An online petition pushing for inclusion of an offline mode has started, details <here>

petition signed

I don't even think procedural generation for a game is even a argument point. Because the things that Limit Theory is doing with PG is simply amazing (nevermind No Man's Sky) and it is a SP game first and its a one man show (not a team of 20). I think this game could have easily accomplished both. I was probably like Pinback and I was waiting for Elite kickstarter to end and I missed out on Limit Theory kickstarter (I missed out on Elite because I didn't like all the talk of online mode). I am speaking just as a simple gaming fan in general, its irritating seeing your time and effort lost in server moves or shutdowns in a MMO, thats why I don't play them because eventually they will shutdown. I think not having a SP offline mode is a very valid argument especially in the context of Elite and I think the kickstarter would have not made its goal if it was stated from the beginning it was going to only have online modes. I mean E:D made 250k over their goal, that isn't much when you think about it, lets say 20 person team for 2yrs... heck that doesn't cover their salaries so now we know why Elite is being hurried out the door. Do I expect Star Citizen and Squadron42 to be released on time, no. Why? Because they have a lot on their plate and I honestly feel that Chris Roberts will take his time with his ultimate game and give the fans exactly what he has stated. Take your time FD and give the fans what they want and you will be rewarded.

I wouldn't mind to wait for another year for an off-line mode... I've been waiting for a new Elite (no MMO) for far more...

 

 

the things that Limit Theory is doing with PG is simply amazing (nevermind No Man's Sky) 

Sorry to get off topic, but though I agree with you on Limit Theory, we know pretty much nothing about No Man's Sky.  You can spend days hand-crafting two dozen plant and animal meshes, place them randomly and assign them random colors and call it "procedural generation".  I'm not trying to claim that's what they are doing in No Man's Sky, but we have no idea what they're doing, we have seen very, very little of it.  I suppose I just get kind of frustrated when they overshadow Elite and SC (both of which have a lot of impressive things implemented) with little more than a few pretty screenshots.  I wish Hello Games all the best, but at the moment I have no reason to expect their game to compare to other upcoming projects like Elite, SC and Limit Theory.

Very good argument there ExpandingMan, Hello Games has certainly turned some heads with their project and I do hope it is truly PG as they claim. And getting back on topic, I know to probably create the universe that both Elite Dangerous and SC will need you will have to use PG to make it happen and create the sheer content that is needed to fill a gigantic universe such as these. We forget that sometimes games use PG to eliminate constructing sectors/planets/ships/stations by hand. So in a way using PG should have made it a bit easier for the team once the engine behind it all was in place (this is if my thoughts behind PG are correct). I know FD are trying to give us a 'living universe' feel for their game. And this same feeling could also be inserted into a SP online or offline model as well but on a smaller scale. Do I expect what is in a MMO version of Elite to be in a SP only Elite heck no and I would be foolish to think they could do that. I just think FD thinks that we expect the MMO in a SP experience and we don't 🙂

I think FD made two mistakes: to a certain extent, they over-promised and under-delivered (should be the other way round), and they definitely should've owned-up much earlier to their 'problems' with offline mode. Possibly sharp marketing - but who knows for sure?

They have right-royally pissed-off some of their staunchest supporters, that much is certain!

still off-topic, so i'll make it quick:

About No Man's sky, their PG system was discussed at length in the #ProcJam event. There's a 4h long twitch stream saved here (they speak about it at around the 2 hour mark) It's a good video to watch for anyone interested in procedural stuff (the developer of Ultima Ratio Regum made an interesting talk too).

 Do I expect what is in a MMO version of Elite to be in a SP only Elite heck no and I would be foolish to think they could do that. I just think FD thinks that we expect the MMO in a SP experience and we don't 🙂

 Exactly. I was expecting a sandbox experience, that I could save and progress at my own pace.

Just my thoughts.

There will be a whole bunch of reasons why they dropped offline mode for the first release, but I think once the game goes properly live and more people start playing it, Frontier will have a much better idea on how desirable an offline mode would be. Perhaps they need more sales to develop it after using up their dev budget on this first release?

Certainly they had more expansions in mind further down the line, hopefully one of these could be the offline mode. With the game not even officially out yet its possible (especially with the reaction to the news of the dropping of offline) they don't want to make promises now that they might struggle to meet later.

Basically then (in my view) I think it will depend on sales post release.

I think theirs very little hope of seeing an offline SP PC game and even the online one may be dropped as bigger companies with deeper pockets have had trouble with them in the past. I suppose theirs an outside chance of later console version having a SP game but I would not bet on it.

I just wonder if their are any more revelations to come as they have not said much about how they intend to finance all this.

At least for the time being I can say this:

I have been playing Gamma 1.0 solo all weekend and I must say, it doesn't feel even remotely like an MMO, or even an MMO with no other players in it.  In fact, I find it to be remarkably like Frontier in many ways.  They really seem to emphasize trading as the core of the game, giving you lots of interesting little things to do on the side.  The biggest inconvenience I find in the game being online is the inability to pause (and this is indeed quite frustrating, that alone is enough reason for me for an offline mode).  I don't know what's coming in the future, but for now, I don't think the panic about it "turning into an MMO" is really justified.  For the moment, it seems to be the Elite we've been waiting for in most ways.  If ultimately FD decides all they really want it to be is an MMO with a 10^14 cubic lightyear PvP arena, I'll be as frustrated and disappointed as anyone else, but I think I'm as happy with their initial release as I ever have been with the game.  

