For those seeking answers why David was keen to release ED as bare minimum - read this

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/art...aben-Discusses-Elite-Dangerous-and-Space-Sims

Very good interview, it has two excellent talking points - why ED was released so comparingly early (for lot of loud people here - too early), and good discussion how to make people to play together (curse you spell check).

My biggest complain to FD and David is that they kept mute about this (now, looking back it's obvious, but then again I personally didn't expect that). There could be many reasons, but well done PR regarding spec of first release (1.0) would have all they need. By sound of it, lesson learned there.

 

[Antidepressiva]

My biggest complain to FD and David is that they kept mute about this (now, looking back it's obvious, but then again I personally didn't expect that).

Unfortunately FD is lacking a bit of communication skills with their community.
It has always been like that. The real interesting things are not posted within the official forums, rather being kept secret and revealed in interviews.
Happened a lot of times.

Thx for the link.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Unfortunately FD is lacking a bit of communication skills with their community.
It has always been like that. The real interesting things are not posted within the official forums, rather being kept secret and revealed in interviews.
Happened a lot of times.

Thx for the link.

That's not bad PR, that's actually good PR. Media wants exclusivity. That's why they get some goodies. We still have direct line with devs, and majority of info we get first hand. That's a huge bonus of crowdfunded projects which I enjoy a lot.

 

[Antidepressiva]

That's not bad PR, that's actually good PR. Media wants exclusivity. That's why they get some goodies. We still have direct line with devs, and majority of info we get first hand. That's a huge bonus of crowdfunded projects which I enjoy a lot.

I somehow agree with that but it also leaves me a bit saddened though.

 

[Kubicide]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/art...aben-Discusses-Elite-Dangerous-and-Space-Sims

Very good interview, it has two excellent talking points - why ED was released so comparingly early (for lot of loud people here - too early), and good discussion how to make people to play together (curse you spell check).

My biggest complain to FD and David is that they kept mute about this (now, looking back it's obvious, but then again I personally didn't expect that). There could be many reasons, but well done PR regarding spec of first release (1.0) would have all they need. By sound of it, lesson learned there.

I must be blind. Where is the part explaining why ED came out early?

Like DB's comment on enjoying "text adventures" and the richness they provide. Guess we know what inspired Galnews and the chat interaction with NPCs. Too bad audio voice overs didn't exist at the time of his inspiration.

 

[Plage]

Braben: Oh, absolutely! Design is about engaging with the player. With any game, I want the player to care about what they're doing.

Then you failed with this one.

 

[Antidepressiva]

Then you failed with this one.

I wouldn't call it "failed" . Not polished enough

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

I must be blind. Where is the part explaining why ED came out early?

Like DB's comment on enjoying "text adventures" and the richness they provide. Guess we know what inspired Galnews and the chat interaction with NPCs. Too bad audio voice overs didn't exist at the time of his inspiration.

Second page, begining, where he explains how he worked on FE2. It clearly gives you indication why he wasn't keen to wait another year to release game (sans Kickstarter promises).

David invested in voice synth tech they planned to use in Elite 4 (about 5 -6 years ago). Unfortunately, Google bought that corp with IP and discontinued game library for voice synth.

 

[Stoo]

Not a very good article at all in my opinion. It says nothing we don't already know.

 

[Tommyknocker]

Weekly newsletters, devs that actually communicate with you on the forums and generally weekly patches (for now) that all are free, you guys don't know how good you got it.

I have played many games over my 50 years and devs usually only give complete silence until they want your money (expansions) then it is HYPE HYPE HYPE. I prefer this board to many I frequent due to the transparency here.

OT: the article only shows that some tidbits they keep to themselves, which is fair seeing as many mags want some kind of exclusive info to promote your product.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Not a very good article at all in my opinion. It says nothing we don't already know.

I only pointed out some interesting questions and answers, which gives some background information about why ED follows 'release early, release often' model.

 

[finchywinchy]

Second page, begining, where he explains how he worked on FE2. It clearly gives you indication why he wasn't keen to wait another year to release game (sans Kickstarter promises).

I read that as "David seems not to have learned, having already produced 3 space games, that he should produce the space-simulator LAST, and the rest of the game first."

 

[Kubicide]

Second page, begining, where he explains how he worked on FE2. It clearly gives you indication why he wasn't keen to wait another year to release game (sans Kickstarter promises).

