News Important Community Update

tl:dr
No ice planets and fleet carriers in Q4.
Many words of excitement over some undisclosed mistical content, as per usual.

Sweet new skins in shop tho.
Damn Frontier, what's next, tickets for streams?

You forgot the grind..... more grind!
 

Zac Antonaci

Head of Communications
Frontier
Can you clarify what you are saying about Fleet Carriers and Squadrons?

There seems to be some confusion.

Sure!

Squardons is still a major part of the Beyond - Chapter Four update. However, the fleet carriers specifically were prioritized and unfortunately won't be making it into the Chapter Four update. they may well come in the future and that doesn't mean that they will be paid for content. But as you'll see in the post of mine above, it's a little early to be able to talk about the dates and details at this time. We'll soon be able to share more details on the Beyond - Chapter Four update as a whole. Hope that helps?
 
Thanks Zac, REALLY appreciate the communication. You'll forgive me if what I initially take from that is ..

"This means that some elements of content such as Ice Planets (which many of you will have seen some fantastic progress updates from LaveCon earlier this year) and Fleet Carriers for squadrons will not be coming as part of the Beyond – Chapter Four update."

.. and no premium "paid" content coming this year either. Gutted. Sorry but there it is.
 
As part of pre-production, the team investigate all areas of the content and scope them out thoroughly. It’s important to take the time to be clear on what the vision for this is and how we imagine the content working. During this process, we have made a decision to adjust the focus of content that were previously planned for the Chapter Four update, adding some significant new gameplay, but it also means some other aspects will have to change. This means that some elements of content such as Ice Planets (which many of you will have seen some fantastic progress updates from LaveCon earlier this year) and Fleet Carriers for squadrons will not be coming as part of the Beyond – Chapter Four update. Some of the technology from the ice planets specifically will be used within our wider and global visual upgrade, so there will still be general improvements, but not everything we originally envisaged. However, we wanted you to be aware that these two elements specifically would be reprioritised out of the upcoming Beyond - Chapter Four update. What this does mean is that the rest of the content will be able to benefit for the changes in scheduling through deeper and richer gameplay mechanics. The Chapter Four update still has the same, if not bigger scope and continues to promise the largest update of the Beyond season and a truck load of great features for all Horizons Commanders for free. We’re very excited to be sharing the details with you over the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more info.
Thanks

This sounds like "we're taking out content from Beyond ch.4 and putting it in a future, paid update".

Man, this is disappointing.
 
Thanx Zac, i wish the best to Elite.

I played around 3000 hours and that is best entertaiment investition i ever did. I owe a LEP, but in my gratitude for Your work i surely buy game expansion or game copy to some of my friends.
When i calculate a game price for hours i played and fun i got - its too cheap and too good to stop supporting it by owing a LEP or only by buying a skins.
 
So, Space Legs and planetary landings confirmed after Beyond :D

This feedback is good. Its a shame the planetary ice planet improvements and carriers have been cut, but if this means a better Elite future, then its probably worth while.

I hope exploration is still going to be implemented as originally planned.

Question is: how is 2019 going to shape up - is the mayor new stuff going to be released in 2019, or is 2019 going to be a fairly quite year for Elite with small 3.1 / 3.2 like updates, with the major new things coming in 2020? How long is 'significant'?
 
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Don't want to make a big deal about it but I'm a teensy bit concerned about the focus on multiplayer co-op stuff; multicrew, wing-missions, powerplay, squadrons and carrier ships (that we know of).

You probably wouldn't publish the information for the benefit of us pleb's but I'm sure you can access statistics that show what percentage of the player-base regularly spends a significant proportion of their time in wings and what percentage play alone, in any mode.

Try not to completely lose sight of the concept of a lone pilot making their way in a big, bad galaxy.
That is, after all, the core premise of the franchise.
 
Yeah I suppose some of that tech would also enhance the other airless worlds.

I'm a fan of Elite and support this game. It's just that well if I read between the lines it's: post-pone 2 major features for 2019 and no premium content. There's literally nothing new in this announcement that we haven't heard about before for Beyond Chapter Four.

Yeah. Well, Zac says it will be revealed in upcoming weeks. I guess that's what 3rd October was for.
 
Yeah I suppose some of that tech would also enhance the other planets without atmospheres.

I'm a fan of Elite and support this game. It's just that well if I read between the lines it's: post-pone 2 major features for 2019 and no premium content. There's literally nothing new in this announcement that we haven't heard about before for Beyond Chapter Four.

The part about the reason for postponement, "adding some significant new gameplay" is new. And they delayed release of the premium content in order to make sure they get it right. I'm okay with both of these. Or would you rather they rush it out the door so you can complain about "lack of QA" and "not enough time spent on finishing it properly"?
 
Is it saying that they've cut stuff out of Beyond but don't worry because exciting stuff is still coming?

I'm looking forward to hearing about that stuff.
 
Greetings Commanders,

First of all, we would like to take a moment to thank you all for the continued support and making Elite Dangerous the incredible, community driven, phenomenon that it is today.

We started our Elite Dangerous journey over 6 years ago and today hundreds of thousands of Commanders log in regularly to continue their epic space journey. From a personal perspective, joining the team shortly after the kickstarter, and being a part of this incredible community has truly been one of the most amazing highlights of my career. From in-person community meet ups, online community groups and jaw-dropping events, you have always inspired us with your passion and enthusiasm.

Dude, you should start a post like this with a disclaimer that no, you are not leaving the company. This totally sounds like the introduction to one of those lengthy community manager goodbye posts. :D

We do have one exciting piece of news to share that to date, we have not shared with our community. 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 the Beyond 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.

So you have exciting news but are not ready yet to tell us what the exciting news actually are... not really exciting from our perspective. :p

Another area that we’ve had a number of questions on is the “premium content” coming in 2018.

As many of you will know, we previously mentioned that premium (paid for) content would also be coming within the Beyond season of updates and that Lifetime Expansion Pass holders would be getting this for free. However, as we went through the early stages of what the next era for Elite Dangerous would be, we decided that it would be better to spend that additional time on the future content, rather than bringing new types of purchasable content out this year.

And there you do it again, make it sound like you are about to say what it's going to be, only you aren't.

You're really a tease. :p
 
Great update! As a kickstarter backer at the LEP level, I'm glad to hear we haven't been forgotten. :)

I can live without fleet carriers and beautified ice planets for a while, if it means everything else goes well. I'm seriously much more interested in the new exploration mechanics... like obsessively curious, beyond what we already know about the new DSS probes. ;)
 
As long as QA gets a good shake up and the long standing bugs get fixed. All's good for me. Top of the icing would be scale up interdictions difficulty just a notch to make PVE combat less optional. Put some challenge back into the game that was there before. Not silly hard like it was once just a tad harder.

I'm happy to hear from a member of the team again.
 

Zac Antonaci

Head of Communications
Frontier
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.

Thanks Wolvie, I hope you enjoy the next leg of the journey. :)
 
Ooooh! Jam tomorrow! … Again! :)

However, the fleet carriers specifically were prioritized and unfortunately won't be making it into the Chapter Four update. they may well come in the future and that doesn't mean that they will be paid for content

I note the use of the word 'may' there... ;)
 
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