What the Newsletter really says....

[orfeboy]

"After the 16th December we will continue to update with more polish and content such as the playable ships we committed to in our Kickstarter campaign – in fact I’m delighted to be able to tell you that we are now planning to eventually have 30 playable ships in Elite: Dangerous, 5 more than we committed to in Kickstarter."

So upon release we will not actually get the 25 ships as previously stated.

"New Beta Benefits!
Being a Beta backer is the only way you will be able to play Elite: Dangerous until 16th December. In addition to that and the other existing Beta benefits such as Mercenary Edition and automatic permit to visit Sol, today we are delighted to announce:
25% off in-game ship insurance for life to all our Beta backers
plus free access for Beta and Alpha backers to one of the 5 new ships that David announced in his piece above when it’s released!"

So we will get ACCESS to 1 new ship before some sort of release update of 5 new ships whenever that may be...

It seems to me that this is FD breaking the news gently in a roundabout way. What worries me a bit more is that these five new ships are what a portion of the staff are wasting their time on when they could be working on missions for the game. I really hope that ED is not going down the same route other games do where they latch onto one impressive aspect of a game and use that as its selling point at the expense of everything else. Many games in my opinion have been guilty of this.

 

[Avnas]

5 more ships on release doesn't mean only 5 more ships ever. i'm sure there's plenty of other stuff going on.

i'd be more concerned that we have a perpetual advantage from 25% off ingame ship insurance, and a starting advantage of 40k credits (we get a ship)

 

[Tinman]

So the 3D modelers that are making the ships should work on designing missions instead?

That's silly.

I do agree they could work on other things than ships though...I rather see a lot more variation to the interiors/exteriors of stations for example...that's the environment we are seeing most of the time after all.

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5 more ships on release doesn't mean only 5 more ships ever.

i'd be more concerned that we have a perpetual advantage from 25% off ingame ship insurance, and a starting advantage of 40k credits (we get a ship)

I've always assumed the ships we get will be loaners thus not being able to sell them for credits.

 

[orfeboy]

5 more ships on release doesn't mean only 5 more ships ever. i'm sure there's plenty of other stuff going on.

i'd be more concerned that we have a perpetual advantage from 25% off ingame ship insurance, and a starting advantage of 40k credits (we get a ship)

You are missing the point. The so called access to a new ship (whatever that actually means) won't happen on release of the game. It is something that is coming later... Read it again...

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So the 3D modelers that are making the ships should work on designing missions instead?

That's silly.

I do agree they could work on other things than ships though...I rather see a lot more variation to the interiors/exteriors of stations for example...that's the environment we are seeing most of the time after all.

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I've always assumed the ships we get will be loaners thus not being able to sell them for credits.

Of course 3D modelers should be working on missions! Do you think missions don't require 3D models? Unless it is samey generic missions you are after? Me personally, I am expecting something a little better than that thank you!

 

[Scrogg]

I DON'T WANT all 25 ships at game launch. To me it would be like having your first birthday and your parents giving you a bunch of presents and saying "Okay, that's it. That's all you get, enjoy. No more presents FOREVER!!!"

It might take you a while to play with it all but soon enough you realize there is nothing to look forward to, no more surprises, no more new experiences. I'd be happy with just 5 ships or so to mess around with and get to know. Then, after I had searched for light years across the galaxy to find all the best upgrades and must have pimping accessories, introduce a couple more ships so I can relive the enjoyment of doing it again.

You kids with your instant gratification... GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!

*dagnabbit*

 

[OillyRag]

I wish people would stop moaning, its getting rediculous. If you dont like it, please just leave the game to the people who do enjoy it and are actually looking forward to release.

 

[orfeboy]

I DON'T WANT all 25 ships at game launch. To me it would be like having your first birthday and your parents giving you a bunch of presents and saying "Okay, that's it. That's all you get, enjoy. No more presents FOREVER!!!"

It might take you a while to play with it all but soon enough you realize there is nothing to look forward to, no more surprises, no more new experiences. I'd be happy with just 5 ships or so to mess around with and get to know. Then, after I had searched for light years across the galaxy to find all the best upgrades and must have pimping accessories, introduce a couple more ships so I can relive the enjoyment of doing it again.

You kids with your instant gratification... GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!

*dagnabbit*

You also are missing the point. It is becoming rapidly apparent that ED is being rushed out and is nowhere near where the design team had wanted to be for the release. This game is being squeezed by legal commitments IMO. It is not finished and this newsletter is letting this news down gently. I will definately be watching the release on twitch with interest as I am interested to see how FD pull off this premier. Such a thing will require plenty of new content afterall.