David invested in voice synth tech they planned to use in Elite 4 (about 5 -6 years ago). Unfortunately, Google bought that corp with IP and discontinued game library for voice synth.

Okay, I don't read that context. If anything he comments about historical mistakes and problems which he went ahead and repeated with ED. Actually find the most interesting comment about not placing high value on the target audience. This explains more about why the game is what it is today - not that it's a surprise but it's simply confirmation of his intended goals. Not a great message for shareholders as it basically says we're going to make a niche product with limited market demand / limited return.

 

[vjek]

Not a very good article at all in my opinion. It says nothing we don't already know.

Agreed.
It's a shame they're focusing on things like the heat mechanic instead of fixing bugs, optimization, and improving mechanics.
Adding more punishment to already punitive mechanics isn't an improvement. It's sadism.
Mining? Still the most tedious chasing-goldfish-food punitive task in the game.
Exploration? Buggy as all hell, not as advertised, discovery credits granted for pinging, NPCs 400LY out with no fuel scoops, "first discovered by" showing up, but you can't buy the exploration data for that system. No indication on the galaxy map that a system has already been discovered, so you get to waste your time for nothing, if that's your goal. Not even close to internally consistent.
Combat? Fundamentally changed so much in 1.1, not even remotely comparable to all of alpha, beta, gamma, or 1.0 post launch.
Trading? Broken on February 3, 2015, with not a single comment from any developer that it was intentionally broken, how they're going to fix it, or why they did it the first place. Zero communication.

It's like they're reading chapter and verse out of The Big Book Of Fail with a blindfold on the driver of the bus.

 

[Hadron-Higgs-Boson]

I dont see much here that is not part of the routine canned question and answer interview that has been done by plenty of others, David is actually pretty good at staying on topic and making sure his points are covered nicely. I think thr reasons for an 'early' release are unlikely to come to light, even if DB was actually in an interview with someone who could ask the question he would probably just reject the premise and pivot to what he wants to say, cant fault that, its a much sought after skill, ask Peter Molyneux

Early or not, its what it is, its ALL about what it does next and what the road map for this year looks like, clearly they have decent expecations of continuing sales and ongoing development and expansions, for now we have the game as it stands today and until FD tell us what it might be later this is what we can play or not!

 

[Aewarin Jameson]

I only pointed out some interesting questions and answers, which gives some background information about why ED follows 'release early, release often' model.

You must be reading into things that I can't see .. Read the 2nd page again and don't agree with your assessment.

I have no issue with release often as that makes sense - gives the players a feeling of continual improvement and progress, but releasing it when they did ? So much for the "we have no publisher so will release when we're ready" .. up comes Xmas .. bam - incomplete and on your doorstep.

 

[Lobstris]

You must be reading into things that I can't see .. Read the 2nd page again and don't agree with your assessment.

Agreed. There is nothing in this interview that touches on why E: D was released the way it was. Indeed, I wonder why the interviewer didn't ask more pertinent questions - though there were some interesting bits of info in there.

 

[vjek]

... So much for the "we have no publisher so will release when we're ready" .. up comes Xmas .. bam - incomplete and on your doorstep.

This has been the case with every kickstarter I've seen so far. All these software development kickstarter projects are proving is that publishers provide a valid role: they keep the project on time, feature complete, and on budget. Kickstarter? rarely on time, never feature complete, always over budget.

You can argue that games are terrible when done with a publisher, but at least the developer is legally obligated to fulfill the terms of the contract with a publisher involved. With kickstarter, developers slap the faces of every early backer by doing whatever the hell they want. Lesson learned. No more kickstarters for me. So much lost potential, it makes me die a little inside.

 

[EddyRockSteady]

Braben: Oh, absolutely! Design is about engaging with the player. With any game, I want the player to care about what they're doing.

Then you failed with this one.

Aye, would have to agree here. He definitely got it wrong on this front.

 

[Goilveig]

This has been the case with every kickstarter I've seen so far. All these software development kickstarter projects are proving is that publishers provide a valid role: they keep the project on time, feature complete, and on budget.

No they don't, they just hide the delays and budget overruns from you, and slash features they always planned but never publicized. Or they simply kill the game outright and it never sees the light of day.

Kickstarter doesn't make software development project planning difficult - it is always difficult, kickstarter just gives the consumers a window into our industry on a level they don't have elsewhere. A recent study of major software projects found that they averaged a 66% budget overrun, 33% time overrun, and delivered 17% fewer features than planned.