To Frontier: If it comes to it, please push back the release date...would you?

[Harland White]

Hey Frontier Development, I'm absolutely loving the game and the vastness and exploration potential of the galaxy so far, even in this beta/gamma I've been participating in. Absolutely blows away any other space games out there in my humble opinion, no contest, and I have faith it will grow in the future and continue to dominate the space game market. Thanks so much for all the work so far...incredible, just incredible. I especially can't wait to be able to get up and walk around my ship, and land on/explore planets thousands of lightyears away. It's hard to even imagine the potential...but I believe you guys can do it.

That being said, I'm getting a little concerned about the amount of problems currently in the gamma. While it might be possible for you (I really don't know for sure as I know very little about coding/bug solving) to resolve these problems before Dec. 16th, I feel that perhaps more glitches/bugs have arisen out of the gamma than were expected. I could be wrong about that...but from my point of view, it seems that way. I'm finding it difficult to see how these issues could all be really resolved before the game goes live on the 16th. I'm writing this out of pure concern for this amazing soon-to-be Elite prodigy. It would break my soul to see the game rushed out to the market before it was truly ready to face the cold, scrutinizing chopping tables of the world's PC gamers and PC game reviewers. First impressions have always proven to be the most important and lasting ones, and I want to see the game *WOW* the PC gaming community. I really want to be able to do a Google search for "Elite: Dangerous Release Review" and see 5 stars across the board everywhere. I feel it would be very harmful to the game's ultimate future and potential if most reviews out there were something along the lines of "I was very impressed with the level of detail and was beginning to get a really good vibe from this game until *insert glitch* happened over and over, so I changed gears and tried some hauling missions for awhile, until *insert another glitch* happened", etc. That scares me...

I know I'm just another regular old Joe player and my opinion carries little weight, but I would like to put forth the suggestion that, rather than rushing this game out on the 16th before it is really ready for the judgments of the community, instead, push back the release date and give yourselves more time to really straighten these frayed edges out so that when it is finally time for it to go live, it can be a polished, smooth product. I'm no telepath, but I honestly believe I speak for the vast majority of our Elite community when I say that we can handle a delayed release if it means putting out a better-polished, better-functioning game.

Please don't take this message as a "I know what's better for this gaming company to do with their game" kind of thing, it's not meant as that at all, it's just me expressing my genuine concern over these numerous issues going on right now. I implore you to at least consider this alternative, assuming that your company isn't able to completely iron out these problems before Dec. 16th.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if you decide to take the time to reply as well, thanks a million times!

 

[TANDKO]

I support that suggestion.

I am a KS Backer and I still don't have access. The ticket I raised on 22nd has not been addressed yet. Well I understand that there could be a number of problems and even though I am itching to play, I can pardon the developers and wait a bit, and it's Gamma anyway.

That being said, the situation with an "after release buyer" will be exactly opposite, there will be a lot of angry people pouring their opinion all over a variety of game forums. And if Ubisoft and EA can hold the stand and everybody is used to their buggy releases - but even their share fall on bad news. For FD the situation might be more intense, especially after what already has been portrayed in the media.


Frontier, please, don't risk it anymore, we need you and this great game to grow, mature, develop and shine in glory.

 

[kosnett]

I was just thinking something similar to this when I saw your post...although I know from experience in software of the IMMENSE pressure to meet a release deadline and the increasing stress levels involved.

Way I see it, the gamma is looking more and more like the end-all-be-all Elite rebirth we've all been dreaming of. It can be very irritating though in a good way....I play this game and I'm like "I want this to be my life, I want to be an interstellar trucker and bounty hunter for real...NOW! NOW!! Free me from cubeville hell!" <burst into tears>

 

[HeadClot]

I am a KS backer has pre-ordered Elite: Dangerous and have NOT bought into beta. So take what I say with a grain of salt.
That said - From what Limited Gameplay footage I have seen it looks awesome and fun.
There is only so much you can do to make the game look visually impressive.

Just make the game fun / Interesting and the rest should fall into place.

I do not think the game needs to be delayed. But I have not played the game yet...

 

[PiLhEaD]

Everyone has their own gameplay experience, and mine does not align with the OP's.

I've been on the beta-treadmill a while, and the gamma is smooth, reliable, with very few issues, and no 'stopper' bugs. It looks fantastic, sounds amazing, and has plenty to be getting on with (aka gameplay) whilst FDev beaver away to produce more content (in all forms).

Naturally, if anyone testing finds a 'glitch' (or even 'rough edges') then raising a ticket is how we can all ensure that ED can be the best it can be for the 16th.

Even having lived with this game for a while, I can find few faults, but if I was coming to it anew at gamma, I'd be fantastically happy. How better it will be by the 16/12, well only time will tell. For those of you who haven't played it yet... I envy you, and I'd suggest stocking up on supplies, and setting aside the 17th and 18th... you're in for a ball!!!

As for me, I can't wait for planetary landings, and the arrival of the Thargoids...

 

[RaynMaykr]

My hope is that the bugs are squashed during gamma. I expect them to be. My concerns about early launch are similar but I think 3 features that have been talked about NEED to be there:

1) Parties - Group with up to 6 people. See where they are in system and be able to supercruise to where ever they are in system. An MMO needs this AT A MINIMUM.

2) Background sim needs to be more apparent or turned on. I'm hoping it just needs to be turned on. Newsletter 50 makes me think that's the case. But this close to launch and not seeing it fully is causing a lot of my anxiety about launch

3) The galaxy map and route planning needs a little enhancement. Simply storing a 12 jump route you planed between jumps would go a long way. In the future, being able to search and filter through other information would be really cool. Background sim info could be given through there.

