Short version of David Braben's Q&A session from 18th Nov

[ArithonUK]

David Braben went onto the Frontier forums yesterday afternoon to talk to the Elite: Dangerous community and answered any questions posed, including a few about the recent backlash over the decision to drop development of an offline single player game. The thread went on for forty pages, but I have copy-n-pasted the questions he replied to (quite a few were repeated). You can see the full thread here.

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Originally Posted by Riedquat View Post
HI David,

Will we ever see the Krait in game?, was always my favourite ship.

thanks.

Sadly it is not on our current list. That's not to say it couldn't be added in the future. I liked it too, even though it is quite a simple shape.

Originally Posted by Tobytyke1972 View Post
Firstly thanks for a great game, I look forward to playing this for a long time.

Just a quick question David, I have a few friends that have Kickstarter up to the full game pledge but not beta access. They they be able to play on 22nd or do they have to wait until December.

They will be able to play the single player combat test shortly after the Premiere event (ie during the following week), then the full game at release.

Apologies for replying to myself (!) but I mis-read the question. Yes. Kickstarter backers will be able to play on the 22nd. I was talking about people who have pre-ordered on the store.

Originally Posted by DaBajan View Post
OK. Let me be (first?)

Thanks for making this amazing game - and giving me the chance to relive my youth in full 3D colour!

What was the hardest part of getting this game to where it is now?

When developing a game there are endless decisions to be made. The current "Offline" issues are a case in point. We make these decisions to get the best end result - frequently leaving ideas on the proverbial cutting room floor. Sometimes these decisions are hard ones.

Originally Posted by Granite View Post
How much of a technical challenge do you think planetary landings will be, in comparison to the technical challenges of the game so far developed?

The landings themselves are not the technical issue, it is the vast size of planets, and the prodigious amount of content required to make them interesting. We can generate the landscapes procedurally, but you need interesting things there to make them compelling.

Originally Posted by BigBossLucas View Post
Hello David I'm a backer from Mexico City,

Will be there major changes between GAMMA and Final, or Gamma will be an "add features - testing - stability" excercise until Final arrives?

Cheers

Gamma will mostly (!) be about stability, compatibility and performance, not features, but there are more features to come from now...

Originally Posted by Kaltern View Post
Would you like to explain in some detail why the decision to pull offline mode was only announced a few days ago, and what the reasons for doing so were. Many people are under the impression this was done to enforce DRM and in game advertising.

Back during the Kickstarter, we were clear about the vision, to make a phenomenal new sequel to Elite in an online world, which we believe we are about to deliver. At the time we believed we could also offer a good single player experience, and base an acceptable offline-only experience off that. As development has progressed, it has become clear that this last assumption is not the case. That experience would be empty at best, and even that would take a lot of extra work.

It is not to enforce DRM or advertising as you suggest. We will be judged on quality, and the quality of that game experience would be poor, and we don't want to deliver a poor game. To make a richer offline single player experience has always been possible (and still is) but would be a separate game with its own story content. A huge slice of separate work. We have developed a multi-player game with an unfolding story involving the players, and groups collaborating with specific objectives and taking account of all players behaviour. This is what the game is about. Without this it would not be the rich gaming experience that we will deliver, and would be a great disappointment to all players.

I don't pretend it was an easy decision, but it was done to benefit the game as a whole. One thing we have looked at carefully is our requirements of the network connection. For the single player game they are pretty light. I myself have played the game fine on the train using a laptop on a tethered connection over my phone. Given that this is a game which is only available online, this was the decision we took. I am sorry that people are so upset about it, but it was the right decision.

Originally Posted by Grimster View Post
Hello David,

I appear to have been sold a game you now can't deliver - can you please confirm an unequivocal full refund will be forthcoming due to the lack of offline mode?

Thanks (was a huge fan btw)

I'm sorry you're upset. We do have a refunds policy, so you should get in touch. Please consider that we have been backed to make the game we were backed to make as best we could. This includes hard decisions (and many easy ones too), but those hard ones are inevitably balancing one thing with another. For me, quality wins, and that is what happened with this decision. Not everyone may agree with every decision.

Have you played the game? Why is the offline (as opposed to single player, which I understand) mode so important to you?

Originally Posted by laz001 View Post
Did the ED team uncover any amusing or amazing 'bugs' or outcomes in the creation and processing of Stellar Forge? Any examples?

Do the team try and keep the output of Stellar Forge as close to known reality as possible, or do the team stretch the parameters/bounderies somewhat to generate greater ranges of interesting environments etc?

We stuck with reality, but the reality is pretty amazing. The frequency of binary planets was one thing that surprised me.

Originally Posted by Chalito View Post
Seconded.
I like to play the old Elite games from time to time, and I was hoping I could do the same with E for years to come even after eventually the servers go down by whatever reason.
Even if FD could make a statement promising to release the server code (or even a binary) to the public in the event of the servers going down indefinitely for any reason, that would be good enough for many of us! Is that even worth hoping for?

