Roadmap after release

[NeoRacer]

'I know right'? Why didn't they just give us a complete fully fleshed out universe game at once! I just dont get what they're problem is?!! oops

Agreed...

My analogy from months ago - We may have a huge sandbox, but how deep is the sand?

Exploration
We need more variety and some unique rare content. eg:-

- Aurora Borealis on some planets.
- Thunderstorms on some planets.
- Planets with space elevators. Make them a new type of dock why not?
- City lights on the dark side of some planets.
- Comets.
- Odd rare things. eg:-

- To find things like asteroids with tunnels you can fly into with maybe markings or abnormalities in them.
- Wrecks that at least you can look at. Maybe "abandoned" valuable items (cargo) nearby? ie: Not "Stolen".
- Why not have a few of the fabled (original) Elite Generation Ships around you can find?​

Try and include some rare missions while exploring. eg:-

- Distress signals and/or coming across a ship that's stranded and you need to go and fetch a item to repair it (for a reward).​

In short, exploration needs to have that "maybe" aspect to it. At the moment you know every system you go to will be a variation of the last few dozen you've been too. There needs to be that 1 in a 1000 chance of something different.

Missions
Allow more complex/interesting missions. Maybe even involve elements of exploration?. eg:-

- Scan a comet/wreck in system X and return data.​

Combat
Balance combat a bit:-

- Only permit one Shield Cell. Anyone currently with more than one will simply have units sitting their achieving nothing.
- If you shoot another ship by accident, receive a warning. Another shot within a second or two then means you're cannon fodder.
- More control over turrets.
- Module information. Give us stats on what the modules actually deliver. Each module type needs dedicated values to help us decide.
- Use Galnet to promote an upcoming battle (conflict zone) which will have some actual outcome. Players in the local area can then decide whether to take part in this conflict over X days to try and affect the outcome.
...the list goes on and on.​

General
There's loads of general things to consider:-

- Multiple player slots and be able to transfer finances (CR) between your accounts.
- Nose camera. I can't believe we still cannot get a cockpitless/hudless shot of anything we want to get a screenshot off. Give us a nose camera screenshot.
- External views. It's been talked about since day 1. Will we get it?
- More ships.
- Thargoids?
...the list goes on and on.​

If FD could give a rough road map of what sort of areas they will be looking at and/or addressing that would give a lot of people some reassurance I believe. The current concern I believe is many people are beginning to think the game we have now, is basicallly it.

ps: My lists above are not meant to be definitive, simply set the scene of what I personally think are the kind of areas (nature of things) I'd like to see ED "improve" in.

 

[Kitiara]

If you want to see what a roadmap failure would look like, check the internet for E: D offline mode. That change alone should make ANY company wary of making any statements about a game they are developing.

I remember it well - and it was an object lesson in how sections of the community would take something that was an intention during kick starter and brand it as a cast in iron promise to deliver, heedless of technical considerations. Certainly it presents one of the most compelling reasons for Frontier to never tell the community anything about what's planned for the future.

 

[nats]

I feel that they should have developed the game a bit longer in Gamma, the way its going at the moment lots of people are buying and complaining, that cant be good for business. They should have developed at least one area of the game like bounty hunting, or mining, or trading to be great fun and very complex before releasing it to the public, and they should have ensured there were at last a decent number of ships in it. Maybe a 3-4 months would have got them there. Presently this game feels still just as much like an Early Access game as many others I have played. Its a shame they rushed it out after all the guff about not having a commercial developer so they didnt have to rush it out unfinished.

Now the least Frontier can do is give us an idea where they are heading and when various aspects will be roughly ready. But considering these will all require testing and polishing, and they knew very well that this game wasnt at a release state when they went and released it anyway, that does make me now a little fearful for the future of this game. I am certainly glad I didnt give them any money for the expansions just yet. And I am buying no more skins either. I will see how things progress from now on before I consider giving Frontier any more money at all.

 

[tomPhoenix]

I agree, the forum/threads that outlined all the game features has gone off course. They should provide an updated list of features and roadmap. I'm not looking for deadlines or dates, though a priority/order of completion would be nice.

For example: I'd like to know if playing with friends in a wing and splitting bounties and missions is a higher priority than planetary landing.

 

[Javert]

I agree, the forum/threads that outlined all the game features has gone off course. They should provide an updated list of features and roadmap. I'm not looking for deadlines or dates, though a priority/order of completion would be nice.

For example: I'd like to know if playing with friends in a wing and splitting bounties and missions is a higher priority than planetary landing.

