Frontier's Annual Results have been published (June 2018 to May 2019), showing a record year and Elite passing 3 million basegame sales

Seems like you missed it.

Atmospheric planets:

On December 14, 2012, David Braben explained the development plan “What I want to see down on the planet is interesting things, cityscapes, even animals, live trees, being a big game hunter. All of the things that we’ve been very ,very excited about for a long time, we want to be able to realize. The amount of work required to create those things is so huge we want to do it properly. What’s really important is we do each of these things really well. So that sort of thing won’t be included on day one. We don’t want it to be a dull experience where you just go down, you get essentially exactly the same experience wherever you land." “we’ve designed the game with that capability in mind going forward and at a later date we’ll gradually add more functionality to allow you to do that and the game’s richness will gradually increase."[1]

Newsletter #29 confirms that "Accessing richly detailed planetary surfaces" is part of the development plans.[2] In Newsletter #32 confirms "Major new features will include planetary landings and even walking around inside ships, stations, and planet surfaces with time."[3]

In 2016, during an AMA with David Braben, this question was asked "Is there a small team doing any preliminary work on atmosphere landings / walking (in stations etc) currently being looked at? As it is almost there for walking in station..." Braben said "Yes. We have ongoing work on planets, including atmospheres, planetary life, walking about and lots of other very exciting things for the future."[4]

During a Charity Livestream, David Braben commented that atmospheric planets won't be coming "anytime soon".


On June 15 2017 community manager Dale Emasiri said "Having spoken to our team at E3, atmospheric landings remains something we are still working towards and the whole studio, including David, is very keen to implement. We'd like to be able to give you an idea of the rough timeframe for it, but unfortunately that’s not possible at the moment - we don’t want to make potentially empty promises to you."[5]

Space Legs:


Since the 2012 Kickstarter campaign there's concept art of extravehicular activities. This ranges from people walking in a station to first person combat and ship repairs. There's a 3D blockout of a station with a 3D character holding a weapon. Docked ships are loaded with cargo and flying drones carry cargo containers.
On 12 March 2015, David Braben said "as you can walk around inside your ships, things like leather upholstery are also things that we can do. It’s not a pay-to-win thing but actually makes your ship more shiny."[8]

On March 20, 2015 Braben was asked about the long roadmap ahead and he said (at 5:20): "Well I'm very excited. I've said over a long time I'm very excited about some features that we will do down the road including things like landing on planets, walking around inside your spaceship, getting out of your spaceship, all of those things I think are very very exciting and obviously those are in the long-term roadmap."[9]
On May 26, 2016 during an AMA with David Braben, this question was asked "Is there a small team doing any preliminary work on atmosphere landings / walking (in stations etc) currently being looked at? As it is almost there for walking in station..." Braben said "Yes. We have ongoing work on planets, including atmospheres, planetary life, walking about and lots of other very exciting things for the future."[10]
On 08 April 2016, Braben reiterated that walking around will be a future update. He said:“There was a lot of discussion prior to and during the Kickstarter project as to whether you should be able to walk around in your ship. We looked at that in great detail. Ultimately we decided the arbiter has to be, ‘Does it make the game more fun?’ Because it’s a lot of extra work and it brings in more constraints. It’s something we will do, but it’ll be in a future update because we need so many things on a human scale for that to be additive and enjoyable.”[11]

On March 10, 2017 during a Q&A at PAX East, lead designer Sandro Sammarco said Space Legs is way off in the future.
"How will Telepresence and Multicrew work in the future with Space Legs and EVA gameplay? 'Just to set the record straight, Space Legs and EVA gameplay, that's way off in the future. That's a goal. I've talked to David and it's always been part of his core vision for what Elite really is, even from way back in the day, it's always been about you're a person in a real futuristic setting, not just a ship. However, I think it's also fair to say Space Legs is effectively dovetailing a whole new game into Elite. We take steps towards it, it's our end vision, but we're not there yet, we're... it's a long way off. And when it does, by the time, if we get there, if we manage it, I'm sure we'll have the time to sort out any consistencies that need to be sorted out." [68m04s][1]
On April 11, 2017 during the The Commanders Release Livestream (at 10:10), Braben confirmed that space legs is coming and is planned, but it's not imminent. A person in the chat asked "Will we get space legs at some point? If yes don't say when, but answer with long, medium or short." Braben said: "It's coming, but obviously it's not imminent, but it is coming and it is planned."[12]
On 11 April 2017, Braben's closing statement of a Reddit AMA: "The future for Elite Dangerous is very exciting, including a whole raft of incredible features, yes including 'space legs' but so many more things too. We have such a great community, and we're really glad that you guys share our passion and support us."[13][14]

