Well, Guild Wars was online for quite sometime without any additional funding besides the game sales whatsoever. As far as we know, ED is quite server-light for a MMO (although most of the cost of running a MMO probably come from people to manage and update the game, not servers and maintenance).

For me, it seems that FD is betting to a lowish cost model with some cosmetic item sales (skins....) to fund the game continuity. Real money will come from game and expansion sales.

The comments on the KS page continue.

Believe it or not, I found out that E:D had an offline mode, when Frontier  cancelled it!!!   . 

Believe it or not, I found out that E:D had an offline mode, when Frontier  cancelled it!!!   . 

That is too funny CaptianKal, so I guess this doesn't affect your opinions in the slightest?

It will be interesting on how FD will fund this game effort. I doubt the little stuff like skins and the like will fund the game. They might have to go the route of SC and make ships purchasable with real money. But just make sure anything you purchase in game can be earned in game as well. I think if they made the universe more destructible I think players would love it, nothing effects the economy like taking out stations and outposts etc... but we'll see. Haven't read KS comments yet but I hope FD picks the right method to fund the game or there could be more irritation with the fanbase.

 

 

That is too funny CaptianKal, so I guess this doesn't affect your opinions in the slightest?

No. I 've already pre - purchased it.   (I even bought a T-Shirt!!!  😀  ) . Even if I don't usually play on-line games.

 

 

It will be interesting on how FD will fund this game effort. I doubt the little stuff like skins and the like will fund the game. 

I think they will try a "Guild Wars" approach. They could sell  the main game, and then they could produce  one or two expansions every year.

It's going to have to a big seller if they are going down that road and for some reason I keep thinking of that old saying "their no such thing as a free lunch" which I think is very apt to Frontier and this game.

Just been having a look at the Kickstarter comments and see some one from Frontier has been on trying to smooth the ruffled feathers.

A few things I recall from the early KS days: FD categorically ruled-out subscriptions; they mentioned cash-for-credits as something they might consider in the future; DB suggested that the game would be a 'slow burner', saleswise, with major expansions coming online one-by-one.

I can't corroborate any of that - and decisions/promises made then may have been changed, as we have seen happen recently - sadly.

Support Team

They seem to be dragging this out and I see from the Kickstarter comments only 20 confirmed/partial refunds so far.

Support Team

Thu 11th Dec 2014 11:41

Dear Kristiana,

After careful consideration of your request we hereby offer you £55, to refund the purchase of the game when you backed it and your upgrade to the physical disc + international delivery.

Any other benefits you may have will remain intact and associated with your account in the event that you decide to purchase the game at a future date.

Your acceptance of this offer will indicate that this is a full and final settlement of your refund request.

We thank you for your support of Elite: Dangerous, and hope that circumstances may allow you to play the game in future. 

Kind Regards,

Support.

Is that a partial refund I also see from comments on the Kickstarter that they are withholding PayPal fees.

Also theirs a reddit  about the refunds http://www.reddit.com/r/elitedangerousrefunds/

Haha that is funny, I have issued refunds before for SSC and paypal paid for its own fees. So not sure what they are talking about, but they could have a different account setup than mine.

Is that a partial refund I also see from comments on the Kickstarter that they are withholding PayPal fees.

 

Also theirs a reddit  about the refunds http://www.reddit.com/r/elitedangerousrefunds/

In total I paid 85GPB. Which was paid over paypal. I find it okay if 30 GPB is paid for beta access to the game, so I agreed with Frontier on this offer.

I see from one of the Kickstarter comments that the community manager on the Frontier forum says they are swamped, which is strange as Braben has claimed that their were only a few refund request?.

Haha that is funny, I have issued refunds before for SSC and paypal paid for its own fees. So not sure what they are talking about, but they could have a different account setup than mine.

Might also have to do with taxes which have to be filed quarterly.

 

Bedrijfsnaam:

 

Frontier Developments PLC (De afzender van deze betaling is Buiten de VS - Gecontroleerd).

E-mail koper:

 

sales@frontier.co.uk

Geld overgemaakt aan:

 

 

*******

 

Contactgegevens (zakelijk) 

 

URL Klantenservice:

http://elite.frontier.co.uk/

E-mail klantenservice:

 

sales@frontier.co.uk

 

Totaalbedrag:

 

£55,00 GBP

Kostenbedrag:

 

-£2,35 GBP

Nettobedrag:

 

£52,65 GBP

 

 

U heeft maximaal 60 dagen de tijd om het geld terug te storten.

 

Datum:

 

23 dec 2014

Tijdstip:

 

1734 CET

Status:

 

Voltooid

 

Onderwerp:

 

Elite Refund

Betaaltype:

 

Direct

 

Just got my refund 🙂 seems sorted now.

