Update 14 and Beyond: Live and Legacy Modes

Rat Catcher · Nov 23, 2022

@Bruce G ...

So much fuel for rampant speculation... Excellent!

What we can say for now about Updates 15 and 16 is that they will both contain new content and gameplay mechanics linked to the unfolding events in the galaxy

Ravenov · Nov 23, 2022

Bruce G said:
Yes, you can consider each of your profiles on Live and Legacy as separate Commanders following the split.

/me looks for the 'dislike' option on the post

Bruce G · Nov 23, 2022

Ravenov said:
/me looks for the 'dislike' option on the post

Sorry to hear. If that's purely because you want to maintain a way to get unstuck, we're already aware and looking at options for this.

Ravenov · Nov 23, 2022

Also ... If someone plays primarily on 3.8 now, and installs 4.0 live in 6 months, will they lose 6 months of progress?

MattG · Nov 23, 2022

All sounds like good changes.

But as a 3rd party tool developer, let me be the first to quietly sob over in the corner while I contemplate how I deal with 2 versions of the same commander now.

Bruce G · Nov 23, 2022

Ravenov said:
Also ... If someone plays primarily on 3.8 now, and installs 4.0 live in 6 months, will they lose 6 months of progress?

The progress will remain on Legacy Mode. We're not offering to copy anything across from one to the other.

Ravenov · Nov 23, 2022

Bruce G said:
Sorry to hear. If that's purely because you want to maintain a way to get unstuck, we're already aware and looking at options for this.

Well that, and someone out of fuel in Odyssey currently has the option of being rescued by someone in 3.8 for example, should that be a faster or more convenient option

Alkibiades · Nov 23, 2022

If I discover a system in legacy, am I the discoverer of said system in 4.0 as well? What about the money? Is the 4.0 profile going to have the credits?

If I buy a weapon for my ship in 4.0 and switch to legacy, is said weapon still purchased and fitted? Is the other way possible?

I bet there are other examples/questions.

Bruce G · Nov 23, 2022

Ravenov said:
Well that, and someone out of fuel in Odyssey currently has the option of being rescued by someone in 3.8 for example, should that be a faster or more convenient option

Gotcha. Workarounds that depend on jumping between versions won't be possible following U14. Although that's not the sort of gameplay we particularly want to encourage.

Rubbernuke · Nov 23, 2022

How will ARX be handled, are both versions (legacy / live) 'valid' and generate ARX? Will we all have one wallet of ARX?

CmdrEdem · Nov 23, 2022

Every player will have a Legacy Commander profile created from their existing profile with separately tracked progress when Update 14 is released.

So, those that have a fleet carrier will have to maintain both separately? So I'll have to make a buck in both or loose one of the carriers?

Ok, I know this is a future me problem but I don't want to have that kind of account maintenance.

DrinkyBird · Nov 23, 2022

Rat Catcher said:
@Bruce G ...

So much fuel for rampant speculation... Excellent!

D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Elite Dangerous\Products\elite-dangerous-odyssey-64>EliteDangerous64.exe < dreams.txt

Bruce G · Nov 23, 2022

Alkibiades said:
If I discover a system in legacy, am I the discoverer of said system in 4.0 as well? What about the money? Is the 4.0 profile going to have the credits?

If I buy a weapon for my ship in 4.0 and switch to legacy, is said weapon still purchased and fitted? Is the other way possible?

I bet there are other examples/questions.

No, discoveries will be tracked separately. Everything between Legacy and Live will be separate.

Bruce G · Nov 23, 2022

CmdrEdem said:
So, those that have a fleet carrier will have to maintain both separately? So I'll have to make a buck in both or loose one of the carriers?

Ok, I know this is a future me problem but I don't want to have that kind of account maintenance.

We don't expect every (or even most) players to choose maintaining and progressing profiles on both modes. But if you want to, the option is there!

Intersection · Nov 23, 2022

Bruce G said:
Horizons is synonymous with the base game.

The Live game will continue to have Horizons and Odyssey modes and instancing will be separate as it is currently. However, the universe will be shared (BGS, Powerplay, Factions etc.). If Horizons and Odyssey players wish to instance together, they'll be able to do so in Horizons mode on Live.

Gotcha... Does this mean live will bring changes that will fundamentally affect gameplay loops like BGS and Powerplay?

And does the live/legacy split this mean console players are now unable to affect the live galaxy?

BZSm1th · Nov 23, 2022

With regards to BGS..

So, you're going to be supporting two instances of the galaxy essentially.

Any work on BGS carried out on Legacy will only affect the Legacy Galaxy and any work on Live will only affect Live Galaxy?

Go'Gen · Nov 23, 2022

Yes, you can consider each of your profiles on Live and Legacy as separate Commanders following the split.

So, no more easy G5 shards farming by switching versions.
Kind of... ok.

Bruce G · Nov 23, 2022

Intersection said:
Gotcha... Does this mean live will bring changes that will fundamentally affect gameplay loops like BGS and Powerplay?

And does the live/legacy split this mean console players are now unable to affect the live galaxy?

I can't spoil anything about the specifics of future updates. I can reiterate that any updates will only come to the Live version and unifying our development on one branch broadens the scope of possibilities within those updates.

For your second question, in short, yes. Consoles will retain access to 3.8. which is becoming Legacy Mode and has no impact on the Live game. Console will not gain access to 4.0 (becoming Live Mode) in future.

Bruce G · Nov 23, 2022

BZSm1th said:
With regards to BGS..

So, you're going to be supporting two instances of the galaxy essentially.

Any work on BGS carried out on Legacy will only affect the Legacy Galaxy and any work on Live will only affect Live Galaxy?

That's right!

Florenus · Nov 23, 2022

Legacy mode will be accessible from the launcher as a separate download from the Live game.

Does this mean I would need to download it, even if I already have 3.8 installed now? Or will it just change name?

All cosmetics purchased prior to Update 14 will be available across both Legacy and Live versions. Moving forwards, some cosmetics may be exclusive to Live mode. These will be clearly marked as such in the store.

Does this mean newly bought cosmetics (after update 14) will be available for both saves (live and legacy), excluding those specifically marked? Or will I have to buy new cosmetics for Legacy and Live separately (if I so choose)?