No Single Player offline Mode then?

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David didn't answer any of my more technical questions pertaining to offline mode, seemed only more interested in talking puff pieces. Ugh. I'm seriously considering pulling the trigger and having done with this. Why is it so hard to get a straight answer out of someone these days >.<

And yes, like a poster above, if my ISP has a bad day, that means no Elite, I don't fancy that concept whatsoever. I've bought the game, I want to be able to play it when I wish, not when conditions and the stars align and I've made the appropriate sacrifices.

Unless your ISP is decidedly patchy would that not be cutting off your nose to spite your face, as they say?
 
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lol..I read that a couple of times and not really understanding what you're saying :D

Refunds should not be impossible to obtain and a company's terms and conditions are not necessarily binding and/or legal.

I will escalate this as I'm pretty sure it must be bordering on misuse of the sales of goods act or at least some kind of breach of contract.

We shouldn't take it lightly, I am fed up with not being able to play certain stuff cos my ISP is having a bad day..it's wrong on plenty of levels IMO
I've emailed Watchdog so hope others do, at least as a starting point.

Okay, I'll break it down for you. Just bookmark the page this appears on and read again when you're head's clear.

1) KS is all about funding the company. You're not buying anything. All that you get are rewards, in reality there's nothing stopping the company from charging a rube full price for the final product. KS-backing=goodie-basket.
2) Beta-access. Is beta-access. The full game is a thank you for betabacking. You didn't pre-order the game, but it is given to you for helping out. If I had full internet year round, a case could be made that I jumped the wagon at the very last moment, getting very good return for very little effort. (More goodies than just pre-ordering...)
3) Pre-order. Since Pre-order people get nothing at all and they never downloaded anything because what they bought does not yet exist, they're the only ones eligable for a full refund. But for that, no reason is needed. They just need to cancel their pre-order before the content is been made available to them.
 
Yuu can still play solo you know - I think it is really confusing people - ONLINE does NOT equal MULTIPLAYER if you choose solo.

The problem here is the fact that you can play solo, but not single-player (and offline). In this case, solo indeed does equal both ONLINE and MULTIPLAYER. You see, when you play single-player (and offline) you are the "master of your own universe". In case of ED's solo play you indeed directly interact with the game universe only by yourself. HOWEVER, the universe is indirectly and constantly changed and affected by living people that you do not even see or interact with. Even worse, the universe changes even when you don't play the game. How is that equal to situation in which you play a single-player game, save it, and return to it 2 months after - continuing exactly at the state the universe was when you saved the game? It is NOT equal in any case or form. This IS MULTIPLAYER.

I will allow that it might be hard for some people to grasp that someone in this day and age would like to play and offline single-player game not affected by a multitude of people. However, that's exactly how previous Elite games worked, and that's something that quite a lot of people who backed ED (people who played the original Elite series as kids) wanted as an OPTION (in addition to ONLINE and MULTIPLAYER). But, what we got instead is some sort of a hybrid - not enough multiplayer as to be able to call it a fully fledged MMO (or even multiplayer currently as that option does not work), and yet not enough solo (and offline) as to be able to call it a single-player game. It is indeed a really weird two-headed hydra that cannot decide whether it wants to be a serpent in Greek mythology or a simple freshwater animal belonging to the phylum Cnidaria.

I understand that ED was developed by a new generation of developers. Some (all?) of them have even never played any of the old Elite games to date, as they themselves stated in several promotional videos. Yeah, yeah, the world has moved forward and it's prerogative to be in touch with cool 21st century buzzword-laden technologies, where "everything is in cloud" and is web-based. This does not mean that the majority of us (the "old skoolers") do not understand this need and that we are not open to new technologies. For Riedquat's sake it was us who played Elite on BBC Micro, ZX Spectrum 48 and Commodore 64 being only 6 or 7 years of age. We do "dig" technology. We (or I, not to speak for others) use Windows 8.1. I use Nexus smartphone and have tested a boatload of custom ROMs to date on it (including Jolla). I am using Google services and have a partner account with them. I do dig "new" and support it wherever I can because I am - an IT geek.

