Elite Dangerous: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
m Added links |
→Development and Expansions: added information about development |
||
Line 154:
==Development and Expansions==
Back in 2012 space sims were unpopular with publishers so it was difficult to attract funding for such a project. Publishers would want to steer the game in a particular direction which was unacceptable for Braben.<ref>http://www.incgamers.com/2012/11/david-braben-publisher-model-prevented-development-of-new-elite/</ref>
[[Frontier Developments|Frontier]] had been working on the game as a "skunk-works" background activity for some time prior to its Kickstarter launch. Other projects were prioritized.<ref>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/06/elite_dangerous_on_kickstarter/</ref> It uses Frontier's own state-of-the-art in-house COBRA Engine tools and technology. COBRA has been carefully planned, developed and evolved since 1988.<ref>http://www.frontier.co.uk/our_technology/</ref>
Over a quarter of a century after the original, David Braben of [[Frontier Developments]] launched a successful Kickstarter campaign in November 2012. The purpose was to test-market the concept, verify whether there's broader interest in a fourth game and to raise funds to help make the game in November 2012.
Braben wrote: "We’re using Kickstarter both as a means of test-marketing the concept to verify there is still interest in such a game that extends beyond the individuals who regularly contact me about the game, and raising the funds to do so. There is also the fact that as long as we hit the threshold, it commits us to making the game."<ref>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/06/elite_dangerous_on_kickstarter/</ref>
By April 2014, £1.7m had been raised.<ref>http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/DAVID-ELKS-thesentinel/story-20992380-detail/story.html</ref> This was a fraction of the total budget for developing the base-game Elite Dangerous (1.0). "The original budget, because we put a lot of our money towards it, was £8m," David Braben - the man in charge - told me at Gamescom. And, he added, "it's grown by quite a lot".<ref>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-09-11-elite-dangerous-original-budget-was-8m</ref>
Those who pledged big during the Kickstarter got beta-access. People also bought beta access at £50 a pop. This included the full game. In mid-August 2014, more than 75,000 people were playing the Elite: Dangerous beta, providing "more and more money that moves ever closer to the game breaking even in a really good way".<ref>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-09-11-elite-dangerous-original-budget-was-8m</ref>
Frontier had also reacquired the rights to the Elite franchise. Frontier purchased the software and IT consultancy company Professional Practice Automation in a £5.09m deal on Tuesday April 15, 2014. This included the royalty rights to the Elite video game franchise which was held by PPA.<ref>http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/frontier-acquires-elite-rights-as-braben-readies-share-sale/0131299</ref>
In December 2013, A playable alpha version of the game was released to Kickstarter backers who pledged pledged £200.<ref>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-12-12-elite-dangerous-now-playable-if-youre-a-200-alpha-backer</ref> In May 2014, the game entered the first phase of beta testing. The focus was primarily on testing the systems and servers with a greater number of players. A pre-release "gamma" build was released to backers three weeks before launch to give them a head start.
Elite Dangerous (1.0) was released for Windows PC on December 16, 2014. Since then it has had many updates and launched on multiple platforms.
Post-launch it can be estimated that the development budget for Elite Dangerous has been in the tens of millions of pounds, perhaps over a hundred million pounds including [[Elite Dangerous Horizons]] through 2017.
[[Frontier Developments|Frontier]] uses an iterative approach with development. They gradually build upon features to expand and improve them. Expansions and major updates will bring [[Features in the expansions|various new features]] to Elite Dangerous. Some of these were available in previous Elite games and some are completely new to the [[:Category:Elite series|Elite series]]. [[Horizons]] is the first expansion which consists of a season with major updates that add many new features, content and improvements to the Milky Way galaxy.
Line 164 ⟶ 183:
* '''[[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Can I walk around the ship.2C planets and space stations.3F|Accessing richly detailed planetary surfaces]]'''
* '''[[Elite: Dangerous FAQ#Can I own and control capital ships.3F|Availability of giant ‘executive control’ ships to players]]. '''Check the '''[[Capital Ships]] '''page.
== Sales ==▼
By the end of December 2016 a total of over 2.1 million paid franchise units of Elite: Dangerous had been sold.<ref>[http://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/frontier-dev-FDEV/share-news/Frontier-Developments-PLC-Trading-Update/73616476 Frontier Developments PLC Trading Update]▼
</ref>▼
== Reception ==
PC Gamer's Chris Thursten rated it 86/100 and said "a great game and, with time, potentially a classic. Much rests on Frontier's ability to build on these broad but somewhat shallow foundations."<ref>[http://www.pcgamer.com/elite-dangerous-review/ Elite Dangerous Review - PC Gamer] </ref> The Koalition rated Elite Dangerous 95% “Shining Bright Like a Supernova.”<ref>[http://thekoalition.com/reviews/elite-dangerous-review-shining-bright-like-a-supernova Elite Dangerous Review – Shining Bright Like a Supernova]
Line 174 ⟶ 198:
</ref> It was nominated for Evolving Game by the British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA) in 2017.<ref>[http://www.bafta.org/games/games-awards-2017#evolving-game---rocket-league British Academy Games Awards Winners in 2017]
</ref>
▲== Sales ==
▲By the end of December 2016 a total of over 2.1 million paid franchise units of Elite: Dangerous had been sold.<ref>[http://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/frontier-dev-FDEV/share-news/Frontier-Developments-PLC-Trading-Update/73616476 Frontier Developments PLC Trading Update]
▲</ref>
==References==
| |||