Community created content

[Dagwit]

The legal issues across various countries and the managing of said content would be a nightmare.

This would be true if FDev attempted to charge for player-made content. But that's not how it would work.

FDev would charge for the tools to create content. Players who made content and submitted it for inclusion in the game would thereby be waiving their rights to payment for the items submitted, and FDev would include the items without further charge to players, having made their money from selling the tools.

Years ago I used to play an FPS by id called Quake III Arena. The game only shipped with about twenty playable arenas (maps or levels). But it also shipped with a map editor: people used this to make new levels which they then made then made available for download. By the time I stopped playing I had a collection of over two and a half thousand levels, most of them as good as or better than id's original offerings.

We'd have a much livelier galaxy to play in if we could get even a fraction of that kind of community design contribution going for Elite Dangerous.

 

[Dural]

Community created content?

We'd end up with 8 million versions of space bikinis, homing one shot kill ultra phase trans dimensional plasma launchers and solar powered universal material dispensers (and yes I know technically solar anything would only work with the sun in our Earth's system before anyone gets really pedantic)

 

[Unknown Zombie]

Community created content?

We'd end up with 8 million versions of space bikinis, homing one shot kill ultra phase trans dimensional plasma launchers and solar powered universal material dispensers (and yes I know technically solar anything would only work with the sun in our Earth's system before anyone gets really pedantic)

"Community created content" doesn't necessarily mean "anything goes"

 

[Kayweg]

This would be true if FDev attempted to charge for player-made content. But that's not how it would work.

FDev would charge for the tools to create content. Players who made content and submitted it for inclusion in the game would thereby be waiving their rights to payment for the items submitted, and FDev would include the items without further charge to players, having made their money from selling the tools.

Years ago I used to play an FPS by id called Quake III Arena. The game only shipped with about twenty playable arenas (maps or levels). But it also shipped with a map editor: people used this to make new levels which they then made then made available for download. By the time I stopped playing I had a collection of over two and a half thousand levels, most of them as good as or better than id's original offerings.

We'd have a much livelier galaxy to play in if we could get even a fraction of that kind of community design contribution going for Elite Dangerous.

Wouldn't that lead to just a few people buying the tools and then make free content for everyone, effectively killing off FD's revenue stream from the store ?
Am i misunderstanding something here ?

 

[Qohen Leth]

Come on, his work is excellent. But I've only seen small low res version paint overs. Making whole new high res textures for a ship is allot more work.

Not sure what you saw, but the pics are 5120x2880 and everything there is vector based (except the ship screenshot, ofc.) I also did create 3D skins for Assetto Corsa, that's no challenge.

 

[Mengy]

In the near future, we're going to be discussing content which will hopefully give you somewhere to spend those hard-earned credits.

Interesting. Player bases? Ship interiors? BGS stock market? Hired NPC crewmembers?


Also, hire Qohen Leth to make paint jobs for the store please!

 

[geley]

Not sure what you saw, but the pics are 5120x2880 and everything there is vector based (except the ship screenshot, ofc.) I also did create 3D skins for Assetto Corsa, that's no challenge.

The paint jobs we currently use on ships in elite are vector-based, IIRC; how do vector-based 2D images translate onto a 3D model? Can the paint jobs be "magically transferred" onto a ship model, or would Frontier need to rebuild the paint jobs entirely from scratch?

 

[Effects]

Hey folks,

While there's no strict formal procedure to submit decals or paint jobs, there are definitely opportunities out there that allow players to incorporate player-created content into the universe of Elite Dangerous.

In the past, we have allowed players to submit their groups' decals as a result particular event or campaign (such as the Dangerous Games), but not as a product to be sold on our store. We're still keen to allow these opportunities to players, so if you're running a large-scale event (Distant Worlds I/II is a great example) and want to take it further, then please get in touch with us! You can contact us on community@frontier.co.uk.

We also run numerous competitions and sometimes they result in incorporting player-created content into the game. However, it's worth saying it might not always be a decal or paintjob. For example, we're running a competition at the moment which allows players to submit 'Holo-Screen Adverts (Check it out here: 'Design a Holo-Advert Contest.')

Soon, we're going to be re-opening the submission of player Community Goals, providing players with the chance to further their goals as Player Groups and Minor Factions. Depending on the Community Goal, these can result in Megaships and Starports. We'll have more information about player Community Goals in the near future!

