Category: multi-crew

Development Update #4

On the 29th September 2021 Frontier released news of what would be coming in, and beyond Update #8. This includes amongst other things, Fleet Carrier interiors, another SRV, four player multi-crew, Colonia engineers, changes to missions and player emotes. You can read those details, and issue reports, below, or on the official forum here.

You can see some video of a few of the features here in ObsidianAnt’s rundown.

Greetings Commanders,  
 
As we reach the end of another month, we are delighted to share the latest development progress from the team.

Last week saw the release of Odyssey Update 7 which brings big changes to Conflict Zones such as anti-air defences, rocket troopers, and dogfighting. If you missed last month’s Development Update, you can check out the turrets in action here or you can jump into Odyssey right now to try it for yourself!
 
Issue Watch
We’ve had a lot of feedback since our August post and have been hard at work tackling your most pressing issues: not just from the Issue Tracker, but from all corners of our community. We’re pleased to report that with Update 7 we tackled a number of pertinent bugs and those issues have now been closed on the tracker.

You can see Update 7’s full release notes here for more information.

To kick things off, we would like to update you on the key issues as voted for by our community on the Issue Tracker. Remember, you can visit the Issue Tracker any time to vote for your top issues or make a report. 

1. FPS performance in Odyssey 

With the bulk of our navmesh optimisations now in place with Update 7, alongside a number of other changes, our code team is now looking at further optimisations with an immediate focus on lighting, slated for release in Update 8. Further work is also underway for Update 9. 

2. Anti-Aliasing on Foot

In Update 7 we improved anti-aliasing on planetary terrain in close-up. Further improvements will arrive in Update 8 and we will be looking at other areas for improvement in future updates.

3. FPS stuttering at on-foot settlements, apparent after Update 5

We have identified further improvements to the navmesh to be made in Update 8 which we believe will substantially improve instances of stuttering upon disembarking at a settlement.

4. Ship-Launched Fighter Potential Exploit

We made changes to address this issue for Horizons in this month’s 3.8.5 release. We’re pleased to confirm these will be coming to Odyssey in Update 8.

Additionally, we hope to address a number of other issues in our Update 8 development. Keep an eye on our channels for regular updates!

Upcoming Updates and Content 
Please note: These are at varying stages of progress. This is not an exhaustive list of everything that is being considered. They are not final, so they are subject to change. We will keep you updated with news and details as they progress, and we expect the content to release over the coming few updates. With that said, here’s a look at just some of the features and content in consideration, to go alongside the other development work required for future updates. 

Update 8
The team have been incredibly busy working not only on optimisations and fixes but to bring new and exciting content to Odyssey. You can see a preview of some of the features slated to release in Update 8 below:


Emotes
You asked for them! Update 8 will bring a new way to not only express yourself, but also physically communicate with a series of emotes coming to the game. The full set features the following emotes: Wave, Applaud, Point, Agree, Disagree, Stop, Go and of course Salute. These emotes are context sensitive so can be directed towards fellow Commanders. The ‘point’ emote will also provide in-world makers to highlight points of interest/objectives to other Commanders in your Team.

Let us know in the comments what you think of these new emotes!

Four-Player Multicrew
As mentioned in Development Update 3, we are pleased to confirm that the following ships will all receive an extra seat to enable four Commanders to board them: Anaconda, Beluga Liner, Federal Corvette, Imperial Cutter, Type 9, Type 10, and the Alliance Crusader.

Odyssey Engineers in Colonia
For those far from the bubble in Colonia, the release of Update 8 will add four new Engineers for Commanders to visit, offering various ways to enhance your weapons and suits.

Megaship Interiors
With Update 8, Megaships will receive interiors for Commanders to visit once they have docked. These interiors will offer various services that can be found on stations such as Vista Genomics and Frontline Solutions. Rescue Megaships will not feature interiors at this time.

Horizons Cosmetics in Odyssey 
We’re pleased to confirm that this work is now complete! From Update 8 you will be able to use your flight suit cosmetics with Odyssey’s suits.

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Mission Additions and Improvements 
Missions in Odyssey will receive additional features in Update 8. These include hostile agents attempting to intercept you while en-route, contacts you can meet at settlements, and NPCs attempting to use shuttles to flee to Hyperspace!

Content In Future Updates
We are pleased to announce the following features are currently in development and will be released in updates beyond Update 8:

Twin-Seat Combat SRV
We’re thrilled to announce that a new twin-seat combat SRV is in advanced development! A full reveal including a deep-dive into its features and capabilities can be expected closer to release.

Further Mission Additions and Improvements
We also have exciting plans to further extend Odyssey’s mission set. This will add further mission variety and elements, making the gameplay experience much more dynamic.

Fleet Carrier Interiors
Following the incredible reception to the announcement of Megaship interiors, we are delighted to confirm Fleet Carrier Interiors will be coming to Odyssey in the coming months! You can expect more details on these very soon.

We hope that this update has given you plenty to be excited about as bring new and exciting experiences to the Elite galaxy. What we’ve shared today is just a snapshot of what we’re working on and more details will come on all of the above in future monthly development updates and across our other channels! 
 
