Pioneer spacesimulator: a remake of David Braben's Elite Frontier

A little demonstration video I made of a game that has left quite an impression on me. I found out about its existence only a few weeks ago and it has got me hooked ever since.
I've been a great fan of David Braben's Elite series for the first time I played Elite Frontier 2, about 10 years ago and I've always loved sci-fi movies, tv shows, books and games. Ever since the last game in the Elite series, Frontier First Encounters, I've waited for its sequel, Elite 4 or maybe even a new spacegame which will surpass Elite.
Freespace, Freelancer, X-Wing, they were all fantastic but lacked one essential thing: "freedom". While Freelancer may have had open ended gameplay, planets were only the size of my backyard not really giving the impression of what space should look like. Only Elite has ever done space properly: huge, endless, dark, cold, mysterious and seamless. No fancy colorful nebula backgrounds. No pictures of planets in the background which you can't approach but a real, working enviroment with real laws of physics and big 3D planets.

There is a game currently in development called "Infinity the Quest for Earth" which looks very promising. It will probably be the next big free roaming space simulator but I'm afraid it won't be released until a few years from now.

You can understand my joy when I learned of this "Pioneer". It's a perfect remake of Elite. It doesn't add much extras in gameplay but it improves upon the ancient Elite in terms of graphics.
Pioneer is not yet finished. I would like to point that out before anybody who tries it starts complaining. The game crashes often and many of Elite features are missing. The small team of developers are working on it frequently however so I'm sure it will get better in time. Please support this game by visiting their website and letting the developers know how much we appreciate their efforts.

Space looks awesome in Pioneer. I think this movie speaks for itself. Enjoy!

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• pioneer
• elite
• frontier
• first
• encounters
• FFE
• david
• braben
• remake
• spacegame
• spacesimulator
• space
• sim
• exploration
• seamless
• planet
• landing
• planetary
• planetfall
• hyperspace
• procedural
• terrain
• programming
• free
• roaming
• sandbox

[gfamad]

Two things to say. First @KingHaggis you have perfectly understand what is a good spacesim game, and I totally understand how happy you were when discovering this game. I also discovered it a few days ago.

Second, your video is perfect. You put the fingers on essential points of a SpaceSim: Beauty of planets and wandering in a huge universe. Each shot you make is perfect to show those points. Great job.

[KingHaggis]

@gfamad thanks! I hope you like this game and spread the word! :-)

[stoinge]

The music and scenery is beautiful. I love the way that planet shot passed when orbiting. When i first played Elite i came out of the spacestation and a massive ship went right by me without trying to kill me. It was then i realised this game was bigger then i thought. I used to hyperspace into the middle of nowhere , then cruise to see who lived out in the dark forgotten parts.(ps alot were not friendly). I love what you've done here. I'm getting excited again for this great game.

[KingHaggis]

@stoinge Thanks! I agree, the Elite series and Pioneer are unique and atmospheric games. Exploration in a massive universe should be used more often in PC games. Instead, the major gamestudios and publishers give us stupid boring, moneymaking linear games that serve as graphic demonstrations. Space exploration FTW!

[HardWarUK]

Most relaxing video on You Tube - will be back soon! :)

[KingHaggis]

@Gyzyn it's okay to cry because you're right. It is a dream coming true for a lot of spacesim fans. I hope more people will find this game and start playing it. The project definitely needs talented volunteers to make it even better. In the mean time, go ahead and cry. You've earned it after so many years of waiting for a decent spacegame :-)

[KingHaggis]

@MrCaioable Press ESC while in game. There's a tab somewhere where you can set your own controls and graphics. Many ship functions can also be performed by clicking the icons in the cockpit screen.

[MrCaioable]

@KingHaggis what is the controls?

[sherwood49523974]

Dank je wel

[KingHaggis]

@sherwood49523974 There aren't any "blue skies" in Pioneer during daytime on planets like Earth but there are definitely day and nightsides on a planet. If you are landed or docked in a spacestation you can speed up time and watch the sunrise. Or just take off and fly to the other side of the planet. During daytime, you will still be under a starfilled sky though... I hope we'll one day get to see better atmospheric effects in Pioneer.

[sherwood49523974]

All my scenery seems to be at night in the dark.Am I doing something wrong?