Update 14 and Beyond: Live and Legacy Modes

[Astaran]

The easiest way to avoid the Thargoids is not to logon at all.

For me it's not really about "avoiding Thargoids". I've engaged in AX combat before and over the last 2 years I had supported Salvation precisely to spice things up again. I still have dedicated AX ships in my fleet that have seen plenty of AX Combat. But for my personal taste, combat in Elite is either too boring (endlessly chipping away at HP sponges in human CZs) or overly complicated (learning cold orbiting techniques, grinding material to synth ammo and heatsinks during combat in AX). Also it's a shame that AX has no "chill" AXCZs (like a "scouts only" CZ). Even in low CZs interceptors will appear eventually and you have to deal with them in an appropriately fitted ship.

We will see what Update 14 brings to the table, but I am not really expecting anything that will get me "hyped" enough to play Elite for more than a few days (at best) again.

 

[amigacooke]

As long as they keep selling Legacy on the consoles, I'm not worried. When Elite disappears from the console store (the assumption is that they will support the game at least a year after their last sale), then I think the writing will truly be on the wall.

Though it will be interesting to see if Frontier bothers to change the marketing on console or even Steam for that matter.

See my post above. Consider the legal issue of selling Elite on console today and killing it tomorrow. As long as they continue to sell Elite on console, I think we have a year's worth of support for Legacy past that. Of course they could in theory kill it off sooner, but somewhere there's a line where they are going to get into trouble for selling a dead game. Surely there are consumer safeguards in most countries that prevent such actions.

That is true, but this was Frontier's line when macOS got the chop.

As of the 3.3 update, you can no longer access Elite Dangerous products through the Mac OS. However, you will still be able to log into your account and play on PC (or via Bootcamp.)

Will Frontier be able to sidestep by offering some sort of a transfer to a Windows account?

I don't think that 3.8 is under threat in the short term, but medium to long ......

 

[Ryan Murdoc]

I see.
So now there will be two EDDB, two INARA, etc.

From what I heard, Artie from Inara.cz will only continue with Data provided by the Live side. Legacy won't have much use for it after next Tuesday. And since that place is vital for BGS planning and Overview, it'll be the most important nail in the coffin for Legacy BGS.

 

[Star Wanderer]

From the standpoint of Fdev this makes sense. If the BGS gets altered in U14 - as has been teased for quite some time now - and those changes are massive enough to need their own BGS version in order to work, then I am all for it. Sounds interesting and seems to the right thing to take the game forward. This also explains the real purpose of Horizons 4.0.

BGS is getting altered? What? How? Why?

 

[aRJay]

That is true, but this was Frontier's line when macOS got the chop.



Will Frontier be able to sidestep by offering some sort of a transfer to a Windows account?

I don't think that 3.8 is under threat in the short term, but medium to long ......

Long term everything is under threat.

 

[amigacooke]

Long term everything is under threat.

Not at all, the macOS client is under no threat.

I think 3.8 is under considerably more threat than 4.0+.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Long term everything is under threat.

2022: 3.8 universe dies
2026: 6.0 universe dies
200 billion years: universe dies

 

[amigacooke]

200 billion years: universe dies

3 years after Star Citizen leaves alpha. What bad luck

 

[Star Wanderer]

2022: 3.8 universe dies
2026: 6.0 universe dies
200 billion years: universe dies

View attachment 333631

If they try to alter BGS, the universe will die, as they will overlook some critical flaw and then spend the next year trying to fix it, ultimately failing and giving up at the end.

 

[conan02]

Nah - pure laser mining, with the possibility of using subsurface, surface and core on the same ship.

Subsurface appears as efficient as laser mining for Tritium.

 

[Star Wanderer]

I seriously wish they would announce what changes they are making in advance, and make a test server to test it first. Else it could seriously ruin the game...
Even Stellaris lets players to test their massive update now, and that is so unusual for a strategy game, but very welcome.

 

[Ryan Murdoc]

If they try to alter BGS, the universe will die, as they will overlook some critical flaw and then spend the next year trying to fix it, ultimately failing and giving up at the end.