Thank you as always for your continued feedback and support. 

Development Update #3

On the 31st August 2021 Frontier released details of the upcoming changes to Odyssey. These can be seen below or on the offical site here. The release date for this update has not been confirmed, but is expected in September.

Greetings Commanders,

As we reach the end of the month, we are delighted to share our latest development update with you.

Issue Tracker

To kick things off we would like to update you on the key issues as voted for by our community on the Issue Tracker. Remember you can visit the Issue Tracker any time to vote for your top issues or make a report.

1. Lighting and Illumination in Odyssey

Since Odyssey’s launch we’ve made a large number of updates to in-game lighting to bring the experience more in line with Commander expectations. These changes included relighting ship cockpits, improving all materials and overhauling star light and station exteriors, to call out just a few.

Following the major changes in Update 6 we’ve now, based on your feedback, made additional changes to areas such as Fleet Carriers and exterior station lighting which will be deployed in Update 7.

Whilst we recognise that some Commanders may continue to have feedback around how the game is lit we feel that for the purposes of aiding further development this issue tracker entry, whilst still holding a number of votes, is no longer providing us actionable feedback to improve the game, with recent contributions unrelated to the specifics of the original report.

We will therefore mark this issue as fixed following the update, freeing up those votes to contribute to other issues in issue tracker. Of course if you observe any specific instances of poor lighting, please open a new issue tracker entry giving specific feedback.

2. Degraded terrain textures compared to Horizons

We’ve been monitoring your feedback following Update 6 and we are now satisfied that this issue has been largely resolved. This item will be marked as fixed with the final changes set to arrive in Update 7 – if you see specific instances please contribute to the issue tracker giving specific feedback.

3. FPS performance in Odyssey

Further improvements have been made in this area including optimisations to the Navmesh, lighting system, terrain, NPCs, glass shaders and scatter rock LODs. Our core code team is making good progress on more substantial optimisations, a number of which we expect to be included in Update 8.

4. Nothing to do on long shuttle rides

Update 7 will provide the opportunity for players to redirect Apex shuttles in transit, avoiding instances of players feeling trapped into long journeys. We will look to mark this issue as fixed in line with Update 7, freeing up your votes to contribute to other issues.

5. Invincible Thargoid Heart

We have identified a cause and are deploying a fix for this issue in Update 7, to ensure the fix has worked as intended, we will leave this issue open for a time. We would like to thank you for your patience with this issue and for your support in helping us to resolve it.

6. Frame Rate Drops post update 5

Update 7 will include changes to the games Navmesh which we believe resolves any potential performance impact from update 5. We will therefore be marking this issue as fixed following the release of Update 7 whilst retaining our wider focus on improving Odyssey’s performance.

The following issues will also be resolved in Update 7:

  • NHSS signals in Odyssey are Empty
  • Fleet Carrier and Module costs not included in overall wealth
  • Support missions are not widely available
  • Missions and Rewards are not shared with the team
  • A previously present codex entry is now missing
  • Stolen tritium cannot be donated into a fleet carrier’s fuel depot
  • Too much CC returned when systems revolt.
  • Mission Reward Material Missing
  • Deposit fragments stuck inside the rock
  • Unable to interact with Comms Panel in head look
  • Some rock scatter only visual in right eye in VR
  • Seeker and Packhound Missiles do double damage against shields
  • Choosing +Influence reward from missions gives no influence
  • CZ captain defence incorrectly rewards credit bonds for the enemy faction

In addition to Odyssey Update 7 we’re pleased to confirm that a number of these fixes and QoL improvements will be deployed to Horizons players on both PC and console in September – we will of course share full patch notes for both around release.

Upcoming Updates and Content

Please note: These are at varying stages of progress. This is not an exhaustive list of everything that is being considered. They are not final, so they are subject to change. We will keep you updated with news and details as they progress, and we expect the content to release over the coming few updates. With that said, here’s a look at just some of the features and content in consideration, to go alongside the other development work required for future updates.

The following items are planned to be included in Update 7 which is scheduled for mid-September:

Conflict Zone Anti-Air Defence and Dogfighting

Since the launch of Odyssey, many brave Commanders have dropped into Odyssey’s Conflict Zones to support their chosen faction in ongoing conflicts throughout the bubble. With Update 7 we’re taking Conflict Zones to the next level by rebalancing the sphere of combat, increasing the risk for airborne Commanders and introducing new gameplay for those on the ground.

Each active Conflict Zone will have new anti-air turrets to defend against airborne attack. Commanders in the air will need to work with those on the ground to disable them. In addition, AI ships will also be deployed to Conflict Zones for the first time, allowing Commanders to experience exhilarating in-atmosphere dogfights as the battle rages below.

You can see both of these in action in the video below:

Enforcer units coming to Conflict Zones

Following the deployment of Enforcer units to Odyssey’s military installations, we’ll be introducing rocket launcher equipped infantry to active Conflict Zones, increasing the risk for any Commanders hoping to pick off easy prey from the comfort of their SRV.