Having said all this, thanks for taking the time to talk to us and thanks for making the game possible at all!

Cheers!

Chalito

We have no intention of taking the servers down, but I understand what you are getting at. We plan to archive the game from time to time (ie matching client and servers and game world state), and would release such an archive if the servers were to come down. That would also address the issue of how you preserve an online game for the future, from the whole 'retro' perspective.

Originally Posted by Tommyttk View Post
When you played Elite on the train did you use a HOTAS and if you haven't done so can you do it and take a picture? Can i have a signed copy of it?

No. I used an Xbox controller...

Originally Posted by Krollin View Post
Greetings,

As Offline mode is out (thank god!), does this mean we will see more co-op features deployed into the game?

Fly safe!

Kro

Yes. Absolutely.

Originally Posted by El Zorro Plateado View Post
Hi David, great work on the game to you and your team (as other people have mentioned - I too am very disappointed that there will no longer be an offline version. That's really not good). My question is, if we can buy multiple ships - will there be any possibility of crewing those ships with computer generated people so you could send ships out to trade on their own. Additionally, if you have enough money, any chance you could actually build a base, buy ships for police duties and such?

This is the sort of thing we will look at down the line. WE want to avoid the game feeling like 'playing a spreadsheet' though, but these features are certainly on our radar.

Originally Posted by Pennyblack View Post
Hello David...

I want to thank both you and Ian for setting a standard in the original Elite, to which I have always gauged others games by and I am surprised that even today, in the way Elite Dangerous makes me feel which is exactly the same as it was thirty years ago. Rarely does any game have the same feel to it.

My Question...

As I remember the Panther Clipper from Elite Frontiers and so enjoyed it's use; how will the new version of the Panther Clipper measure up compared to old version and when will it be available. We've heard little about it and I do wonder which roleplay it would cover best. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thankyou.

The Panther Clipper is coming. It is a big trading ship - a bit like the Lakon Type 9's big brother.

Originally Posted by ConquerorUK View Post
Hi David ! One of ur Original '84ers here :-)

From Gamma/Preview onwards will the locations of ship equipment stay random in Stations or will they be fixed ?

Thx for ur answer ;-)

High Tech systems will always be the best place to get the top-end ships, with particular systems specialising in particular ship types.

Originally Posted by Commander Jameson's Ghost View Post
Hi David -Do you intend to do anything to improve the tutorials-which are not currently very welcoming/user friendly, lacking as they do a lot of essential information for newbies, like basic control keys, for example!
Newbies should not have to search the internet to find out this information.

We are improving them all the time, but I appreciate we are still not there..

Originally Posted by Mat rix View Post
I am worried about multiplayer, will I be able to connect to a server and find my friends in the same server every time?

It should be much better in Beta 3.9.

Originally Posted by mbpoblet View Post
An offline mode insures that, no matter what happens to Frontier or the servers, the game will still be playable.

It also allows for the game (in its offline version) to be modded. This enriches the community and the game with content beyond even that which the developers themselves can produce (just look at Betheda's games), and ensures a long life for the game.

Look at Freelancer for an example of a similar game whose servers closed years ago, but which is still kicking and keeping a loyal community thanks to private servers and modding.

An offline game also lets it be DRM free (no matter the intent always-online is, by its own nature, a form of DRM, and even if it's not perceived as such by the developers, it is by a lot of potential customers).

An offline game would probably allow you to pause, thus allowing people who sometimes need to take care of children or other urgent issues to play without risking a loss of progress.

An offline game means, thus, more sales for Frontier (both from people who don't support online-only games, people who don't support DRM, and people who simply don't have a constant or reliable connection), and a much longer life for the game.

As for your claim that an offline mode would need new story content... a lot of us would be perfectly fine with a barebones offline mode that we could mod.

The community would easily and happily provide the content.

This would even avoid possible "spoilers" from your online story.

Is this a possibility you could consider?

Community/modding content is an interesting point - something I'd like to embrace, but within the game itself. There is a danger of the game branching otherwise.

Originally Posted by nexxo View Post
Hi David; an 1984 here. First played ELITE on a Commodore 64 at the age of 18. For personal reasons this game means a lot to me; it offered me a way to cope with what were difficult circumstances for me at the time, and dream of stars.

Now I'm all grown up, happily married and with cat; a little star system to call my own. I don't play computer games much anymore, but occasionally I still think of this game as an old friend who helped me through tough times. And I dream of stars.

Ive got Elite Dangerous on preorder. For the memories. Thank you.

Nice to hear. We all dream of the stars... ;-)

Originally Posted by CMDR Texas Stu View Post
I am often becoming wanted because of a player or NPC getting in my line of Fire (sometimes intentionally to attack me in the case of players)...
Is there any plans to incorporate a friendly ACCIDENTAL fire solution (such as small shield percentage but no hull or major dmg)?
I understand how a team could exploit it but a couple errant bullets or strafing laser shouldn't cause issues I would think?

