Odyssey Going Forwards

[Greasetrap42]

Personally, it's not big money, but it is certainly on the higher end of what games cost - so I'd see it as 'big money' in that respect.

For many players the cost of the game is fairly irrelevant. Some might complain or whatever. In reality purchasing a crappy game or other product is common. If I buy a stale box of cookies I throw it in the garbage and move on. If its a persistent problem I just don't purchase it anymore. Can't be bothered with making a fuss.

The big difference with EDO is the time, effort, and passion that players have dumped into the overall game. A large percentage of the player base has an emotional investment in the game. Its like discovering your favorite sports team you followed for years intentionally (or through absolutely crazy blunder) threw the season and god knows if they will even return next year. It really sucks.

 

[Ian Skippy]

People : "Talk to us!"
FDEV talks...
People : "We don't believe you!"

I'm exhausted...

Nah, this is important for the wider community. Other communities aren't as 'special' as the DD forums. Reddit, for example, has sensible up/downs in vibe. Things are going well, people are happy. Things are going not-so-well, as with EDO, players are upset. Its why that sub is a decent measure for how the playerbase is feeling.

DD contains a pile of people that could not really post in other communities. Reddits voting system guarantees extremist opinions are filtered out; if you post "EDO is the greatest ever, no problems, just buy a better pc!" such a daft troll post would be downvoted into oblivion. But the reverse is also true; the DD forums has a fair number of special people who stopped playing years ago (sometimes even half a decade ago...) but still linger around saying on a daily basis how stupid the game is. Here they are free to do so, on reddit they'd likewise be downvoted with the added suggestion to just bring it up with their therapist.

Its all good, but it has resulted in the DD forums being a place where a relatively small number (+-20) people can put a negative spin on absolutely everything. FD wont admit to it, but the purpose of the DD forums is to keep the inmates from posting elsewhere and interacting with the general population.

 

[Skizomeuh]

Not really accurate. People want to believe them, but are exhausted by too many words that haven't been followed through on in the past... going back almost a decade. Even actively gone against when they feel like it.

Trust will not be re-earned through words, but by actions.

Right now, it's like an abusive partner trying to convince his other half that he's changed, and he won't do it again...

FDEV sure have their share of vague statements, though of these "too many words" how many have been misinterpreted? Because I can't count anymore the number of times I've read people fantasize over a "No", or complain over a overinterpreted unsaid subtext.

 

[Maro-Val]

So you apologize for whatever it was you apologized for with the initial release of Odyssey. Not really taking any accountability, because I don't recall you saying you were sorry for releasing unfinished product as finished. Then promising transparency on what you were going to do to fix that mistake (that you didn't take accountability for) and now apologizing for the poor follow through on your promise to do what you said you were going to do.

I detect a trend here.

That you decided to push back the delivery of Odyssey isn't stunning and brave, it's obvious. That you are stating a commitment to fixing the PC version before rolling out another hot mess, also is not a huge shock.

I dont even play PC and I can only shake my head at how this has been allowed to be handled. Stunning and brave would be a full accounting of what, who, how, and why this was handled the way it was, and offering refunds to all those who want them.

Your apology meant nothing the first time you offered it and this apology only verifies my original assumption that the first was disingenuous. You have spent all of your good will tokens. Now, the only acceptable apology is an actual deliverable.

Put your money where your mouth is and offer refunds to any player who wants it. Then fix it and maybe, just maybe listen to your customer, attend to your product and let's see what happens.

A trully well written post, and exactly to the point. Respect cmdr o7.

 

[Juniper]

FDEV sure have their share of vague statements, though of these "too many words" how many have been misinterpreted? Because I can't count anymore the number of times I've read people fantasize over a "No", or complain over a overinterpreted unsaid subtext.

I'm not talking about 'vague statements'.

You can play E: D offline DRM-free without connecting to a server.
The DDF will have a role post release.
The Founders of the Elite are special and will receive special missions.
We don't want to do "Call of Duty" in space.
You will (in time) be able to get up and walk around your ship.
You will see cargo being loaded and unloaded onto your ship.
You'll be able to enter other people's ships and maybe steal them.

