Relax People, ED will survive an ugly launch

[Kid Firestorm]

I've avoided the treads since the whole Offline craziness but have been keeping up with news and updates with the game and I gotta say this.

PEOPLE CALM DOWN

Now with the state of the game, bugs and missing features, the launch of Elite: Dangerous will be ugly. Reviews will probably be bad(if the crew is any indication) and a lot of people will have issues in the early days and weeks. But FD can and will be able to turn a corner at some point in the near future.

The game is solid enough to stand on it's current foundations to still draw in an audience long after release. Is the game being rushed out? Yes. Could delaying it help by fixing bug and adding features? Sure. But there's reason for it. The kickstarter juggernaut Star Citizen. Frontier knows they have to get the game out before that game releases simply because there's more hype around SC. Shareholders are most likely telling the devs to get the game out in a working order for the holidays so they have the marketplace to themselves. That may sound like a bad thing but it really won't be. Best to ride out a small storm now with a decent ship than a hurricane in the titanic.

So relax. Have faith in what you bought into. You all know it's a strong and has the longevity to be a great game for years to come. The features will come, bugs will be fix and we'll all have a great game to play. Just right out the storm that's coming. ED will be just fine.

 

[WeirdWizard]

I'm glad your crystal ball is working

Survive it may but I still think it was the wrong choice, even with the threat of star citizen on the horizon ED needed another 3 to 6 months to get itself into a release worthy condition. There will be a lot of fall out from the decision to release before its ready.

 

[Kid Firestorm]

I'm glad your crystal ball is working

Survive it may but I still think it was the wrong choice, even with the threat of star citizen on the horizon ED needed another 3 to 6 months to get itself into a release worthy condition. There will be a lot of fall out from the decision to release before its ready.

From a business standpoint it's best to move out now that within the same calender year as a major competitor that has a much larger following. Plus releasing in the current state isn't as bad as most people think. Really all they need to do is turn on the background story as planned and smooth out the game killing bugs and it should do the trick short term. Look at Battlefield 4, that game was in a way worst state at release and is still going strong. I agree 3 more months wouldn't hurt but really it'll be fine as long as the bulk of the gameplay holds up.

 

[Akelig von Trashcan]

I'm glad your crystal ball is working

Survive it may but I still think it was the wrong choice, even with the threat of star citizen on the horizon ED needed another 3 to 6 months to get itself into a release worthy condition. There will be a lot of fall out from the decision to release before its ready.

Mmm . My crystal ball tells me Chris Roberts together with his millions will vanish somewhere in the Bermuda triangle before alpha. But then we still can play Elite

 

[Telnets]

That depends on your view.. and this is not to start ANOTHER thread of "what I think the game should have" type of stuff.. But SC is still a year away minimum, and Im sorry, but I dont even know WHAT that game is about... Its got TOILETS in the ship? What? is my unination meter going to fill up and I have to leave the controls to take a #1??? They have SO much detail, yet the only thing they have released is a poor CTF mode? Dont get me wrong, I am looking forward to SC as well, but I have NO idea what thier end goal is at this point.. So comparing it to ED is liek comparing an apple to a writeup of what an orange might be if you grew one...

Not to spark a debate on ED vs SC but I think we are missing the point with this launch.. ED is not going to launch the game and then all move out of the Frontier office... they are going to continue to work on the game, release improvements, and features.. The launch is not the be-all-end-all of the game and it will stay in that format for eternity and i dont know why some forum members jump all over the game for lack of features..

Would I like to see better MMO intergration with squad groups and missions, persistant galaxy view territory outlines, carrier battles that move around the galaxy and all this other stuff.. sure.. will I suggest it in forums.. sure... does it need to be there day 1 on launch? not really...

The game is worthy of a release.. things are quite polished.. no matter what you do on a PC release there will be SOME bug somewhere with some hardware combo.. thats just a given.. but the game itself does nto need to have every feature wishlisted done, complete, and available on launch day. Just chill and relax and give it some time

You look at games like Battlefield 4.. that was a DISASTEROUS release.. if it ran at all, it was a miricle for most people.. yet its STILL highly popular.. everyone hates EA, but they are STILL making millions from thier releases regardless of how many times they re-skin the same game (Hardpoint is the next one and instead of soldiers you just have cops!)..

