Frontier Needs Money (new Dev Update from Michael).
- Thread starter JeffRyan
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Nice OP 
Anyway as previously said in this thread: give us more paint jobs/decals/cosmetics. These little things are always nice to have and could bring a significant amount of money!
Anyway as previously said in this thread: give us more paint jobs/decals/cosmetics. These little things are always nice to have and could bring a significant amount of money!
I agree with your logic. I think they also need to consider adding something like barbie simulator to the game to make it appeal to a broader audience
Don't confuse broadening their revenue stream with catering to a broadening audience
You don't know that. That is pure speculation.
The game is well rated overall and selling fine on PC/Mac. Further, unlike other online games, FD gets money once, that is to say when you buy the game. Which means that regardless of the efforts FD could have made based on the inputs you are talking about, it would not have resulted into significant profit (although it might have benefited the game in term of quality).
What FD is looking at with XBO is a larger player base ans the subsequent sales. What they should or should not have done based on the community's input is a different story.
A completely legitimate approach MB describes there.
I have no problem whatsoever with a company trying to sell as much as they can.
PC -> launched, MAC -> launched, XB1-> announced and prepping to launch, PS4 -> still to come.
Good, as long as you still have new platforms to launch on, there's revenue on the horizon, and i imagine that'll carry them for quite a while. These are the golden days.
What comes after that phase though ?
Player retention.
Only people who KEEP playing the game will be buying expansions and spend money in the shop.
Someone posted concurrent Steam user numbers recently...i wasn't impressed to be honest.
And yes, i know, far from everyone is playing through Steam.
The fact remains, initial sales is a phase that'll pass. It's what comes after that that'll determine the long term survivability of ED.
I have no problem whatsoever with a company trying to sell as much as they can.
PC -> launched, MAC -> launched, XB1-> announced and prepping to launch, PS4 -> still to come.
Good, as long as you still have new platforms to launch on, there's revenue on the horizon, and i imagine that'll carry them for quite a while. These are the golden days.
What comes after that phase though ?
Player retention.
Only people who KEEP playing the game will be buying expansions and spend money in the shop.
Someone posted concurrent Steam user numbers recently...i wasn't impressed to be honest.
And yes, i know, far from everyone is playing through Steam.
The fact remains, initial sales is a phase that'll pass. It's what comes after that that'll determine the long term survivability of ED.
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Just reported three bugs, confirmed two more, didn't have the energy for another. Friend killed yesterday because of bugs with wing system. Conscious of a major falling-out-of-love with the game over the last week, despite the excitement of [attempted] teamwork, belonging to a tribe, and sampling the jobs of piracy and PvP.
I actually quit bioware games, but before that I spent a while feeling a lot like I do at present--addicted to the game but feeling abused by the parent company. I really don't want elite to go the same way.
I actually quit bioware games, but before that I spent a while feeling a lot like I do at present--addicted to the game but feeling abused by the parent company. I really don't want elite to go the same way.
It was Frontier decision to drop Offline, now they cry that they need more cash for the future development. Noone ask Frontier to spend Kickstarter money on things like PP. Sorry, but i m not on the train to spend more cash on Frontier, till they fulfil the promises during kickstarter, but i m speaking only for me here!
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Deleted member 38366
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I wonder if there's something FDEV could do with some kind of paid supernode service. Free players would benefit, and it would be a steady income stream. Being able to pay a monthly fee for the ability to play alongside, say, 127 other players, rather than 31 - that would be a big draw to some players with the cash.
This is how I see it working (or not):
Subscriber seeks island.
If a supernode island with sufficient space already exists, the subscriber and wing are assigned to it.
If only normal islands exist, a supernode is assigned to the largest one, and smaller ones are merged up to the maximum population of a supernode island (with room for the subscriber and wing, obviously).
If no island exists, one is created with a supernode in command.
Inside an island, when a supernode is assigned, it receives a peer list for all islands that are to be merged, and sends out a supernode ID packet to every peer.
All subsequent P2P traffic is sent to/from the supernode as in a client-server model.
The population of any merged islands will appear to each other as if they just FSD jumped in.
Once all subscribers leave a supernode island, the supernode remains assigned until the island naturally shrinks to P2P max size, whereupon the current peerlist is sent to all peers, and the supernode is unassigned. The peers would subsequently resume full P2P operation.
I'm sure there's plenty wrong with the suggestion.
This is how I see it working (or not):
Subscriber seeks island.
If a supernode island with sufficient space already exists, the subscriber and wing are assigned to it.
If only normal islands exist, a supernode is assigned to the largest one, and smaller ones are merged up to the maximum population of a supernode island (with room for the subscriber and wing, obviously).
If no island exists, one is created with a supernode in command.
Inside an island, when a supernode is assigned, it receives a peer list for all islands that are to be merged, and sends out a supernode ID packet to every peer.
All subsequent P2P traffic is sent to/from the supernode as in a client-server model.
The population of any merged islands will appear to each other as if they just FSD jumped in.
