No, they'll use the 'plans change' or 'it was true at the time, but not possible now' argument.From Newsletter #50 -
Could the server code be released publicly some day when the servers are shut down?
Yes. This is something we would do if for whatever reason we cannot keep the game going.
I hope no one thinks about using the “but they didn’t say ‘promise’” arguement
Is it still too early, to ask for an offline game mode again?
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Exactly. Making ED offline would be dreadful unless they dramatically reduced the amount of factions and populated systems so that your PC and manage NPC effected systems.
Maybe if it did go offline someone could make a mode to do that.
Thing is, I don't believe it. I think it's just marketing speak. Like engineers being only "mild upgrades".From Newsletter #50 -
Could the server code be released publicly some day when the servers are shut down?
Yes. This is something we would do if for whatever reason we cannot keep the game going.
I hope no one thinks about using the “but they didn’t say ‘promise’” argument
You'd need entire new system to simulate environment and economy. That isn't done from scratch by modders.
You totally missed that it was a joke didn't you?
I was just adding to your joke. But added a semi serious bit at the end.
Well if the day comes and David Braben’s statement & Offline Mode Q&A information no longer hold true, feel free to give me a hearty “told you so” and I shall give the biggest thumbing up possible to your comments
Something to bear in mind here, though, is that "release the server code" and "have a working offline version" have quite a gap between them. It's highly unlikely to be a case of "we can't keep it running, so here's a neatly packaged version for you to use on your desktops".From Newsletter #50 -
Could the server code be released publicly some day when the servers are shut down?
Yes. This is something we would do if for whatever reason we cannot keep the game going.
I hope no one thinks about using the “but they didn’t say ‘promise’” argument
Let's take a reasonable best case (and it could be a fair bit worse while still meeting that commitment):
- Frontier intends to keep to this commitment
- Frontier does not go bankrupt before it can (its creditors would not be legally obliged to, and so probably wouldn't)
- they release a "last client patch" to Elite Dangerous which lets you specify the server addresses in a config file (or through an in-app interface, for consoles)
- they don't have time or budget to do any further work on making it easy for people to run the servers, or modify the client to reduce its dependence on them. Maybe we get some documentation.
- they release at best a limited data file for those servers ("no personal data" is pretty likely, for example) and perhaps none at all
- they don't release the client source (because they want to keep Cobra private for their own games)
- they do release the server source under a license which allows further modification by the community to keep it running (rather than a "you can look, but you'll have to do a clean rewrite of your own server code to the same APIs" license)
If Frontier can't afford to keep the servers running, that means that the operating costs of the servers and the staff costs to support them are exceeding both income directly from ED and however much cross-subsidy they're willing to put in from other franchises.
So the community will need to:
- figure out how the servers actually work and get them compiled and running
- maybe fill back in some data to them
- (a lot of this in the dark as the ED client probably won't run until most of the servers are working so testing is going to be tricky)
- either subsidise the operating costs for some sort of hosted solution (which is going to be expensive and Frontier has by definition come to a point where it can't afford it so a bunch of players in their spare time are going to find it tougher), or more likely figure out some additional changes to let them run locally in a way that an average gamer can install
- work out ways to automate any bits that Frontier currently has someone prod manually, work out ways to run daily/weekly updates without requiring the player to keep the server processes running 24/7.
That's a lot of work - I'd expect it to potentially take years to get to the point where people can play ED again (especially bearing in mind that if ED stops being profitable for Frontier, that implies a much smaller community of players than now, so fewer people interested and capable of working on it).
Yes, all very good points and possibilities for the future.
I’d hope that future hardware will help mitigate some of the issues, and I look at some fans’ current work in getting old MMOs working with an impressed expression on my face, which might help with some of the others.
If any code does get released I’d expect it to be a bare minimum deal, though perhaps we’ll be experiencing another space game drought like we had in the early oughts and clever fans will be all over it
We'll be long gone by thenWell if the day comes and David Braben’s statement & Offline Mode Q&A information no longer hold true, feel free to give me a hearty “told you so” and I shall give the biggest thumbing up possible to your comments
Hardware doesn't do it. It'd need CODING to make the economy and environment dynamic. That doesn't manifest magically in a new, more powerful computer. Without that it's a static wasteland.Yes, all very good points and possibilities for the future.
I’d hope that future hardware will help mitigate some of the issues, and I look at some fans’ current work in getting old MMOs working with an impressed expression on my face, which might help with some of the others.
If any code does get released I’d expect it to be a bare minimum deal, though perhaps we’ll be experiencing another space game drought like we had in the early oughts and clever fans will be all over it
When referring to hardware, I was thinking more about running a local server as well as the game on the same machine (mind you, during the networking video it was mentioned that the BGS was “running on a couple of cores” in the background, so maybe we wouldn’t need too much extra oomph).
I’ll raise a glass to you anyway - I intend on still being aroundWe'll be long gone by then
I’m currently back in driving seat of a Cobra III courtesy of a ZX Spectrum emulator and also F:E2 DOSbox (as I never actually reached Elite in either of them), so I do like my Elite itch given a right good scratching. I think it’d be a shame to lose the latest version to the digital æther.
OK, but that's not really what I'd call offline.When referring to hardware, I was thinking more about running a local server as well as the game on the same machine (mind you, during the networking video it was mentioned that the BGS was “running on a couple of cores” in the background, so maybe we wouldn’t need too much extra oomph).
I’ll raise a glass to you anyway - I intend on still being around
I’m currently back in driving seat of a Cobra III courtesy of a ZX Spectrum emulator and also F:E2 DOSbox (as I never actually reached Elite in either of them), so I do like my Elite itch given a right good scratching. I think it’d be a shame to lose the latest version to the digital æther.
I would, I’ve played games on a LAN where I was running the server and playing the game at the same time, my laptop being fairly beefy for the time. I could’ve done the same without the LAN
I thought that when the macOS client went, shame I thought.
While I empathise with your loss (I wasn’t best pleased when offline was dropped, I spent several days mulling over whether to refund my KS pledge) there is still a way you could get the game working, so it’s not like the game is totally lost.
When I bought my daughter a MacBook Pro I installed Win 10 on it (I paid less than £10 for an OEM version) so she could still play her PC games and I wouldn’t have to cry at further expenditure from rebuying them all.
Commander, you deserve a commendation.
Yahoo. The game works without PSN... I can access solo play! It's not as snappy as on the pc, but it works.
Thank you.
The reason I supported ED in the first place but bait and switch is bait and switch.
Tencent own a 9% stake, Braben still owns 33%.
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why? theres already solo and bandwitch needed for play elite in solo is like 10 megabyte every hour a simple sim card with a couple of giga can be enough using tethering hotspot.