Greetings commanders!
Today we're excited to launch the Elite Dangerous 3.0 beta. We will let you know the approximate time it will go live as soon as possible.
If you have not had a chance to read our 3.0 Open Beta FAQ, please do so by clicking here.
We will be adding notes to the beta test forums soon, with specific instructions on what would help us testing. Your continued support, feedback and testing is absolutely invaluable - thanks for getting involved! We'll post the link in here, too.
Below are the patch notes for Elite Dangerous 3.0 Open Beta.
New features for 3.0
Crime
- Crime & Counter Crime system overhaul, including Advance Tactical Response (ATR)
- When the player is destroyed they are not necessarily returned to the last port they docked at, based on a prioritised list of rules
- If players are destroyed when a fine/bounty has been detected they will respawn at a detention centre
- Players that join a Multi-crew session in someone else’s ship, and commit a crime, have a corresponding fine/bounty added to their own most valuable ship
- Players can store hot modules (modules applied to a ship at the time a crime is committed)
- Players can clean ships (and any hot modules applied at the time) through an Interstellar Factor contact by paying the bounty/fine
- Players can sell hot ships from the shipyard for a markdown
- Access to port services including ship transferring/storage/retrieval/selling are limited if the player docks in a 'wanted' ship (bounties and fines) applicable in that jurisdiction, and where transfer is possible, the cost is increased
- Power bounties are issued instead of normal bounties for criminal acts to do with valid Powerplay interactions
- Players can see details on fines and bounties in the wanted ships cockpit, the shipyard and the ship transfer screens
- New crime recognised: "reckless weapons discharge"
- Bounties and fines incurred by players are applied to the ship that the crime was committed in and never go dormant
- Interstellar bounties are created when the combined fines and bounties for factions aligned with the same superpower breach a threshold
Missions
- Added new Wing Missions that can be shared across a Wing and completed as a group
- Mission Depot added where players can accept an applicable mission and deliver the target commodity piece by piece to complete the mission
- Mission reward choice
- New USS scenarios added
Ships
- Added new alien attack craft
- Added the Chieftain. More maneuverable than ships of similar size and weight, the Alliance Chieftain from Lakon Spaceways has been designed not only to dish out punishment, but to avoid it. - Horizons only
- Added second seat to the Keelback to support Multicrew
Trade Data & Galaxy Map
- Galaxy map now indicates its mode when any tab is active
- Galaxy Map: Filter by station services
- Galaxy Map: Filters added for Thargoid & Guardian sites
- More player factions have had a description added in their home system on the galaxy map
- Filter for the new 'detention centre' government type (for new detention centre spawning areas)
- Galaxy Map: Players can view trade data that they own, by commodity, represented on the galaxy map by colour coded icons
- Galaxy Map: Players can view trending trade routes, and filter by AI or Human players
- Galaxy Map: Players can view import and export prices, in a roll out screen, including the ability to select different markets and filter
- Commodity Market: Players can search trade data they own, to compare it to the current market
Engineers
- Material Trader contacts, which allow the player to convert materials - Horizons only
- Engineering a module or weapon results in progressively better improvements within a range
- Players can convert and modify their older modules/weapons engineered before this update
- Players can modify modules/weapons at selected ports (ports with access to outfitting) outside Engineer ports
- Players can select which experimental effect they want to apply to their module, at a material cost
- Players are presented with a screen where they can choose the module/weapon to modify, the Blueprint to apply or pin, see the material cost, and preview the outcome
Weapons and modules
- Added Technology Broker contacts, which allows the player to unlock new weapons and modules in return for specific materials and commodities - Horizons only
- Medium Shock Cannon (Fixed, gimbal & turret)
- Medium Remote Flechette Launcher (Fixed & Turret)
- Medium Enzyme Missile (Fixed)
- Size 4 Meta Alloy Hull Reinforcement Package
- Recon Limpet Controller
Galnet Audio
- Players can now listen to the news in their own language while they play!
