PSA: ED Beyond is not a season and is not paid for season nr 3

[babelfisch]

In the subject I do feel a bit silly having spend £120 for Lifetime Expansion Pack, and now it turns out after almost two years and another one to come I could have all of that for a price of Horizons which was £30 or £40

That's because the lifetime isn't over yet. It was worse when Horizons wasn't released! I spend £120 for it and there was no expansion!

 

[Rob At Work]

And just for good clarification: Beyond is different to a season. It is a series of updates for ED and Horizons players which is focusing on core enhancements, continued narrative and new features that compliment them.

so what are you sayin'?

 

[babelfisch]

so what are you sayin'?

Maybe that it isn't Season 3 so owners of the LEP shouldn't complain that others get the stuff for free which they paid for. I honestly don't know though

 

[TinyPwny]

So Beyond is a freason. Glad we've established that.

 

[StuartGT]

And just for good clarification: Beyond is different to a season. It is a series of updates for ED and Horizons players which is focusing on core enhancements, continued narrative and new features that compliment them.

Thanks Brett. Quoting for easy future reference

 

[Besensec]

so what are you sayin'?

That Beyond is 'a series of updates' while Horizons is 'a series of updates'.

I think it would have been better to say that Beyond is S2 extended, and personally, it would have been even better to present Beyond as a recognition of how mediocre S2 was and their way to revert that. I still believe that is what Beyond is though, so Brett's description of it is very perplexing.

Maybe that it isn't Season 3 so owners of the LEP shouldn't complain that others get the stuff for free which they paid for. I honestly don't know though

They used to describe S2 as a 'series of updates'. Now they use the same sentence to describe Beyond and to differentiate it from exactly a season, also known as a series of updates.

Anyway, I understand the reactions of lifepass owners, although I don't get the implicit desire of having 'stuff for free' in a exclusive fashion.

 

[Kayweg]

I'm sure we can merrily argue over the semantics of this for many month' to come.
I'm also sure, we will !

 

[Baton]

That's because the lifetime isn't over yet. It was worse when Horizons wasn't released! I spend £120 for it and there was no expansion!

Unless they will start shooting expensive DLC's after 2018, it is pretty obvious that buying LEP was bad call. I hope I am wrong, but in my age I cannot be sure that I will be around in 5 years to find out

 

[VampyreGTX]

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/383667-So-2-4-03-at-some-point?p=6019992&viewfull=1#post6019992

Please see Dale's response in another thread pertaining to 'Beyond'

 

[Soon(TM)]

Personally, I reckon they're just making the "Beyond" updates freebies so they can start a new "season" in 2019 without seeming indecisive.

I can't really see how, in the long-term, it'd be possible to create a cohesive game using individual bits of DLC so I won't be surprised to see them revert to "seasons" after "Beyond".

Either way, good on 'em for providing a year of complimentary updates to the game. [up]

I agree, the game could become more fragmented than the Warcraft expansion's if they follow a "bit at a time" DLC method.

They need to do one large paid expansion per year or so, with everything already completed, rather than a season where things trickle in bit by bit half finished and half working.

At least that way we can see the quality and content of the expansion before we buy it, instead of buying it in advance and being disappointed with the implementation of the "features".

 

[DaggerSnake]

Horizons was version 2.x

Beyond will update and expand on Horizons version 2.x, and not cost anything.

Version 3.0 has not been announced or discussed in any official capacity.

So really it’s pretty simple.

 

[amigacooke]

Anyway, I understand the reactions of lifepass owners, although I don't get the implicit desire of having 'stuff for free' in a exclusive fashion.

Personally, I am expecting my updates to be free (KS backing level and all that) and these updates are free, so I've nothing to complain about really.

 

[Sashenka]

Unless they will start shooting expensive DLC's after 2018, it is pretty obvious that buying LEP was bad call. I hope I am wrong, but in my age I cannot be sure that I will be around in 5 years to find out

Yep, sometimes we make bad calls. Some people bought SC, some bought ED with LEP, others bought NMS. I guess we'll know after 2018, unless FD has something up their sleeve to go alongside Beyond like Eagleboy seems to think. The thing is, it's out of our hands so better buck;e up and wait... again.

 

[babelfisch]

Anyway, I understand the reactions of lifepass owners, although I don't get the implicit desire of having 'stuff for free' in a exclusive fashion.

There is no "reaction of lifepass owners". There are a few people who want to know if we'll see paid expansions again after "Beyond". That's it.

Unless they will start shooting expensive DLC's after 2018, it is pretty obvious that buying LEP was bad call. I hope I am wrong, but in my age I cannot be sure that I will be around in 5 years to find out

No. It's not. It's very likely that there are at least 2 more paid expansions coming, probably more.

 

[Besensec]

Personally, I am expecting my updates to be free (KS backing level and all that) and these updates are free, so I've nothing to complain about really.

The way it should be! I didn't mean to imply that every life-pass owners were complaining.

