No Single Player offline Mode then?

[ThatFuzzyTiger]

I wouldn't consider, having to be online to play an online game DRM. If they provided an offline mode, but you still had to be online to authenticate the game throughout, that would be DRM (and bloody stupid), but the online solo isn't DRM.

In effect that's precisely what Solo Online is, within reason. It's an offline mode but with the caveat that you're constantly authenticating and validating your actions every time you make a transaction. Your arguments would all make sense if, and I word this carefully, if they were also stripping online "Solo" mode as well. By retaining the online singleplayer element they're essentially making a singleplayer game but with tethered DRM. If they remove that and forcibly convert Elite Dangerous into a true multiplayer experience, then everything you've said suddenly becomes entirely valid.

Granted, it would also cause a firestorm the likes of which would dwarf this one >.>

 

[OriginalBadBoy]

Legal action is a viable option for those who backed after constant re-assurances that offline mode would be in the game - FD need to take advice and placate those who may choose the legal route if refunds don't cut it.

Legal action wont solve anything other than ruining everybody elses day ..

In the end as long as people get a refund for the retail cost of the game, that all that matters. Other costs associated with the KS pledge are non refundable, its as simple as that. People did not have to choose any other KS pledge than the basic retail package. Any other choice was their choice , and their choice alone, whether it be £200 or £5000.

 

[Adept]

I think NOBODY would have cried out if you just had said: "we're running out time and developing the offline mode would cost too much resources we would have to withdraw from something more important. Thats why we have to drop it. Sorry."

That would have been a vastly better wording. Whomever is in charge of the newsletter announcementa has been very tone-deaf in the past as well. The Alpha discount, Sol as a restricted system, but with a beta perk, the last minute beta discount...
The dev diaries and other videos have been great, but the tone of the newsletter is quite often a little off.

I doubt it would have been a case of "nobody" having cried out, but maybe this thread would be only half of what it's now.

I doubt the message about communication style will get through. It has been drowned in the sea of indignation :/

 

[sivrintear]

You see the words "Legal action" thrown around all over the place over a broad range of games these days.

Can someone give me one example where a minority group has actually succeeded in any product change by going through other channels because I have yet to see it.

 

[mbpoblet]

Legal action wont solve anything other than ruining everybody elses day ..

In the end as long as people get a refund for the retail cost of the game, that all that matters. Other costs associated with the KS pledge are non refundable, its as simple as that. People did not have to choose any other KS pledge than the basic retail package. Any other choice was their choice , and their choice alone, whether it be £200 or £5000.

From your signature...

Backer ... Shareholder ... Nutter ...

(Emphasis mine.)

Starting to worry about your investment..?

Blame the way Frontier are (or rather are not) "handling" the situation.

 

[stimutacs]

Has anyone receive a response about a refund request already?

I haven't, haven't seen anyone say they've got theirs either. Ominously there's this when you google it -

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37502

indicating it took someone 5+ days to get a support ticket looked at for a refund that never happened back in august.

 

[badsector84]

Has anyone receive a response about a refund request already?

nope.....

 

[Cathy]

oeps my mistake.
for a moment I confused you for Geraldine.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=29923&p=609190&viewfull=1#post609190
sorry

Ah no worries. I'm honoured to be confused with Geraldine

 

[paralipsis]

I would hazard the guess, that for the amount of hair on fire we're seeing in this thread, there haven't been many people who've actually asked.

I've asked for a refund, but it was less than 12 hours ago. There are others who jumped on it mere hours after the last newsletter was published and they've heard nary a peep. So I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Perrial]

Legal action wont solve anything other than ruining everybody elses day ..

In the end as long as people get a refund for the retail cost of the game, that all that matters. Other costs associated with the KS pledge are non refundable, its as simple as that. People did not have to choose any other KS pledge than the basic retail package. Any other choice was their choice , and their choice alone, whether it be £200 or £5000.

That's correct, they made a choice...on the basis of promises made. This is the issue. If there had been no promise of offline mode they would have received less backing and struggled far more to finance the development. Call it bait and switch, call it obtaining money by deception, call it fraud, whatever. The fact is people made a choice based on a set of promises given, to not deliver at the last minute on these promises is the issue. Never promise anything in business, it leads you open to litigation if you don't deliver.

