I would like to bring to everyone's attention and the inevitable reality that will EVENTUALLY happen to this game. Mac users are about to lose access to play elite dangerous. Why? Because Beyond cannot be developed for it so Frontier is just going to shut it down for Mac. The problem is, that they COULD just release a single player version/LAN version for the people who paid money to play the game. To me the whole excuse is a bunch of bull. Frontier could at least have the Mac version single player and not have to log in just to play the game. That is the problem with always online games eventually the plug will have to be pulled, that includes PC, Xbox, and PS4. But what can we really do about it? Frontier has their money and when its out time to get canned and shut down the game due to whatever reason (player base dies, company goes bankrupt, etc.) they still have their money. I like elite dangerous and I like frontier, but this is a true reality in gaming especially for games that are always online. Something to think about. A offline single player mode would be the right thing to do for the people who paid for the game and I know they could do it.
SUGGESTION: SINGLE PLAYER OFFLINE MODE
- Thread starter BlazeHedgie
- Start date
And you have absolutely no idea about how dependent the game is on what the servers have on them and what is actually installed on your computer.
It seems that some of the fundamental game play is based on the servers, the galaxy, the missions [i.e. generation], all the images of the people we see.
Your entire premise is based upon a bunch of assumptions made about something that you have no in depth knowledge of.
sorry.
It seems that some of the fundamental game play is based on the servers, the galaxy, the missions [i.e. generation], all the images of the people we see.
Your entire premise is based upon a bunch of assumptions made about something that you have no in depth knowledge of.
sorry.
It's actually because Mac don't support the Compute Shaders graphic requirements used by the Elite Dangerous game since Horizons came out.
Frontier have no choice but to say 'Oh well, we tried', perhaps rally with Apple instead? This is not a Frontier fault.
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It doesn't run on Macs, because they lack the infrastructure to handle compute shaders, which are required for Horizons and Beyond. That's on Apple, not FDev. If/when Apple gets their cranium out of their rectum and joins us in this century, we might see FDev bring Horizons/Beyond to the Mac. Until then, it's probably better for Mac gamers to build a cheap PC for games like ED.
In order for them to make this a SP title, the game would literally have to be rewritten so that all of the processes and information that is currently housed on remote servers (background sim anyone?) would be self contained on the player's machine. LAN games would be absolutely pointless though, because people would have cheats and hacks for it before you could log in. Hell, they're already using Cheat Engine and other tools now as it is. Once it's SP, there's nothing holding them back.
At this point, an offline SP version is a waste of development resources that could be put to better use elsewhere. It's not perfect, but there are reasons why they went with the model they did. Professor Google can help you find the info, I'm sure.
In order for them to make this a SP title, the game would literally have to be rewritten so that all of the processes and information that is currently housed on remote servers (background sim anyone?) would be self contained on the player's machine. LAN games would be absolutely pointless though, because people would have cheats and hacks for it before you could log in. Hell, they're already using Cheat Engine and other tools now as it is. Once it's SP, there's nothing holding them back.
At this point, an offline SP version is a waste of development resources that could be put to better use elsewhere. It's not perfect, but there are reasons why they went with the model they did. Professor Google can help you find the info, I'm sure.
....
Illogical arguments aside, as pointed out this is (like literally every single problem on the platform) an Apple problem, not FDev's. Apple produce garbage technology, I'm surprised FDev even bothered initially supporting it. Why people continue buying Macs and expect them to do anything properly, let alone games, is beyond me (hehe).
That being said, it's pretty weak if FDev aren't going to offer some form of refund. Mac uses, despite their questionable buying habits, did pay for a game that was sold as functional on their platform. No refund is morally, and perhaps legally, questionable.
Edit: Also, no on the singleplayer. It wouldn't work as the BGS makes up a sizable chunk of the game and requires a persistent connection. Maybe this is an opportunity to realize Apple is garbage and upgrade to a PC?
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Yeah - not crazy about background sim or the fact you have to be part of the special club to get a minor faction to make the background sim worth looking at. if this thing went to offline mode the modders could actually make some interesting content. But yeah - what mysterious info that resides on the FDEV servers? We will never know. Must be stuff like name tags on planets. 12 massacre missions at Quince. You know, important stuff.
Only the darkest and mysterious of all known arts..... Mathemagics...
