smaller ships will be used to fight off enemy craft, act as scouting vessels on planets.
- If you are playing on your own and choose to leave your main vessel in a smaller fighter craft your shipwill fly on autopilot and defend itself. Concept image here.
Multi-Crew
- An in-game image of how this might look on the bridge of a ship can be seen here.
- This will allow players working together to control the different functions of a ship.
- For instance one player would fly the ship whilst others would handle the sub-systems and weapons.
- Any ship operating under the multi-crew facility might see a ship landing on a planet's surface have one player stay with the main vessel, another patrol in a ship-launched fighter, and another explore in their SRV.
- The maximum number of crew on a ship has yet to be decided upon, with David Braben commenting at EGX, "We don't know how high we would go."
- NPC Crew are planned, but there is no time scale on when.
Commander Creation
- There will be a enormous range of faces and features available using the Commander Creation 'slider tool'.
- This option will be selected via the games interface.
- The use of the multi-crew feature will mean players will at last be able to see each other, in game.
- Faces will be visible as the visors will be raised during flight. This is explained as being possible due to pressurisation of the ship.
- Images can be seen here and here.
- A video shown at EGX can be seen here showing the creation of some Commanders.
- David Braben explained that the ones shown in the video have no hair (or beards!) as they are very particular about the quality and that these aspects need more work.
- NPC characters are planned, but no time frame has been given.
Looting & Crafting
- Some elements of Looting & Crafting (L&C) will be available in the initial 2.0 release.
- The actual L&C System will be available during the first update to Horizons, most likely in Q1 (Jan - Mar 2016).
- Some looting and crafting will be available to people not upgrading to Horizons.
- Without being overly complicated it will allow a greater degree of customisation and power to the ships.
- Loot will be found in various place in the galaxy for example on planetary surfaces or in wrecked vessels.
- It will be based on a reward system to assist explorers, combatants, traders, miners and bounty hunters with each having different L&C options available.
- Examples given at EGX included the ability to create different coloured and powered lasers along with and guns that would create malfunctions in enemy ships systems.
- The systems would also allow for the subversion and normal weapons and module types.
- FDev also commented that, "we're looking at a method for one off boosts for jump ranges with loot." [Link]
1.5 Update News ('Ships')
- The Beta release for 1.5 'Ships', will be on the week commencing 9th November 2015.
- Full release date: "This is planned for release at the same time as Horizons – the ships will be there for all, both season 1 and season 2, but of course Season 2 players will get a lot more, including Planetary Landings, so there’ll be something for everyone on the same day. This will bring the total to 30 ships (plus the Cobra Mk IV making 31 ships) available in game."
- These extra ships are as follows: Imperial Short Range Fighter (CQC only), Lakon Keelback, Viper MK IV, Asp Scout , Federal Corvette, Imperial Cutter, Cobra MK IV (for owners of Season 1 and Season 2)
- The Panther Clipper "may be coming in a future update but won't be in 1.5"
- [Link]
- A picture of the Federal Corvette was featured in the Newsletter #90
- The interior of the Federal Corvette can be seen in Newsletter #91
- The Imperial Gutamaya Shipyards are releasing the Imperial Cutter and the Asp Scout and Viper Mk IV will see their debuts, too.
- The Viper MkIV can be seen here.
- The ship is not as manoeuvrable as its predecessor, has the same hardpoint layout, but possesses stronger and better internals.
- CQC will see two new maps added when the 1.5 update arrives. [Link]
Future Horizons Updates
- Over the full season of Horizons more ships being released, some of which will be very large trading ships as per Newsletter #92.
- This update would be in addition to extra SRV's which are due to be added in the Horizons season.
- Future planets updates in the Horizons season will include 'active volcanism' and 'ice volcanism'. At some point (before fully rendered 'atmospheric planets with life') there will be ones with weather systems. A link to Eddie Symons talking about Volcanism can be seen [here]
- Most if not all content mentioned is already in game. No footage available as yet as textures have not been applied. This should be seen Soon! (tm)
- Atmospheric landings on planets with life will NOT be part of this Horizons release. That will come later in another paid expansion.
- The Unidentified Artefact will be woven into the narrative of the Horizons season. Confirmed again on the 9th August Twitch stream that there is an answer to what it is about and it is not a wild goose chase.
- Ed Symons said there is something else he is working on that he is 'more excited about than planetary landings', but he couldn't talk about it.
