ANNOUNCEMENT April Update - Coming 23 April 2019

[Skip Rockbounder]

I've looked around the site but I can't find anything...can someone confirm
Has there been an update between last night and now?

My controls have reset to default... just got em' fixed too!

 

[BDelacroix]

I think time & age might be clouding your memory there, Blue Danube was the docking computer music in the versions of Elite that had DC music.

Frontier Elite 2 brought in much more classical music, but still played Blue Danube for docking.

I could be wrong though, I only played Elite on the Electron, Speccy & c64.

You aren't. Blue Danube was it.

 

[BDelacroix]

Is it just me or are NPCs running away everytime now? i love flying small ships, it takes a bit to get one of the big 3 down an its just hella frustratin if they wake out on the last 50% or the moment shield drops. and the best part, if u low wake into supercruise, theyre right behind you, full health, full shields! is that intended? is that "realism" an "smart" AI or just cheater?
lmao 3rd time the same enemy, always the same routine. shootin him down (even targeting fsd) he just wakes, no message that he charges nothing. just boosts in a direction an he gone

I have had NPCs running away when greatly outmatched. Those who are higher rank or at least closer to my rank seem to stick around to the death.
I understand the frustration but it is a bit more real than just sitting around until death when they know they just can't win.

How is running away when you are being killed cheating? Is this going to be the new definition of cheating?

 

[Myrm]

I have noticed an increase in the instances of NPCs running away, but to say it happens every time is a gross exagerration. I would say I get rate of about 90% stay to the end, 10% run away. Of those 10% that run a good proportion of them seem to run to allow their shields to recharge, and then they come back looking for more trouble.

As for cheater due to running away; nonsense! I find it more incredulous that an unengineered Sidewinder NPC tries to attack my heavily engineered Corvette, and doesn’t run when his shields are stripped and hull down to 5% in seconds.

However, the times I have witnessed NPCs running away when they started the attack, can be super frustrating.

 

[Hoshizoku]

The cheatin part is not the running, but the highwakin into another system, then spawn right behind u with full health! because they create a new spawn of the npc instead of letting the "old" one spawn. i cant repair my ship between system jumps, can u? and yea highwake scanner but who has the slots for it... and there was a npc i followed thru 5 systems with highwake scanner coz he jumped everytime the shield got down! im rank dangerous, in a vulture.. the targets are usually deadly/elite condas/fdls!

 

[Old Duck]

So will we get a May update that fixes the April patch to the April update? And if so, will the May update require a June update to fix the bugs in the May patch to the May update? And if so, will the June update require a July update......

The wheels on the bus of the bugs go round and round

 

[Skip Rockbounder]

I've looked around the site but I can't find anything...can someone confirm
Has there been an update between last night and now?

My controls have reset to default... just got em' fixed too!

After discussing it with myself, and looking at the evidence of the twisting FSS screen bug again I have come to the conclusion that there has not been an overnight/morning update, my controls simply reset themselves for no apparent reason.

S*** happens I guess!

 

[Eragoniser]

View attachment 127332​

Greetings Commanders,

We’re very pleased to announce that the next update for Elite Dangerous, the April Update, will release on... Tuesday 23 April 2019!

As mentioned in the beginning of March, this year's initial updates will focus on introducing quality of life improvements and improving the welcoming experience for beginners. This update brings with it two new modules to help get you out there, engaging in and exploring all that there is to discover - as well as ensure that you're able to access in-game information and training from the seat of your cockpit!

Read below for all of the details:


Beginners' Zone

A new collection of systems has been added for newly-created Commanders, and can only be accessed by pilots until they earn their first Combat, Trade or Exploration rank. In addition, the authorities here will provide simpler missions that even the smallest of Sidewinders can complete.

Across the galaxy, new Commanders will also have a reduced rebuy until they gain their first Combat, Trade or Exploration rank, a step in the path towards greatness!


