Ninth Fleet Headquarters, Deep Space 9

David Braben, one of the creators of the original, is seeking £1.25m ($2m) via Kickstarter to fund the updated version. Called Elite: Dangerous it will involve the same mix of interstellar travel, trading, piracy and spaceships as the original 8-bit game. Those who pledge cash to the project will also get a chance to shape the development of the updated version.

"Elite is a game that we've wanted to come back to for a very, very long time," Mr Braben told the BBC. "It's the sort of game that I would very much like to play today."

When Elite was first published in 1984 it instantly became a huge success. Its wire-frame 3D graphics and open-ended play across eight randomly generated galaxies was at odds with the narrow, 2D side-scrolling games that were the norm at the time.

"It changed the way that people looked at games very much for the better," said Mr Braben.

The updated version will keep the open-ended, space trading setting and will make use of modern PC power to create a vast interstellar territory that players can explore. Ships will be fitted with hyperspace drives to enable them to get around and the planets, stars, asteroid belts and other things found in deep space will be procedurally generated.

F9thRyker wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20165344

David Braben, one of the creators of the original, is seeking £1.25m ($2m) via Kickstarter to fund the updated version. Called Elite: Dangerous it will involve the same mix of interstellar travel, trading, piracy and spaceships as the original 8-bit game. Those who pledge cash to the project will also get a chance to shape the development of the updated version.

"Elite is a game that we've wanted to come back to for a very, very long time," Mr Braben told the BBC. "It's the sort of game that I would very much like to play today."

When Elite was first published in 1984 it instantly became a huge success. Its wire-frame 3D graphics and open-ended play across eight randomly generated galaxies was at odds with the narrow, 2D side-scrolling games that were the norm at the time.

"It changed the way that people looked at games very much for the better," said Mr Braben.

The updated version will keep the open-ended, space trading setting and will make use of modern PC power to create a vast interstellar territory that players can explore. Ships will be fitted with hyperspace drives to enable them to get around and the planets, stars, asteroid belts and other things found in deep space will be procedurally generated.

The project will be initially funded via KickStarter. If £1.25 million ($2 mil) can be raised by January, Brabens' game developer studio (Frontier Developments) will make it.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/146 ... -dangerous

They have already raised £375k in the first 48 hours - but they need all the help they can get.


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