However, what is being forgotten here is the original intent and the promise. We were brought here based on our childhood memories of Elite. Just go and see some of the first reactions/comments on Kickstarter. They are from adults but they look like they were written by happy little kids that were handed a bar of the world's sweetest chocolate. David Braben was himself emotional about it. He inspired all of us. Called to the people that played his game while he was still a student. His videos were touching and sincere. He told us that he is making another Elite game and wants us to help in creating it. We flocked to the cause, driven precisely by this emotion. In part by the promise that the game will have a mode in which we will be able to relive our childhood experience with Elite - an offline "oasis for 'old skool' players". We were driven to it by the promise that we will be able to re-create the same atmosphere we found mesmerizing in previous Elite games - but only better. We would again be "masters of our exquisite Elite universe we play in". We would play it, read it, sip it, enjoy it, at our own pace, like a good book which you read in a quiet room, wrapped in a blanket in your favorite armchair, listening to the gentle crackling of the fireplace. Then set it down and continue the next day at the exact position we left it the previous evening. For the times we want to be adventurous we would hop in in the multiplayer mode and play the game with other people - such as when you go to a theater or play a small league football match. The important part of this is the fact that in the first case we definitely do not want the game to basically "play itself" while we are away from our computers. This is why we never even asked that the offline mode be as dynamic or as "rich" (oh how I like this buzzword!) as the online mode. It does not matter for single play - we played previous Elite games like that and liked them, despite (or even because of) their "static" and "algorithmic" nature.


In the end (and not to turn this post into a too large wall of text) I just want to say that I feel genuinely sorry for Mr. Braben. ED was supposed to be the pinnacle of his career (even life?). Looking back at everything that transpired since this change was stealthily announced in the newsletter, I can only postulate that ED has been probably irreversibly tarnished with this debacle. I still cannot believe they did not anticipate the kind of reaction they will get. I find it even more unbelievable how bad they handled it all.


The only thing we (specifically I) have left to do now is to do what I, now a simple consumer (since I do not feel as 'backer' anymore), is to "vote with my proverbial wallet" - i.e. ask for a refund. It is not an easy job, as I really believed and wanted to relive my past memories with this game. And I know I am not speaking just for myself. I have to do it, however symbolic it might be. Because, if left unpunished, such behavior and total disregard for loyal followers and evangelists will again be seen tomorrow - from some other development studio - which will build another community around stuff of dreams, our emotions and memories, and shatter them again.

Farewell.
 
David didn't answer any of my more technical questions pertaining to offline mode, seemed only more interested in talking puff pieces. Ugh. I'm seriously considering pulling the trigger and having done with this. Why is it so hard to get a straight answer out of someone these days >.<

And yes, like a poster above, if my ISP has a bad day, that means no Elite, I don't fancy that concept whatsoever. I've bought the game, I want to be able to play it when I wish, not when conditions and the stars align and I've made the appropriate sacrifices.



Pretty sure your ISP having a bad day doesn't equal "the stars align and I've made the appropriate sacrifices."

It seems you're exaggerating just for drama-sake.
 
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On the plus side, at least I have learned a valuable life lesson;

I will not, ever, use Kickstarter to support any independent/small shop software development effort. Never ever, never again.

So, thanks for that, FDEV. I appreciate you poisoning the Kickstarter well for me, for all time. :rolleyes: :mad:

KS has always been like this - I hope you didn't lose too much finding out what speculating on someone else's vision for a project actually entails. As put earlier in the thread, sometimes KS projects never finish at all, sometimes they're a steaming pile, rarely they're what you hoped for.
 
Unless your ISP is decidedly patchy would that not be cutting off your nose to spite your face, as they say?

That depends if so and how many times you've put an evening aside to play something only to find you cant because ISP (or steam) is struggling and the game has to be connected to play any mode, it's a pretty sharp dig in the ribs when these are £30-£50 games..and not 79p apps on an iPhone.
 
I missed this, but I didn't see my offline/online-related question asked, which was "what if I suddenly really want to go for a pee mid-flight? Immersion is one thing - but I'm not going to be sitting there with an empty bottle by my seat, just in case!"
 
