Elite Dangerous no longer an MMO?

Personally I couldn't care less about people's odd semantic views on what 'MMO' really means, or the to and fro jibes about people wanting 'WoW in space'. What this actually makes me wonder is whether it signals some change in FD's intended development path away from providing multiplayer features and content.

Ever since Gamma 'development' has been a frantic rowing back so I'd say almost certainly. Saw an interview with one of them a while back where the evasiveness and awkward body language when asked about planet-side landings made me think that's something else we're not going to be seeing.
 
Ever since Gamma 'development' has been a frantic rowing back so I'd say almost certainly. Saw an interview with one of them a while back where the evasiveness and awkward body language when asked about planet-side landings made me think that's something else we're not going to be seeing.

They've been pretty clear from the word go that planetary landings would be paid DLC released some time after the main game.
 
Instances are not a concern for me. We could discuss EVE vs ... lets say instancing in STO or ED or future StarCitizen but thats another discussion.

What does concern me is Frontier's roadmap for ED. Everything that is on their immediate TODO list is still aimed at single player experience and that frightens me. Planetary exploration, walking in ships and stations. Great, we will receive even less content then what current "explore the galaxy" is.

If, when they start to add depth to a game, now that will be really exciting. Currently, for a solo payer, there is less gameplay than there was in first X game.
 
I'm enjoying the game for what it is atm, namely Frontier, a more interesting game than the orginal elite, with better graphics. But don't tell me to stay silent when some shills try to claim that the game is an MMO. It's not. You'd see me just as vocal if you tried to defend Wargaming when they advertise their games as MMOs. And even then World of tanks provides a more interesting and more massive multiplayer experience than Elite currently does.

only a 13 year old who thinks pedantry and cleverness are the same thing can claim ED is an MMO. I'm with you and I'm enjoying the game for what it is. I don't seriously expect it to be anything much else than what it is now.
 
It was. It was in the marketing blurb, and DB said so in at least one interview. Don't worry, you are not going mad despite others around here trying to rewrite history...

I can only find a quote from DB where he said it is not an MMO. He also said it will have multiple saves and a way to save/restore your progress, so I guess not everything from that interview can be trusted. I bet this MMO was something enthusiastic MMO junkies came up with after hearing it is going to be an online game.
 
It always disturb me to see threads moaning about Elite not being MMO beside other threads moaning about griefing.

That's the most depressing part: All the disadvantages of an MMO -- always online (the lag, server issues and all the rest that entails), having to deal with griefers, exploiters, et al -- and none of the advantages -- multiplayer content, chat, guilds, trading/buying/selling with other players, crafting, et al.

Trying to shoe-horn a fundamentally single-player game design lacking any meaningful multiplayer features into an always-online multiplayer experience wasn't ever going to work very well. How that little reality seemed to escape FD's attention is something of a puzzler to me.
 
No point moaning at FD for taking it in a way that people -wanted-. They gave people the option to play alone in their bubble universes and people took them up on it, doesn't mean they lied.
They certainly did with offline gameplay promise. With MMO, not so much.
 
No, you are arguing semantics by claiming that mmo doesn't mean massively multiplayer online... Good grief. As for claiming that the 'avoidance of using the exact term "MMO" was a clue', well, the exact term was used... you seem to be somewhat confused.

Tbh such people scare me. They defend FD even if you can provide clear evidence.

He is one of the guys that are responsible for that half finished mess they call a game. With proper feedback FD could have changed or improved some game mechanics before this "release".
 
I can only find a quote from DB where he said it is not an MMO. He also said it will have multiple saves and a way to save/restore your progress, so I guess not everything from that interview can be trusted. I bet this MMO was something enthusiastic MMO junkies came up with after hearing it is going to be an online game.

Could be something to do with the store page advertising it as such as well.
 
I can only find a quote from DB where he said it is not an MMO. He also said it will have multiple saves and a way to save/restore your progress, so I guess not everything from that interview can be trusted. I bet this MMO was something enthusiastic MMO junkies came up with after hearing it is going to be an online game.

Except you are ignoring they were advertising it as one. It said so on their website up until shortly after release. A screen shot is provided in this thread.
 
I only remember a FAQ, after the offline issue, asking Braben if in a way Elite could be considered a MMO and him agreeing that in some ways it was.
 
Could be something to do with the store page advertising it as such as well.

It still is a massively multiplayer online experience. How is it not? Just because there aren't 100 people hanging out in Sol spamming trade chat doesn't mean it's not

1) Massive
2) Multiplayer
3) Online

I won't argue against the fact that grouping is terrible (non existent) and social interaction is extremely limited, but it still is a game where tons of people are "in the universe" and have the ability to play together. Plus it's online.
 
Last edited:
As for my hotline to the devs, the DDA defines what is planned and any changes to it or deviation made have always been announced and explained.

The DDA carries absolutely no weigh anymore. FD themselves basically said, "Yeah, we're not bound by that, we'll do what we want with our game".
It was a nice way for FD to get £300 from people in kickstarter and you got Supercruise out of it.
 
It still is a massively multiplayer online experience. How is it not? Just because there aren't 100 people hanging out in Sol spamming trade chat doesn't mean it's not

1) Massive
2) Multiplayer
3) Online

Pedantry. The term 'MMO' has a clear meaning.
 
The DDA carries absolutely no weigh anymore. FD themselves basically said, "Yeah, we're not bound by that, we'll do what we want with our game".
It was a nice way for FD to get £300 from people in kickstarter and you got Supercruise out of it.

It's not true, the DDA still bind SOME aspects of the game

For example, micro jumps were proposed and cancelled due to the overwhelming negative feedback from the founders
 
People think in terms of genres. Imagine if you liked Dubstep music, and say... Metallica advertised themselves as Dubstep. You'd be little upset, wouldn't you?

MMO has come to mean more than just it's de-acronymed self. Many of us have been playing MMOs since the UO days, and the genre has come to mean a lot of things - big and little. ED does not meet the definition, but like I said - it doesn't matter as I feel it was never billed as one.

yBvBvgu.jpg


From the store page today! :) Frontier have called Elite: Dangerous a MMO many times in the past...
 
Just because a game doesn't go by the (terrible) typical conventions of an MMO doesn't mean it isn't one. Elite is massive (probably the largest game ever made), and it's multiplayer and online so I don't see how anyone could deny that it indeed fits the requirements of being called an MMO. The real problem are the people who are brainwashed by WoW and other "by the numbers" MMOs into having pre-determined and erroneous ideas of what MMO means.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom