Elite: Dangerous Beta 2 is out now, Beta 3 announced for October 28th
Frontier Developments has released details of changes for Elite: Dangerous Beta 2.
Beta 2 marks a major update to the game, with new ships, new outposts and even more of the galaxy unlocked for exploration. Highlights include:
- New progression, with combat ratings from ‘Harmless’ up to ‘Elite’.
- Reputations per system and per faction that influence attitudes and prices offered to players.
- 570 star systems and 381,033 cubic light years to explore.
- Discovery, exploration and charting of new systems and the option to trade gathered data.
- Detailed system maps.
- New Outposts (small, exposed ‘roadside café’ stations in remote systems).
- New Ocellus starport.
- Further upgradeable Life Support modules, Engines, Hyperdrives, Power Distributors, Sensors, Shield Generators and Cargo Racks for all ships.
- New weapons, including mines and a Cargo Hatch Limpet built for non-lethal piracy.
- Visibility of other ships in supercruise, and the ability to track pilots through supercruise and hyperspace.
- In-game GalNet newsfeed, reporting story events from around the galaxy and each system.
- Gradual ‘wear and tear’ on ships.
- New Lakon Asp Explorer ship.
- All backers names from the appropriate crowd-funding reward tiers have been added to the NPC naming database.
Beta 2 also includes a host of other improvements and optimizations including additional rock, ice and metal-rich planetary rings, new music, optional ‘simulator’ tutorials and optional pre-flight control checks. SLI/Crossfire support allows play in 4K ultra-high definition (with appropriate hardware).
Beta 3 will be released on October 28th. Features and additions included in Beta 3 will be announced over the coming weeks. Elite: Dangerous will be released in Q4 2014.