Development Plans: Difference between revisions

[[Frontier Developments|Frontier]] has ambitious plans for ED since the early access phase.<ref name=":3" /> Frontier takes an iterative approach to ''Elite Dangerous'' content, gradually building upon features to expand and improve the game.

During an interview at [[Lavecon]] 2015, [[David Braben]] stated that he had a clear intention of a 10 year development plan for the game, which includes smaller free updates, paid major updates, and expansions.<ref>[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/lavecon-news.165775/ Frontier Forums: Lavecon News?]</ref> On March 1, 2019, Frontier stated they have a continued and unwavering commitment to making ''Elite Dangerous'' the most authentic, ambitious, and expansive evolving space game in the world.<ref name=":5">[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/important-community-update-01-03.479122/ Frontier Forums: Important Community Update (01/03)]</ref>

=== Season 1: Post-Launch ===

The first season of ''Elite Dangerous'' updates added various new features and content. It commenced after ''Elite Dangerous'' launched on December 16, 2014 and continued through 2015. Notable features include:<ref>[https://www.elitedangerous.com/en/seasons/#season1 Elite Dangerous: Seasons]</ref>

* 1.5 [[Ships (Update)|New Ships]]

=== Season 2: Horizons ===

''[[Elite Dangerous: Horizons]]'' was the second season of updates for ''Elite Dangerous'' and the first paid expansion. It introduced a variety of new features and gameplay content. ''Horizons'' v2.0 was released on PC on the 15th of December 2015. Subsequent major updates were released in 2016 and 2017. The most notable additions include:

* [[Guardian]]s

* [[Thargoid]]s

* [[Scarab]] [[SRV]]

* [[Passenger Carrier|Passenger transportation]]

* [[Camera suite]]

=== Season 3: Beyond ===

''[[Elite Dangerous: Beyond]]'' was the third season of updates for ''Elite Dangerous'', and released over the course of 2018. The main focus was core gameplay, existing features, quality of life and other improvements.<ref name=":0">[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/elite-dangerous-2-4-and-beyond.354066/ Frontier Forums: Elite Dangerous - 2.4 and beyond]</ref> ''Beyond'' updates were free for all ''Horizons'' owners.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/9pbpvh/beyond_chapter_four_exploration_reveal_megathread/ reddit: Beyond - Chapter Four - Exploration Reveal Mega-Thread]</ref> The most notable are:

=== 2019-2020 Updates ===

[[File:April Update banner.png|thumb|220px|April Update]]

[[File:September Update banner.png|thumb|220px|September Update]]

[[File:January Update splash.png|thumb|220px|January Update]]

Over the course of 2019 and 2020, in between Season 3 and Season 4, Frontier Developments planned a series of smaller content updates with various quality of life improvements: the [[April Update]], [[September Update]], [[January Update]], and [[Fleet Carriers Update]].<ref>[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/april-update-coming-23-april-2019.508239/ Frontier Forums: April Update - Coming 23 April 2019]</ref><ref>[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/lavecon-2019-content-reveal.516705/ Frontier Forums: Lavecon 2019 Content Reveal]</ref> Notable changes and additions include:

=== Season 4: Odyssey ===

[[File:Elite-Dangerous-Odyssey_Key-Art.png|thumb|250px|Elite Dangerous: Odyssey key art]]

''[[Elite Dangerous: Odyssey]]'' was the second paid expansion and fourth content season for ''Elite Dangerous''. It launched for PC on May 19, 2021.

Plans to release ''Odyssey'' on Xbox and PlayStation were officially cancelled on March 10, 2022, which also marked the cessation of development of new content for consoles.<ref name="Console Update">[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/console-update.600233/ Frontier Forums: Console Update]</ref>

** The ability to disembark from ships

** Pilot equipment, including [[Suits]], [[Handheld Weapon]]s, [[:Category:Consumables|Consumables]], and [[:Category:Handheld Tools|Tools]]

** New collectibles, including [[Components]], [[Goods]], and [[Data]]

* [[Atmospheric Landings]] on planets with tenuous atmospheres (up to 0.1 atm)

* [[Powerplay|Powerplay 2.0]] (include 2 new powers [[Jerome Archer]] and [[Nakato Kaine]]).

* 9 new [[Engineers]], and new modifications for [[Suits]] and [[Handheld Weapon|Handheld Weapons]].

** [[Type-8 Transporter]]

*3 new capital ships:

** [[Concourse]] for the [[Drake-Class Carrier]]

* Thargoid ships: [[Thargoid Hunter|Hunter]], [[Thargoid Titan|Titan]]

* Thargoid drones: [[Banshee]], [[Revenant]]

* [[Thargoid Maelstrom]], [[Thargoid Spire]]

* New SRVs: [[Scorpion]], [[Rhino]]

* Surface mining with the [[Rhino]] and [[Mining Rig]]

=== Future plans ===

Plans for seasons or expansions after ''Odyssey'' are not yet announced.

