E:D on Steam

[Pinback]

Looks like they have put the game on Steam https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=133500[/url] now the big question is will they send backers keys or are they just trying to get more money. If they don't send out keys for the original backers of the game, then it will be another epic fail for Frontier developments, give that most kickstarters send Steam keys to backers of their games.

[ExpandingMan]

They are saying they won't send backers keys. This is colossally stupid, not only for the obvious reasons, but even more so because they are trying so hard to push the multiplayer aspect of the game, which Steam is obviously useful for. Congratulations FD, you managed to royally piss everybody off for a second time, only this time it would probably take next to no effort to rectify.

[medchtsia]

They are saying they won't send backers keys. This is colossally stupid, not only for the obvious reasons, but even more so because they are trying so hard to push the multiplayer aspect of the game, which Steam is obviously useful for. Congratulations FD, you managed to royally piss everybody off for a second time, only this time it would probably take next to no effort to rectify. Actually they said that they will add steam keys, if the demand is at economic harming level. So if you want steam keys all you have to do is start a large enough demand by filling up the forums with complaints until they agree.If they don't then you can always stop buying paint and see what happens.

[Pinback]

Apparently they are thinking about it http://steamcommunity.com/app/359320/discussions/0/611702631213153649/[/url] and given their past record probably means "we were not going to do it but we have been caught with our pant's down again so we will have a think about how we can get out of it". This is the third strike in a row for them first the handling of the off line single player issue , then the refunds now this It's unbelievable just how out of touch this company is with current PC gaming. And why no announcement in the news letter which was sent out early you would think this would have been a major announcement for them, putting the game on Steam. I see they have used that phony trailer again and I suspect that their will be some upset Steam user when they discover the gameplay bears no relationship to the trailer.

[ExpandingMan]

To me, in some way the steam key issue is worse than their previous blunders. I badly wanted the offline mode myself, but I can certainly appreciate that they decided not to devote the resources to it (although my opinion will become harsher depending on the direction future development takes). As far as I can imagine there is only one possible excuse for this: that would be if Steam demands royalties retroactively for their previous sales (of course if most customers found out that Valve does business that way, they'd be irate). Given the previous history with kickstarters however, I find it a little hard to believe that FD has that good a reason.

[Pinback]

I seem to recall that FD said they were not going to use Steam, now this change although I would guess it might be more down to poor sales of the game as we are now 4 months after the launch and they have not said anything about how well it has sold. Also it's incredible bad timing, launching the game on Steam a day before the Easter weekend holidays or is it deliberate and given their past record I will very surprised if they were to give out Steam keys to the Kickstart backers of the game.

[Cody]

The sales weasel and his beancounters will have their way - 'twere ever thus!FD will never have another penny out of me, that's for sure - no way, José!

[ExpandingMan]

Also it's incredible bad timing, launching the game on Steam a day before the Easter weekend holidays Isn't that good timing? It's a 3 day weekend for a lot of people. It seems preferable to a weekend where people have to work normal hours.

[Pinback]

4 days in the UK.Been surfing over the comments and it appears that the Steam version does nothing more than launch the crappy E:D launcher, which myself and lot others can get to work https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=75505[/url] another own goal if they have decided not to take advantage of Steam downloading/updating facilities.

[sscadmin]

I guess my decision to wait to buy Elite: Dangerous was well put for now until all this is complete. I have purchased several kickstarter games that were not on steam and even those game developers gave away steam keys when they were accepted. Does the developer have to pay Valve to give out all these free keys? I wonder how much per game this is? Regardless it is a good gaming practice for them to do this, FD is considered a bigger development team and they have a AAA title out there right now. Why take the negative press like they are now? Is FD this money hungry to not please the customers that are paying their bills. I hope you guys get your keys, but with this latest bit of news I will wait to purchase E:D until its sub $20 now.

