Elite: Dangerous developer Frontier announced on Friday that multi-crew ships and an avatar creator will be part of its new season of DLC, dubbed Horizons, in 2016. We already knew that the galaxy-sized flight sim would introduce planetary landings later this year, but ships crewed by groups of players has also been high on players' wishlist since the game arrived on Kickstarter in 2012.
"Multi-Crew lets you fly in the same ship with friends, which will up the intensity and camaraderie levels of a joint mission even further!" Frontier wrote in an email on Friday. "You’ll be able to share and alternate control of weapons systems, turrets and flight duties to multiply your effectiveness. Even to the extent of piloting a ship-launched fighter and working in combination with the mothership. It’ll be especially useful in some of the very large trading ships coming in season two."
Since players will be walking around and talking with other players on a more personal level, Frontier is adding an avatar creator. Having recognizable faces designed by players opens up a lot of the personal interaction that Elite: Dangerous has been lacking so far. In a close crew, Frontier writes, players can "identify friends with a quick glance across your ship's bridge."
New ships and more changes are coming to Elite: Dangerous next year as part of the new season of DLC. Elite spent the weekend on sale and at the top of the Steam best-seller list, so plenty of new commanders are joining the game as we approach one year since launch.
