Whose dancing and celebrating.... I was expecting offline mode.....But I understand project development changes....Im ok with it all but the reality is ...Its done ..
No Single Player offline Mode then?
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Whose dancing and celebrating.... I was expecting offline mode.....But I understand project development changes....Im ok with it all but the reality is ...Its done ..
I agree on the numbers, but it doesn't alter the premise I've been making since I registered (and the FD apologists have been ignoring) that if those who want a refund are a tiny minority then just give the refund and walk away, and if the amounts are too much to write off then surely their complaint is too significant to just write off either?
To clarify, I am unhappy, and I have no goodwill left for FD but I am not after a refund for myself.
I'm afraid that I didn't read the explanation in quite the manner that you did. I saw no malice or explicit bias against off-line play, merely a bias towards on-line, which has been obvious since the beginning of the Kickstarter to be honest.
Now, yes, decisions were made which made on-line "better" and off-line more difficult but I see no direct malice as such.
What is encouraging is that at least, unlike Michael's statements at the weekend, David has not ruled out going back to see if off-line can be retro-fitted once funds/manpower allow. It's not a promise and definitely not good enough for those whole specifically funded the project because of the off-line mode but at least it's a start.
I would have preferred an off-line mode but personally I can live without it, though it may make my progress slower due to others with more time taking the juicy exploration bounties. An I admit that a "DRM free premium boxed" launcher is probably all I'm going to get.
Fine maybe they could just give everyone their money back... sure, but If I had to decide between making a great online experience, or Having a watered down offline/online. I too would have pulled the pin. BUT I was not planning on playing offline as much as I was planning on playing with my friends... So I'm bias.
So I stand by the decision to pull offline, but I'm hesitant about their return policy given the circumstances. (Still a fan) So I do get why there is so much rage.
You're right.
Frontier are playing everything by the strict letter of the law. DB probably has his lawyer on speed dial right now. Poet1960 hasn't got a leg to stand on, legally.
Doesn't mean he / she is wrong though.
You were counting posters...I was cautioning because the security roles aren't setup to limit posts to actual Elite backers.
LOL. Again, I did not write that. I just copied it from the KS page. Plagiarist I am not.
Well there's no need to be insulting, I'm not stupid. They decided not do to offline because either their vision has changed or they lied to begin with.
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Oh yeah I'm bias too I wanna play Elite online with other people gimme all the dynamic world you can throw at me. I can see why there is disappointment but I don't think that FD would lose that much money and they would gain some good will back.
This. So very much this. Newsletter 50 did indeed offer a much more detailed explanation, even if I can't agree with it, so I've requested a refund minus a percentage for "use" of the beta, as a compromise. That said, the refund policy is well, on some very shaky grounds, shaky enough that if they're difficult with me I can, and will contact my card issuer and notify them to fire a chargeback over it. I've offered a midway solution, if they refuse to take it, then I'll play hardball with them, because frankly they deserve what they get from this point out, they're clearly not playing nice with their customers, so I no longer see any obligation to play nice with them.
Of course it was a conscious decision because they are responsible for the quality of their product and therefore were forced to decline the offline mode because it was technically not feasbile for them to keep that requirement without affecting the quality of the whole game in a negative way.
Therefore it was a clear, understandable decision for me, although I would have been glad to get a dynamically changing offline mode.
The only problem is that they had waited too long to communicate it...
but at the end, they are responsible for the quality of the product and they need to decide, what has to be changed in the project to keep the quality of the product and meet the expectations of most of the customers.
Indeed. But promising a "review" is what politicians say when they're faced with awkward questions because someone screwed up. It rarely amounts to anything tangible.
It's nice that there's a small amount of hope there. But it doesn't really change anything at this point in time. The Q&A (even with made-up questions) should have been the contents of Newsletter #49, rather than the train wreck we got.
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating of it, and whilst it's good that David doesn't deny the existence of a bowl and spoon, it's a long way from the toffee apple crumble & custard we were promised.
And... I like Michael very much & have huge respect for him, but he is the perfect example of why it's rarely a good idea to have developers talk directly to customers. I say that as a developer myself for 20 odd years.
are you sir, getting help?
But, you know, now it is problem with trust shaken. Personally, I do not trust them too much any more. Not after this with offline solo being cut off. If funds allowed?! I do not intend to pay again for something I had already paid. I backed the game largerly because of announced offline (standalone) gameplay.
DB and FDs should now stick their heads out from the sand and do some concrete steps to regain broken trust in part of community. "Maybe", "we could reconsider it lately" is not enough now. tell us will you do it or not. Loud and clear. If yes, give guarantees (without maybes and potential reconsiderations, or some far, blurry future plans for doing that) If not, give everyone who planned to play mostly offline refound without any tricks. Let's settle this as gentlemen! And we all go our ways. FDs got positive publicity for doing anything of these two possibilities. Problem solved!
I see that Frontier said during the KS that there would be an offline option.
I also see that a very small number of people who where on the fence about backing it would have went "Oh and offline option, well why didnt you say earlier" <wodge> <-- the sound of them plopping a wad of money down.
I also see that a one year and a truck load of development later Frontier after months of struggling to get a offline version to work to their satisfaction, finally gave up and then sent out an email to all backers giving them them bad news.
What I dont see is how any sane people where can seriously think that Frontier deliberately set out to deceive a very small number of people who where on the fence by intentionally offering them something they knew full well they where unable to deliver. Frankly I seriously worry for the sanity of anyone who genuinely thinks that. That is my biggest beef with this thread, it's the fo0king nutters who are drowning out the few people like yourself who have a genuine issue. I think those people are the biggest obstacle getting in the way of the a full refund and the sympathy of the ED community.
I would have had no issue with the ethics of Frontier and David Braben if they had offered full refunds to anyone who wanted them after announcing that they were pulling offline support. But they didn't do that. They are nitpicking legal loopholes so they can keep their backers' money after kicking them to the curb. THAT is what is unethical and the source of the backlash.
They never once even hinted that they were considering dropping offline support completely.
Or maybe they started out with good intentions?
I guess people here are determined to project malice and deceit on FD because they feel like they've been screwed over and I don't disagree that you're entitled to feel that way.
Apologies for the insult by the way but I did feel I was being quite polite about it.
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