I think Elite is on slow funding right now, they are developing it as funds come in, so funds from the store are the key to our enjoyment of it.
Do ED store proceeds go into Elite development?
- Thread starter Strangepork
- Start date
I think Elite is on slow funding right now, they are developing it as funds come in, so funds from the store are the key to our enjoyment of it.
I disagree. Elite Dangerous is on PR funding right now. Frontier's continued development of the game (and especially the development of the Cobra engine) is directly related to their public image and thus their ability to pull in money and contracts to build things like Jurassic World Evolution. I think this is a big reason why 2018's focus is going to be so heavily centered on Beyond. They need to prove that they can get the core gameplay right more than they need to prove that they can roll out a steady stream of new content updates.
And yet this year's development schedule is glacial at best. Come on FD invest in ED.
Unless you’re the kind of person who expects that all proceeds from the sale of Elite should only ever be used to fund Elite (which I’m sure no sane person does), then it would be unreasonable to expect the store to be any different.
You’re supporting the company that makes Elite, not directly funding Elite itself. If the company is successfully funded then they have an incentive to keep developing Elite.
You’re supporting the company that makes Elite, not directly funding Elite itself. If the company is successfully funded then they have an incentive to keep developing Elite.
Point taken.
OK are you a big fan of Roller Park? I heard they got new picknik tables this year. Woof.
Rafe Zetter
Banned
Correct in the first part, pure speculation in the second. Planet Coaster, a game franchise for which FDev is renowned and well practised at developing isn't exactly raking in the money, and unless the Jurassic game has a movie tie in and something special about it - it's going to be just another management game, of which there are many (quite a few of them free), and there's a reason why certain game types have periods when none of that genre are being developed.
Dinosaurs are cool sure - but are dinosaurs going to be cool enough for the YEARS of development ED still has undergo? Doubt it.
@ Un1korn - technically this isn't a "this game is dead" thread so the 24 minutes doesn't count
The money goes into the company. They use that money to help grow the company and make other games. There is no way to measure exactly where you money goes, so best to say the money you give them is proprtionally split between development of ED, JWE, PC, electricity bills, support for older games, and also pays for Doris the cleaning lady.
Same goes for money that goes in from sales of PC and JWE, and FD's other games.
How FD decide to spend the revenue they get in terms of development of other games is up to them, FD is a multigame company, and with good reason. You grow better and are more financially stable if you have multiple franchises. Its business 101, and Braben is beholden not just to customers, but also employees and shareholders.
Anyone who thinks FD should only put money into ED and should only care about ED players, please, never go into business for yourself.
Same goes for money that goes in from sales of PC and JWE, and FD's other games.
How FD decide to spend the revenue they get in terms of development of other games is up to them, FD is a multigame company, and with good reason. You grow better and are more financially stable if you have multiple franchises. Its business 101, and Braben is beholden not just to customers, but also employees and shareholders.
Anyone who thinks FD should only put money into ED and should only care about ED players, please, never go into business for yourself.
As far as I know, Boeing doesn't have a forum pack full of fanboys and doom sayers, so no, they don't get that.
I dunno, those aviation nerds are pretty hardcore.
As far as I know, Boeing doesn't have a forum pack full of fanboys and doom sayers, so no, they don't get that.
You don't read Aviation Week, do you?
Indeed, we are.
Doris is the real MVP
Doris believes in this company ;(
Indeed, people often underestimate her contribution to the development of the game. If she wasn't there, dust would build up, developers would get allergies and start calling in sick, and sooner or later the whole of Frontier Developments would simply implode!
Can someone get some flowers delivered to the office in the name of Doris?
Its understanding those reports that people seem to struggle with though.
As to money made by ED going into other projects, its common practice. You will probably find that the money made by planet coaster is also put towards some of ED development and the Jurassic World game, plus also paying the devs salaries for all three games. It's how things work. The money is being used to keep the salaries of all three core dev teams running, plus the general running of the company. It would be stupid of them to put all their eggs in one basket. That is a recipe for disaster.
So not sure what point you are trying to make. The Dev team is not smaller, just because money made from ED has gone elsewhere. As long they pay the salaries of the dev team, that is all that is needed for ED.
Yaffle
Volunteer Moderator
Can you give me a page number for that?
I have the financials in front of me, and I can't see anywhere anything saying that Elite is not being developed properly. Quite the opposite, in fact (see page 8). Which page are you on?
How about Planet Coaster? Do you really think ED is currently subsidising a successful game that's been out over a year? Again, the page reference for that would help me very much.
The nature of all companies is that revenue is used to pay for costs. JWE isn't out yet, so clearly that has no revenue. Revenue from both PC and ED will, in part, go towards JWE's costs. It is the nature of business. If FD abandoned all other games then we'd have the usual threads here about 'FD is dead, it has no revenue except for Elite'. You may also notice the increased headcount since 2014, an indication it's not 'drop Elite to work on the new shiny'.
In short - it's a sound company doing well with an increasingly diversified portfolio. Working on more than one game at a time is quite possible, desirable, sensible and good for us all.
As far as I know, Boeing doesn't have a forum pack full of fanboys and doom sayers, so no, they don't get that.
Ah! You should check the comments section next time you read about Airbus or Boeing signing a big contract.
No, it goes directly into the contruction of Braben's Costa Rica mansion.
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Yaffle
Volunteer Moderator
I sincerely hope everything you're saying is true, Yaffle
https://www.frontier.co.uk/investors
It's difficult to give a concise citation for how business models work though.