New Modules

Advanced Docking Computer​

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We're adding an upgraded version of the original Docking Computer, a module designed to allow Commanders to relax, let go of their flight sticks and automatically dock in stations to the serene strings of Johann Strauss II.​

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The Advanced Docking Computer will not only allow you to dock, but also allow you to automatically undock from a station without anxiously worrying about getting stuck inside the mail slot. Let's face it, it will also help with those embarrassing Type-10 spoiler moments!​

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This module will also come as standard in all newly-purchased small ships. If you're starting up a new account, you will find the Advanced Docking Computer in your ship from the get-go - making it easier for you to embark and disembark from your favourite stations without colliding with the walls, landing pads or your fellow Commanders.​

Supercruise Assist​

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Available at your nearest starship department store (i.e. Outfitting) comes the new Supercruise Assist module. While in Supercruise, you'll be able to target a destination and activate Supercruise Assist, putting your safety in the reassuring hands of a machine. In this mode, your ship will automatically maintain the correct speed and approach to your target destination, and break out of Supercruise at the optimum time. You'll still have to align with the correct location, but you will no longer have to worry about doing a loop of shame!​

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With the the Supercruise Assist, you will also be able to enter into orbit around a body - allowing you to launch discovery probes and take screenshots without the fear of face-planting the dusty, rocky ground.​

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This module will also come as standard in all newly-purchased ships.​

Free module slots for everyone!

With the introduction of these new modules, small ships will be outfitted with two additional size one Optional Internal slots, while medium and large ships will also receive one additional Optional Internal slot. This will automatically and retroactively apply to all relevant ships.


Navigation Tab

In Beyond - Chapter Four, the cockpit was completely revamped, and with the April Update, come even more improvements! The latest area to feel the love is the Navigation Panel where, in places, we have added icons for a tighter, more visually appealing layout.

A new column has been added to this panel, denoting activities in an area, mission targets, plotted routes, Wanted status and if the threat level of some areas is too high. The Navigation popup expands on this information, providing more details about the location, such as faction details, star class, information of resources and more!

Two of these may sound new to you - so allow us to explain!

• Activities - Every location in the Elite galaxy, offers different activities, be it collecting Combat Bonds in a Combat Zone, or mining asteroids at a Resource Extraction Site. Icons and links to the Pilots' Handbook (see below) have been added to help you easily identify what activities are available at a given location.
• Threat Level - Threat Level is something that already exists in the game (previously only seen at Unidentified Signal Sources), but this new marker will now appear in all systems. If a location has a threat level too high for your current combat rank, a 'danger' icon will be displayed, warning you that the location might be too dangerous.

Pilot's Handbook

Like the Codex, the Pilot's Handbook is a treasure trove of information, providing details on the many activities available to you in Elite Dangerous. Whether you're a veteran, or you've only just graduated from flight school, these articles will help you discover what opportunities are out there - and what is required to get involved in them. With links from the cockpit straight to the Pilot's Handbook, sourcing information is easier than ever before!


Trading Screen Improvements

When you're an interstellar trader, every minute is a potential sale... so to help you avoid being badgered by a strange man trying to sell you the 'deal of a lifetime' (500 tonnes of bio-waste is not always a good deal, by the way!), a number of improvements have been made to the user interface of the Commodities Market.

You will find two panels in the Commodities Market, Buy and Sell. Each new panel will provide you with important information:

• Commodities relevant to any active missions you're currently undertaking
• Icons that provide feedback of profits and supplies.
• Trade data on nearby local systems per commodity
• Buy and sell commodities pop-up with much more info than before - helpful even to the seasoned trader!
• Select markets or goods and view their trade data in the Galaxy Map.

All these improvements have been introduced to make the Commodities Market easier to understand at a glance, ensuring every Commander can become a wolf of the interstellar Wall Street.


Interstellar Initiatives

Our name for the previously announced 'Community Events'. These are series of in-game events that play out over the course of around a month. Each one features several phases that will alter as the narrative progresses, and may end with lasting effects on the galaxy. We'll be delving deeper into these in just a couple of weeks.


...and there's more!