On October 4, 2017 Zac Antonaci said "Spacelegs (as the community are dubbing them) is something that David B and the development team are very excited by and it’s certainly high on the list of features they would like to make. However, as we’ve mentioned before, “Spacelegs” is something further down the line. After 2.4 we’ll be focusing on the core gameplay experience so it’s not something that we will be announcing at Frontier Expo. I do have to say though, I truly hope that the community are excited by the content being revealed at FX."[15]
On January 27, 2018 Sandro Sammarco said "The team and I all see Space Legs as the feature we will love to add and are at the top of our specification, but it's something that will not happen in the Beyond season. We will talk more about it later."[16][17]
On 31 August 2018 Zac Antonaci posted an important community update with relevant information: "A while ago, our development went from pre-production into full production on our next major milestone of Elite development. What that means in the simplest terms is that the team are actively working on the next major landmark which takes us into our next era for Elite. We aren’t going to be ready to talk about or announce any details for quite a while yet, it is early in the development and there is still a long way to go, but I can say that this is something that will be scheduled to release a considerable time after the final update in theBeyond series. We will have more details on exactly what this means and how the era will roll out after the release of Beyond – Chapter Four, but this does mark some exciting next steps and a continued commitment to the long term vision for the game and our community."[18]
When Wolvie said "Thanks for the update Zac, it's good to hear some honest comments as things have been quiet for several months on the Focused Feedback. I'm a Beta Backer with Lifetime Expansion Pass and have always seen Elites development as a journey not a race, I'm looking forward to what comes next."[19]
Antonaci responded:"Thanks Wolvie, I hope you enjoy the next leg of the journey."[20]
https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/File:Commander_Chronicles_Lift-Off
On June 26, 2018, Frontier released the cinematic video Commander Chronicles: Lift-Off. This was the first time that we could clearly see a pilot walk in-game. It shows a commander walking on a landing pad in a station. He uses a lift to get to the entry door of the krait MkII. The door opens and he walks inside. There are 2 other pilots in the cockpit. He proceeds to sit in the pilot seat. The ship lifts off, departs the station and jumps into hyperspace.[21]

well i am reassured somehow :) thanks for that

i remember few months ago with the roadmap leak (space leg + base building).
Seems believable since the other FD project were spot on in the leak.
it is indeed a long way, i and really hope they can do it sooner than later.

It's just sometimes you lose the faith, i think i needed to be reassured

giphy.gif
 
Alright if we're talking about Space Legs, there's a very good reason FD is going to go for it. Well, there's many good reasons, but on the business end, there's a lot of motivation.

Firstly, it would mean a lot more player interactions, as presumably it would create hubs where it would be relevant to see others and undergo related activities. Let's assume it's surface-level; no combat, very simple, just some interactions and the ability to tour ships. Low-impact.

Well, that would cause the desire for cosmetics to bump up a bit, thanks to increased interactions. That's "mo money" as the kids say it, I presume. More incentive to decorate your Commander and ship if somebody can really get up close to them.

Then we dip our toes into combat. Well, that comes with weapons, maybe even armor. More cosmetics, right there. If the combat is snappy and satisfying enough (sound design and feedback are so important) it'll be a big draw, and you'll want to stand out with a cool space-jacket.

No way it'll be part of Horizons, it would be much better and smarter to put it at the forefront of a new expansion, because it will get more attention that way, and be more impactful than just a patch. Good visibility.

Anyway lots of incentive to put out new features because it expands the appeal of the game. Hell, slap a battle royale on Space Legs and that was sarcasm don't do that c'mon now.
 
They could stop development on new features right now and I'd be perfectly happy with the game if they would JUUUUUUUUUST fix all the bugs and tie up the loose ends with regards to the interconnectedness of already existing play mechanics (hi there, Codex!). Flesh out the existing stuff, make it work properly, and call it a day. There are so many promising features that have been released as cracked and broken paper-thin shells, then abandoned forever. It makes it impossible for me to be excited about any upcoming content.

Fleet Carriers are gonna stink, guys. We all know it, let's not lie to ourselves here. Space Legs, Atmospheric Landings, or whatever FPS space-marines starship troopers thingy they do next is also gonna stink, because it'll release broken and be abandoned after two basic and incomplete bug patches in three weeks.

If Frontier even once demonstrated a commitment to seeing one of their ideas through to its conclusion, rather than tossing it out and saying "good enough" while ignoring all feedback, bug reports, etc; I would have a completely different view on this. They are the worst I have ever seen in this regard, excluding companies which rightly went out of business for similar blundering.

