Design decision forum member

[Kerrash]

Intro

Just thought I would introduce myself as have been in the DDF from the start

I had Elite on the ZX but was too young to "get it". Sunk my entire life into Frontier on the Amiga 600 then later on PC. And recently I have got all of the versions running on emulators on PC.

I have been a huge fan for 2 decades and I hope to do the best I can for everyone in the DDF.

 

[Yombo]

I'm in the DDF, played Elite but was too young, and played mostly Frontier.

I like what David said about the godlike powers, but more that the DDF will continue after the initial release

 

[Simon Briscoe]

So here's my perspective: -

When I first saw the pledge levels on KS I knew I wanted something physical to own and I knew I wanted to be as involved as possible to help make the special game I think we all want. A very good friend of mine felt the same and so one of us is on the DDF and the other got a bit carried away and ended up as a founder. Point being that I think we represent what most people will be on the DDF - genuine people wanting to help make a great game. I think if there are any involved on it who have done so in order to help ensure their own progress in the game they are either misguided or stupid. There are about 500 people at this level. It will be a place to put ideas and have a sensible discussion. Even if the DDF all think that they should all be given better ships than anyone else DB will clearly not go for it. Personally I think those worried about the DDF members getting a leg up need to relax, stop being cynical for a bit and realise who these people are and what their motivation is.

I would also like to say I will do my best to ensure that mine and my friends input to the DDF is as constructive and well thought as possible.

 

[Pandamonium]

Hi all,

I'm in the DDF and am old enough to have played the original Elite on BBC, C64 and Amiga (I think - might have been PC though - getting old now )

Initially went in for aplha and beta testing, but spent a lot of time reading the (mainly) great comments on the KS forum and decided I wanted to be part of the community, so raised to DDF tier a day or two before the god like powers announcement!

I'm sure that given the number of DDF members, and the quality of the comments I have seen so far, the DDF will only help to make this the best game ever (IMHO ).

Paul

 

[tricky]

Hello all.

Bar what is written on the pledge for £300 does anyone have any additional info about being a design decision forum member ?

My take on it is this, please let me know your views and if Ashley or anyone else from Frontier can shed more light that would be great.

1. Such a person would obviously have access to a restricted forum where they would be shown ship designs/station designs etc and they can comment and maybe even vote or at least they would have Frontier's closer ear.

2. I don't think that would cover things like gameplay design....or would it ?

3. Can I ask if there are any ELITE players here from 1984/85 that are part of that tier.

Cheers in advance everyone.

3. First started on Elite on the Acorn Electron in January 1985. After a call to the bank who thought the transaction was fraudulent (even though other high KS pledges went through), I am now officially a DDF member. :smilie:

 

[chris]

I'm also a DDFer (duffer?) that was raised on original Elite (BBC Micro at primary school) then Frontier on an Amiga 500.

My pledge raising to DDF was purely done (pre GLP) in a moment of drunken (in)sanity. Nah, it was down to the mature discussion on here and the KS comments, as well as the feeling that it would be great to be involved as early as possible (rather than waiting to 2014 to be involved).

It'll be really interesting to see how the DDF functions and works to make decisions. I expect that will evolve over time until a balance is found between keeping all interested parties feeling valued, listened-to and not overly-powerful. Design by committee is tough to get to work, but should be a fun challenge!

 

[darkbytes]

I also upped my pledge as more details came out about the role of the DDF.

I organised charity Elite marathons over weekends at school and then sixth form on the classroom Beebs! I spent so much time playing the original I made elite twice over, I loved that game and I want this version to deliver something equally special.

I played the later releases on Archimedes and amigas but it is the original that fired my imagination

I can already imagine whole new role scenarios in a multi player universe and I am really looking forward to being involved and helping out around here!

