Elite Dangerous History - Part 1, The Kickstarter.

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I'm spacegame nerd but kickstarter and early access is easily overdosed and especially KS comes with the most nollocks and fraud. I got into ED with the powerplay update. The game was heavily discounted on steam, I had been following loosely and the content update seemed to make sense and seemed to indicate a good post-launch support.
Everything from some DD or kickstarter snake oil sales pitch simply didn't happen to me and I can only recommend everyone to stay clear of such crap. What it leads to can be observed with Star Citisnt.

 

[Sysmon]

Threw money at it early on, and forgot about it. Suddenly Alpha was about to start, but I had backed at such low level that I wasn't able to participate. Grabbed a bit deeper in the pockets, and have been playing ever since. Even remembered to sign up to the forums in late 2013...

S

 

[Jack Schitt]

Oh, Drew...

"It's never been clear whether this was chosen to describe the nature of the gameplay..."?

At Nordic Game 2014 David Braben spent two minutes outlining the reason for the title, complete with a little in-universe story, in front of a giant projected slide titled WHY "ELITE: DANGEROUS"? in a font as big as his head.

I understand why you may not want to be seen "picking a side" in what is still an occasionally recurring and contentious discussion topic, but honestly... this is politician levels of reality denial.

Spoiler

(Link here for the cookie-impaired)

 

[robbyp]

I was monitoring alt.fan.elite from 1990s onwards waiting for another Elite. But somehow managed go miss the kickstarter until june..

 

[Florenus]

Oh, Drew...

"It's never been clear whether this was chosen to describe the nature of the gameplay..."?

At Nordic Game 2014 David Braben spent two minutes outlining the reason for the title, complete with a little in-universe story, in front of a giant projected slide titled WHY "ELITE: DANGEROUS"? in a font as big as his head.

I understand why you may not want to be seen "picking a side" in what is still an occasionally recurring and contentious discussion topic, but honestly... this is politician levels of reality denial.

Spoiler

(Link here for the cookie-impaired)

oh, this. I was just searching for that video.

But that imo is great example how you should NOT name the game.
Explanation is so convoluted that the more he talks about it, the less I understand.
And in the end we have:
Elite: Not quite Elite, but almost as good

 

[PhanttoM]

I was not there for the original kickstarter, but I snuck (paid) my way in during a grace period in December 2013 — so I ultimately have kickstarter level rewards.

 

[Jack Schitt]

But that imo is great example how you should NOT name the game.
Explanation is so convoluted that the more he talks about it, the less I understand.

Oh, I agree absolutely. It's a maddeningly confusing title. And it's an aspect of the game's lore that's never actually addressed in the game, even in the offering of rating-based missions which would have been an ideal place to expand on it.

For something about which David was so specific, the fact that the whole thing got quietly dropped is quite sad. Rating-"locked" missions can be taken (albeit at great risk) even by Harmless pilots, there are no EFP-specific avenues of adventure open to players who attain the rating of Dangerous, and Shinrarta Dezhra remains off-limits until an Elite rating is reached.

Still, the intent was there, at least in the summer of 2014. And if David has retconned it, he's keeping it to himself.

 

[Bantha]

Ah the good old days, when the freagle was a big thing.

I remember this coming out on Kickstarter and it immediately took me back to my 1984 childhood. I was so excited!

All when Sassia was just a twinkle in her father’s eye...

 

[{SAS}Stalker]

Me too, been here since before the beginning (forum joined in 2006!)

Same lol

 

[drew]

Oh, Drew...

"It's never been clear whether this was chosen to describe the nature of the gameplay..."?

At Nordic Game 2014 David Braben spent two minutes outlining the reason for the title, complete with a little in-universe story, in front of a giant projected slide titled WHY "ELITE: DANGEROUS"? in a font as big as his head.

I understand why you may not want to be seen "picking a side" in what is still an occasionally recurring and contentious discussion topic, but honestly... this is politician levels of reality denial.

Spoiler

(Link here for the cookie-impaired)

I was aware of that one, but I've heard David Braben explain it a different way at a different event... I'm not sure he's sure.

