Oh my - Elite Dangerous is a space station hopping game? (i.e. no landing on planets)

[Tinman]

A question for the user base is, are you happy to play a game for hours that will take you from one space station to another? A subset of what Elite 2 was/is? If so congrats, you've got the right game.

Yes, absolutely and if you think that this is a "subset" of the previous games then you haven't understood the game. There is already so much more in this version compared to previous ones even if some features haven't been implemented yet. About going from station to station...you DO realize that in Frontier the planets was just one big station in terms of gameplay. Other than dropping a mining machine there was no reason to go down to them gameplay wise. Everything else you could just as easily do on stations. The whole point of doing it later is to flesh out the planets and give them a real purpose rather than just being a very very big station.

Also, if all your doing is going from station to station then you're playing it wrong.

A question for David Braven, can you be proud of this release of Elite Dangerous?

His own words from Newsletter 49:

If you were able to offer me on the 3rd January 2013 what we will deliver on the 16th December 2014, I would have grabbed it with both hands. It is fantastic what the team have done, and are still doing – a phenomenal job.

Enjoy your grind, let me know if you're still playing in a week's time.

I've been playing it since Alpha 1.0 and since release I have been playing it every day...I don't expect to stop doing that for a long time, especially since I'm on holiday from today!

 

[Tooks]

Here you go.

[video=youtube_share;EM0Gcl7iUM8]http://youtu.be/EM0Gcl7iUM8[/video]

Major expansions like planetary landings and first person gameplay have always been planned to be introduced later in the form of payed expansions. This instead of running the game on an subscription.

Just playing devils advocate here but during that video he never once mentioned these features being 'paid expansions' he just said 'future updates'. Only time it comes to financials is when he mentions stretch goals but looking at the KS page I can't even find a list of their stretch goals.

That being said, I understand the significance of such an update, the size and scope it'd take to add to the game and personally I'd happily pay for an expansion (as long as its a reasonably priced expansion of course)

 

[mill]

About going from station to station...you DO realize that in Frontier the planets was just one big station in terms of gameplay. Other than dropping a mining machine there was no reason to go down to them gameplay wise. Everything else you could just as easily do on stations.

Think immersion and realism, does bouncing off a planet with a warning message not somewhat break the whole space 'simulation' and 'exploration' side of things. Going into a planet's atmosphere, finding the landing station, flying past the neighbouring cities buildings, and finally shot off while watching the planet disappear behind you, was one of the things that made Frontier such an amazing game. You could fly to anywhere you wanted, visit the neighbouring moon, land on it, mine it. One word, exploration.

I get that, if you want to do it right, you may need more time, but needing a paid for add-on/download to get a fully working game will result in Elite Dangerous being a flawed gem, a shadow of what it could be.

I've been playing it since Alpha 1.0 and since release I have been playing it every day...I don't expect to stop doing that for a long time, especially since I'm on holiday from today!

For those of us with little spare time, we'll have to wait until Elite Dangerous is ready.

 

[Im_Lost]

Planetary landing will be an expansion. But I remember hearing something about actually FLYING in to atmospheres (and in to clouds of gas giants) will actually be a content patch within the year.

Is a lot of work if they want to do it properly and make it look natural. Otherwise it will just end up looking like one of those Battlecruiser games, where it's just fractal terrain with pre-fab models slapped on top of it. It would have delayed the release by a long time if it was going to be in for day 1.

 

[Tenshi]

Cast your mind back say over 20 years, Frontier Elite 2, great fun landing on planets, seeing the clouds fly past, fly to the moon! Why not!

Try that out with Frontier Dangerous, you get a warning message and your spaceship just bounces back off the planets.

You're left there thinking, all this hardware, all this software engineering progress, and we've taken a step back from Elite 2, a game from the early 90s!

Is it a deal breaker? Well, without planet exploration, Elite dangerous is not a space simulation, but a 'space station hopper'.

Please don't make landing on planets in Elite Dangerous a paid-for expansion, have some respect for your fans, just like we respect your past work.

Oh my look someone who hasn't read what Frontier Development have penned in for future DLC.

It is going to be a paid for DLC (unless you are a kickstarter/ alpha backer in which case it will be free.) Not only are they going to add planet landings but the team have hinted at being able to take vehicles onto the planet and explore them on foot.

 

[gmrussell]

Were do you start, for someone with such apparent knowledge how did you not already know the expansion was going to be paid for.

Also, if you backed in KS then you already have paid for it by having all future expansions for free, so not sure why this was even brought up by you.

As for Station hopping, there is plenty to do an get involved in out there, the game isn't all about the prettiness of it.

If you think just by adding planetary landings will make the game then you are missing out on an awful lot and once you have visited a few planets and gone 'ahhh aint that pretty' what next..?

Trade, bounty hunt, pirate, explore, go join in on one of the conflicts out there, hell start a conflict of your own, if none of this interests you then, yup, you guessed it this game is most definitely not for you.

 

[mill]

Were do you start, for someone with such apparent knowledge how did you not already know the expansion was going to be paid for.

Little spare time to read newsletters etc... Backed the project at the start, then let David and his team do his thing.

Also, if you backed in KS then you already have paid for it by having all future expansions for free, so not sure why this was even brought up by you.

Fair point, but that won't help the next person that buys the game. The standard game will always be 'unfinished'.

As for Station hopping, there is plenty to do an get involved in out there, the game isn't all about the prettiness of it.

If you think just by adding planetary landings will make the game then you are missing out on an awful lot and once you have visited a few planets and gone 'ahhh aint that pretty' what next..?

