This is my interpretation as well, since I’ve never done anything except solo play. To me this is entirely a single player space sim, so it’s not dead unless It can’t be physically run anymore.
Is ED nearing the end of its lifespan?
- Thread starter Einar Donarsson
- Start date
It's a difficult question. I for one like the ongoing narrative and storyline(s) a lot. I wish they were more interactive than "just" the CGs for the respective storyline every couple of weeks. For example, there could be missions, rewards and fully voiced NPC mission givers. e.g. to support Salvation even between the larger CGs and advances in the story.
Odyssey, broken and buggy as it was, released only about a year ago and introduced new content in terms of Space Legs gameplay. It's just a damn shame that the main focus appears to be on action and combat gameplay, while exploration was indeed left with picking space flowers. I'm still disappointed FDev decided to not include exploration gameplay that utilizes the new game mechanics (cutting panels, hacking terminals, exploring abandonded settlements on foot etc.)
There is a chance that abandoning consoles finally allows FDev to advance Odyssey gameplay to on-foot Thargoid combat....but there it is...it would just be "pew-pew" again, possibly with yet another grind attached to it. Who knows, maybe this new engineering grind takes place in a new type of on-foot Guardian structure (if we get really, really "lucky")?
What I am missing the most is the lack of a proper "mystery" to explore out there. Something that is not wrapped in a storyline, but that requires the community to figure it out all on their own. Finding it, connecting the dots, learning to decipher the mystery one piece at a time. For example, think of discovering those three Guardian bubbles and linking brain trees to the existence of "nearby" Guardian ruins/structures. Stuff like that.
I watched the twitch recording of the livestream yesterday evening and thought: "Well...okay". I'm not really "hyped" or "excited" about the announced "content". It will probably be "alright", but it doesn't feel as if it's going to be a "historical" and "exciting" time like the first appearence of the Thargoid or the discovery of the Guardian ruins. If I can participate in it: "cool". If not, it's also alright and I don't believe I'm going to miss out on something big.
'Key Feature Overhaul' could mean anything and nothing. Most everything in Elite can be in some thought of, as a 'key feature'.. What does overhaul mean here? Fix a few bugs? or a major rewrite?
From what I read, there is nothing new coming down the tracks. That slide is nothing more than a soother to an infant. Not needed but brings comfort.
If they had anything concrete they#d be singing it from the highest mountains, yet all they showed us was a 'slide'. And per FDev's previous form, I wouldn't be clinging to that slide with much hope.
There was meant to be a 10 year road map way back when they took our money, but that seems to have gotten lost along with the bug lists.
Personally, I'd be happy if they left us Horizons, deleted the shooty mac shoot face stuff, and left the servers running.
I like how "Maintenance Mode" is now being redefined from what it actually means, just so people can say Elite is in it. Next the definition of "dead" will be redefined too 
en.wikipedia.org
forums.frontier.co.uk
Maintenance mode - Wikipedia
The roadmap posed yesterday shows Elite development is very much on-going through into 2023, so it's neither dead nor maintenance-moded.
Console Profile Transfers and 2022 Updates
Greetings Commanders, We’d like to thank you all for your patience whilst we’ve been working on our communications and development plans for the remainder of the year. Following the launch of Odyssey, our primary focus has been on performance, optimisation and bug fixing, along with adding...
Yeah, I'd sleep with one eye open around those people. Close both and you'll find yourself in a coffin being told you're dead.I like how "Maintenance Mode" is now being redefined from what it actually means, just so people can say Elite is in it. Next the definition of "dead" will be redefined too
I like how "Maintenance Mode" is now being redefined from what it actually means, just so people can say Elite is in it. Next the definition of "dead" will be redefined too
Maintenance mode - Wikipedia
How 'maintenance mode' and 'game's Dead' are being defined by different people is part of the conversation, it's not a fixed definition.
Looks like the twin spire towers of Cologne cathedral a bit....
Sounds to me like when exploration changed from "fly near and point ship at planet for a time", to the full spectrum- and detailed surface scanners; Or when deep core mining was added to mining; Or the lesser changes to the engineering casino, and to one's ship being flagged as a criminal, rather than its pilot.
Your guess as to which one such key feature might be up next, for such overhaul, is as good as mine.
Everything constantly nears the end of its lifespan. Even the universe.
CQC overhaul? 
Assuming it has one.
![[Diplomacy] Carnegie](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/123/123809.jpg?1553527149){kind=avatar}
No danger of this ever happening to ED
Potato / pot-a-to..I've had my 'key features overhauled' before, and it gave me the FSS, so I'm withholding judgment on whether this item constitutes a plus
3.3 brought the first true upgrade for me, both in the loss of the ADS (in exchange for the much better, in my opinion, FSS / DSS combo) and in gaining better mining tools.
It was also that update that permitted me to find the geo & bio signals, and have fun blowing asteroids into chunks!
You didn't like flying upside-down at 100m as a method for finding geo sites? Some people just want an "I win" button
Edit:
I agree about the mining improvements, although it's still so boooooring
Not in VR, no...You didn't like flying upside-down at 100m as a method for finding geo sites? Some people just want an "I win" button
Ooh. Maybe VR is the key feature? Has anyone done that one yet?Not in VR, no...
Is Cologne nearing the end of its lifespan?
Is Cologne nearing the end of its lifespan?
FWIW, I never knew there was an official definition for maintenance mode. I thought it was a saying, like "around the bend", which might mean different things to different people. Around the bend for an Amish man in his buggy is very different than it is for a NASCAR driver, LOL.
My own personal definition of the phrase has always been "no new content except bug and small QoL fixes" (ie - maintenance), with emphasis on "no new content". So by that definition, I agree, ED is not yet in maintenance mode. Heck, one could argue that as long as Frontier puts out a new paint job every month, that's "new content". It's also a far cry from the early vision shared during the Kickstarter days..
So to the "end of lifespan" question asked in the OP's title, as someone getting older myself and noticeably slowing down, I completely understand why people think that. Of course I could live another 30 years and still technically be alive. Maybe a better question to ask is, "Are Elite's best years behind it?" at least from a "new features to get excited about" perspective.