Today, Frontier showcased another round of what’s changing in Elite Dangerous: Beyond – Chapter Four, this time breaking down scenarios and a massive overhaul to the way the game simulates the interaction and status of its factions. Those changes offer a complex web of new ways for you to interact with the universe and for its myriad players to interact with you in return.
Scenarios are fully voice-acted random events that you can engage with if you want some distractions as you explore the galaxy. They’re similar to the existing Unidentified Signal Sources, and come with unique UI that breaks down what each Scenario requires and what rewards you’ll get for completing them.
Some potential scenarios include lending a hand to pilots in trouble, taking part in conflict zones, and attacking, defending, or offering help to Megaships and Installations. There are more types of both Megaships and Installations, and you’ll find a greater volume of each when you’re exploring populated space.
We got to look at the Elite Dangerous scenario missions a bit early – follow that link for hands-on details about how it all works in-game.
Changes to the Background Simulation – the fancy name for how factions interact behind the scenes – was another big focus in this reveal. Factions can now be in multiple states in a single system, meaning descriptors like Bust and Civil Unrest can apply at the same time. They can also now be in different states in different systems, so things like War no longer apply galaxy wide.
The rebalance of states means big changes to just about every aspect of how you interact with factions – from conflict to expansion- and that means you’ve got new ways to track economy and security statuses, and a host of new states to keep track of when the update hits. Most of those are broken down in a forum post on the official site, and you can see many of the new systems in action in the reveal stream below.
These aren’t the only changes in the Beyond – Chapter Four update, and you can also expect much more vibrant exploration in Elite Dangerous. You’ll be able to get into a staged beta for the latest chapter on October 30, and as long as you own a copy of the game you’ll have access.