BGS has been altered many times over the years. Let's see how much of the Bubble is burning once the Update lands.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Dav looking into the Legacy galaxy in a weeks time...

wh-why is Sol anarchy, Denton number 1 in Powerplay and the Federation running the Empire?

 

[Ruurka]

Not that End Year we expected. 4.0 still have lots of bugs, which is needed to fix. Without console users, next updates will takes more longer to implement, than if we'll get Odyssey as they promised.

If BGS will be separated, then can expect, that at least half of players was have 3.8, not 4.0. Implementing this update without testing is a short way to making chaos and for sure not all makes this update happy. How can say BGS workers, which for a long time with all heart do BGS for all factions, but cannot have 4.0 version? Do their work will be also wasted?

I like this game, but BGS must stay together for all versions, not for chosen ones. If they interfere for this aspect on this game (by making separate), then again they loss lots of players, without backup possibility.

 

[tanner1ie]

I actually see this as an opportunity to get back to a more old school Elite experience, but with added option of multiplayer. Maybe this is a good thing for die hard Elite commanders.
Elite: Dangerous was always about piloting my own spaceship for me.

Odyssey and 4.0, good riddance.

Indeed I'd agree if we'd still get new and engaging content in "legacy" mode, new ships, weapons, features etc and still get CGs and Galnet etc!

But if it'll just be, "play the old version of the game, until you get bored!", how long will that take most of us?!

 

[V'larr]

Feel free to correct or elaborate, but I take it you mean "Why have a Legacy Mode?". Not everyone wants or is able to play on version 4.0, and we'd like to offer an ongoing option for those players.

Is there any chance that bug-fixes and other improvements to the base game will make it into the legacy mode, given the list of various long-standing issues affecting both clients?

 

[Felix DiCestria]

This week's plan:

 

[Old Duck]

I seriously wish they would announce what changes they are making in advance, and make a test server to test it first. Else it could seriously ruin the game...

I for one hope that it blows up and erases the entire 3.8 galaxy, starting everything and everyone back at the beginning - no PMFs, no fleet carriers, no discovery tags, no Thargoids (except like it was in the very early days), clean PP territory boundaries, and everyone in a Starter Sidewinder. Now that would be a fun game to play! Just let me keep my cosmetics.

Though I don't know if I can stomach doing the Engineer unlock grind for a third time..

Is there any chance that bug-fixes and other improvements to the base game will make it into the legacy mode, given that the list of various long-standing issues affecting both clients?

I doubt they'll fix client-side bugs, but it would be nice if they fixed some of the server-side bugs. I'm assuming the lack of Facilities listed in the station info tab is a server issue, no? Without third-party support, properly working in-game tools will be an absolute necessity going forward.

 

[HRDiagram]

3 years after Star Citizen leaves alpha. What bad luck

Pffft... Ever the optimist.
The "development" of SC will only end when all the matter in the universe has been converted into money, milking the universe dry.

 

[Esare Kranse]

So, FDev, how much do you really hate us?
I've Started checking Twitch every Thursday for a scheduled Live Stream so that I can try and get some of the Drops that I've been trying to get for the last 18 months, I checked last Thursday, and the schedule was blank. I checked today and found that you did an un-scheduled 'Frameshift Live' last Thursday 2 hours after I checked.

Seriously, can't you manage to put something on the schedule so we know when to Watch?

If you streamed more often, it wouldn't be so bad, but the Monthly Viewing for the Drops campaign, that you have closed again, even though the month isn't over (which is your excuse for not letting it run permanently because Twitch only allow Monthly campaigns and reset at the end of the Month), requires 120 minutes of Live viewing. Last week, you only actually streamed 80 Minutes, and the only other time you streamed this month was 119 Minutes.

That's a pretty cynical hatred of your customers you've got going there. Do you not realise that UK customers are at work when you usually stream (you know, because it's your own Timezone and you're at work too) and your US customers are just grabbing their breakfast, or often, still asleep. These are your two largest customer bases and you make it almost impossible for them to participate unless they don't have Jobs.

It seems the only customers that you accomodate with your timings are the ones that you should probably be blocking access for like every other tech company has.