New Social Hub styles

These screenshots show some of the variation added for Update 7, making station interiors more clearly linked to their installation type. Changes include elements such as swapping out railings with alternatives, replacing crates and planters with other props to better suit the theme, using different partitions and wall pieces, swapping beams and roof sections, and adding pipes or more industrial looking geometry.

In addition, wealthy services and high tech stations now show less rubbish and junk on the floors, while the agricultural, industrial and asteroid stations are progressively more untidy.

Apex Redirect

You’ll soon be able to redirect your Apex shuttle mid-flight. Our UI team have been hard at work to make this a seamless experience with redirection options from the Navigation list, Galaxy and System Maps

Increased stored modules and bookmarks

Stored module and Bookmark limits will be increased from their previous limits to 200. We are pleased to be able to deliver this community request.

AMD Fidelity FX CAS

By popular demand, AMD Fidelity FX CAS will be reintroduced as an option in Update 7. This is mutually exclusive to FSR which has its own integrated RCAS system.

Here is a selection of the other features currently in development. As mentioned above, this is not an exhaustive list of everything that is being considered. They are not final, so they are subject to change. As we get closer to their release we will announce which of these will be included in each Update:

Horizons Cosmetics in Odyssey

Our character team have been hard at work overhauling Horizon’s flight suit cosmetics to make them compatible with Odyssey’s EVA suits. While we still have a little way still to go, you can see some of the results which we plan to bring to the game soon, below.

Four Player Multicrew

We’re pleased to share that we are making great progress on this feature, with a number of ships now in test with four Commanders on the bridge. More details will be released closer to release.

New Odyssey Engineers in Colonia

We’d like to introduce Rosa Dayette, one of Odyssey’s upcoming new Engineers based out in Colonia.

Born and raised in a starport within a feudalist system, Rosa had few obvious skills in her youth. She was an average student, suffered from stage fright and found athletic competition dull. But she did have a passion for mechanical things, fascinated by the constant stream of ships outside her apartment window. With a combination of donated, swapped and refurbished tools, she began to tinker on the gadgets in her home, looking to reverse engineer them to learn how the various components work.

Her natural talent blossomed, and over time she started working on her neighbour’s technology, patching up suits or manual equipment. This became helping out friends of friends, then distant acquaintances; as Rosa approached adulthood people from across the station would turn up at her door with things to fix. Her family apartment eventually resembled a workshop.

And yet she would rarely charge people credits for her time. Her enjoyment of the work and tendency to trade skills led her to accept favours instead of credits. A fixed datapad in exchange for homecooked meals. An upgraded power coupling for free apartment cleaning. Word of Rosa’s talents reached a local businessman who operated a suit supply store. An experienced mechanic himself, he offered Rosa an opportunity to help out at his shop in return for some second-hand suits, weapons and other equipment. Rosa accepted, drawn by the chance to examine far more interesting gear than the home appliances and commercial technology she was used to.

After many happy years of this arrangement, her mentor passed away. What little he had to bequeath was given to Rosa, along with a hand-written note asking Rosa to leave the starport and pursue her dream of a full workshop. Rosa did so, announcing to her friends that she would seek employment with an engineer. As word spread throughout the community, a collection was held to fund this new venture; the many Rosa had helped so selflessly, for so long, gladly contributed. To Rosa’s astonishment, it was just enough to establish her own workshop in Colonia.

Rosa found her local celebrity discomforting, having felt that helping the community was a responsibility rather than something notable. Yet deep down she recognises that she could have made a comfortable living from her talents, but chose to remain true to her principles. Now she enjoys total autonomy in a new community, excited by the opportunity while missing her friends dearly.

Mission feature extensions

Work is still ongoing to expand mission features for Odyssey with the aim to increase mission diversity and create stronger links between the in-cockpit and on foot gameplay. We hope to share more on this soon.

Megaship Social Spaces

Last but not least, we’re excited to share that work is now underway to bring social spaces to Megaships. This will allow us to position a base for on-foot services, such as Vista Genomics and Pioneer Supplies, anywhere in the galaxy.

As with previous development updates, what we’ve shared today is just a snapshot of what we’re working on. We will be sharing more details on the content mentioned above, further bug fixes, performance improvements and of course more as-yet-unannounced content in further monthly development updates and across our other channels.

Thank you as always for your continued feedback and support.

Beyond: Chapter 4 – Beta #4: Is Live!

Updated: 21st November 2018 @ 12.16am

At 2:05pm on the 20th November 2018 Frontier announced the details for the final part of the Beyond: Chapter 4 Beta. You can see them below or here on the official website. You can read what Frontier have said about Thargoid Conflict Zones, here. Patch notes will appear in this thread once released by Frontier. There will also be a live stream on the 22nd November at 7pm (UTC) to demonstrate the new Thargoid Conflict Zones.

“We’re pleased to announce that the next set of beta content for Beyond – Chapter Four will be Thargoid Conflict Zones and a brand-new Thargoid-attacked Megaship scenario!

“We will bring the beta servers down at 10:00 (UTC) on 21 November. Following the update, the beta server will be live at approximately 11:00 (UTC) on 21 November. There is a chance that this could run over, so we really appreciate your patience. As usual with these updates we’ll keep you as up to date as possible.

