Despite my own preference I don't have any facts telling me that open mode will become empty. But let's say it does become empty, then maybe too many people really wanted a classic, offline game - as initially promised! If that's not the case, open mode fans have nothing to fear and we "dinosaur offline players" can embrace extinction.
Will lack of subscription kill Elite?
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Despite my own preference I don't have any facts telling me that open mode will become empty. But let's say it does become empty, then maybe too many people really wanted a classic, offline game - as initially promised! If that's not the case, open mode fans have nothing to fear and we "dinosaur offline players" can embrace extinction.
Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
You seem to be conflating a (not very likely) offline mode in some way removing group switching between the three online modes - even if offline were to be offered, I would not expect anything to happen to solo-online, private groups or group switching - therefore no change to the online play experience.
That sarcasm is so strong I can smell it from here!
Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand the "It's easier in solo mode" point of view. I've been playing Open Mode since Gamma, been all over Fed and Alliance space, almost all trading, and had no issues with pirates, griefers, or other players in general. The market in Solo Mode is the same as the market in Open-Mode as far as I am aware, so two players in each mode going to the same station will get the same prices. My experience so far has been that I'm more likely to die by screwing up docking than by another player.
Ok, so online is broken no matter what. Quite a spectacular failure for an online only game, I'd say. Could be completely fixed for a number a customers by offering, let me see... an offline mode! As advertised right up to a few weeks before pulling the rug. Shouldn't even be that hard to implement, I think it's a matter of lacking will, more than any technical barriers.
Just as an fyi, childish name calling just undermines any potential validity to your post, and makes it likely you will be modded again. You're better off sticking with valid points and leaving the elementary school behavior behind.
I knew precisely what this game was, and that this game had 32 player instances before I ever hit that buy button, and so did anyone else that did even a modicum of due diligence. If you didn't know that the fault lies with your lack of research and nothing else. Caveat emptor.
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Source please... I am sure that FD didnt put all it revenue eggs in one basket, the do develop other games for other publishers, and since company profit loss/accounts are subject to many factors some and unless we are privy to the books and minutes of board meetings much of this is speculative.
With that in mind yes this is just a forum of the "internets". The "internets" is famously not always a place where lack of context, or facts can stop a rush that often leads to and, sometimes what some might think is swirl of mischievous, ill or misinformed speculation...
Quite right. This company has been around for 30 years. Im sure they have some pretty educated bean counters letting them know where they stand, or they wouldnt have been successful for 30 years. All of this is nothing more than some chicken little hand wringing from uninformed armchair economists.
Yup defend the guys who insult anyone who plays online eh? Umm, I knew about the 32 player limit. The reason it's laughable is because I've never seen more than one other person in an instance. Also, I don't cry to a mod when someone calls me a ganker or a griefer so calling someone a carebear is nothing.
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Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
I do not mean to make light of the decision to cancel the offline mode - I was rather surprised and disappointed when that broke (although it is not a showstopper for me).
Offering an offline mode would not mean that all players who would play in solo would be happy to play in the offline galaxy, however. Therefore the solo-online mode could not be removed. Then there's private groups - they could not be removed either as they seem to be becoming quite popular - one group has reached a size that has broken the group management system.
Ian Phillips
Volunteer Moderator
A diccussion of online/offline does not belong in this thread. Please keep your posts on the topic of the subscription model.
daan2002
Banned
Which then tends to make the 32 player instancing again, laughable. FD clearly doesn't have a clue on how to make an online game and should have stuck to making this a good single player experience. Clearly their servers cannot even handle more than a couple of players in an instance anyway as server performance degrades drastically to the point nothing loads anymore. Again, FD clearly didn't have the server architecture to handle creating an online game.maybe that might have something to do with 400 billion star systems just a thought
To add to the discussion, no a subscription will not help this game as you need players online in order to make money.
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Is that because it's uncomfortable? Honest question.
When looking at a topic, such as subscription/monetization, there will be a cascade of consequences to look at such as the the state of the game and what made it arrive where its currently at. Everything in this thread revolves around that. Do all topics get vetted to the point where discussion isn't really possible? Just trying to understand how things work around here.
Ian Phillips
Volunteer Moderator
No - it is because the premise of the thread is about paying a subscription. There are other threads that deal with an online/offline discussion.
Do not mix them please, otherwise there is never a clear discussion on one topic.
Do not mix them please, otherwise there is never a clear discussion on one topic.
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I do think it's weird that Frontier have gone for a single payment approach with everyone connected, because they've got the ongoing cost of supporting the servers. I fear we may be underestimating how much stuff will be classified as an "expansion" and charged for.
At least they got it to market before everyone got bored with it. Compare it to Kerbal Space Program, the other game I love, which has been beta for years so everyone who wants to play it has already bought it, at a discount.
I'm interested to see how Frontier will integrate the universes of standard players and those using expansion packs. If we can't walk about stations or land on planets, when others can, how will it work?
At least they got it to market before everyone got bored with it. Compare it to Kerbal Space Program, the other game I love, which has been beta for years so everyone who wants to play it has already bought it, at a discount.
I'm interested to see how Frontier will integrate the universes of standard players and those using expansion packs. If we can't walk about stations or land on planets, when others can, how will it work?
Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
Apologies Ian.
On topic: Frontier have picked a networking model that places less load on the servers, therefore less cost. From the Kickstarter FAQ:
Elite: Dangerous Kickstarter FAQ said:
This lays out Frontiers long term financial plan for the game.
I would absolutely uninstall ED if it became sub based. I absolutely love EVE Online, but I quit playing after 3-4 months because of the sub fee and I would do the same for Elite. I have no issue paying the upfront fee (just like any other game) but I don't like having to pay for the game again and again. Expansions are an entirely different beast and should not be lumped in with the sub based argument.
But a discussion of online/offline is intrinsic to whether subscription models are enforceable, or even relevant.
Personally, my feeling is that Frontier got where it is today _without_ a sub model on any of its games. Elite got where it is today as a game that's purely buy to play. So, if you're after proof that games and companies don't require subscription models to be successful, Frontier is great proof of that.
Secondly, I wouldn't pay a sub model for this game in a pink fit. Firstly, I backed this game on the understanding there would never be a subscription model (let's leave out the promised offline mode for now, otherwise I'll froth at the mouth again). Secondly, there simply isn't enough game here to warrant a subscription. If I was given the choice between paying regularly for what we have now and not playing at all, I would simply not play at all.
There's a good reason why I don't pay for any other sub model games at the moment besides WoW, and even that's paid for grudgingly. It's not that I don't have the money. It's the principle of the matter, and I don't believe in either wasting money unnecessarily or paying for things I'm not using enough.
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