News Lifetime Expansion Pass Holders - Update!

[babelfisch]

I'm sorry, I may be out of the loop here.... Are you saying that there will not be future expansions that owners of non-LEP Elite Dangerous will have to buy? They are getting free?!

As far as I can see nowhere in Wills post does it say the LEP is finished and or that is the only thing LEP owners will be getting.

Not sure why people are getting hot under the collar at the moment.

Here is what they said:

'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.

Naturally, there will be community questions that might come up from this information. We aren’t going to be ready to talk about what method or model the content will be. What we can say is that it’s expected to be a major milestone in the history of Elite and will be paid content. Lifetime Expansion owners will obviously receive the content as part of their pass.'

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/444800-Important-Community-Update

 

[metatheurgist]

Cheers. Look forward to getting my freebies.

As far as I can see nowhere in Wills post does it say the LEP is finished and or that is the only thing LEP owners will be getting.

Not sure why people are getting hot under the collar at the moment.

That's the default goto mode of 'net users.

 

[Slopey]

EH?? I've paid for the ongoing seasons, other people haven't and will now receive exactly the same thing!

Other people will not receive the same content unless they pay for it. Those of us who have the LEP will receive all future paid content for free.

Of course they'll receive the same thing, but it will cost them money (if they choose to buy it), where as LEP holders will not have to pay for it.

I don't understand why you're outraged that the LEP is working as expected? Future paid content has already been mentioned, so there will be further updates which LEP holders will not be charged for.

 

[Sylow]

I think they are new as this was in the OP - "Each item we're sending your way is completely new and has never before been on sale, so we know that each LEP owner will get the 100% of the value from the bundle."

.
Yea, me blind. Or rather, already forgot that part again when I started writing. Thanks for pointing it out.
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So, let's see what we actually get.
.

 

[kpmop]

But you haven't seen the extent of the Lifetime Pass yet.... It's only just started to get going. We got Horizons for free and everyone else had to buy it as an expansion and the next one we'll get for free and so on. I don't know what you expected?

Well yeah if you count 3 years ago as "only just"! I can see why someone'd be upset, though if they've been playing for 3 years, holding on for a few more months to see what's coming can't be that much hardship (assuming FD make an anouncement in the near future, maybe once Beyond is out) ...

As the bobbleheads and paintjobs. I'm with Babelfisch on this one.

 

[nrage]

Meanwhile, as I've stated many times before: the core disgruntlement is a lack of roadmap towards delivery of the promoted features (atmos landings, space legs, ship boarding, etc) that CMDRs supported development of by buying the LEP in the first place.

To be fair, we purchased the LEP without this information and with no promise/guarantee to ever get this information.

We purchased with the understanding that we would get all future paid expansions for free. We actually gambled on the exact number of those expansions and whether this would prove to be good value for money. For example as I purchased the £120 version of the LEP (I wish I'd taken the earlier gamble at £30) I gambled on at least 3-4 more expansions coming along. As Beyond was free, I still need those 3-4 expansions in order to "win" in my gamble. I am still fairly confident I will "win" this gamble as Elite appears (to me) to still be going strong with plenty of scope for expansion.

I am also confident for another reason, that being that Frontier have always looked after their customers. So, even if the worse case occurred and we got no more expansions after the one in development now, or even if that expansion was canned for technical reasons, I would "expect" frontier to look after us, perhaps with a discount on a future product (Elite Dangerous v2 anyone?) or similar. I would prefer more Elite expansions, but as I technically wasn't promised them I would just have to get over the fact that I lost my bet.

 

[Kittykat]

Fdev,

Could you please clarify things are as Sir.Tj speculates. Are there going to be further expansions which are to be paid for as normal by non pass holders but 'free' to LEP holders. Or is Beyond the last chapter, or do you intend to make future expansions free to everyone like Beyond. Your post Will is hazy on details, are the store items a closure to the LEP or an 'apology for the delay in releases'. If the latter, then I really think things should be clarified, all this secrecy and vagueness is incredibly annoying.

If we are to receive future chapters free, then I apologise, although not ecstatic, I understand. At the very least, I think communication has been very poor here.

 

[JeffRyan]

Beyond has been pretty big in itself and it has been absolutely free. You can't make it more free for LEP holders. Give them some time while they plan to for the next series of updates.

Oh, don't misunderstand me, I'm not complaining. I agree with the decision to make Beyond Free and the need to update the game in core areas that were lacking. But I do feel we need to move Beyond Beyond. I don't care if content is free or paid for, having a LEP, I get it the same and don't feel cheated. But I want big changes like atmospheric planets, gas giants, space legs, WHATEVER.