Given that Sandro Sammarco said they would be working on wings early in the year, I would suggest it is defnitiely a higher priority, as planet landings will certainly not be ready any time soon. Also keep in mind that wings is a replacement for something that was in the publicly discussed design documents, so it's something that would be a priority. Add to that the fact that wings will improve the cooperative multiplayer aspect, which is one of the main complaints right now, and I'm sure it is one of the top priorities.

 

[JeffRyan]

THIS GAME SHOULD HAVE A SPACE HARPOON!

I mentioned this before. But it's worth revisiting.

 

[andyl]

Given that Sandro Sammarco said they would be working on wings early in the year, I would suggest it is defnitiely a higher priority, as planet landings will certainly not be ready any time soon. Also keep in mind that wings is a replacement for something that was in the publicly discussed design documents, so it's something that would be a priority. Add to that the fact that wings will improve the cooperative multiplayer aspect, which is one of the main complaints right now, and I'm sure it is one of the top priorities.

Also speaking as a developer (although not someone who works for FD or a game dev) wings seems to be an order of magnitude (at least) easier than planetary landing. Also as you say it will help the co-op play a lot. So it seems obvious this is a high priority (although I don't think it will take up the entire team - there are probably enough people that more than one thing is being worked on at once).

 

[nats]

Also speaking as a developer (although not someone who works for FD or a game dev) wings seems to be an order of magnitude (at least) easier than planetary landing. Also as you say it will help the co-op play a lot. So it seems obvious this is a high priority (although I don't think it will take up the entire team - there are probably enough people that more than one thing is being worked on at once).

Yes but this is all assumption and hearsay we havent been told anything by Frontier at all about anything. Its doing my head in, they are flaming useless.

 

[Drunk Si]

THIS GAME SHOULD HAVE A SPACE HARPOON!

I mentioned this before. But it's worth revisiting.

I like this idea but think it would be wasted on retrieving ore and cargo so I think there should also be space narwhals. You could hear their soothing song drifting between the stars and you could outfit the anaconda as a whaling ship to put an end to that soothing song, once and for all.

 

[Oddball]

There is no 'life' in the game at the moment.

It would be a nice touch if we could see signs of life in and around the space station. Yes, there are vehicles moving around but it would be really nice to see people in there. Some cranes working, a bit of welding going on with sparks flying all over the place. People in the control tower moving about. On the outside of the space station there should be some lights that flicker rapidly to make it look real. Different coloured lights. More varied textures for the windows because they all look the same. And maybe some structural work going on outside the station itself like people wearing jetpacks repairing a solar panel etc.

Its little things like this that will make it more real and believable.

And what happened to the huge cities in space that we were promised in one of the news letters?

 

[Lobstris]

Some new stuff this Friday and a road-map right? A growing amount of people complain about the lack of depth and content such as in this highly rated post on Reddit [Rant] I'm bored, and it's a shame. Really.

Frontier has to address this with planned updates to keep people engaged.

Having read through a few hundred of the responses in that Reddit, whilst I agree with the obvious comments that the game lacks depth and was released 6-12 months too early, some of the comment in that thread scare the bejesus out of me. So many people want crafting, base-building, guilds, summoning personal frigates to act as bases, player planet control, FPS elements etc. etc. that aren't what I would ever consider part of the Elite experience, and would take years to add in full. To be honest, I don't thing Elite has that much time available to it. I'd settle for more depth to the current features, improved mission variety, progression and consequences, passenger cargo ferrying, wingmen, better AI and planetary landings. If I see those features before the game is discontinued, I'll be happy(ish).

 

[tomPhoenix]

Oh I agree wings are likely a priority and they are among the easier things to build out given existing game functionality. I was just looking for something to use for an example.

I do hope they can release/update a list of features to come because their site and forums are simply dated AND we know they are releasing things in phases now. So how are we to know when what comes?

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If I see those features before the game is discontinued, I'll be happy(ish).

Well... I agree with everything you said about wanting a more in depth game before all these crazy features not originally intended for Elite or thought about before... But I hope it doesn't become discontinued because right now it's online only =)

 

[RedWizzard]

Agreed...

My analogy from months ago - We may have a huge sandbox, but how deep is the sand?

... long list ...

If FD could give a rough road map of what sort of areas they will be looking at and/or addressing that would give a lot of people some reassurance I believe. The current concern I believe is many people are beginning to think the game we have now, is basicallly it.

ps: My lists above are not meant to be definitive, simply set the scene of what I personally think are the kind of areas (nature of things) I'd like to see ED "improve" in.

