Official Elite Dangerous Thread

This whole situation is extremely unfortunate and has unfortunately put a bit of a damper on my excitement for the game.
 
Isengard said:
It's still odd taking a stand against online only and then going ahead and playing an online only game with zero qualms.
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I see where you are coming from, but I think that it's more about the fact that they broke a promise about a certain feature that they were supposed to offer. If they are no longer going to offer offline play as originally promised, what are they going to renege on next? They also knew about the fact that they were removing their offline mode for many months before the announcement apparently, which just makes it seem dishonest. The issue here is about broken trust between the customer and the developer. Whether online-only is a problem for you or not, that lack of faith is a big issue for most people.

Edit:
I have nothing invested in this game as I am not a backer nor a fan of the original, but I can completely identify with those who feel slighted by this. Furthermore, this sort of thing bothers me as it creates further negative perception around Kickstarter games. There is a lot of potential for crowd-funding games as we have seen with Double Fine adventure, Wasteland 2 among others, but suckers investors are going to be less likely to hand their money over to developers if this becomes the norm. The failed second Kickstarter campaign of the Planetary Annihilation devs is proof of this. They promised an offline mode in PA, but didn't deliver it until they saw their second campaign was failing. That game (Human Resources) looked awesome, but no one was willing to shell out to a dev that breaks their promises. This will undoubtedly happen with Frontier too. If this keeps happening the Kickstarter movement is going to have its reputation irreparably damaged.
 
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Isengard said:
It's still odd taking a stand against online only and then going ahead and playing an online only game with zero qualms.
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haha sorry, my comment was taken a little out of context, I should have elaborated better.

E:D atm in its current form is very much in its infancy and doesn't support a whole of different game mechanics and things to do. Now I know that you cant compare the 2 games as they were built to offer different things, but when I look at the combat and I remember just how intense EvE online pvp is, I start leaning towards eve online. And I have a fairly decent character which also helps lool.

Thing is I really am looking to get into a nice Space Sim again and the pickings are just so limiting currently. There has been a ton of changes to the game since I last played and firing it up again was almost like playing a new "familiar" game again. Also I read this post http://www.polygon.com/features/2014/2/24/5419788/eve-online-thrilling-boring (warning extreme wall of text) and remembered being there for some of those events.

The problem with eve and being a new player is time... U need time to get ur character to an acceptable level to be able to do half decent things in eve. But the moment you above that bell curve that's when the meat of the game really kicks in.

Think of it this way, the game came out in 2003 and is still goin amongst the other supposed AAA mmo titles. Heck I haven't played the game in 4 years and when I logged on I was surprised to see the amount of old faces still playing the game even now.

So for my needs currently the flavour of the month is EvE online. And ill look at E:D again at a later stage, I want to see what they do after launch. Im just currently concerned that if the skimping as already started, what else will fall through the cracks.
 
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=60284&p=1024262&viewfull=1#post1024262
Originally Posted by Tobytyke1972 View Post
Firstly thanks for a great game, I look forward to playing this for a long time.

Just a quick question David, I have a few friends that have Kickstarter up to the full game pledge but not beta access. They they be able to play on 22nd or do they have to wait until December.
They will be able to play the single player combat test shortly after the Premiere event (ie during the following week), then the full game at release.
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https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=60284&p=1024304&viewfull=1#post1024304
Originally Posted by David Braben View Post
They will be able to play the single player combat test shortly after the Premiere event (ie during the following week), then the full game at release.
Apologies for replying to myself (!) but I mis-read the question. Yes. Kickstarter backers will be able to play on the 22nd. I was talking about people who have pre-ordered on the store.
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Looks like all kickstarter backers will get access to the game on the 22nd (not the final game, but the gamma update or whatever). Those who backed on the store will only be able to play a single player combat test until release on the 16th of December.
 
Hi guys,

Unfortunately due to the crap storm that has surrounded the last-minute removal of offline mode from this game I can no longer ethically advertise or promote this game in any way.

I won't be refunding my copy or the copy that I bought for a friend, but I am not happy with the situation and I have repeatedly expressed my views on their forum and on https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461411552/elite-dangerous/comments.

It's a real shame, I was really looking forward to it.
 
Haven't really been following this so I'm not too sure what's going on... but what's the big deal about this online single player thing? I know that people with shitty internet will suffer, but I'm pretty sure that 99% of people who pre-ordered or are planning to buy ED already have reliable (enough) internet?
 
Ser_Bunnylot said:
Haven't really been following this so I'm not too sure what's going on... but what's the big deal about this online single player thing? I know that people with shitty internet will suffer, but I'm pretty sure that 99% of people who pre-ordered or are planning to buy ED already have reliable (enough) internet?
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Offline mode was promised in the original kickstarter.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=59074&page=2 - this poll shows that a lot of people actually want offline in some form or another and only 37% really don't care about it at all.

Lots of people also paid upwards of 100GBP for DRM-free versions of the game which are no longer possible. Those same people are not allowed refunds if they have tried the alpha or beta versions of the game even though they only announced on Friday that it would no longer have an offline mode.

Here's a 10,000 post thread about the whole debacle - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58789
 
Ser_Bunnylot said:
Haven't really been following this so I'm not too sure what's going on... but what's the big deal about this online single player thing? I know that people with shitty internet will suffer, but I'm pretty sure that 99% of people who pre-ordered or are planning to buy ED already have reliable (enough) internet?
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The problem is that it was promised as a feature from the beginning. Some people invested money based on this promise. One month before the game is released, they decide to pull a feature that was a deal-breaker for some people.

