Well, Elite Dangerous went live yesterday and there have been quite a few updates since I was last playing it a couple of months back. The main ones being, obviously, the whole galaxy has been opened up and there are more different types of ships available and stations to land them on.
Before launch though fans kicked up a big fuss when it was revealed the offline play mode had been binned.
Hundreds of comments have been posted to Elite's forums saying its creator has "broken" promises made by the firm.
Many say they only backed Elite on Kickstarter because of the plan to let people play even if they were offline.
...
Mr Brookes said the mechanics of the galaxy which players explore, trade and fight in, sit on servers that are online.
"The data set and processes are huge and not something that would translate offline without considerable compromise to the vision," he said.
"A fully offline experience would be unacceptably limited and static compared to the dynamic, ever-unfolding experience we are delivering," said Mr Brookes, adding: "Trust me we didn't sit down and think, What would annoy people the most?'"
He said Frontier had only made the announcement now because it had been looking at ways to make a workable offline version. However, he said, it had now become clear that it did not have the resources to produce what would be, in effect, two separate versions of the same game.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30097229I personally didn't want to play it offline, but there are many that do.
The interface has been tidied up and there is now a system view that shows the stations, planets, moons and stars in each system lined up in an easy to view mode. You do not automatically see all planets and stars in a system even when you jump into it. There is an exploration feature in the game that lets you scan and discover the stars and planets in some systems (usually the less lawful ones). Once you get beyond 20 light years from that system you can sell that information for a few hundred or thousand credits. I believe there are enhanced scanners you can buy that allow you to get more (profitable) information you can sell. You can also buy some system and trading information from the galaxy map.
Mining is in the game, and you can buy a refinery to process the ore you get. It's also possible to track people who jump and drag them out of hyperspace. It's also possible to escape this interdiction, as it is called, and avoid being attacked, which I've managed a few times.
I'm still in the basic Sidewinder I started the game in, and I'm looking to upgrade to a freighter of some kind, before getting to a Cobra Mk III before I start investing in new defences, docking computers and the like. I've run a few missions, which are the most profitable things to do in a ship with only 4 tonnes of cargo space. As you complete missions you build up influence with the factions you've run the mission for, which leads to more profitable/more dangerous tasks.
Since I've restarted with the game I've only been in one battle with another computer controlled Sidewinder. He attacked for my cargo, and we both battered each other's hulls down to about 50% before he managed to escape. So I don't have a kill to my name just yet.
The most important thing to me is it feels like Elite. Each system feels vast and, unlike many other space going games, not like you're in a series of small invisible boxes, if that makes sense. I'm not heading in any particular direction at the moment, though I do plan on visiting Lave and Sol eventually.