Trade, bounty hunt, pirate, explore, go join in on one of the conflicts out there, hell start a conflict of your own, if none of this interests you then, yup, you guessed it this game is most definitely not for you.

You may be right there.

 

[Andromalius]

FD has faults, but the fact that the planetary landings would be a paid expansion was announced years ago. Not knowing about it is just buying in blind. The game has enough issues, no need to pile imaginary ones on top of that.

 

[UnknownXV]

Personally I prefer the EvE model of a subscription, but free expansions. At any rate, as long as they don't go heavy with micro transactions, it should be fine.

 

[Tinman]

Just playing devils advocate here but during that video he never once mentioned these features being 'paid expansions' he just said 'future updates'. Only time it comes to financials is when he mentions stretch goals but looking at the KS page I can't even find a list of their stretch goals.

That being said, I understand the significance of such an update, the size and scope it'd take to add to the game and personally I'd happily pay for an expansion (as long as its a reasonably priced expansion of course)

Taken from the KS FAQ:

Will I have to pay for updates, or expansions, or new content?

Some new features and content will be paid for, especially those that build significantly on the game. If you have pledged to £90 tier or higher then any expansions or updates are free.

And...

We do plan to charge for additional updates, to be available sometime after the original release. These will offer additional content, features and gameplay.

They have many many times since then, both during the KS and afterwards, made it clear that planetary landings and first person gameplay is examples of these kind of updates.

Newsletter 32 for example talks a lot about this:

http://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=ac1081437f

 

[mill]

Taken from the KS FAQ:



And...



They have many many times since then, both during the KS and afterwards, made it clear that planetary landings and first person gameplay is examples of these kind of updates.

Newsletter 32 for example talks a lot about this:

http://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=ac1081437f

These 'news updates' came way after the initial backing. Look, I'm not arguing that you should work for free, just make the base product what it should be, and the paid for DLCs compelling extra 'content' rather than a means of finishing the game. This will result in a base game that people will buy, generate the revenue you need, and you can come out the other side saying missing accomplished.

 

[SnuggleViking]

I was originally a bit bummed at the absence of planetary landings as well, and even lost respect for FDev for a few minutes -- after all, how can they not manage planets if https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMk8khpqARM this one guy, making the game all by his lonesome[/url], could?

Then I realized how many planets that would be.

Then I realized how super freaking tiny the Evochron planets are.

Yeah, even using Proc. Gen., 400,000,000,000 planets and moons, times an average of, let's just say for fun, something like eleven... That's a hell of an undertaking.

 

[mill]

I was originally a bit bummed at the absence of planetary landings as well, and even lost respect for FDev for a few minutes -- after all, how can they not manage planets if https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMk8khpqARM this one guy, making the game all by his lonesome[/url], could?

Then I realized how many planets that would be.

Then I realized how super freaking tiny the Evochron planets are.

Yeah, even using Proc. Gen., 400,000,000,000 planets and moons, times an average of, let's just say for fun, something like eleven... That's a hell of an undertaking.

No-one is asking for someone to sit there and hand-paint 400 billion planets, there are procedural techniques to take care of that.

 

[CMDR Neko]

No-one is asking for someone to sit there and hand-paint 400 billion planets, there are procedural techniques to take care of that.

Procedural generation will produce some interesting results , especially if it is allowed 400 billion iterations of the RNG spitting out results. I am sure there will be a couple of utterly bizarre planets generated that the devs won't even know about until someone discovers them and posts screenshots.

 

[mill]

Procedural generation will produce some interesting results , especially if it is allowed 400 billion iterations of the RNG spitting out results. I am sure there will be a couple of utterly bizarre planets generated that the devs won't even know about until someone discovers them and posts screenshots.

And isn't that great! Explore away!

 

[Riandor]

Trivia question time
Question 1: Elite Dangerous is a natural remake of which game?
Question 2: how many planetary landings were in said game?
Question 3: Has Planetary Landing been mentioned multiple times in the KS and since as being a paid for expansion?
Question 4: if you pledged at a level which included an expansion pass, do you perhaps research what you are spending quite a Lot of money on?

 

[Betty Jade]

Here's the deal. A customer doesn't determine what has been paid for. The seller does. As expressed here, backing a project doesn't automatically get you everything unless the seller gives it to you.

This.

Pledging for a kickstarter is an investment. It's not the same as buying a finished product.

 

[Harland White]

I, in fact, hope it is a paid for expansion. FD need all the money they can get to keep making this game better. I'll gladly pay for it.

 

[mill]

Trivia question time
Question 1: Elite Dangerous is a natural remake of which game?
Question 2: how many planetary landings were in said game?
Question 3: Has Planetary Landing been mentioned multiple times in the KS and since as being a paid for expansion?
Question 4: if you pledged at a level which included an expansion pass, do you perhaps research what you are spending quite a Lot of money on?

hehe Do you have details of the initial kickstarter brief handy?

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This.

Pledging for a kickstarter is an investment. It's not the same as buying a finished product.

Agreed, this is some constructive criticism.

 

[Antenociti]

As I was far too busy doing other stuff to spend time watching every newsletter or video... (so sue me)...

Was there any point to landing on planets other than "something to do"?


(It seems like a monumentally massive undertaking... for what reasons/purpose?)

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This.

Pledging for a kickstarter is an investment. It's not the same as buying a finished product.

dont go there....

HMRC disagree with you (just saying...).. as far they are concerned its treated exactly like a purchase for a product.

Oddly - and we're going WAY off topic now, it should also be subject to the DSR... but as payment is done prior to any chance of dispatch, it technically breaches DSR.. but nobody does anything about it.