People are demanding an offline version, but most likely the client PC would not be able to handle the game plus the background simulation (and other server side parts) very well which is why it was pulled. To do it, it would have to be massively cut down. So you would only get half the game.
 
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You are assuming two things:

1. The game sells well
2. The DLC and expansions sell well


What if most everyone who wants a new Elite has already bought it? What if the launch goes badly and the servers don't hold up like what happened to Simcity 2013? What if the reviews are scathing and bad and turn future buyers away?

Online only is a risky venture, and it puts the game's future in question, no doubt. I hope the game sells well and succeeds, but without an offline mode the lifespan of Elite Dangerous is a very uncertain thing...

Even If I would be pessimistic about that the game won't have any more customers at all I would still belive that maintaining their galaxy server won't be a problem for years only if they would go bankrupt and closing doors would mean that their servers would go down and even than like DB said they will archive the datas from time to time so there might be an option for private servers for that case. I would trust him about this becasue its not just a simple product for him he won't let it disappear (down the toilet) even if their company has to be closed and this is the worst case scenario.
 
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Do FD realise that some of us don't even need this whole rich experience they keep mentioning. Hell, I'd be happier if they just made the combat scenarios offline, at least I can practice then.
 
Pretty sure your ISP having a bad day doesn't equal "the stars align and I've made the appropriate sacrifices."

It seems you're exaggerating just for drama-sake.

If you've been witness to the Warlords of Draenor launch, you'll know precisely what I mean with those words. Believe me when I say that circumstances not just related to your ISP can cause you to not enjoy the game you've shelled out good money for. And if anyone says "Elite is an MMO and therefore it will have a rocky launch like other MMO's so it's expected we'll have trouble on the 16th" after this little mess... >.>
 
I missed this, but I didn't see my offline/online-related question asked, which was "what if I suddenly really want to go for a pee mid-flight? Immersion is one thing - but I'm not going to be sitting there with an empty bottle by my seat, just in case!"

I don't know, we've got HOTAS and even full cockpit setups for sale from third parties, I'm sure a simulated space suit catheter set wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility!
 
I missed this, but I didn't see my offline/online-related question asked, which was "what if I suddenly really want to go for a pee mid-flight? Immersion is one thing - but I'm not going to be sitting there with an empty bottle by my seat, just in case!"

"Kids it's a long journey ahead, make sure you use the bathroom before we undock"
 
I missed this, but I didn't see my offline/online-related question asked, which was "what if I suddenly really want to go for a pee mid-flight? Immersion is one thing - but I'm not going to be sitting there with an empty bottle by my seat, just in case!"

Play solo, hit save&exit and relog once you're back?
 
?.. "what if I suddenly really want to go for a pee mid-flight? Immersion is one thing - but I'm not going to be sitting there with an empty bottle by my seat, just in case!"

I appreciate the enthusiasm to keep playing, but just quit to menu and come back after washing your hands :D
 
There you go, suggesting Frontier committed Fraud again.

I would say good thing a few people on a forum don't really add up to much or Frontier might have a good case to take people to court for defamation.

You're overlooking a lot of clear abuses of KS, that are prevalent on Steam. Besides, as you noticed in my post I don't name any company by name. I was merely thinking out loud; you're the one linking it to Frontier Development, not I.
 
People are demanding an offline version, but most likely the client PC would not be able to handle the game plus the background simulation (and other server side parts) very well which is why it was pulled. To do it, it would have to be massively cut down. So you would only get half the game.

We've been over this, and the answer is that it's smoke and mirrors. Yes, the size of the galaxy might need to drop from the ridiculous number of starts it's running, but other than that there's nothing computationally difficult about what's being presented at this stage. Right now the game is essentially glassbox in space.
 
Do FD realise that some of us don't even need this whole rich experience they keep mentioning. Hell, I'd be happier if they just made the combat scenarios offline, at least I can practice then.

As I know you can play the scenarios offline already.
 
There you go, suggesting Frontier committed Fraud again.

I would say good thing a few people on a forum don't really add up to much or Frontier might have a good case to take people to court for defamation.

It's a good thing that your idea of defamation doesn't match up to the legal definition either ;) Just because you say something is the case doesn't make it so, no matter how often you repeat it.
 
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