News Development Update - 8th Jan

[Junglebiscuit]

All sounds brill to me, keep up the good work

 

[Michael Brookes]

so, given testing then, I would assume that the production release for Mac will likely be summer at the earliest, possibly later.
That's quite a lot later than I was expecting to be honest.

Is it still possible to signup for the Mac Beta? and will it work like the Windows beta in that progression is maintained when it eventually goes in to production?

The beta period is likely to be shorter than it was for PC as it's not beta testing the game so much as testing that platform. Currently there's no way to sign up for the beta unless you already have beta access, we might change that if there's sufficient demand for it.

Michael

 

[Arubeto]

The other big news was expanding the team - we're serious about pushing Elite: Dangerous ever onward. That's pretty big news for me as the Producer!

That is actually really fantastic. I admit I was a little afraid the good intentions of further developing the game as much as you plan could be endangered if some people in suits might decide it wasn't worth the effort and instead invest in other, more profitable endeavors. Really happy to know you are actually as committed after release as you announced you'd be!

Edit: one specific question: will announcements about the Android version of the ED companion app be made here as well? Any news on that front, anyway?

 

[Michael Brookes]

We’ll also be having beta test periods for these major updates and access to these will be open to players who already have beta access for the game. More details on this will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Does this mean we will see the implementation of having multiple player accounts? Don't really want to see what I have worked for destroyed by a bug when testing.

For this it's likely to be a different product so you's still have separate access to the released game. As I say we'll provide more details as we progress.

Michael

 

[UniverseIsFlat]

Oh and wingman NPC too. Be nice if they can fly with you. Thanks again Michael for update!

 

[Mr_Jim]

As soon as dates are firmed up I'll share them. The other big news was expanding the team - we're serious about pushing Elite: Dangerous ever onward. That's pretty big news for me as the Producer!

Michael

Congratulations! More work

 

[Flak]

... To make this happen we’re expanding the team working on the game so that we can maintain a regular schedule of updates as well as working on paid expansions.

We’ll also be having beta test periods for these major updates and access to these will be open to players who already have beta access for the game.

Awesome stuff! More people working on the game shows just how committed you guys are to this game. And getting to Beta test the new content - excited would be an understatement!

Top stuff guys!

 

[CMDR Crustatious Cornelius Pig]

About the updates, i found this concept image.

is this something that is going to be added later on ?

I believe that is something we will see in the future. It has been discussed quite a bit in the past....where is that design archive entry.....

 

[Mysturji]

This game just keeps getting beta and beta!

 

[Tiki Gamer]

The beta period is likely to be shorter than it was for PC as it's not beta testing the game so much as testing that platform. Currently there's no way to sign up for the beta unless you already have beta access, we might change that if there's sufficient demand for it.

Michael

Well as implied - I would like to add my name to those who would like to join a Mac beta.

thanks for the reply.

 

[Tod]

And I will add my name to the PS4 beta!

 

[Viajero]

This game just keeps getting beta and beta!

Easy one but lol, have some rep!

 

[commanderK]

Planetary Landings

Any word on planetary landings?

 

[Irritant]

Apologies if this has been asked/answered elsewhere - Will Mac beta testers be able to "protect" their existing progress? I don't like the idea of logging on to the Mac version and encountering a bug that requires a progress wipe.

 

[Tinman]

Any word on planetary landings?

They are tightlipped about it so far but Michael said this just a couple of days ago when asked about variable stars being added at some point.

Maybe - but like any feature it's bang for buck and there's other celestial stuff we need to do first.

Michael

When asked about what "other celestial stuff" he was referring too he said this:

Planet surfaces spring to mind

Michael

This, to me, implies that these are rather high up on the list in regards to upcoming expansions. Adding manpower to the dev team as they have done also helps to push this along. Don't expect to see anything like this until the later half of the year though.

 

[Michael Brookes]

Apologies if this has been asked/answered elsewhere - Will Mac beta testers be able to "protect" their existing progress? I don't like the idea of logging on to the Mac version and encountering a bug that requires a progress wipe.

We'll need to look into that, but yes that would be something we'd want to avoid.

Michael

 

[Philip Coutts]

One little thing I'd love to see is the lights on the planet surfaces. Remember those lovely night time views of the planets with beautiful circular lighting for the empire and oh so boring and functional squares for the stinking feds........

 

[Jason S]

I was extremely excited when Elite Dangerous was put up on Kickstarter and was quick to offer my patronage. My hope was that the dev's post today might be something that actually resembled a roadmap or at least talked about future features.


For context I believe the game and the universe are beautiful and the team should be commended for their work. At the same time I find myself severely disappointed at the lack of some very basic game functionality. The inability to create multiple commanders or even do something as simple as save and load in solo mode just makes me feel sad and frustrated. These are table stakes features and without them I find myself dreading the thought of playing rather than looking forward to it. I want to enjoy the game and not be worried about "well crap I guess I crashed instead of landing". I want to be able to go "cool just got my awesome new ship, I wonder how long I can hold off the starbase defenders" with the safety net of being able to load back to an old game. I wan't to be able to explore different types of play without having to delete all of the work I've previously done.


The devs have done a great job at creating a wonderful simulation but it is not a game. I wish that the dev's post might have offer some hope or solace but it has not. I do not regret helping to fund Elite Dangerous but I am very disappointed that I can't enjoy it.


To those of you who are loving it I hope you continue to do so.

I know what you mean I would like those features as well.

In Solo mode they could give you a pause as you are not in a shared instance. Pausing would however mean the markets still change while pause, but it could suspend you and the npc's attacking you. It would allow mums and dads to attend to family life while still having a few ten minutes play here and there...

 

[mitchman]

We'll need to look into that, but yes that would be something we'd want to avoid.

Michael

EVE Online handled this by mirroring the data to a separate test server requiring a separate installed test client. They update the mirror regularly and if the testing requires some special amount of money or skills, they provide that too. For a ED beta, mirroring would be the only sensible thing to do. I don't think many are willing to risk they real resources to test something potentially very unstable.

 

[nick_j_bacon]

One little thing I'd love to see is the lights on the planet surfaces. Remember those lovely night time views of the planets with beautiful circular lighting for the empire and oh so boring and functional squares for the stinking feds........

This! Really is lacking in the game at the moment.

Less importantly, were there not transporters heading towards the planet in previous version? Would love to see that return. (Disclaimer - any bug fix / mechanic enhancement obviously comes before these little cosmetic tweaks)