The expansions were planned include significant new features such as seamless freeform (manual pitch/yaw/roll) [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Will it be possible to manually land on planets.3F|atmospheric flight and landings]] (see [[Atmospheric Landings]]) and [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ|on-foot and out-of-ship activities]] (see [[On Foot]]) such as FPS combat, walking around and boarding ships, walking in stations and walking and driving vehicles on entire 1:1 scale populated living planets (see [[Procedural Cities]]) with [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Will I be able to hire crew for my ship.3F|multi-player crew]] and [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Can I own and control capital ships.3F|player executive controlled capital ships]].<ref name=":2" />

Frontier wrote in a newsletter, ''"We plan to follow that same incremental development philosophy that we’ve done throughout our Alpha and Beta phases, and continue to significantly enhance the game via further expansions post-launch."''<ref name=":2" />

For example, the roadmap is to add these features with major updates (in no particular order): <ref name=":2">[http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=1824c0b05a#Lifetime%20Exp Elite Dangerous Newsletter #29] -  [https://web.archive.org/web/20201221021448/https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=1824c0b05a Archive url]</ref><ref>[https://www.pcgamesn.com/elite-dangerous/elite-dangerous-standard-beta-begins-next-week-last-chance-grab-lifetime-expansion-pack PCGamesN: Elite: Dangerous standard beta begins next week; last chance to grab lifetime expansion pack]</ref>

* [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Can I walk around the ship.2C planets and space stations.3F|Walking around interiors and combative boarding of other ships]]. - see [[On Foot]].

* [[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Can I walk around the ship.2C planets and space stations.3F|Combat and other interactions with other players and AIs in the internal areas of star ports]] - speculated

The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM0Gcl7iUM8&t=35 scope of ''Elite'' is huge], so a sensible strategy is used to add to the game in stages.<ref name=":3">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM0Gcl7iUM Elite: Dangerous Development Plan] - YouTube - 14 Dec 2012</ref> ''"The core release of the game focuses on the ships and space. We'll then be working to expand the game. This includes exploring your ship and space stations. The potential content for Elite is huge, so we're keeping a sensible strategy to add to the game in stages."''<ref>[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461411552/elite-dangerous/faqs Kickstarter: Elite: Dangerous/FAQ]</ref>

The game has been [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM0Gcl7iUM8&t=151 well planned and designed from the start] with all these features in mind (it is not an afterthought) and [http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Elite:_Dangerous_FAQ#Does_the_.22Elite:_Dangerous.22_developer_Frontier_Developments_have_enough_expertise_to_pull_off_such_an_ambitious_project.3F Frontier Developments already has the technology for this.]<ref name=":3" />

 

The Development Plan video (14 Dec 2012) Braben stated: "w''e're designing all the ships with the interiors in mind, how the cargo is unloaded all that sort of thing, how damage occurs. That's because another thing that we are doing again down the line is you will be able to walk around inside your ship, you will be able to get out of your ship, walk around inside space stations, other vehicles. All of that sort of thing. We've shown the damage on the ship, the damage models. Imagine looking at that from inside the ship outwards seeing your cargo flying out into space, seeing the flames, trying to fight them. All of those things that we plan with time, they won't be at the first release because we want to do them right and want to do them well. All of these will be done as updates."''<ref name=":3" />

During the 2016 Elite Dangerous 24 Hour Charity Livestream! David Braben confirmed a 10 year development plan and that he hopes it will be a lot longer than that: "''Looking back at those (developer videos), you can see what we've done, we're executing on the plan. There's still a lot of things that are to come and those are very exciting. We do have a long plan. It would take us a long time to deliver all the things that we want to do. The great thing is the more things get added to the end of it. So it may well be never ending. I've said sort of 8 years, 10 years, but actually it could end up and I'm hoping it'll be a lot longer than that. The key point is we'll keep doing exciting things and we'll work out how best to do that."''<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS33cyq6Z_A&t=21m00s YouTube: 24 Hour Charity Livestream! Part 1!]</ref>

The [[Lifetime Expansion Pass]] or '''LEP''' is a content pass for [[Elite Dangerous]]'' ''that includes ownership of all current and future expansions produced for the game plus a selection of cosmetic [[Livery]] items.<ref name=":2" />

The LEP was included for Kickstarter backers who purchased the £80 "Digital Download Pack" tier in 2012. It was also available during the pre-launch beta period in 2014 and for a final time from August 6, 2015 to September 14, 2015.  