Andy

 

[Lortsamler]

Jumped from the access to alpha to ddf level in the last remaining hour or so. Just missed out on the BBC micro days, we had an Amstrad 464 but many an evening and weekends disappeared in the Elite world. Had Frontier as well, vaguely remember it being quite tricky to actually hit anybody
As regards the God like powers.... Every Universe seems to have their God's, could be an asset, could be a complete waste of time. I'm more interested in seeing how the development unfolds and the Frontier team's management of it. Already we are seeing a little bit of antipathy towards DDF members from some which is a shame but it's the Internet way, it's to be expected. Actually think ED will be immune to a lot of trolling we see in other game forums purely because the age group is actually generally advanced, so in theory should be more mature and thoughtful, well I'm hoping so anyway
S!
Robbie

I used to be a moderator on a few webpages,and i was suprised how childish men and women could be at the age of 40 +/-. So don't expect to much

 

[Paramonos]

I’m a DDF member .. signed up with 8 minutes to go. I’d originally went for the £20 pledge right at the start of the kickstarter.. then the £85 when it was announced .. then for the £100 and then with 8 minutes to go last night the DDF option .. lol.

I played the original Elite at primary school on the school BBC, although I had a ZX81 and a ZX Spectrum at home. Later I played Frontier on my Amiga A600 (which I’d traded up from an Atari ST). Now I own just about every computer/ console/ handheld/ tablet etc out there. My PC is also uber spec’ed (and self built).

I also dabble with a Raspberry PI.

I’m really looking forward to discussing this game with you guys and the devs throughout the year and will see you all in the alpha at the end of the year (fingers crossed).

Feel free to add me on steam if you wish ‘Paramonos’

 

[Omegahunter]

Hello Styggron.
I'm one of the orignal ELITE. Having started playing on the BBC B back in school before moving on to my own ZX Spectrum then the Atari ST and finally a PC or three.
My starting and end pledge was £300 as the DDF was a must for me. Its where I wanted to be from the start even if it meant completely blowing my overdraft due to it being Christmas as well.
I know they wont be handing over the design process to us completely but if I can get even one of my ideas in to the final game or know that I helpped a feature or two to be added them its worth every penny spent.

 

[Slawkenbergius]

I pledged for DDF on day one. Elite was a game that my five-years older brother had, so I played it, but at a stage when I was too young to fully get it. Because of the sound and graphics, I can't bring myself to go back to it via emulator, so I'm greatly looking forward to watching a new Elite emerge.

What I'm most looking forward to is asking the devs technical and design related questions, and hopefully getting some interesting answers back. The fact that we get to help shape the game is the icing on the cake, and the fact we get access to statistics later is the cherry (which I'll probably pick off and leave to one side!).

I must say that I was really impressed that membership is slated to continue beyond the initial release (given that that was what the Kickstarter funds were for). It suggests that FD are really taking the concept seriously and not just using it as a way to increase funding.

 

[The Flying Gribble]

I'm on the DDF tier, although started out at the founder level. I'd wanted to be in the DDF from the beginning, but wasn't sure what my cash flow situation would be like and am also planning to start a one year OU evening course in May so didn't think I would be able to contribute much during the creation of game due to restricted time. However, yesterday I had some good news from work, and then the announcement that the DDF would have deeper involvement post-release made me happy that an investment there wouldn't be wasted. Would have stolen that Launch Party slot from Brodie but couldn't live with the guilt

I'm one of the original BBC 1984 players, but only made it to Deadly not Elite due to Uni work. Skipped all subsequent releases, so am happy that I'm able to help bring in this new era.

 

[Harbinger]

I was originally planning to go for the Alpha testing phase at the highest to get a first look at the game but decided to go for the DDF tier a few days ago. I was still wobbling somewhat though thinking I'd made a mistake.

The announcement yesterday about how involved we'd be in the decision making stopped the wobbling in it's tracks. I knew I had to be involved.

am also planning to start a one year OU evening course in May

Nice to see a fellow OU student here. What are you planning on studying? I'm currently working towards a BSc (Hons) in Computing & IT with the OU and studying Java/Visual Basic programming right now.

