Elite: Dangerous
| Elite: Dangerous | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Frontier Developments | ||
| Senior Developer | David Braben | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
December 16, 2014 | ||
| platform | Microsoft Windows , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 , macOS | ||
| Game engine | COBRA | ||
| genre | Space flight simulation , trading simulation | ||
| Subject | Science fiction | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer (each with an online connection) | ||
| medium | Download , DVD-ROM (only through direct sales) | ||
| Age rating |
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At Elite: Dangerous is a book published on December 16, 2014 science fiction - computer game , which the British development studio Frontier Developments , headed by David Braben was developed. The gameplay of the open world game with a persistent world and single player as well as massively multiplayer online game mode , which requires a permanent Internet connection, is based on a mixture of economic simulation and armed space flight simulation under the conditions of largely realistic space flight mechanics .
Central game elements of Elite: Dangerous go back to the classic computer game Elite , first published in 1984 by the British publisher Acornsoft and originally developed by Braben together with Ian Bell for the BBC Micro home computer . Elite: Dangerous is now the fourth part of the Elite computer game series and is considered the successor to the 1995 published third series Frontier: First Encounters . By the end of 2016, 2.1 million copies of the game had been sold worldwide.
Gameplay
It is in Elite: Dangerous is a open world , which includes a total of 400 billion star systems according to the developers. Of these, 160,000 systems correspond to real models, other systems are generated through procedural synthesis . In this context, emphasis was placed on one-to-one models of the solar systems and the most correct physical behavior possible. There are two game modes: In the solo campaign, the player is on his own, while in the multiplayer campaign, all other players act simultaneously. Their actions have an impact on the game, both in solo and multiplayer modes; An interim solution is the closed multiplayer game. A permanent online connection is mandatory for all modes.
Like its predecessors, the game has no actual plot. It begins in the year 3300, with the player starting with a ship of the Sidewinder type . Improvements and extensions of the ships or new acquisitions are only possible by making appropriate profits. The player is completely free to act as a trader, passenger transporter, bounty hunter, space pirate, smuggler, explorer or resource extraction worker. However, illegal actions by the player affect their status. A political conflict is indicated in the background: The relationship between the three great powers, the empire, the federation and the alliance, is tense, with a power struggle for successors looming within the empire.
The also available Close Quarter Combat mode ( CQC for short ) is an exception . In this mode, the player can compete against other players in a deathmatch , either in a team or alone. However, progress in the main game cannot be achieved here. The CQC mode is played with smaller ships, mostly fighters can be selected, and a sidewinder is also available.
development
The game was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign from November 6, 2012 to January 5, 2013, which raised approximately £ 1.5 million. The playable alpha version was released in December 2013 and the beta version for the Kickstarter campaign in May 2014. Until December 2014, the test players worked on eliminating errors and implementing feedback messages. On December 16, 2014, the finished game was released as a download on the official website.
According to Braben, there will also be additional expansions over time. Among other things, Braben mentioned in a video during the Kickstarter campaign that it should later also be possible to land on planets. This idea was then put into practice in December 2015 with Elite Dangerous: Horizons . A version for the OS X operating system was completed in May 2015. The game has been available for Xbox One since June 16, 2015. The version for PlayStation 4 was released on June 27, 2017 . Support for the OS X version of the game ended on December 12, 2018 with version 3.3.
reception
Reviews
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The new edition of the classic received a lot of attention in the press. Among other things, the graphic display, sound and music, the complete freedom of the game and the associated possibilities were praised. However, it was critically noted that the use of all functions requires some training (this relates primarily to the control) and the presentation of the trade is sometimes quite sober. Overall, the overall impression is quite positive.
GameStar criticizes the rather thin story thread, which only appears on the bulletin board in the form of text messages every few days.
The necessary online connection of the game had led to criticism in the run-up to the release, as this was originally excluded by Frontier Developments . David Braben argued that adjustments were also necessary for the solo mode, which were updated and incorporated into the dynamically designed game.
Nominations for prizes
As part of the BAFTA Video Games Awards 2016 , the u. a. Elite Dangerous: Horizons expansion allowing planet landings to be nominated in spring 2017 as the best video game in the “Evolving Games” category.
