Elite: Dangerous. I broke down.

[Jarhead0331]

Do the beta buyers get New Horizons for free?

It depends on when you bought in to the game. For instance, I bought in at the $150 level as "premium beta backer", which gives me a lifetime pass to all future content for free.

Alpha Backers and Premium Beta Backers have an automatic lifetime pass to all future content and expansions. There was a period of time where you could have bought a lifetime expansion pass separately, but I don't think they offer those anymore.

I already own Elite: Dangerous, what am I entitled to?

    I'm an Alpha backer! What do I get?


Alpha backers are invited to participate in the Elite Dangerous: Horizons beta and will automatically get access to the full series of expansions the moment they are released! This includes those who bought Alpha access via the store before we launched the game.

    I'm a Premium Beta backer, do I get access Elite Dangerous: Horizons?


Yes! Premium Beta owners also have the Lifetime Expansion Pass by default and can access the Elite Dangerous: Horizons beta on November 24th as well as the full release when it becomes available.

    I have the Standard Beta version of Elite: Dangerous, what do I get?


Elite Dangerous: Horizons is a brand new set of expansions for Elite: Dangerous but is not included in the standard beta package. You can purchase beta access to Elite Dangerous: Horizons on the Frontier Store if you'd like to help us test it!

    I'm a Lifetime Expansion Pass holder, do I get access to Elite Dangerous: Horizons?


Absolutely. You're entitled to every expansion we release for Elite: Dangerous!

    Do I also get to try the beta of Elite Dangerous: Horizons?


Yes. The Lifetime Expansion Pass also grants access to the beta of the Elite Dangerous: Horizons expansion season when it opens on November 24th.

    I didn't pick up the Lifetime Expansion Pass during the Kickstarter, is it available again?


The Lifetime Expansion Pass was removed from the Store on September 14th 2015. We may make it available again in the future, but have no plans to do so at this time.

    Can I purchase beta access into the Elite Dangerous: Horizons expansion?


You certainly can, you can purchase beta access for it via our store which will also get you access to Elite Dangerous: Horizons upon release.

See more info. here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=172800

[undercovergeek]

I feel sorry for all the guys not in the know that just dropped their money on the steam sale of elite without knowing horizons is just round the corner, but that's based on the assumption that everyone will migrate to the new game

A question then, if I'm in horizons and Bob is in vanilla - will we see each other?

[Staggerwing]

I bought in at the $75 level on Sept 13, 2014. All my invoice says is "Elite Dangerous Beta". IIRC, there was a $50 and a $75 level beta. Hopefully the $75 was the 'premium' beta that came with the lifetime pass but I can't find anything at the website telling how to ID what beta I have.

[JudgeDredd]

Mine cost £100...can't remember what it says or what I get. Someone on here abouts mentioned I would get Horizons...I guess I'll find out soon enough.

[Grim.Reaper]

I bought in at the $75 level on Sept 13, 2014. All my invoice says is "Elite Dangerous Beta". IIRC, there was a $50 and a $75 level beta. Hopefully the $75 was the 'premium' beta that came with the lifetime pass but I can't find anything at the website telling how to ID what beta I have.

Pretty sure the $75 version just got you into the beta sooner, but did not come with lifetime pass for all future content.  And pretty sure the $50 version was just a pre order that didn't include beta access at all  I paid $150 for the premium beta, which at the time included early access and also the lifetime pass.

[Staggerwing]

Oh well. I couldn't find an answer in that 56-page thread so I posted the question in it just in case. Hopefully some kind soul will enlighten me rather than just say "RTFT!!!"

[bob48]

I feel sorry for all the guys not in the know that just dropped their money on the steam sale of elite without knowing horizons is just round the corner, but that's based on the assumption that everyone will migrate to the new game

A question then, if I'm in horizons and Bob is in vanilla - will we see each other?

...you just wanna blast me into a zillion particles and pinch my cargo pods. I know your game, matey.

[Yskonyn]

UG, yes in theory you can as long as you are in space.
Once people dive down to the surface you can't for obvious reasons.

