Frontier Needs Money (new Dev Update from Michael).

[JeffRyan]

OP title was a bit cherry picking - Michael said that income is important and as there's no sub FD has to ensure they release game as soon as humanly possible on many platforms worth supporting. Yes, FD has quite a lot of money, and they hiring people as we discuss about it. Bigger challenge will be to grow team, not to get money itself (not yet at this point). But money they have now will end at some point. They need bigger player base - and yes, they need to expand game itself too.

I think the original title for this was 'Michael Confirms Something Or Other Much Longer' but I knew the main part of the title would be cut off. It wasn't meant as an insult at all. And it isn't exactly cherry picking, just using Daily Mail langu... sorry...

ps4 is gonna get this game too? are you sure?
because that would be good news but im assuming that microsoft has paid a good amount of money for this not to happen.
but this game does have a ten year development plan so i wouldnt be surprised if it came out for ps5 but the ps4 version would really surprise me.

The exclusivity for the XBOX is time limited, that's been said a few times. It's never been directly confirmed for the PS4, but always 'We'd like to do that eventually'.

As a few people have said Frontier use the Cobra Engine, an inhouse engine that's delibrately designed to make porting easier. I'm sure the work being done on porting the game to the XBOX will make the step to the PS4 easier (not in terms of code, but how to adapt the game to a console).

 

[AnnuverScotinExile]

Don't quote me on this one but I thought the Thargoids were in a free update ? (Not that I care, I paid the premium pass for free updates anyway)

I don't believe that FD have ever said one way or the other on Thargoids. I would be very surprised if they were a paid update, however. Indeed, they may already be in game, waiting for some unlucky explorer to stumble across them.

 

[JeffRyan]

They said they never would never allow console priority over PC either, but look what's happening with CQC. When they don't touch base with something they have much more liable on doing exactly that. But in FD case, even if they say they won't do something, they'll probably turn their backs on their own words do it anyway.

Yes. And they've gone out of their way in post after post to point out that this is pretty much a one off, or at least an Extremely Rare Event.

Let it go.

 

[nedeaalex]

Private outposts that you can purchase with real money and have installed at any uninhabited system. You can then stockpile your station by making trips to a nearby main station for fuel and ammo. Just an idea.

Pay
2
Win

 

[JeffRyan]

I don't believe that FD have ever said one way or the other on Thargoids. I would be very surprised if they were a paid update, however. Indeed, they may already be in game, waiting for some unlucky explorer to stumble across them.

Like this guy. That ended well for him.

 

[nedeaalex]

Yes. And they've gone out of their way in post after post to point out that this is pretty much a one off, or at least an Extremely Rare Event.

Let it go.

The problem here is not precisely that CQC thing. Forget that it's just a PVP for XX360noscopehaxorxx fans. The thing is, with FD i don't feel like they care even in the slightest about us. Take CSGO for example. People have been asking for a way to restrain the ability to smurf(make a new account and destroy the lower ranks because you are a higher rank on your main account) and ban cheaters more frequently. Also they asked for Overwatch(a system that let's players decide if one is hacking or not) to be improved and it was. All in this month's patch. They have been asking this for about 5 months. And just like here, they started to lose hope the devs even care about them or the game. But then, the devs came out, said sorry they were working on all the stuff and released all the things people have been screaming for. Here, no matter how much the backers(keep in mind CSGO has no backers and that game costs a pity 10$ not 60$) say something is wrong, they don't really care that much. How many backers said the repair costs are too high? No patch. How many backers said that certain powers are OverPowered or that Imperials are heavily favored? Do you see any change. How many said they want a RES fix? Do you see any change. How many say Open should be separate from Solo? Again, no change. Exploration is not even worth mentioning i assume you all know how much people here want to be explorers more and wish for some changes.The thing is, csgo devs give me that feeling of "yeah i know they wont patch it now, they will probably do it 5 months later" but they WILL DO IT. FD devs give me the feeling of cashgrabers, and that is very sad. I have that "who cares they want minimal changes and everyone is screaming for those? We got the money" I hope i'm wrong i sure do, but some voice inside my head always tells me i'm not, and i can never prove it wrong since the devs seem to not listen to anything we say...And E3 and Xbox and Roller Coaster only make it worse, at least for me... <---this is hella cute though

 

[JeffRyan]

