A reminder of a Fdev promise from 10/2017

[-VR- Max Factor]

Simple really... Right now you request docking.. if not member of associated squadron, deny docking..

I have a feeling that they want to do more then the basics for Squadron Fleet Carriers. Sure they maybe able to add very basic fleet carriers in today, but they may not have any real purpose or anything new. Personally I would prefer they wait and do them properly, not that that is a given. We may still get the half baked version.

None of this is difficult. Its a graphical ship/station to allow ships dock. How many, and who owns the ships is simple database logic.

Depends what they want to do with Fleet Carriers.

I believe the difficulty if there is any, is in what players will want to do with these carriers.

Hit the nail on the head. There were a huge amount of suggestions on the internet, which could have been why they were re-prioritzed. Hopefully they want to do them justice and turn them into something good.

The same for boots on the ground. Displaying a graphical representation through a spacesuit is not all not complex, but we both know players will want weapons, then they'll want battles and leaderboards and god knows what else.

While I want boots on the ground I have no wish for leaderboards. I wouldn't mind a weapon of some kind though, but would prefer it to include BGS work as well as exploration, with some combat thrown in at times too, very similar to the main game.

Elite is and always has been a space exploration/trading game, not a FPS.. I'd much prefer to see more ships than BotG type rubbish.

According to DBOBE, Elite has always been about a commander living in a tough galaxy trying to survive. Elite has always had exploration, trading and combat. Combat has always been one of the major parts of any Elite game.

 

[VR Golgot]

It will be funny if/when the 2020 update is classed as a sequel and therefore not included in the LEP. People will still be here voraciously defending it.

No schadenfreude for you young man

What does 'The Next Era' contain?
The Next Era update will be in-game content

LEP Content
The Next Era content will be paid for content and LEP owners will receive it as part of their pass.

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

I recently read about No Man's Sky fans renting a billboard outside the game dev's HQ to thank them. It made me wonder if there is billboard ad space for rent within sight of Frontier's HQ, and what would happen if I rented it to post a big sign that just read (in the same font as the "got milk?" ads that were so prevalent in the US for awhile)

"(for)Got Fleet Carriers?
We haven't."

Gives me an idea for bug reports

 

[JesusRocks1988]

I'd like the billboard to say "How much more work do you think you could've gotten done if you weren't reading this right now?"

Might get a few chuckles here and there...

 

[sollisb]

I have a feeling that they want to do more then the basics for Squadron Fleet Carriers. Sure they maybe able to add very basic fleet carriers in today, but they may not have any real purpose or anything new. Personally I would prefer they wait and do them properly, not that that is a given. We may still get the half baked version.

I think we all have preferences

I'd be very very happy to have a mega-ship I could dock with, that has my fleet or part there-of, and then be able to jump (albeit slower than normal) to whereever I want, and then have the capability to undock which ships I have and do whatever I want. The mega-ship jump could be balanced by making the jump distance equal to time. So for example, 1000lys might be 1hr. That would all me to decide to perform the jump and wait or simple use my on board fleet for localised stuff.

That alone is a huge benefit and adds so much more to what I consider to be a stagnant title.

 

[VR Golgot]

Regarding this:

Elite is and always has been a space exploration/trading game, not a FPS.. I'd much prefer to see more ships than BotG type rubbish.

According to DBOBE, Elite has always been about a commander living in a tough galaxy trying to survive. Elite has always had exploration, trading and combat. Combat has always been one of the major parts of any Elite game.

The relevant quote:

Just to set the record straight, Space Legs and EVA gameplay, that's way off in the future. That's a goal. I've talked to David and it's always been part of his core vision for what Elite really is, even from way back in the day, it's always been about you're a person in a real futuristic setting, not just a ship. However, I think it's also fair to say Space Legs is effectively dovetailing a whole new game into Elite.

And yep combat has clearly always been an integral part of the franchise. (Ideally Legs would expand on all of the main pillars: Trade, Explo, Combat).

