With the recent bugged release, the lack of VR support, other issues, and the resulting outcry/hostility.. it got me thinking about FDev and what could have changed from the recently posted old video of DB and his vision. It's like they are actively trying to honk-off the loyal fan base or possibly suffering from multi-personality disorder. They say/promise one thing, and then do another. How many times have we heard "It's like they don't even play their own game" ? Well, "gamers" are gonna game.. and if people ( especially public facing ones ) can't even play their own game, they aren't. And if they're not, what are they ? What has FDev become ?
I've known a few people ( 3 ) who took their companies 'public'.. and when I looked at FDev this way, it all began to make sense. People who loved Elite, and the lore, and the history of the game, they aren't in positions of power within FDev. The people in charge of FDev are the 'suits', the 'Board'. And these nameless cretins must always answer to the 'shareholders'. Decisions aren't being made with respect to gameplay or what looks/feels right for the game. A visionary can't properly create in a business environment, unless the vision is passed thru the corporate gauntlet of committees, focus groups, budget proposals, ROI analysis, and Board votes of approval. Granted, it can swing a bit too much the other way if you put a 'creative' in charge..<cough cough>.. [REDACTED] is a good example, but it's an outlier for AAA games.
DB isn't in charge anymore. He's chained to the board of directors, who in turn are slaves to profit/loss statements generated in the depths of Finance ( the last layer of Hell, into which even Dante dared not venture ).
And when you take this into account, it all begins to make sense.
Staff Turnover ( or Churn ) : Many of the original programmers, and other names, we've known over the years are gone ( or have been muzzled ). Sure, you get some movement, but usually not well known members of the team. This typically happens with "creative differences". Otherwise known as "Management has decided to dumb things down, and you don't have a say anymore". The gaming industry is rife with tales of programmers leaving over creative differences, and it's usually a BAD thing for the game, and even the franchise.
Odyssey Release Date : Was it rushed ? Hell yes. We all know it. The idea that it was pushed to meet a specific financial deadline has been floated. And with a nameless/faceless/soul-less group of suits trying to meet next quarters earnings schedule.. Well.. sure, there you go. FDev was bleeding cash developing the new release, a new earning statement was coming due, and it was 'good enough'. THERE was the decision.
Why an FPS : Again, what's popular ? To people who don't play games, The FPS genre. Therefore, Elite needed an FPS so it could 'compete' and 'expand it's market share'. Plus, [REDACTED] was doing one, so FDev needed one too. This was a 'suit' decision. Discussions about 'space-legs' have been going on for years.. but most of them concerned being able to explore your ship, the station, or the local planet flora/fauna. An FPS was NOT the primary purpose for 'space legs'.
CM Ghosting ( Unicorn sighting ) : Again, when viewed from a corporate perspective, CM's can't speak openly. They have to tout the company line. Can they give answers ? Real ones ? Not without approval from 'higher up'. But ( I can hear the 'buts' already ), they've been much better recently.. of course they have.. Share Price Drop = Projected Earnings Threat = Board Alarm = Suit Panic = Shuffling a corporate mouth piece out there to spin it and mollify the plebes. Of course it will be 'better' now.. but for how long ? Only until the current crisis is over, then it's back to BAU.
MVP and Bug Fixing/ignoring : If you're making money, it isn't broken, therefore you don't need to fix it. Sure, you've got egregious bugs that have to be fixed. But beyond that it goes to the 'maintenance team' that is only responsible for keeping it running. Changing things ? Improving things ? No no no... that has to got thru change management, get approvals and a budget.. that goes into next quarter, to be discussed at the department budget meeting.
ARX : Micro-transactions. Customers who have already bought the game are useless ( they are last quarters/years profits ) You need more sales, and what better way then to put a STORE in the game, to encourage micro-transactions. Suits/Skins/Colors... it's all shiny stuff that takes minor ( very very minor ) coding.
