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

[WinterKing2112]

That's perfectly normal, happens to (almost) every game. In fact, most games would have a decreasing player base while Elite is a notable exception.

Not really, since the game isn't subscription based. It's enough if some people buy the game, a paintjob and maybe the next expansion.
Anyway, we don't know if the player base is growing or not. If Steam Charts shows 4000 concurrent players for August 2019 and 4000 concurrent players for August 2018 there is no way to know if the player base increased, decreased or remained the same because it doesn't take the time people spend in game into account. If the average time / day / player is 1 hour there are 96k active players on Steam. If it's 2 hours there are only 48k active players on Steam. The question is, can we assume that the time an average player spends in game stays the same 5 years after release?

PS
When the game was released I almost played it every day, sometimes for hours. 5 years later I play it for 2 hours a week. I am still an active part of the player base though.

PPS
That doesn't mean the game would be without issues, perfect and that Frontier did everything right. There are a lot of issues and lots of very questionable decisions. It's just that Steamcharts are no proof for your argument (whatever it is). If someone would claim that the game needs cockpit cats (me) and that FDEV are incompetent for not implementing them (me again) and shows a Steamcharts chart as proof he didn't actually made a point, he just made himself look silly (still me).

Every ship needs at least one ship's cat, or else the rats will chew thru the wiring and water pipes, causing all sorts of problems during PvP.....

 

[WinterKing2112]

those are, for the most part, QOL content.
i agree it deserved a whole dedicated update, but not 4 to 5 years to get what we got.

Kickstarter started in Nov 5, 2012, the game came out in Dec 16, 2014
let's give them one extra year for margin error, heck, let's say they started the dev in 2010

So i took 4 years to create the Elite we got when it got out more or less. Sounds very ok to me. They must have worked hard no doubts.

After the game came out, the only real new stuff we had was horizons with the SRV, the rest was mostly QOL.

if you compare the first 4 years (from 2010 to 2014) and compare from the last 4 years (from 2015 to 2019) the quantity and quality of content is not equal. And It shouldn't even be equal, it should be superior since FD made a ton of money since release.

We still can't change the color HUD, we still need to use Dr Kaii app or Arkku website...

I'm just disappointed, if you are happy with the pace of development, good for you, i envy you.
I was expecting more from FD but i guess that's my fault.

You didn't mention The Engineers!

 

[babelfisch]

It might, but on the other hand I don't think Planet Zoo having crocodile pools means "Water Worlds Confirmed!!". If they wanted to add, say, water to ED's planets, they would add water to ED's planets with or without water in their other games. It's not like things like water, clouds, weather or moving creatures is some kind of groudbreaking breakthrough by now. I'm under the impression we can already observe those kins of things in at least another game or two.

Actually it is when it's procedurally generated on your own engine. If you want to make a pool in Cry Engine or Unity, sure, that's easy. Even I could do it with a level editor and 30 minutes of tutorials. But this would be all you get...

 

[WinterKing2112]

very well then
this video was aimed to raise money for the kickstarter, it was the scope of the game back in 2012.
It's 2019 and the "wants" and "intentions" are not here yet.

So can we say they failed to make the game they wanted ?
did their intentions failed ?
Did they just use words we all wanted to hear ?

He had a lot of great ideas, many of them have not been realised yet. Here's hoping some of these ideas arrive in 2020! Meanwhile I am enjoying what they have done so far.

 

[WinterKing2112]

Not if those expectations are there in black and white on the KickStarter page.

Do you have a copy of that?

 

[babelfisch]

Some points accepted.

Horizons was paid for, by the consumer, it was meant to be a product released over 4 quaters, which in fact took 2 years, They [fdev] decided to spend a year 'cleaning up' and alongside release 'QoL' improvements.

I could go through each and every one, and show that they were released with bugs and simple lack of QC. But we both know, i'd be wasting my aging fingers

I agree one is reaming every cent they can, and I also beleive there will be a 'day of answering' for the publisher. But in relation to Elite in common is the 'coming soon' type approach meted out by the talking heads.

o7

So you paid for 1 year dev time and updates but actually got 3 years for your initial purchase without further cost? Sounds like you made an aweseome deal. Unless you don't like the game of course...

 

[babelfisch]

If that were actually the case, then never so many took so long to do so little.

Says who?

 

[babelfisch]

FDev called it a Season - and Elite: Dangerous Horizons' original schedule set 2.1 in the Spring 2016, 2.2 - Guardians for Summer 2016, and 2.3 - The Commanders for Autumn 2016.

The unnamed (at the time) 2.4 did not have a release window.

Funny how folk could’ve expected 2.4 to be a Winter 2016 thing, especially after Mr B’s “Winter is coming” remark :/

It looks like you aren't aware that Season is a term that is used in TV shows, like Game Of Thrones and has absolutely nothing to do with meteorological seasons. That's where the term Season Pass in video games comes from, which doesn't have anything to do with the weather either. Coincidentally the phrase 'Winter is coming' also comes from a TV show and it also doesn't have anything to do with the weather.

 

[WinterKing2112]

When ever a company takes an action it's reputation is at stake.

So, if my company decided to put a food vending machine on every floor except for the third floor, or order less paper clips next month, my company's reputation is at stake? You ever run a company?

 

[WinterKing2112]

indeed...... I still live in hope

Why not wing up with some real people?

 

[WinterKing2112]

But there are plenty of things that Frontier have talked about and haven't implemented, ship damage models, gas giant atmospheres, etc.

After nigh on a decade of development, wouldn't you have expected more than the original base game release?

We have a lot more than the original base game release.

 

[Arioch]

It looks like you aren't aware that Season is a term that is used in TV shows, like Game Of Thrones and has absolutely nothing to do with meteorological seasons. That's where the term Season Pass in video games comes from, which doesn't have anything to do with the weather either. Coincidentally the phrase 'Winter is coming' also comes from a TV show and it also doesn't have anything to do with the weather.

Season? What that word? It comes from TV land? Is that like a Series or something? Please, do educate me further...

Regarding the original quarterly delivery estimates for Horizons (from FDev themselves), you know, Spring, Summer & Autumn 2016? Can you not possibly, conceiveably, just a little bit, think how some people might just have thought “Winter is Coming” implied a Winter release? Like, not the Winter the year after?

 

[WinterKing2112]

Those goalposts look heavy, remember to lift with your back.

 

[WinterKing2112]

As I said
I’m not upset nor angry, just disappointed

You can keep your oatlandish comments for someone else.

What's "oatlandish"? Sounds like a breakast cereal. Is it tasty?

 

[WinterKing2112]

Isn't it lift with your legs? Still getting the basics wrong I see

I think he wants you to hurt yourself. Which is pretty mean of him. Bad Stigbob, bad!

 

[WinterKing2112]

Definitely your back, in a twisting jerking motion.

 

[WinterKing2112]

Given that the goalposts are metaphorical you would be very hard pushed to actually injure yourself, don't let that stop you feigning outrage though.

 

[WinterKing2112]

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.

Looking forward to getting ganked in space legs!

 

[CMDR CPT. Boris]

What's "oatlandish"? Sounds like a breakast cereal. Is it tasty?

he was making a joke about being cereal, it thought a pun was in order, unless you already knew this

edit : typo

 

[WinterKing2112]

Oh I dread to think my total hours in the galaxy of Elite, it's close to yours if not greater, and I still say Astoundingly brilliant graphically, poor everywhere else.

o7

You obviously hate ED. So why are you on the forum telling us how much you hate ED? Should you not be playing something you don't hate? Or God forbid, actually doing something useful with your life?