- News headlines can be accessed via the status menu
- Galnet can now be accessed via the status menu and articles with audio can be played or queued into a playlist
- Galnet Audio playback options added to controller bindings
- Galnet Audio section added to audio options
Installation and Megaship Interactions
- Data link scanner upgraded to allow scanning megaships and installations to reveal targets the player can interact with
- Players can scan certain revealed targets to uncover sub-targets. These can be interacted with in different ways depending on the type
- Players can damage generators to disable turrets
- Players can use recon limpets to activate data terminals and comms arrays
- Players can use hatchbreaker limpets to open a cargo bay
Surface material system
- Overhauled the surface material system for the rocky, high metal content and metal rich planets
- Improved contrast and colour variation across and between bodies
- The colouration of the surfaces now more clearly telegraphs the chemical make up and volcanic activity of the worlds
Quality of Life
- Added synthesis for new Technology Broker modules and weapons
- Added synthesis for AX weapons
- New cockpit voice assistant - Victor added as an alternative to Verity
- Increased manoeuvrability benefits when boosting based on the ENG pips
- Option added so players can choose how flight controllers address them (Commander Name, Ship Name or Ship ID) when approaching a station
- ’Target Ignore’ feature added for material and commodity collectables and refining
- Ability to see at a glance the quality and inventory quantity of materials targeted
- Per material storage caps
- Increased rewards at Search and Rescue contact
- New High Value supercruise targets for pirates to raid
Misc Features
- Large number of Commander Journal updates
Consoles
- Portuguese language support added for consoles
- 11 new Achievements for XB1 worth 200G
Bug fixes and Improvements
This update includes well over 1000 fixes for various issues that have been discovered and investigated during the development process.
For the sake of clarity, we have primarily listed below fixes for issues that have been reported to us by the community or other important changes.
Audio
- Fixed some audio issues with the Federal Gunship
- Fixed some audio distortion that could occur when passing through a Starport's airlock
- Fixed issue where Elite NPC crew members would use voice responses meant for Elite targets with targets of all ranks
Camera Suite
- Removed a dark background that would appear when opening the main menu while in the Camera Suite
Controls
- Fixed issue of more recent PS4 controllers not being recognised as such when used on PC
- Fixed some instances of changes to keybindings not being saved after restarting the game
- Fixed a throttle issue that occurred when using the Camera Suite
Engineers
- Fixed an issue where engineer bases would not always occupy the top position of your Contacts Panel by default
Fighters/Crew
- Fixed an issue where hired crew could crash their ships when recalled at crater settlement
Galaxy Map/System Map
- Fixed some inconsistent system data for Pekoe
- Fixed the missing 'State' field for systems with damaged stations
- Fixed the argument of periapsis appearing incorrectly on the System Map
- Fixed two systems with duplicate names
- Fixed visual issue with planets that could occur after selling restored exploration data
- The Galaxy Map can now be freely spun with the mouse in both directions, instead of just to the right
- Fixed some texture pop for the stars on the System Map
- Fixed inconsistencies between the jump range calculated by the hyperdrive and what's used in outfitting/galaxy map. Should no longer be cases where the route plotter avoids jumps just on the edge of your range that you could technically make
General Fixes & Tweaks
- Various text tweaks
- Fixed a texture issue in the Teqia QI-T E3-3167 nebula
- Fixed a tiling issue with high resolution screenshots
- Fixed Onionhead decals that were appearing white
- Fixed an issue where incoming calls still came through when voice channels were set to 'off'
- Fixed cases where hyperspacing to a system where the most massive star is part of a close binary would result in incorrect arrival positions
- Commander stats: Highest Single Reward now updates based upon the greatest total bounty per ship destroyed after this release
Holo-Me Creator
- Fixed Holo-Me creator always saying 'Mixed Eyes' even when they match
- Adjusted the height of the wraparound visor eyewear
- Fixed an issue where 'Asymmetry 01' was set by default even when 'None Selected' was set
Hyperspace/Supercruise
- Addressed issue of jumping to a binary star system and dropping too far away from the main star
Installations/POIs/USSs
- Patched a hole in the geometry of the Shrogea MH-V e2-1763 Tourist Installation
- Moved some shipping containers at the Torno 3 Maclaurin Reach surface base to prevent SRVs from becoming stuck
- Fixed players sometimes not receiving Engineering data from scanning data points