It seems to me that most of the people wanting updates from the devs are not really going to be satisfied until they actually have the new functionality. Honestly, I think a road map would just change "what are you doing?" into "why isn't it done yet?" and "this feature is going to be a complete disaster and I'll quit".

Also, while I agree with most of your list and others like, I'm not sure there is a lot of point to posting these lists. A list like that implies that the problem is that FD haven't thought of anything beyond what is in the game. But it's pretty clear that they have plenty of ideas and the problem is simply getting everything implemented. I'm sure they'll ask if they need ideas, just as they have before.

PS. my comments are not specifically directed at you, your post is just a convenient example for me to reply to.

 

[RedWizzard]

Its a shame they rushed it out after all the guff about not having a commercial developer so they didnt have to rush it out unfinished.

Did they say that? I never heard it from them. I did hear that they couldn't interest a publisher and that self-publishing freed them creatively from a publishers demands. But they are a public company and were never going to be able to delay the game indefinitely. They'd already missed their original stated release date and it should not be surprising that they couldn't afford to miss another one.

 

[Falrinth]

Game as it is WITHOUT a roadmap = Will NOT play!!
Game as it is WITH a roadmap = WILL play!!

Yeah...that makes sense...

Actually it has some sense. You just fail to see it. He said that if he gets some obligation from the devs to deliver fun in the game, he might want to grind a bit more cause he sees some purpose then. Right now there is no purpose of playing this game. So the sooner he quits the better, unless there is some decent promise ahead.

 

[Vicarian]

It doesn't need to be anything formal. I just wish there was more communication.

The recent changes have not been good.

Shield cells, and NPCs flying without shields have turned combat really weird. Suddenly it's an old school MMO where NPCs are there to be farmed.

The devs are invariably just recently back in the office from holiday. I definitely don't mind them taking some much needed time off from development to celebrate the holiday season and the release of Elite. New content and features will surely come in a timely fashion. My productivity at work after taking 2 weeks off has definitely increased. Burnout is a major issue for programmers, or at least it is for me. I can probably safely assume it is for some others as well.

 

[Morticielle]

Unfortunately a published roadmap would be seen as nothing less than a contractural obligation by the more vocal here - as such, publishing it would be an act of insanity by Frontier.

Yeah, but those folks you're talking of are unsatisfied whatever FD does and will complain no matter what. For my part I would like to hear a little bit about where the game is heading.

 

[Kitiara]

Actually it has some sense. You just fail to see it. He said that if he gets some obligation from the devs to deliver fun in the game, he might want to grind a bit more cause he sees some purpose then. Right now there is no purpose of playing this game. So the sooner he quits the better, unless there is some decent promise ahead.

The key word in there is "obligation" and the reason a road map would not be published. Giving us a set of intentions would inevitably be seen as a set of cast in stone promises for feature releases. And as such, would be foolish for Frontier to publish. They will tell us about upcoming features when they are certain of their desire and capability to deliver them. Speculating on the future would just bite them on the behind again and again, as it has in the past.

 

[Adept]

I remember it well - and it was an object lesson in how sections of the community would take something that was an intention during kick starter and brand it as a cast in iron promise to deliver, heedless of technical considerations. Certainly it presents one of the most compelling reasons for Frontier to never tell the community anything about what's planned for the future.

The reactions were shameful and hyperbolic, but I hope that wasn't the lesson "learned" from the debacle.

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THIS GAME SHOULD HAVE A SPACE HARPOON!

I mentioned this before. But it's worth revisiting.

Is it because of the Orcas? Whaling is cruel, you know.

 

[Scarmax]

I would also like to know what the devs have in mind for this game aside from the planetary landings, which is probably so far off that I shouldn't even think about it right now. On one side, I'd like to see them at least post something that says, "Here's a few ideas we'd like to implement at some point." No dates, no particular order, just a general "feel" for the kind of extras that may be coming. But, on the other side, depending on what the list of items entails, it could get too many hopes up and you know that the fanatics will have that list printed on a 27"x40" poster, framed, and hung over the foot of their bed where they'll see it every morning, and if any ONE of those things doesn't make it into the game (in a timely fashion no less), they'll cry out "But you promised!" and then start a hundred threads about how they want a refund, create a petition for a class action lawsuit, and proclaim that they'll never buy another FD game again. The sad thing is, that's not an exaggeration.

Personally, I am just going to cross my fingers and trust that the devs will know when it's the right time to release some news about the future of the game.