OP’s post is closer to their position. The last we heard was this:
@Zac Cocken It is precisely this kind of communication (as a side note on page 363 (!) in a forum thread) and phrasing ("pretty much what we've said") that paints a very embarassing picture of FDev. I have bought software startups made up exclusively of students who communicated more professionally and clearly, and had a more consistent and more transparent roadmap. And more importantly: they know the agile principles, and would never have released such an inconsistent, incomplete mess.
Your customers made you aware that your communication concerning VR was unintelligible. Your ambiguous statement was explicitly pointed out to you. You responded by "this is pretty much what we've said". Way to go, congratulations on the best PR joke ever. But you should have added: "...no immediate plans to. Also no long term plans to. And also no vision to. So sorry, but for the time being, Elite VR is dead."
The way this was communicated alone makes me think it is a white lie, and the reality is much closer to "There will never be any more VR development for the game, but we are not yet ready to admit it."
Or worse - and this is
my current impression of FDev: "We have no long term plan, no long term vision, no big picture, no long term strategy, especially not concerning VR, so we simply don't know what we are going to do tomorrow or the day after. We cannot see any farther than our next bug, and we do not plan any further than our next shareholder payout."
No need to argue with me about this, from my point of view this was already proved multiple times. Nothing short of a working release with full VR support will change my opinion. And even then I will wait for an ObsidianAnt review before even considering a re-install.
However, by the time this happens, Star Citizen will be stable and released. With Ship Interiors, full atmospheric landings, EVA and so on. How do I know? Well, I can not only see their roadmap online, I can even see the features already in their Alpha. So in case of SC I don't have to search through 300 pages of boards to arrive at an ambiguous statement / probable lie.
Also, by the time this happens, No Mans Sky will have HOTAS and realistic Zero G mechanics. How do I know? Well, at the speed at which they release new features, they will run out of all other possible features within a few years. So in case of NMS I don't have to search through 300 pages of boards to arrive at an ambiguous statement / probable lie.
Also, by the time this happens, Starfield will be released and contain every single imaginable feature either originally or by modding (modding is already confirmed). So in case of SF I don't have to search through 300 pages of boards to arrive at an ambiguous statement / probable lie.
Also, by the time this happens, X4 Foundations will have VR support via VorpX or something similar. The fact that X4 even has to be considered a valid comparison shows how deep ED has fallen. And at this point - as a warning - let me tell you how experienced X series customers operate: they wait for 4-8 years after release and then download an illegal copy. Why? Because egosoft has had a couple of "Odysseys" of their own, and it is quite surprising that they can still find developers willing to work for them, and even more surprising, they still seem to have some money left to pay them. Which is why I no longer spend any money on egosoft, and just drop in at their boards occasionally to have pity on their victims and expose their un-professionalism for what it is. Very much like I do here.
Best regards,
a professional software engineer