So, single player yes, but offline play: no. That's more than too bad IMO, the ED team not managing seting up a single player game mode in their huge galaxy, that's the worst case I have imagined 😡

They say they don't want to make an "empty" game experience, but there are a number of coding procedures that would prevent a space that is 'too' empty, with only little action. A simple way is to look how the author of Ad Astra has managed this: a script running for every solar system just before the player moves in: A script deciding how many friends, how many foes, merchands, miners, police etc. All working with probabilities, the more dangerous a system (and further away there are mostly anarchies), the more foes a player must affront. And only part of these foes will directly be aimed at the player.

This system works very well in Ad Astra, although there are basically only limited types of missions. The galaxy is not too empty, but rather too busy and too hard to play sometimes... So, no, I can't complain about any emptyness or no-action. The same goes in some other single player oriented classic space games.

No sorry, single player in offline mode IS possible. But of course: This requires some sophisticated AI behavior to be developed that most pure MMO space games don't include, (the real players making the game here, so it's not necessary).

Whatever the future will bring, ED will not advance further as to a very good ONLINE game, nothing to do with Elite I or Frontier Elite II.

I may understand that as a measure of copy protection, such a must-be-online is necessary just after game release, if so, that's ok, but I didn't read anything that would confirm this, so this is not the reason either.

I really hope a good single player offline game mode will be implemented soonest   I can't believe the majority of the fans (myself included) do agree with the current state of pure online necessity.

XenonS

This thread was about the lack of online. It still applies as far as I know.

Elite Dangerous might be fun multiplayer, but its singleplayer is duller than watching paint dry. The missions are unbearably generic, and the npc interaction is tedious at best. Bounty Hunting is extremely boring without others, and to make matter worse, trading is extremely time consuming without the benefit of something interesting like changing market situations without an 'event'. Its a game that is about the grind for the sake of grinding. Sadly, once you get the best ship what else is there to do? Explore? Powerplay? Crafting? I played until I was in a Vulture, and still found it tedious. Beyond the next new ship, it just isn't interesting in Singleplayer.

In multiplayer I'm sure its better, but to design your entire game around player interaction I just cannot see the lasting appeal.

Its also fairly expensive. The base game is 60 USD, and the expansion is another 60USD last I checked, and next years expansion is another 60 USD. Their payment model is absolutely required for such a big game, but the FUN factor of Freelancer, X, and FE2 just isn't there. Unless you REALLY like exploring or grinding out REZes.

I for one couldn't be bothered after 20 or so hours.

 

This thread was about the lack of online. It still applies as far as I know.

 

Elite Dangerous might be fun multiplayer, but its singleplayer is duller than watching paint dry. The missions are unbearably generic, and the npc interaction is tedious at best. Bounty Hunting is extremely boring without others, and to make matter worse, trading is extremely time consuming without the benefit of something interesting like changing market situations without an 'event'. Its a game that is about the grind for the sake of grinding. Sadly, once you get the best ship what else is there to do? Explore? Powerplay? Crafting? I played until I was in a Vulture, and still found it tedious. Beyond the next new ship, it just isn't interesting in Singleplayer.

 

In multiplayer I'm sure its better, but to design your entire game around player interaction I just cannot see the lasting appeal.

 

Its also fairly expensive. The base game is 60 USD, and the expansion is another 60USD last I checked, and next years expansion is another 60 USD. Their payment model is absolutely required for such a big game, but the FUN factor of Freelancer, X, and FE2 just isn't there. Unless you REALLY like exploring or grinding out REZes.

 

I for one couldn't be bothered after 20 or so hours.

 

Well i have invested 370 hours (bored enough to trade a-b for 150 hours to make money) in E:D ,trying basically everything possible and tried out the multiplayer part ... but it is basically doing the same boring stuff like in sp...apart from pvp (which i find problematic since engineers , too many hours grinding needed to get a decent loadaout)...

The part where E.D shines is the "flying a spaceship-feeling" because of brilliant sound design and noticeable differences in behaviour, but that isnt enough for long term motivation ( either more sim-elements needed or a constant stream of new ships).graphics are nice too and the game world is almost to large.

I agree there is lack of immersion and long time motivation plus to much grind involved.

I think limiting the creativity of players (not much to do then shuffle around your loadout) and lack of modding for sp is seriously hampering E:D.

Its fun for a while doing all the things possible , but once you see behind the scripted events everywhere the novelty and immersion fades off, leaving only grinding.

For a title this expensive i can expect more then mobile-phone levels of gameplay.