We’ll also get the first pass of the ability to customize our characters, alongside large improvements to the user interface. Interdiction will be tweaked, and the balance of the economy will be improved.
Another interesting feature that is going to be added is the ability for players to make distress calls: if you get interdicted in the middle of nowhere, you’ll be able to send out a distress call that will provide your location to other players interested in (hopefully) rescuing you.
This is the core of a set of features coming in alpha 3.2 scheduled for June, allowing players to create missions that other pilots can take on, including search and rescue, cargo hauling, and bounty hunting. The system will include a rating feature similar to eBay, enabling players to rate their contacts according to their reliability.
Alpha 3.2 should also include a lot of new non-combat features like mining, trading, and refueling (including in-flight refueling). This process will extend into 3.3 (which should come in September) with the ability to actually mine fuel and salvaging.
More additions to the economy will include the handling of stolen cargo, that players will be able to resell at certain locations at a reduced price, with the danger of being caught by the authorities and the consequences related to that. Basically, between 3.2 and 3.3, the development team plans to implement the means to take on many different careers in the game.
The biggest content push will happen with the advent of object container streaming, focusing on the addition of the whole Stanton system including all of its planets. This should materialize between the third and fourth quarters of the year.
When the Stanton system will be in the game by the end of 2018, players will also be able to purchase land on planets in order to mine or build their own bases. On the other hand, features related to corporations are planned for next year.
