No Single Player offline Mode then?

[Nomadski]

The same people with no internet connections who are posting on these here forums?

FYI I also live in the sticks - I'm lucky if I get a 900kbps upload rate, let alone my advertised 12mb download rate.

Game still works perfectly fine for me and many many others - sure I can't use the game on a transatlantic flight if I wanted to, but I'd go play Civ V or something else instead - or maybe read a book.

Good luck playing ED thru your phone, where many people post on these forums.

You dont need a 2mb connection to access forums.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

The same people with no internet connections who are posting on these here forums?

Game still works perfectly fine for me and many many others - sure I can't use the game on a transatlantic flight if I wanted to, but I'd go play Civ V or something else instead - or maybe read a book.

Oh, please. I regularly post here on my phone. Can I play ED on it? No.

Then clearly the problem you are defending against does not affect you in the slightest, does it?

 

[SJT]

The same people with no internet connections who are posting on these here forums?

I you can't read all 70 odd pages like some of us have, please at least read post 1114, right above.

 

[Asp Explorer]

Good luck playing ED thru your phone, where many people post on these forums.

You dont need a 2mb connection to access forums.

Admittedly it's not a phone - but I've played ED via a 3G Verizon MiFi a few times - worked ok once I got it a non-10 IP address.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I you can't read all 70 odd pages like some of us have, please at least read post 1114, right above.

Indeed. Here is why I am upset, and it's nothing to do with *my* connection.

With utmost respect, they've confirmed how offline would work since the Kickstarter. I know you're a developer, I work for a developer, I don't really feel this was communicated to users when it should have been.

I'm quite upset as I intended to play ED in solo while my brother, in Mexico City currently, played in offline mode. Sharing stories, information, etc. I have persuaded people like him to buy the game, I feel like I supported it more deeply and lied to people by telling them that it would have a completely offline mode. There is no way they found out about this today, so giving me the information today? I feel disrespected and I feel sick that I gave wrong information to others, who went onto spend their money.

Judging by Michael's comment about refunds I feel I am wasting my time posting about this, but I also feel I need to do it to stop myself feeling sad about this. I have such fond memories of sitting in my friends house as we both played Elite II single player obviously on our Amigas, talking about the upgrade or ship we just bought, where we were, what rank we just reached, etc. I wanted that with ED and all of a sudden I can't have it, despite backing specifically for that opportunity.

 

[xxThe_Dice_manxx]

So all these punters that want an offline mode haven't been playing the game all this time? I mean seeing as there is no offline mode and you seem to be either working where there is no internet or living where they have the worst internet in the world you can't possibly have played the game.

I think you really need to take most of your anger out on your ISP's or get jobs where you have internet access, I mean where do you people live and work that you can't get decent internet?

I recently switched ISP because their service sucked and I couldn't play CS GO, no big deal.

These truck drivers who can't play online,do you cart a laptop and hotas around with you in your truck ,maybe even your Oculus Rifts , course you do .

I bet if I were to look into every one of those people wanting offline ,you are all online constantly via steam/facebook/twitter etc.

Honestly let it go ,it's only a game,there are plenty of other games,forget about it,move along.

Btw did anyone stop to think that maybe the reason the games suffering from stuttering and lag etc is because they were trying to accommodate that offline mode? and maybe now its been scrapped we will see improvements in these areas.

I know which I would choose,I'd drop that offline mode in the blink of an eye if it made the games multiplayer and solo a better experience,even if it was only slightly.

We really need a poll to find out just how many people want offline mode because of things and stuff, that will send a clear message to FD.And then maybe we will get clear answers as to why it isn't possible.

 

[eeps]

Can you quote something from that?

I see what you're doing there Pecisk, clever indeed. I see your point clearly, but those web pages and documents have been retrospectively edited and changed, to reflect their recent change in policy.

Are you suggesting that one must screenprint every screen form the zaonce store moving forward, in case they change policy and retrospectively edit their webpages?

Surely that cant be good for any business to be interacted with in such a fashion. I understand caveat emptor and the general requirement for people to be aware 'what they sign up for', but I'm not sure that I agree that copies of each and every page from a website should be copied and stored in case a company decides to act unconscionably.

 

[SJT]

Admittedly it's not a phone - but I've played ED via a 3G Verizon MiFi a few times - worked ok once I got it a non-10 IP address.

Good for you. Can you play it on an oil rig, in the Australian Outback or a tent in the Iraqi desert. Some of the posters here say they can't.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

We really need a poll to find out just how many people want offline mode because of things and stuff, that will send a clear message to FD.And then maybe we will get clear answers as to why it isn't possible.