“Slightly different to previous beta additions, this Thargoid content will only be available in the Maia system during the Beyond – Chapter Four beta, though it will be available across all modes.

“Alongside this new content (below), you’ll be able to continue testing all of the previous content!

“To take part in the beta, all you’ll need to do is load up the launcher and select (and update) the following product: Elite Dangerous – Horizons – Beta (3.3). Once that has been completed, you’ll then have access to the Beyond – Chapter Four beta. If this hasn’t appeared, please restart your launcher.

“If you’d like information as the beta progresses, you can also subscribe to our Beyond – Chapter Four Beta newsletter by clicking here.

“We can’t wait to hear what you think of the new Thargoid Conflict Zones and Megaship Scenario!”

Additionally,

“The next beta update will also include various bug fixes and improvements. We’ve made some adjustments to mining itself and all of the details will be available in the patch notes published prior to the beta update.”

 > Patch Notes


Incursion State

  • Incursion state added, along with
  • Thargoid Conflict Zone scenario (“AX Conflict Zones”)
  • Damaged megaship scenarios
  • For the Beta, the Maia system has been manually set to the incursion state, and these scenarios should appear there

Comms

  • Added a toggle to turn off the profanity filter (under the options tab in the comms panel)

Audio Options

  • Updated audio options:
  • Default/optimal volume position is now marked, allowing the player to return to default easily
  • All sliders (apart from the 3 “master” sliders (sounds, music, voice)) can be boosted as well as cut
  • Note: User volume slider positions will be reset to default on this update (this is a one time only reset)

Bug Fixes and Improvements

Anaconda

  • Fixed incorrect white lights in cockpit

Background Sim

  • Added galaxy map filter for the new ‘Civil Liberty’ state
  • Added text to indicate the happiest system in the ‘Faction Allegiance’ section in Squadrons
  • Added icons to states listed in the System Map
  • Pirate attacks and outbreaks will now occur automatically
  • Fixed Conflict Zones not always spawning in systems at War

Cobra Mk.III

  • Fixed misaligned thrusters

Codex

  • Fixed an issue where a planet that didn’t have a terraformed status set would default to being terraformable (when it shouldn’t be)
  • Fixed overlapping text in the Archive section
  • Galactic region no longer resets to your location when searching the Discoveries section
  • Added ‘Distance Traveled in an SRV’ stat
  • Narration added for “Individuals” knowledgebase articles

Comms

  • Increased the volume of the background chatter in Conflict Zones
  • Increased the chat spam limit from 3 to 5 (fixes some Voice Attack issues)
  • Fixed issue that caused chat messages not to be delivered when the recipient was on main menu

Controls

  • The binding for entering the vanity cam in ship and SRV can now be bound to the same button

COVAS

  • Increased the volume of ‘Jefferson’

Crashes/Stability

  • Fixed a crash that could occur when leaving a Resource Extraction Site
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when using the Subsurface Displacement missile
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when jumping to another system
  • Fixed crash that could occur when opening the Codex
  • Fixed that could occur when entering a Conflict Zone
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when players ship is destroyed
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when using the Pulse Wave Analyser
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when using the Prospector Limpet
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when switching ships
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when in the FSS mode
  • Fixed holo-me being incorrectly selectable from the SRV, leading to a softlock
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when switching between 3D modes
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when opening the Codex after a recent discovery
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when selling Exploration Data
  • Fixed instances of “authentication server” disconnections from mission servers

Crime & Punishment

  • Added clarification to the bounty transaction details, to explain the implications of the Kill Warrant Scanner

Decals

  • Fixed reversed decal slots on Cobra Mk.III and Imperial Cutter

Exploration

  • The Detailed Surface Scanner will now auto hide in the fire groups HUD while in normal space
  • Fixed an audio issue that could cause the scanning sound to get stuck and loop
  • Fixed an issue which meant players couldn’t buy exploration data when docked at a port
  • Stopped the ship voice line from needlessly repeating when the system has been fully scanned
  • Fixed an issue where the info panel would not update to show a planets signals while in the DSS mode
  • Fixed an issue that was preventing players from firing probes a rings around stars (the star itself can still not be probed, which is intended behaviour)
  • Bodies now appear when using the FSS mode in non-Horizon versions of the game
  • Increased the sensitivity range on the FSS movement controls
  • Added sensitivity control to the spectrum analysis bar
  • FSS mouse binding now no longer gives a ‘roll’ option
  • Scanning a nav beacon now returns full system data (ring details were missing)
  • Fixed issue that could cause ‘false’ signals to appear that couldn’t be resolved
  • The threat level of a USS is now displayed when zoomed in on it
  • The system map now indicates if the planet has been mapped or not
  • Added message when a body is passively scanned
  • Fixed an issue that was causing some bodies to appear on the system map, but were unable to be discovered using the FSS mode
  • Fixed impossible to meet efficiency targets
  • Info panel now has 2 lines to display messages on
  • Fixed some Thargoid signal sources being identified as Guardian

