Betrayal of the core fans who patiently waited for so long. Good-bye Elite Dangerous

SpaceScania

S
I really got into this game and loved it for years. I got a lot out of it playing it and am grateful for the time I played it. Frontier deserves my thanks and I definitely got my money's worth for the hundreds of hours I spent enjoying Elite Dangerous.

However, I like many, came to the point where the warts and limitations of the game were getting in the way of fun. Also, new things to do with my spaceships were sorely needed. The community have had a lot of good ideas over the years. We have patiently added threads to the Suggestions forum for years! We like flying spaceships and we wanted Frontier to make that better.

Sadly, Frontier instead chose to betray the long time (and patient and long suffering) fans of this spaceship game with a cynical and totally unasked for FPS expansion bolted on instead. This is a game that is meant to be played with a HOTAS, not with linear keyboard switches and twitchy gaming mice. When it became clear that fans of the spaceship game like myself are never going to get anything we have waited for, I have abandoned the game. The fact we waited so long for this only to have the game totally change under us in ways we didn't ask for was especially a kick in the teeth for me. I haven't played in months and don't plan on coming back.

I was really upset about this as more and more information about the FPS focus became apparent. However, I have accepted that this is what the developers chose to do and so we part ways. Why write this then? This is just my chance to explain to Frontier why I felt so betrayed and why I am giving up on this game.

Take care y'all (and no you can't have my stuff).
 

Arioch

Arioch
I’ve got to ask - are you a Kickstarter backer?

I am - and I’m glad I’m getting one of the expansions hinted at in the campaign. I’m also very excited to fly and drive beneath new skies and experience the new planet tech (in VR, of course) in Odyssey. Maybe we’ll see you again in the future should more spaceship stuff appear 😁
 

Ted Striker

Ted Striker
The game is about to expand. You have to look at it in a different way. Spacelegs is a necessary first step toward making this game a complete immersive experience. It's not just about flying spaceships anymore and wasn't originally envisioned that way anyway.

But I do mean it when I say "first step", because we need avatar action on ships, whether it's just walking around our own ships (think "housing" in MMORPGs) or boarding enemy or derelict ships.

I also sadly think populated earthlike worlds, or atmospheric worlds full of life that isn't sentient (alien flora and fauna), to drive around or walk on are beyond what the engine or our computers are capable of. I think that desire everyone has for full atmospheric worlds to explore will probably go unfulfilled. Would love to be wrong though.
 
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Franc Kaos

Franc Kaos
Well, according to Fdev Odyssey would be as big as Horizons in one update so we'll see I guess, but yea, I feel a little betrayed (unless they're literally teasing us with the tip... of the iceberg:

  • Planetary Landings - v2.0​

    Main article: Planetary Landings
    Planetary Landings


    Released on December 15, 2015 on PC, and on June 3, 2016 on Xbox One. Players are able to land on four types of airless planets - rocky, metal, ice and rocky/metal - which make up 61% of the planet types in Elite Dangerous' Milky Way. These planets vary in size and composition, therefore having different gravity forces affecting the flight and landing dynamics.

    The landings are graphically seamless with a small pause for instance loading, and the planets can be explored in low-level flight or by using a Surface Reconnaissance Vehicle.[8] Once on the surface, players can discover constructed, as well as natural, points of interest, which can be military bases, research establishments, hideouts, starports, mining complexes, crashed ships and debris to investigate. The nature of the encounter varies depending on where the player is: the planet type and composition, and the local topography affected by geology.[9]

    Players can craft consumables using a process called synthesis, using materials looted from points of interest. SRV Fuel, Ammunition Boosters, Frame Shift Drive Boosters, and SRV Repairs can be crafted with different improvements and quality levels, based on the amount of materials used.[10]

  • The Engineers - v2.1​


    The Engineers


    Released on May 26, 2016 on PC, and June 3, 2016 on Xbox One. Introduced the titular Engineers and improvements for the mission system and NPCs. Engineers are 30 NPCs scattered across human space in remote planetary outposts who can upgrade the weapons and modules of player ships. Accessing an Engineer, each of whom specializes in a few specific modules, requires receiving an invitation from them and completing tasks to increase player reputation. Engineers are only available to Horizons owners.

