I remember the community from the early days, all the way back to 3301. I remember so many great player groups and countless players who made the galaxy great to fly in. For so many of us, those commanders and groups are our friends. We love the game because of the community. Frontier, do you not understand how hard on us it is to see those friends go? Do you not understand how demoralizing that is? Open your eyes and see how hard it is for the community to love the game right now.
I remember so many times when you, Frontier Developments, had the chance to help us nurture and grow this community, keep it alive and keep it going. You've blown those opportunites far more times than you've gotten things right. The slow pace of content and botched deliveries made the community leaders like Erimus Kamzel work hard as hell to keep it going. They work that hard because they love the game and community, not money. The developers of EDMC, EDSM, EDDB, EDSY, ED Discovery, Spansh, Coriolis, Inara, and Canonn R&D work their asses off because they love the game and community, not money. Lave Radio and Radio Sidewinder broadcast because of their love of the community and Elite. The YouTubers that cover Elite and bring game news and guides to the community do so because they love the community and the game.
Frontier, look at this unique and awesome community that came together because of your creation. With anger and sadness, I would ask you: Do you not love this community, too? Does it not gouge your heart to see the community hurt this badly? It did to me. CMDR Dutch Foster has been gone from the game and community for years now because of how many friends and folks I saw move on from Elite and how hurt the community was. And the hurt back then doesn't compare to now. Not even close.
I never stopped watching the community, and with the Odyssey launch, I had hope for the community and the game. Everyone in the community had hope for the game. You hyped up Odyssey to be the biggest expansion in Elite Dangerous. In an alpha live stream, it was said there was a later version than what we were seeing. Were we mistaken in thinking there would be a finished product? Was that just to cover for bugs seen in the live stream, make us think they wouldn't be in the release? It sure looks like it to me. Every other testing for an update has been a beta that I can remember. So were we mistaken in thinking that a beta would follow an alpha after community testing and feedback? I mean, it does acording to the greek alphabet, and in game development cycles that start with alpha testing, they usually move to beta testing and then you get a finished product.
Odyssey was a full price expansion. And with any major game update or expansion, one would expect a bug or two. Odyssey is half broken. This is not very far beyond alpha. It's obviously a rush job. But why? I get there was a pandemic, I get that there was less than optimal working conditions. I understand financial time frames and constraints. But to release Odyssey as it is, presenting it as though it would be a finished product, not saying anything... Are we wrong to feel as though we were misled. I feel misled. I am angry. And once again I am hurt see this community in such great turmoil. So Frontier, again with anger and sadness, I ask you: Do you not love this community, too? Are you only trying to hype the game up enough to sell it to as many people as you can and put as little effort into it as possible? Is it really just about the money?
David Braben, you call Elite your baby.
Let me break it down simply.
The 29th event was when your baby started walking towards a swimming pool.
The Gnosis event was when your baby fell in that pool.
Odyssey was throwing that baby half a life raft that was half inflated and not completely sealed.
Your baby is gasping for air.
If you're going to save it, now is the time.
Ticktock
