Zagnox said:
So they (these offended backers) weren't actually interested in the game per se...just "offline mode"? All they want/care about is "offline mode"? They only backed the game for "offline mode"?
I'm really struggling to understand what all the drama is about.
Imagine that you are obliged to go and live somewhere, for work/family/other commitments, that has no internet access. The lack of internet access might be due to security, financial, or technical restrictions, but whatever the reason behind it, you won't be able to go online when you want for the entire duration of your stay. You will be stuck there for a long period of time. There will be boredom.
You have been a fan of Elite/Frontier/FFE for a number of years, and sci-fi games in general. You keep an eye out for Elite IV every so often, but the series seems about as likely to be revived as manufacturing of the Sinclair C5.
Then Chris Roberts goes and makes a load of money from Kickstarter. You are vaguely interested, although his brand of sci-fi was never really your thing. However, you now start to read something about Elite IV! You immediately go and find the Kickstarter page, read the fairly modest proposal being presented with a lot less flash than the Star Citizen campaign, and think that this oddly-named "Elite: Dangerous" will be a perfect diversion from the withdrawal symptoms (like intense boredom) that you will almost certainly feel when cut off from the internet.
You back the game in minutes, and start getting together a shopping list for a decent pile of hardware to play the game with.
Time passes... you have built your steroid PC for playing Elite. You downloaded the various versions, played them just enough to maintain anticipation but no more, and submitted support tickets when required like a good little tester. You have read the forum worrywarts talking about the game being boring and buggy, but have kept your faith that the game will be up to snuff when it is finally released.
You've read Newsletters #1-48 with mounting excitement.
The beta period is about to end, and you can't wait to sink your teeth into the gamma, and then the final release.
Then comes Newsletter 49.
"No offline mode". What? WHAT?!?! (Profanity filter engaged...)
And now it transpires that you can't even get a refund because you helped test the prototype, boring, bug-ridden, feature-free versions of the product? You, who were instrumental in getting the Kickstarter over the finish line (along with a bunch of other people)?
Perhaps you understand a bit better why some people are a bit annoyed, and have had their trust levels depleted somewhat?
Now, this is not my story (I have no intention of going where there's no internet, and my connection is rock-solid). It is similar to those I've seen (with some variations on the theme) on this forum ever since the Newsletter #49 was put up. I didn't used to think like this, but it does seem like Frontier should just pony up the refund cash as soon as they can afford to do so, and take the hit that might come from the odd fraudulent claim.
They will make the cash back, and then some, if the game is up to scratch.
If they deal with the refund issue based on an assumption that their backers are a bunch of con artists, it would look more like projection than realism.