---

On topic: I've no idea why anyone was excited by the Squadron Carrier functionality as described to date. (IE squad owned, moveable in some way if grind for fuel completed).

A version with expanded functionality, reflecting some of the excitable feedback? Sure

 

[Phoenix_Dfire]

An LEP means you will get 2 expansions literally in the course of your lifetime. Everyone knew that when they paid for it.

It will be funny if/when the 2020 update is classed as a sequel and therefore not included in the LEP. People will still be here voraciously defending it.

Well, I for one, won't be. They've always maintained that they're going to building on the present game, not replace it. It's always worried me a little that we might get another Frontier to First Encounters issue (i.e. First Encounters was supposed to be an add on to the original Frontier). However, if they did that I don't think the established player base would stand for it. I was only OK about offline Gate because the promised an offline mode if the game was 'sunset' but apart from that Frontier haven't really done any big NMS Bait and Switch type shenanigans.

I would have said 3 expansions (Horizons, Space Legs and Atmospheric worlds) would what you expect from the LEP. However, there are a few things that I will predict about the 2020 release;-

1. For the PC and existing consoles, if you don't have the LEP. the upgrade will probably include Horizons and Beyond for free, so Frontier only have PC code base.
2. For the new consoles, the game probably won't be backwards compatible. If you want to play E: D on a new console, it will probably mean a new copy.
3. Once the Big Three is out of the way, that will be it for this game. It will then head into maintenance mode until they decide to sunset (hopefully a very long way off) and then we'll hopefully get an offline mode (2025-2030*)?.

* As an old man, can I just say I'm a little freaked out that we're considering dates such as 2025 etc. Shouldn't we have our own private jetpacks by now?

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I think we all have preferences

Sure do

I'd be very very happy to have a mega-ship I could dock with, that has my fleet or part there-of, and then be able to jump (albeit slower than normal) to whereever I want, and then have the capability to undock which ships I have and do whatever I want. The mega-ship jump could be balanced by making the jump distance equal to time. So for example, 1000lys might be 1hr. That would all me to decide to perform the jump and wait or simple use my on board fleet for localised stuff.

I understand the want for that, but I can't see that being a practical thing for a lone commander. If that was available for a lone commander I would have it that you would need to have NPC's to help run the ship, that would all need paying etc. Maybe have an NPC management system in.

Also if there are squadron fleet carriers, then these personal ones would should follow the same rules as the squadron carriers which may not be a good thing, such as refuelling and re-stocking. There maybe a reason why they would only be offered to squadrons such as price and upkeep. I suspect that fleet carriers will not have a shipyard so you wouldn't be able to tranfer your own personal fleet to them anyway. Currently from what I can gather, there a no moving mega ships around that have a shipyard. The Gnosis doesn't have a shipyard.

And as to the jump time you mentioned, is that real time or in-game time because the only way to balance that would be to have it as in-game time, other wise people will just schedule the jump for when they log-off and it would feel like an instant teleport to a system a 1000ly away with your entire fleet at your disposal.

That alone is a huge benefit and adds so much more to what I consider to be a stagnant title.

Personal ship carrier is not something I am ever likely to be interested in to be honest, all I would do is jump around in it to do the same stuff I can do when I take my ship their myself, I don't see any need for a personal ship carrier and would actually cheapen the game for me, just like instant ship transfer would have done.

But space legs, atmospheric planets etc, that I am interested in and could add far more then a personal fleet carrier in my view.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I'll open casino opposite to FD offices. That will get me lots of rng addicts, I believe.

 

[Werewolf13]

Capitalism: Why it works better than any other economic system.

Don't like a producer don't buy their products. The producer will - if enough customers wave bye bye - either provide products customers do like and will pay for or they won't. Guess which solution keeps the producer in business. This is called voting with your pocket book. Don't like FDev's product, lack of truthful(?) communications, broken promises (perceived or real) then vote NO! You've already got ED but the next rollout is gonna cost money so don't buy it. (my guess is the sycophants will buy it no matter what).