- Fixed instances of capital ships being aligned to the wrong side of Conflict Zones
- Fixed a missing Uplink at Dav's Hope
- Fixed some floating buildings at Conflux Settlements
- Added docked capital ship to the Carthage system
- Made some adjustments to the drop out distance to prevent players from dropping out of Supercruise inside the structure of a Megaship
- Grounded a floating communications antenna at Dixon Dock
Launcher - PC Only
- Fixed an issue where the launcher would not minimise when clicking the taskbar icon
Missions
- Passengers will no longer request to visit damaged stations
- Fixed an issue that could lead to single planetary scan missions not completing correctly
- Fixed some massacre mission distribution issues
- Fixed some systems only spawning VIP passenger missions
- Fixed issue where only one ship in a wing would count towards pirate kill missions
- Fixed an issue whereby duplicate named mission targets could spawn during missions
NPCs
- Addressed reports of reckless flying by NPCs around Stations
- Addressed an issue where Pirate NPCs would attack the player when in the same instance as a Thargoid
- Dropping mines inside stations no longer confuses the station's turrets
- Fixed issue where Pirate NPCs could demand more cargo than you are able to drop
- Fixed Black Flight ships being incorrectly flagged as allied with Aegis Research
- Fixed the Beckett Class Science Vessel being incorrectly named when targeted
- Addressed mission target NPCs sometimes dropping out of Supercruise too close to stars
- Fixed issue where a Search and Rescue ship would continue to repair a distress call victim even after they are fully repaired
- Addressed NPC crew members responding with an affirmative to an order when their thrusters have been destroyed
Render
- Fixed an issue whereby a station's interior could appear at a low LOD when in a Wing
- Improved shadows on planet surfaces for some setting configurations
- Fixed a LOD popping issue on Asteroid Base landing pads
- Thargoid Probe shutdown now correctly removes the HUD, rather than turning it black after entering the Camera Suite during a shutdown
- Reduced texture generation time for non-landable planets on consoles Consoles only
- Fixed an issue where the ship's hull could render over weapons (Type 7 and Type 9)
- Prevent crashes when unable to immediately create planet ring texture
- Video memory savings in the handling of the background
- CPU optimisations in the Galaxy Map
- Reduce cases of texture mip level drops on PS4 PS4
- Fix cases of nebulae missing from background
- Adjusted the starlight colour effect on planetary bodies
- Fix for some settlements not being correctly aligned to terrain
- Fix for fog not picking up the star light colour in some cases
- Supercruise motion lines are now frame-rate independent
- Prevent the fluorescent blue line appearing when in headlook mode and exiting the camera suite
- Tweak dust, tyre track and rock colour calculations to better match the surface
- Fix galaxy map icons flickering into and out of existence
- Non-volumetric light cones now fade in instead of clipping
- Prevent some gas giants from blooming out due to dividing their colour by 0
Consoles
- Scale the loading squares for 4K so that they're not tiny - XB1X
- Fixed an issue where the game would revert back to 4K mode instead of 1080p after a few days (XB1) - XB1X only
- Fixed an issue where the pre-order gold Sidewinder paintjob would go missing (PS4)
- Earth now has better defined land masses as on other platforms (PS4)
- Menu audio no longer continues to play when viewing Training Videos (PS4)
- Fixed an issue where you’re unable to reply to messages from friends due to them appearing offline erroneously (PS4)
- Fixed descriptions for various Trophies in languages other than English (PS4)
- Various audio fixes to help reduce “pops & crackles” (PS4)
Ships
General Ship Fixes and Improvements
- Fixed an issue where the Festive String Lights could disappear when swapping vehicles until your next jump
- Fixed ship paint work always showing as scratched even when at 100%
- Thargoid EMPs no longer scrub your ship's Nameplate and ID from your hull
- Fixed some laser aim jittering that was occurring when switching between a Ship Launched Fighter and your Mothership
- Fixed utility mounts disappearing while in Hyperspace
- Corrected spelling of DeLacy in several ship cockpit textures
Anaconda
- Fixed some clipping on the Raider Ship Kit
- Fixed the ship not rolling correctly on its centre of mass axis
- Fixed the engine trails rendering incorrectly
Asp Explorer
- Fixed the bumper Ship Kit covering the Ship ID
- Fixed an alignment issue with the Ship ID
- Fixed an issue with the front decal disappearing and reappearing when dropping from Orbital Cruise
Cobra MkIII
- Fixed an animation issue with the landing gear
Diamondback Explorer
- Patched a hole in the geometry
- Fixed a texture LOD popping issue
Federal Gunship
- Fixed an issue with the heat coils being inverted
Imperial Courier
- Fixed the facing of a decal