 

[Herik]

"After the 16th December we will continue to update with more polish and content such as the playable ships we committed to in our Kickstarter campaign – in fact I’m delighted to be able to tell you that we are now planning to eventually have 30 playable ships in Elite: Dangerous, 5 more than we committed to in Kickstarter."

So upon release we will not actually get the 25 ships as previously stated.

"New Beta Benefits!
Being a Beta backer is the only way you will be able to play Elite: Dangerous until 16th December. In addition to that and the other existing Beta benefits such as Mercenary Edition and automatic permit to visit Sol, today we are delighted to announce:
25% off in-game ship insurance for life to all our Beta backers
plus free access for Beta and Alpha backers to one of the 5 new ships that David announced in his piece above when it’s released!"

So we will get ACCESS to 1 new ship before some sort of release update of 5 new ships whenever that may be...

It seems to me that this is FD breaking the news gently in a roundabout way. What worries me a bit more is that these five new ships are what a portion of the staff are wasting their time on when they could be working on missions for the game. I really hope that ED is not going down the same route other games do where they latch onto one impressive aspect of a game and use that as its selling point at the expense of everything else. Many games in my opinion have been guilty of this.

Well since I could care less for a lot of extra ships; I do want more attention paid to the other elements of the game...

 

[orfeboy]

I wish people would stop moaning, its getting rediculous. If you dont like it, please just leave the game to the people who do enjoy it and are actually looking forward to release.

I backed this game with my own money. that gives me as much right to say whatever I like about it as anyone else. If you want to pull the mattress over your head and hope the monsters will go away that is also YOUR choice. Some of us around here want to discuss the games progress warts and all. If you don't like that then don't read the forum because it is very clear that there are a lot of people on here that do.

 

[OillyRag]

I will definately be watching the release on twitch with interest as I am interested to see how FD pull off this premier. Such a thing will require plenty of new content afterall.

What do you mean watching it on twitch. Do you even own a copy of the game ?

 

[Toscaner]

You also are missing the point. It is becoming rapidly apparent that ED is being rushed out and is nowhere near where the design team had wanted to be for the release. This game is being squeezed by legal commitments IMO. It is not finished and this newsletter is letting this news down gently. I will definately be watching the release on twitch with interest as I am interested to see how FD pull off this premier. Such a thing will require plenty of new content afterall.

sounds like exaggeration to me

and ofcourse one could also choose to be happy about 5 more ships, but you choose to be sad about them coming later than release, your choice

also you seem to forget they have limited resources, their KS campaign didn't yield 60mil - you have to put that into the equation when judging their product

the one point i agree with is, the communication seems kinda, let's say unfortunate or clumsy

 

[orfeboy]

What do you mean watching it on twitch. Do you even own a copy of the game ?

Erm.... The premier live event.

 

[danishpuma]

You also are missing the point. It is becoming rapidly apparent that ED is being rushed out and is nowhere near where the design team had wanted to be for the release. This game is being squeezed by legal commitments IMO. It is not finished and this newsletter is letting this news down gently. I will definately be watching the release on twitch with interest as I am interested to see how FD pull off this premier. Such a thing will require plenty of new content afterall.

Isn't all content new on release? Having played to much beta and being bored already is no excuse.

 

[OillyRag]

If you want to pull the mattress over your head and hope the monsters will go away that is also YOUR choice.

that's the point .. there are no monster's fella .. I just object to people constantly moaning about what will (given the chance) be an amazing game. it's just being spoiled at the moment by all this rubbish being talked up in the forums. frontier will deliver, and they will do it long after you've moved on to your next object of derision.

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to be honest i don't even know why I'm posting replies to this obvious flame bait ..... the troll's are getting under my skin i think

 

[orfeboy]

Isn't all content new on release? Having played to much beta and being bored already is no excuse.

If the game is premiered with exactly the same content as the Beta in front of a bunch of ticket buying fans do you think they are going to be impressed with that? Also, it is a Beta and if it is still a Beta minus a few bugs at the premier event then it is not a game. It is still just a Beta.

So far the game does not hold enough lasting appeal. I am far from the only one to voice this concern. If you can't see that yet then you soon will. I don't want this game to fail. Far from it. But I can see its shortcomings the main of which is in missions and NPC interaction. We need a reason to explore the galaxy. Pressing a button in front of a shiny ball does not make for engaging gameplay. All we have seen in the Beta makes an excellent backdrop for the content the game needs to make it truly engaging. It is not enough as it stands at present to keep players coming back. It is 2014 not 1984. The game needs more to keep players interested. The same motivations that were in the original Elite are all thet is there at the moment. We need more. I hope they have this content coming in thick and fast or it will not be enough to keep me interested. I can always play OOlite afterall and get more or less the same experience. So far EDhas only offered better graphics.

