FD: Look what I have invested in you so far.

[Deleted member 182079]

I always love this term "invested" when purchasing products.

How much have people "invested" in their local supermarket i wonder... enough to receive dividends maybe?

Yup - I simply spent money on a service - that's all there is to it. Like getting a taxi, or watching a movie in the cinema.

I also wouldn't subscribe to the notion of "supporting the dev/game" - I bought those cosmetics because I wanted them, and enjoyed them (mostly - some proper duds notwithstanding). Frontier is a PLC, they don't need my charity.

 

[Gorrister]

Invest is not the right word. You purchased a product either when it became available, or prior to it becoming available and then spent more money on things associated with that product. This is a 'sunk cost'.

Buying a game is not an investment as you have no 'asset' that can rise in value over time and give you a 'return'.

To invest in something here you would need to have acquired Frontier shares over the years, which would have given you a return (up until the last couple of months anyway).

Cheers,

Drew.

Could we pretend I chose the right word?

How about you?
Buying game content?

 

[Gorrister]

<<< Expects an actual ultimatum from OP,but doesn’t see one

Erased it. It sucked.

 

[Jmanis]

Could we pretend I chose the right word?

OK. So you bought a game. You don't like it.

... ahuh.... and?

 

[Juniper]

I see that as a you problem. I never expected elite to become something more. Sure I’ll welcome it (or moan about it if I dislike it) but I got more than my moneys worth.

I bought a game to play, I played it.
I liked certain cosmetics and I bought them to further my own enjoyment.

I didn’t buy any of it in hopes I’d get a vote in development.

Maybe so. I didn't "buy" Elite though originally - I backed it to help ensure it got made in the first place. So that's where we differ.

Maybe because part of that £750 Kickstarter pledge was to be part of the "Design Discussion Forum" (DDF) which we were always led to believe was having a "vote on development" as you put it. With the tacit and explicit understanding that it was always Frontier's game to do with as they wished. That DDF (£300) was marketed as also having a voice after release - which was promptly dropped like a boulder when the time came... with most of FD's own suggestions and topics never seeing the light of day.

Just another Frontier lie as it turned out. But by no means the most toxic or hurtful.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

I don't want to do that. When i did that for wow i quit soon after.

The only thing positive is i pretty much turned it off as soon as frontier didnt seem to be earning it by my measure, so don't feel like they owe me anything.

I certainly did given how much i had spent in the store before that point though.

EDIT: I don't even resent them becoming an evil publisher, espeically because all the titles they've made in the past seem like they were designed specifically for me. The only problem is they don't execute. Brabes would be more whole licensing his ideas out to other developers.

 

[Gorrister]

Actually, I don't think investment is so completely wrong.
If I buy, I help the company. There was no need for many things I bought.
If there had been a second kickstarter event, I also might have given something. So yes, buying stuff I don't need to support Frontier is my way of investing.

 

[drew]

Could we pretend I chose the right word?

How about you?
Buying game content?

• £4,500 Kickstarter pledge (though that wasn't "my" money for the most part) - I originally pledged £45 and paid the KS fees on the £4,500 - That also gave me a LEP.
• 4x Additional Accounts base game and EDH - Maybe £200 ish?
• A few small paint jobs along the way, perhaps £20
• Strictly speaking I did buy a new PC in 2014 in order to play ED, but its not been exclusively use for that purpose, so I don't think it really counts - say £1,000
• HOTAS - £80?
• Spent two years of effort writing a pair of books.

Cheers,

Drew.

 

[Gorrister]

I don't want to do that. When i did that for wow i quit soon after.

The only thing positive is i pretty much turned it off as soon as frontier didnt seem to be earning it by my measure, so don't feel like they owe me anything.

I certainly did given how much i had spent in the store before that point though.

I also had to sit down.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Maybe so. I didn't "buy" Elite though originally - I backed it to help ensure it got made in the first place. So that's where we differ.

Maybe because part of that £750 Kickstarter pledge was to be part of the "Design Discussion Forum" (DDF) which we were always led to believe was having a "vote on development" as you put it. With the tacit and explicit understanding that it was always Frontier's game to do with as they wished. That DDF (£300) was marketed as also having a voice after release - which was promptly dropped like a boulder when the time came... with most of FD's own suggestions and topics never seeing the light of day.

Just another Frontier lie as it turned out. But by no means the most toxic or hurtful.

Interesting stuff - I completely missed the pre-release phase, bought ED on release (for me the fact it existed came out of nowhere, read about it in the gaming media). I suppose it was strange that they'd offered the option of the DDF given it'd certainly lead to a 'too many cooks in the kitchen' situation fairly quickly.

 

[Gorrister]

• £4,500 Kickstarter pledge (though that wasn't "my" money for the most part) - I originally pledged £45 and paid the KS fees on the £4,500 - That also gave me a LEP.
• 4x Additional Accounts base game and EDH - Maybe £200 ish?
• A few small paint jobs along the way, perhaps £20
• Strictly speaking I did buy a new PC in 2014 in order to play ED, but its not been exclusively use for that purpose, so I don't think it really counts - say £1,000
• HOTAS - £80?
• Spent two years of effort writing a pair of books.

