Elite Dangerous: Beyond’s scenario missions and simulation bring new life to the vacuum

The lovechild of an oil rig and a Kit Kat Chunky floats majestically through space. Against the empty backdrop of the void you wouldn’t know just how huge the bulk cruiser is - were it not for the fact that we’re viewing it through the cockpit of a far more petite vessel. Like every other ship of its class, the megaship fills the screen. Underlit with delicious orange light, it’s making us hungry. Clearly, we’re not alone. “Calling nearby military units,” the megaship says. “We’re under attack. Please provide support.” It’s a distress call. You can tell because the lady on the intercom sounds, beneath her curt professionalism, distressed. As it so happens, we’re flying a nearby military unit - but decide to turn the megaship down. Another voice, gruff and male, crackles in. “Glad to have you with us, commander.” A set of objectives materialise on the UI: we’re to help the pirates cripple the megaship. “What’s really lovely is that this is utilising things that players are already doing,” executive producer Adam Woods interjects, “like datalink scanning. But we can add a little bit of direction.” The gruff voice comes in again, suggesting we use our scanner to identify weak points on the megaship. Aha: now the cruiser’s many vulnerable fuel canisters are highlighted for the duration of the fight. We’ll need to blow up 15 of them to bring the megaship to a standstill.