Core Game Improvements
- Some looting and crafting options will be available in the base game. L&C related to planetary surfaces will obviously not be.
- Core missions are being enhanced for the basic game and include military, ranking and Powerplay missions.
- Missions can now be received in space, so they’re not always taken from the Bulletin Board and can be received from encounters with other ships. A variant on this are missions that can be triggered by scooping certain items in space. [Link]
- Timed assassination missions will be available from the Bulletin Boards, similar to the assassination missions in FFE you need to find your target at a certain time and place. [Link]
- This timing mechanism is also available for other mission types where the mission target can only be found at a specific time. [Link]
- Missions can now have multiple stages – this applies as sequences of the same mission type, so delivering goods to a station and then bring something else back. [Link]
- Note that this isn’t fully chained missions yet (which we define as different missions in a sequence), although these are planned as part of the Horizons season. A specific variant on this are tasks that have to be completed after a successful assassination. [Link]
- A survival element to missions means that a player will have to survive specific encounters before being able to complete a specific mission, for example delivering secret information to a contact while being hunted. [Link]
- Another aspect for a player to be aware of are those that require them to be completed without being scanned – something I’m sure skilled smugglers will have an advantage with. [Link]
- Michael Brookes also said that "There are a couple of other elements too – but I’ll keep them as a surprise for you!" [Link]
- Passenger Missions are still planned but will not be making an appearance in 1.5.[Link]
- CQC Assets/abandoned bases will included but as of 01/10/15 are "much further out". [Link]
- CQC Racing is "definitely a thing we are looking into."
- Michael Brookes later commented that they will be "adding support for locations like the CQC arenas to the game so we can have places like shipyards and ship graveyards for people to visit." [Link]
- Craig at Frontier commented, "We're planning on introducing a variety of new structures, based on the CQC environments, into the main game during the Horizons season." [Link]
- Additionally, "CQC will definitely be getting more maps and modes added to it, we've been really pleased with the response from players so we're going to make sure we continue to support it." [Link]
- There are also possible plans for some "mysterious colonies". [Link]
- There has been discussion at FDev about player built structures, but that is no guarantee they will be in the game at some point.
- There will be core changes to the weapons system in the basic game. [Link]
- GPP3 - last beta for XBO brings it to equal footing to 1.4 Beta 2 release
- Michael Brookes responded to a question about the possibility of an exploration log being added to the game with the comment, "Yes - this is something we'd like to add." [Link]
- "We do want to add more astronomical phenomenon in the future, but these will key into specific gameplay. The personal favourite of mine is comets."
- According to Sandro Sammarco at some point in Season 2 FDev will take "another look at weapons, including missiles (and mines). I can say with some confidence that missiles won't be reverted back to their initial values, but I agree that they could use some buffing (and mines too!) [...]This will hopefully tie in with our plans for loot - we want to add more intereting choices among the modules. And to be clear, this stuff's not just for season 2 players only."
- Asked about the possibility of Commander's requesting the delivery of a ship to a station of a Commanders chosing, FDev replied, "This is something on our radar and is something we’re keen to implement in the game as part of a future update, but we have nothing to announce on that at the moment."
- Regarding future CQC updates FDev responded with, "We have something very special planned for the CQC tournament that everybody will be able to get involved in. We’re continuing to develop CQC and spectators are certainly something we are keeping in mind. We’ll have the full details soon, but make sure you get practicing your CQC skills right away!
Power Play
- Aside from a few changes to Powerplay mentioned in the above section, there has also been a post and long running thread from Sandro Sammarco about possible changes to Powerplay in 2016. I won't post all the information here, but you can read the thread by clicking [here].
Bobbleheads!
- The David Braben Bobblehead has been withdrawn from sale. [Link]
- You can see the video here
- Others will be available as and when.
Future Seasonal Expansions
The Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #29 provided a list of what at the time was Frontier's roadmap for expansions. In no particular order:
- Landing/ driving / prospecting on airless rocky planets, moons & asteroids
- Walking around interiors and combative boarding of other ships
- Combat and other interactions with other players and AIs in the internal areas of star ports
- Accessing richly detailed planetary surfaces
- Availability of giant ‘executive control’ ships to players. Note, during an AMA for the launch of XBox ED, Michael Brookes commented on this subject, "There aren't immediate plans for controlling capital ships, but this does come up in discussion, so it's not an outright no at this stage." [Link]
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