A Thank you Letter to Frontier

[lysan]

Let me start by explaining where I'm coming from. I've been with Elite Dangerous since its Kickstarter days—oh, those were the golden days! Back then, the bubble was tiny, shaped like a pill, and nothing compared to today’s sprawling, 1:1 scale galaxy. ItchyNibbles was on the hunt and we had stuff to deliver!!


In those early days, it felt like anything was possible for FDEV. Sir Braben himself went on YouTube, painting a vision of the future—not at launch, but “over time.” That phrase stuck with us, a community of eager players gathered around the proverbial fire, hanging on to every word, imagining a world brimming with possibility.


But reality hit hard. Development moved at the speed of a glacier, frustration mounted, and forum battles raged between critics and defenders of the game. Then came an update to combat mechanics, and suddenly MoM was refining AI behavior. It was chaos—a salt mine cracked wide open. Arguments broke out: "Too hard!" vs. "Too easy!" But at least it was something.


Then, Space Legs arrived. It should have been a triumphant moment, but instead, it was a sluggish mess. Frame rates plummeted to slideshow territory, even the most powerful GPUs struggled, and the whole thing felt half-baked—like a demo for something grander that never fully materialized. That was the year I lost interest. By 2022, I drifted away, slipping into an Elite gaming coma, checking in now and then just to see if there was still a heartbeat.


And then—2024. Something changed. It felt like spring, like the galaxy was stirring back to life. While ranting on the forums, a kind commander surprised me with a fleet carrier. Five billion credits was too much for me to grind, but they had extra to spare, gifting me a new toy. Around the same time, FDEV started releasing new ships—wait, what? Colonization? The Panther Clipper? Was this really happening?


That brings me to my thank you. Somehow, FDEV pulled me back into the black. I'm rediscovering all the quality-of-life improvements that came with the updates, and I'm actually enjoying them! I may not dream as I once did, and honestly, that’s probably for the best. But I’ll take what we get and savor it for what it is. Who knows if the fabled 10-year plan will ever fully materialize? What matters is that the galaxy is alive—players shaping the universe, bringing it to life.


So, thank you, Frontier Developments, for keeping Elite Dangerous alive. As long as you keep delivering good content—TAKE MY MONEY!

 

[ethelred]

I love an open letter and got to admit I also enjoy an Elite is dead post but you pulled the wool over my eyes you stinker!

 

[HRDiagram]

An open letter with a positive spin!

That's refreshing!

However, it would have been even better if the words "Open letter" actually appeared in the title! They would have caused a sensation!

 

[Rubbernuke]

I was going to chime into this wholesome post and add my thanks too.

But then I scanned it and found no mention of Powerplay, and thus I must cast it into the flames.

 

[TLY400]

Let me start by explaining where I'm coming from. I've been with Elite Dangerous since its Kickstarter days—oh, those were the golden days! Back then, the bubble was tiny, shaped like a pill, and nothing compared to today’s sprawling, 1:1 scale galaxy. ItchyNibbles was on the hunt and we had stuff to deliver!!


In those early days, it felt like anything was possible for FDEV. Sir Braben himself went on YouTube, painting a vision of the future—not at launch, but “over time.” That phrase stuck with us, a community of eager players gathered around the proverbial fire, hanging on to every word, imagining a world brimming with possibility.


But reality hit hard. Development moved at the speed of a glacier, frustration mounted, and forum battles raged between critics and defenders of the game. Then came an update to combat mechanics, and suddenly MoM was refining AI behavior. It was chaos—a salt mine cracked wide open. Arguments broke out: "Too hard!" vs. "Too easy!" But at least it was something.


Then, Space Legs arrived. It should have been a triumphant moment, but instead, it was a sluggish mess. Frame rates plummeted to slideshow territory, even the most powerful GPUs struggled, and the whole thing felt half-baked—like a demo for something grander that never fully materialized. That was the year I lost interest. By 2022, I drifted away, slipping into an Elite gaming coma, checking in now and then just to see if there was still a heartbeat.


And then—2024. Something changed. It felt like spring, like the galaxy was stirring back to life. While ranting on the forums, a kind commander surprised me with a fleet carrier. Five billion credits was too much for me to grind, but they had extra to spare, gifting me a new toy. Around the same time, FDEV started releasing new ships—wait, what? Colonization? The Panther Clipper? Was this really happening?


That brings me to my thank you. Somehow, FDEV pulled me back into the black. I'm rediscovering all the quality-of-life improvements that came with the updates, and I'm actually enjoying them! I may not dream as I once did, and honestly, that’s probably for the best. But I’ll take what we get and savor it for what it is. Who knows if the fabled 10-year plan will ever fully materialize? What matters is that the galaxy is alive—players shaping the universe, bringing it to life.