 

[Antmax]

I wish people would stop moaning, its getting rediculous. If you dont like it, please just leave the game to the people who do enjoy it and are actually looking forward to release.

+1

I agree completely.

 

[kilvenny]

I would imagine that the staff working on the mission side are a different group to those working on the ships. I suspect they have already started thinking about ships they will need later and are leveraging the graphics folks while they are familiar with the ship code to get them done. It's also a relatively low risk way of adding content to the game. This is an aspect that is important to keep momentum going and peoples interest while thy build the planet landings and walking around.

 

[EAGLE 5]

I DON'T WANT all 25 ships at game launch. To me it would be like having your first birthday and your parents giving you a bunch of presents and saying "Okay, that's it. That's all you get, enjoy. No more presents FOREVER!!!"

It might take you a while to play with it all but soon enough you realize there is nothing to look forward to, no more surprises, no more new experiences. I'd be happy with just 5 ships or so to mess around with and get to know. Then, after I had searched for light years across the galaxy to find all the best upgrades and must have pimping accessories, introduce a couple more ships so I can relive the enjoyment of doing it again.

You kids with your instant gratification... GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!

*dagnabbit*

LOL you say kids I say finance majors. Your birthday reference describes the concept of net present value (pun intended)

Back OT I would also like to add that thee modeling team is not the same folks tackling the net code or the nuts and bolts of the game. And more than likely I would not be a bit surprised if these models have been made already but for whatever reason they got cut a some point in the development process and now they are getting fished out and polished for a release that happens all the time. One ship I bet is in that bucket is the Krait. We all seen the concept art with it and then poof it was gone with no mention of it coming back... then there was that stray Cobra Mk.I drawing in one of the developer videos I bet that gets a second life too.

 

[Scrogg]

You also are missing the point. It is becoming rapidly apparent that ED is being rushed out and is nowhere near where the design team had wanted to be for the release. This game is being squeezed by legal commitments IMO. It is not finished and this newsletter is letting this news down gently. I will definately be watching the release on twitch with interest as I am interested to see how FD pull off this premier. Such a thing will require plenty of new content afterall.

No Orfeboy (can I call you "Boy?") You are missing the point. No online game is ever published with everything the Devs hoped it would have. No matter the game, someone is going to whine that it is being rushed and is incomplete. IT"S JUST A FACT OF GAME DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION. The only thing that matters is; is the game playable and does it bring enjoyment to the purchaser. Toss all of the PR and propaganda out the window. If you had never even heard of Elite Dangerous and picked it up off the shelf on Dec 16th (still a month away) installed it on your PC and played it would you enjoy it? This is all that matters, everything else can and will change. A launch date does not mean development ends. All of this forum whining is just speculation, all it does is rile people up, it serves no constructive purpose whatsoever and if people really want the game to succeed they will stop poisoning the well and creating drama.

Please do us all a favor and keep your speculation to yourself until Dec. 16th.

 

[carlisle]

If the game is premiered with exactly the same content as the Beta in front of a bunch of ticket buying fans do you think they are going to be impressed with that? Also, it is a Beta and if it is still a Beta minus a few bugs at the premier event then it is not a game. It is still just a Beta.

Is that what you expect will actually happen though? As we've seen with the major beta updates, each time one is released it comes with major new features. I'd be surprised if the Final release wasn't as big a step forward as the beta updates... I'd be surprised in fact if the final release was merely on a par with the beta updates, and not the biggest update yet. That the current state of the beta is far from being a complete game is perhaps only more reason to believe that the final game won't just simply be another update to the beta.

I think a lot of people are assuming that the beta represents some kind of steady evolution from initial ideas to finished game. That's generally the case with some open-source games, but their development model is totally different to FD's, and FD probably have access to internal testing, so not everything has to be released to the beta group for public testing. In fact if I were FD and I had some feature which I thought might not need beta testing, then I wouldn't beta test it. Beta testing in this manner is resource intensive as it requires them to get features at a usable level and integrated with a beta build of the game far earlier than they normally would... it's like trying to decorate a cake before baking it... in the end you have to bake lots of beta cakes just so you can test the decoration. There will be some things I'm sure that they've decided don't need beta tested, they've tested them internally, and would rather spend the resources fine-tuning them that way than getting them into the beta. Not only does this save resources but it holds back some features for the release, whereas if they beta tested every little thing, the release would be hardly any different to from the final beta.