Additionally, the issue is not necessarily that the game will inconvenience people with poor internet connections, there are questions of their motives for doing so: Is it so they can force people into using microtransactions for pay-to-win? Is it so that they do not have to put a large amount of resources into developing content for the game and want to rely on the community alone to do so? Is it to enforce DRM despite the fact that they said the game will be DRM free? Why did they only announce it now, at a stage where Kickstarter backers are unable to get refunds when they have known for months that they won't put it into the game?

It's a very shady situation, coloured murkier by the fact they only promised an offline mode to the Kickstarter backers when the drive appeared to be failing. In other words, it seems as though they never intended to put it in, but did intend to deceive people for capital. That's fraud.

Edit: Thanks Wyzak for typing faster than me :P
 
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I totally get that this lack of integrity would leave a sour taste in ones mouth. But would one actually get a refund, even though the lack of offline play wouldn't affect the experience (because of always on DSL, for example)? Is it just a matter of principle? :)
 
Ser_Bunnylot said:
I totally get that this lack of integrity would leave a sour taste in ones mouth. But would one actually get a refund, even though the lack of offline play wouldn't affect the experience (because of always on DSL, for example)? Is it just a matter of principle? :)
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I can't speak for everyone, but I imagine it's also that the developers have broken the customer's trust. If they lied about offline, what else will they lie about? Will they deliver the complete game that was promised? I think it's highly unlikely.

And not everyone, even those in the big ol' USA, has reliable, always-on internet.
 
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Ser_Bunnylot said:
I totally get that this lack of integrity would leave a sour taste in ones mouth. But would one actually get a refund, even though the lack of offline play wouldn't affect the experience (because of always on DSL, for example)? Is it just a matter of principle? :)
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My ADSL went down last night... One doesn't always have internet when you go on holiday or when sitting at the airport.

I won't ask for a refund, but I can no longer in good faith promote this game as if nothing happened.
 
Terms EULA section 8:
8. In-Game Advertising
The Game may incorporate technology (which may be provided by Frontier or third party service providers engaged by Frontier (each a "Dynamic Advertising Provider")) which enables advertising to be uploaded into the Game on your PC, and changed while the Game is being played on-line. In order that the Dynamic Advertising Provider is able to direct advertising appropriate to your Game and geographic region, as well as to the correct location within the computer game, certain non-personally identifiable data and information may be retrieved and retained by the Dynamic Advertising Provider including your I.P. address, geographic location, in-game position, and information concerning the appearance of advertising visible during your gameplay (for example, the length of time an item of advertising was visible, the dimensions of the advertisements). In addition, the Dynamic Advertising Provider may assign a unique identification number which is stored on your PC and which is used to monitor and calculate the number of views of dynamic advertising during gameplay. None of the information collected for this purpose including the identification number can be used to identify you.

The technology employed by Dynamic Advertising Providers may be located outside your country of residence (including outside of the European Union).

Where a Game incorporates dynamic advertising technology, the technology which serves the provision of dynamic in-game advertising is integrated within the Game. This means that if you do not want to receive dynamic advertising, you should only play the game when you are not connected to the Internet.
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/me adds not to get on Wyzak's bad side....ever.

Seriously, I agree, no matter the argument about online vs offline and how we are always connected, you deliver what you promised.
Like going to STEERS, ordering a burger, chips and coke, but getting no chips because the potatoes weren't delivered and the cashier didn't say anything...

- - - - - - - - - - Double Post Merged - - - - - - - - - -

/me adds not to get on Wyzak's bad side....ever.

Seriously, I agree, no matter the argument about online vs offline and how we are always connected, you deliver what you promised.
Like going to STEERS, ordering a burger, chips and coke, but getting no chips because the potatoes weren't delivered and the cashier didn't say anything...
 
VirtualForce said:
/me adds not to get on Wyzak's bad side....ever.

Seriously, I agree, no matter the argument about online vs offline and how we are always connected, you deliver what you promised.
Like going to STEERS, ordering a burger, chips and coke, but getting no chips because the potatoes weren't delivered and the cashier didn't say anything...
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Kekekeke. Just noticed my signature also applies to this situation.
 
The plot thickens, read this article on how David Braben feels about "the pre-owned problem".

http://www.frontier.co.uk/features/features/?artid=174&pageNum=1&blk=214

6. Move to online-only. This is where the retailers seem to want us to go after all, so perhaps it’s time to make the jump.
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Ahem!

Also his opinion on ownership:
http://www.frontier.co.uk/features/features/?artid=178&pageNum=1&blk=214

A game is an item and a service too, except there are people out there trying actively to prevent publishers and developers detecting whether a game is new or has been sold again. The equivalent is adjusting the paperwork and registration number on your second hand car to get a new warranty and free maintenance out of your garage. We see shops using polishing machines on used game discs, and even replacing the outer sleeve to make a scratched game look new. With a game, the service is a combination of the single player game and online support. Online bandwidth per user is something that gradually dies down after a game is some months old – but if it is then passed to another user, those costs are incurred all over again for the new user – but the publishers providing the service see none of the ‘pre-owned’ revenue to cover it.
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I think the water is under the bridge... can't see myself supporting him again. Not unless the game is truly offline and already in the shops.
 
Can remember seeing a documentary about the first Elite games, and how he basically invented one of the most draconian and first means of copy protection.
 
So gamma went live last night which allows all kickstarter backers to start playing the game and guess what... their servers crashed.

Are you confident the servers will be stable come launch day?
Yes, as confident as we can be, because we have been testing our servers throughout the development process, and continue to do so. Our servers are the same ones that Amazon uses, and can (and have) scaled up quickly to deal with demand when needed.
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from http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=6b99a1d038
 
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