Cheers,

Drew.

I may exclude the hardware and the talent.

 

[Deleted member 110222]

I always love this term "invested" when purchasing products.

How much have people "invested" in their local supermarket i wonder... enough to receive dividends maybe?

Indeed. Ultimately, buying a video game is no different to buying a tomato from asda.

You don't get invited to the board for buying the tomato, or even if you buy a tomato every day for twenty years.

 

[Juniper]

Interesting stuff - I completely missed the pre-release phase, bought ED on release (for me the fact it existed came out of nowhere, read about it in the gaming media). I suppose it was strange that they'd offered the option of the DDF given it'd certainly lead to a 'too many cooks in the kitchen' situation fairly quickly.

Ironically, given that there were ~650 people participating (or had the right to at least), the process worked surprisingly well. Remember we were all fans of the game, and wanted it to do well, and trusted Frontier to deliver that. It wasn't like the forums are nowadays (or even back then).

It was surprising that they reneged on their promises with that, given that resource & goodwill they had. But too many were sickened off by the bait and switch for offline mode as well as other KS promises they went back on, so maybe that influenced their decision there.

Can't say it's gone well for them since. Lying to your customers rarely ends well.

 

[The Nephilim]

Could we pretend I chose the right word?

How about you?
Buying game content?

But you didn't chose the right word.

You bought stuff for a game, you've probably spent 100's of hours on, and now you're unhappy with the direction of the game. That's fair enough.

I've spent a lot of money on this game (way into £100's), and I'm not about to stop because I don't like Odyssey (which I don't) or the fact that VR won't be implemented on-foot (I can't see how that would work with my preferred method of Mouse and Keyboard anyway) or Ship Interiors (which I'd get bored with after 5 minutes).

I've said before, I wanted Atmospheric Landings, but there are probably technical reasons why we can't have it. For the moment.
So I'm taking this one for the team, and biding my time until something comes out that I'll enjoy.

I'll continue to put time and money into the game as and when I see fit.

 

[Darkfyre99]

Out of morbid curiosity, I decided to see how much I've spent on Elite: Dangerous over the last eight and a half years...

It's difficult to tell for certain, because conversion rates USD and UKP have changed over the years, but let's call it $400 between my two accounts. This includes Odyssey for my alt, because I liked what I saw in the Alpha.

And I won't spend a penny more, unless Frontier releases an update that features full atmospheric planets. I have a LEP, so I'd want that one particular account for my alt as well.

Oh, and if ever Frontier decides to fix the economic sim they deliberately broke or Powerplay, I'd be willing to spend more on cosmetics. But not a penny for cosmetic ship interiors. I have limited time to play this game, and I don't want to put up with navigating my own ship's interior if there's no gameplay attached. I'm also willing to spend more on cosmetics if Frontier stops ignoring the lore of this game's universe, and works on integrating it into the game properly.

 

[lysan]

Well over £1000 if you include the Kickstarter.

Not another penny. For any Frontier game. Ever.

Yeah I got the rollercoaster game and the Dino game just because I wanted to support the company, that’s over now, my last purchase was EDO for my second account, but ...

 

[CMDR Von Abrahart]

Rise up my children, storm the palaces and bring on the terror. Seriously though - I’ve spent more on Lattes

 

[Gorrister]

But you didn't chose the right word.

You bought stuff for a game, you've probably spent 100's of hours on, and now you're unhappy with the direction of the game. That's fair enough.

I've spent a lot of money on this game (way into £100's), and I'm not about to stop because I don't like Odyssey (which I don't) or the fact that VR won't be implemented on-foot (I can't see how that would work with my preferred method of Mouse and Keyboard anyway) or Ship Interiors (which I'd get bored with after 5 minutes).

I've said before, I wanted Atmospheric Landings, but there are probably technical reasons why we can't have it. For the moment.
So I'm taking this one for the team, and biding my time until something comes out that I'll enjoy.

I'll continue to put time and money into the game as and when I see fit.

The counter says 10 weeks playtime.
Yes I bought stuff for a game.
I will continue to buy stuff. Stuff I don't need. Because buying helps Frontier. That is my investment (call it as you please).
But that is no blind worship. I am unhappy with no VR.
So I chose to stop buying stuff at the moment.

 

[Deleted member 110222]

...

The counter says 10 weeks playtime.
Yes I bought stuff for a game.
I will continue to buy stuff. Stuff I don't need. Because buying helps Frontier. That is my investment (call it as you please).
But that is no blind worship. I am unhappy with no VR.
So I chose to stop buying stuff at the moment.

Our point is that investment has a clear definition. Buying stuff in a game does not meet that definition.

It is a purchase that you have made, so appreciate it for what it is.

 

[Tharrn]

Sheesh, I never summed it up... 416€ (no idea how much that is in British Zlotis)

I have no intention to stop spending though. Is ED a perfect game: no. Do I think a lot of things could be done better: yes. Do I still enjoy playing: yes

Case closed.