Lastly, Im glad Frontier is sticking to thier release day.. It shows dedication.. any game manufacturer can push off release days when they arnt under any pressure.. heck, the way things are now, is that companies can just indefinately say thier game is "in the making" and just NEVER release it.. Its nice to see a company say they will release something, and actualy do it when they say they will.. and I fully expect that Frontier, regardless of whats to come, will continue to improve, optimize, and add content for E..

As for critics and game reviews.. they are pretty solid right now for what the game is.. but you have to understand what the game IS... you cant load up Arma 3 and complain that YOU were lookign for something like Battlefield.. it doesnt make ARMA bad, it means YOU chose the wrong game to buy.. ED is what it is.. its a slower paced, absolutely stunning looking exploration game with an in game economy affected by players with some PVP on the side.. and if thats what your looking for.. then ED is the PERFECT game for you...

If your looking for Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. but in space... keep looking..

 

[talshiarr]

Star Citizen has at least given itself the luxury of an extended, nebulous end release date. They can release chunks or "modules" as I guess they're calling them almost perpetually. I don't think there ever really will be a genuine launch day. They'll just finally decide the pieces fit together well enough and declare 1.00 day, and then carry right on patching and doing whatever they do.

 

[Fabio von Shadow]

I'm playing ED as a player of the original Elite and Frontier etc - i play EvE Online and lead the oldest alliance in that game, drawn to that game through its Elite origins.

It is the space sim and the combat/trade experience that drew me here. Any other game, i would look at what the critic and review sites say on launch. It is these which will draw the public base that have not already bought the game.

The latest X reviews threw me off buying it entirely.

I have every finger crossed

 

[Kid Firestorm]

Look my point wasn't to start a SC vs ED debate. I'm trying to say that the worry of the game crashing and burning at launch is pointless because it's extremely low.

If a disaster like BF4 can be forgiving by the gaming community then ED has nothing to worry about. Reasoning behind FD launching now is not clear to a lot of people and people want the game to be perfect at launch. It won't be. What game is these days? But the fact that no game is perfect at launch now is exactly why ED will be fine.

Look at the latest newsletter, that proves to me Frontier aren't concerned about the current state of the game because they know their plan for the future is going to work. It could flop, some games would in this state, but this is a solid game.

The people complaining about content misunderstood what ED is as a concept and underestimate it's selling points to the gaming community as a whole and that's triggering fear of the game failing. But it won't. Not in the long term. Hell probably not even in the short term if they can kill the major bugs and crashes in time.

And trust me. I'm not speaking as a satisfied fanboy. I couldn't get into Gamma 2 until this morning before work and was pretty upset about it. But I know this is what gaming is these days. especially in early access to games before launch. That shouldn't mean we should worry it won't be in a state where it won't sell. It will.

 

[Dreich]

Having read many, many threads here in my lurking days and having wanted Elite-in-this-form since I was a teenager I'm not convinced it'll be as ugly as you fear. Of course, this could just be wishful thinking on my part, and it may well take a few knocks in reviews, but I suspect that some of you that have been playing through the betas and the gamma might have lost sight of just how mind-bogglingly great the game looks to an outsider.

The forward plan looks sound, and there's nothing in it that a team like FD shouldn't be able to accomplish, and it's this that will determine the longevity and success of the game (in my lowly opinion, of course). Tweaks to current mechanics will need to be made, of course (no matter how wide or well-subscribed a beta programme has been, there's no substitute for the kind of stress testing that a massive influx of curious players puts on a game's systems and mechanics, and that's what'll happen on the 16th).

As an outsider looking in, keenly watching various videos and streams, I'm mightily impressed thus far. I am gutted that RL intervened and prevented me being able to get to the store in time to participate in the end stages of beta (hell, I'd pay the price now just to avoid having to wait until Tuesday to start crashing my ships!) but that's just how the dice have fallen for me.

It'll be fine. Have confidence!

 

[Melectrian]

Well to be honest it would have been good to see a more finished product. SC's presistent universe is hardly going to go in beta or even alpha before Q4 2015. Either way i really like ED and any money that comes from sales can certainly boost development and make the game a worthy competitor. 2015 as a whole will be very important for the game.

On the bright side, no more data wipes!