    In addition, the standard mission UI has been improved, and factions at a port are now represented by specific NPCs who offer missions to players. Completing missions increase player reputation with that faction as before, but as reputation increases, players will meet higher-ranking members of that faction. Faction representative NPCs, as well as all Engineers, also have character portraits made using assets from the character creator that will be available to players in the 2.3 update. NPC ships make use of Engineer upgrades. Mission UI and NPC improvements are available to all Elite Dangerous owners.
    • Features:
      • Engineers - Pilots can apply modifications to ship modules by gaining the favor of the Engineers, reclusive individuals across the galaxy with rare technical knowledge. Modifications can be crafted by exchanging quantities of Materials. Under this system, each modification is random and unique, meaning it would often take multiple "rolls" to generate a high-performance modification, and not every good roll was exactly the same. In addition, weapons had a slim chance to gain an experimental "Special Effect", a rare bonus modification with unique effects.
    • Enhancements:
      • Improvements to mission board UI
      • Minor factions are now represented in the station services UI by NPCs with generated portraits. As a pilot's reputation with a minor faction increases, their contact with that faction will be replaced by other NPCs of higher rank.
      • As of 2.1, Frontier Developments have achieved development parity between the PC and Xbox One versions of the game, and all future updates and expansions will be released simultaneously on both platforms.

  • The Guardians - v2.2​


    The Guardians


    Released on October 25, 2016 on PC and Xbox One.

    Take what comes and strike back with double. Bring a second ship to every combat encounter with Ship-Launched Fighters and defend your passengers against the deadliest threats in the galaxy.
    • Features:
      • New ships: Beluga Liner, Taipan Fighter
      • Passenger transport missions (tourists and VIPs with mid-journey requests)
      • Cabin modules to carry passengers: Economy, First Class, and Luxury Suite variants (Luxury Suites are restricted to Orcas and Belugas)
      • Tourist beacons used to mark locations of interest for passenger missions can also be scanned by explorers for credits
      • Ship-Launched Fighters: the swift F63 Condor, the agile Imperial Fighter, and the durable Taipan Fighter, each with multiple pre-set loadouts to choose from
      • Fighter Bay modules capable of both repairing fighters and constructing a limited number of replacements; only the Anaconda, Beluga Liner, Federal Corvette, Federal Gunship, Imperial Cutter, Keelback, and Type-9 Heavy can accommodate Fighter Bays
      • NPC Crew members with individual backstories and rankings can be hired to pilot your ship or fighters
      • New alien artifacts and ruins on certain worlds. It is now known that the Ancient Ruins are from the titular alien race The Guardians.
      • Simple alien life in the form of fungal formations on certain worlds
      • Five additional Engineers with new module upgrades
    • Enhancements:
      • New station interiors: tourism, refinery, agricultural, and high-tech.
      • New station types: capital ship docks, outpost variants utilizing assets from CQC arenas
      • The types and interiors of stations will be determined by star system type and population
      • Revamped station services UI
      • Improved faction NPC graphics
      • Improved hyperspace transit animation
      • Pre-FSD jump alerts noting the security level and star type of your destination system
      • Improved galactic map route planner that dynamically applies filters
      • Improved planet views in the system map
      • Transfer stored ships via "bulk carrier" to the station you are currently docked at; transfer wait times and fees are dependent on the type of ship being moved and the distance it must be transported
      • Sell owned ships remotely
      • Store ship modules at stations, can be transferred to a different station for a fee
      • Fines can be paid off and bounties collected remotely for a fee by using Interstellar Factor contacts in low security systems
      • New harvest-able geological formations on planet surfaces caused by volcanism: fumaroles, geysers
      • Improved white dwarf and neutron star graphics
      • New physics for white dwarves and neutron stars: radiation plumes that can be fuel scooped to supercharge the FSD, greatly increasing its range (beyond what Synthesis can achieve) for one jump at the risk of damaging it, but this can be difficult to do as these stars will also emit hazardous levels of radiation

  • The Commanders - v2.3​


    The Commanders


    Released on April 11, 2017 for PC and Xbox One.[11]