Hi Vuzz

Yes solo online is still there as is private groups, although at present there is an annoying game pausing bug I am getting from time to time, a bit like those old Sony Playstation One games used to do when accessing their disks. I have ticketed it though to Frontier. As for getting a beer, grab one when your docked

A friend of mine also gave me the same reassuring input as ExpandingMan.

He even ventured to the multiplayer.

"I have now spent a couple of hours playing the gamma in full online.

I don't know how soon it'll happen - or if it will happen - that the hardcore 24/7 guys will have explored all the unknown systems close to inhabited areas, but there didn't seem to be anybody in my corner of the galaxy."

"I've continued my explorer career. I managed to find a system with several planets, some of them rich in minerals and one with simple algae lifeforms. That discovery made me over 9000 credits, which is a lot compared to the 500-600 credit dead world discoveries that I had been making until now.

I have to admit that I'm enjoying ED. It's a special feeling to go into unexplored space and see what you can discover there. You also feel quite lonely there, which adds to the immersion. And the galaxy is huge, as we know."

"Right now I'm eager to continue my exploration career and see what happens. Being able to start with the long range Cobra has definitely made the game more interesting than what it was in beta with the endless Sidewinder grinding. And being able to explore new worlds is actually quite fun. It's a cool feeling to be alone (or almost alone) in an unknown star system, not knowing what may happen there.

I think I'll be spending a lot of time as an explorer. Getting into fights with psychopaths is really not my thing."

"The closest I've been to heavily populated systems is Tau Boötis, about 50 light years from Sol. I will probably visit the central areas at some point, but right now I'm mostly interested in exploration. Obviously the chances of running into some dickhead are greater in the more populated areas."

Now one of the reasons why we wanted an off-line mode:

"I have a fuel scoop now! I also discovered my first white dwarf and took a screenshot, but it seems to have vanished.

The servers went down for maintenance when I was in hyperspace. Hopefully that won't cause any problems..."

Damn quote function is playing up! Geraldine - there was a bug with a five second pause every five minutes.

Should be fixed in the latest update - Gamma 1.01 already!

Yep already updated, anyways back to mining...hopefully

EDIT: No go for tonight at least. Oh well try again tomorrow.

Can they introduce a monthly fee for " server maintenance electric bills and whatnot"?

Can they introduce a monthly fee for " server maintenance electric bills and whatnot"?

Another can of worms, is that - some people don't mind subscriptions, others hate them with a vengeance!

Another can of worms, is that - some people don't mind subscriptions, others hate them with a vengeance!

I think it a bigger can of worms than the offline been dropped (for the time been).

I have played many MMO, most of them have a some form of subscription base. Good example is ESO (Elder Scrolls Online) where you buy the licence for the game and then pay a monthly subscription. WOW has been going going on very successfully for 10 years and you not only have to pay for each expansion but also pay a monthly subscription fee. Yes there are F2P MMO out there but in the end it more viable to pay a monthly subscription if you want the full benefits or been limited in what and how far you can play.

In my opinion this will need to be a must for ED since this the avenue they want to pursue. You cannot keep a MMO running just on expansion payment only. A subscription must be implemented to keep small update and maintenance going.

Oooh yeah 😀

 

Hi there,

For clarity, we would like to ensure that you are clear that the announcement of no off-line play does NOT affect the existing single player mode. Single player mode is (and will remain) in the game, and requires a relatively low bandwidth on-line connection, around 10kbps. In single player mode you will not come into contact with another human player.

We are sorry we were unable to deliver an acceptable fully off-line mode for Elite: Dangerous, we tried for a long time to find a good solution. We also wish to make sure that you know we would be delighted if you felt able to reconsider your request for a refund and continue playing Elite: Dangerous on-line. 

Thanks in advance for your response.

Kind Regards,

The Support Team

 

I answered this:

 

Hi there,

 

Are there any plans for offline play (which would understandably sacrifice the dynamic universe) at a later date? (post release)

 

My trouble is that my internet connection is quite unstable at times. When its good I have a 30MBits line, but when its unstable it will flip on and off about every 20 to 30 minutes. And such a situation tends to persist for up to 3 days at a time, and occurs almost bi-weekly. I hoped there would be offline singleplayer play, but I understand from design decisions that would be hard to make.

 

Right now I'm keeping my refund request standing unless the offline play will be added into the game in a post-release update.

 

Thanks for your patience,

Kristiana

 

Seeing how i write this, it might give them the incentive to promise offline play for a later date.

Has anyone been given a refund yet? or read of some one receiving one.

Seen a couple of interviews with Braden where he is claiming the number of people asking for a refund is small but he refuses to give the number of how many are asking.

 

Seeing how i write this, it might give them the incentive to promise offline play for a later date.

Think it unlikely.

I have seen a couple of posts, claiming to have been offered a partial refund - but I can't confirm that.

I think what a lot of us tend to forget is that Frontier Developments is a commercial games developer and if the game fails to generate x amount of money then they they will drop it like a hot potato.

With hind sight I would say that the decision taken so far have been to make the game profitable and no doubt we can expect some sort of announcement on what funding model they intent to use to generate the cash.(think we will see another big outcry when this happens)