I am using PC I don't think you guys get what exactly I'm saying. Consider this, and I do believe ED could be a single player offline game, Lets say one day in the future something happens and Frontier can no longer support ED and decide to shut down the game. You wouldnt have to shut down the game if you made a offline version just for single player. Space Engine has a entire universe that is procedural generated. Now a continuous updating story wouldn't happen obviously. It would have to be like it was in Elite 3 already made up. You could still get reputation by doing missions.
Go to Apple support for request, my friend. It's like FDEV sells wine, everyone pays for a bottle and brings an empty bottle to fill it. You, on the other hand paid for a bottle and you come up to receive it with a cup (Apple in this case). Then you get angry because your cup is small and spills the wine. Doooh! Be smart, bring a barrel next time.
Nope.
Compute Shaders. See Apple for their lack of support for modern technology. I use loads of Apple gear by the way so don't bother going there.
Nope.
Offline mode is not possible. Almost everything happens on the servers. The game is so large, and you're not grasping how large it actually is, that it can't run on an individual machine. You could make some sort of toy version but you already know how fast you'd get bored of that.
Probably to you it is. That's because you don't understand how the game works. I don't understand the details of how it works but I know enough to be able to spot uninformed whining like this.
Nope.
Can't have Mac version because compute shaders. Can't have offline version because the game is too big.
Times change, the world moves on. I used to play MUD before there were things like graphics cards. It no longer exists. Boo hoo. I don't want ED to go away. I don't want to not be able to play this game and I want to keep flying my ships until I can't fly them any more. I waited from 1984 for this game and now it's finally here you can bet your bottom dollar that I don't want it to go away again. This isn't a game for me, it's an alternative life.
But even I recognise that all things must come to en end. I hope that end is far away.
Well about the Mac thing you can lobby Apple to support modern specifications.
About the online thing you can lobby chip makers to make even more powerful processors and more memory and ISPs to provide more bandwidth.
And again about the online/offline thing you can buy that monster hardware when it comes out so you can run the thing if it ever materialises.
And most importantly: You can support the company making this game so they have the resources in the future to make this mythical offline thing.
McDonald's has their money and when the food is gone and the branches are shut down they still have their money.
John Lewis has their money and when the products are gone and the branches are shut down they still have their money.
JC Penney has their money and when the food and products are gone and the branches are shut down they still have their money.
etc... etc...
This is how the world works. Your money, my money, their money does not buy things in perpetuity. It buys some stuff for so long and that's it. You already know this. Games are no different.
Good. Now use a bit of that goodwill to understand the game and how it works and then work out what you can do to help maybe make the game stick around a bit longer.
Nope.
For the reasons outlined above that the other posters and I have pointed out.
Take a step back and have a think about how this game works. I didn't understand it at first either.
OP, you need to learn A LOT more about this game before arguing more. Please thank Commander Dave and others for your teachable moment!
I'm a Mac owner too. It's not Frontier's fault! Elite Dangerous is and will always be an online only game.
I'm a Mac owner too. It's not Frontier's fault! Elite Dangerous is and will always be an online only game.
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I suspect Frontier created the idea that this game could continue to function without the online components off the cuff in an effort to not frighten those who thought they might be left high and dry if the servers shut down.
Luckily, that will never happen on Frontier's watch.
Did I miss something way back when? Was it common knowledge that the money raised in the KickStarter was used by Frontier to buy the rights to Elite?
Have a look at this (admittedly ancient) article and see that the money that backers put into the KickStarter was pretty irrelevant:
Frontier Developments: 240 people and still indie
To me that says that Frontier had the money it needed to create Elite: Dangerous, but those of us who supported the KickStarter were suckered into thinking it depended on our pledges. No wonder DBOBE was so excited by the prospect of ED, it was worth a fortune to him.
Have a look at this (admittedly ancient) article and see that the money that backers put into the KickStarter was pretty irrelevant:
Frontier Developments: 240 people and still indie
To me that says that Frontier had the money it needed to create Elite: Dangerous, but those of us who supported the KickStarter were suckered into thinking it depended on our pledges. No wonder DBOBE was so excited by the prospect of ED, it was worth a fortune to him.
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I need this option right now, for custom content like mods. I'm bored waiting untill devs will make something new and usefull after another two years.
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Not quite true.
