Heh!
My visit to Frontier Developments and the Future of the Game
- Thread starter Obsidian Ant
- Start date
Heh!
I blame the guy two posts up.
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I would assume whatever the come up with, we get it for free.
lol. good idea. thumbs up!
Edit: I apparently don't understand multi-quote, and fail utterly at it
Git gud
Let him be a crusty traffic controller:
"You want to dock that piece of s**t at our station??? Ok, fine, but keep it below deck. We have reputation to uphold."
Git gud
hah. [noob]
A lifetime pass for the updates from beyond 2.4 would be a good marketing ploy and benefit a lot of commanders who missed out previously
There will surely be content that has to be paid for
There will surely be content that has to be paid for
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Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
I would think so - as "seasons" is a term that came after the Kickstarter:
Elite: Dangerous Kickstarter Reward Tier said:
Which I had to google. After which I understood why I had to google
It was so awesome having the guys visit - a really lovely time and we're glad you enjoyed it!
There will be some news at E3 about what 2.4 is, and we're looking forward to sharing more 2.4 information with you in future at places like Lavecon and other community events like that!
Can we have a release frame? Roughly? Fall?
Hmmm. My guesses are:
"Thargoids detected"
and
"Comet detected"
Thanks for the post and your wonderful videos. Good to know that FD have the good stuff baking in the oven. [up]
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Well,I'm pleased that such esteemed members of Elite Community were given the opportunity to visit the offices and see behind-the-scenes of their favourite game.
I notice that no-one who was in any way critical of the game was invited to go however.
Sorry, but while I respect Ant's work, I don't always agree with it. And it just seemed to me that forum moderators, and a couple of others who have been involved with the game in some manner, were invited.
Why not allow some people who have VALID concerns about the game, to see for themselves what people who already idolise the game were shown? I would be far more inclined to allow myself to believe what a critic says about something, than someone who is the opposite.
Trust me... I want to believe, I want to believe that ALL the concerns I, and many others, have raised over the year or so have been addressed. But lets be honest here - some people's issues are another's features. Not everyone likes Open. Not everyone likes PvP. Yet how do we know that these 'wonderful things' that were seen through the tomb door were only so for those who like those specific things?
Oh I have no doubt I'll get the usual blast of forum flamethrowers - happily I probably blocked everyone who doesn't actually show understanding of what I'm saying - all I ask is to understand where I'm coming from.
It's easy to like snow if you're a snowman.
I notice that no-one who was in any way critical of the game was invited to go however.
Sorry, but while I respect Ant's work, I don't always agree with it. And it just seemed to me that forum moderators, and a couple of others who have been involved with the game in some manner, were invited.
Why not allow some people who have VALID concerns about the game, to see for themselves what people who already idolise the game were shown? I would be far more inclined to allow myself to believe what a critic says about something, than someone who is the opposite.
Trust me... I want to believe, I want to believe that ALL the concerns I, and many others, have raised over the year or so have been addressed. But lets be honest here - some people's issues are another's features. Not everyone likes Open. Not everyone likes PvP. Yet how do we know that these 'wonderful things' that were seen through the tomb door were only so for those who like those specific things?
Oh I have no doubt I'll get the usual blast of forum flamethrowers - happily I probably blocked everyone who doesn't actually show understanding of what I'm saying - all I ask is to understand where I'm coming from.
It's easy to like snow if you're a snowman.
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I just posted a video about this, but not everyone watches those - so I thought I would post here as well. Earlier this week I got invited to the Frontier offices along with a few others - it was a bit of a surprise, but Frontier wanted us to come along and record a couple of lines of dialogue for them to use in-game. Kinda like little cameo things.
So - the offices are really big, that was the first thing that hit me. The second thing was all the Elite Dangerous memorabilia everywhere, from ship models to cushions to wall hangings of posters (to big to fit in even the largest room of my house). There was also stuff from other Frontier games. Those guys certainly love the projects they work on, and are very proud of them!
It's often questioned how many people work on Elite, well there were two full open plan offices - and it appeared a huge amount of the staff were dedicated to working on Elite. Numbers for Elite were easily in the region of 100+. The content we got to see was very impressive, and I think people are going to like it a lot. Most of what we saw, people will probably get to see from Frontier at E3.
There's been some worry that 2.4 is going to be a small patch, I think that concern came from the announcement that 2.4 is going to be released in sections. From what I saw, it appeared that 2.4 is going to be at least as big as all the other patches, and it certainly isn't the end of the main development of the game.