Yes - this is a tuning issue we need to look at. Thanks.

Originally Posted by exioce View Post
Hi David,

I pirated the original Elite. I wasn't even a teenager but still, do you forgive me?

I think more pirated it than bought it!

But yes, I forgive you (but please buy Elite: Dangerous! ;-) )

Originally Posted by Avetorian View Post
Will we ever be able to fly the federal fighter at some point? it looks like a fun ship to own.

Yes, that will come with time (even though it is not hyperspace-capable).

Originally Posted by Everett Mcgill View Post
The thing I love most about E: D is the attempt to realistically depict our galaxy. Being able to visit star systems I can see in the sky and being able to explore places scientists have only just begun to explore with remote sensing techniques fills me with a sense of wonder. How will you (or will you) keep the E: D galaxy synced with our rapidly expanding knowledge of what real star systems are actually like? What if a star systems at release has not been studied and so has several procedurally generated planets but a few years later it is discovered that it has no detectable planets?

No detectable planets does not mean no planets... The main methods for detection at the moment are Doppler movements of the parent star and occultation. Both of these fail if a system is 'flat on' to us - ie if the planets orbit in a plane perpendicular to our viewing direction. So in that case we would be OK leaving them (though we may have to tweak the system axis...). Less flippantly we will look at each one as it is discovered. I hope the discoveries will already be there, in which case we just make an addition to the text box, but in others it may mean adjusting an orbit.

Originally Posted by CMDElJal View Post
Hello Mr Braben
Could you please tell us if military missions and ranks (Federal Military etc) like previous elite titles (First Encounters and Frontier II) are in game ?

Yes... soon.

Originally Posted by Agereaver View Post
Hi Dave,

I know you developer types don't tend to look at the "opposition" for various reasons but you've always seemed more in touch than that.

Have you seen Hello Games' No Mans Sky yet, it's clear there's influence there from the Elite series - do you ever stop and think about your influence on the games industry with your games?

cheers

I haven't seen No Man's Sky 'in the flesh', but know one of the people involved. I have also (of course) kept an eye on Star Citizen and know Chris Roberts reasonably well.

I love science fiction, and I think it is a good thing it is coming back to gaming. If anything it is pretty shocking that it left, so I wish them luck. For players of course, it is a good thing too as competition keeps us all on our toes!

Originally Posted by alan View Post
How much more detail can the Cobra engine deliver Graphically? i.e. if I have the GPU(s) to handle it could it deliver 8k/16k images with the level of clarity required? (I'm just about to upgrade to a 4k Monitor)

In theory, yes. But the GPUs don't yet exist that can handle 16K - or at least I haven't seen one...

Originally Posted by Sanderson View Post
My biggest question, sorry if it's been asked already: What prompted the decision to release the game now? Many feel/felt it's too early and panicked thinking this is the "end". Can we have some idea of the continued developement of ED in the future? Like, are there plans to continue aggressive development past the Dec. release?

We planned the release date long ago, and have been working towards it. Development will continue past the December release. Currently the plan is to continue indefinitely - a game like this is never 'finished' - there is always something we can add or improve, but this date is a reasonable measure of what we think will be a great game.

Originally Posted by Mystic View Post
Hi David, and thanks so much for dropping by! My question is about the status of the Mac version of ED. Are you still feeling that three months after the PC release looks realistic for a Mac release? And as far as the Mac beta is concerned, do you have any idea yet as to how closely that might follow on the heels of the PC release?

See, I only have Macs, won't use Bootcamp, and as such it is driving me a bit batty not being able to experience this game yet.

Our plan is to look at this in detail after we have shipped PC, so I'm afraid I don't have any dates for you. Why are you against Bootcamp? I use it all the time on my laptop.

Originally Posted by Amaze View Post
Hi David, thank you for this Elite Dangerous. I had been waiting very long years for this.

My question, do you play the game often and do you plan to play often once released?
How will I know if I meet you out there in space, Whats your Commander name?

Yes I do. I am Comander Braben. I have seen myself on Youtube a few times...

Originally Posted by Barulf McBaren View Post
Will there be a new way to find about commodity prices at a target location in addition to actually go there (as it is now)?

Yes - this is something we have been looking at.

I'm going to have to stop now. Sorry for all those questions I haven't answered - it felt a little like drinking from a fire hose.

Thank you everbody for participating, and see you out in space (or at the Premiere) soon.

[smilodon]

An interesting read. It's good that he was willing to talk about all subjects. I found the comment "I love science fiction, and I think it is a good thing it is coming back to gaming." really encouraging. We have a number of 'Spacey' games coming to the PC, enough for everyone to enjoy and hopefully at least one that fits our individual game play requirements, budget etc. Nice read.