On 12 March 2015, [[David Braben]] said, ''"We’ve said things like going down to planet surfaces, walking around inside your spaceship, getting out of your ship, all of those things would be part of paid updates. And we would phase it, we wouldn’t necessarily do them as part of one big thing, there would be multiple over time. Cause each of those, if you think of the work to do each one, it’s a major new-game-level of content. And so we’re just trying to take that seriously. We don’t want to do half-baked solutions."''<ref>[https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/03/12/david-braben-on-fan-anger-interview/ Rock Paper Shotgun: Interview: David Braben On Fan Anger And Expectations]</ref>

On 20 March 2015, [[David Braben]] was asked about the long roadmap ahead and he answered, ''"Well I'm very excited. I've said over a long time I'm very excited about some features that we will do down the road including things like landing on planets, walking around inside your spaceship, getting out of your spaceship, all of those things I think are very very exciting and obviously those are in the long-term roadmap."''<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLpX1G5I5tQ YouTube: Elite: Dangerous - David Braben Interview (5:20)]</ref>

On 26 July 2018, Braben said, ''"We’ve continued to support and nurture the existing franchises. Elite Dangerous has continued to grow, the team size is actually getting bigger. The plan was – beyond the current season for Elite, which is mostly announced – there are a lot of things that we will be announcing that are really exciting, some of which will be free, some of which will be paid."''<ref name=":1">[https://wccftech.com/frontier-next-game-unveiled-late-2018/ Wccftech: Frontier’s Next Game To Be Unveiled in Late 2018/Early 2019; Elite Dangerous Is Getting Exciting Things]</ref>

This is a traders quote from the investment firm Liberum in 2019: ''"The company is working on a number of exciting updates for both franchies and our expectation is that we could see a big refresh release of ED in FY20, five years after launch (we expect Elite Dangerous to be closing in on £100m of life-time revenue by the end of this financial year)."''<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/aoc8ue/liberum_our_expectation_is_that_we_could_see_a/ reddit: Liberum: "our expectation is that we could see a big refresh release of ED in FY20, five years after launch"]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0Br0Ue1-eE YouTube: Frontier's Financial Position and the Future of Elite Dangerous]</ref>

On 26 May 2017, Frontier's Lloyd Morgan-Moore said, ''"The Elite Dangerous team is over a hundred people strong."''<ref>[http://www.redbull.com/en/games/stories/1331858657533/elite-dangerous-ps4-interview Red Bull: The tech behind Elite Dangerous’s PS4 debut]</ref>

On 31 August 2018, [[Zac Antonaci]] reaffirmed that more than 100 people are working on Elite Dangerous: ''"The Beyond season was always something that we wanted to do in order to bring even more enhancements to the core experience of Elite and being able to dedicate a full development team (over 100 people!) for a full year of free content was specifically to gear ourselves up to support our long term vision for the game."''<ref>[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/important-community-update.444800/ Frontier Forums: Important Community Update]</ref>

On 27 September 2018, a small group of community guests visited the [[Frontier Developments|Frontier]] headquarters in Cambridge to check features of [[Beyond]] Chapter Four. One of them, Vingtetun, then posted, ''"For the record, yes, the numbers of people working JUST on ED are what they say, their other games were on other floors and no, jobs like HR and finance etc staff weren't part of that number. It was all people actively working on Elite. Compared to my last visit, they aren't kidding when they say the team has never been bigger. The sweeping improvements and changes have satisfied me that they haven't been idle in the last year of the free 'Beyond' update."''<ref>https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?p=7049960&viewfull=1#post7049960</ref>

In an interview with PCGN at E3 2018, [[Frontier Developments|Frontier]]'s founder and CEO, [[David Braben]], said that while he would not rule out a sequel to the deep-space adventure, fans should not expect to see anything on that topic soon.<ref name=":4">[https://www.pcgamesn.com/elite-dangerous/elite-dangerous-2 PCGamesN: Elite Dangerous 2 could happen, but it’s “a long time off”]</ref>

Braben said, ''“The world has changed. We’re coming to the end of the fourth year of Elite Dangerous.”'' This advanced development is ''“a wonderful place to be in” ''but they continue support for the current game. That ''“isn’t to say there won’t be something at some point.”'' A potential sequel is a ''“long time off and there is lots to do in the Elite Dangerous world.''”<ref name=":4" />  

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yd-m9AR7mY YouTube: The Future of Elite: Dangerous]

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM0Gcl7iUM8 YouTube: Elite: Dangerous Development Plan]

*[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/feature-requests-update-8-to-infinity-and-beyond.5659/ Frontier Forums: Feature Requests Update #8- To Infinity, and Beyond! (Q&A)]

*[https://games.yahoo.com/video/interview-elite-dangerouss-david-braben-211040547.html Yahoo!: Interview: Elite Dangerous's David Braben (in-depth)]

File:The Future of Elite Dangerous

File:Elite_Dangerous_-_Top_10_Future_Updates_and_Expansions

 

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[[Category:Development]]