    Team up and stand together. Forge your own identity with the new Commander Creator, then share your bridge with Multi-Crew and fly with friends.
    • Features:
      • Multi-Crew: Players can serve as crew members on each others' ships, instantly transferring to a secondary bridge position via drop-in, drop-out matchmaking. Accessible via an option on the Comms panel. Automatically activates voice-chat when in use. Three player roles:
        • Captain - the host of a Multi-Crew session. Controls flight, target selection, power distribution, module power, synthesis, and any station interactions.
        • Gunner - controls any turreted weapons, launcher weapons, limpets, and utility modules on the main ship via a third-person camera.
        • Fighter Pilot - controls any fighters equipped on the main ship. Allows up to two fighters (one AI and one player, or two players) to be deployed simultaneously.
      • Holo-Me (Commander customization): Players can customize their in-game avatars, from their physical appearance to the suits that they wear, at any time through a new option in their ship's systems panel.
      • An upgraded camera suite that replaces the "classified camera".
      • The ability to name ships and choose ID codes for them in the Livery menu. Ship names and IDs are seen in the HUD when a ship is scanned, and can also be displayed on the ship's hull by purchasing universal name templates from the Frontier Store.
      • New ship: Dolphin
      • Megaships: Station-sized non-playable ships with usable docking facilities. Includes Fisher's Rest.
      • Asteroid Bases
      • Various unspecified additions related to alien species (new Unknown Ship encounters, Thargoid Surface Sites)
    • Enhancements:
      • Changes to the Comms panel to improve message legibility and display player and NPC character portraits, and to accommodate Multi-Crew options.
      • History tab in the Comms panel that tracks recent players encountered in Multi-crew. Includes an option to block players from Multi-Crew.
      • Players in a Wing receive any bounty rewards earned by any member of that Wing.
      • Turreted variants of Mining Lasers.
      • Reductions in hull mass for the Beluga Liner, Diamondback Explorer, and Orca.
      • The TRAPPIST-1 system is added to the game.

  • The Return - v2.4​


    The Return


    Released on September 26, 2017 for all platforms.

    The Thargoids Return![12]

    Frontier said this update will be different to previous ones - content will be revealed over time rather than all being available on day one. Additional pieces of exciting content will surface over the coming months as the narrative progresses.[13] The Thargoids return in an ongoing story arc with new threats in the galaxy and a community-driven narrative. Players will develop new tactics and technologies.[14] It's heavily focusing on the continuation of the narrative of the Thargoids and the emerging stories surrounding them.[15]

    After visiting the Frontier offices Obsidian Ant reported "There's been some worry that 2.4 is going to be a small patch, I think that concern came from the announcement that 2.4 is going to be released in sections. From what I saw, it appeared that 2.4 is going to be at least as big as all the other patches, and it certainly isn't the end of the main development of the game."[16]
    • Enhancements:
      • Improvements to player inbox UI
      • Rebuy costs and fines can be paid by selling any of stored ships if desired
      • New chained missions
      • Game Extras (paid cosmetics) can be previewed in Outfitting
      • Additional structures and stations added to expand the Colonia region
      • Additional structures and stations added to expand the Pleiades region
      • New and improved salvage scenarios
      • Made salvage commodities legal to pick up from wreck sites (will still appear illegal if dropped by ships as that is not salvage)
      • Various graphical improvements
      • Additional Megaships, some of which are capable of moving to different systems each week

  • Vehicles​


    Ground Vehicles​


  • Spacecraft​


  • Thargoid Craft​

 
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Makaan

Makaan
I'm sorry, I respect your opinion but it's totally wrong. Elite was never pitched as just being about spaceships, all it takes is a quick search to see the numerous videos and comments made by David Braben himself about the vision of making Elite a living, breathing universe where you're not just a spaceship, but a person in the world of Elite. That includes space legs, and space legs needs combat because combat is one of the core elements of the ship gameplay which as they have explained; they wanted to carry said core elements to the on-foot perspective.


Also, the game is not meant to be played on a HOTAS, sure it works beautifully with one, but you can play just as well with M & K (a controller too) and that's how I've played for the last 5 years...
 

Deleted member 115407

D
Arioch said:
I’m also very excited to fly and drive beneath new skies
Click to expand...
I dropped in on a base last night with the intent to kill everyone there.

Step 1. hop up onto the top of the command center and do some scouting. See where the guards are walking.

It was an ice planet (I think) with a purpleish/pinkish hued atmosphere. The base was tucked into some hills, and it was sunset (or sunrise). The vista from atop the CMD center was beautiful. To my back, dark starry skies and settlement lights, to my front the buildings and hills silhouetted by glowing pinkish/purplish atmosphere cast by a dawning sun.

It was beautiful, and I just stood there and took it in. I also took some screenshots, with the intent that I would share them here so the explorer types could see what they were in for. But then I remembered what whiny babies they've been for the past week and decided to keep it to myself.

For a collection of "mature" players who think that they're smarter and better than everyone else, you sure are a bunch of entitled and impatient man-babies.
 

Iron Golem

Iron Golem
Sometimes I feel like that. Its usually when I take a long break and eventually I need ED fix and come back.