There is no "reaction of lifetime pass owners". There are a few people who want to know if we'll see paid expansions again after "Beyond". That's it.

Sorry for the misnaming [noob]. However, there were some reactions like that, and similar things happen when new cosmetics are released for free. And is understandable to some extent, the worry is that if the following updates are free, then the lifetime pass becomes meaningless in retrospective (a worry that I understand, but I dont share though). This worry makes sense when Beyond is presented and defined as 'a series of updates', which, as it was pointed out, is the same definition that Frontier's seasons have.

However, to understand these type of reactions, one has to consider what the owners of lifetime pass have in mind; which is whether or not the pass will prove to be financially a better option or not. They have had a lot of time to ponder about this (5 years? since 2012, no? I ask cause I don't own one). I understand your point, it is a 'lifetime' pass (with the average life span of 80 years). But everything has a context, and waiting too long can render the game obsolete before their pass becomes a good deal. And while they wait, they also see the game getting cheaper.

 

[Riverside]

However, to understand these type of reactions, one has to consider what the owners of lifetime pass have in mind; which is whether or not the pass will prove to be financially a better option or not. They have had a lot of time to ponder about this (5 years? since 2012, no? I ask cause I don't own one). I understand your point, it is a 'lifetime' pass (with the average life span of 80 years). But everything has a context, and waiting too long can render the game obsolete before their pass becomes a good deal. And while they wait, they also see the game getting cheaper.

LEPs were offered for sale twice - one prior to launch for something like £30, owners of these have effectively already received good value from Horizons alone. I bought mine in August 2015 for £120 (£10 discount for already owning the base game).

The game (and any expansions) being offered more cheaply after launch isn't an issue, the LEP owner would receive the premium content at it's launch (ie full price).

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

There is no "reaction of lifepass owners". There are a few people who want to know if we'll see paid expansions again after "Beyond". That's it.


No. It's not. It's very likely that there are at least 2 more paid expansions coming, probably more.

There isn't really evidence or indication about FD trying to screw over LEPers.

However, any uneasiness is welcome by me. Season passes nowadays tend to be kept so cryptic and without really telling anything or enought, buyers should really see it as a risk investment. The gamble could pay off, but it might just not. It's kinda unfair practice when it's pretending to sell finished products.

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

Zac has just posted some info re LEPs over here:

<snip>...Hopefully I can put your mind at ease a little.

In addition to all the content talked about at Frontier Expo, we also have some pretty cool things in the works which will be available to purchase. We're not ready to talk about them just yet so we can't give you any details but rest assured that the lifetime expansion pass owners will be looked after and will be getting their hands on premium content as part of their lifetime expansion pass before the end of 2018 and the Beyond series of updates.

I hope that helps,

Zac

 

[nrage]

In the subject I do feel a bit silly having spend £120 for Lifetime Expansion Pack, and now it turns out after almost two years and another one to come I could have all of that for a price of Horizons which was £30 or £40

Unless they will start shooting expensive DLC's after 2018, it is pretty obvious that buying LEP was bad call. I hope I am wrong, but in my age I cannot be sure that I will be around in 5 years to find out

I am not worried at all, despite my earlier tongue in cheek comment. I am confident we'll see enough paid expansions to make our investment "worth it". I only wish I'd taken the gamble when the LEP was only £30 (or £35, I can't recall exactly) as it was before the initial release of Elite.

Maybe that it isn't Season 3 so owners of the LEP shouldn't complain that others get the stuff for free which they paid for. I honestly don't know though

I can't speak for other LEP holders but personally I am not complaining, at all, certainly not "that others get the stuff for free which <I> paid for".

To play devils advocate, to my mind, "core gameplay improvements" are more like Season 1 improvements, not season 2. So you could make the argument that everyone should get them for free. But, this position presumes you think Frontier under delivered on what they promised for Season 1 and that you're owed something. I don't think this is the case, so to me it seems reasonable to require a Season 2 purchase in order to support the developments, which are going to cost a fair bit of developer effort.

The game (and any expansions) being offered more cheaply after launch isn't an issue, the LEP owner would receive the premium content at it's launch (ie full price).

Indeed. It would only be an issue if they released the updates cheaply "at launch". But, I don't expect that will be the case as it's not like Development costs aren't going down. LEP's also get beta access

Zac has just posted some info re LEPs over here:

Nice "before the end of 2018" .. I like the sound of that. Perhaps we will get a discount on the Squadron mega ship?

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

That, plus you can ask more. I mean, I would probably have paid way more for Horizons if it had been sold in bits.

Planetary landings? E20
SLF: E7
Passengers: E5
Holome: E7
Multicrew: E5
Engineering: E7
Thargoids: E7

Heck, I am pretty sure most would appreciate each feature more than a ship kit...

God I hope not. How can missions ever have multiple stages making use of multiple mechanics if it is so fragmented. IF FD don't want to do seasons I hope they do traditional large expansions