 This is a Witchspace news special bulletin. I'm Commander Burr Frontier just dropped an announcement out of the blue about what they're calling the April update Which is coming to the game on April the 23rd Aimed primarily at new players and the more inexperienced commanders the majority of the changes some of which are fairly radical in places Are designed to help get new people in the door and Hopefully turn the current learning wall into much more of a learning curve in order to keep them there for longer A post on the official forums opens by talking about what frontier are calling a beginner's zone a collection of star systems that appears to have been added to the Game that can only be accessed by pilots until they earn their first combat trade or exploration rank Authorities in these systems will provide missions that can be easily completed by something like a sidewinder New commanders will also have a reduced re-by-cost until they earn their first pilots Federation rank in any of the three main disciplines Further to the new systems a new advanced docking computer is being added to the game as well as allowing you to dock on auto This new module will also undock your ship and get you through the mail slot unscathed as a further leg up to new players It will be added as standard to all newly purchased small ships All newly purchased small ships will also now come with a free supercruise assist module Targeting a destination in system and aligning your ship with it whilst in supercruise will allow the module to maintain the correct speed Doing away with the dreaded loop of shame To help accommodate the new modules small ships will be retrofitted with two additional size one optional slots Medium and large ships will each receive one additional size one optional slot Some additional information has been added to the navigation panel in your ships including a new threat level indicator Similar in style to the threat level indicator used in unidentified signal sources This new threat level will help a pilot assess whether a system is of an appropriate level for their current combat rank Or whether they might want to consider giving the system a bit more of a wide berth until they're more experienced Commanders will now also have access to a new players handbook from within the cockpit similar in style to the codex The handbook is described as a treasure trove of information about activities and opportunities within the game Again helping new players find out more about the game and how to interact with elite complex galaxy The commodity market screen is getting an overhaul with more detailed information being added to commodities to help traders find a suitable market Or finding a commodity needed for a mission requirement What frontier calls interstellar initiatives are being added to the game The developers are promising more details on these in a couple of weeks But essentially these are multi-week in-game events that will be at the very least Adding to the old community goal system if indeed not replacing them entirely Frontier are also promising a revamped main menu layout Access to training missions and challenge scenarios right from your cockpit loading screen tips and of course some bug fixes There'll be a content reveal live stream going over the update on Thursday the 18th of April at 1800 UTC It remains to be seen what effect the changes will have on the new player experience I have to say I think anything that helps new players in the game can only be a good thing and Speaks to frontiers future commitment to elite You wouldn't be looking to bring in new people and keep new people in the game If you didn't want or need your game to have long legs I didn't doubt that commitment personally, but I'm quite heartened to see it reiterated nonetheless. I Do have some concerns around the starter system idea just from what we've heard already I personally think that when new players are concerned elite has somewhat of a ganker problem and creating easily Accessible systems for any players in the game has the potential to create a mecca for that culture of seal clubbing But we'll have to see how that pans out and what frontiers plans are specifically the auto undock and supercruise Assistance will undoubtedly prove Controversial to the existing more hardcore crowd and will I'm sure generate some salt in the community Personally, I've lost at least five friends who are hardcore gamers to the existing elite learning precipice That has to change and that change must start somewhere Overall, I'm excited to see the first of this year's promised updates and eager to hear some more specific details on the live stream on the 18th That's it for this bulletin if you enjoy our content Then please hit like and subscribe and remember to hit the little bell icon to get a notification next time we upload a new video You can also find us on Twitter patreon discord and Instagram links to all those are in the description below We'll be back later this week with more videos until then 07 commanders follow the greens on the way out and do keep clear of the toast rack We very much look forward to seeing you next time