Pretty simple really. Enough customers pass on paying for the next release (assuming it will be and I bet it will be a paid release) and FDev will get it or they'll lose their market for Elite. (my guess - there are enough sycophants and apologists in the community to sustain the next release). Add to that the players that could care less either way how FDev treats its customers (like me) and there is a high probability in my opinion that the next release will be successful for FDev. Capitalism at work.

 

[VR Golgot]

(assuming it will be and I bet it will be a paid release)

Yep it's PDLC:

LEP Content
The Next Era content will be paid for content and LEP owners will receive it as part of their pass.

And yep on the capitalism. (There are plenty of legit concerns regarding product representation by FDev, and there's value in flagging them over time and keeping tabs on their delivery. The salt swells do frequently rage high though, and obscure the core points with froth and spray )

Brass tacks are: Don't like, don't buy. (And don't preorder unless you have a charitable gambler's nature )

 

[CItizenFive]

I'm trying really hard to see this from FDev's point of view. If I'm the CEO of FDev, I think my two primary goals would be a balancing act between making the best games possible and making as much money as possible. I'd also realize that it's impossible to make everyone happy; somebody is going to whine and complain about the game no matter what Fdev does or doesn't do, so I'm going to tell my personnel to make the game however we want, according to the schedule that suits us best. The players will get whatever we make whenever we're ready to release it, and they can buy it or not.

I understand all of that. It all makes sense.

The thing I do not understand is why FDev chooses to communicate so poorly. Good communication is an easy thing to implement. It takes minimal effort and requires minimal expense. But it directly contributes to the goals of making great games and making money (by getting good ideas and feedback from the player base and by ensuring current players remain loyal, buy updates, and generate new sales via favorable word-of-mouth advertising) AND FDev is still free to make the game how and when they want.

I see no downside or negative repercussions from having better and more detailed communications. Choosing to communicate poorly makes no sense to me. Remaining silent seems irrational and counterproductive. It generates an unfavorable image of an apathetic developer and creates animosity among some of their customers. Neither of these are good for business because it causes customers to abandon the developer while preventing potential future sales via negative word-of-mouth advertising.

Fdev can influence how others speak of them and their games. A current player can tell his friends, "Frontier games aren't perfect, but they're still awesome, and the devs are great about keeping you in the loop regarding updates, patches, ongoing problems, and the like. I don't mind the bugs because I know they're working on them, and I don't mind waiting on delayed features because they send out little teasers and updates that show me they're working their butts off. They're a great company and make great games. You should definitely check them out."

Or a current player can tell his friends "Elite Dangerous was a great game, but it's going nowhere. The devs say they're releasing some great new thing by the end of 2020, but who knows? The jerks never tell us anything of any significance. They obviously think we're all mushrooms because they keep us in the dark and feed us crap. We still haven't seen or heard any real news on features they announced two years ago, so don't bet on seeing this great new thing before 2021 or 2022. They can't do anything on time, and no one knows why because they don't tell us anything. Don't waste your time or money on them, man."

For reasons I do not comprehend, they are choosing a communications strategy that encourages the second option rather than the first.

 

[CItizenFive]

Capitalism: Why it works better than any other economic system.

Don't like a producer don't buy their products.

That's where I'm at. In the past I spent a lot of money in their store, buying cosmetic items for my ships. I was glad to do it because I wanted to support a game I loved and a developer that I respected. But I've changed my mind over the last year. I may or may not buy the new PDLC (depending on what it is, how badly it breaks the game after release, and if I'm still paying any attention to Fdev or ED after they left us all in the dark for years), but I'm not buying anymore cosmetics from the store, and I'm not buying any of their other games. I still love ED, but I no longer respect the developer, so no more of my money will land in their bank account anytime soon.