Federal Corvette

  • Fixed visual issues on fitted ship kit when using a paint job

Friends and Private Groups

  • Fixed a hang that could occur when browsing a very large group

General

  • Fixed issue where dropping out at ports in asteroid clusters wasn’t dropping the player near it
  • Fixed an issue that meant certain Port contacts were erroneously appearing
  • Fixed issue where Thargoid probes weren’t spawning correctly
  • Fixed issue where the left hand panel would become unresponsive when return to the players ship from an SRV
  • Fixed missing leading reticle for the Flechette launcher
  • Fixed issue that could lead to the left hand panel becoming unresponsive

Holo-me

  • Fixed some graphical issues on the avatar portrait

Lighting

  • Reduced brightness in galaxy map

Localisation

  • ‘Search’ wasn’t translated in the Friends and Private Groups menu
  • Fixed various typos
  • Fixed incorrect text on ‘Galactic Powers’ button on the home tab
  • Fixed truncated text on the ‘Galactic Powers’ button in German
  • Added translations for Detailed Surface Scanner options
  • Replaced placeholder text with actual text in Fine description

Mamba

  • Fixed thrusters not changing colour when applying engine colours
  • Fixed misaligned vanity preview cameras
  • Balance pass on boost, speed, and pitch and roll rates
  • Should now dissipate heat quicker (in line with the FDL)

Megaships

  • Fixed Z-fighting issue

Mining

  • Added information on what is inside a motherlode asteroid to the data returned by the prospector limpet
  • Added extra detail to the Subsurface Displacement Missiles outfitting description, to explain the pull and hold trigger feature
  • Fixed graphical issue after using a Displacement Missile
  • NPC ships now use their mining lasers once again
  • Fixed missing targets, UI and feedback when a multicrew member joins after a prospector limpet has been used
  • Added extra feedback icons to the areas that represent the different yield ranges when attempting to crack an asteroid apart
  • Tweaked the pulse wave analyser results to be less broad and more focused at range
  • Added new, high value materials to the motherlode asteroids (free floating materials and new surface deposits, which are found after cracking the asteroid open)
  • Increased the ammo capacity of the new mining tools
  • Stopped depleted asteroids from appearing gold when scanned with the Pulse Wave Analyser

Missions

  • Removed restriction on in space collect missions, to allow players to take them even if their ships cargo hold is below the amount needed (they will use the Cargo Depot feature)

Multicrew

  • Fixed the target panel for the gunner role
  • Fixed issue where select the view report button didn’t take players directly to the screen

Orrery

  • Fixed incorrect planetary ring orientation

Outfitting

  • Updated the refinery text to change the refernce of “Mining Laser” to “Mining Tools”

Player Journal

  • Fixed duplicate scan events
  • Fixed some wing mission cargo reported as stolen
  • FSSSignalDiscovered: add USSType info (§6.6)
  • Add new FSSAllBodiesFound event (§6.4)
  • Scan events generated automatically when entering system now logged as “ScanType”:”AutoScan” (§6.3)
  • Add new event MultiSellExplorationData (§6.10)
  • Faction info in Location/FSDJump: if it’s the player’s squadron faction, add SquadronFaction:true, and flags HappiestSystem:true or HomeSystem:true if relevant (§4.8)

Render

  • Fixed high res screen shot feature when zoomed into a body in FSS
  • Fixed some Z-fighting found at Platers’s Tyranny port
  • Fixed some flickering on glass materials in stations
  • Make the light diffusion through volumetrics similar in appearance across graphics settings.
  • Cockpit geometry occludes ship schematics now
  • Fixed some jittering in ring fog
  • Fixed for brightness of mining related volumetric effects when in shadow of planet
  • Fixed rendering of glass material behind fog in stations

Ship Name Plates

  • Text size is now affected when using leading and/or trailing spaces

Squadrons

  • Randomised the results when browsing
  • Added a new ‘Mentor’ activity tag
  • Fixed issue where players could not use the gamepad to select a member to hand over the Squadron to
  • The members list now defaults to sorting by rank (high – low)
  • Shortened the invite text to solve truncated text
  • Tags can now be edited after the Squadron has been created
  • Fixed the Squadron feed tab being incorrectly reset upon ship destruction
  • Players can now transfer ownership to players that are not currently online
  • Faction alligence page now uses current state rather than pending state
  • After a player is promoted/demoted, permissions are now granted/taken away immediately
  • Tags can now be used to filter Squadron results
  • Fixed a transaction server error when sharing a starport or settlement bookmark
  • Fixed a bug preventing some pre-registered squadrons from changing their faction affiliation
  • Fixed exploration data and CQC results not always being added to the squadron leaderboards

Stellar Forge

  • Corrected the orbit of the moon around Earth

Vanity Camera

  • Stopped the ship cockpit UI rendering through the pilots chair

VR

  • Ensured the ring scan effect (and hotspots) are correctly occluded by the planet geometry in both eyes.
  • Fixed issue that causes the camera to clip through the pilots body more than usual

 

Beyond: Chapter 4 – Beta #3 is Live!

