Hi everyone,

The Elite: Dangerous Powerplay Beta will be available for download for those players with beta access, from approximately 4PM BST today (26/05/2015).

The bug reporting forum can be found here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=121

Thanks in advance to everyone who takes part, and for all the feedback we get from you playing! We can't wait to see what you think.

Here's the full change-log:

New Content/Features:

• Powerplay added
• Power map views added to galaxy map
• Added power information and action screens
• Power specific ship modules added
• Power specific ambient traffic added
• Spawn AI to hunt player if they defect
• Power specific goods and actions added
• Playable ship Imperial Courier added
• Playable ship Diamondback added
• Cargo/Mining chunk collection drones added
• Fuel transfer drones added
• Prospector drones added
• Mission system overhaul
• Inbox integration for branching missions
• Missions scaling up based on rank
• Missions scaling up based on reputation with mission giver
• Mission targets can be generated in supercruise rather than USSs
• Spawned AI difficulty determined by mission (if spawned by mission)
• Missions requiring only mineable materials added
• Revamped military progression missions
• Added Founders and Elite ranked missions
• More mission variants added
• Chatter tables updated
• Updated bounty system
• Bounties cannot be paid off (Pilot's Fed contact is gone!), but expire after 7 days.
• Major factions don't record crimes anymore, only minor factions. (You may have major faction stuff in your saves left over from the previous system).
• Fines now take 7 days to expire, but never coexist with bounties (bounties absorb fines and dormant bounties with the same faction).
• Expiry only actually happens when you login, hyperspace or resurrect. (This stops cases of "I attacked a wanted ship that had no bounty a few seconds
• Friendly fire values relaxed
• Add select nav target functionality to system map
• Add mining bonus for mining operations within extraction sites
• Added Painite as a minable commodity
• Added osmium as a minable commodity
• Added low and high intensity resource extraction site scenarios
• Loan ceiling scales based on player's highest Elite rank
• Founder decal now gold
• Added crimes for reckless flying (collisions) within starport no fire zones:
• Shields only collisions above speed limit is a fine
• Hull damage only above speed limit is a larger fine
• Ship destruction within short window after collision above speed limit is a bounty
• Respects 'Report crimes against me' setting
• Allow any general purpose slot on any ship to contain a fuel tank module
• Show progress to next PF rank
• NPC chatter works in supercruise
• Added rank up messages and animations to inbox