News The Engineers Beta Release Date and Elite Dangerous 1.6

[Alec Turner]

So basicaly healers incoming? Holy beams!
Now we need tank gear (damage reduction gear), aggro managment and dungeons

Shhh, you're going to make Corlas blow a gasket!

Or worse ...

[video=youtube_share;4gD3uk_bDrM]http://youtu.be/4gD3uk_bDrM[/video]

 

[EdzUp]

I have found most recent ED updates don't really affect me and that's fine because lots of other people get some stuff and there are usually some minor tweaks to things that do interest me and ho knows their may be loads in this release that does. I am generally very positive with what FD do with this game.

Hang on, does that say healing lasers?? You have got to be kidding right? FD put so much effort into creating as realistic a galaxy as is possible in a game, a beautifully rich and faithful reproduction of reality and then introduce magic things that nobody in their right might would ever actually design and build. What on Earth (or any other planet) have they been smoking. Maybe it will make good game play for some but it makes zero sense.

Regardless of what they actually do, their very existence makes this a rather disappointing and unimaginative direction that the game is moving in in my view. I saw FD as innovators, not copy cats.

Still I imagine lots of people will love them for a while which is nice.

My sentiments exactly I would like to see how these actually work in the game, if they repair and heal a players ship then it will be severely disappointing. If however they transfer energy between players then it will still be in keeping with the whole thing and could be used by the target to power up shields or batteries at the expense of the shooter. This will mean that the shooter will have to be protected thus making the whole thing a protect the healer as they are the most vulnerable ship when they are healing.

 

[Cosmos]

Looks great. Awesome to have some news of Engineers and looking forward to more.

Just remember kids, don't cross the beams

 

[jmp470]

When I bought Horizons Beta, I was about 15K LY out from SOL in my Conda headed home.... I logged into the Beta Server and blew up my ship... It was a glorious explosion and when I awoke, I was back in the bubble looking at the insurance screen. I bought my conda back and immediately sold it for 150M credits. I then bought the Cutter and started playing around with that...

So you can blow yourself ONCE YOU SIGN INTO THE BETA SERVER. DO NOT do it in the main server, or you are screwed.....

So don't rush back

 

[Steve50]

Great news indeed!

'beta access in the week ending 8th May' ...reading between the lines, that sounds like it might actually be out at anytime that week? so maybe the 5th ,6th, 7th.. cool

 

[shadragon]

and of course more of the story, more on the ‘barnacles’ and their origins, more on aliens, and much, much more…

Yes, please.

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So you can blow yourself ONCE YOU SIGN INTO THE BETA SERVER. DO NOT do it in the main server, or you are screwed.....

So don't rush back

Same here. Just make sure it says "BETA" in the lower corner of the screen before exploding.

 

[Scoopy Doopy]

I have a question. Presumably these magic lasers only work in Horizons and won't work in Dangerous? or at least won't exist in any meaningful way in Dangerous?

 

[NMS]

Finally some proper info about the work, people don't be hyped yet. We are for sure all happy that looting , crafting will be added to the game but most of all core gameplay will be improved (which is the complete redo of the mission system which is THE MOST important part).
Very good move to actually add new types of tools that are used not as weapons but as a support component, now that is something I really didn't expect to see which is VERY good.

But still we were burn few times already in Elite Dangerous by all the hype, so let's just wait for May 8-th and enjoy what Beta can bring. Maybe it will be finally the kick that Elite needs or maybe again it will be just massive hopes fast burn and painful disappointment.

Though I'm massively disappointed for the past months when it comes to Elite development I still really hope that this will finally change everything.

Exactly my thoughts.
Seeing is believing.

 

[Ginrikuzuma]

I've tried to stay away from how stupid a "healer spaceship" sounds, from a sci-fi point of view, but oh my goodness so much YES! >_<

/grumpy enough that I end up deleting half my posts in self-censorship. I really don't want to be negative, but it's hard right now.

holding the same sentiment we'll see how its actually implemented if anything I would like to see if are going to go the extra mile and have a hull repair weapon. I remember a few people on the Fleetcomm discord chat thinking it would be cool if the Fuel Rats could expand in the future for all sorts of "roadside" assistance with hull repairs (ala limpet style or like this shield regen laser style)

I'll still remain cynical myself until the beta goes live.

edit: still very cynical of the looting/crafting aspect. I've been turned off of the thought of that since it was first announced. I'm still very wary of how this is going to work especially since personally I'm not pleased by how limited the process of gathering materials (SRV mining rocks and very rarely cargo racks on crash sites) is with those materials. I don't want to see an equally limited way to loot the materials needed to craft stuff in 2.1.
/edit

Whatever you do in Beta, whatever your achievements, all will be wiped after beta ends. Its basically a separate game client. The only connection to your account is the Devs will do a snapshot of the galaxy incl. all Commanders accounts few weeks/days before Beta is to launch. This snapshot will be the entry state of Beta.

I remember stories where Commanders were blowing their Condas pretty spectacularly by the end of Horizons beta. Just to do what you normally wouldnt in your main account

so In theory I could on my "live" account I can go off on my exploration and on the beta I can still stay in the bubble and take part of the beta (and in the end of the beta I'll be out exploring correct?)