Updated at: 2:38pm with link to known issues.

At 11:00am (UTC) on the 14th November 2018, Frontier released the Beta #3 (Ships) release on to the live server for testing. You can see the details here or read full details of the content here. The patch notes can be seen below or on the official site, here. You can find a list of known issues here.

> Patch Notes


New Ships

Krait Phantom (Falcon DeLacy)

With a spacious cargo hold and a relatively generous quantity of hardpoints, the Krait Phantom is a versatile ship suited to a range of roles. It has enough firepower to hold its own against larger targets, and enough straight-line speed to outpace smaller targets. The ship also offers eight internal compartments, allowing the pilot to tailor the ship to their requirements. And while it lacks the firepower and fighter bay of its sister ship, the Krait Mk II, it is both faster and lighter.

  • 2 large and 2 medium hardpoints
  • 8 Internal optional slots
  • Top speed of 256m/s and a boost speed of 358m/s
  • 23LY laden FSD range

Mamba (Zorgon Peterson)

Based on an unreleased racing prototype, the Mamba is one of the fastest ships in production. It can also deliver a lot of punishment, boasting one huge and two large hardpoints. This emphasis on firepower and speed means the ship can hit hard and fast, vanishing before the target has a chance to react. Comparisons to the Fer-de-Lance, also produced by Zorgon Peterson, will be inevitable, but the Mamba is in fact faster in a straight line, while being slightly less manoeuvrable. 

  • 1 huge, 2 large and 2 small hardpoints
  • 5 internal optional slots
  • Top speed of 316m/s and a boost speed of 387m/s
  • 37LY laden FSD range

Scenarios

New scenarios can now be found:

  • Installations – Raid and Heist
  • Megaship – Heist
  • Damaged Megaship – Rescue and Repair

Quality of Life

  • Added icon to info panel to show players if their ship or SRV lights are on

Bug Fixes and Improvements

Cockpit UI

  • Fixed some typos in the playlist tab
  • Fixed the broken ‘Frameshift Active…’ message on the right hand panel

Codex

  • Fixed missing characters in Russian
  • Ensure the summary of a discovery entry in the session log matches the detail
  • Added some missing icons
  • Fix some unlocalised strings
  • Fix a cause for codex vouchers sometimes being unsellable
  • Fix for multicrew crew members discovering things in the wrong star-system
  • Fix some audio logs not grouping correctly
  • Give INRA audio logs their own category

Comms

  • Fixed instances where direct messages from other players where coming through as ‘Unidentified’
  • Fix some issues for not always being placed into the correct star-system’s chat

Controls

  • Fixed an issue where some players were unable to bind controls correctly
  • Added a new default scheme ‘Keyboard and Mouse with Yaw’

Crashes/Stability

  • Fixed a crash that could occur whilst mining in an asteroid ring
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when viewing Squadron applications
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when opening the galaxy or system map
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when mining with night vision on
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when jumping into a new system
  • Fixed crash that could occur when dropping into a ‘Notable Stellar Phenomena’ location
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when using the FSS mode
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when exiting the game
  • Fixed crashed that could occur when dropping out at a weapons fire detected USS
  • Fixed crash that could occur when changing 3D settings and exiting the graphics menu
  • Fixed a crash that could occur in hyperspace
  • Fixed crash that could occur when opening the Codex
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when in the outfitting screens
  • Fixed a crash that could occur in a Multicrew session

Eagle MkII

  • Fixed smoke from over heating going through the cockpit

Engineers

  • Reduced the grade thresholds of the Colonia engineers
  • Fixed legacy engineering modifications on DSS module are converted for new ones (and references to old ones are removed)

Exploration

  • FSS mouse sensitivity control option now works
  • Fixed some locations that couldn’t be zoomed in on
  • Fixed probes sometimes going through bodies
  • Increased the text field for SAA gravity gauge (fixes some localisation issues)
  • Added surface locations found after probing a body to the system map
  • Planet surface signals are now targetable outside of Analysis mode
  • Added the number of bodies info to the ‘Orbital Plane Established’ alert
  • Fixed the discovery scanner SFX getting stuck looping
  • Fixed issue where players could zoom in and discover a metal rich body whilst tuned to the asteroid section on the filtered spectral analysis
  • Fixed missing info panel data when scanning a K class star for the first time
  • Fixed an issue that could cause the planet map % to decrease whilst probing
  • Changed the ‘scenarios’ section of the FSA to Concentrated signal sources and Transient signal sources
  • Fixed surface signals disappearing after logging off
  • Shortened the “Short Range Composition Scanner” name to “Composition Scanner”
  • Added support for FSS tuning to be bound to in-outs that don’t auto-center
  • Changed HOTAS joystick bindings to avoid FSS tuning and movement being on the same hand
  • Now able to bind enter and exit FSS to the same button
  • Fixed bodies rendering over their rings after beiing fully mapped
  • Fixed asteroid clusters reporting high temperatures in FSS
  • Added ‘First Mapped’ to system map
  • Clarified the info message that appears when trying to enter FSS mode whilst charging the FSD
  • Renamed ‘Radio Tuning Minimum Increase/Decrease’ to ‘Increase/Decrease Tuning’ in control options
  • Updated info message theme when turning off analysis mode
  • Updated info message when a target is too close to zoom in to from ‘Adaptive Zoom Blocked’ to ‘Target too close’
  • Ensure the efficiency target can actually be met
  • Fix a transaction server error when selling a page of exploration data that has zero credits value
  • Fix some issues with planets not being targetable and not always displaying correctly on the system map or in FSS mode