They already did. Offline numbers were huge.

FYI, saying that people need to get a job with internet access is a little strange. People bought a game knowing it would eventually have offline access, which would fit their lives. Now it doesn't. And they're wrong? How?

 

[Quietman]

However I looked at the situation and took a pragmatic view of it - somewhere along the line, the focus of the project switched due to scope creep - this is entirely down to the fault of the stakeholders, project managers and development team. But as end users of a GAME product, we are still being delivered exactly that - a working game.

This is what annoys me about all this anger on the forums - It's not as if we asked them to build a house and instead we got a car - we still got a house. It's just not quite the one we expected.

I agree with you except, (you knew this was coming), it's not cars and houses, it's a car that functions mostly fine, (we all hope), for the majority of users, but for the rest, not only will it not start, the doors are welded shut, the windows are painted black and the keys have been filed down into malformed blobs.

Remember this will NOT be a working game for some users, e.g. for myself I will only be able to play this game 3 months of the year...what a complete and utter f....I won't finish this sentence.

P.S. I absolutely unequivocally hate with a passion automobile analogies used in the computer industry, they are invariably used by people who are not quite sure what they are talking about, (as if they are trying to explain it to themselves), and usually end up being more complicated than the original explanation anyway. I forgive you though, as you used a house and had a pretty picture in your preceding post.

 

[Vasious]

] snip.

Wonderful video, very informative

 

[Atinus]

I think a lot of people missed when Michael stated there wouldn't be offline mode, because they didn't want the secrets of the galaxy to get out, and not so much a technical issue.

That quote is being taken out of context.

Here was the actual exchange:

Michael, so what would it take hardware wise to run a "personal" server that you could connect to via LAN? I have a spare PC sitting around doing nothing or are we talking about needing terabytes of RAM and a dozen Xeon cores?

The problem here is that you'd have access to the server which isn't something we'd want to allow as it contains the secrets of the galaxy. Which was also an issue with an online version.

Michael

Here he's talking about downloading the contents of the entire server.

That said, I remain hopeful that somehow, they can release a dumbed down, offline, static version of the galaxy that removes the secrets that need to be kept in Frontier's wheel house as it were. Even if it's a huge file or set of files. I have no idea what that might entail. I understand if it's impossible, but I'd like to see folks who really wanted to play this way be able to, even if it produced a static, limited format.

It would be understandable, for example, if a commander playing that way would be unable to sync that commander to the online game. In that case, just let players have an offline commander and an online commander. Or, that commodity prices would have to be static or randomized, as in the original game. That equipment prices would be static. That missions would be randomized. That to access additional content, players would have to download a periodic update. Obviously, this is a real deal breaker for enough people. And then there's the legitimate concern about being able to play the game 30 years from now if and when it's no longer supported. For posterity's sake, I really hope they can find a way. We're witnessing the birth of an amazing game.

Let's hope with our comments, we can persuade Frontier to reconsider some of the alternatives they have alluded to.

 

[Titus Balls]

I see what you're doing there Pecisk, clever indeed. I see your point clearly, but those web pages and documents have been retrospectively edited and changed, to reflect their recent change in policy.

Are you suggesting that one must screenprint every screen form the zaonce store moving forward, in case they change policy and retrospectively edit their webpages?

Surely that cant be good for any business to be interacted with in such a fashion. I understand caveat emptor and the general requirement for people to be aware 'what they sign up for', but I'm not sure that I agree that copies of each and every page from a website should be copied and stored in case a company decides to act unconscionably.

Or you could check these:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/store.zaonce.net

http://web.archive.org/web/*/elitedangerous.com

If you can find it then please quote it.

 

[Skeloton]

They already did. Offline numbers were huge.

FYI, saying that people need to get a job with internet access is a little strange. People bought a game knowing it would eventually have offline access, which would fit their lives. Now it doesn't. And they're wrong? How?

Because people are stupid, blindly loyal, or don't really read? I dunno. Im just up at a time that I ought to be in bed at, eating popcorn instead.

 

[CMDR Byrt Makklin]

@poster above who suggested people get a new job:Um, what? You're advocating people get a NEW JOB so they can play a game online which they rightly believed would be available offline?

And those people who can't play online are not claiming they can't ever play online, they're asking they have the option of doing so when they are unable to?

Jeepers. This isn't rocket science. It's not even rocket engineering.