So, thank you, Frontier Developments, for keeping Elite Dangerous alive. As long as you keep delivering good content—TAKE MY MONEY!

For me, it seems to me to be one of the best experiences I've had overall. Above all, because apart from the excellent ships they're releasing, they also have the mechanics that accompany them. The lore, political systems, combat, exploration, etc. We have to thank them for all the work they're doing, which people often don't understand. I've been playing games and flying simulators for over 30 years (although the word "game" falls short in titles like this), and you're right in what you say. It's really great that people are coming back and appreciating them. If I were to suggest something, if it were possible, the only thing I would ask for in future updates or DLCs would be to incorporate some improvements to the planets without overloading the servers. I think that with the engine they have, they could incorporate a volumetric cloud system with compatible planets (it must be because of my fondness for flight simulations). Not all of them, but certainly those that could be used. I don't like to mention ED's "rivals" them are incoporated graphics updates all years, because each one has its own unique features, and Elite has many things that others don't... but I think that would be a great addition, because it's inherently linked to the spirit of the game. I love the planets, but it would be great, as I said, to see for example clouds on them. For the rest, if they continue this road map, and a nice graphics upgrade, I think it could be one of the best simspaces, if not the best. Thxs FDEV

 

[lysan]

I was going to chime into this wholesome post and add my thinks too.

But then I scanned it and found no mention of Powerplay, and thus I must cast it into the flames.

We wont go there, NEVER I TELL YA!!

 

[Rubbernuke]

We wont go there, NEVER I TELL YA!!

Its too late. The flames are crisping the thread like a well seared Kumo Burger.

But moving back into the land of on topic its gratifying to see FD support ED as they are now.

 

[DjVortex]

Then, Space Legs arrived. It should have been a triumphant moment, but instead, it was a sluggish mess. Frame rates plummeted to slideshow territory, even the most powerful GPUs struggled, and the whole thing felt half-baked—like a demo for something grander that never fully materialized. That was the year I lost interest. By 2022, I drifted away, slipping into an Elite gaming coma, checking in now and then just to see if there was still a heartbeat.

FDev definitely made a mistake by rushing Odyssey to release in a very poorly optimized state. Not only were a lot of players disappointed, but negative reviews are still marring the game to this day. Indeed, the Steam page for Odyssey is still stock full of negative reviews, most of which are complaining about things that have been fixed years ago. But that's the problem: Once someone writes a negative review, it's very rare for them to go back and change it even if the problems are fixed later. Thus, even to this day you get the completely wrong picture of Odyssey if you read the Steam reviews for it.

On the other hand, Odyssey worked as a sort of "public beta" (a development model that has only very recently been officially adopted by that name), meaning that FDev got thousands and thousands of testers and could start fixing issues as they appeared. Perhaps problems were fixed faster thanks to this than if they had delayed the release by a year.

 

[lysan]

FDev definitely made a mistake by rushing Odyssey to release in a very poorly optimized state. Not only were a lot of players disappointed, but negative reviews are still marring the game to this day. Indeed, the Steam page for Odyssey is still stock full of negative reviews, most of which are complaining about things that have been fixed years ago. But that's the problem: Once someone writes a negative review, it's very rare for them to go back and change it even if the problems are fixed later. Thus, even to this day you get the completely wrong picture of Odyssey if you read the Steam reviews for it.

On the other hand, Odyssey worked as a sort of "public beta" (a development model that has only very recently been officially adopted by that name), meaning that FDev got thousands and thousands of testers and could start fixing issues as they appeared. Perhaps problems were fixed faster thanks to this than if they had delayed the release by a year.

As I remember it should have been released earlier but due to C19 it was pulled back a year, however you're right, it was actually a Beta release.

 

[Rubbernuke]

I must admit it was a dark time for my GT 1030 too. It kind of looked at me and made a sort of deflated sigh as it knew it had gotten to that age.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

TAKE MY MONEY!

Yes! Take his money!

Ok, i'll throw some money FD's way for stuff i like as well.

 

[viper666]

Fdev definitely pulled the game back from the brink last year. Odyssey was a hot mess on release but frame rates improved as they optimised it. PP2.0 introduced the dreaded stutter/freeze bug and Trailblazers made it even worse, it took 4 months to fix it, and it's still not perfect but still playable. When it works I love it. When a rushed feature release ruins it, I float away till they fix it. This game has pulled me through some tough times. and for that I thank Fdev.

