An Orbis station near a habitable Earth-like planet. Players can dock at stations to trade, obtain ship upgrades or acquire missions.
Upon its release in 2014, Elite Dangerous began in year 3300 and has been in sync with UTC albeit 1286 years in the future. The game is set around 45 years after Frontier: First Encounters.[11][22][23] Elite Dangerous retains the basic premise of previous games – players start with a spaceship and a small amount of money in an open galaxy and role-play in various activities to acquire more money and merit. These activities include trading, mining, exploration, passenger-transportation, bounty-hunting, piracy and assassination.[24]
The game is the first in the series to feature online multiplayer with access to a massively multiplayer persistent world called Open Play, as well as an online-only single player mode.[25] Open Play gameplay is similar to Eve Online in that many actions that would be considered griefing in other multiplayer games are generally permitted, as long as there is a valid roleplaying reason (e.g. robbery, extortion and blocking off star systems).[26] However, some actions, such as "mob mentality" persecution of players, exploiting mechanics of the game (such as quitting the game in the middle of a fight to avoid death), and swearing are not allowed,[27][28] and could result in a ban from the main server.[29]
Money earned throughout the game can be spent on upgrading ships or buying new ones. Players can customize their ships by changing modules, i.e., engines, weapons, scanners, etc. With the second in-game currency called Arx (also buyable with real money), players can purchase visual changes for their ships, like other coloring or cosmetic parts.
Within the virtual galaxy, the player can explore some 400 billion star systems complete with planets and moons that rotate and orbit in real time, reflecting dynamic day-night cycles.[30][31] Around 150,000 of the game's star systems are taken from real astronomical data,[32] while a few partially fictional planetary systems, which were created in Frontier and First Encounters before a significant number of exoplanets were discovered, are carried over. For example, none of the gas giants of the Fomalhaut system correspond with the detected properties of Fomalhaut b. A handful of entirely fictional systems named in the original Elite, and also featured in later games, are included (e.g. the original starting system Lave). The remainder are procedurally generated according to scientific models.[32] Players can dock their ships at space stations and outposts located throughout the galaxy in star systems to trade goods, purchase new spacecraft, re-arm their ship, effect repairs and do missions from Mission Boards.[33] Players may also find lost cargo or encounter other ships while in flight by investigating Unidentified Signal Sources.
Factions[edit]
There are three major factions, the Empire of Achenar, the Federation, and the Alliance of Independent Systems.[34] Patch 1.3, which launched in June 2015,[35] featured the Power Play addition which introduced competitive, galactical faction challenges. Players can ally themselves with an in-game faction and contribute to it by completing faction missions while also earning various rewards. The collective outcome of each faction's achievements determines faction powers, territorial control, and their proceeding objectives.[36] Each faction has their own line of ships that are obtained by acquiring ranks within the respective faction, except Alliance ships which are not locked behind a ranking system. The Federation has four ships made by an in-game federal corporation called Core Dynamics. The Empire has four ships manufactured by Gutamaya, an Imperial corporation. The Alliance has three ships, none of which require rank, manufactured by Lakon Spaceways.
Player roles and rank[edit]
There are three archetypal player roles attached with individual rankings (also known as player status) separate from faction rankings: Combat, Exploration, and Trading. Players gain experience points and rank in these areas by completing activities that are divided among the three roles. For example, a bounty-hunter destroying pirates will gain Combat experience points and progress in Combat rank. On 15 March 2015, the first player who reached Triple Elite status (Elite rank in Combat, Elite rank in Exploration, and Elite rank in Trading), the highest status, won £10,000.[37] A certain status or rank with a faction can grant access permits to a number of systems that require them. Benefits also include ship discount prices.[38]