• Revamped main menu layout, including featuring GalNet news and other important information.
• Training Missions and Challenge Scenarios will now be accessible via the cockpit, allowing you to brush up your skills right from the seat of your ship.
• Loading screen tips.
• Bug fixes.

So there you have it, a brief take on some of the features coming in the next update.

Join us on Thursday 18 April (at 18:00 UTC) for a content reveal livestream, where Executive Producer Adam Woods will be showcasing how all of this looks in-game!

Until then, please feel free to share your thoughts and feedback with us below.

See you in the black, Commander!

I've just started playing and in the BEGINNER'S ZONE... There are missions for MINING which requires a Prospector Limpit/Drone. I have Searched all outfitting and stations and these are not stocked to equip. With a refinery with 1 slot, It's virtually impossible to find enough of what your looking for. So please tell me how and where to get the prospector. Please do not answer if your dribbling pee at being a Dinosaur player who's had 5 years play. As this section is new. Thanks

 

[varonica]

I've just started playing and in the BEGINNER'S ZONE... There are missions for MINING which requires a Prospector Limpit/Drone. I have Searched all outfitting and stations and these are not stocked to equip. With a refinery with 1 slot, It's virtually impossible to find enough of what your looking for. So please tell me how and where to get the prospector. Please do not answer if your dribbling pee at being a Dinosaur player who's had 5 years play. As this section is new. Thanks

Limpit's are ammo, not modules, you need to buy a "limpit controller" module, then buy the limpits in the restock menu, not the outfitting or market menu's.

Oh yes you will get much better help if you try to avoid the insults, just saying.......

 

[BDelacroix]

The cheatin part is not the running, but the highwakin into another system, then spawn right behind u with full health! because they create a new spawn of the npc instead of letting the "old" one spawn. i cant repair my ship between system jumps, can u? and yea highwake scanner but who has the slots for it... and there was a npc i followed thru 5 systems with highwake scanner coz he jumped everytime the shield got down! im rank dangerous, in a vulture.. the targets are usually deadly/elite condas/fdls!

Ok yea, that's bogus but I know why it happens.

 

[Eragoniser]

Limpit's are ammo, not modules, you need to buy a "limpit controller" module, then buy the limpits in the restock menu, not the outfitting or market menu's.

Oh yes you will get much better help if you try to avoid the insults, just saying.......

Thank you for Replying Varonica, I already have the Limpit Controller and have re stocked it before and after mining. I was asking about a Prospector limpit/Drone which you need to buy the MODULE to fit in optional internal but here in BEGINNERS there are none in the stations outfitting. I've done my homework but was asking here to see if other NEWBS have found them. Seems you might have to leave and lose permit. Got same issue with Surface mapper. Missions to use them but no MODULES in outfitting to install them. Seems a bit stupid to set missions but not supply the parts needed... Still a great game to which, I Really have started to enjoy. Thank you Elite Dangerous

 

[peteuplink]

In the original Elite back in the 1980’s (yes, I’m that old) you got different music every time you docked at a station. It’s sad that ED currently only has the Blue Danube, I miss the variety of docking music and hope they bring it back.

There are a few things from the old game that didn't make it into ED, the biggest one being any real threat from NPC space pirates. In ED you can pretty much fly around anywhere and never encounter a pirate where in the original game going into a low security or anarchy system was a definite risk...

I wish they'd put that back in and make the game a bit less boring.

 

[Riverside]

There are a few things from the old game that didn't make it into ED, the biggest one being any real threat from NPC space pirates. In ED you can pretty much fly around anywhere and never encounter a pirate where in the original game going into a low security or anarchy system was a definite risk...

I wish they'd put that back in and make the game a bit less boring.

There is a BBC emulator & a copy of the original game available for free download at the Frontier store, you can compare the original game to ED using that.

Mostly you get attacked by Sidewinders and the equivalent of Eagles with bigger ships appearing rarely and most can be escaped by getting out of masslock, and of course you are in a Cobra MkIII with 100% regenerative damage (the equivalent to all shields and no hull in ED). You also had fixed weapons rather than gimballed.

