Frontier Development revealed details about the upcoming Elite Dangerous update 12, which will mainly focus on bug fixes and optimizations, including improvements to fleet carriers and black market prices. The livestream also showcased a new mission variant involving defending a cargo sled against heavily armed assailants, and announced plans for future developer interviews and community goals.
Frontier Development provided details of the upcoming Elite Dangerous update 12 in a livestream. The patch is scheduled for release at the end of May. The update will focus on bug fixes and optimizations, with approximately 100-200 bug fixes included. Quality of life improvements for fleet carriers were announced, including access to various menus and interfaces while seated, interacting with bartenders for trading, and accessing fleet carrier management screens from the command chair. Black market prices for stolen goods will also be boosted, making piracy and smuggling more viable options for players. Additionally, players who are incarcerated will now have shipyard facilities in the prisons.
A developer interview with senior designer Tom Cuel revealed details about a new mission variant coming in update 12. This mission is a variant of the raid protect missions and involves defending a cargo sled full of valuable materials against heavily armed assailants, including the elite security forces omnipole. The mission will have multiple waves, with the difficulty increasing as players progress. The controlling faction of the installation may deploy reinforcements to assist players during the battle. These new missions are expected to be found at agricultural and laboratorial settlements owned by criminal factions.
The livestream also showcased the new vulture-based drop ships created for the missions, featuring omnipole paint jobs and enhanced visuals. Tom Cuel mentioned his experience working on Star Citizen and the collaboration with Joe Neville, the designer of the classic viper ship in Elite Dangerous. The presentation of the livestream has improved with flashy transitions and different camera angles. Frontier plans to provide more developer interviews and featured segments on future livestreams, and they encourage players to provide feedback on community goals through their forums.
In other news, the community goal for the week is focused on space-based combat and offers pirate-themed paint jobs as rewards. Frontier also mentioned their community goal feedback post, where they gather valuable feedback from players to improve future community goals. Players are encouraged to share their thoughts and suggestions. The livestream, as well as relevant links, can be found in the video description.