Elite Dangerous: Difference between revisions
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== Development == | == Development == | ||
=== Planning === | |||
[[File:Edge-Magazine-Elite-Dangerous-Rebirth-of-a-Legend.png|thumb|250px|Edge magazine, Elite Dangerous - The Rebirth of a Legend]] | [[File:Edge-Magazine-Elite-Dangerous-Rebirth-of-a-Legend.png|thumb|250px|Edge magazine, Elite Dangerous - The Rebirth of a Legend]] | ||
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[[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. ''“... has been worked upon by a small team as a ‘skunk-works’ activity in the background as availability permits”''<ref>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/06/elite_dangerous_on_kickstarter/</ref> Elite Dangerous 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> | [[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. ''“... has been worked upon by a small team as a ‘skunk-works’ activity in the background as availability permits”''<ref>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/06/elite_dangerous_on_kickstarter/</ref> Elite Dangerous 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> | ||
=== Kickstarter === | |||
Elite Dangerous was first announced to the public on November 5, 2012.<ref>https://www.facebook.com/EliteDangerousOfficial/posts/10152235720990564?__tn__=C-R</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. | Elite Dangerous was first announced to the public on November 5, 2012.<ref>https://www.facebook.com/EliteDangerousOfficial/posts/10152235720990564?__tn__=C-R</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. | ||
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). At Gamescom 2014 Braben said "The original budget, because we put a lot of our money towards it, was £8m," "it's grown by quite a lot".<ref>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-09-11-elite-dangerous-original-budget-was-8m</ref> | 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). At Gamescom 2014 Braben said "The original budget, because we put a lot of our money towards it, was £8m," "it's grown by quite a lot".<ref>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-09-11-elite-dangerous-original-budget-was-8m</ref> | ||
=== Design Decision Forum === | |||
People who pledged £300 or more in the [[Elite Dangerous]] Kickstarter were invited to take part in the Design Decision Forum (DDF), a private section of the Frontier forums, giving them an unusually high level of access to and input in the development of the game. | |||
Discussion in the DDF was closely focused on proposal documents written by Frontier staff as part of the game development process, which were then posted for discussion. Frontier have stated that all posts in the DDF were read by the development team, and developers frequently engaged in discussions and dialogue on the forum, sometimes starting polls to gauge community feeling. However, the final decision on all aspects of development remained with Frontier. | |||
DDF members received no in-game privileges, but David Braben suggested during the Kickstarter that DDF members would collectively have "god-like powers" to help shape the evolving galaxy, making meta-game decisions like how NPCs would respond to player behaviour, e.g. by a faction sending a capital ship to deal with an upsurge of piracy. | |||
All discussion in the DDF, including developer posts, have been made public in the [http://forums.frontier.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=36 Design Discussion Archive]. | |||
=== Pre-release builds === | |||
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> | 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> | 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, | 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. | ||
=== Release === | |||
Elite Dangerous (1.0) was developed and published by Frontier Developments and the Windows PC version launched on December 16, 2014. Since then it has had many updates and launched on multiple platforms. | Elite Dangerous (1.0) was developed and published by Frontier Developments and the Windows PC version launched on December 16, 2014. Since then it has had many updates and launched on multiple platforms. | ||