For now, the Elite: Dangerous Horizons expansion has only the ability to land on planets, but more content is on the way for season two of Frontier Developments’ space-faring game. Now, we have an idea as to when the rest of the features are coming.
The developers plan to release one upgrade for every season in 2016. Update 2.1, called “The Engineers,” will come later this spring. Players will see an expanded mission system as well as the ability to loot enemies. The same update also enables the ability to craft various modules and weapons for your favorite spacecraft.
In the summer, the “Guardians” update will introduce the concept of ship-launched fighters, which could help even the odds when you’re outnumbered in the vast darkness of space. “The Commanders” fall update will allow you and your friends to work together in a multi-crew ship. You will also be able to customize your pilot’s appearance with the new Commander Creator.
One more update is planned after “The Commanders,” but its release date and contents are still unknown. However, it’s safe to say that update 2.4 will close out season two of Horizons sometime in the winter season and pave the way for the next expansion to Elite: Dangerous.
For now, the focus is on “The Engineers” update. In this week’s newsletter, executive producer Michael Brookes stated that the way missions are provided in various stations and outposts will change to provide a more personal experience. Instead of just picking a mission from a list, you’ll also see the face, name and status of the non-playable character (NPC) who is giving you the mission. As your overall rankings and status rise or fall for various factions, the way you are treated when you take on various missions will also change. You might meet high-ranking officials or a lowly minion depending on your reputation with certain factions.
“The mission contacts will also remember if they’ve dealt with you before. As well as providing consistency, the contacts are the conduit for gaining missions and seeing the effects they have. So they will inform you if the minor faction has entered a particular state, or [if] a state is incoming. There will also be much smarter selection of missions that tie in with the current state of affairs, [and] there will be more details on this as part of the progression and variety goals.”
We’ll obviously hear more about the spring update in the coming weeks. For now, fans can rest easy as they now have an idea of when to expect more content for Elite: Dangerous Horizons.
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