Also, look out for the next round of the Focused Feedback forums, which you can find here. In the near future, we're going to be discussing content which will hopefully give you somewhere to spend those hard-earned credits.

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions, we'll forward them on to the team!

I hope that player submitted events/opportunities are better received in future because as things are now we are lucky to even get a response from the community management team. Please please please repond to emails of player and group requests. Being met with silence is very disheartening for player groups.

 

[ZeroAi]

I think a lot of commanders would like a decent comment from FD about this. The recent 100 paint jobs thing has highlighted the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of talented folks playing ED. The third party tools have shown us that over the years.

Is it technically feasible to introduce community created content? Starting with paint jobs, surely there would be a way to produce them for sale via a better store than the website, such as in game? With a cut of the profits going to the creator, and some to FD? Win win?

I don't know the ins and outs of paint jobs, and how custom they are for each ship - they're not going to be a simple colour planar map, let's face it, but I guess FD can work it out if they want to. I would guess that paintjobs would have to be uploaded from all players connecting to an instance (or every paint job would have to be rolled into the game, constantly updating).

What other community created content would be possible? Perhaps it could lay the groundwork for building stations - I imagine people buying modules and bolting them together to create stations of their own. Main dock, £500 million. Docking ring, £1 billion etc. Give those billionaires something to spend it on, and create a bit more variety to stations an planetary outposts, building them like command and conquer bases or KSP.

I feel like FD may have missed an opportunity to let the player base use their free creativity to enhance the game. I would guess that it might not be financially worth it now as Elite moves towards the end of its life cycle, or be technically feasible from the current base they have.

But I hope

+Rep

I'm not sure they will be able to do this with the current game, but I wish the could!

Among all the games I've played, I think the Forza series had the best paint shop and marketplace, and if they could add something like that it would be awesome.

PS - I just heard that you can now sell your own mods for Starcraft 2, something I hope more games add in the future:

https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/24/starcraft-ii-premium-arcade/

The legal issues across various countries and the managing of said content would be a nightmare.

Solved dozens of times already by other companies like Blizzard (sited above)

 

[shreddog]

Not sure what you saw, but the pics are 5120x2880 and everything there is vector based (except the ship screenshot, ofc.) I also did create 3D skins for Assetto Corsa, that's no challenge.

I completely missed that. I saw the small size preview? images and thought that was it. My bad.

 

[Qohen Leth]

The paint jobs we currently use on ships in elite are vector-based, IIRC; how do vector-based 2D images translate onto a 3D model? Can the paint jobs be "magically transferred" onto a ship model, or would Frontier need to rebuild the paint jobs entirely from scratch?

?

I have all the paintjobs as vectors in my files... Why would you slap a 2D pic on a 3D model? There would be no "magical transfer" since the concepts are purely 2D. The designs aren't hard to do, though, and worst case scenario I'm sure we can transfer vector shapes from Photoshop, Illustrator etc to any decent 3D painting software. Also, they would *never* take the designs *as is*

Unless it would be sort of like car racing games, but vector instead of pixels.

 

[Dagwit]

Wouldn't that lead to just a few people buying the tools and then make free content for everyone, effectively killing off FD's revenue stream from the store ?
Am i misunderstanding something here ?

I was thinking more in terms of base-building and other gameplay-related structures rather than the sort of items that would appear in the Game Extras store.

 

[Saxon Kili]

The legal issues across various countries and the managing of said content would be a nightmare.

Well, other games have done it. I guess they had a good lawyer?

 

[Wishblend]

Soon, we're going to be re-opening the submission of player Community Goals, providing players with the chance to further their goals as Player Groups and Minor Factions. Depending on the Community Goal, these can result in Megaships and Starports. We'll have more information about player Community Goals in the near future!

Thank you Will, my faction just missed the cg before they closed and have been waiting for them to open again.

 

[Brimstone]

Something like Tennogen for Warframe would be great for Frontier to set up.

 

[Qohen Leth]

In the past, we have allowed players to submit their groups' decals as a result particular event or campaign (such as the Dangerous Games), but not as a product to be sold on our store. We're still keen to allow these opportunities to players, so if you're running a large-scale event (Distant Worlds I/II is a great example) and want to take it further, then please get in touch with us! You can contact us on community@frontier.co.uk.

I sent an email 3 days ago regarding DW2, still no reply. Hope it's not in the spam folder