Forthcoming space sim Elite: Dangerous is heading into its alpha testing phase.
According to the 14th newsletter, as the crowd-funded reboot of the game which launched a genre reaches £2m (US$3.25m), Frontier Developments is looking to test the “ship handling and combat in close quarters” in a number of scenarios including dense asteroid fields.
The initial testing phase will focus on the single-player experience with new features, including multiplayer, to be added at later stages before progressing into beta testing. The latest newsletter explains:
“This will let us work with the Alpha testers to hone the flight controls in a relatively controlled way, before letting them all loose against each other in player vs player mayhem!
“There are still spaces in the Alpha test, so if you’d like to take part then you can upgrade your pledge through the backers app (before 6th December!), or if you aren’t a backer yet through our website: http://elite.frontier.co.uk.”
Extra-Vehicular Activity
Frontier Developments has also announced its plans to include avatar content following retail release: “we are also making good progress with planning for the subsequent expansions that will enable you to leave the cockpit.”
Embracing the virtual reality headset revolution, Elite: Dangerous will include support for the Oculus Rift and fully realised cockpits will add to the immersion. Beyond that, plans are being laid out for space walks and the traversing of walkways and floors in zero gravity environments and even zero-G combat.
There’s no word on whether Oculus Rift support will include crash mats.
