Fan tool lets Elite Dangerous players embed new stories in the game

Elite Dangerous, the massively multiplayer spacefaring game, has offered players cryptic puzzles, new modes of transportation, and a galaxy-spanning war over its 12-year run. Now a fan-made tool called MetaElite lets players create and deliver their own in-game narratives.

The tool’s creator, Commander Othon von Salza, is an artist and computer scientist and a member of the Children of Raxxla. The group wanted an educational way to teach recruits its in-game history, so Othon built MetaElite to read the game’s Player Journal—a log file shared with the community—and trigger lore drops in real time as players act in the galaxy.

Distant Worlds organizers adapted MetaElite for this year’s four-month expedition, which drew nearly 9,000 players. More than 3,000 fleet members have opted into testing; the tool overlays objectives and text onto the in-game HUD and displays additional content in a second window, functioning as a campaign manager.

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