David Braben will answer your questions at 4PM GMT/UTC

[Edward Lewis]

Hi everyone,

At 4PM GMT David will be taking the time to answer some of your questions on the forum. Please post your questions in the comments below, and he will answer as many as he can.

Please post in a sensible manner and try not to repeat questions that have already been asked. Click the staff logo in the top-right of David's posts to skip to his next answer.

Thanks,

Ed

Update: thanks everyone for the great questions! Here's a summary of David's answers:

Offline mode

Why was the offline mode removed?

Back during the Kickstarter, we were clear about the vision, to make a phenomenal new sequel to Elite in an online world, which we believe we are about to deliver. At the time we believed we could also offer a good single player experience, and base an acceptable offline-only experience off that. As development has progressed, it has become clear that this last assumption is not the case. That experience would be empty at best, and even that would take a lot of extra work.

It is not to enforce DRM or advertising as you suggest. We will be judged on quality, and the quality of that game experience would be poor, and we don't want to deliver a poor game. To make a richer offline single player experience has always been possible (and still is) but would be a separate game with its own story content. A huge slice of separate work. We have developed a multi-player game with an unfolding story involving the players, and groups collaborating with specific objectives and taking account of all players behaviour. This is what the game is about. Without this it would not be the rich gaming experience that we will deliver, and would be a great disappointment to all players.

I don't pretend it was an easy decision, but it was done to benefit the game as a whole. One thing we have looked at carefully is our requirements of the network connection. For the single player game they are pretty light. I myself have played the game fine on the train using a laptop on a tethered connection over my phone. Given that this is a game which is only available online, this was the decision we took. I am sorry that people are so upset about it, but it was the right decision.

Will a full refund will be available due to the lack of offline mode?

I'm sorry you're upset. We do have a refunds policy, so you should get in touch. Please consider that we have been backed to make the game we were backed to make as best we could. This includes hard decisions (and many easy ones too), but those hard ones are inevitably balancing one thing with another. For me, quality wins, and that is what happened with this decision. Not everyone may agree with every decision.

Have you played the game? Why is the offline (as opposed to single player, which I understand) mode so important to you?

What will happen to Elite: Dangerous when the servers go down?

We have no intention of taking the servers down, but I understand what you are getting at. We plan to archive the game from time to time (ie matching client and servers and game world state), and would release such an archive if the servers were to come down. That would also address the issue of how you preserve an online game for the future, from the whole 'retro' perspective.

Does the removal of offline mode mean more co-operative features will be added to the game?

Yes. Absolutely.

The recent news about offline mode is bad news for the modding community - would you consider releasing something to support them?

Community/modding content is an interesting point - something I'd like to embrace, but within the game itself. There is a danger of the game branching otherwise.

Ships

Will the Krait ever appear in Elite: Dangerous?

Sadly it is not on our current list. That's not to say it couldn't be added in the future. I liked it too, even though it is quite a simple shape.

What can you tell us about the Panther Clipper?

The Panther Clipper is coming. It is a big trading ship - a bit like the Lakon Type 9's big brother.

Will the Federal Fighter ever be made flyable?

Yes, that will come with time (even though it is not hyperspace-capable).

Communication with Frontier

Will the newsletters continue after the release?

Yes, there will be newsletters in the future, but I suspect we will drop their frequency.

Will we you be able to talk with us more directly in future?

I'll see what I can do... ;-)

Will we have more dev diaries in future?

We'll be looking in to what we can do, with lots of different members from the dev team, as soon as the busy schedule calms down a little bit!

Cheers

Forum Moderators
Will the moderators get some kind of reward for their hard work?

They are the absolute best - things would literally fall apart without them.

We will find a way of saying thanks, don't you worry!

Thanks for everyone's questions so far.

I'll see what we can do! ;-)

The first release and shortly afterwards

Will Kickstarter backers without beta access be able to play on 22nd?

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.

Will be there major changes between gamma and release?

Gamma will mostly (!) be about stability, compatibility and performance, not features, but there are more features to come from now...

Will ship equipment appear randomly in the final game like it does in the beta?

High Tech systems will always be the best place to get the top-end ships, with particular systems specialising in particular ship types.

Will I be able to find my friends more easily in the final release?

It should be much better in Beta 3.9.

Will military missions and ranks appear in the game?

Yes... soon.

What is the reasoning behind the release date?

We planned the release date long ago, and have been working towards it. Development will continue past the December release. Currently the plan is to continue indefinitely - a game like this is never 'finished' - there is always something we can add or improve, but this date is a reasonable measure of what we think will be a great game.

When will the Mac version be delivered?

Our plan is to look at this in detail after we have shipped PC, so I'm afraid I don't have any dates for you. Why are you against Bootcamp? I use it all the time on my laptop.

Develpoment process

What was the hardest part of getting this game to where it is now?

When developing a game there are endless decisions to be made. The current "Offline" issues are a case in point. We make these decisions to get the best end result - frequently leaving ideas on the proverbial cutting room floor. Sometimes these decisions are hard ones.

How closely does Frontier's galaxy resemble the real one?

We stuck with reality, but the reality is pretty amazing. The frequency of binary planets was one thing that surprised me.

What will you do if real-life astronomers study a system that exists in-game and find no detectable planets where Elite: Dangerous says they exist?

No detectable planets does not mean no planets... The main methods for detection at the moment are Doppler movements of the parent star and occultation. Both of these fail if a system is 'flat on' to us - ie if the planets orbit in a plane perpendicular to our viewing direction. So in that case we would be OK leaving them (though we may have to tweak the system axis...). Less flippantly we will look at each one as it is discovered. I hope the discoveries will already be there, in which case we just make an addition to the text box, but in others it may mean adjusting an orbit.

