Elite Dangerous won't have offline mode

[Pinback]

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.

[ExpandingMan]

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.

[Vuzz]

@ExpandingMan No possibillity to put the game paused? But ... how I do to get me a beer? more seriously the news that you give me about this release gamma reassures me a little Edit: did they've maintain a solo mode online on this gamma ? 

[Geraldine]

Hi VuzzYes 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

[VonPaulus]

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.Kickstarter rewards are now available, so I started as an explorer with a long range Cobra Mk III. You start at a random location near unexplored space.There's no exploration tutorial, so I had no idea what to do. My ship has a couple of scanners, but I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with them.Anyway, I chose an unknown system and jumped there. I got a message that I had discovered new astronomical objects. After fiddling around for a while I noticed that I can scan the closest star, which turned from unexplored status into explored with all its data.After you have gathered enough data and are running out of fuel, you return to the closest space station and sell your data. I guess that if you find something rare, like an Earth-like planet suitable for colonization, you'll be handsomely rewarded. I didn't find anything but dead systems, so the money I got wasn't much. But I didn't spend time carefully exploring all the systems for mineral rich asteroid belts and things like that.In the two hours that I played I didn't meet a single human player. Lack of tutorials hampered my efforts, but I can't deny that I enjoyed being the first person to explore a new system and then selling that data at a space station. It then becomes available for everybody.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 returned to the inhabited space to refuel and then did a couple of courier jobs to get more money. I'm hoping to buy a helium scoop so that I can refuel directly from stars, as refuelling costs at stations become high when exploring long distances.I still haven't seen any other humans. All the other ships that I've encountered have been NPCs. A couple of them have tried to attack me, but I've been able to avoid them.The long range Cobra is also great for courier and hauling missions. You don't have to make as many midway stops when completing missions as you would if you had a ship with a less advanced engine.I have 18 tons of free cargo space even after full tanks, so it makes trading considerably easier than with a Sidewinder.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..."

[Cody]

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!

[Geraldine]

Yep already updated, anyways back to mining...hopefully EDIT: No go for tonight at least. Oh well try again tomorrow.

[cultist]

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

[Cody]

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!

[Guest]

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.

[cultist]

Oooh yeah

[robske]

 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.

[Pinback]

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.

[Cody]

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

[Pinback]

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)

[Pyros]

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.

[Styggron]

The comments on the KS page continue.

[CaptainKal]

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

[sscadmin]

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

[CaptainKal]

That is too funny CaptianKal, so I guess this doesn't affect your opinions in the slightest? No. I 've already pre - purchased it. :pilot:(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.