 

[Katkon]

I'm an older gamer, who like you guys, played the game way back when. Unlike you, however, I now never play offline games. I really enjoy the excitement that comes with knowing that there are other humans out there playing in my universe. It adds a sense of community, makes it feel less solitary and ultimately makes for a more dangerous and exciting play area - for me.

That being said, you still have solo mode. Can you help me understand why that's not good enough? Is it because you don't like the idea of anyone else effecting your game world - even where they are totally invisible? Is it because you sometimes game on a pc not connected to the Internet? I'm genuinely curious - pls bear with me.

 

[Armour]

The way this has been handled is clumsy, at best. If I were in DB's sensible shoes, I think I might agree to issue refunds on request and shut this issue down quickly.

There's no gain in facing down the customer base, especially when the media spotlight is just about due to get pointed in this direction. Also, any form of victim blaming/poisoning the well for the sake of a few quid would probably be a mistake.

My inner cynic wonders if a certain resident of Bury St Edmunds will find this debacle amusing, in a "vaguely familiar" kind of way...

 

[Nomadski]

So all these punters that want an offline mode haven't been playing the game all this time? I mean seeing as there is no offline mode and you seem to be either working where there is no internet or living where they have the worst internet in the world you can't possibly have played the game.

I think you really need to take most of your anger out on your ISP's or get jobs where you have internet access, I mean where do you people live and work that you can't get decent internet?

I recently switched ISP because their service sucked and I couldn't play CS GO, no big deal.

These truck drivers who can't play online,do you cart a laptop and hotas around with you in your truck ,maybe even your Oculus Rifts , course you do .

I bet if I were to look into every one of those people wanting offline ,you are all online constantly via steam/facebook/twitter etc.

Honestly let it go ,it's only a game,there are plenty of other games,forget about it,move along.

Btw did anyone stop to think that maybe the reason the games suffering from stuttering and lag etc is because they were trying to accommodate that offline mode? and maybe now its been scrapped we will see improvements in these areas.

I know which I would choose,I'd drop that offline mode in the blink of an eye if it made the games multiplayer and solo a better experience,even if it was only slightly.

We really need a poll to find out just how many people want offline mode because of things and stuff, that will send a clear message to FD.And then maybe we will get clear answers as to why it isn't possible.

Would you still choose that if soon you were moving and your situation would enforce a none online life for yourself for the best part of the year? Would that still be acceptable to you when the game you have put a ton of money into suddenly changes into an online only experience suddenly before release?

I've played quite happily since Alpha, but soon I wont have ANY internet capability at all. I would have been fine had I known from the start it would be online only, as my wallet would have been a lot fatter.

 

[mattensky]

The same people with no internet connections who are posting on these here forums?

FYI I also live in the sticks - I'm lucky if I get a 900kbps upload rate, let alone my advertised 12mb download rate.

Game still works perfectly fine for me and many many others - sure I can't use the game on a transatlantic flight if I wanted to, but I'd go play Civ V or something else instead - or maybe read a book.

The point is Elite: Dangerous isn't the only game out there, and certainly not the only one that requires an internet connection in this day and age.

Now - like I've mentioned I understand people's frustration at the level of communication from FD on the subject, but I'm looking at this from an entirely pragmatic point of view and I think the anger being shown here is completely out of proportion.

I think the saying is "Throwing the baby out with the bath water".

So it works for you - well that's a huge consolation for me. Move along folks -there's nothing more to see here.

Some people can only play properly offline because of geography or poor infrastructure or they move around or whatever. They feel let down because they expected offline play. Why is this so hard to comprehend?

 

[Titus Balls]

I agree with you except, (you knew this was coming), it's not cars and houses, it's a car that functions mostly fine, (we all hope), for the majority of users, but for the rest, not only will it not start, the doors are welded shut, the windows are painted black and the keys have been filed down into malformed blobs.

Remember this will NOT be a working game for some users, e.g. for myself I will only be able to play this game 3 months of the year...what a complete and utter f....I won't finish this sentence.

P.S. I absolutely unequivocally hate with a passion automobile analogies used in the computer industry, they are invariably used by people who are not quite sure what they are talking about, (as if they are trying to explain it to themselves), and usually end up being more complicated than the original explanation anyway. I forgive you though, as you used a house and had a pretty picture in your preceding post.

Agreed, I'm pitching my example to the lowest common denominator. This is not language I would use within my own team.

For the other 9 months, can you not play another game? What other things can you not do in those 9 months that you can in the other 3? Please, think about the answer.