I guess the annual results are supposed to indicate that their strategy of microtransactions and neglect is paying off, so it seems like it'll be business as usual going forward?

And I'll reiterate: Elite Dangerous is already an awesome game Right Now except for the fact that it's broken, buggy, unbalanced, disconnected garbage. Which is why people have always been so passionately frustrated with the game as opposed to just dumping it outright. The bones of the game are good, it's the meat of the game that is weak. The answer is not "more bones!"

Bring on maintenance mode I say.
 
They could stop development on new features right now and I'd be perfectly happy with the game if they would JUUUUUUUUUST fix all the bugs and tie up the loose ends with regards to the interconnectedness of already existing play mechanics (hi there, Codex!). Flesh out the existing stuff, make it work properly, and call it a day. There are so many promising features that have been released as cracked and broken paper-thin shells, then abandoned forever. It makes it impossible for me to be excited about any upcoming content.

Fleet Carriers are gonna stink, guys. We all know it, let's not lie to ourselves here. Space Legs, Atmospheric Landings, or whatever FPS space-marines starship troopers thingy they do next is also gonna stink, because it'll release broken and be abandoned after two basic and incomplete bug patches in three weeks.

If Frontier even once demonstrated a commitment to seeing one of their ideas through to its conclusion, rather than tossing it out and saying "good enough" while ignoring all feedback, bug reports, etc; I would have a completely different view on this. They are the worst I have ever seen in this regard, excluding companies which rightly went out of business for similar blundering.

I guess the annual results are supposed to indicate that their strategy of microtransactions and neglect is paying off, so it seems like it'll be business as usual going forward?

And I'll reiterate: Elite Dangerous is already an awesome game Right Now except for the fact that it's broken, buggy, unbalanced, disconnected garbage. Which is why people have always been so passionately frustrated with the game as opposed to just dumping it outright. The bones of the game are good, it's the meat of the game that is weak. The answer is not "more bones!"

Bring on maintenance mode I say.

It's rather common that development and troubleshooting/bug fixes are two different entities within a developer. It's like not putting gas in your car because your lawn mower isn't working; not exactly related.
 
They could stop development on new features right now and I'd be perfectly happy with the game if they would JUUUUUUUUUST fix all the bugs and tie up the loose ends with regards to the interconnectedness of already existing play mechanics (hi there, Codex!). Flesh out the existing stuff, make it work properly, and call it a day. There are so many promising features that have been released as cracked and broken paper-thin shells, then abandoned forever. It makes it impossible for me to be excited about any upcoming content.

Fleet Carriers are gonna stink, guys. We all know it, let's not lie to ourselves here. Space Legs, Atmospheric Landings, or whatever FPS space-marines starship troopers thingy they do next is also gonna stink, because it'll release broken and be abandoned after two basic and incomplete bug patches in three weeks.

If Frontier even once demonstrated a commitment to seeing one of their ideas through to its conclusion, rather than tossing it out and saying "good enough" while ignoring all feedback, bug reports, etc; I would have a completely different view on this. They are the worst I have ever seen in this regard, excluding companies which rightly went out of business for similar blundering.

I guess the annual results are supposed to indicate that their strategy of microtransactions and neglect is paying off, so it seems like it'll be business as usual going forward?

And I'll reiterate: Elite Dangerous is already an awesome game Right Now except for the fact that it's broken, buggy, unbalanced, disconnected garbage. Which is why people have always been so passionately frustrated with the game as opposed to just dumping it outright. The bones of the game are good, it's the meat of the game that is weak. The answer is not "more bones!"

Bring on maintenance mode I say.

well i wouldn't be extreme like this

i'm looking forward for space legs but not in a FPS way
i don't want to run around with a gun in my hands all the time like HALO, COD or BF
having a gun in Elite should be something special and rare.
Using it against someone should have heavy consequences.

the main goal of space legs should not be to kill (we have our flying guns already) but to contacts, talks, repair, transports, discover, etc

as for the maintenance mode, my lifetime pass tells me to say no :)
 
(Caveite: only read the first few pages).

All you white knights make my laugh. This game is doomed. When Star Citizen comes out in 2069 no-one is going to play this.

I installed it to give it a try, played it a bit for 5 years, bought a Thrust master hotas, pedals and a Vive, to play it and all I can say it doooom.

The devs clearly have no idea what they are doing. Lolwutdooom doooom.
 
i have never seen any official statement about atmos or space legs, but i could have miss it
You are correct. They haven't. They've only ever given out hope in cleverly crafted bureaucratic responses that only politicians would be proud of - using English to extreme vague interpretations with words like "keen to" and "want to see". Funniest part is watching the naïve here eat this up by the spoonful as it's dished out.