I don't think people who can now not play because it's online only really care about whether they will ruin your day or anyone elses.

 

[Almighty Bob]

Having just signed up for this forum. I do not mind having no off line mode. I am interested how many people are playing on early access and how many frontiers business plan expects to buy the game after 16th december

 

[RGS]

I still can't believe they did this without so much as a 'sorry.'

I'm not sure if they're not apologising as they simply don't see any issue with what they've done (how and when they revealed the info), or whether it could be seen as some sort of admission of guilt, or possibly that they simply want to spin everything in a positive light pre-launch. I still hold a very little hope that they might make this right - Not through a re-introduction of Offline mode (assuming it really isn't possible now), but through some sort of official statement and apology for how they've handled this particular issue.

I really thought they'd 'see the light' come Monday and realise their mistake, but it looks as though they're pretty OK with what they've done here. Even if we do get a statement, I'm not sure how seriously I could take it now and the longer they leave it the more it'd look empty and insincere.

 

[Dajunka]

Has anyone receive a response about a refund request already?

Not a sausage. I don't even think my ticket has been looked at. Their PR and customer service is next to none, as in NONE.

I have been viewing a lot of post from various forums where people that were going to buy on release, have changed their minds, this lark is costing FD dearly.

 

[jabokai]

Legal action wont solve anything other than ruining everybody elses day ..

In the end as long as people get a refund for the retail cost of the game, that all that matters. Other costs associated with the KS pledge are non refundable, its as simple as that. People did not have to choose any other KS pledge than the basic retail package. Any other choice was their choice , and their choice alone, whether it be £200 or £5000.

Their choice... based on what they were told by FD.

Are you suggesting that we should base our decisions wholly on distrust, assumption of lies, and worst case scenarios? If so I don't see anything getting kickstarted!

 

[-o-]

Has anyone receive a response about a refund request already?

4th day now ... still no response.

 

[deusx_ophc]

Having just signed up for this forum. I do not mind having no off line mode. I am interested how many people are playing on early access and how many frontiers business plan expects to buy the game after 16th december

- last figure from FDEV was app. 150k backers playing ed beta
- expect moderate sales after launch to be sufficient to sustain ed for the short to medium term

 

[OriginalBadBoy]

From your signature...

(Emphasis mine.)

Starting to worry about your investment..?

Yes ... Why wouldn't I be!

Just because I am a shareholder does nto mean I am defending FD to the hilt here I am not. Will be going to the premier, and given the chance I will be discussing it with them.

All this talk of legal action though is knee jerk bluster .. and does not do anybody any good. And to be honest the majority of people talking about going down the legal route are more than likely just trying their luck to get extra money out of FD ...

 

[Adept]

- last figure from FDEV was app. 150k backers playing ed beta
- expect moderate sales after launch to be sufficient to sustain ed for the short to medium term

At the very least, I expect that 150k to double within 2 years.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

 

[paralipsis]

All this talk of legal action though is knee jerk .. and does not do anybody any good. And to be honest the majority of people talking about going down the legal route are more than likely just trying their luck to get extra money out of FD ...

It's pretty much a given that when lawyers get involved, the only people who really win are lawyers. That said, given how much some KS backers pledged, not to mention how much some people have invested beings unpaid testers for the Alpha/Beta, it's not out of the question that FD's bumbling to date may push some who are invested (financially and emotionally) to seek legal recourse. It certainly doesn't help by suggesting those people are just money grubbing. If someone already feels aggrieved, dismissing their anger rarely serves to diminish it. If you want to push people into doing stupid things, I certainly can't stop you. But I would suggest trying to be angry that other people are angry. That just feeds on itself until everybody loses.

 

[stimutacs]

If someone already feels aggrieved, dismissing their anger rarely serves to diminish it. If you want to push people into doing stupid things, I certainly can't stop you. But I would suggest trying to be angry that other people are angry. That just feeds on itself until everybody loses.

Haha yes, you can almost see the cogs turning for some, grinding away at "how much more gas do I need to put on this fire before it goes out"?