ANNOUNCEMENT Community Update (22/10)

zimms · Oct 23, 2019

I'm actually most surprised about my lack of surprise. Maybe I already knew subconsciously that we won't get FCs this year or maybe I just don't care that much anymore.

I guess the petition guys had a point after all when Frontier now realized they'll need almost 8 months to get the game in a shape where it can receive new content again.

Elite is currently in midst of a very long period without update for an online game. Squadrons feel like a waste of time because most communities will probably be starved until Dec 2020 anyway. The ingame friends list has been a very sad sight for ages now.

o2thaZ · Oct 23, 2019

Ugh.
Looking at the issue tracker I find it odd that a feature like FC is delayed AGAIN!
With pain in my heart i'm saying: very cheap excuse FDev.

Till the 2nd Q of 2020 cmdrs.
peaceout!

ferus · Oct 23, 2019

I just hope that all the bugs found in upcoming betas will be resolved BEFORE rolling out the patch.

Anyone remember Mamba landing gear (and this is IMO one of the easier bugs to resolve).
Reported in beta, confirmed in beta and yet the bug was rolled out and stayed on live servers for months.

If this is how the beta testing and reporting will go then no amount of beta testing will do any good.

magnaram · Oct 23, 2019

Eliza said:
You see, I AM critical...in more than one way. I'm sitting between the chairs, regarding FDev and Elite: Dangerous. But I still am confident, that my faith won't be fooled completly by FDev.

It's been too long being disappointed by Frontier. But still having some faith in them doesn't make you a white knight, let alone an evangelist.

Soron Silin · Oct 23, 2019

magnaram said:
Frontier's good for everything. He always has the "perfect" excuse to do things. There are users in the forum who I prefer to call Evangelists, rather than white knights. You have to be a little critical of the situation, rather than praising all the decisions.

Frontier has the best intentions but they are hampered by being part of the game development industry. The rest of the software industry is ten to twenty years ahead in terms of delivering bug-free code but the games sector is still stuck in macho hell with engineers working overtime and unfinished code being thrown out at the customers to hit advertised deadlines.

The best advice I could give Frontier right now is to get ISO 9000 accreditation. It hurts like hell, in itself it doesn't fix anything, but it works.
And after that, get a senior QA manager from outside the industry.

Eliza · Oct 23, 2019

magnaram said:
It's been too long being disappointed by Frontier. But still having some faith in them doesn't make you a white knight, let alone an evangelist.

Thanks for the flowers. Please tell that to those who are giving names.

Oldviboy · Oct 23, 2019

Eliza said:
Au contraire, Commander! I'm one of "the few", that still have faith and hope in FDev. I was called a "White Knight" more than once.
Nevertheless, it's a odd coincidence, that the delay AND FDev's response to the "Open-Letter-Initiative" fits like the glove to a fist.

people just forget the fact that not even the arx store was scheduled for this year, did they release the info earlier this year, really, guys? Why forget that fact before thanking?

How can I defend this? Tell me please, I like elite, but they have practically wasted 1 year of development on something that was not in the plans and that they did not notify last year, I suppose to generate money .... after they implement it, they succumb to an open letter that derived from a blue button nonsense, this movement does not make sense, people are disappointed and I do not think they sell much in their store, which by other side,is not excellent .

It's really frustrating for new players who are so blind ...if you have just start elite, it gives a bit of the impression of little professionalism, that they do things on the fly and that there really is no plan, and a bit of weakness too, they are professionals and only they know their game, they should not submit to the clients, but if they dedicate themselves to fix their own work and stick to the plans, not introduce others that nobody expected

Eliza · Oct 23, 2019

Oldviboy said:
people just forget the fact that not even the arx store was scheduled for this year, did they release the info earlier this year, really, guys? Why forget that fact before thanking?

How can I defend this? Tell me please, I like elite, but they have practically wasted 1 year of development on something that was not in the plans and that they did not notify last year, I suppose to generate money .... after they implement it, they succumb to an open letter that derived from a blue button nonsense, this movement does not make sense, people are disappointed and I do not think they sell much in their store, which by other side,is not excellent .

It's really frustrating for new players who are so blind ...if you have just start elite, it gives a bit of the impression of little professionalism, that they do things on the fly and that there really is no plan, and a bit of weakness too, they are professionals and only they know their game, they should not submit to the clients, but if they dedicate themselves to fix their own work and stick to the plans, not introduce others that nobody expected

I just don't want to go that Arghs-Road again, so please forgive me that I'm NOT taking THIS bait.

SioNKursk · Oct 23, 2019

O7 Many squadrons left the game just like us ! Everyone was waiting for the update ! and it will not be. See you maybe in 2020 RUS

Enderby · Oct 23, 2019

Some people are thanking FD for this

Aah that’s so funny

CMDR Arkanoid · Oct 23, 2019

zimms said:
The ingame friends list has been a very sad sight for ages now.

