An explorer in Elite Dangerous has ventured into the void between galaxies, seeking to break the record for travelling the furthest distance from our own sun. But due to a miscalculation, they ve run out of the fuel necessary for a return trip and are currently stranded further than any pilot has ever been from civilisation. Now the fuel rats a collection of players who save player ships from dereliction by refueling them are mounting an ambitious multi-ship rescue that will take two days to complete. (more…)

Oh dear. A pilot in Elite Dangerous has fallen for a cheeky prank. Commander SpeedyBebop undertook a six-hour journey to Hutton orbital (a remote space station orbiting 0.22 lightyears from its parent star) after hearing that a free Anaconda awaited anyone who travelled there. This is one of the space sim s most expensive and powerful ships. But when he arrived, he discovered the whole thing was a ruse. There was no Anaconda. And it turns out he s not the first one to fall for this prank – it has become a running joke among Elite s pilots. (more…)

The empty space of Elite Dangerous has become slightly less empty since my previous misadventures across the galaxy. With this in mind, I’ve returned to the joystick-waggling spaceship sim, hoping to check out the fresh nonsense. Last time, we saw some surprisingly malleable character customisation. Today, it s a two-for-one. I m off to see some aliens, but I m also taking a tourist with me.

(more…)

A photon checks into a hotel and the receptionist asks him: Any luggage, sir?

No, he says, I m travelling light.

This is just one of the jokes pilots were broadcasting over the comms channel as I collected my wages in Grant Dock. There was one joke about the Higgs boson walking into a bar, or maybe it was a synagogue, I don t remember. All I care about is getting that sweet Palladium money, which I take from the pale-faced man who runs this station. He doesn t do much, the pale-faced man. Imagine a profile pic stuck on a postbox, with a little slot where money comes out. I prefer the people sounding off in local chat, they re at least human beings. Not that you d know it, listening to their jokes.

I load up my spaceship with power generators. It s good to be back. (more…)

Things have been hotting up in Elite Dangerous [official site] facsimile of our massive galaxy, what with that whole alien invasion problem. But if humanity can survive the Thargoids, there s a whole lot more coming in 2018 with a new season called Elite Dangerous: Beyond. Frontier announced a roadmap at Frontier Expo, and it looks like they re going to be cramming a lot into these free updates, including new ships, tools and large group content

(more…)

Here they are then – the best games to play in virtual reality…and those games are “watching football,” “drinking”, “a nice cup of tea”, “fleeting emotional connection to another human being” and all those other everyday activities you believe to be real, as opposed than a simulation you have been experiencing since you first plugged your frail, mollusc-like form into a headset 19 years ago. SPOOKS!

But, should you persist in maintaining this fantasy, let’s go one level deeper and talk about the entertaining, satisfying or otherwise nifty games available for what is the current VR state-of-the-art in your imagined world: the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The rival headsets are getting on for a couple of years old now, and in that time there’s been what can feel like a ceaseless storm of new games for them. How to choose, how to choose? Well, start here. These are not the only> good’uns, please understand – but they are our favourite virtual realities right now.

(more…)

The big alien ships of Elite Dangerous [official site] have been eluding, confusing and amusing the space sim’s pilots for a while. But now they will also blow you up, thanks to the most recent patch. The Return (less ominously known as update 2.4) gives weapons to the extraterrestrials in the form of a beautiful swarm of tiny fighters that launch from the rear of the alien vessels and cut any aggressor to ribbons. I’m calling this gang of lethal little fellows “the Thwarm”. (more…)

After yonks of littering space with their garbage and buzzing spaceships while repeating “Is this bugging you? I’m not touching you. Is this bugging you?“, the alien Thargoids will start to arrive properly in Elite Dangerous [official site] this month. Frontier Developments have confirmed that the update bringing them back to the space sim series, version 2.4 aka The Return, will launch on Tuesday, September 26th. It’ll kick off a storyline unfolding over the months to come. For now, check out a Thargoid fight in this new cinematic trailer:

(more…)

The pilots of Elite Dangerous: Horizons [official site] have become space sleuths in the past year, attempting to uncover more information about the mysterious aliens known as the Thargoids. Their latest discovery is the most momentous yet: a sprawling base on a world hundreds of lightyears from Earth. You can watch the first humans explore its cavernous interior below.

… [visit site to read more]

After yonks of warning signs, hints, puzzles, and tense first encounters in Elite Dangerous: Horizons [official site], the alien Thargoids are almost ready to start preparing to properly arrive in a bit. Frontier Developments have announced that the space ’em up’s Update 2.4, codenamed The Return, will kick off story events that will finally see Thargoids return to Elite as a proper part of the game. Yup, the wait continues but the end is in sight. When the Thargoids arrive, Frontier say, they’ll shake the galaxy up. … [visit site to read more]