I can understand the desire for that feeling of danger the early stages of the original game presented, but it can be mitigated much more easily in ED particularly with engineering. The basic gameplay experience is still there imo. There are more options now though, to cater for a wider range of playstyles.

You can still choose to fly a Cobra MkIII with minimal armour and only shields to protect you, you can still choose to fit only a single fixed weapon. I own several ships like this & have spent a lot of time in them but when I played that original game as a teenager I wished I could fly other ships and meet other players, and in ED I can

 

[[DAX]]

There are a few things from the old game that didn't make it into ED, the biggest one being any real threat from NPC space pirates. In ED you can pretty much fly around anywhere and never encounter a pirate where in the original game going into a low security or anarchy system was a definite risk...

I wish they'd put that back in and make the game a bit less boring.

Did you try to fly with something valuable onboard?
I got my fair share of pirates in my career, especially at the beginning.
And some of those encounters were pretty risky and close to rebuy.
But I agree that now we have no visible correlation of NPC pirate attacks with the security level of the system. As I understand, now it affects just a local cops response time. The higher the level, the faster they come. Or is there more?

 

[Ralph Vargr]

Well, you could clear your save every game, for that level of excitement.

 

[[DAX]]

Well, you could clear your save every game, for that level of excitement.

I think it is just another variant of the same gameplay. In old Elite if you want to be safe you flying the route via hisec systems. In ED you just flying empty and without missions.
If you want some excitement - you just taking missions and some gold and most probably you will have the fun on the way.
Looks good enough for me.

 

[peteuplink]

Did you try to fly with something valuable onboard?
I got my fair share of pirates in my career, especially at the beginning.
And some of those encounters were pretty risky and close to rebuy.
But I agree that now we have no visible correlation of NPC pirate attacks with the security level of the system. As I understand, now it affects just a local cops response time. The higher the level, the faster they come. Or is there more?

I rarely get attacked by anything and I've carried all kinds of cargo of various values and even taken missions above my current rank, and I can fly for months without seeing an NPC pirate. I don't know why.

I'm not the only one who has this issue though.

I will say, however, that it makes for a very boring space game and I usually end up switching off in boredom after doing only a couple of trips, where with the original (which I still play in emulation) it always had that "just one more trip" hook.

 

[[DAX]]

I rarely get attacked by anything and I've carried all kinds of cargo of various values and even taken missions above my current rank, and I can fly for months without seeing an NPC pirate. I don't know why.

I'm not the only one who has this issue though.

Weird. Just a couple of hours ago I did the "Boom time delivery of 120 units of Hydrogen Fuel " mission and got a pirate right after the jump to the destination system, as in most cases...

I will say, however, that it makes for a very boring space game and I usually end up switching off in boredom after doing only a couple of trips, where with the original (which I still play in emulation) it always had that "just one more trip" hook.

Well, that is why I still play Freespace from time to time
There is something special in old games. In the days of the first Elite, I had the ZX Spectrum, and all my friends played at my place literally around the clock. It was insane and VERY addictive!
We did not find Raxxla though.

 

[peteuplink]

Weird. Just a couple of hours ago I did the "Boom time delivery of 120 units of Hydrogen Fuel " mission and got a pirate right after the jump to the destination system, as in most cases...

It could be that interdictions are handled in the cloud rather than in the software itself and something about ED's setup doesn't like my connection, so I'm not getting the incoming enemy event quick enough and by the time it's triggered I'm already docked?. I've got an 80mbps fibre optic connection, but I'm on BT and I've heard of some BT users having trouble with the game in the past.

 

[MartinG]

The cheatin part is not the running, but the highwakin into another system, then spawn right behind u with full health! because they create a new spawn of the npc instead of letting the "old" one spawn.

It’s a limitation of the game engine — NPCs have extremely little state preserved beyond a player’s instance.

I’m sure FDEV would love NPCs to behave more realistically in this respect; that they have not (yet?) done so indicates that it is very difficult to implement, alas.