The problem here is not precisely that CQC thing. Forget that it's just a PVP for XX360noscopehaxorxx fans. The thing is, with FD i don't feel like they care even in the slightest about us. Take CSGO for example. People have been asking for a way to restrain the ability to smurf(make a new account and destroy the lower ranks because you are a higher rank on your main account) and ban cheaters more frequently. Also they asked for Overwatch(a system that let's players decide if one is hacking or not) to be improved and it was. All in this month's patch. They have been asking this for about 5 months. And just like here, they started to lose hope the devs even care about them or the game. But then, the devs came out, said sorry they were working on all the stuff and released all the things people have been screaming for. Here, no matter how much the backers(keep in mind CSGO has no backers and that game costs a pity 10$ not 60$) say something is wrong, they don't really care that much. How many backers said the repair costs are too high? No patch. How many backers said that certain powers are OverPowered or that Imperials are heavily favored? Do you see any change. How many said they want a RES fix? Do you see any change. How many say Open should be separate from Solo? Again, no change. The thing is, csgo devs give me that feeling of "yeah i know they wont patch it now, they will probably do it 5 months later" but they WILL DO IT. FD devs give me the feeling of cashgrabers, and that is very sad. I have that "who care they want minimal changes and everyone is screaming for those? We got the money" I hope i'm wrong i sure do, but some voice inside my head always tells me i'm not, and i can never prove it wrong since the devs seem to not listen to anything we say...

We live in a I WANT IT NOW society. Considering the game has ONLY BEEN OUT SINCE DECEMBER. That's only six months. Which in old time isn't that long at all. But in new time it's THIS GAME HAS BEEN OUT FOREVER AND I DON'T HAVE THE STUFF DONE YET I WANT. Considering the progress they have made, Michael's continuous debate with the community. Considering the updates that have come out. I think they've shown pretty damned consistently that they do care. About us.

Now whether or not they're getting the right message is another topic. Hell the stuff I PERSONALLY want and long for isn't in. And I'm pretty damned mad about it. (Tier 2 NPCs, Ship Naming and Ship's Crew). And some of the stuff that's come out (Wings I don't care about, I love Power Play but think it could have been better tied to the lore) I'm sort of meh about.

I'm not an apologist. But I'm not a hater either. I take each subject on its own merits. I'm mad about some things, happy about others, but overall I don't think Frontier have abandoned us.

 

[Nervous Energy]

A fool and his money are easily parted.

People are no longer FOOLS about ED, you have the chance of nostalgia the crest of the wave was ridden and it was good. Now the wave has turned into ripple, it is not good.

Simply because you have not given what the people wanted it really is that simple. Some very very good suggestions 99% ignored due to being scared of what people and the community want. PP just goes to show this perfectly.

 

[Sanderson]

Rubbish. If FD couldn't afford an online game only, then they shouldn't have cut offline. If the crowd funding and capital they raised wasn't enough to make ED, like they said they were going to, then they shouldn't have said they could.

People seem to think FD is short on money, far from it. A much more honest statement would have been: "We used the money from ED to expand into new IP's before we finished it. Now we have to sell more copies in order to keep building this game."

Great news if you're a shareholder, not so great if you just want the game like it was supposed to be. As a businessman it's exactly what I would have done and I'd re-retire in five years to Austria. As a consumer I'm left waiting for the game I backed while FD is off creating new IP's and delivering timed exclusive content on other platforms.

PC remains FD's primary development platform because YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP ON PC. There's not one good reason for timed exclusive content, other than profit and FD only "needs" more profit to develop ED because they used sales money on their new IP's. This is how you grow a business, not finish a game. Maybe we'll both have our vision, David will be the new EA and we'll, someday, have ED as it was pitched.

A much much more honest KickStarter would have been; "We plan to grow FD into an EA like company, if you back us ED may be a small part of that."

 

[Leper Messiah]

When the XB1 version gets launched, patches on PC will have to go through Console certification first, 2 weeks generally.
That'll be the major drawback of bringing the game to console.
Patches won't be so quick bar hotfixes.
I expect you'll be crying out your eyes at that point.
It, however, doesn't mean the game isn't PC specific.
It's just a process consoles require and it's just how it works.

Heaven forbid they change something to add weight to your argument though.
Because that's what happens...it generally does not detract from the game but some will always make a fuss about anything.
So, keep an open mind.

