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The developers behind the sequel to legendary videogame Elite have, to the anger and dismay of fans, announced they've dropped the promised offline singleplayer mode. The game is due to be released in under a month. With the title having raised about $1.5 million from Kickstarter, and millions more in subsequent campaigns that advertised the feature, many of those following the project are livid. A complaints thread on the official Elite forums has swelled to over 450 pages in merely three days, with backers demanding refunds. It is down to the discretion of Frontier, the game's developer, whether to process refund requests of original backers.
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Anger as Elite:Dangerous Drops Offline Singleplayer
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The truth about a man lies first and foremost in what he hides.
-- Andre Malraux
(Score: 2, Interesting) by boristhespider on Tuesday November 18 2014, @09:15PM
In this instance it isn't a bait-and-switch. Frontier never originally promised an offline single-player, and when there was call for it stated that they would "investigate" an offline single-player that was as immersive as the online single-player, and which fitted well into the same engine - this was added as an update to the Kickstarter and wasn't in the original lists. They now state that this can't be done and have dropped it. Whether you think they're *right* to do so is a different matter, as is whether they're being strictly ethical to have done what they have, but I'd suggest that this isn't a bait-and-switch. A PR disaster, though, undoubtedly.
I walk to work past the Frontier offices most days. It was quite amusing walking past earlier and seeing one of the developers walking in and wondering if it was a good idea to try and ask him if he knew the shitstorm that they've caused online (Of course it wouldn't have been. I do dimly know one of the developers who swore blind to me a few months back that there would be offline single-player though. Next time I see him in the pub near the Science Park I think I might ask him what the flying fuck happened.)
(Score: 2) by FakeBeldin on Wednesday November 19 2014, @08:25AM
Frontier never originally promised an offline single-player,
Then someone was impersonating the game's creator on Reddit:
http://www.geek.com/games/elite-dangerous-drops-offline-mode-angry-backers-demand-refunds-1609609/ [geek.com] (see image 2/3rds down).
(Score: 1) by boristhespider on Wednesday November 19 2014, @07:23PM
You may have missed the word "originally". They *did* promise it in a revision to the original Kickstarter, and maintained that promise afterwards, which is why I'm saying that the question of whether they've acted ethically or not is a different one -- all I was meaning is that it's not really a bait-and-switch.