Q:
Hi David,
Another 1984 survivor, the original game, nothing to do with George Orwell...
So, the ability to hack the game could threaten to significantly impact peoples' enjoyment of the game and the credibility of the game itself. How difficult do you think it is to combat, and how is this to be done in ED?
A:
This is always a problem. Server moderation is our first line of defence, but sadly some hacking will inevitably go on. Some hacks are easy to detect, some much harder. Deciding what to do is also tricky too - either forcing single player, or ultimately banning depending on what it is seem like sensible options.
Q:
Hi David.
A couple of questions;
1. Did Michael pass on the thank-you card from Lave Con?
2. I showed my 7 year old lad the galaxy map, which he thought was 'Awesome'. Just judging by both of my kids reaction, it could be an astounding educational tool. Have you had feedback on the Galaxy Map from fellow astronomers or people like Dara O Briain, or Brian Cox?
Cheers
Colin (Cmdr PhoenixDfire)
A:
Yes, he did.
On the galaxy map, I would love for their to be uses in education - I think there inevitably will once it is a bit more accessible.
Q:
Hi David, I'm loving every minute of ED so far. Still quite new to premium.
I had a few wow moments last night when i accidentally got pulled out of supercruise going through a planetary ring last night and it just blew my mind in the DK1.
I am wondering if there are any Super sampling or any TXAA in store as development moves closer to release.
Thank you for over delivering, haven't been this excited for a game in years!
A:
The render guys here are working on improving effects continuously, both in terms of performance and the look/quality. There is a lot more to come!
Q:
Hi David, and many thanks for chatting to us. Congrats on the OBE, btw. With what I've seen with ED so far, I'll stand you pint next time you're in North Yorkshire . Jolly well done to you and your minions .
My question: how close are FD in presenting your vision of ED, and has mp (and comments within the forums) exceeded your expectations of how ED will evolve
A:
Not sure the hardworking people here would like to be called 'minions'! ;-)
They are the people that deserve the praise.
Answering the question more directly, yes, it is coming close in terms of space, and space combat to me feels good. There are still more elements I am looking forwards to too, for post release. Particularly the human interactions - inside ships, planet surfaces etc.
Q:
Hi David, as a child of the 60s and player since '84 I just wanted to take the opportunity to say thanks! Your team(s) are a credit to you and so too are the community leaders in the forums.
My question : Do you have any plans to integrate voice / external app controls as a part of the standard product?
A:
You're very welcome.
Two-way voice comms is coming in Beta 1 (29th July) if you have a microphone and speakers on your PC.
In terms of controls, Voice Attack is quite fun - and voice control is something we included in past games, so we will look at it.
Q:
You've talked before about how "great hero" type stories don't work in a MMO environment, but will there be galaxy-wide events that are triggered/altered by single players discovering the right artefact/completing particularly important missions/barging into the Thargoid homeworld and blowing up everything they see?
A:
Yes, there will. We have already discussed gold rushes - those will be triggered by specific players. Other events too.
Certain notorious players may get named on the news feeds if they have particularly high bounties too!
Reply With Quote
Q:
David,How will finding friends work with the multiple server connections we have at present? Will we have to just reconnect and track what server we are on or what?
A:
It should be automatic. If your friends are on your friends list, then you should meet them. This is one of the features coming for Beta 1 on 29th July.
Q:
Hello David.
I have been wondering about the capabilities of procedural generation in the Cobra engine.
Now the creation of a 1:1 galaxy is a huge achievement, but a galaxy is a macroscopic entity that can be approximated by use of relatively simple rules. I'm not saying it's easy, just saying that it's not necessarily complex.
( Feel free to tell me i'm wrong )
The question is, how will procedural generation manage to create a 1:1 Earth, populated by billions of people and animals, with huge urban cities in many different styles, and all this meanwhile being believable, immersive and high quality?
There seem to be an enormous amounts of variables that come into play here that need to be tweaked.
In many ways, i would find such a 1:1 seamless recreation of Earth where we can walk around an even bigger achievement than a 1:1 galaxy.
