Hello, Commander, Welcome to Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #79.



This week, we're heading to E3. On Saturday morning the Frontier team is flying to Los Angeles to meet our local Ambassadors and prepare for a week on the E3 show floor.



There will be no newsletter next week because you'll find all the latest news and content about Elite: Dangerous at our new Community beta site . We'll be posting every day, and giving you the background on everything related to the game at E3 2015 first-hand.



For this newsletter, we're taking a look at the week ahead, showing off our all-new storefront at FrontierStore.net and looking at the launch of Powerplay in Mike Brookes' Developer Update.



As always, you can hear the latest news and updates directly from the development team on our Forums , Twitter , Facebook and right here in the newsletter every week, and we're always eager to hear your feedback. Have a great weekend, and we'll see you in LA. Contents This Week Elite: Dangerous @ E3 2015

The New Frontier Store

Developer Update

Comms Chatter

GalNet Elite: Dangerous @ E3 2015

The big week is almost here. E3 is the biggest gaming show of the year and Frontier will be there with Elite: Dangerous and our new title we'll be revealing at the show.



If you're a member of the press attending E3 you'll find us above the west hall at Meeting Room 511A. The room will be decked out with hands-on stations, with two rooms behind closed doors where we're saving some surprises. You can't miss us; our booth number is written on the colossal banner hanging above the glass entrance to the west hall,



If you're not among the press, don't worry. We'll be updating you throughout the show at the new featuring our all-new E3 art.If you're not among the press, don't worry. We'll be updating you throughout the show at the new community blog . We'll even show you our banner art among our other announcements. E3 officially begins Tuesday at 12:00 PST, but we'll be updating the new Community site from Monday and posting coverage throughout the week to our blog Twitter and Facebook



Keep a close eye on all our channels and we'll let you know where to find us online. We'll be streaming on Twitch and a number of other places we can't reveal just yet, and we'll have some live appearances we can't announce until the show begins. Stay tuned.



We'll have masses of coverage for you. It's a busy week for the team and we wish we could tell you more, but it's not long to wait now. See you at E3. Back to Contents The New Frontier Store

Earlier this week we launched the new Frontier Store at FrontierStore.net.



Now when you log into your Frontier account at Elite: Dangerous.com you'll be taken to FrontierStore.net, where you can connect as normal to grab the latest launcher, buy merchandise or pick up paint jobs for your ships. Right now we're offering ten percent off Elite: Dangerous in the summer sale, so it's a good time to recruit some friends, form a wing and fly the galaxy together.



There's much more coming to the Frontier Store soon, and we'll keep you updated here and on the Community blog. Back to Contents From the desk of Executive Producer Michael Brookes...



The Powerplay update is now out in the wild and it’s great to see large numbers of players backing their chosen powers – although I am a little disappointed that more of you haven’t backed Archon Delaine! J It is interesting to see the various strategies and schemes people are employing to support their power or sabotage the opposition.



We encountered some server issues over the weekend although as with any release we ensured that there was sufficient coverage, which was the same as if we’d released in the week. However we do appreciate that any downtime especially as busy times can be frustrating. The most pressing of which were tackled by the team covering the release. Like any major release we’re continuing to address the remaining issues with server and client releases this week. Keep an eye out for the change logs for more information. We’ve also received a mass of useful data which we’ll use to perform balance tweaks with these minor updates. Of course we’re also evaluating feedback and discussion and making changes where needed.



There are some issues still being investigated such as the new res sites not populating as expected, and wear and tear costs. The Powerplay update included some fixes for micro-stuttering and stuttering seen on some people’s machines, however while these fixes have helped in many cases, it still affects others so we are still looking into other causes.



It appears that some people aren’t sure about whether to get involved in Powerplay and while we hope that you do (most of the players active since release have signed up for a power) like many parts of the game it’s up to you. You don’t have to sign up for a power and can continue to operate as an independent pilot, or continue backing specific minor factions (which can also feed back into Powerplay). Powers have area effects for the regions they control, so it can be a benefit to operate in certain areas even if you haven’t backed the powers. Of course the reverse is also true, but in either case there is a shifting geography of states and changes which enhances the map of the galaxy.



As part of development we’re always looking to improve existing systems and one system that has received a behind the scenes update has been the web service for exploration scans. An optimisation has been added to the server to improve the look up times when calculating the value of scans. This optimisation is applied to new data generated with the Powerplay (1.3) release, so selling your data for scans after this time will benefit. Scans before this time don’t benefit though. Naturally we target such changes where they have the greatest impact and currently exploration data is the largest block of data that we store for the game, so this made it the natural target.



Over the past week we’ve shadow banned a number of players for cheating with community goals.



