Elite Message Board

The current alpha for Elite: Dangerous offers a linear series of combat missions, with a narrative through-line about illegal toxic waste dumping, megacorp mercenaries and accidental collisions with asteroids. That may well be how the final game plays out for some people but I’m more likely to spend my time exploring the farthest reaches of the galaxy, looking for unusual sights and making a few spacebucks by trading with whatever life exists at those penultimate frontiers. As such, the alpha only represents a very small portion of the Elite that I hope to play when all is said and done. With that in mind, here are my impressions of several hours in space.

… [visit site to read more]

New details on Call of Duty Elite, the new COD App, transferring your profile between systems, and clan support.

A thought I had in the shower, while soaping my nethers and conditioning my beard. I was an early teen when Frontier: Elite II came out, and I’ve been chasing it ever since. I’ve not really been looking for another Elite, though one is totally welcome. I’ve been looking for something more nebulous: the feeling of being part of an world that was ruled by experiences, not numbers. Watching an Eagle emerge from Lave station led me to cowering in the dark in Thief, listening to the guards talking. I watched dinosaurs chasing each other in Trespasser. I’m always hunting for that next incredible rock formation in Minecraft.(more…)

Elite: Dangerous, the Kickstarter project by Frontier Developments, has a new developer diary video from Founder David Braben discussing the ways in which the game's galaxy evolves over time. In the video, Braben describes the development of planets and the various contracts that players complete in the game, including the transportation dignitaries that may have bounties on their heads.

The Kickstarter project is at the half-way point of its nearly $2 million funding goal with 33 days left before its January 4, 2013 deadline. Providing the goal is met, Elite: Dangerous is set to launch on PC in March 2014.

Frontier Developments updated its Kickstarter page for Elite: Dangerous with a few pieces of concept art and a video. The video shows Elite co-creator and Founder of Frontier Developments David Braben discussing the history of the series and his vision for Dangerous.

The Kickstarter project is about a third of the way to its nearly $2 million goal with over 50 days to go in its funding cycle.

#elite You could be forgiven for seeing the initial launch of David Braben and Frontier Developments' ambitious Kickstarter campaign for a new Elite game and thinking, "Okay, but where's the game?" More »

Elite co-creator David Braben is the latest grandfather of space sims to turn to Kickstarter, with plans to resurrect the classic series through new game Dangerous. Braben set up a minimum of £1.25 million (roughly $2 million) in funding to launch Elite: Dangerous, but is hoping for more so his team at UK-based Frontier Developments can be "more ambitious with content and platforms." As it stands, Frontier Studios plans to release Elite: Dangerous on PC in March 2014.

If Dangerous does arrive then, it will have been almost three decades since Elite left its indelible mark on gaming back in 1984. Two true sequels were released: Frontier: Elite in 1993 and Frontier: First Encounters in 1995. Braben has headed Frontier Developments since then, a studio more recently known for Kinectimals and LostWinds.

As Braben notes on the Kickstarter page, Frontier diced with trying to make the fourth Elite game, including developing it as a MMO back in 2000. It's been on the backburner at the British studio for a few years now, but going by the six figures raised in a matter of hours it's likely Elite: Dangerous marks the return of one of gaming's most venerable names.

Elite co-creator David Braben is the latest grandfather of space sims to turn to Kickstarter, with plans to resurrect the classic series through new game Dangerous. Braben set up a minimum of £1.25 million (roughly $2 million) in funding to launch Elite: Dangerous, but is hoping for more so his team at UK-based Frontier Developments can be "more ambitious with content and platforms." As it stands, Frontier Studios plans to release Elite: Dangerous on PC in March 2014.

If Dangerous does arrive then, it will have been almost three decades since Elite left its indelible mark on gaming back in 1984. Two true sequels were released: Frontier: Elite in 1993 and Frontier: First Encounters in 1995. Braben has headed Frontier Developments since then, a studio more recently known for Kinectimals and LostWinds.

As Braben notes on the Kickstarter page, Frontier diced with trying to make the fourth Elite game, including developing it as a MMO back in 2000. It's been on the backburner at the British studio for a few years now, but going by the six figures raised in a matter of hours it's likely Elite: Dangerous marks the return of one of gaming's most venerable names.

Old-school RPGs? Please. That Kickstarter trend is so a few seconds ago. Now it’s all about mind-bogglingly ambitious revivals of legendary space series that need your help in the form of several trillion dollars. OK, maybe not that much, but Star Citizen came in space, no one can hear you screaming into existence asking for £1.25/$2 million, and now David Braben is trying to resurrect Elite (again) for the low, low collective price of £1,250,000 – which is basically $2 million.