I hope Odyssey leads to them really building up the excellent foundation they have created and fleshing things out. I get impatient with the glacial pace and I am happy at this point to see anything new, even if its not my jam.

Take a break or even say goodbye but if you ever get that itch again, ED will probably still be here to come back to.
 

Kerissimo

K
SpaceScania said:
I really got into this game and loved it for years. I got a lot out of it playing it and am grateful for the time I played it. Frontier deserves my thanks and I definitely got my money's worth for the hundreds of hours I spent enjoying Elite Dangerous.

However, I like many, came to the point where the warts and limitations of the game were getting in the way of fun. Also, new things to do with my spaceships were sorely needed. The community have had a lot of good ideas over the years. We have patiently added threads to the Suggestions forum for years! We like flying spaceships and we wanted Frontier to make that better.

Sadly, Frontier instead chose to betray the long time (and patient and long suffering) fans of this spaceship game with a cynical and totally unasked for FPS expansion bolted on instead. This is a game that is meant to be played with a HOTAS, not with linear keyboard switches and twitchy gaming mice. When it became clear that fans of the spaceship game like myself are never going to get anything we have waited for, I have abandoned the game. The fact we waited so long for this only to have the game totally change under us in ways we didn't ask for was especially a kick in the teeth for me. I haven't played in months and don't plan on coming back.

I was really upset about this as more and more information about the FPS focus became apparent. However, I have accepted that this is what the developers chose to do and so we part ways. Why write this then? This is just my chance to explain to Frontier why I felt so betrayed and why I am giving up on this game.

Take care y'all (and no you can't have my stuff).
Click to expand...
Totally unasked, un-whined and unwaited "spacelegs", riiiight ? ;).

Also in your place i personally would wait until end of last phase of alfa tests, or untill official release, and judge full game, not just bugged first phase of tests. But it's your decision and you do as you want.
 

Rock Hunter

Rock Hunter
Have I missed forum saltiness in the last week? I’ve been too busy sipping Martini’s on long haul Apex flights to drop by much.

@vindelanos - so beautiful. Did the same thing....and died, laughed heartily then trudged back up to the Apex counter. Even the Alpha travel distances can’t wind me up. Try the SRV training if you haven’t already, I’m really looking forward to SRVs coming in and having a good look at the new (though not guaranteed?) terrain.
 

Deleted member 115407

D
Rock Hunter said:
Have I missed forum saltiness in the last week? I’ve been too busy sipping Martini’s on long haul Apex flights to drop by much.

@vindelanos - so beautiful. Did the same thing....and died, laughed heartily then trudged back up to the Apex counter. Even the Alpha travel distances can’t wind me up. Try the SRV training if you haven’t already, I’m really looking forward to SRVs coming in and having a good look at the new (though not guaranteed?) terrain.
Click to expand...
Will do!
 

Deleted member 115407

D
Rock Hunter said:
Have I missed forum saltiness in the last week? I’ve been too busy sipping Martini’s on long haul Apex flights to drop by much.

@vindelanos - so beautiful. Did the same thing....and died, laughed heartily then trudged back up to the Apex counter. Even the Alpha travel distances can’t wind me up. Try the SRV training if you haven’t already, I’m really looking forward to SRVs coming in and having a good look at the new (though not guaranteed?) terrain.
Click to expand...
P.S. I took an 11km walk on a dirt planet the other day, and have also had to make some escapes on foot on ice planets. It's only short distances, but from what I've seen so far there are some nice landscapes out there.
 

Hoopes81

Hoopes81
Why does anybody feel the need to post melodramatic stuff like this?

"Ohno the game I've played for years is no longer holding my attention!"

"I've played for thousands of hours and there's nothing to do in this game!"

"Frontier have betrayed me by not adding a feature that I..... no, WE want!"

"Goodbye forever, never again will I play this game that has hurt me so..."

🙄🤪🙄
 

Deleted member 115407

D
Hoopes81 said:
Why does anybody feel the need to post melodramatic stuff like this?

"Ohno the game I've played for years is no longer holding my attention!"

"I've played for thousands of hours and there's nothing to do in this game!"

"Frontier have betrayed me by not adding a feature that I..... no, WE want!"

"Goodbye forever, never again will I play this game that has hurt me so..."

🙄🤪🙄
Click to expand...
You forgot...
(clamor of half of the playerbase asking for combat/stealth/etc missions on spacelegs)
"Nobody ever asked for that kind of gameplay!!!!"

I can't wait until Phase 3 drops, so I can post angry threads every time I see someone doing boring explorer stuff on some dead, distant planet.
 
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