Next week brings E3 and various parts of the team have been working hard to support our announcements and presence at this show. We’re quite excited for what will be shown! Back to Contents Comms Chatter Karma-neutral on Reddit showed us his 3D-Printed model of an Imperial Clipper. Visit the Imgur page to see more pictures from different angles. Have you pledged your allegiance to a Power and want somewhere to discuss strategy with your fellow devotees? Well look no further, because CMDR Toleer has put together this handy list of Elite: Dangerous Power subreddits for you to subscribe to. With the upcoming release of their fourth Elite: Dangerous audio book ‘And Here the Wheel’, the Radio Theatre Workshop interviewed Steve Wilson , the composer of the book’s soundtrack. According to their site, “The Radio Theatre Workshop is a home for quality audio drama, creating both audiobooks and full-cast productions.” Learn more by visiting their homepage. And finally, a guest writer on Fenris Wolf’s blog tells a story about one commander helping another in a time of need. Back to Contents



In late 3300, the small Federal system of Dahan found itself being used as a staging area for a prolonged military campaign against the independent nation of Eranin. Eventually, Eranin managed to force back the Federal invasion. Although not before heavy losses were incurred by both sides. This week that region once again became a hotbed, though this time of political activity, as both Federal and Alliance campaigners turned out in force in an attempt to exert their influence over the sector.



It’s been a little over a week since Felicia Winters assumed control of the Federal Liberal Party, and it looks as if the Shadow President intends to start her time in office by taking on her ex-employer in a bid to stabilize the Federation’s interests in the Tascheter sector.

Media agents working on behalf of the Shadow President are currently in the process of spreading information packages throughout the Oduduro system, with the hope being that once residents learn of the Shadow President’s new policies they will realise that their best option is to remain part of the Federation.



After the phenomenal political upheaval of the last week and the handover to the new administration, we take a look at our new Vice President Brad Mitchell. He started as a travelling salesman, a rep for LTT 15449 Dynamic Incorporated, and rapidly climbed the ranks, ending up as President of Sales at Reyan BPS, becoming very wealthy before his move into politics. Brad Mitchell has a good reputation for getting things done, but has made enemies along the way.



A little over six months ago, the newly discovered naturally occurring plant known as Onionhead was made illegal throughout all of Federal space. Not long after, in an attempt to stop the spread of Onionhead, the Federation launched a violent campaign against the innocent farmers of Kappa Fornacis, led by the vocal Georgio Algeria. Federal marines invaded the farmers’ fields, and Federal battle cruisers rained fire from the skies. The now wealthy farmers managed to create a new strain of Onionhead, and so the spread started, working alone and with others, including the East India Company – an Imperial trade organisation in which Senator Zemina Torval is a major shareholder. In an attempt to warn the Imperial Senator away from Kappa Fornacis, President Hudson responded by directing a number of prominent Republican Party supporters to begin permanently establishing themselves in Autahenetsi, to change public opinion as a deterrent to farmers, smugglers and Imperials alike. Although at time of press, neither the East India Company nor Senator Zemina Torval appear to be particularly intimidated by the Federation’s efforts. Despite some fear that the recent change in leadership would lead to further destabilisation of the Federation, it seems that on the whole, the majority of Federal worlds are content to wait and see what kind of President Zachary Hudson turns out to be. Political pundits and sociologists alike had expressed concerns that since the disappearance of former President Jasmina Halsey, the Federation would almost certainly go through a period of internal strife while the landscape of Federal power adjusted to the new reality.In late 3300, the small Federal system of Dahan found itself being used as a staging area for a prolonged military campaign against the independent nation of Eranin. Eventually, Eranin managed to force back the Federal invasion. Although not before heavy losses were incurred by both sides. This week that region once again became a hotbed, though this time of political activity, as both Federal and Alliance campaigners turned out in force in an attempt to exert their influence over the sector.It’s been a little over a week since Felicia Winters assumed control of the Federal Liberal Party, and it looks as if the Shadow President intends to start her time in office by taking on her ex-employer in a bid to stabilize the Federation’s interests in the Tascheter sector.Media agents working on behalf of the Shadow President are currently in the process of spreading information packages throughout the Oduduro system, with the hope being that once residents learn of the Shadow President’s new policies they will realise that their best option is to remain part of the Federation.After the phenomenal political upheaval of the last week and the handover to the new administration, we take a look at our new Vice President Brad Mitchell. He started as a travelling salesman, a rep for LTT 15449 Dynamic Incorporated, and rapidly climbed the ranks, ending up as President of Sales at Reyan BPS, becoming very wealthy before his move into politics. Brad Mitchell has a good reputation for getting things done, but has made enemies along the way.A little over six months ago, the newly discovered naturally occurring plant known as Onionhead was made illegal throughout all of Federal space. Not long after, in an attempt to stop the spread of Onionhead, the Federation launched a violent campaign against the innocent farmers of Kappa Fornacis, led by the vocal Georgio Algeria. Federal marines invaded the farmers’ fields, and Federal battle cruisers rained fire from the skies. The now wealthy farmers managed to create a new strain of Onionhead, and so the spread started, working alone and with others, including the East India Company – an Imperial trade organisation in which Senator Zemina Torval is a major shareholder. In an attempt to warn the Imperial Senator away from Kappa Fornacis, President Hudson responded by directing a number of prominent Republican Party supporters to begin permanently establishing themselves in Autahenetsi, to change public opinion as a deterrent to farmers, smugglers and Imperials alike. Although at time of press, neither the East India Company nor Senator Zemina Torval appear to be particularly intimidated by the Federation’s efforts. Back to Contents That’s it for Newsletter #79. As always, if there's anything in particular that you’d like to hear more about, or if you'd like to ask a question, then please contact us at elite-newsletter@frontier.co.uk.



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Until next time, fly safe and Right On, Commander.



The Frontier Team Until next time, fly safe and Right On, Commander.The Frontier Team