We’ve talked about Elite: Dangerous before, hell we even promoted their Kickstarter and while I have yet to play it I think it’s one amazing looking space simulator. Especially considering it seems to be getting a weird us vs them fanbase between Elite: Dangerous and the mega-funded Star Citizen.
But through it all it seemed like Elite: Dangerous was the little guy in all this just making a cool PC space simulator for people who remember when Elite and games like X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Wing Commander and Privateer were the shit in PC gaming. That’s not to say everything they’ve done has been perfect, there was that whole no refund after pulling offline support fiasco but for the most part the community around Elite: Dangerous has been pretty positive. Fans have really been putting out some amazing videos of just how awesome Elite: Dangerous was looking as the game progressed.
With all that said it’s sad to see the Launch Trailer isn’t a whole bunch of in-game footage stitched together to form an awesome best of montage. Instead we get an immediate and quick “Not Actual Game Footage” disclaimer, so quick in-fact I missed the first time through, and then we are off on a pre-rendered ride through space. When you have awesome looking visuals like this, why would you go and throw up a trailer that doesn’t feature the awesome looking work you’ve done in real time? I get it can look better with a few extra passes here, a higher-res texture there and some extra light bloom there but that’s not what I’m getting. You want to wow the hardcore PC gamer in me and sell some hardware too, give me a direct download of your trailer running on a final build, all in-game at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second and then tell us the specs you used to do it.
Now Frontier Developments is far from the only developer/publisher who’ve made trailers that feature plumped up visuals done offline vs in real-time. Hell it’s been practically done to death for screenshots and even when there is real hardware somewhere running a game at E3 or another convention you will likely spot major and minor graphical improvements if you watch that footage while looking at the game as it’s in your hands.
I kind of feel like I’m picking on the Little Engine that Could but damn it when I heard there was a launch trailer I was ready to see some awesome shit. And yes I did see a cool pre-rendered trailer of which may have similarities to what happens in an actual game but why? I want to see all the cool stuff I can do for real in your game in-engine. I don’t care if it’s a 2D pixelated racquetball simulator that features a zombie for a lead character I love video games so show me video games, don’t show me movies. Elite: Dangerous is coming out on December 16th 2014 for £39.99/€50/$60 but if you act fast you can pick it up for £35/€40/$50.
*Updated the prices to their proper £/€/$ conversions.
Source Link: YouTube | http://www.elitedangerous.com
PRESS RELEASE
Elite: Dangerous Launch Trailer Released
Launch trailer available now, Gamma 2.00 coming today, no wipes for launch, and extra starting credits for all
Cambridge, UK. 10 December 2014. Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV) today released the launch trailer for Elite: Dangerous.
The 90 second trailer is soundtracked by Royal Blood’s ‘Out Of The Black,’ and is available now on YouTube. A direct download is available.
Frontier also announced that Gamma 2.00 will be released today, and that there will be no wipe of positions or progress on the 16 December launch of Elite: Dangerous 1.0.
Additionally, players’ starting credits are to be increased tenfold and all players starting or restarting the game will receive their new credits allocation.
Players with early access can start honing their flight skills and accumulating credits ready for the 16 December launch, when they will take part in the vicious power struggle to succeed the Emperor – arguably the most powerful human in the 400 billion star-system Milky Way galaxy. This major story event will kick offElite: Dangerous’ ever unfolding, player influenced narrative.
Elite: Dangerous includes ‘out of the box’ support for 4K ultra-high definition, 3D TV, Track IR and Oculus Rift VR for those with appropriate hardware.
There is one week left to pre-order the Elite: Dangerous Mercenary Edition for £35.00 ($50 and €40), which is a £4.99 pre-order discount from the £39.99 launch day retail price. It is available exclusively from the Elite: Dangerous online store and includes:
- A digital download of Elite: Dangerous.
- Your very own additional Eagle fighter ship docked in a secondary location in-game.
- Exclusive pack of ship paint jobs.
- A ‘day one’ ship decal.
- A digital players’ guide.
- A digital concept art book.
All those who pre-order the game get to play the single player combat missions immediately. A new launcher will accompany Gamma 2.00, allowing access to single player combat missions for those with early access to Elite: Dangerous as well as everyone who has pre-ordered.
About Elite: Dangerous
Take control of your own starship in a cut throat, multiplayer galaxy.
It is the year 3300. Across the vast expanse of an epic, full-scale recreation of our Milky Way, interstellar rivalries flare as galactic superpowers fight proxy wars.
Some may know you as an ally; others will call you a pirate, a bounty hunter, a smuggler, an explorer, an assassin, a hero… Fly alone or with friends, fight for a cause or go it alone; your actions change the galaxy around you in an ever unfolding story.
Start with a small starship and a few credits, and do whatever it takes to get the skill, knowledge, wealth and power to stand among the ranks of the Elite.
400 Billion Star Systems. Infinite Freedom. Blaze Your Own Trail
Media inquiries and requests for review access:
Michael Gapper, PR and Communications Manager
mgapper@frontier.co.uk , +44 (0) 1223 394300
The Elite: Dangerous Mercenary Pack includes the full game, together with an additional Eagle fighter, ship liveries, exclusive Day One decal and other digital goodies is available to pre-order for £35.00 ($50 and €40), including a £4.99 pre-order discount.
All backers who bought beta access or higher also get the Mercenary Pack (includes Elite: Dangerous 1.0).
Release has been announced as 16 December 2014, and it will be priced at £39.99 ($60, €50).
About Frontier Developments
Frontier Developments plc is a leading independent game developer, founded in 1994 by David Braben, co-author of the seminal ‘Elite’ space simulation. Based in Cambridge, UK and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Frontier uses its proprietary ‘Cobra’ game development technology to create innovative games across consoles, computers, smartphones and tablets.
Elite: Dangerous, to be released on PC and Mac, was crowd-funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign and Frontier’s own website. Previous Frontier titles include RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Thrillville, LostWinds, Kinectimals, Disneyland Adventures and Zoo Tycoon. The studio recently released Tales From Deep Space with Amazon Game Studios, and announced Screamride for Microsoft’s Xbox One. Frontier is currently working on other original titles, both self-published and with publishing partners.
About Royal Blood
Critically praised as one of the hottest new acts of 2014, Royal Blood caused a stir with their self-titled debut album which made it to number one in the UK charts. Heading up the UK rock revival, the band dominated the stage at Glastonbury, performed at the MTV music awards and were nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize for best album.
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