But the 'friends' system has been weird in the base game forever now, sometimes making it hard to get into the same 'instance' with your friends. Even if you are in a Wing.
So I fully suspect the system staying weird once even more variables are introduced with Horizons. :)

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I feel sorry for all the guys not in the know that just dropped their money on the steam sale of elite without knowing horizons is just round the corner, but that's based on the assumption that everyone will migrate to the new game

A question then, if I'm in horizons and Bob is in vanilla - will we see each other?

...you just wanna blast me into a zillion particles and pinch my cargo pods. I know your game, matey.

And that's just on the M6.

[Freyland]

Yeah. It's a little bizarre how they are integrating the Horizons content into the original elite experience. It seems only logical to sell horizons as a separate add on or expansion. The way they are doing it seems to screw customers who bought elite after it left beta phase, while also presenting a dilemma to people who want to buy the game now.

I do feel bad for people who are interested in getting the game now, the best option, from a dollars and cents perspective, is to wait until horizons is released, but the wait can be hard!

Just to jump in here, having just went through this process last night, I can tell you that financially it is no different to buying the base game on sale now as well as the Horizons expansion (not the Beta), than it would be to wait.  I paid $14.99 for the base game, and got a $15 dollar discount on my Horizons purchase.  However, acting now *did* get me some paint jobs and ability to buy a Cobra Mark IV in Horizons which I presume is some sort of exclusive.  So, it was actually to my advantage to buy both now even though I have no personal plan to jump in at this very moment.

Freyland

[Father Ted]

pinch my cargo pods. I know your game, matey.

You can pinch my cargo pods any time.  Oh, wait, wrong forums.

[bob48]

...as in 'By heck, lad. Look at the cargo pods on that one.........'

[Jarhead0331]

Had some frustration with the Horizons beta last night. It took literally 4 hours for the files to sync and download. By the time it was ready to play it was approaching 1:00 a.m. Server stability was questionable and I got kicked out on two or three occasions. Can't really hold this against FD though considering everyone and their grandmother was playing this last night.

My bigger frustration was finding a damn station that actually sells the SRV. Loading the planetary flight module was easy enough, as all stations with outfitting capability seem to carry it, but I just could not find a station that sells the SRV and the SRV hangar. I went to 4 or 5 systems and at least that many stations. Nothing. I finally threw in the towel around 2:00 a.m. without having experienced any of the new key features.

Oh well, I'll try again tonight, if Just Cause 3 doesn't call me away.

[Yskonyn]

Been having some awesome fun with a friend yesterday. Our faction's home system sells everything we need and then some AND has about 5 planets we can visit.

Truely awesome that the whole planetfall is seamless! Flying into and out from bases is seamless and performance is pretty great.
We experienced some weird behaviour that took some figuring out, though, once you have landed at a base you can still activate your SRV.
It will spawn in the garage Below the landing pad you landed on.
But for some reason the game 'deletes' your ship as an active object once you have boarded your SRV.
You ship isn't visible anymore on your radar (green blip) and driving back into the garage doesn't trigger a 'Board ship' option.
You need to request docking clearance with the base from the SRV. This will 'activate' your ship, but it gets placed in the next available docking bay. In my case it magically warped from bay 7 to bay 1.
Then you can drive back into the garage of the new bay and dock your SRV in your ship again.
Clumsy system.

An easier way is to just drive out 5 km from the base and recall your ship.
Its a much more awesome sight too! Wow that scale that is now presented is so beautiful!
Oh and if you drive your SRV under the loading bay of your recalled ship, the retrieval of the SRV is animated! So cool!

Sounds are top notch! Really immersive experience. And skimming the surface with a friend as a wingman is just loin moisteningly cool!

Havent seen the other Horizons features yet.

[Jarhead0331]

Yeah. I finally was able to purchase a hangar module and SRV at a planetside base. I never did find any of these in orbital docks. Anyway, yes, the addition of planet approach, orbital ops and planet fall is an amazing accomplishment. It truly adds a new revolutionary dimension to the game. People will still complain that there is nothing to do once you land, but there is no doubt that planetside activities will be fleshed out overtime. Presently, just driving around and exploring the surface of a planet in an SRV is a lot of fun. The vehicles handle really well.

Even before horizons, even before beta, I felt that elite was something that needed to be experienced first hand in order to be believed. The future of space simulation is here now.