Hasn't it just, I am on most nights but only ever see a couple of my squadron in open.
Most have just moved on to other games.

I only play ED and I still enjoy it despite it's issues.
The optimisations are what is needed in all areas. Rendering, Ai, collision, shaders the lot needs a good looking at.
I lot of the in game models have wasted polygons all over the place. I could knock down the poly count on most ships by a third without compromising on any detail.

Tyres O'Flaherty · Oct 23, 2019

Perhaps we'll all get a free Cobra IV when the FCs do arrive.

Nevada · Oct 23, 2019

Tyres O'Flaherty said:
Perhaps we'll all get a free Cobra IV when the FCs do arrive.

Rofl

Oldviboy · Oct 23, 2019

Eliza said:
I just don't want to go that Arghs-Road again, so please forgive me that I'm NOT taking THIS bait.

I don't want to talk about arx ,nothing can matter to me less in this life ... but tell me, am I lying? or giving a point that nobody seems to take into account? last year they were supposed to have other plans, don't distort my reasoning please.

they pulled arx out of nowhere ,you can even see the work in the new way of showing paint jobs with new graphic models,wasted time for rushing to this new idea
and abandon others,this is a fact

Eliza · Oct 23, 2019

Oldviboy said:
I don't want to talk about arx ,nothing can matter to me less in this life ... but tell me, am I lying? or giving a point that nobody seems to take into account? last year they were supposed to have other plans, don't distort my reasoning please

I never implied that you are lying, but the fact that the payment-decision is NOT the (primary) topic of this thread, urges me to not go that road again. What was it called? "Attemp to shifting poles?"

Also, it was NOT my intention to thank FDev for the changes, but I want to thank them for the communication. My education and politeness dictates it.

Cajun76 · Oct 23, 2019

Alone Wulff said:
I'm as disappointed as many about fleet carriers, although with the limited facts we have about them there's not much to get excited about in the first place, I was just looking forward to something new 'non-Thargoid' to try out. But I appreciate and strongly agree that it's more important to fix existing bugs before new content is added.

I'm more disappointed that we have to wait three months between bug-fix updates. Really?? Why can't we have the most pressing bugs (we all have our own opinion on which ones they are) fixed one at a time, tested and released as soon as confirmed 'fixed', cracking on with the next one straight away?

I'd much rather see weekly/fortnightly updates, even if it's fixing one bug a week.

It takes nearly a week to get patches and updates approved on consoles I believe, and of course, any changes can have unintended consequences, so pumping out a stream of patches and fixes constantly is a horrifically bad way to handle this.

Vardaugas · Oct 23, 2019

I welcome the effort to solidify the game before the new era. Else you would be building on a brittle foundation and disaster would be inevitable.
Expand. Consolidate. Expand. Consolidate. Expand...etc.
That's how empires are build.

shadowwar · Oct 23, 2019

Let us be honest here for a moment. Beta testing was stopped mainly because people supplied lots of bugs found playing in BETA and FDEV did nothing with that feedback. And released a bug filled release each time since then. Lack of QAQC I don't think so. They just did not care about the player base. That's why releases were always bugged. This is not me spreading salt rather than telling what I feel to be the truth. Maybe this time when FDEV release Beta testing they may have the staff to take it to heart. I for one do fervently hope so. But based on what I have seen since playing this game since Beta original 5 years ago. Well......

I may get banned for this post but it's what I feel is the truth.

As for delaying the release of the Fleet Carriers. This may just be the final straw for me. I really was looking forward to buying one in the December update. Now it's put back by 6 months. On this I refuse to comment further.

Enderby · Oct 23, 2019

Don’t forget to buy Arx, guys! To say ‘thank you’ even more.

CMDR Daemos · Oct 23, 2019

As a result of our updated plans, we have made the difficult decision to defer the release of Fleet Carriers. We are now planning for Fleet Carriers to be released in an update in the second quarter of 2020, rather than in December 2019 as previously stated. This will grant us additional time to refine the feature as well as focusing time on addressing existing reported issues. It will also ensure the state of the game is in a better position to introduce Fleet Carriers, that will provide Commanders even more opportunities to interact with the Milky Way. We understand that this delay will be disappointing for some players.

Of course it's bloody disappointing. They've been delayed already and just over two months before they were set to release they are being delayed again... All because you cant fix your game of bug test it before you release patches to fix the bugs you've known about for years and done nothing about.

Now that you have another 8 months to away before they are undoubtedly delayed again.

How about you work on adding a bridge with a captain's chair and 3-6 multicore seats so players can pilot and fly their own damn carriers with their friends joining for the ride.