For once, the DOOOOOOOOOM-sayers were correct.
As much as I love the game, I have no choice but to conclude that Elite is now on a glide path to maintenance mode. I expect 2022 will see the game get some updates from content that is still in the pipeline, but I expect that will be about it from that point on.
The reason why I read it this way is because there is no other reason why a developer would cut-off a revenue stream from a gaming community that has embraced their product to a degree that even surprised Frontier themselves (I say this based on that financial report of a few years ago where it touted how well the game was doing on consoles). Sure, I fully expected FDev to announce that EDO was not coming to the last-gen consoles - something understandable due to the game's marginal optimization and resultant hardware requirements. But there is no reason why the next-gens would prove to be a performance hurdle seeing the very robust hardware in those machines, particularly the XBox Series X. To just cut that entire hardware generation off from your well-received product makes no sense to me unless the entire franchise is going to be wound down, making the porting of Odyssey over to consoles wasted time and money in the big picture.
Braben talks about the need to have a single code base to move the story forward, but what "story" is he talking about? I mean, it's not like Elite ever had a narrative campaign along the likes of, say, Mass Effect. Instead, the so-called story of Elite has always been copy and paste GalNet articles, along with the occasional introduction of new assets, such as thargoids, into the game. Is such a "story" truly so onerous to maintain that you have to cut off a sizable community from the game? I mean, I see just about
every other game dev that runs a live service game able to "move the story forward" on different hardware without cutting off an arm to do so.
Believe me, I would love to believe that this is the beginning of FDev doubling-down on their ED efforts; that with the cutting loose of the consoles, suddenly ED on PC is going to explode with content that will rival other live service games like ESO or Warcraft or whatever. But after watching FDev repeatedly trip over their own shoelaces these past few years, I have zero confidence that will occur. It is much more likely that this is just more smoke and mirrors from a dev that, as we have learnt from the Odyssey launch fiasco, we just can't trust anymore (i.e. an alpha build sold as a finished product; Braben claiming that only "some people" were experiencing problems; FDev's financial report stating that "connectivity problems" were the source of the poor reviews; Fdev again breaking their promise for better communications).
I had a bad feeling that something like this was coming down the pike when Update 11 was announced in such an off-hand way. Oh, uh, we forgot to mention Update 11 is coming out on such an such a date...without the usual hype you would expect for such a much-anticipated update. Take that and combine it with various FDev staff talking about the lots of things going on behind the scenes, and I smelled a problem. And then take that stuff, and add in the poor financials for the company, and it all paints a picture of a company in panic mode with a lot of "cost-cutting" going on behind the scenes. That never ends well for anyone but the board of directors.
Again, I hope I am wrong, but....
I guess the good news is that if ED is placed into maintenance mode, it will probably be around for some time yet. However, it won't be as much fun, sadly. Even though I play strictly on PC, I enjoyed all the energy that console commanders brought to the game. Losing that community WILL be felt. I am sorry, fellas. The only comfort I can offer is to remind console commanders and low-spec PC hardware commanders that Elite Odyssey is fully playable and enjoyable via the cloud, be it Geforce Now or Microsoft's XCloud (I've played it on my $200 Chromebook!). One door closes and another opens....
You know, it is kinda weird: as I think about Elite sliding into maintenance mode (if that does happen), it is almost a relief. After watching FDev torture this game for so many years, maybe the best thing that could happen is for them to just leave it alone!
Heck, maybe they will even hand it off to a sub-contractor that specializes in live service games. Just trying to find a silver lining here...
This is not a good time for gaming. COVID has taken its financial and workplace toll, and I think the dreadful quality of recent games reflects that disruption in the workplace. No doubt that also explains Odyssey. Cause and effect. I wonder: if Fdev didn't pull their smash and grab with Odyssey, would things be better for them?
Eh. Whatever. Water under the bridge.
www.nomanssky.com
