Elite: Dangerous

Concept

Elite: Dangerous is the planned fourth title in the Elite series and will be set in the far flung future in an open galaxy. As with previous entries the player will start with a basic ship and 100 credits to their name and decide for themselves how they will proceed. The player is not directed down any particular path but rather is able to forge their own path within the game's universe. After several false starts that included an MMO the game achieved it's goal of 1,250,000 UKP at 1932hrs on 2nd January 2013 with 52 hours left.

Gameplay

Featuring an open environment the player gets to choose, and change their mind at will, about what to do within the game. The game is currently pre-alpha but Elite games typically feature options for piracy, trading, transporting npc's, mining and exploration. Comments from the Kickstarter points to a mixing of features from previous titles in the series. Control is to be more accesible and like the original game whilst the deeper ship ownership and trading of it's sequels it's a key part of the game. Frontier Developments have confirmed twenty five ships at launch with more available for purchase later. The developers have also spoken of forgoing character classes in favour of an emergent "role" system based on how you customise your ship for how you choose to play the game.

Setting

The game is set fifty years after Frontier: First Encounters and has the Empire and the Federation still vying for control of the galaxy. It's been implied that the alien Thargoid race may make a return to the series as antagonist. The developers will augment the story with vignettes placed around the galaxy but the overarching story will be controlled by the players. Systems may be annexed from neighbours, assassinations may tip power in the region and piracy could see systems slip into anarchy. The universe will be procedurally generated as is the tradition of the series.