Feature Requests Update #8- To Infinity, and Beyond!
As the Newsletter is delayed by a week I feel duty-bound to bring you a more sizeable feature update this week and this particular subject is a bit of a beast. As many of you will have divined from what we have discussed so far, we’re hoping players will be in Elite: Dangerous for the long haul. This game isn’t being designed as a 10 hour romp through space, to be discarded after a weekend’s play through. We want to continue to expand and refine the game for years after release to make it as deep and enduring an experience as possible.
Many of the feature requests that we received during the Kickstarter are features that we plan to implement post-release, or are in the realm of what we’d like to do. Hopefully this update will give you a better idea of the scope that we have for this project in the long term.
With that said and done, let’s start looking at some of these requests!
First and Foremost...
There are of course some updates that we have already announced will be coming. The most notable and anticipated of these is of course seamless planetary landings. Whilst it wouldn’t be sharing anything new with you to confirm this feature post-launch, I can confirm that we hope to implement it within a year of release, if possible:
Docking with larger ships
Many of the feature requests we recieved either crossed paths with things that the team had already thought about, or proposed features that we had not yet considered. With emmersion and freedom being so important to the experience of Elite: Dangerous the team were extremely receptive to all of these suggestions.
A feature that I would personally be a large fan of, which was requested during the Kickstarter, was cooperative play on one ship. The idea of playing with your friends as part of a single crew is also a feature that the team is keen to explore post release, so may be seen further down the road:
Organic ships
Thanks, Ashley
Many of the feature requests that we received during the Kickstarter are features that we plan to implement post-release, or are in the realm of what we’d like to do. Hopefully this update will give you a better idea of the scope that we have for this project in the long term.
With that said and done, let’s start looking at some of these requests!
First and Foremost...
There are of course some updates that we have already announced will be coming. The most notable and anticipated of these is of course seamless planetary landings. Whilst it wouldn’t be sharing anything new with you to confirm this feature post-launch, I can confirm that we hope to implement it within a year of release, if possible:
Sandy: Definitely yes. Hopefully (barring issues) within the first year post-release
Michael: Yes, we’ll be looking to add landings in updates after the game’s intial release. We’ll provide more details nearer the time.
Modding tools were another big request that we received for future updates. Giving players the chance to author their own scenarios and missions, or create completely new content would enrich the game even further and create completely new communities around the game. For this reason modding tools are also planned for the future, although not until much further down the line:Michael: Yes, we’ll be looking to add landings in updates after the game’s intial release. We’ll provide more details nearer the time.
Sandy: Yes we would like to but definitely not until a number of updates have gone out. Probably as part of update 5 or later.
Michael: We do want to support modding, but as this requires considerable support this will be some time down the line.
The other big expansion that will be prioritised post-launch is the ability for players to walk around outside of their ships. A request that is related to this is for stations and ships to have diverse and interesting interiors. One of the main reasons for delaying the inclusion of this feature past release, other than time constraints, is to make sure that we do it justice. Naturally this means assuring that the environments that you can explore will be as interesting as possible:Michael: We do want to support modding, but as this requires considerable support this will be some time down the line.
Sandy: Yes – although this will be part of a later expansion (you won’t see interiors in this sense in release 1) except as a cut-away view in a shop window or something similar.
Michael: Yes, this is intended as a feature in a future expansion when you can move about your ship and stations.
A planned extension of the ‘walk-around’ update that has been asked about is whether players will be able to board other players’ ships and even hijack them. The answer to this is yes:Michael: Yes, this is intended as a feature in a future expansion when you can move about your ship and stations.
Sandy: Yes – this is part of the ship to ship boarding design. This is not part of release 1 as it will require the ship interiors update.
There were also a few other smaller features that were enquired about, which we can confirm are a part of our future plans.
Docking with larger ships
Michael: Yes, but not in the initial release.
Cloud cities (Like Empire Strikes Back)
Sandy: Yes – something like this (mining outposts in Jovian atmospheres) will be possible. This may not be a release 1 feature though.
Thargoid homeworld
Michael: Thargoids will be in the galaxy, but more will be discovered in a future expansion.
Living planets with NPCs and wildlife:
Sandy: Yes, as part of the planetary landing update.
Planetary aircraft/landing vehicles for travelling around planets
David: Yes, once we support planetary landings
To Be Considered...
Many of the feature requests we recieved either crossed paths with things that the team had already thought about, or proposed features that we had not yet considered. With emmersion and freedom being so important to the experience of Elite: Dangerous the team were extremely receptive to all of these suggestions.
A feature that I would personally be a large fan of, which was requested during the Kickstarter, was cooperative play on one ship. The idea of playing with your friends as part of a single crew is also a feature that the team is keen to explore post release, so may be seen further down the road:
Sandy: This has been discussed extensively and is something we would like to do.
Michael: This is something we’d like to look into in the future, but is not for the initial release.
Another enquiry that was quite popular was the ability for players to be able to build their own ships, space stations or even buildings at a later stage. Again, this is something that we’d like to do but would take a huge amount of consideration and time to fully implement:Michael: This is something we’d like to look into in the future, but is not for the initial release.
Sandy: You will be able to make certain modifications to your ship, but certainly we will not have player build ships/stations/buildings in release 1. This will happen – but the specific timing and content is up for discussion.
Player settlements and home worlds were another thing that people were curious about. This was actually one of the features that our team had not yet though about, but were keen to explore further:
Sandy: Can discuss it – current design hadn’t considered this. This can be raised in a separate meeting as part of a later expansion
David: We will consider the ability to rent some storage space to store things the player has found but doesn’t want to sell. This will have a specific location – which might be considered a ‘home world’.
A slightly more unusual enquiry that we received was for the inclusion of underwater ships. Perhaps surprisingly, this is actually something that has been thought about by the team also:David: We will consider the ability to rent some storage space to store things the player has found but doesn’t want to sell. This will have a specific location – which might be considered a ‘home world’.
Sandy: This could be possible and has been thrown around as a notion at various points. If this is done – it will be after the landing on planets update – probably its own separate update.
Whilst Thargoids are a staple of the Elite series, many of you were curious if we would be introducing new races in Elite: Dangerous and whether there would be an opportunity for players to make ‘first contact’. This is one of many major events that we are considering for the game, so whilst it is unlikely that you can make first contact at launch, it is possible that it will be added as an event at a later stage:
Sandy: This has been discussed at various points; specific details need to be worked out though. If it’s done it will be an update or in-game event.
Michael: Not in the initial version, but it may become an event down the line.
David: Also need to consider this would be a major game play moment if it happens.
Here are a few of the other requests that we’ve received, which may be considered for future expansions:Michael: Not in the initial version, but it may become an event down the line.
David: Also need to consider this would be a major game play moment if it happens.
Organic ships
Sandy: We could discuss this as part of an expansion somewhere down the line. We don’t currently plan to have organic ships/tech available.
Playable carrier-class ships:
Michael: Maybe in a future expansion, but not in the initial release.
Generation ships
Michael: Generation ships are one the mysteries in the galaxy, we may explore them down the line but they’re not part of the initial release.
More factions
Michael: The major factions will remain the same as the previous game. New ones may get added over time.
So that’s it for this week’s edition, hopefully it has given you plenty to chew through! I will be back with another feature requests update next week and you can also expect the 4th Newsletter on Wednesday as well. There are a variety of topics that I can readily use for the next feature requests update, including controls, audio, story, technical and universe. If there is any specific topic from these you’d like to see then let me know!
Thanks, Ashley