Imperial Clipper
- Fixed the XB1 controller vibration not working - XB1 only
Imperial Cutter
- Adjusted some of the outfitting cameras
- Fixed a missing texture under the landing ramp
Lakon Type 7
- Fixed some inverted decals
- Fixed the incorrect orientation of the Camera Suite external angles
Lakon Type 9
- Fixed a cockpit texture issue
Lakon Type 10 Defender
- Fixed an issue where certain hardpoints were not firing correctly
- Fixed a cockpit texture issue
- Adjusted the camera angle for the 6th utility mount when in Outfitting
- Increased the power distributor slot to size 7
Orca
- Fixed some LOD issues with the Pathfinder Paintjob
Python
- Fixed a section of the Tail Kit 4 that could not be recoloured
- Raised the position of the fuel scoop message as it was appearing too low
SRV
- Fixed an issue whereby your ship could take off while deploying your SRV, causing it to possibly take damage
- Fixed an issue where SRV cargo was retained when the SRV was destroyed
- Fixed issue whereby your ship could be dismissed while deploying the SRV, causing the turret not to deploy correctly
- Fixed SRV handling inconsistencies while airborne at some framerates
- Fixed issue whereby a player driving an SRV would receive a bounty for returning fire on a hostile NPC ship
- Fixed an issue with the fuel gauge displaying an incorrect value
Stability Fixes
- Fixed an issue that prevented players who logged out near 'Downed Civilian Ships' in the California Nebula from logging back in
- Fixed a crash that could occur when switching back to your ship from a Ship Launched Fighter
- Various crash fixes for all platforms
- Fixed a common connection error that could occur
- Prevent crash at planetary bases that could occur from rapidly loading in and exiting to main menu repeatedly
Station Services
- Fixed an issue where the Restock All menu could get stuck loading
- Fixed an issue whereby modules were not being correctly categorised in the Stored Ships panel of the Shipyard
Stations/Ports
- Various fixes and optimised for stations and outposts
UI
- Engineering effects on Modules can now been seen in the modules tab
- Fixed an issue with bracketed Commander names not displaying as intended
- Insurance screen 'Rebuy All' toggle has been changed to 'Select All' for clarity
- Fixed incorrect 'Killed By' message that appeared when a player destroyed your Ship Launched Fighter in PvP
- Fixed an incorrect thumbnail displaying in the Role panel
- 'Total Hyperspace Distance' and 'Maximum Distance from Start' stats on the Stats Panel now display as whole numbers
- Corrected some display errors on the Insurance Screen
- Fixed issue where some Blueprints mod descriptions were not matching the results
- Fixed some text layout issues for Inbox, mission text and Info tab of the Multi-Crew sub menu
- Fixed issue with the System Map scroll bar resetting when a map pop-up is closed
- Fixed the switch tabs buttons appearing incorrectly in the French client in the Holo-me creator
- Read messages in your inbox will now display an open envelope icon
VR - PC only
- Adjusted the pilot illumination so it proves less distracting when using VR
- Fixed a rendering issue with some Sidewinder cockpit panels rendering as transparent when using VR
Weapons & Modules
- Fixed an issue where engineered Pack Hound Missiles could not always be restocked correctly
- Fixed an issue where some engineered torpedoes were not damaging internal modules correctly
- Fixed an issue where guided missiles could remain stationary in space after a conflict
- Small adjustments to the position of the penetration sphere (and making it smaller) to better balance High Yield Shell, Deep Cut Payload and Penetrator Munitions specials - these should all be slightly less effective at their best, better on average, and overall show much more consistent results.
- Fixed an issue where heat sinks could not be activated when in Supercruise
- Fixed an issue where jumping to Supercruise reset the charge provided by a Shield Cell Bank if the charge had not completed before the jump
- Updated the description text for the Turreted Flak Launcher for clarity
- Fixed an issue where Collector Limpets could explode on the cargo hatch when the vessel was moving
- Adjusted the Hatch Breaker Limpet Controller's in-game description
- Adjustments made to the Docking Computer to prevent damage during landings
- Fixed issue of power priorities in the module tab not listing all priorities
Modifications to existing specials
- Autoloader rate increased 25%
- Force Shell no longer scatters
- Plasma Slug damage penalty reduced from 20% to 10%
- Radiant Canister no longer reduces ammo capacity (was 25% penalty)
- Shiftlock Canister no longer reduces damage (was 20% Penalty)
- Thermal Conduit no longer includes a base damage penalty, but the damage bonuses from the firing ship's heat have been reduced to offset this
- Thermal Vent effectiveness doubled, and no longer increases weapon's baseline heat (was 25% penalty)
- Thermal Shock damage penalty reduced from 20% to 10%