 

[sidereal6]

Then came an update to combat mechanics, and suddenly MoM was refining AI behavior. It was chaos—a salt mine cracked wide open. Arguments broke out: "Too hard!" vs. "Too easy!" But at least it was something.


Then, Space Legs arrived.

Whoa! That's quite a long jump-cut there! lol!

Here's some stuff I think you left out:

- Horizons, material storage, synthesis, and surface prospecting

We could use materials to synth "jumponium" and I remember spending hours scouring the surface of planets for rare and precious chunks of Yttrium and Polonium.

FDev listened to feedback and started giving us three chunks per roll. Later they gave us traders ...who are a huge rip off, but they also gave us resource farming sites so it doesn't matter that the traders don't give us a good deal. Overall, I'd say that synthesis is in a good place now, balance wise. It doesn't feel free, nor does it feel like a huge grind.

- we got engineering

I'm one of the few people who gets what FDev was trying to do with the initial version of engineering. Basically, you'd roll for an upgrade and get a random result. You could re-roll ...and sometimes you'd get a different result. FDev's intention, it seems obvious to me, was that modules would be "unique" and thus have "character."

The problem is, if a "god roll" exists, then many players feel like they're being ripped off if they don't have it. I'm not sure what else to call this other than autism.

Regardless, FDev listened and gave us a system with some randomization of costs, but ultimately the max upgrades are available to everyone. I think most everyone is happy with the way engineering works now!

- fleet carriers

FDev's big mistake here was not incorporating any necessity for build trade-offs. What I mean is, every FC can support every service all at once. I suspect that FDev thought people would purchase what they need, and be happy with that.

Instead, people added up the cost of all the services and baulked at the cost ...which was huge! Hundreds of millions per week! And you had to pay for the shipyard in order to store your own ships!

FDev should have given us a small fleet carrier that mirrors an orbital outpost. Only small and medium ships, and only two services. That way, you'll have to decide between refuel, repair, and rearmament - just like how most outposts only have two of the three. Then later they could offer a larger carrier with more room for services.

Regardless, FDev did what it always seems to do (and what I think is the point of your post) - it listened to the feedback and adjusted. FCs in their current state are quite reasonable ...and they are, in my opinion, a real "killer feature" of the game. I honestly can't imagine doing without one. So, thanks FDev for letting me store my ships there for free, and for balancing the costs.

I get upset about a lot of things when I first see them. I'm still a little grumpy about some aspects of colonization. But overall, I join you in thanking FDev for all the hard work over these years. I intend to keep buying arx just to support this game which has given me a lot of joy.

 

[lysan]

Here's some stuff I think you left out:

I know, i didn't want to write a novel and leave it for you guys to top up in the comment section

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

Regardless, FDev did what it always seems to do (and what I think is the point of your post) - it listened to the feedback and adjusted. FCs in their current state are quite reasonable ...and they are, in my opinion, a real "killer feature" of the game. I honestly can't imagine doing without one. So, thanks FDev for letting me store my ships there for free, and for balancing the costs.

If only they'd increase ship storage. Most of my 600 module storage slots are empty, but my 42 ships no longer all fit, and that'll only get worse roughly every 4 months as a new ship gets added.

 

[rootsrat]

The revival is very visible, in both the old players coming back from hiatus AND the amount of new players that are discovering Elite right now. The last year was really good for ED, this should be even better. Whatever FDEV plan for Elite was/is, it clearly seems to be working!

 

[lysan]

The revival is very visible, in both the old players coming back from hiatus AND the amount of new players that are discovering Elite right now. The last year was really good for ED, this should be even better. Whatever FDEV plan for Elite was/is, it clearly seems to be working!

Agree, and for new players it must be a very impressive start to discover the galaxy first time, it can be a very frightening experience, for us old folks sitting in God build over powered ships it's almost impossible to get killed by an NPC, however if you are in a tiny puny little ship RUN FOREST RUUUUN!

 

[Koma Pahu]

They’ve done a good job. I was expecting them to just tick along until the inevitable…

I hope people are spending money, not because of some kind of parasocial relationship with the company but if people are spending it becomes more viable for further development.

 

[Dragsham]

Hehe I gotta say this!
What if the fleet carrier rollout was behind a 3 mth arx paywall?
Fdev missed the boat on that one!

 

[Jinx Chrome]

Agree, and for new players it must be a very impressive start to discover the galaxy first time, it can be a very frightening experience, for us old folks sitting in God build over powered ships it's almost impossible to get killed by an NPC, however if you are in a tiny puny little ship RUN FOREST RUUUUN!

In all honesty, it is time that we get some enemies who make us fear again!