Just some of the things that FDev have unequivocally stated in the past - no subtext, nothing unsaid. Just things they told us that turned out to be untrue, but were said in order to obtain money.

 

[Eliza]

I'm not talking about 'vague statements'.

You can play E: D offline DRM-free without connecting to a server.
The DDF will have a role post release.
The Founders of the Elite are special and will receive special missions.
We don't want to do "Call of Duty" in space.
You will (in time) be able to get up and walk around your ship.
You will see cargo being loaded and unloaded onto your ship.
You'll be able to enter other people's ships and maybe steal them.

Just some of the things that FDev have unequivocally stated in the past - no subtext, nothing unsaid. Just things they told us that turned out to be untrue, but were said in order to obtain money.

You forgot: "Elite: Dangerous is built for VR from the ground up"

Sorry, I'm still going ballistic about that! Don't worry, my nurse is already looking for the pills.

 

[Chaparral]

I appreciate that the CEO put an acknowledgement of the game status and PC repair priority on the Forums. It is a positive step.

 

[Juniper]

You forgot: "Elite: Dangerous is built for VR from the ground up"

Sorry, I'm still going ballistic about that! Don't worry, my nurse is already looking for the pills.

In truth, there's probably a lot I've forgotten, but that's a good addition.

Another one might be: "Don't worry, we have a much more advanced build than this internally - the alpha won't be the release."

 

[Vandaahl]

Right now, it's like an abusive partner trying to convince his other half that he's changed, and he won't do it again...

Maybe thats the problem. When I pledged, I certainly didn't buy myself into a relationship.

 

[Aewarin Jameson]

Another one might be: "Don't worry, we have a much more advanced build than this internally - the alpha won't be the release."

That was to be mine.

While it is good that the CEO has piped up .. truth be told, he kind of had no choice. There's plenty of white knights to believe anything FDEV say, and equally plenty of people who don't. It's the people in the middle that message was aimed at (IMO) .. an attempt to steady the ship, buying some time, while the devs do their thing. For people like you and I, we want to believe, hope and what have you that EDO can be good .. but, as already outlined, words are cheap, action speaks volumes...

 

[Eliza]

I appreciate that the CEO put an acknowledgement of the game status and PC repair priority on the Forums. It is a positive step.

Generally I'm not so narcistic to have the urge to quote myself, but:

 

[MASA]

Sorry, i wasn't clear. You were talking about a conformation bias. Only the youtubers that can stream are. I was agreeing with you, not calling you out.

Its conformation bias to say that the game is fine since the stream are fine.

Thats what i get for posting when im tried.

Ok. I thought you were having a go at me lol!

I completely take back what I said (I, also was tired - it takes soooo long to read through all these pages).

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

. If I buy a stale box of cookies I throw it in the garbage and move on. If its a persistent problem I just don't purchase it anymore. Can't be bothered with making a fuss.

It is funny you say this.... Yes you are right some do do that and frankly I think it is an awful way to be.
Since.lockdown I have been doing click and collect and over the last 18 months I have had some doozies in my delivery. Most I filter out but the 6 weeks we have had 3.items delivered 3+ days past their sell by date That I missed when loading the car..
I could have just binned they were under £2 for each one but imo that is poor form and just let's Sainsbury's off the hook.
So I phone up every time and (politely) complain and each time get a refund. This weekend it was yogurts for my 5 year old and I did say it is a bit rubbish if I am giving out of date food to my child on day of purchase.

I got a £10 appology on top of my refund. I don't want to get anyone in trouble but who ever is putting 3 days + out of date stuff into the shopping needs to be put right.

Back to elite..... 1 buggy release you can maybe let go.... But when it becomes almost meme worthy that is a sign something is wrong maybe not the devs, maybe it's higher up but at some point FD need to look and say "is this product at an acceptable quality to release to paying customers and if not perhaps we should so something about it as an apology .....