[Pyros]

Current status is "For those of you who already own Elite: Dangerous from our store and asked about getting the game in your Steam collection: we hear you and we’re looking into it. We can’t speak for other cases where the same question has come up, but turning EliteDangerous.com customers into Steam customers unfortunately isn't 100 percent our decision and isn’t free for us in the context of the game’s ongoing growth and development. It could take a few weeks to work through, but we hear your feedback and addressing it is a priority for all of us.' AFAIK FD never stated anything about Steam either way, only that they would be using their own platform and servers - which they do even regarding the "steam version". Anyone that bought the game directly form Frontier - which was my case - got what we paid for - I was never promised any steam key of the game, although being a keen Steam user (over 400 games on it :help: ) I'd appreciate to be given one key / to play within the Stem ecosystem. Either way, it doesn't affect the game per se. While I haven't tried the Steam version, it is similar to the normal version - I'm not sure if access is even controlled by Steam or by FD servers. One can add ED as a non Steam game, the only impact I can see (besides the "oh so very important" achievements and played hours tracking) is the lack of automatically update the launcher... ok... Anyway, I have no idea that the unification of Steam and ED clients is easy.

[Pyros]

Steam key updateHi everyone, Some breaking news for you:We’ll soon be offering Steam keys to anyone who bought Elite: Dangerous from the EliteDangerous.com store who would like a key, and to anyone who buys the game from our store in the future.We always appreciate it when you buy direct from our store because it means we can put more into supporting and developing Elite: Dangerous, but we know a number of long-time players and backers like to play through Steam and we think it’s fair everyone has that option, not just new players.Elite: Dangerous runs on Frontier’s servers, so we’ve been working with Valve to give you a way to seamlessly connect your Steam and existing Frontier accounts in a way that’s easy. It’s coming soon. From May 28 you’ll be able to generate a Steam key from your account page, and we’ll have full instructions right here on the forums closer to the time.The team really has been working hard on this one, and we’re all super happy to finally have an answer for you. Thanks for bearing with us and thanks for playing, as always.Ed /case closed I guess

[Pinback]

Steam key won't be of much use unless you can download and update the game through Steam instead of trying to use the useless FD downloader.

[sscadmin]

Steam key won't be of much use unless you can download and update the game through Steam instead of trying to use the useless FD downloader. Is that true? It's not hard to make sure ED has patches uploaded to steam whenever it needs it. It is understandable that people that bought the game through FD that they get their client updated first by FD servers and Steam acct holders might have to wait a day to get their game patched. But agreed you should be able to download the full entire game via steam and then any patches that come out after that, why are they being so difficult

[Waervyn]

Good to hear they are giving out steam-keys. I personally don't care too much, but I must say I enjoy using steam with the overlay, hours tracked etc. That said, I hope the game itself becomes a bit more fun to play, as for me they still haven't really fixed the 'nothing to do' issue. The factions stuff looks ok, but I guess I'm more looking in to building/crafting things etc. It's amazing to play on the Oculus DK2 though!

[ExpandingMan]

For me it's really more about consolidating my games than anything else. When I have a new SSD or format an old one, I like to have one place I can go where I know all my games are safe and secure. I suspect that at this point I have nearly $1k in Steam (although there are so many dirt cheap sales that maybe if I tried to calculate it I'd come up with far less). Steam certainly has other advantages, but that's the really big one for me.

[Pinback]

 why are they being so difficult  Braben is said to be a bit of a control freak and has been an out spoken critic of the second hand games market which I think may explain a lot of what has happened with the development of E:D.

[Pyros]

Steam key won't be of much use unless you can download and update the game through Steam instead of trying to use the useless FD downloader. Just curious, what is useless about FD downloader? It contacts the server and updates the game... nothing really noteworthy. Changing subject, the client for Steam users and FD users must be updated at the same time, being a MP game et al...

[Pinback]

Just curious, what is useless about FD downloader? It contacts the server and updates the game... nothing really noteworthy. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=75505[/url]

[Pyros]

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=75505[/url] Ooopsie - while I personally haven't experienced any such issues, it sure is a PITA