PSA: ED Beyond is not a season and is not paid for season nr 3

Cmdr Eagleboy · Oct 10, 2017

It is important to get facts right:

* 'season of upgrades' was marketing term used to describe product FD sold before fully releasing it. It certainly turned out to be very unpopular move, so this group of patches aren't season; FD never called patches for 2018 a season and they have said they have retired concept;
* This group of patches has a name 'Beyond', and just like that;
* It is free for Horizons users - you can view it as extension of Horizons;

TLDR So it is Beyond and it is free for Horizons users. It will have four major patches. That's all.

Stealthie · Oct 10, 2017

Personally, I reckon they're just making the "Beyond" updates freebies so they can start a new "season" in 2019 without seeming indecisive.

I can't really see how, in the long-term, it'd be possible to create a cohesive game using individual bits of DLC so I won't be surprised to see them revert to "seasons" after "Beyond".

Either way, good on 'em for providing a year of complimentary updates to the game. [up]

Kerrash · Oct 10, 2017

It's an admirable goal to attempt to correct the confusion in nomenclature around what people believe a 'season' to be; but it will take some time for it to sink in.

Mengy · Oct 10, 2017

I still don't think seasons are coming back. 2018 is free, but I have a hunch that going forward most updates will be free. Instead Frontier will sell new feature access on the Elite Store from 2019 on, things like:

- Gas Giant landing permit
- Atmospheric landing permit
- Possibly selling new ship access after 2018
- Player surface station construction permit

And so on. Just my hunch though. I'm betting that Frontier would rather sell smaller features individually at lower price points than lump a whole year's worth of updates into one big package which locks them in to a schedule with little room for change along the way.

Achilles7 · Oct 10, 2017

Phew!...I'll be able to sleep tonight, now

Wolf Starslayer · Oct 10, 2017

Stealthie said:
Personally, I reckon they're just making the "Beyond" updates freebies so they can start a new "season" in 2019 without seeming indecisive.

I can't really see how, in the long-term, it'd be possible to create a cohesive game using individual bits of DLC so I won't be surprised to see them revert to "seasons" after "Beyond".

Either way, good on 'em for providing a year of complimentary updates to the game. [up]

I thought they'd said they were moving away from the 'seasons' model. I assume they will move to a subscription model to allow them to build a proper server-client infrastructure to be able to deliver meaningful guild content.

GraXXoR · Oct 10, 2017

Personally I think there are two possible reasons they're not charging for it.
1) because they know that if they did there would be trouble because they know they can't devote enough man-hours to the project to deliver something worthy of charging for... (Think about it. NO listed company would release something for free if it was worth paying for).

Or

2) I was talking out my Asp in 1) and they are in fact going to continue to rely on micro transactions like the successful raider kits from here on out and move to a F2DLC model.

VampyreGTX · Oct 10, 2017

I don't see them charging for individual ships or groups of ships. That could be in the pay-to-win category if any of those ships offer an advantage over the free ones and that is something that FDev has seemed to always steer away from...

Brett C · Oct 10, 2017

And just for good clarification: Beyond is different to a season. It is a series of updates for ED and Horizons players which is focusing on core enhancements, continued narrative and new features that compliment them.

VampyreGTX · Oct 10, 2017

Core gameplay was the biggest single complaint, and that NEEDED full focus. You CAN'T charge for core gameplay improvements, that would have spelt the death of ED. Once that is addressed, they can get back to charging for future 'updates' as those will be most likely more significant DLC than a few ships, wing missions, and Squadrons.

Barking_Mad · Oct 10, 2017

Brett C said:
And just for good clarification: Beyond is different to a season. It is a series of updates for ED and Horizons players which is focusing on core improvements.

I have no idea why people turn such a simple thing into something it's not, but there we go...

ForeverN00b · Oct 10, 2017

Wolf Starslayer said:
I thought they'd said they were moving away from the 'seasons' model. I assume they will move to a subscription model to allow them to build a proper server-client infrastructure to be able to deliver meaningful guild content.

I wish. I doubt it but I would really like it if that happened.

Badben · Oct 10, 2017

I don't think you're going to convince many Americans, the term "season" is fully established. I know some British people get fussy about this, and you call your tv seasons "series" for some reason, but you're not going to convince most people this isn't season 3. I mean, it will be called 3.0 by Fdev, and most people know what you're talking about when you say season 3, so why does anyone even care what some people call it?

Monk · Oct 10, 2017

Brett C said:
And just for good clarification: Beyond is different to a season. It is a series of updates for ED and Horizons players which is focusing on core improvements.

Does that mean versioning will stay within 2.x?

EDIT: Also, might want to get the word out...game journos are calling it a season.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/20...e-coming-to-elite-dangerous-in-2018-for-free/

But if humanity can survive the Thargoids, there’s a whole lot more coming in 2018 with a new season called Elite Dangerous: Beyond.

Brett C · Oct 10, 2017

Monk said:
Does that mean versioning will stay within 2.x?

EDIT: Also, might want to get the word out...game journos are calling it a season.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/20...e-coming-to-elite-dangerous-in-2018-for-free/

Yeah, I can understand why people are calling it a season. Ultimately, it's a number of updates. The difference is just that a season (for example, Horizons) has a season pass which is paid for. This is a series of updates. Very similar but that's the slight difference. Hope that helps!

Brett C · Oct 10, 2017

Also updated my original post slightly to be a little bit more descriptive rather focusing on one thing. [smile]

Lightspeed · Oct 10, 2017

Or, just call it a Free Season ... which is what it is really, 2.5 and beyond ......

and sounds better than a "series of updates"

Vasco Sapien · Oct 10, 2017

Stealthie said:
Personally, I reckon they're just making the "Beyond" updates freebies so they can start a new "season" in 2019 without seeming indecisive.

I can't really see how, in the long-term, it'd be possible to create a cohesive game using individual bits of DLC so I won't be surprised to see them revert to "seasons" after "Beyond".

Either way, good on 'em for providing a year of complimentary updates to the game. [up]

I actually respect Fdev for wanting to fix the game first this coming year as part of the existing season cycle v2.5 - v2.8? for free.

Im sure once we have a solid base game, the paid DLC's will flow in 2019. Hopefully Fdev avoid tripple A pinch penny mechanics.

Enakaji · Oct 10, 2017

Zaphod Hawke said:
I, for one, would have probably ponied up another $40 for 2.4.

Well, you still kinda can do that by simply buying cosmetic items from the store. It's something I regulary do because I like the direction the game is heading in, so I see the store purchases as sort of an extended Crowdfunding variation.

Sentience · Oct 10, 2017

Season is just another way to get people to pay again for the same game. Marketing gimmick.

I don't get bogged down by all the extra and useless terminology game developers use these days. For me, you have the game, and then you have updates.