How Real Astronomy Shapes Elite's Galaxy

PC Gamer talks to ELITE DANGEROUS creator David Braben about the way Frontier’s simulated galaxy reflects our own.

- Andy Kelly

In February 2017, NASA announced that the TRAPPIST-1 system—located a mere 229 trillion miles from Earth—contains seven terrestrial planets, three of which are in the so-called Goldilocks zone. Almost 4,000 exoplanets have been detected by astronomers to date, but the large number of Earth-sized planets in this particular system makes the discovery special.

When I heard about it, my immediate thought was: I want to go there in Elite Dangerous. Frontier has reacted to real-world astronomy discoveries before in its realistic simulation—including updating Pluto to reflect the images taken by the New Horizons probe—and I wondered if TRAPPIST-1 would receive similar treatment. I was delighted to discover that it would.

The system is now in the game waiting to be visited. The perfect excuse to take my Cobra for a spin and do some space tourism, and also to talk to Elite creator and Frontier founder David Braben about the system and its inclusion in the game’s simulated galaxy.

“The tool we use to generate our Milky Way is called Stellar Forge, and it’s evolved from what was in Frontier long ago in terms of predicting how the galaxy works,” he says. “Beyond about 40-45 light years, even Hubble can’t see M-class red dwarf stars. They’re tiny and quite faint, and that’s what TRAPPIST-1 is. It’s right on the edge of what can be seen, even with the best telescopes.”