Elite: Dangerous. I broke down.

[RooksBailey]

A bunch of Elite news today in the newsletter:

We have a release date for the beta of Powerplay:

This week we're announcing our release date for the beta test version of Powerplay. That date is May 20, 2015, and we can't wait for you to play it.

So, it will probably go live in June?


Also, Steam keys are coming!

Hi everyone,

Some breaking news for you:

We'll soon be offering Steam keys to anyone who bought Elite: Dangerous from the EliteDangerous.com store who would like a key, and to anyone who buys the game from our store in the future.

We always appreciate it when you buy direct from our store because it means we can put more into supporting and developing Elite: Dangerous, but we know a number of long-time players and backers like to play through Steam and we think it's fair everyone has that option, not just new players.

Elite: Dangerous runs on Frontier's servers, so we've been working with Valve to give you a way to seamlessly connect your Steam and existing Frontier accounts in a way that's easy. It's coming soon. From May 28 you'll be able to generate a Steam key from your account page, and we'll have full instructions right here on the forums closer to the time.

The team really has been working hard on this one, and we're all super happy to finally have an answer for you. Thanks for bearing with us and thanks for playing, as always.

Edit: This applies to Kickstarter backers, too.

Ed

And Mac client:

We're pleased to announce Elite: Dangerous for Mac will leave beta and be available to everyone from May 12, 2015.

I've stopped playing Elite again because I really want to wait for the PP update, but I might have to dive in again before June arrives.   ;)

[Jarhead0331]

I must say Star Citizen is finally starting to shape up. It won't be too long before its competing with Elite.

[RooksBailey]

I must say Star Citizen is finally starting to shape up. It won't be too long before its competing with Elite.

I haven't been keeping tabs on SC.  What has changed in the last few months?

[Jarhead0331]

For me, it runs much smoother, I can now actually configure my controls and they work and they have added procedural damage, take-off, landing and most recently, a tutorial flight.

[JudgeDredd]

^ I've looked at Star Citizen briefly - and whilst it does look like it's coming on anywhere where I notice pricing, it scares me away.  :'(

[mikeck]

JH, how is the flight "modeling" compared to Elite? I felt like I was flying a heavy object in space with Elite

[Jarhead0331]

JH, how is the flight "modeling" compared to Elite? I felt like I was flying a heavy object in space with Elite

So far the craft in Star Citizen feel like very light and nimble fighters. They don't feel as heavy as the ships in Elite. That being said, there are so many ships in SC and I have only flown two or three of them, all of which are on the smaller end of the spectrum.

SC definitely has newtonian physics, though. You can turn off your flight assistant and use Newtons laws to your tactical advantage.

[JudgeDredd]

JH - there are a lot of ships but am I right in thinking you only get one stock ship with your purchase and then you have to pay for others? There looked like an awful lot to me and it seemed like it could get very expensive (if you wanted it to).

So they do any "packages" or is it too early for them to be thinking about such things?

[Jarhead0331]

JH - there are a lot of ships but am I right in thinking you only get one stock ship with your purchase and then you have to pay for others? There looked like an awful lot to me and it seemed like it could get very expensive (if you wanted it to).

So they do any "packages" or is it too early for them to be thinking about such things?

That is correct. Most pledges come with one ship. They do offer packages, but they are absurdly expensive. I mean like, $5,000 to $15,000 absurdly expensive! They also offer package upgrades which can bring you into a different chassis. These prices only exist during development. My understanding is that once the game releases, you will be able to purchase ships with in-game currency. So yeah, you can buy overpriced ships now with real cash, but if you can hold out, eventually you'll be able to buy them with money earned from within the game.

There is an Aurora package for $35 that comes with a hangar, some starting cash, 6 months of insurance and arena commander. That is the cheapest package out there. I bumped that ship up by another $10 to purchase the best ship in class, the Aurora LN. Its the only ship I presently own. The new tutorial mission lets you fly one of the other ships. I think its an Avenger. 

[SirAndrewD]

JH - there are a lot of ships but am I right in thinking you only get one stock ship with your purchase and then you have to pay for others? There looked like an awful lot to me and it seemed like it could get very expensive (if you wanted it to).

So they do any "packages" or is it too early for them to be thinking about such things?

When the persistent universe launches every ship will be purchasable with in game credits (UEC's), you won't need real money, at least so said Chris Roberts back at the beginning. 

The real money for ships thing is just for those wanting a head start on things for Arena Commander. 

I backed SC with a pretty big pledge in the initial fundraiser, but I'm content to wait for Squadron 42 and the persistent universe to actually dig into it. 

[JudgeDredd]

Thank you both.

I think I'll hold out until release...I've already got a potentially fantastic game (Elite Dangerous) - I don't need another potentially great game.

Looks good though.

[RooksBailey]

Thank you both.

I think I'll hold out until release...I've already got a potentially fantastic game (Elite Dangerous) - I don't need another potentially great game.

Looks good though.

Yeah, thanks for the info.  I haven't been following SC because I suspect it is still a long ways away from release.  Speaking of: what is the latest release estimate?

But like with the good Judge, I think I will keep my powder dry until the game is ready for release (and I upgrade my GPU  :) ).

[Jarhead0331]

Speaking of: what is the latest release estimate?

Full retail release is not expected until the end of 2016. Some of the alpha test modules were delayed by almost a year. I'll be impressed if we get the persistent universe and the first chapter of Squadron 42 before the end of 2015.

http://starcitizen.gamepedia.com/Release_schedule?cookieSetup=true

[Grim.Reaper]

Looks like free steam keys to anyone who bought from official store...coming may 28

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=143652&p=2208022#post2208022

[SirAndrewD]

Well Space Captains, tune your engines, test out your weapons configs and polish off a can of Raid or two.

These things started showing up at strong signal sources a couple of weeks ago.  You know what this means.

NOTE: Turn up your speakers.  The sound is apparently important.