The expansion Elite Dangerous: Beyond , which includes numerous improvements to gameplay, was also nominated as best video game in the "Evolving Games" category for the BAFTA Video Games Awards 2019 .
Sales figures
As of January 9, 2015, over 300,000 digital and physical copies of Elite: Dangerous had been sold worldwide, according to Frontier Developments' investor report . This significantly exceeded the publisher's expectations, who had calculated with 250,000 copies sold by May 2015. In April 2015, the mark of 500,000 copies sold was exceeded. In January 2016, the number of copies sold was 1.4 million. By the end of 2016, the number of total sales worldwide had grown to 2.1 million.
Web links
- Official website ( only partially in German )
- Achim Fehrenbach: Once through the Milky Way and back . In: Zeit Online , December 17, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ Andreas Link: Elite: Dangerous is here: 12,000 euros for the first triple elite veteran. In: PC Games Hardware. December 16, 2014, accessed May 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Elite Newsletter 36 (August 2014)
- ↑ Elite: Dangerous explores the limitless depths of space, and of human cruelty (correction) ( Memento of October 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Yahoo Games, December 4, 2014 (English)
- ↑ Alexander Bohn-Elias: Elite: Dangerous - procedural generation vs. handmade worlds. In: Eurogamer . July 22, 2014, accessed September 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Interview with David Braben ; Article in The New Yorker
- ↑ Article at PC Games Hardware
- ↑ Project description at Kickstarter.com
- ↑ Elite Newsletter 32 (August 2014)
- ↑ Homepage Elite: Dangerous / Xbox One
- ↑ Homepage Elite: Dangerous / Playstation 4
- ↑ Announcement on the Frontier Forum .
- ↑ Elite: Dangerous for PC Reviews . In: Metacritic . January 6, 2015. Accessed January 6, 2015.
- ^ Dan Whitehead: Elite: Dangerous review - Haul or nothing . In: Eurogamer . January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ Andy Kelly: Elite: Dangerous review . GamesRadar . December 18, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ↑ a b Martin Deppe: Elite: Dangerous Test. Without a plan in space. Game Star, December 20, 2014, accessed July 9, 2015 .
- ↑ a b Martin Deppe: Elite: Dangerous Test. The unepic epic. Game Star, January 17, 2015, accessed July 9, 2015 .
- ^ IGN review . In: IGN . January 13, 2015. Accessed January 13, 2015.
- ↑ Chris Thursten: Elite: Dangerous review . In: PC Gamer . December 23, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ↑ a b PC Games
- ↑ a b Gordon Cameron: Review: Inspiring, Complex 'Elite: Dangerous' Sometimes Wobbles but Often Soars. Yahoo, December 23, 2014, accessed July 9, 2015 .
- ↑ a b Gamefront.com
- ↑ a b The Guardian
- ↑ Roger Hargreaves: Elite: Dangerous review - Han Solo simulator . In: The Metro . January 5, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ↑ time online ; T-Online ; Heise Online ; Stuttgart newspaper
- ↑ Article at PC Games Hardware
- ^ Eleanor Pickering, Johanna Hatch: Nominations List for the British Academy Games Awards in 2017. In: BAFTA. March 9, 2017, accessed May 19, 2019 .
- ↑ BAFTA Games Awards winners 2019. In: BAFTA. April 4, 2019, accessed May 19, 2019 .
- ↑ Tobias Ritter: Elite: Dangerous - sales figures exceed expectations. In: GameStar. January 12, 2015, accessed April 23, 2017 .
- ↑ Andre Linken: Elite: Dangerous - Powerplay patch details & sales figures. In: GameStar. April 24, 2015, accessed July 9, 2015 .
- ↑ Ben Barnett: Elite: Dangerous sales figures released, 1.4 million copies sold to budding space professionals. In: PC Games News. January 14, 2016, accessed April 24, 2017 .
- ^ John Harrington: Frontier Developments coasts into 2017. In: Proactive Investors. February 9, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Frontier Developments PLC Trading Update. In: ADVFN. January 16, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2017 .