Cheers,

Drew.

 

[Bottom Hat]

I was aware of that one, but I've heard David Braben explain it a different way at a different event... I'm not sure he's sure.

Cheers,

Drew.

Hahahaha! So diplomatic!

 

[Jack Schitt]

I was aware of that one, but I've heard David Braben explain it a different way at a different event... I'm not sure he's sure.

He's certainly entitled to change his mind. The game's 37 years' worth of lore is nothing if not fluid.

Had that presentation been a year or two further down the line I might even have assumed it was a retcon designed to quieten those voices insisting that the "Dangerous" subtitle was an excuse to break Wheaton's Law at every opportunity, but it was so early in the game's development (pre-beta IIRC) that it seems unlikely. David elaborated on it a bit in an AMA in 2016, reiterating that it was to do with time-served ratings and explaining that it was "something we have not yet made a good deal out of yet", so I'm left with the impression that it was considered an important part of the lore at one point but for various reasons never made it past the basic concept. Its only legacy is the title.

If he changed his mind, which is quite possible given the time frame, I didn't pick up on it. I'd be interested if anyone has any references.

FWIW I also think it makes a whole lot more sense for it to be an adjective, at least until the lore is actually in the game, but I still enjoy needling people who insist the game is named "because of the danger" when it absolutely and evidentially isn't. Or at least wasn't.

 

[Dash]

Yep, watching from the sidelines. Wondering whether I should go for star citizen or elite, as SC was bound to be done first

I was very skeptical, but also unbelievably excited. Didn't cough up until beta. I remember fondly using parallax to discover planets in the pill.

And I remember the long time that had to be put in to scrape together enough cash for a Cobra. How the game has changed.

 

[starman]

Yes I backed it at Founder level! Looking forward to the next stage in its evolution. Odyssey!

 

[Oztig]

I've been here since the beginning (kickstarter), backed at whatever level got me free Lifetime upgrades, access to alpha etc?
It's been worth every penny, and the game I've played more than any other - I even bought VR just to play it.

not played as much as I'd like in the last year (doing work for a company where Brexit / Customs is taking up a lot of my time )

Looking forward to Odyssey, and all that brings

 

[LKx]

Folks,

I've been through copious notes, videos and references I made during the lifetime of ED. I thought I'd document it as a bit of history now it's fading into the past... particularly the early stuff. Here's the first one, on the kickstarter of 2012-2013. Were you there?

Mods, feel free to move if in the wrong place, didn't seem to have a category really.

Youtube link if your cookies aren't happy.

Cheers,

Drew.

Cool!

 

[MajorHavoc]

I remember the kickstarter quite well and lurked there reading the posts daily hoping like many others that the project would reach the goal. Towards the end to assist in getting over the line I threw in my £40. Around backer 24000 iirc. Later joined beta. Started playing in 2015.

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

I was there at the beginning, I like to think of this time as BSSC, hopefully we will move to an ASSC calendar soon

I wasn't there at the very beginning, but I'm feeling lonely and fragile today as my pet brick has gone missing.

So I thought I would write here to hopefully obtain the sympathy I so greatly deserve.

And because Drew is a legend imho. Not as good as my brick, but a legend nonetheless.

File footage:

 

[Serpentis Ictis]

I was at the start, i Jonty'd up to LEP and Beta access. No regrets.

Singularly the best series of games I ever played. FE2 was my childhood goto, my kids love ED.

The KS wasn't polished, but pleased it was successful - even if some of the ideas never materialised and we got a few additional areas instead, it's still a great game!

 

[drew]

I'm spacegame nerd but kickstarter and early access is easily overdosed and especially KS comes with the most nollocks and fraud.

I must admit, this is the only game Kickstarter I've supported (and my experience, writer's pack etc - was not typical) but I don't think I'll support another one. I'll wait until the finished product is available.

Whilst I do like ED a lot, there's a massive delta between what was originally intended and what was ultimately produced (with both positives and negatives).

Cheers,

Drew.