 

[America Shaftoe]

DB Bobble is the only Bobble required or desired...Lol! I hope the paint jobs are universal because getting skins for a ship I don't have or want is meh.

Edit: I added the Snowflake and Snowman to accompany the DB Bobble...Good Stuff!

 

[babelfisch]

Other people will not receive the same content unless they pay for it. Those of us who have the LEP will receive all future paid content for free.

Of course they'll receive the same thing, but it will cost them money (if they choose to buy it), where as LEP holders will not have to pay for it.

I don't understand why you're outraged that the LEP is working as expected? Future paid content has already been mentioned, so there will be further updates which LEP holders will not be charged for.

Probably he is just annoyed that he will get some free stuff while waiting on the next free stuff instead of getting no free stuff until the next free stuff arrives. I agree that the current bonus free stuff isn't anything I'd tell my friends about but it's still better than nothing.

 

[Raven Blackwood]

Not a LEP buyer but I think they (LEP buyers) would've been a lot, LOT happier if these cosmetics had been completely rare and unobtainable by the rest of us.

 

[TaoZero5]

EH?? I've paid for the ongoing seasons, other people haven't and will now receive exactly the same thing! What on Earth is wrong with you people. Is Fdev THAT exalted that it means you switch your brains off? ......

I thought it became clear fairly early on that there were Updates to the core game as well as Expansions (like Horizons). Perhaps it's not so clear exactly what Seasons are.
Those who have the LEP will get the paid-for Expansions without having to pay extra. Everyone will get the Updates to the core game (and they are free, I think)
I just got given some free stuff because it's taken longer than 'expected' to bring out the next paid-for Expansion. Bonus!

When I bought the Lifetime Expansion Pack I thought that my lifetime would probably run out before the game's lifetime does. I'll probably be really annoyed when that happens - all you people still with lifetimes.

 

[babelfisch]

Fdev,

Could you please clarify things are as Sir.Tj speculates. Are there going to be further expansions which are to be paid for as normal by non pass holders but 'free' to LEP holders. Or is Beyond the last chapter, or do you intend to make future expansions free to everyone like Beyond. Your post Will is hazy on details, are the store items a closure to the LEP or an 'apology for the delay in releases'. If the latter, then I really think things should be clarified, all this secrecy and vagueness is incredibly annoying.

If we are to receive future chapters free, then I apologise, although not ecstatic, I understand. At the very least, I think communication has been very poor here.

They already did and I quoted them above.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...ders-Update!?p=7234050&viewfull=1#post7234050

 

[Sir.Tj]

Here is what they said:

'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.

Naturally, there will be community questions that might come up from this information. We aren’t going to be ready to talk about what method or model the content will be. What we can say is that it’s expected to be a major milestone in the history of Elite and will be paid content. Lifetime Expansion owners will obviously receive the content as part of their pass.'

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/444800-Important-Community-Update

Have a read of the following.

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.

We wanted to take a moment to talk about a number of topics being discussed in the community and to be as open and transparent as possible. It’s a long read, so make sure you’re safely docked and comfortable before attempting to navigate this post.

The things we’d like to go through include Chapter Four content and a little about a future beyond “Beyond”, as well as touching on the subject of “paid premium content” in 2018 for Lifetime Expansion Pass owners.

Let’s get started with Chapter Four content. As all of you know, our largest update of the year is in final development and will be available for players to get hands-on with in just a number of weeks (Some time in Q4).This will be the final update of 2018 and the Beyond season. The Beyond season was always something that we wanted to do in order to bring even more enhancements to the core experience of Elite and being able to dedicate a full development team (over 100 people!) for a full year of free content was specifically to gear ourselves up to support our long term vision for the game.
On a personal note, Squadrons is something I’m most excited by. Seeing our player groups grow and the stories they’ve created has been incredible and now being able to see them take that to the next level, formalize their groups in-game, TAG up and team up is something I’m really looking forward to.

There’s also a huge group of players who are most excited by the many new additions to exploration. I know from talking to so many of you online and in-person, this is a huge moment and the development team are working really hard to deliver new content and mechanics to give explorers that thrill of venturing out into the black. And then there’s even more with additions with significant mining enhancements, a full game visual upgrade and the Codex which all bring even more richness to the game experience and depth to the way people play. It’s certainly an update we’re all very excited to see the community explore.

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.

Naturally, there will be community questions that might come up from this information. We aren’t going to be ready to talk about what method or model the content will be. What we can say is that it’s expected to be a major milestone in the history of Elite and will be paid content. Lifetime Expansion owners will obviously receive the content as part of their pass.

