14 DAY TRIAL // Elite: Dangerous has entered alpha state 2.0, bringing about a host of new features, the most important of which being the addition of multiplayer for its backers.
David Braben, designer of the original 1984 Elite video game, is also at the heart of Elite: Dangerous' development process.
Believe it or not, the game featured innovative 3D wireframe technology, a properly written novella from Robert Holdstock, an acclaimed sci-fi and fantasy author, that was meant as an introduction for newer players, and best of all the game was based in an open-ended world model.
At the beginning of last year, Frontier Developments decided to re-invent the game, and bring the joys of trading, bounty-hunting, becoming a pirate or an assassin – in space – to a more modern setting. They took to Kickstarter and secured the necessary funding to develop Elite: Dangerous, and have been hard at work since then.
The latest fruits of their labor come in the form of Alpha Phase 2.0, which brings multiplayer to the game's backers, in four distinct multiplayer scenarios, free for all melee, team vs. team melee, the co-op defense of a crippled Federal battlecruiser and a rather complex "Pirates and Bounty Hunters" mode, intended to give a taste of the choices role-players will be afforded in the final game.
As the devs inform, players can earn credits through participation in each scenario, and use those credits for purchasing new ship loadouts.
The developers stated that they plan to release an additional two major Alpha releases, before moving on to the Premium Beta Stage.
The alpha program can still be joined, through the Elite: Dangerous online store.