Once all subscribers leave a supernode island, the supernode remains assigned until the island naturally shrinks to P2P max size, whereupon the current peerlist is sent to all peers, and the supernode is unassigned. The peers would subsequently resume full P2P operation.
I'm sure there's plenty wrong with the suggestion.
Harbinger
Volunteer Moderator
You realize it cost £8m+ to develop the 1.0 version of the game right? The Kickstarter money (which wasn't even released until v1.0 shipped) didn't even cover 1/5 of the pre-release costs. Most of the money came from them taking the company public with additional funds coming from post kickstarter alpha/beta sales.
I very much doubt they are struggling for money but they're not exactly rolling in it either. After the taxman, Steam/Microsoft royalties & server/staff overheads they likely don't make that much per unit sold (they'll make more on their own store). We'll know more about the state of their financials soon enough because their end of year report is due out in the not too distant future.
For me...anything ED can do to raise money - except "pay to win", is good. I want, need! this game to continue to develop, and to do that you need money. and great heaps of it! Just out of interest - count the number of people involved in ED, allow them a reasonable wage considering their skills, and multiply the numbers out. That is a lot of money continuously draining from the bank, every week. not even mentioning the costs of running some decent sort of servers and Data costs and building rent and insurance and etc etc etc.
I've only bought a couple of skins coz I don't have much money. but I'd be tempted by a bobble head or something else trivial.
If getting more money means getting ED on more systems - then go for it...we need that money stream.
I've only bought a couple of skins coz I don't have much money. but I'd be tempted by a bobble head or something else trivial.
If getting more money means getting ED on more systems - then go for it...we need that money stream.
Hey, while I personally don't plan on playing the Xbox One release anytime soon (I don't even have an XB1), if Frontier can get more customers on board so they can feed their families, I'm all for it. Besides, I kind of consider the XB1 version separate from the PC version (unless they somehow integrate cross-play...which would be a bad idea, see the game Shadowrun). Two different games, two completely different player bases. They can exist side-by-side for all I care. Just don't do cross-play, FD. *shudder*
I want this game to succeed but Im not sure why some brazenly obvious things have not happened that should have, I hope they know what they are doing, perhaps they are not being the capitalists or publicists for a reason but I think they are just missing tricks all over the place, the decals, communicating with players and all that
Oh hey i already bought the boxed version now just for the looks. Got a lot merchandise and some paint jobs.
Thats kinda a lot support from my side. Some of the merchandise seems to expensive thought.
Monthly fees would be a total killer for me.
Oh i would love to see some plastic or even diecast models of the elite spaceships. Would be a no brainer for me to buy all.
Thats kinda a lot support from my side. Some of the merchandise seems to expensive thought.
Monthly fees would be a total killer for me.
Oh i would love to see some plastic or even diecast models of the elite spaceships. Would be a no brainer for me to buy all.
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Well said OP, I agree. Even though I'll never use a console I don't begrudge FD looking for new revenue streams.
In my opinion they could make MUCH more money from their online store selling paint jobs and decals if they put a bit more effort into implementing a quick access, high rotational speed external camera as it was in FFE and Frontier. Nearly every time I took off from a planet I'd switch to external views to rotate around my smexy ship blasting through the atmosphere (funny, I still think back and consider those ships to be awesome looking).
I haven't bothered purchasing any paint jobs yet, because using the external camera is not worth the effort.
In my opinion they could make MUCH more money from their online store selling paint jobs and decals if they put a bit more effort into implementing a quick access, high rotational speed external camera as it was in FFE and Frontier. Nearly every time I took off from a planet I'd switch to external views to rotate around my smexy ship blasting through the atmosphere (funny, I still think back and consider those ships to be awesome looking).
I haven't bothered purchasing any paint jobs yet, because using the external camera is not worth the effort.
I still am in two minds as to whether my premium boxed set was physicaly worth the outlay - but I do not regret the money I spent on it at all. In fact I am glad that FD didn't spend any more money on it than they did. I value the game.
ED is ambitious. The DDF proposals are ambitious and require proper money to do well.
Ambitious projects need money.
Imagine if Rogue System had the funds ED has, then between the two my space-sim life would be complete....
I purchased the lifetime DLC pass back when it was still offered and I've been purchasing paint jobs and would purchase more if they would make them!!! Especially the really good ones that they came up with for the smaller ships. The latest round of paint jobs have been uninspiring.
I would also pay good money for a wide variety of cockpit swag, like the bobble-head dolls, or a hula-girl, fuzzy dice, there's all kinds of funny/cool stuff they could sell us to help jazz up the only part of the ship we can actually see while we're flying! (Please FD, hire more artists and prioritize your revenue stream!!)
I would also pay good money for a wide variety of cockpit swag, like the bobble-head dolls, or a hula-girl, fuzzy dice, there's all kinds of funny/cool stuff they could sell us to help jazz up the only part of the ship we can actually see while we're flying! (Please FD, hire more artists and prioritize your revenue stream!!)
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