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.

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.

This is a big positive for the long term future of the game and its content. However, we also understand that there are people with Lifetime Expansion Passes who haven’t received paid for content in this season, because Beyond has been free to all owners of Horizons. We truly appreciate the support and commitment that those owners put in us when they purchased the LEP and we will be making sure that there is a form of free store content going out to them by the end of this year.

The most important thing we would like for our community to take from this, is that there are some incredibly exciting things just over the horizon. The Elite Dangerous development team is larger than it has been at any point in the last 6 years. It is thanks to your continued support, dedication, feedback and engagement that has made this possible. We have the Beyond Chapter Four update coming soon, our largest update in the Beyond season, with some awesome headline features and a fantastically promising future of content and ongoing development. We’re looking forward to sharing more details with you in the future. However, if you have any questions feel free to share them with us by posting in this thread and we’ll try and answer as many of them as we can.

Thanks

 

[babelfisch]

Have a read of the following.

Not sure why, since it's the very same quote I just posted.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Are these the same festive bobbleheads as the ones in the store? (Christmas tree, Santa in a Sidey)

 

[Allitnil]

That's a pretty unreasonable approach since the lifetime of the game isn't over yet and they are currently in full production of the next paid major expansion. The skins and bobbleheads are just their way to say sorry for the long time it takes them to deliver ther promised content.

When the LEP went on sale at the end of 2015 the expectation was that the game would last for around 10 years and there would be a paid expansion every couple of years or maybe even more often. 5 paid expansions made sense of the 4 * £30 advance payment with the gamble that it could be 4 or 6+ or that we would be bored of the game long before even 4 got released. Right now it seems like there may be only 3 or 4 at the most.

I for one largely purchased the LEP because I reckoned that it would not only help support future development but if ED was a commercial success then it would hopefully encourage other similar games. Neither of those have exactly happened as FDev have run away from paid content with only promises of jam tomorrow and other developers haven't considered the genre worth their time. C'est la vie, but FDev have lost out from this as well since there will be fewer people prepared to trust them with advance payments in the future.

As for the free stuff, my reaction is "meh". I have little interest in paint jobs and zero in bobbleheads. If they really want to give some free stuff as a sop to the LEP holders then why not give some store credit so people can choose what to spend it on?

 

[nrage]

... Are there going to be further expansions which are to be paid for as normal by non pass holders but 'free' to LEP holders. ... If we are to receive future chapters free, then I apologise, although not ecstatic, I understand. At the very least, I think communication has been very poor here.

There are definitely future paid expansion(s) coming which we will get for free. To be clear, there is at least 1 future paid expansion currently in development, the one coming after Beyond, that we will get for free.
David Braben originally talked about Elite Dangerous having a 10 year plan (not a promise/guarantee, just an indication of intent), so we ought to get a number of paid expansions for free over the coming years. 10 years after release (2014) is 2024, so assuming 1 paid expansion per 1-1.5 years we're looking at 4-6 more paid expansions that we get for free, and if so we get a great deal on the amount we paid.

 

[babelfisch]

When the LEP went on sale at the end of 2015 the expectation was that the game would last for around 10 years and there would be a paid expansion every couple of years or maybe even more often. 5 paid expansions made sense of the 4 * £30 advance payment with the gamble that it could be 4 or 6+ or that we would be bored of the game long before even 4 got released. Right now it seems like there may be only 3 or 4 at the most.

I for one largely purchased the LEP because I reckoned that it would not only help support future development but if ED was a commercial success then it would hopefully encourage other similar games. Neither of those have exactly happened as FDev have run away from paid content with only promises of jam tomorrow and other developers haven't considered the genre worth their time. C'est la vie, but FDev have lost out from this as well since there will be fewer people prepared to trust them with advance payments in the future.

As for the free stuff, my reaction is "meh". I have little interest in paint jobs and zero in bobbleheads. If they really want to give some free stuff as a sop to the LEP holders then why not give some store credit so people can choose what to spend it on?

It doesn't really matter what people imagined.

Anyway, I do agree on the store credit thing.

 

[Kittykat]

Ok, I see. Then I apologise to Fdev. Rage mode cancelled.

I've been away from the game for a bit so I think I've missed that. The Bobbleheads and paintjobs are a reasonable gesture then, thank you. I don't mind waiting for future updates, but I do want to see something for such a price tag. I still think for those not able to follow every single post all the time it would be helpful to edit the original post and put people's concerns at ease.
Thank you for the info.

They already did and I quoted them above.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...ders-Update!?p=7234050&viewfull=1#post7234050