FYI, console gaming is more secure then PC gaming. That's why more games, even long term PC games are moving to console.
Just saying.

I'm not crying about anything, I'm pro console games as long as it's done right.

 

[Derath]

Rubbish. If FD couldn't afford an online game only, then they shouldn't have cut offline. If the crowd funding and capital they raised wasn't enough to make ED, like they said they were going to, then they shouldn't have said they could.

People seem to think FD is short on money, far from it. A much more honest statement would have been: "We used the money from ED to expand into new IP's before we finished it. Now we have to sell more copies in order to keep building this game."

Great news if you're a shareholder, not so great if you just want the game like it was supposed to be. As a businessman it's exactly what I would have done and I'd re-retire in five years to Austria. As a consumer I'm left waiting for the game I backed while FD is off creating new IP's and delivering timed exclusive content on other platforms.

PC remains FD's primary development platform because YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP ON PC. There's not one good reason for timed exclusive content, other than profit.

Much better post than any i'd make, summarizes my feelings perfectly.

 

[Parmo]

A fool and his money are easily parted.

People are no longer FOOLS about ED, you have the chance of nostalgia the crest of the wave was ridden and it was good. Now the wave has turned into ripple, it is not good.

Simply because you have not given what the people wanted it really is that simple. Some very very good suggestions 99% ignored due to being scared of what people and the community want. PP just goes to show this perfectly.

And fools expect their suggestions to be acted upon.

 

[nedeaalex]

We live in a I WANT IT NOW society. Considering the game has ONLY BEEN OUT SINCE DECEMBER. That's only six months. Which in old time isn't that long at all. But in new time it's THIS GAME HAS BEEN OUT FOREVER AND I DON'T HAVE THE STUFF DONE YET I WANT. Considering the progress they have made, Michael's continuous debate with the community. Considering the updates that have come out. I think they've shown pretty damned consistently that they do care. About us.

Now whether or not they're getting the right message is another topic. Hell the stuff I PERSONALLY want and long for isn't in. And I'm pretty damned mad about it. (Tier 2 NPCs, Ship Naming and Ship's Crew). And some of the stuff that's come out (Wings I don't care about, I love Power Play but think it could have been better tied to the lore) I'm sort of meh about.

I'm not an apologist. But I'm not a hater either. I take each subject on its own merits. I'm mad about some things, happy about others, but overall I don't think Frontier have abandoned us.

I sure hope so man because i really don't want NMS or SC to snatch the players from here. ED is more serious and more....spacey then those two...

 

[JasonDL]

Do you have a quote for that, since I have never seen them say anything like that? Yes, they have said that they are not abandoning the PC and making a console game (usually in response to accusations of dumbing down). But allowing a timed exclusive for functionality that will appear on the PC later, if that generates a wodge of cash or other benefit from Microsoft seems like good business. It is not as if you will not get CQC, you will just get it later than players on an XBox. You will still get the wretched thing before I get proper exploration, in all likelihood. They have also said that doing that will be rare - they will almost certainly do it again for the PS4. But since the PC is the lead development platform, we can expect virtually everything first on the PC (or, at least, no later than on other platforms).

But, yes, we do need to watch what FD do, not just what they say.

That was a quote of a quote. But you're going off topic from what I said in my original statement. I never said anything about a timed exclusive nor did I say anything about me caring. I'm not sure if you understand or misunderstood what my original statement was because I said my point twice. So let me say it the third time in a different ways in hoping to clarified it this time. My concern from the start was FD leaving PC gamers like developers of other games (I won't bother give you the names of those developers because you can google for those names yourself) or treating PC gamers as second class citizen meaning to give console gamers exclusive that you cannot find on PC. It was the PC community that funded Elite Dangerous, and again as I have already stated that if it wasn't for PC community then this game may have never existed. Once again my point is that I want FD to treat everyone as equals.

Now lets get back to what you're saying. If FD have an option of recieving more money from MS or Sony for a time exclusive on either console then fine, as long as they don't turned their backs and ignore the people who'd supported FD and making Elite Dangerous possible (PC gamers). And I also agree with your final statement, I myself believe that action speaks louder than words. Anybody can say they gonna do something good, but it takes a true man to actually do it. And I will be paying attention to FD, and the future of ED because it's been nearly a decade since I've played a game for this long, and I'm expecting to continue playing it 2 to 3 times longer depending on where ED is heading.

