Frontier
September Update - Downtime and Patch Notes
Greetings Commanders,
The Elite Dangerous servers will be offline for all platforms on 18 September at 8:00 AM (UTC) for approximately 9 hours as we apply the September Update. There is a chance that this could run over, so we really appreciate your patience.
Update:
Due to our internal testing of the September Update running longer than we expected, the game servers will be available at approximately 18:30 UTC. Should this change, we will provide further updates!
Whilst the servers are down, tune into our launch livestream as we talk about the update and all the latest from the Elite community!
As always, we'll keep you updated here and on our social media channels.
Thank you for your patience and we'll see you in the black!
Please find the Patch Notes below:
New Features
New Starter Experience
Added a curated experience for new players that will guide them through the basics of ship control, combat, travel and docking
The experience has localised voiceover in all supported languages
Certain UI elements are highlighted at key points during the flow
Players are given a mission once the flow has been completed, that introduces them to the mission board (with voiceover)
Added the experience to the 'Training Simulations' list, accessible from the internal cockpit panel
Updated the throttle UI to better show the players current direction of travel (the rectangular blocks are now chevrons, and added a subtle pulse animation)
Pre-flight checklist is now off by default when starting a new game (it can be turned back on)
Supercruise
Added new option to the Flight Assist tab to allow the Supercruise Assist module to control the throttle automatically
Supercruise 'Safe to Disengage' message has been updated to include the binding that will disengage Supercruise
ARX
ARX is the new currency that takes over from Frontier Points and real money transactions across all platforms
Players purchase a pack containing a number of ARX that are then used to purchase in-game cosmetic items (Game Extras) for their ship, SRV, fighter or Holo-Me
Players can purchase ARX from in-game links that direct either to an external Frontier Store or site
Any outstanding Frontier Points will be converted to ARX the first time the player logs into the game after the update
Rewarding ARX
Players can earn ARX through standard gameplay (up to a 400 weekly cap) based on in-game activities within Combat, Trade and Exploration and more!
Players are notified of their previous session earnings on the main menu
Livery Update
Refreshed livery layout
Icons denote the different categories (general, decals, cockpit decorations, etc.)
Updated vessel selection screen
Separate UI for ship name and ID
Preview mode that reduces the amount of on-screen UI, giving a clearer view of the chosen item
Players now purchase items, with ARX, directly from livery, without being redirected to an external store
Players can now access livery from the main menu
Holo-Me
New Store
Added a new customisation store
Players can browse the entire catalog of customisation items for any available ship
Preview Mode allows players to see any cosmetic items on a vanilla version of any ship, as well as use camera controls to view it from different angles
The store is accessible from either the main menu or major starports in-game
Players purchase cosmetic items directly from the store, without being redirected to an external site
Bug Fixes
Codex
Fixed being unable to scroll through Tourist Beacon text in the archive section if it was longer than one page
Fixed an issue where HOTAS users couldn't scroll through the right hand side of the archive section
Crashes/Stability
Fixed a crash that could occur when logging into the game
Fixed an issue where players were getting stuck on the loading screen, due to being close to an asteroid ring
Fixed a crash that could occur when looking at the Powerplay screen during a hyperspace jump
Decals
Diamond Explorer
Fixed an issue where the outfitting camera was clipping into the hangar floor
Exploration
Fixed an issue where body data wouldn't show up first time when using the Full Spectrum Scanner (FSS)
Fixed an issue where the blue scan visual effect can appear on a nearby planet that you're not trying to scan
Fixed an issue where players couldn't scroll through the right-hand side panel when selling Exploration Data
Fixed an issue where the word 'next' was partially cut off in the Navigation Tab of the External Panel
Fighters
Added a cooldown when using hotkeys to give fighters orders, and prevented allowing players to repeat an order that has already been given to the fighter (multiple orders were creating network lag, resulting in an exploit during combat)
General
The correct Elite rank will now show when targeting your own ship from your SRV
Fixed an issue where a player's ship name/ID plates was being incorrectly censored when on the main menu
Fixed a restock issue for vessels when the player has multiple bays fitted
Interdiction
Krait Phantom
Localisation
Mamba
Mines
Decreased mine rearm time from 5 seconds to 2 seconds. The increase in time was an attempt to fix an issue where long ships were being hit by their own mines. However, the updated arming time was too long, making them ineffective. This new arming time should balance it.
Missions
Fixed missing 'mission target' tags from certain ships, meaning Massacre and Assassination missions should now have appropriate target ships for the players to attack
Fixed missing text in some VIP Passenger missions
Narrative
Network
Correctly display which network adapter is being used by the game in the network options, as well as preferring a wired network connection over a wireless one if both are found
Fixed edge cases where players were being placed in the same instance as players they had blocked
Added unique error codes to disconnections, for players to use when reporting issues
Player Journal
Updates
New SAASignalsFound event with bio/geo signals on planets and hotspots in rings
SAAScanComplete: add SystemAddress
Scan: add StarSystem name and SystemAddress
FSDTarget: add RemainingJumpsInRoute
CodexEntry,Touchdown,Liftoff: add NearestDestination
StatusFlags: add flags fsdJump, srvHighBeam
ShipTargeted: add powerplay info
Bug Fixes
Fixed code that strips newlines out of strings
Fixed bug that caused blank system names when selling exploration data
In the CrimeVictim event, the Offender field should now have added localisation, if relevant
Fixed description of FactionEffects in MissionCompleted event
Server
Fixed Companion API authentication for players with linked Steam accounts
Sidewinder
SRV
Trading
Fixed an issue with the demand icon overlapping when demand is high
Fixed an issue with the displayed price at a Black Market for contraband goods
When a player is comparing market to buy/sell at, changes have been made to ensure that a selected marker is included in the „consumed by“ list (if applicable), even if another market in the same system offers a better price
Training Simulations
Fixed an issue with the Mining Simulation where players could fire the Mining Laser at nothing and the tutorial would play incorrect voiceover
Fixed an issue with the Advanced Combat Training Simulation, where players could cycle fire groups too early in the flow of the simulation
Unidentified Signal Sources (USS)
Viper MkIII