That’s right – Elite is back at long, long last, in the form of Elite: Dangerous. Are you ready to remember how much rage and sorrow could be extracted from the mere process of docking? I know I am.(more…)

#elite When old-timers talk about the halcyon days of space games, they mention series like X-Wing and Wing Commander. They also, in the same breath - and often before - mention Elite. More »

The biggest Xbox 360 release of the year is here. Let's see how it stacks up.

I think I’ve found serenity: Minecraft creator Notch is slowly thumbing through the Big Book Of Awesome Space Things while he comes up with his next game. He told the handsome devils over at PC Gamer that he’s pondering a sandbox style Elite game, “except done right”. To clarify, he’s not saying Elite is rubbish and broken, but that no-one’s ever done it as well since. Something I’d agree with, although these guys are working on that. While he’s pondering if this is a game he wants to be the Next Thing after the monolithic Minecraft, he’s pointed out his other influence is the magnificent Firefly. How would this work?(more…)

Activision is dropping the next Call of Duty Elite content pack for Modern Warfare 3 in Overwatch, a rooftop map for the game's multiplayer component. If you'd like to take a peek at that map, we've dropped the latest trailer just above.

The Overwatch DLC map for MW3 is exclusive to 360 for a limited time.

#callofduty Call of Duty's online Elite service is just about fully functionally, with the first episode of Friday Night Fights set to hit this week and the mobile version releasing as early as next week, Activision says. More »

#callofduty Call of Duty Elite's launch was rocky, Activision tells us, missteps were made, but we've never had any sense of just how many paying customers it might have attracted, until now. More »

Activision's stat-tracking and community service, Call of Duty Elite, has yet to receive a firm launch date, but this morning we learned that Elite will enter "invitation-only" beta starting on July 14. Though Elite won't be fully functioning until Modern Warfare 3 drops in November, the beta will launch first on last years Call of Duty: Black Ops.

After opening the registration site last week, Activision says "over 1 million" Call of Duty fanatics have signed up for entry into the beta thus far. The company has yet to fully detail the differences between the paid version of Elite and the free one, but the beta announcement ambiguously notes it'll "give users a taste of the experience." Sounds ... elite?

VideoGamer.com is reporting that a supplement in this week's issue of MCV is advertising two new Xbox 360 Elite bundles. Both bundles are themed around recent movie release, specifically Star Trek and Transformers 2. The Star Trek bundle comes with an extra controller, a copy of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek stored on a USB drive -- shaped like the Star Fleet logo -- as well as 800 with which to buy "Star Trek PDLC." Let's just hope you don't have to waste those points on Star Trek D-A-C. A Transformers 2 bundle is in the works as well, featuring an extra controller, a copy of the movie on a Bumblebee-shaped USB drive and the Transformers 2 game. Release date, pricing, and the size of the included hard drive (120GB or "Super Elite" 250GB) are not specified in the ad. However, as MCV is a UK magazine, it's possible these are only destined for that region. We'd be hard-pressed to tell potential buyers which one bundle is the better but, but we will say that only one of them goes where no one has gone before. And the other one is Transformers.

Seems like everyone has to get in on the Elite bundle action these days. Game Watch reports that a new Xbox 360 Elite bundle is headed to Japan, with both Lost Planet: Colonies and Ace Combat 6 baked right in. it also comes packed with the normal Elite goodies -- headset, wireless controller and (incredibly flexible) composite cables. Unfortunately, the bundle fails to meet super Elite status, as it contains only a paltry 120GB hard drive. Still, at ¥29,980 (~$330), it's not a bad deal. The bundle goes on sale in Japan starting October 29.

The night of All Hallows' Eve is swiftly approaching. We're sure that, by now, you've got a rough outline of what pop culture icon you'll attempt to disguise yourself as. We're also sure that it's not one-tenth as awesome nor as intricate as the Covenant Elite (of Halo fame) costume recently created by YouTube user petemander1. That is, unless your Optimus Prime costume has animatronic, remote-controlled eyes and mandibles. No? It doesn't? That's what we thought. Check out the two videos posted after the jump to get an early look at Pete's humbling (and slightly terrifying) creation. We'd say we can't wait to see how the full costume turns out, but we've already got plenty of subjects on which to base our nightmares.

Rumored, pictured, and now shipping to retail, the 2009 edition of the Xbox 360 Elite Holiday Bundle ($300) includes a pair of family-friendly titles from last year in Lego Batman and Pure. But, well, you knew that. (Protip: Grab and stash this before October 5 to be eligible for the $50 rebate.)Also announced today, the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Game Pack will go on sale in November for $60. The black gamepad and bundle of XBLA titles is so close to perfect with Geometry Wars 2, Lumines Live, Bomberman Live and ... a code for Ms. Pac-Man? Make that a Pac-Man: Championship Edition token and we'd be looking at one of the best gifts you could have given this holiday -- 'cause let's face it, you already own those games.Oh, and still no official word on that popcorn box o' peripherals.