Will we ever be able to find commodity prices at locations other than our current position?

Yes - this is something we have been looking at.

Could the galaxy map highlight visited systems (e.g. by displaying them in a different font)?

That's a nice idea. I'll see what we can do (would be post release now).

How will you stop people from getting bounties when another ship flies into their line of fire?

Yes - this is a tuning issue we need to look at. Thanks.

Will the tutorials improve in future?

We are improving them all the time, but I appreciate we are still not there..

When will we see damage modelling?

It is coming - but it will be after the first release.

Will various features from Kickstarter and Design Discussion Archive be present in the game?

The features you mention are there - modular station design, different engines, coming across shipwrecks. Being able to fly massively damaged ships only really applied to the bigger ships, but it is still planned (though may be post release).

PS Are you the Derek Smart that did Battlecruiser 3000AD?

How much of a technical challenge do you think planetary landings will be?

The landings themselves are not the technical issue, it is the vast size of planets, and the prodigious amount of content required to make them interesting. We can generate the landscapes procedurally, but you need interesting things there to make them compelling.

Will we ever be able to assign NPC crew and manage a fleet of ships?

This is the sort of thing we will look at down the line. WE want to avoid the game feeling like 'playing a spreadsheet' though, but these features are certainly on our radar.

Could the COBRA engine deliver 8k or 16k graphics?

In theory, yes. But the GPUs don't yet exist that can handle 16K - or at least I haven't seen one...

Personal

Thanks for reaching out!

Thanks! You're very kind.

If I bring an original Elite manual to the Premiere, will you sign it?

Yes! Feel free to seek me out. And please bring a suitable pen...

Did you use a HOTAS controller while playing Elite: Dangerous on the train?

No. I used an Xbox controller...

The original game helped me through difficult times when it came out. Thank you

Nice to hear. We all dream of the stars... ;-)

I pirated the original Elite, do you forgive me?

I think more pirated it than bought it!

But yes, I forgive you (but please buy Elite: Dangerous! ;-) )

After a stroke at age 13, Elite on my ZX Spectrum helped me regain my hand-eye co-ordination while I was in hospital.

A lovely story. I'm glad it helped.

Do you play Elite: Dangerous, and what's your commander name?

Yes I do. I am Comander Braben. I have seen myself on Youtube a few times...

What do you think about other space games in development, like No Man's Sky and Star Citizen?

I haven't seen No Man's Sky 'in the flesh', but know one of the people involved. I have also (of course) kept an eye on Star Citizen and know Chris Roberts reasonably well.

I love science fiction, and I think it is a good thing it is coming back to gaming. If anything it is pretty shocking that it left, so I wish them luck. For players of course, it is a good thing too as competition keeps us all on our toes!

 

[David Braben]

Please post your questions here. Thanks.

 

[Riedquat]

HI David,

Will we ever see the Krait in game?, was always my favourite ship.

Also can you tell use some more about how the in game missions are shaping up, what we can expect to see in the near future?

thanks.

 

[tntfoz]

Hi David - will Frontier be carrying on with the newsletters after release, hopefully with upcoming details for further releases and expansions?

Thanks.

 

[EidLeWeise]

What will be his go to way of becoming 'Elite'?

Eid

 

[Phil Lee]

As someone who bought the beta based solely on the promise of offline play like the original Elite, will I be able to request a refund and how do I go about doing this?

 

[DaBajan]

OK. Let me be (first?)

Thanks for making this amazing game - and giving me the chance to relive my youth in full 3D colour!

What was the hardest part of getting this game to where it is now?

 

[David Braben]

HI David,

Will we ever see the Krait in game?, was always my favourite ship.

thanks.

Sadly it is not on our current list. That's not to say it couldn't be added in the future. I liked it too, even though it is quite a simple shape.

 

[Sir.Tj]

Hi David, thanks for taking the time to answer questions from the forum.

 

[Tobytyke1972]

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.

 

[David Braben]

Hi David - will Frontier be carrying on with the newsletters after release, hopefully with upcoming details for further releases and expansions?

Thanks.

Yes, there will be newsletters in the future, but I suspect we will drop their frequency.

 

[Matt]

Just wanted to say thanks for reaching out David, we appreciate the gesture at this time! Good luck commander!

 

[Listeri69]

Have you got a nice mug of coffee?

Can you give us some indication of things we will see in the upcoming releases?

 

[Kaltern]

Would you like to explain in some detail why the decision to pull offline mode was only announced a few days ago, and what the reasons for doing so were. Many people are under the impression this was done to enforce DRM and in game advertising.

 

[sivrintear]

Hi David

Are we going to see more motivation to explore the world like lore items, mysterious ship upgrades or the like, being a galactic treasure hunter would be pretty awesome

Thanks

 

[culyerscott]

Hi Dave

I know that there is more to come in terms of features over and above what is in the beta3.05 at the moment but can you confirm that on the 16th of December the release version will contains more a more improved version of galaxy reacting to player interaction.. e.g. missions created by in game events, more system events famine etc...

thanks

 

[Metamartian]

Hello David,

awesome work so far from the team. My question is will there be more selections of classical music in the game and not just Blue Danube for Docking or other events?

 

[tntfoz]

Yes, there will be newsletters in the future, but I suspect we will drop their frequency.

Thanks David - looking forward to many sneak peeks to come!

 

[Red Joe]

How do dockers load the cargo into your ship so quick?

Thank you for a great game. The anaconda says it can be upgraded to take ships, is this a plan for the future?

 

[DaBajan]

Oculus Rift stuff....

Will direct mode for the Oculus Rift DK2 be supported in the Gamma release?