DB stating they are working on fixing it IS something ... But the point is they must surely have known the problems before release unless they really blindly release broken code. I would expect they should have learned lessons after the 1st encounters.debacle (and yes I did buy that before it was eventually pulled from sale iirc)

 

[Eliza]

It is funny you say this.... Yes you are right some do do that and frankly I think it is an awful way to be.
Since.lockdown I have been doing click and collect and over the last 18 months I have had some doozies in my delivery. Most I filter out but the 6 weeks we have had 3.items delivered 3+ days past their sell by date That I missed when loading the car..
I could have just binned they were under £2 for each one but imo that is poor form and just let's Sainsbury's off the hook.
So I phone up every time and (politely) complain and each time get a refund. This weekend it was yogurts for my 5 year old and I did say it is a bit rubbish if I am giving out of date food to my child on day of purchase.

I got a £10 appology on top of my refund. I don't want to get anyone in trouble but who ever is putting 3 days + out of date stuff into the shopping needs to be put right.

Back to elite..... 1 buggy release you can maybe let go.... But when it becomes almost meme worthy that is a sign something is wrong maybe not the devs, maybe it's higher up but at some point FD need to look and say "is this product at an acceptable quality to release to paying customers and if not perhaps we should so something about it as an apology .....

I was more impressed by his sports-team analogy. Personally I give a damn about a (financial) apology or a blant excuse-thread. I'm so dedicated to Elite that I even don't waste one thought about going to NMS or SC. I just shelf the whole genre for the time being. For me Elite is not "just another game". It's an experience, especially in VR, but who am I talking with about VR anyways.

I just want to see things fixed! Words were shared enough! Let actions talk! Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Fizzatron]

And another set of platforms (with paying customers) get to fall behind in the name of unspecified improvements.

Sorry, I realise that's an uncharitable interpretation, but I'm not sure Frontier are being very charitable to console owners.

Jeez, still mad about the Mac being dropped? Apple has an atrocious record for supporting the Mac as a gaming platform literally going back decades that is very well known, but sure, again it must FDev's fault...

 

[imflecha]

Thanks for the statement.
However this is my roadmap:

• June 2021; uninstalled Odyssey and Horizons.
• June 2022; Install and observe development.

* 4k hours of game wasted.
Good luck CMDTES.

 

[amigacooke]

Jeez, still mad about the Mac being dropped? Apple has an atrocious record for supporting the Mac as a gaming platform literally going back decades that is very well known, but sure, again it must FDev's fault...

Imagine what Odyssey would have been like if Frontier had tried to make it work with OpenGL.

 

[phoe]

I think it's fair to say that most people playing video games on PC have a reasonable amount of disposable income. Buying a decent PC isnt exactly paper round money.

You've made a statement that says one thing and then immediately thrown up grounds to doubt it - buying a PC doesn't mean you're automatically getting a top of the line brand new gaming system - it's more likely they're getting a second hand box to start with.

I'm extremely grateful to the Unknown Worlds (Natural Selection 2, Subnautica) team and my fellow playtesters who all chipped in to buy me my current PC when my old computer was too slow to allow me to continue playtesting. It's relatively tired now with a GTX670 GPU, or I would likely still be on a triple core Phenom processor machines with an Etch A Sketch GFX card, but I'm not in a position any time soon to replace any of the components to improve it.

 

[Fizzatron]

I would ask for more specifics. So far, little has changed in terms of optimization. On my hardware (I7 6700HQ, GTX 1080, 32 GB, SSD) Odyssey is virtually unplayable on foot. In space I have 40-60 FPS (all details LOW, supersampling 0.65). On foot from 2 - 25 fps. Nothing is stable. It's not that I don't like Odyssey (although there is a lot to improve), but that it is unplayable for me. And I was playing Cyberpunk 2077 on the same computer. I am not interested in the road map now. I'd love to hear when you start improving your code optimization.

Your cpu is four core and 6 years old, that may be your problem.

 

[Highhead]

David,

I respect that you, as the CEO, finally admits to the vast amount of very bad issues and the scam that has happened with Odyssee!

What i do not respect is, that its pure
management-rubbish-bingo speech!

Really there are many ppl in management that need to be fired! Maybe its even yourself that commited too much to investors! Get your story straight!

Either abandon ELITE and get on with your moneymaker childish dinosaur games, maybe even do just paytowin mobile games - or just do the right things for ELITE!

id prefer the latter!