Im not sure what you mean by special club, however in order to get a minor faction with a name you choose, you need to apply to Frontier (not sure if there is now an established process, its been a while since we did it).
If order to pick an existing in game minor faction that you like, and adopt it, and work for it and make it bigger and better etc. does not require anything more than actions, and brining in other friends to join that actions.
Essentially the difference in this case to your own named background faction is, the name being chosen. Having a named faction still requires you to ralley friends and arrange the gameplay you want to acheive the bgs results.
Hey Amigacooke, the KS was a process of seeing if there was a justifyable demand, and infact it was quite clear that the KS would not raised enough funds to bring the project to completion (after the KS they brought in more investors).
So it was a process of seeing if there was a market for it, ie was it worth doing. Attracting further investors, and also bringing in a who core support of players, with ideas to help shape, to be part of the creative stages and ultimately help make the game what it became.
Im pretty sure it was stated at the time in the forums and subsiquent newsletters.. though I have no idea now.. the whole history is a bit of a blur..
That article is also 2 years after the kickstarter, but is probably due to the scirmishes of the rights holders being difficult under the original deal and it made sense to buy the rights outright, even though the creation of the game would have increased the costs they would then have to pay. Now they don't need to worry about any issues with rights going forward, which is essential if you want to develop the game.
So it was a process of seeing if there was a market for it, ie was it worth doing. Attracting further investors, and also bringing in a who core support of players, with ideas to help shape, to be part of the creative stages and ultimately help make the game what it became.
Im pretty sure it was stated at the time in the forums and subsiquent newsletters.. though I have no idea now.. the whole history is a bit of a blur..
That article is also 2 years after the kickstarter, but is probably due to the scirmishes of the rights holders being difficult under the original deal and it made sense to buy the rights outright, even though the creation of the game would have increased the costs they would then have to pay. Now they don't need to worry about any issues with rights going forward, which is essential if you want to develop the game.
God final point.
The Offline debate of old came down to one issue.
Time taken to develop the vast amount of data on the servers, and make it into an offline system. It represented significant resources to make it happen, resources that needed to focus on the important part of game development.
The game has developed so much more since then, and I would guess that this makes the process even more unlikely to happen. You couldn't simulate the BGS offline the same way, powerplay wouldnt work, etc.. it would actually be easier to write a new elite: Offline game than try to retro fit this one.
We all want it, and Im again trying to recall, im sure Frontier had a plan re end of life, to ensure the game wouldn't just be turned off.
The Offline debate of old came down to one issue.
Time taken to develop the vast amount of data on the servers, and make it into an offline system. It represented significant resources to make it happen, resources that needed to focus on the important part of game development.
The game has developed so much more since then, and I would guess that this makes the process even more unlikely to happen. You couldn't simulate the BGS offline the same way, powerplay wouldnt work, etc.. it would actually be easier to write a new elite: Offline game than try to retro fit this one.
We all want it, and Im again trying to recall, im sure Frontier had a plan re end of life, to ensure the game wouldn't just be turned off.
It'll go something like this:
THIS IS NOT A REAL FRONTIERS ANNOUNCEMENT (just to be clear
Hello Commanders,
It is with great sadness that we must announce the upcoming end of Elite Dangerous.
Firstly, we want to reassure you that this decision did not come lightly and is something that we have been investigating for some time. As many of you will know, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to bring Earth like planets and walking avatars due to technical barriers. We have felt it necessary to make this difficult decision for the overall Elite Dangerous experience. It is for this reason that we wanted to give you as much notice as possible. Coming towards the end of this year, you will no longer be able to play Elite Dangerous. As soon as we have a date to share, we will do so here.
We hope you will understand why we have taken this course of action and would encourage those of you who have questions or concerns, to please contact our Support Team HERE who are on hand and ready to help!
Thanks again,
Ed and the Elite Dangerous team
Youtube search aws conference frontier and find the youtube vid of how the servers work. (Mobile so cant find link)
Then remove "just" from your OP, as the first reply said: the servers are so bound in the game now to do offline would take several months of developer time.
Also mac loosing update support doesnt mean not playable from what I read. Just a more permenant lack of updates going forwards.
Then remove "just" from your OP, as the first reply said: the servers are so bound in the game now to do offline would take several months of developer time.
Also mac loosing update support doesnt mean not playable from what I read. Just a more permenant lack of updates going forwards.