Factions

  • Fix some issues when spawning conflict zones in certain star systems
  • Ensure settlement & codex vouchers correctly affect the faction simulation

Friends Management

  • Fix some friends not always displaying correctly

General

  • Fixed unreachable listening post In the “HIP 16753” system
  • Fixed missing text in the Rhenium material description
  • Fixed incorrect details title for Chemical processors material description
  • Automatically fix ships with more than one FSD Interdictor modules

Installations

  • Added a new space bar, “The Orange Sidewinder” …for real this time

Lighting

  • Fixed lighting issue on the planet in the Elevate CQC location

Localisation

  • Updated French translation of ‘High Metal Content World’
  • Removed the superfluous ‘;’ from the system map when player is wanted

Mining

  • Increased the cool down on the Pulse Wave Analyser, to allow the results to appear before players can trigger it again
  • Resource Extraction Sites should now appear in applicable areas of the game
  • Outfitting text for the Seismic Charge tool now mentions that it is used to break asteroids apart

Missions

  • Delivery and Smuggle missions now warn players about being cargo laden and reduced jump range
  • Reduce chance planetary Scan chooses POI owned by mission giver
  • Added ‘Open Galaxy Map’ option to megaship missions
  • Fixed issue where disabling defence turrets didn’t update or complete megaship disable missions
  • Added missing hand in faction information to delivery missions
  • Fixed race mission wrinkles appearing with very little time to complete them

Night Vision

  • Fixed some objects still being highlighted whilst in vanity camera

Options

  • Fixed typos in audio options menu
  • Fixed typos in controls options menu

Orrery

  • Ensured that all bodies that are discovered and displayed on the system map are also shown in the Orrery view
  • Removed non-functioning planet map button
  • Improve the line width scaling

Outfitting

  • Fixed incorrect value being shown for ‘Limpet Life Time’
  • Fixed incorrect schematic used for 8A thrusters
  • Added 1 more ship and 2 more utility stock slots to all markets

Player Journal 

  • FSSSignalDiscovered – if signal is a USS, add a ThreatLevel value; if signal is a station, add IsStation:true; add SystemAddress
  • Cargo – fix spurious extra events; add a flag to indicate vessel=Ship or Vessel=SRV
  • CodexEntry: add SystemAddress
  • json, Flags: add NightVision flag (bit28/0x10000000)
  • SendText: include a journal entry for text to squadron or system chat
  • ReceiveText: include a ‘Channel’ parameter to show if message was from squadron or system chat
  • SAAScanComplete: remove lists of names of discoverers and mappers

Port Services

  • Ensure ‘Exit’ button in Material Traders takes players back to contacts, not to the Fines and Bounty claims contact
  • Fixed broken ‘Welcome’ animation when opening the services menu
  • Fixed typos in search and rescue contact description

Powerplay

  • Fixed Crime Sweep conflict zones (both powers involved will now be actively fighting)

Rendering

  • Fixed dust mote popping in ring fog

Squadrons

  • The list of systems that appear in the Squadron allegiance page is now sorted by name
  • Fixed the Squadron logo used on the ‘browse more’ option
  • Added Squadron icon to ‘invite’ option
  • Remove placeholder text from Squadron invites
  • Fixed Alliance logo appearing when non Alliance super powers are selected
  • Can now invite players in local space, that are not friends
  • Added a popup notification when handing over a Squadron to a different member
  • Fix some dates not being displayed correctly
  • Fix some transaction server errors when managing squadron members
  • Fix for Powerplay leaderboard contributions not being counted
  • Fix for Powerplay & Political leaderboards not displaying
  • Fix authored messages not appearing in the squadron feed

Stellar Forge

  • Removed a ‘phantom’ third ring around “Paesia 2” which was causing players to drop out of Supercruise when nothing was there
  • Fixed wife dwarf jets cones being visible through bodies

Synthesis

  • Changed ‘bonus active’ text when refueling the SRV through synthesis

System Map

  • Ensure a state is shown for each faction listed, even if it is ‘None’
  • Fixed installations and megaships incorrectly displaying as surface settlements

VR

  • Increase the thickness of orbit lines in the orrery view
  • Ensure players can fully zoom into bodies in the orrery view
  • Fixed the background on intermediate FSS zoom levels warping
  • Fixed planet rings moving with the headset in FSS mode
  • Fixed the SRVs full beam lens flare causing visual issues
  • Fixed graphical errors when switching between FSS and SAA modes
  • Fixed inverted joystick animations
  • Fixed missing scan effect in FSS (that highlights areas of interest)
  • Fix various fog and jet cone issues

Beyond: Chapter 4 – Beta Announced

On the 15th October at 2pm Frontier announced the details of the Beta for Beyond: Chapter 4 along with a short promo trailer. The details can be seen below. Other web pages on this site will be updated to reflect this and any further news. You can see the full details on the official site here, or below including the trailer.

