Oolite Bulletins

I know it's been running much longer and it's not precisely the same genre, but I have to say, DB is going to have to seriously up the ante to compete alongside Star Citizen by Chris Roberts.

http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen/

Cheers,

Drew.

drew wrote:

I know it's been running much longer and it's not precisely the same genre, but I have to say, DB is going to have to seriously up the ante to compete alongside Star Citizen by Chris Roberts.
http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen/
Cheers,
Drew.

I have a small amount on SC as well, and the feedback is coming in quick and fast with goals and the "unlocking" of information about the game as different goals are reached.
The information on the project page is also very extensive. So I think Frontier needs nurture the project and provide continuous updates and more. They are asking for a considerable sum and I would be really disappointed if this fails. But I assume Frontier have done their research and know all this. At least I hope so.

I almost went so far as to pledge 40 GBP to satisfy my vanity

But then I thought that E:D probably will never have the same community like Oolite, and while I haven't played Oolite in a long time nor did much on the wiki lately, this BB is what I still (mostly passively) follow on a regular basis. No reason to spend money on a game that I will shelve and forget after a few exclamations of "ooh, how pretty".

maik wrote:

I almost went so far as to pledge 40 GBP to satisfy my vanity

But then I thought that E:D probably will never have the same community like Oolite, and while I haven't played Oolite in a long time nor did much on the wiki lately, this BB is what I still (mostly passively) follow on a regular basis. No reason to spend money on a game that I will shelve and forget after a few exclamations of "ooh, how pretty".

A fair and understandable position.
I want both, and I'm keen to try out multi-player in E:D. Hopefully they will get it right. If it's anything like the regular MMO's out there I'll probably drop it like a stone, but from what DB has said so far it will be possible to choose who joins your game. So, I'm willing to risk it.

drew wrote:

Slightly OT, but must read...
http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2248

Cheers,
Drew.

There has been an update to the story above. Well worth the visit.
http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2748

drew wrote:

I know it's been running much longer and it's not precisely the same genre, but I have to say, DB is going to have to seriously up the ante to compete alongside Star Citizen by Chris Roberts.

http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen/

I've just browsed a little through the comment pages of the Kickstarter, and there is a growing sense of disappointment with the way Braben and Frontier handle their crowd funding. The Star Citizen campaign is a special point of comparison, and compared to that the E:D campaign seems to lack commitment on the part of its starters. At least that's how many of the commenters are seeing it.

I have noted the downhearted tone in the comments section as well, and I have to admit I think they have a point. On the other hand, I just cannot believe that DB has started this without doing some thorough research. Pledges might have trailed off a bit quicker than he thought, but that initial burst must have been bigger than he thought as well. So I assume that he has plans in place to support and nurture his campaign.

I think that may be a common issue with Mr B. He doesn't really do the customer research part of marketing, and he considers Elite his baby and will brook little interference. A bit like the Star Wars/Lucas attitude.

Opening up the game to input from the Kickstarter community will either signal a big change in his modus operandi or a huge argument when he overrules everything the community suggest that would change "his vision".

Sorry if that's controversial. My reason for this is that there was a lot of furore back in the time between Frontier and FFE that the core game was lost and the magic of Elite was gone, and that FFE should reinstate some of the style that Frontier had (gameplay especially) and reduce some of the realism to make it a more playable "game" than a simulation. And then we saw what FFE was. A pretty textured version of FFE with more ships. And some Thargoids. Eventually.

So although the E:D thing is exciting, there are some big risks. How he handles the Kickstarter comments will indicate how he will handle input into Elite, I think.

And for once I hope I'm wrong.

Just spotted this http://www.iconbar.com/forums/viewthrea ... e=1#121464

Aw bless. It's good to see Mr Togneri never changes. Brings back many happy memories of the EBBS.

My reason (this time) for the criticism towards him is that I think he has missed the point. People are talking about a new Elite game. Oolite is that game at the moment whether or not E:D gets made. And who really wants multiplayer. If you want multiplayer Elite then go for EVE Online or Star Trek Online (the latter of which is free to play, albeit Star Trekish rather than Elite-esque).

This is the first time DB has publicly announced anything to do with Elite IV and there is visible evidence that some work has been done. Mention was made by someone else of people with rose tinted specs handing over money. The good thing about Kickstarter is that no-one parts with any money unless the Kickstarter reaches its target. So our money is safe and if the target is reached then Frontier have to deliver. One thing I've never looked into is Kickstarter's policy on successful drives that result in the deliverable never being delivered. I would hope there's a policy about refunds...

As a "trolly" afterthought, I love Break's comment about not posting a lengthy comment because it would spark off a discussion he didn't want to have. But I won't make a lengthy comment about it because it would spark off a discussion I don't want to have....

If there's anything I can do to further indicate that the last paragraph is to be taken tongue in cheek please send a stamped addressed envelope to Selezen Drake, 1 Selezen Street, Selezen Lake, Russia.

<chortles merrily>

Selezen wrote:

So our money is safe and if the target is reached then Frontier have to deliver. One thing I've never looked into is Kickstarter's policy on successful drives that result in the deliverable never being delivered. I would hope there's a policy about refunds...

Kickstarter is just the middle-man. If the target is reached and you thus do part with your money there still is no guarantee that you will get what you pledged for, nor is there a refund policy. On Kickstarter you are supporting an idea and it might turn out to not work out or have the wrong team behind it which is unable to execute.

In Kickstarters words:

Kickstarter wrote:

It is the responsibility of the project creator to fulfill the promises of their project. Kickstarter reviews projects to ensure they do not violate the project guidelines, however Kickstarter does not investigate a creator's ability to complete their project.

maik wrote:

Kickstarter is just the middle-man. If the target is reached and you thus do part with your money there still is no guarantee that you will get what you pledged for, nor is there a refund policy. On Kickstarter you are supporting an idea and it might turn out to not work out or have the wrong team behind it which is unable to execute.

True, but I'm fairly confident that Frontier can deliver. After all, they have survived as an independent games developer for almost 20 years. That does not mean they will deliver the game I want, but I'm preprepared to put some money on the assumption that it will be a worthy heir to the Elite franchise.

They have updated the FAQ on the Kickstarter page with a better explanation on how multi-player will work. I like the concept.

Gimi wrote:

maik wrote:

Kickstarter is just the middle-man. If the target is reached and you thus do part with your money there still is no guarantee that you will get what you pledged for, nor is there a refund policy. On Kickstarter you are supporting an idea and it might turn out to not work out or have the wrong team behind it which is unable to execute.

True, but I'm fairly confident that Frontier can deliver. After all, they have survived as an independent games developer for almost 20 years. That does not mean they will deliver the game I want, but I'm preprepared to put some money on the assumption that it will be a worthy heir to the Elite franchise.

They have updated the FAQ on the Kickstarter page with a better explanation on how multi-player will work. I like the concept.

My comment wasn't aimed at E:D or Frontier, but just to answer the general question about Kickstarter's responsibility regarding invested money. I'm also fairly confident Frontier can deliver.

maik wrote:

My comment wasn't aimed at E:D or Frontier, but just to answer the general question about Kickstarter's responsibility regarding invested money. I'm also fairly confident Frontier can deliver.

Yes, and what you said is true. I just felt that some assurance with regards to Frontier was relevant.
On another note, not very happy with the way the Kickstarter is developing.