In this edition of Witchspace News for March 13, 2026, Elite Dangerous highlights a variety of community and game updates. Frontier gave a shout-out to CMDR Nash076, who created an impressive homemade button box to enhance gameplay, sparking a wider community discussion about custom cockpit setups. Alongside this, the channel also referenced Project Simstarr, a full-motion simulator rig dedicated to Elite Dangerous, showcasing the creativity and dedication of the player base in building immersive hardware.
A major new tool has been introduced by CMDR LCU No Fool Like One from Canonn Interstellar Research, allowing players to visualize minor factions in the galaxy in 3D space. This tool overlays faction presence and control across star systems onto a moveable 3D map, highlighting owned systems, presence zones, and permit-locked areas. This innovation makes it easier for players and groups involved in the Background Simulation (BGS) or colonization efforts to track faction influence and expansion in a highly intuitive way.
The community goal celebrating the launch of the Core Dynamics Kestrel Mk2 has recently concluded, rewarding participants with unique paint jobs, decals, credits, and for top contributors, a fully engineered Kill Warrant Scanner. The Galnet news article accompanying the CG also hinted at a significant development: the Federal Navy and Independent Combat Pilots are expected to adopt the Kestrel Mk2 as their new small fighter, suggesting that NPCs may soon start flying newer generation ships introduced since Elite Dangerous’s 2024 relaunch.
This potential NPC upgrade is particularly noteworthy as it could signal the phasing out of the iconic Eagle Mk2 from Federal Navy forces, replacing it with the faster, more agile Kestrel Mk2, which includes a supercruise overcharge capability. While this might sound intimidating for players flying older ships, the update reassures that NPC difficulty and behavior can be balanced behind the scenes, ensuring combat remains fair and skill-based rather than overwhelmingly difficult.
The video closes by inviting players to share their control hardware setups, their thoughts on using the new Canonn 3D faction map, and which ships they would like to see NPCs piloting in the future. The channel promises to keep the community updated on these developments and thanks viewers for their continued support, signing off with the usual friendly commander camaraderie.