And the list goes on. FDev is corporate now. It's been consumed by Pod People, who look and talk like gamers, but are in reality soul-less minions who'd prefer to curl up with a good spreadsheet and review deferred tax annuity regulations.
CMDRs.. We've been sold out.
I present to you the TRUE masters at FDev :
I've known a few people ( 3 ) who took their companies 'public'.. and when I looked at FDev this way, it all began to make sense. People who loved Elite, and the lore, and the history of the game, they aren't in positions of power within FDev. The people in charge of FDev are the 'suits', the 'Board'. And these nameless cretins must always answer to the 'shareholders'. Decisions aren't being made with respect to gameplay or what looks/feels right for the game. A visionary can't properly create in a business environment, unless the vision is passed thru the corporate gauntlet of committees, focus groups, budget proposals, ROI analysis, and Board votes of approval. Granted, it can swing a bit too much the other way if you put a 'creative' in charge..<cough cough>.. [REDACTED] is a good example, but it's an outlier for AAA games.
DB isn't in charge anymore. He's chained to the board of directors, who in turn are slaves to profit/loss statements generated in the depths of Finance ( the last layer of Hell, into which even Dante dared not venture ).
And when you take this into account, it all begins to make sense.
Staff Turnover ( or Churn ) : Many of the original programmers, and other names, we've known over the years are gone ( or have been muzzled ). Sure, you get some movement, but usually not well known members of the team. This typically happens with "creative differences". Otherwise known as "Management has decided to dumb things down, and you don't have a say anymore". The gaming industry is rife with tales of programmers leaving over creative differences, and it's usually a BAD thing for the game, and even the franchise.
Odyssey Release Date : Was it rushed ? Hell yes. We all know it. The idea that it was pushed to meet a specific financial deadline has been floated. And with a nameless/faceless/soul-less group of suits trying to meet next quarters earnings schedule.. Well.. sure, there you go. FDev was bleeding cash developing the new release, a new earning statement was coming due, and it was 'good enough'. THERE was the decision.
Why an FPS : Again, what's popular ? To people who don't play games, The FPS genre. Therefore, Elite needed an FPS so it could 'compete' and 'expand it's market share'. Plus, [REDACTED] was doing one, so FDev needed one too. This was a 'suit' decision. Discussions about 'space-legs' have been going on for years.. but most of them concerned being able to explore your ship, the station, or the local planet flora/fauna. An FPS was NOT the primary purpose for 'space legs'.
CM Ghosting ( Unicorn sighting ) : Again, when viewed from a corporate perspective, CM's can't speak openly. They have to tout the company line. Can they give answers ? Real ones ? Not without approval from 'higher up'. But ( I can hear the 'buts' already ), they've been much better recently.. of course they have.. Share Price Drop = Projected Earnings Threat = Board Alarm = Suit Panic = Shuffling a corporate mouth piece out there to spin it and mollify the plebes. Of course it will be 'better' now.. but for how long ? Only until the current crisis is over, then it's back to BAU.
MVP and Bug Fixing/ignoring : If you're making money, it isn't broken, therefore you don't need to fix it. Sure, you've got egregious bugs that have to be fixed. But beyond that it goes to the 'maintenance team' that is only responsible for keeping it running. Changing things ? Improving things ? No no no... that has to got thru change management, get approvals and a budget.. that goes into next quarter, to be discussed at the department budget meeting.
ARX : Micro-transactions. Customers who have already bought the game are useless ( they are last quarters/years profits ) You need more sales, and what better way then to put a STORE in the game, to encourage micro-transactions. Suits/Skins/Colors... it's all shiny stuff that takes minor ( very very minor ) coding.
And the list goes on. FDev is corporate now. It's been consumed by Pod People, who look and talk like gamers, but are in reality soul-less minions who'd prefer to curl up with a good spreadsheet and review deferred tax annuity regulations.
CMDRs.. We've been sold out.
I present to you the TRUE masters at FDev :
