Space, famously, is quite a roomy place, and as such it has a tendency to dwarf even the most gargantuan vessels that sail through its inky infinity. What this teaser video for Elite: Dangerous’s upcoming episodic expansion Horizon does it re-implement that sense of scale by letting you explore your vehicle by land in the new Surface Recon Vehicle (SRV).
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The new vessel showcased above is the Federal Corvette, one of several new models arriving with the expansion. If it’s given you a taste for caressing spacecraft with your eyes, here’s an entire playlist of them viewed from a seductively slow-moving camera.
The SRV, or “Scarab” if you want another name for it still, doesn’t just offer a means of admiring your own hardware, though. When the Horizons expansion rolls out before 2015’s over and done, the Scarab will cheerfully tow a trailer full of new gameplay opportunities along with it.
You’ll be able to touch down on atmosphere-less planets and scout around for resources, Frontier reveal via their official site:
“Scanning airless planets and moons brings new gameplay as players detect signals, crashed ships, mineral deposits, outposts and fortresses. Alone or with friends players will explore, mine and engage hostile forces as they attempt to infiltrate strongholds guarding valuable rewards.
“Players will explore new worlds, coasting over mountaintops, diving into canyons, landing on the surface and rolling out onto the surface in your SRV, all without loading times or breaks in gameplay.”
The beta for Horizon’s first episodic content drop begins 24 November, priced at £30/$45. Among other goodies, it ushers in guild support (or ‘groups’ in Elite speak (which is very different to l33t speak)).