A:
True. That's one of the reasons we want to phase the deliveries of such things. Having said that we also have quite a few things working in our favour. In the fiction we already have the Earth of 3300 having changed quite significantly - just imagine travelling back to the year 700 - ie the 'Dark Ages' - that is the same distance away in time...
The coastlines will be similar, but significantly changed due to rising sea levels. Many coastal cities will have long gone and some new cities with similar names (in Frontier "New San Francisco" was a few hundred miles inland of where San Francisco is today) popped up on the higher land nearby.
So we will not recreate today's cities or today's Earth, but something that might be possible in 1300 years time.
Q:
Thank You for making the most important game I have ever played.
With all nostalgia involved, I am not sure anything can top original Elite for me, but if ED even comes close in re-creating the feeling of wonder, I'll be ecstatic.
Thanks again and do Your best, please.
A:
We are trying... ;-)
Q:
Will there be a "Solar Radiation" mechanic? e.g. Losing your shields close to a high radiation star could kill the human occupant. The canopy doesn't look like it would offer much protection!
A:
Your shields should stop such radiation - but it may well drain them...
Q:
do you think that the game will require in game player admins to be a source of help and support. or would you prefer to avoid this scenario.
A:
We may well do this as a way to police griefing.
Q:
Hi David,
I backed to the Imperial Bounty Hunter level starting with the Imperial Eagle Mk2.
Just wondering what ship I'll be likely starting with since it seems the Eagle is now a Federation ship?
Congratulations on the Amazing work so far.
A:
The Eagle was a ship that was made by both the Federation and Empire in Frontier: Elite 2 and it is the same with the Mk 2. We haven't shown the Imperial variant yet.
Q:
Will people who have named stations, planets and systems have a way of finding them? In particular will stations and planets be searchable in the galaxy map?
A:
That's a good point. System names are currently searchable, but this doesn't cover stations or planets. We'll work out a way.
Q:
Is Rift DK2 fully supported in Beta?
A:
It is fully supported (ie we support head movement etc), but there are things that do not work well with it yet, like the galactic map.
Q:
...and will there be star systems where the stars radiation perhaps interferes with the ship radar and communication systems?
A:
Yes - I think I mentioned this during the Kickstarter - including the results of weather in the atmosphere of gas giants.
Q:
David, could you remove the losing of credits when you buy a commodity in error then return it back straight away.
A:
This is something we have been looking at recently. The trouble is 'straight away' is not well defined. It causes problems if another player buys the good in the meantime. Having said that we have closed the separation between 'buy' and 'sell' prices to make this less painful.
Q:
Will unidentified signal sources be permanent locations as they are in the current version, or will they be randomly generated in some way?
A:
They will come and go, and each will have a mini-story or mission behind them. What we have now is static to test the system.
Q:
Hi David I know ur busy & stuff& members on here that u know will more likely get a reply..
That's understandable..
My questions was
1). Panther Clipper when will we see this work horse?.
2). Forcefeedback will it be supported?.
3). The ships Huds layout will we see other layouts of huds
Rather than the one from the sidewinder?.
4). Hyper jumping will we see the approach to a system like in the battle video?
Instead of just going through hyperspace.. Then just appearing in a system without seeing it in the distance.. Then it getting closer.. Etc.. Would be better if this was put in later..
5). Super cruise will it be made so we just don't see main bodies.. In S/C..
That we an see asteroids & stations when slowing down..
So they just don't appear.. In front of us.. It's not that nice.. I know it's a beta..
So these things are not final yet.. But would be good if you can answer thx
A:
1. Yes - not sure of the date, but during beta.
2. I'm sure we will - I don't have a 'when' just now.
3. We wanted to standardise the HUD layout for ease of switching between ships, but this is something we will look at for the much larger ships.
4. Hyperjumping - there are changes being made to this, but it will be different to that. The effect in the video at the time was a prototype.
5. Yes - this is being improved continuously. More to come... ;-)
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