To the topic of this post: once again there is nothing of any substance stated for Elite other than it being in sustaining mode. If anything that should concern the fanbase as there continues to be substance about FDev focusing on new franchises (i.e. focused on new titles and not focused on Elite).
 
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well i am reassured somehow :) thanks for that

i remember few months ago with the roadmap leak (space leg + base building).
Seems believable since the other FD project were spot on in the leak.
it is indeed a long way, i and really hope they can do it sooner than later.

It's just sometimes you lose the faith, i think i needed to be reassured

giphy.gif

The fake roadmap "leak", full of information about other games already available from other sources, nearly two months prior, then laced with some Elite-fluff to troll reddit with? That "leak"?
 

sollisb

Banned
They said they would like to do it. After release they said they still wanted to do it. A year after that they said they were planning on doing it. A year after that DB confirmed they already had people working on atmo planets, and they would come.

I am not quite sure what the cause of your uncertainty is, they could not possible have been more clear about them planning it.

Maybe its a more a question of when will see the goods? Soundbites are all fluffy and nice but pretty unbelievable unless they're followed with actions. The talking heads sure talk a great game. Shame frontier can't actually produce it....
 

sollisb

Banned
Alright if we're talking about Space Legs, there's a very good reason FD is going to go for it. Well, there's many good reasons, but on the business end, there's a lot of motivation.

Firstly, it would mean a lot more player interactions, as presumably it would create hubs where it would be relevant to see others and undergo related activities. Let's assume it's surface-level; no combat, very simple, just some interactions and the ability to tour ships. Low-impact.

Well, that would cause the desire for cosmetics to bump up a bit, thanks to increased interactions. That's "mo money" as the kids say it, I presume. More incentive to decorate your Commander and ship if somebody can really get up close to them.

Then we dip our toes into combat. Well, that comes with weapons, maybe even armor. More cosmetics, right there. If the combat is snappy and satisfying enough (sound design and feedback are so important) it'll be a big draw, and you'll want to stand out with a cool space-jacket.

No way it'll be part of Horizons, it would be much better and smarter to put it at the forefront of a new expansion, because it will get more attention that way, and be more impactful than just a patch. Good visibility.

Anyway lots of incentive to put out new features because it expands the appeal of the game. Hell, slap a battle royale on Space Legs and that was sarcasm don't do that c'mon now.

And then, and then, and then.... Let's wait til they actually produce somethign that's playable, not a bugged disjointed mess.
 
The latest 'official' statement was an AMA with David Braben, where he confirmed they had teams working on both space legs and atmo planets.

.

That preliminary work though is called Planet Coaster, JWE, and Planet Zoo :D

Which is actually relevant. Gain experience with those things in other games then bring them over.

Also Braben has given many hints and those damn annoying sly smiles of his when talking about gas giants over the years i'm convinced they have some sort of protypes of gas giants in house. Maybe not good enough to get into game yet, maybe just tech demos, but he likes what he sees.
 
3 years ago!! Three years !!! 100+ developers over 3 years?? And we still don't have them, and we still don't have any delivery insight into them.

beginning to sound like the same team are working on SC....

Umm.. because they are working on multiple things, including things already released and things still to come. Its not like they have 100 people working on just things like atmospherics.

As i just said, i'm guessing that its not even the ED devs working on animal life or possibly even atmospherics.

As i recall, when they had the devs on screen about 4 or 5 years ago talking about Horizons, I got the distinct impression that they had only 2 core people working on non-atmospheric worlds and presumably a number of people assisting with things like textures and models.
 
Also Braben has given many hints and those damn annoying sly smiles of his when talking about gas giants over the years i'm convinced they have some sort of protypes of gas giants in house. Maybe not good enough to get into game yet, maybe just tech demos, but he likes what he sees.
You can also look at the Lagrange Clouds which are in-game (especially the storm clouds). In some ways you could just make them happen when you drop in on a gas giant, with a bit more work to allow them to have a 'depth' direction and a bit more stuff to find and then I struggle to think what more there is to gas giants.
 
I doubt their park games are somehow "staging areas" to prepare features for ED... I think their park games are just different products, and FD's primary focus right now. I think people tend to grossly overestimate ED's importance in FD's future strategy.
 
Lol, hyperbole much? These clowns have 4 times the amount of developers, 10 times the money, and 4 handcrafted planets you can fall trough after 8 years.
8 YEARS !!!11!!1!one!Eleven
They don't. They say that, but it's as evident as their game. One thing's for sure, they certainly don't have 200M$+. People with that kind of money don't need loans or investors.
 
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