Today we took to the stage at EGX 2015 to announce some of the standout features you'll get as part of the Elite Dangerous: Horizons season of expansions.
You've probably already seen the brief teaser trailer we debuted at Gamescom giving an all-too-brief glimpse of Planetary Landings - we'll be showing much, much more of it in the coming weeks!
Planetary Landings itself is just the first part of the full season of Elite Dangerous: Horizons expansions.
If you missed us at EGX you can watch the archived stream at EGX's YouTube channel, We hope you enjoy this peek ahead at some of the season's exclusive features.
On planetary and lunar surfaces you'll find new activities, new enemies and whole new ways to experience Elite Dangerous.
Real 1:1 scale worlds of staggering variety and beauty offer endless new gameplay possibilities.
Ship-Launched Fighters can be docked in your ship's hold to give you a far greater range of options to tackle any situation in which you find yourself. Deploy your fighter under AI control or take the stick yourself and fly into battle while your mothership lies in wait.
Multi-Crew lets you fly in the same ship with friends, which will up the intensity and camaraderie levels of a joint mission even further! You'll be able to share and alternate control of weapons systems, turrets and flight duties to multiply your effectiveness. Even to the extent of piloting a ship-launched fighter and working in combination with the mothership. It'll be especially useful in some of the very large trading ships coming in season two.
The all-new Commander Creator brings your in-game presence to life for the first time, and lets you identify friends with a quick glance across your ship's bridge. Its the first step in the longer term plans we have for you, Commander...
There are features that are trickier to illustrate but still very significant, like the extensions to the mission system with new military missions and rank progression, Powerplay missions and chained missions which will deliver an even richer gameplay experience. And as already announced, season two will introduce a new loot and crafting system, letting you create unique equipment.
The Viper Mk IV
And there's more to come later this year for all players. The launch of the CQC expansion is just a few weeks away, and the ‘Ships' expansion (Elite Dangerous 1.5) later this year will introduce a number of new spacecraft to the galaxy, including the awesome new Viper Mk IV.
We're happy to announce that, as promised, every player who backed our original Kickstarter at Beta level or above will find a Viper Mk IV docked at a starport for free in ‘Ships'.
The Viper Mk IV
Planetary Landings, Multi-Crew, Ship-Launched Fighters, the Commander Creator, new missions, and a new loot and crafting system are just some of the headline features you'll find in Elite Dangerous: Horizons new season of expansions. We're looking forward to having you join us when Elite Dangerous: Horizons lands later this year.
Bobbleheads Are Back
We had a special surprise for the crowd at EGX. That's right: Bobbleheads Are Back!
Early backers will remember the Toku Bobblehead from the Elite Dangerous Alpha and Beta, and we're excited to announce a whole new collection of Bobbleheads will be available starting with Elite Dangerous 1.5: Ships.
To celebrate, we're offering the flightsuited Commander Braben Bobblehead for a limited time only at the Frontier Store. Pre-order now and you'll find Elite's co-creator ready to sit upon your ship's dashboard this Holiday season.
SteamVR Comes to Elite Dangerous
We're very excited to announce that Vive support is coming as a free update to Elite Dangerous this Holiday season. The HTC Vive will be the first virtual reality headset available to consumers, and Elite Dangerous will support Vive on the PC via a future free-to-all-players update.
SteamVR and HTC's Vive's high-resolution OLED display make for a truly stunning VR experience. SteamVR support has been up and running at the studio for a while, and Valve's own Chet Faliszek commented on Twitter this week: 'This was my most anticipated game to "test" - lots of "testing".'
High resolution VR has always been important to Elite Dangerous and to Frontier's team – we designed-in the concept from day one. We're working to make sure Elite Dangerous remains the world's best virtual reality gaming experience from the moment players are able to don VR headsets.
If you're coming to EGX this weekend, we're offering Elite Dangerous Vive demonstrations on the Elite Dangerous and HTC stands. So make sure you come and see us and tell us the newsletter sent you!