 

[elkar]

It's gonna be just fine. Enuf said.

 

[Midnight_Sun323]

The worst part about the 16th is that my desktop won't be returned from the manufacturer until the 17th... looks like I'll still be playing the launch on my laptop. I was really hoping to watch all the rookies crashing with my DK2.

 

[Sav112]

The worst part about the 16th is that my desktop won't be returned from the manufacturer until the 17th... looks like I'll still be playing the launch on my laptop. I was really hoping to watch all the rookies crashing with my DK2.

Hay I've been following this from day one...My ten year old system is past it On the 17th you'll be blasting away, it will be late next year for me waiting on the Win 10 and new Intel CPU's now. May as well wait as DAYZ the other game I liked the look of is in a mess just now. But Elite from watching streams and clips looks fantastic.

 

[StewartScott]

I for one think Elite Dangerous is going to get 'great reviews'.

Think of the detail of the flight models alone in this game, the time and practice it takes just to land, more over dog fight, then to the 1st venture outside space dock, figuring out which way to go, and to realize just how big it is out there.

They will have plenty to do (New players and new reviewers) and LOTS to learn even to survive initially.

The game is a challenge, never plays the same, always surprises, a lot can be said for that alone in a game.

The reviews are going to love the beauty, depth, and future possibilities of this franchise. I just know it. How could they not see it?

Not to mention that this is thee best space flight sim so far to be released to this date 'in computer gaming history' IMHO

I think the dev team has done a simply amazing job, seeing just how far the game has come, in only the few month's I have been playing, the polish this game has is impressive people.

The future's certainly VERY bright for the reviews and future expansions to come for Elite Dangerous!

 

[Sanderson]

I'm happy with the game and would gladly pay another $150 for another year of development.

 

[Patrick_68000]

The thing which will bother me the most, is to receive a DVD with a lot of bugs.

 

[Irre]

Star Citizen has at least given itself the luxury of an extended, nebulous end release date. They can release chunks or "modules" as I guess they're calling them almost perpetually. I don't think there ever really will be a genuine launch day. They'll just finally decide the pieces fit together well enough and declare 1.00 day, and then carry right on patching and doing whatever they do.

and this fits into the context, how?

Star Citizen = different game, different launch feature set, different release date (2016)

games get reviewed with their feature set on release not with features of da futur

 

[Phelix]

The thing is, you guys are talking about battlefield 4 and how that did not crash despite being terrible, I'll give you a hint it's right there in the end of the title... Battlefield (4). It's a known franchise, people are buying it, not because of reviews, but because it is the new iteration of the game they loved. Why is COD still bought by the bucket loads, because they have a strong franchise, not because the game is good (well, some might think it is good, but reviews are mixed at best).

Elite is now so old, that Elite Dangerous might just as well be a new IP for frontier (and not a sequel) (I guess those who played the original now feels very old, but if it is any consolation, I only missed playing it because I couldn't afford it at the time). ED share the luxure of BF or COD, they will not be able to bounce a bad review like that. A customer strung on cash around Christmas, will not be spending his money on a game that gets mediocre reviews, unless he knows it is a series he loves. Chances are, if there is a space sim fan out there, you've allready got him during the beta or the pre-purchase, but other than that the sales will be lower thanks to bad reviews.

The lack of content, the repetitive nature of gameplay (see original assassins creed for similar problem), lack of multiplayer interaction, the single player drm (see SimCity for similar problem), and the amount of bugs if not fixed at release will be a huge problem for this game when reviewers get a hold of it. The positive side will ofc be the amazing graphics, great flight mechanics, awesome dogfights, the shear size of things and the fact that we finally have a proper space sim. Who knows, the game might get lucky and the reviewers might not be able to quite figure out what to expect from a space sim and just give a high score because of that. But I am guessing a mediocre score around 5-6/10, maybe with the inflation of scores even a 7, but that would be on the high side...

 

[Jigsaw]

The worst part about the 16th is that my desktop won't be returned from the manufacturer until the 17th...

Don't worry. There will be no playing on the 16th anyway. Either because it will be released late in the day or because of the total server meltdown that is bound to happen with the rush of new players. You won't miss anything.

 

[Tar Stone]

Tonight has been a shambles for me, first time I've switched it off in frustration.