“Hello Commanders,

“With much anticipation, we’re pleased to announce that the beta for Chapter Four will be available to all PC Elite Dangerous and Elite Dangerous: Horizons players on Tuesday 30 October!

“In order to focus the public testing on specific aspects of Chapter Four, we will be unlocking different content over a number of different weeks. You can find out the schedule that content will be added to the beta here:

beta4info

“We are expecting beta milestones to go live on the Tuesday of each week. However, we will update you in the News and Announcement forums as each update is made available.

“As always we welcome your feedback on our dedicated beta and bug report forums. These reports, and the data provided, by these beta tests are incredibly valuable and useful in the development of Elite Dangerous. You can find a breakdown of Chapter Four’s features below:

Exploration

“The Analysis Mode with the improved Exploration Discovery Scanner and Detailed Discovery Scanner, is a game-changing, brand new way for all Commanders to explore the Milky Way galaxy. After the initial scan of the system, you will then be able to tune your scanners to find stellar bodies and other phenomena. Unidentified Signal Sources and conflict zones will also appear as dotted lines within this mode, allowing you to easily track down interesting or important things within the system. Not only is this new system a more realistic, satisfying and engaging exploration experience, but now you will be able to make more informed decisions on where to look next, and you will be more rewarded for your time spent exploring. Commanders will now have probes at their disposal to map the planetary surfaces, and planetary rings, in detail, to locate points of interest and leave your mark on the galaxy in a different way.

“All of the above, in addition to the new in-game codex where Commanders will see a new way of recording their findings in both a collaborative and individual way, are just a few things coming with the changes to exploration. We’re barely scratching the surface here with the changes to exploration, so make sure to tune in to the livestream on 18 October, to find out more.

Mining

“Asteroid belts and planetary rings are about to get very busy. New tools and mechanics will provide a fresh, exciting and lucrative mining experience for all Elite Dangerous Commanders. Using new exploration mechanics, miners can investigate rings to locate the best spots to start their mining sessions, and then the best specific asteroids to probe and excavate for rewards. With the right amount of skill and expertise, the new Abrasion blaster, Sub-surface displacement missile, and Seismic charge launcher, will provide some exciting and explosive results.

“Want to go deeper with these features and learn more about mining? Tune in to the livestream on 1 November, to find out more.

Squadrons

“Squadrons is a new in-game way of uniting like-minded Commanders to support factions of their choice, take part in Community Goals together and compete for top spots in seasonal leader boards. New communication tools, including in-game chat channels, will help you blaze trails together, and leave your Squadron’s mark on the galaxy.

“Learn more about Squadrons in our livestream on 30 October.

“…and more!

“There’s a number of other huge changes coming to Elite Dangerous, including visual improvements, background simulation updates, and (yet to be revealed) cockpit interface changes, and other features that we can’t wait to tell you about.

“Prior to the introduction of the content on the beta, we’ll be hosting a number of deep-dive livestreams with developer guests, where we showcase the content and you have the chance to voice your questions and comments.

The Chapter Four content reveal livestreams will be on the following dates:
Exploration, Codex and Visual Improvements – 18 October (19:00 BST)
BGS and Scenario Interactions – 25 October (19:00 BST)
Squadrons – 30 October (19:00 GMT)
Mining – 01 November (19:00 GMT)
The Ships – 8 November (19:00 GMT)

“If you’re not able to catch the streams, don’t worry! We will be posting a recap of the all the content unveiled shortly after each livestream.

“We can’t wait to see what you think!”

Lavecon 2018 – Beyond: News

On Saturday the 9th June 2018 Frontier attended the annual Lavecon meet and showcased some features coming in the Beyond Quarter 4 updates, as well as some things coming in the soon to be released Quarter 2 update.

You can see the details covering a large number of additions coming to Quarter 4 by visiting the page here. Changes to Quarter 2 can be seen here.

Patch Update: 2.3.10 [Beta #2]

At 3:10 on the 12th June Frontier released an update to the 2.3.10 Beta patch. The changes can be seen on the Frontier website here or below:


Stability Fixes

  • Fixed several crashes that have been reported during the beta that could occur in various situations

General Fixes & Tweaks

  • General text fixes
  • Fixed a target-able location in the Howard system
  • Audio: Various audio tweaks and fixes

Multi-Crew

  • Fixed an issue where the wings interface would disappear shortly after joining a Multi-Crew session

Player Journal

  • Faction Pending and Recovery state information is now included in the Player Journal
  • Addressed an issue whereby certain events were missing from the Player Journal
  • New “EngineerContribution” event for making donations to unlock an Engineer

Ships

  • Asp: Moved the camera closer to prevent clipping in livery outfitting

General Ship Audio Fixes and Improvements

  • Audio: Improvements to the “Rotational Correction” voice lines when returning to the helm from a fighter