Another thing that I know has been concerning people is Frontier's talk about working on the "core mechanics" of the game after 2.4. Some people feel this means the game is going into maintenance mode with Frontier simply working on bug fixes and minor changes. We got the chance to ask for clarification on this - and the "core mechanic" changes actually means that Frontier are going to flesh out existing game mechanics and give the developers the opportunity to bring these aspects of the game inline with the original concepts as well as to perhaps add further enhancements where they can. So it seems that this is going to be big deal stuff, rather than just small tweaks.
Another thing I've seen people wonder about, is whether or not there will be new features in the future updates. Good news is that there will still be new content added to the game along with new headline features. However Frontier are not willing to talk about what that stuff is just yet.
We still don't know what the new sales model for the game will be. Frontier aren't talking on that one - but it won't be a season pass.
Bottom line; there is a huge team working on the game. Frontier are committed to the game's future, and are not winding the project down in any way, shape or form. They are aware that the game isn't perfect, and there is a strong desire within the team to add new depth to the game, and improve upon existing mechanics. What this ultimately means for the gameplay I don't know, but whatever the case - things are not going to remain static, and improvements are coming.
So, yeah - it's not as bleak as people have been imagining that's for sure. A lot of good stuff on the way.
Here's the video for anyone that wants to watch it:
https://youtu.be/OU9-PmZkoDo
Just wanted to add, what a great bunch people people work at Frontier! Very passionate about the game, and extremely friendly! It was nice to meet everyone, Ed, Zac, Sandro, Jonny, David, Dav, Sally and so many others.
Great to know - confirms what I thought! Keep meaning to track down the offices when I'm in Cambridge
!
Nice heads up from OA, Things are going strong, no doubtGreat to know - confirms what I thought! Keep meaning to track down the offices when I'm in Cambridge
I never imagined the future was bleak- just reading FD financials shows that, even if they are infrequent, and hearing periodic comments from DB and others about ongoing work. And at PaxEast the team was so accessible and friendly I have no doubt an office visit would be the bomb!
But the communications strategy (or lack thereof) is odd. And a short post like this from OA will do what FD could periodically do on their own, so why don't they? (In a way they do, they just don't highlight it, which apparently by all the gloom and doomsayers, they need to do like once every 3 months minimum).
I've long said the comms strategy from KS to v1.0 release was Aces and not broken in any way. But FD walked that back without any explanation whatsoever. And over time it has just gotten more quiet. And then they rolled out key updates that had nothing whatsoever to do with the game they sold hard for 2 full years. So understandably many fans became very confused as to what FD are thinking and since we keep buying stuff to support ED development, wanting to know where FD plan to take it so we can happily keep spending, or decide to go elsewhere.
The comment from OA that most excites me is the one I put in bold, above. I certainly hope FD don't think their original ideas became like anchors, holding them back. They were so spot-on. I know some items have already turned out too costly or technically impossible and some are just difficult, but the DDF is like the buried treasure, the simmering hopes and dreams for the game. That and the early Dev videos with DB talking about the approach.
I just hope FD new comms strategy allows them to be clear and more open and more regular about it. Less frequency might be OK, but more consistent in approach would be good.
OA videos easily get 10x the views of the "typical" FD livestream. One suggestion I have made that I do hope FD try, is to start up a recurring in-game-style GalNet news update. Could be weekly or every-other or even once a month recap. I think it would bring the events in the game more to life and make me want to play more. Things the live-streams do not motivate. they would plant in my psyche seeds about ED that I think would be good marketing time and money spent... and FD could use simple measures like how many views they get vs CQC with the devs, to see if the audience penetration is better.
I am looking forward to E3/livestreams next week.
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OA is critical of the game. He says what he like, and he says what he doesnt like.
Are you implying that somewho your concerns are more valid than OAs. Or mine? You need to rethink that one.
OA has earned my trust, and respect. You, not so much.
Au contrarie. I have and will continue to be critical(in a constructive way) of Frontier if they make a decision I think isn't the best way of doing it. The key is to present your critique in such a way as it's constructive, as detailed as you can make it and free of salt and entitlement.
On the day I did have some criticism on the way progression is measured(to David Braben) and a long conversation with zac and sandro about exploiters and griefers. On both occasions my questions were not avoided, brushed over nor was I escorted off the premises
Actually it sparked a good, constructive discussion from both David, and the rest of the team which was nice to see.So long as you are reasonable, articulate and can provide a good counter argument they will listen and as I could see on the day will adjust things accordingly
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Tiny_Rick
Banned
Elite: More Dangerouser CONFIRMED