That reminds me, I have 2 x TMAs that need to be submitted in 2 weeks and I've spent the last 2-3 weeks constantly refreshing the Elite: Dangerous kickstarter page. I'd better get cracking and actually do some work.

 

[cadmonkey33]

I'm in the DDF. Not sure what to expect really, but i'd imagine it would mostly be polls of preferred features and some heated discussion
I played Elite in '84 on the Electron (age 11), and got to Deadly before my Electron was confiscated by my parents because I was on it too much o_o.
Played a bit of Frontier, but nowhere near as much as Elite. Also played most other space games including EVE for about 18 months.

 

[Mack]

Nice to see a fellow OU student here. What are you planning on studying? I'm currently working towards a BSc (Hons) in Computing & IT with the OU and studying Java/Visual Basic programming right now.

That reminds me, I have 2 x TMAs that need to be submitted in 2 weeks and I've spent the last 2-3 weeks constantly refreshing the Elite: Dangerous kickstarter page. I'd better get cracking and actually do some work.

I did a Java course a few yrs back (thought i'd finally work towards getting that degree - even though i've been a commercial developer for 25yrs now), it was the first year they were running it. blazed the tma's mostly with 95%+ then the exam came up, what a farce, suddenly you were expected to write XTD definitions off the top of your head for loosely given xml files etc, and to know java syntax and classes to the letter, in the exam you weren't allowed books or inet access (or even a computer!). Failed it with 35%, told em to go f**k themselves, as I wasn't paying another penny.
I hope they've changed their way of operating lol.

 

[Stoo]

I'm a "duffer" too, and looking forward to giving input in to the coming Elite universe.

It's disappointing though that some are saying that money is buying power, I'm sure that it won't be that way come release. Frontier need to properly define the role sooner rather than later to quashtalk of class divide etc.

Besides, everyone can give input on these forums and many of those ideas may find their way in to the DDF one way or another, and give credit where it is due.

I played Elite on the C64 after seeing it on the Beeb Micro. Hooked for life

 

[HenryS]

I guess this is the DDF introductions thread now? I played FE2 on the Amiga 1200 around 1994 or 1995. I loved the freedom, and the accurate physics simulation. I pledged on day one at around GBP 50, then jontied to DDF about half way through the kickstarter.

These days I'm a research mathematician and mathematical artist. My research is in 3-dimensional geometry and topology, and my art work uses 3d printing, mostly procedurally generated mathematical designs. I'm hoping to inject some interesting geometrical ideas into the Elite: Dangerous universe in some way or another. I'm also very interested in the post-release role of the DDF. I think there might be some really cool ways to visualise data about the galaxy.

 

[Mr Credit]

Another old timer here. Started playing Elite way back in the mid 80's on my BBC B
Originally I was just looking at going in at the Alpha Test level but decided to opt for the DDF as the extra £100 seemed worthwhile to be involved in the games development.





Ended up with a planet!!!!

 

[Harbinger]

I did a Java course a few yrs back (thought i'd finally work towards getting that degree - even though i've been a commercial developer for 25yrs now), it was the first year they were running it. blazed the tma's mostly with 95%+ then the exam came up, what a farce, suddenly you were expected to write XTD definitions off the top of your head for loosely given xml files etc, and to know java syntax and classes to the letter, in the exam you weren't allowed books or inet access (or even a computer!). Failed it with 35%, told em to go f**k themselves, as I wasn't paying another penny.
I hope they've changed their way of operating lol.

You're allowed to take the course handbook into the exams. You can usually highlight things that you think may be relevant but that's all.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I too am on the DDF tier.

Really don't know what to expect from DDF, but I imagine there will be a large number of fascinating ideas from such a passionate group who would be proud to make any contribution at all to this game.

Personally, I really hope the controls will be more intuitive and simple like ELITE rather than accurate and more complex like Frontier. DB did suggest something along these lines in one of the videos.

That said, I did love Frontier on the Amiga and First Encounters on the PC despite the steeper learning curve than ELITE.