 

[AnotherVoice]

Really getting hyped by all of this !

 

[shadragon]

So who do I bribe to get a Capital Ship to follow me around with a Class 8 healing beam?

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so In theory I could on my "live" account I can go off on my exploration and on the beta I can still stay in the bubble and take part of the beta (and in the end of the beta I'll be out exploring correct?)

Yes, Beta takes a copy of the live game and when finished is deleted with no impact on your live account.

 

[moonsword]

Exciting news!

 

[LKx]

I have a question. Presumably these magic lasers only work in Horizons and won't work in Dangerous? or at least won't exist in any meaningful way in Dangerous?

Since Engineers will be restricted to Horizons, who have vanilla ED probably won't be able to "buy" them, but will have to face them nevertheless.

 

[Calebe]

Already complaints about regenerative lasers before we know a thing. Honestly I read that and thought wow great concept considering how long shields take to regenerate. So please stop the negativity and look on the positive (and I don't play in wings), but see this as a game changer for some. Imagine an NPC recharging your shields. Will it happen? No clue but I like the thought. I am sure during all the testing this will be a nice addition and not an IWIN button, or an instant I lose button, it will be balanced.
.
We have waited for information and I am sure this is why FD never wants to tell us things in advance no matter what it is, some will complain and say I don't like it. It can be abused. It could do this that or the other thing. Guess what anything they add could do that.
.
Calebe

 

[Flimley]

Thanks. Sounding very good indeed

 

[chotnik]

There is progression with each Engineer too, as you build up your relationship with them by doing missions and earning their trust.

This sounds painfully close to MMO's faction reputation grinding to buy new trinket with +10% attack

 

[Scoopy Doopy]

Since Engineers will be restricted to Horizons, who have vanilla ED probably won't be able to "buy" them, but will have to face them nevertheless.

So I guess, if I play solo and stop using Horizons, then apart from the odd NPS suddenly magically healing, I will, at least, be in a galaxy that makes some semblance of sense.

I guess I'll have to see what the other new features are when beta arrives but this does not bode well.

 

[Harker]

Hang on, does that say healing lasers?? You have got to be kidding right? FD put so much effort into creating as realistic a galaxy as is possible in a game, a beautifully rich and faithful reproduction of reality and then introduce magic things that nobody in their right might would ever actually design and build. What on Earth (or any other planet) have they been smoking. Maybe it will make good game play for some but it makes zero sense.

Regardless of what they actually do, their very existence makes this a rather disappointing and unimaginative direction that the game is moving in in my view. I saw FD as innovators, not copy cats.

Still I imagine lots of people will love them for a while which is nice.

So how do you imagine the 'magical' shields we have at the moment work? A lot of things in nature are reversible. You can make magnetism from electricity and vice versa, and there are a number of precedents in things like Dr Who and Star Trek that rely on reversing or remodulating beams to get the opposite effect.

In truth the only physics FD have been faithful to is artificial gravity and a general flavour of the size of the galaxy. Things like Hyperspace, politics, economics and maximum speed in space are by necessity stereotyped and there to suit game play, which is fine by me.

 

[Scoopy Doopy]

Already complaints about regenerative lasers before we know a thing. Honestly I read that and thought wow great concept considering how long shields take to regenerate. So please stop the negativity and look on the positive (and I don't play in wings), but see this as a game changer for some. Imagine an NPC recharging your shields. Will it happen? No clue but I like the thought. I am sure during all the testing this will be a nice addition and not an IWIN button, or an instant I lose button, it will be balanced.
.
We have waited for information and I am sure this is why FD never wants to tell us things in advance no matter what it is, some will complain and say I don't like it. It can be abused. It could do this that or the other thing. Guess what anything they add could do that.
.
Calebe

While you are plainly correct that it makes sense to wait and see, I think, for me at least, the very concept of being repaired by a laser sounds like a cop out from reality. So far, FD have even allowed really irritating things to exist in order to keep some semblance of sense and I applaud them for that but magic lasers of any kind boggle my mind. I even struggle a bit with the jumponium synthesis.

 

[Hydrino]

Looks like there will be "news" in this week's newsletter!

I have high hopes for this update. I bet the changelog will be enormous. Most excited for missions and the links to the BGS stuff.

I'm a bit scared with the loot and crafting stuff though... I am not much on crafting in games so think I will still prefer a vastly expanded list of modules in the shipyards and outfitting that would include Tech Levels, Classes that start with 1 and increase instead of at G to A with A the best and no headroom, and also multiple manufacturers where the modules of apparently equal stats may still have different performance or quirks based on whether it's a Gutamaya or Falcon Delacy part. Less generic modules across all ships... I also would like to see different modules like upgraded thrusters/engines result in different looks like some early concept art where the exhaust ports on the mains multiplied or took on different looks based on the module type.

I know FD can't please everyone all the time. I just wish they would focus on my specific requests for a change.

After 2.1 rolls out- FD still have not answered about the pace of 2.2, since approximately quarterly delivery is needed to get 4 releases in the year, with 2.1 landing in June that means 2.2 by August, 2.3 by October and 2.4 December to maybe coincide with 3.0?