 

[Stressfest]

This close to release, the promo would already been under way..money spent. No way they'd hold back on release now. Just hope it all falls into place for them

 

[Distance]

I would like it to be delayed but realistically it won't be and it needs to be out in time for Christmas. They DO need to add wings, proper trade routes tool (sat nav) in the galaxy map, squash bugs and a hell of a lot of manuals before the 16th though.

We know there's more content coming but those are the main things that will make or break it. We have to remember we've played hundreds of hours of beta so we've spent the time to get used to it already. For new players there's still a hell of a lot of content in the game right now.

 

[quintonnel]

Agree 100%.

Although I am enjoying the current build, more features would be nice.

 

[Daeron]

The die is cast, no turning back now. Someone find that Titus Pullo, just in case...

 

[fraz]

There's no stopping this now, it will release on the 16th December even if it needs significant updates afterwards. The release date has had far too much exposure now so any slip would be more of a PR disaster than releasing with issues. As with all software, it's all a balance of risk.

Personally, I'm happy with the current content and largely happy with stability but my biggest concern, after last night's debacle, is how long it takes to update the servers and get a reliable connection up and running again. Two to three hours for a minor update is a worry, and I would rather they stop connections altogether than subject us to the connect->disconnect->connect->disconnect we saw going to Gamma 1.01.

 

[BillD]

Bear in mind if they are not adding any more features now (except waypoints ), all of their efforts are focussed in fixing, not adding new stuff that can break things.

You see how much they add with some releases, its staggering. So now with all effort on just squashing bugs (and polish - i.e. waypoints ;-) ) I think we will really see lot of fixes in each patch now rather than new content.

It is very hard to squash bugs when so much new stuff including changes to base routines are constantly changing. The whole point of gamma is "that's it! stop adding dishes to the sink while I am trying to clean up"

BillD

 

[foxpur]

1) Financially, changing release date now would be financial suicide for the company... so, no.

2) There will be more patches coming after release, what we have now is the release version but that will get bits added as time goes on.

3) There are bigger versions biung planed to expand the game with major changes.

For some reason players seen the release as the "END!" of the game being distributed... it isn't. This is just the start of a ongoing increase if features. There is no "best way" but if you want to get the VERY important Christmas income this HAS to be released no later than when it is. This doesn't mean it is all that is going in the game.

 

[mbabbs]

Not a chance. The wheels are already in motion and they will not want to miss Xmas.

 

[Darkmatter]

My hope is that the bugs are squashed during gamma. I expect them to be. My concerns about early launch are similar but I think 3 features that have been talked about NEED to be there:

1) Parties - Group with up to 6 people. See where they are in system and be able to supercruise to where ever they are in system. An MMO needs this AT A MINIMUM.

2) Background sim needs to be more apparent or turned on. I'm hoping it just needs to be turned on. Newsletter 50 makes me think that's the case. But this close to launch and not seeing it fully is causing a lot of my anxiety about launch

3) The galaxy map and route planning needs a little enhancement. Simply storing a 12 jump route you planed between jumps would go a long way. In the future, being able to search and filter through other information would be really cool. Background sim info could be given through there.

Fully agreed, good post. With the above three points implemented reasonably well, the game would be just fine for release on the 16th of December. Right now, not so much.

 

[Hawkmoon]

There's no stopping this now, it will release on the 16th December even if it needs significant updates afterwards. The release date has had far too much exposure now so any slip would be more of a PR disaster than releasing with issues. As with all software, it's all a balance of risk.

Personally, I'm happy with the current content and largely happy with stability but my biggest concern, after last night's debacle, is how long it takes to update the servers and get a reliable connection up and running again. Two to three hours for a minor update is a worry, and I would rather they stop connections altogether than subject us to the connect->disconnect->connect->disconnect we saw going to Gamma 1.01.

We are normally told that the update is in progress and the servers will be back up at a certain time, normally about three hours later. I have always waited until after the time stated and so far have always come back to a stable server, I think the problem is that while the servers are getting back online you can start connecting before they have fully rebooted.

 

[Harland White]

Yeah, I didn't think about Christmas coming up soon after the release...FD shouldn't miss that, even if the game releases with some bugs.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

We are normally told that the update is in progress and the servers will be back up at a certain time, normally about three hours later. I have always waited until after the time stated and so far have always come back to a stable server, I think the problem is that while the servers are getting back online you can start connecting before they have fully rebooted.

Yeah that seems to be the case.

 

[Zak Gordon]

The irony would be terrible if FD went the Kickstarter route to avoid the normal publisher problems and all those issues that caused in Frontier and FFE, only to push it too soon all by themselves with the obvious pressures of a christmas release.

At some point you do just run out of dev funds, and ED never quite pulled in what it should have via kickstarter (it being a uk only kickstarter a large part of that perhaps?).

I think most of us Elite fans will know this is just a starting point for the game, and give some lee-weigh due to that, i'm slightly worried about the review press though. I hope FD are going to be good at communicating that this is an on-going project to them.

 

[rumtruffle]

the game is now feature complete for launch.
delaying it isnt going to do much tbh.

 

[Badd Mongo]

I don't think there is any reason for FD not to release the game on 16th December to be honest.

Yes, the game is currently a little light on features and needs more work, but FD have committed to continuously developing the game and with the single player offline game dropped now it is not like there is any danger Elite: Dangerous is going to get reviewed as a single player game and judged badly for being released incomplete.

By being an online game you can get away with it a bit more, Elite: Dangerous kind of reminds me of how EVE was 10 years ago, as in EVE was quite shallow and similarity light on the ground with features when it first released, taking years of development to grow in to what it is now.