 

[Zelos1983]

FD would be able to raise money by doing a better job and improving relations with the community. It's as simple as that. As long as it doesn't happen, my funding goes towards Star Citizen (I'm a Concierge level backer), Descent Underground, Halcyon 6 etc. in terms of space games.

I even stopped buying skins at the FD store because of personal disputes with Frontier representatives.

 

[JeffRyan]

Rubbish. If FD couldn't afford an online game only, then they shouldn't have cut offline. If the crowd funding and capital they raised wasn't enough to make ED, like they said they were going to, then they shouldn't have said they could.

People seem to think FD is short on money, far from it. A much more honest statement would have been: "We used the money from ED to expand into new IP's before we finished it. Now we have to sell more copies in order to keep building this game."

Great news if you're a shareholder, not so great if you just want the game like it was supposed to be. As a businessman it's exactly what I would have done and I'd re-retire in five years to Austria. As a consumer I'm left waiting for the game I backed while FD is off creating new IP's and delivering timed exclusive content on other platforms.

PC remains FD's primary development platform because YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP ON PC. There's not one good reason for timed exclusive content, other than profit and FD only "needs" more profit to develop ED because they used sales money on their new IP's. This is how you grow a business, not finish a game. Maybe we'll both have our vision, David will be the new EA and we'll, someday, have ED as it was pitched.

With 700,000 units sold they've barely recouped (if they have) development. They're hardly rolling in it.

I also wasn't happy that they cut offline.

 

[nedeaalex]

And whose fault is that ours or theirs? We wanted Singleplayer only. They added them both them. Then we wanted them to be split apart. They mixed them as a whole. Now we want for an expansion that would in turn bring them even more money. And they don't even announce it. Even as a marketing stuff to announce something creates hype and some people fall victim to that hype and buy it before it is released. What they do ? Release it on consoles. On the PREVIEW program. Im sure 50% of those who tried it realised there is not much to do online and the way for this game is singleplayer/with friends so they didn't buy it anyway...

 

[Sanderson]

With 700,000 units sold they've barely recouped (if they have) development. They're hardly rolling in it.

I also wasn't happy that they cut offline.

Check out their financial statements. They have plenty of money. The hat in hand crowdfunding was all part of an extremely well orchestrated public offering. I have to give it to David, he has executed his "vision" superbly and if I was a shareholder I'd be happy. I'm not.

The tables have turned, instead of David, a humble "indie" like developer hat in hand, we are now hat in hand facing a company that more closely resembles EA than an independant studio as portrayed before the supposed "release".

 

[Eggtastico]

With 700,000 units sold they've barely recouped (if they have) development. They're hardly rolling in it.

I also wasn't happy that they cut offline.

Frontier as a PLC is valued at £70m
It seems this idea of fundraising from the PC community is to pay for development on the consoles.
Well that is not fair - why not give people on the PC the game they was promised first?

Also, how much do they want? or expect people to spent? £1 each? £5 each? £10 each?
They cut the price on Steam by 25% - so now looking for the those who actual pay to dig deep & buy some tat from their webstore to support not only the game (who most paid full price for or backed in the Kickstarter), but console development & other titles they have announced.

Sorry, but they are a PLC & they can go look for the funds needed like every other listed company. By selling shares!

 

[JeffRyan]

The tables have turned, instead of David, a humble "indie" like developer hat in hand, we are now hat in hand facing a company that more closely resembles EA than an independant studio as portrayed before the supposed "release".

Well considering Frontier is operating around the 20 odd mill mark (that's not that much) and EA is around 4 bill. You're not quite on the mark there mate. (I just looked at both, I know a few people who're worth as much if not more than Frontier).

- - - Updated - - -

Frontier as a PLC is valued at £70m
It seems this idea of fundraising from the PC community is to pay for development on the consoles.
Well that is not fair - why not give people on the PC the game they was promised first?

Also, how much do they want? or expect people to spent? £1 each? £5 each? £10 each?
They cut the price on Steam by 25% - so now looking for the those who actual pay to dig deep & buy some tat from their webstore to support not only the game (who most paid full price for or backed in the Kickstarter), but console development & other titles they have announced.

Sorry, but they are a PLC & they can go look for the funds needed like every other listed company. By selling shares!

Still with 70 mill worth now, they're nowhere near EA.