Hold up, you're overblowing all of that.
I'm talking about the Focused Feedback Forum, not the beta. Beta is "in the coming weeks", I'm talking about the Devs being on hand to answer questions in the FFF for only an hour or so after it goes live. That only really catches people who are on the forum during that hour or so. Hence, we'll (collectively, as a community) need days to digest it and formulate questions about it.
Beta is a good place for relatively minor changes and tweaks, but I don't see major changes happening and they usually don't in betas, as the broad strokes are pretty much done. The only way FD could have had a chance to make any major changes if the proposals come out sounding pants, is if we had months of being able to give feedback on them. There's a huge difference in scope between "the probes don't reveal enough of the planet" and "the entire probe gameplay is terrible".
And no, I am not in salty mode at all. I am excited for the FFF, but I am lamenting that we didn't get it sooner AND concerned that it's not going to be an effective tool because of how late it is.
The purpose of the FF is basically Frontier shows us all what they've worked on and are thinking to release - the Q4 beta is basically around the corner so to speak - and to receive feedback on what they've done.
If someone brings up a decent point or three about What Has Been Done, then Frontier hopefully have enough time to tweak What Has Been Done before it goes "gold".
That's the way it's been for all the other FF (apart from Mining which admittedly has been there for months now).
Also, it took me a while, but ED isn't Space Exploration Simulator Game - it's primarily a Space Combat/Trade/Exploration/Bounty Hunting game, and as such needs to cater for all.
Now IMO exploration has been pretty neglected over the last year or so in terms of interesting things to keep one compelled to keep playing. But I've stopped feeling salty about it, and stopped my own Expectations from controlling me. That's helped a
lot.
So now I'm just mildly interested. When this exploration topic is started, I'll just read what's been written and comment on stuff if I feel the need to.
I just don't think this is anything to get worked up about - it's only a videogame, there are many more important things to expend one's life's time and energy on - and get upset about - than a videogame.
