AFE Alive Again ?

[Cmdr Snakebite]

I have to admit its been some years since I posted here, I have checked in now and again but the only post i've seen were spam.

Its hard to imagine that we spent so many years discussing Elite IV on here and eventually it seems everyone got fed up waiting, and believing that it was 'vapourware' eventually the group died out.

Perhaps now with Elite IV (Dangerous) now about to be released this group will come to life again ?

I do hope some of the old contributors re-appear, proton, Frantic, Dylan, Jade, oPless, red ravens, jannah berrin, dan, Norman mosser. just a few I remember exchanging friendly discussion with...

Also, its going to be really interesting to see how close E4 comes to the ideas that were discussed 20-5 years ago, I think a few arguments will be laid to rest in the next few weeks...

-Snakebite (formerly Rafe Zetter of GalNET)

[Bolle Boos]

Post by Cmdr Snakebite
I have to admit its been some years since I posted here, I have checked in now and again but the only post i've seen were spam.
Its hard to imagine that we spent so many years discussing Elite IV on here and eventually it seems everyone got fed up waiting, and believing that it was 'vapourware' eventually the group died out.
Perhaps now with Elite IV (Dangerous) now about to be released this group will come to life again ?
I do hope some of the old contributors re-appear, proton, Frantic, Dylan, Jade, oPless, red ravens, jannah berrin, dan, Norman mosser. just a few I remember exchanging friendly discussion with...
Also, its going to be really interesting to see how close E4 comes to the ideas that were discussed 20-5 years ago, I think a few arguments will be laid to rest in the next few weeks...
-Snakebite (formerly Rafe Zetter of GalNET)

I bet most now discuss on the elite website, as beta's.
I do, and why don't you? ;o)

[Jongware]

Post by Bolle Boos

Post by Cmdr Snakebite
I have to admit its been some years since I posted here, I have
checked in now and again but the only post i've seen were spam.
Its hard to imagine that we spent so many years discussing Elite IV on
here and eventually it seems everyone got fed up waiting, and
believing that it was 'vapourware' eventually the group died out.
Perhaps now with Elite IV (Dangerous) now about to be released this
group will come to life again ?
I do hope some of the old contributors re-appear, proton, Frantic,
Dylan, Jade, oPless, red ravens, jannah berrin, dan, Norman mosser.
just a few I remember exchanging friendly discussion with...
Also, its going to be really interesting to see how close E4 comes to
the ideas that were discussed 20-5 years ago, I think a few arguments
will be laid to rest in the next few weeks...
-Snakebite (formerly Rafe Zetter of GalNET)

I bet most now discuss on the elite website, as beta's.
I do, and why don't you? ;o)

"The elite website", you mean Frontier Development's?

I dunno. Thrashing the games, discussing bugs, and talking about hacks
and remakes seems kind of disrespectful on "the owner's" site.

[Jw]

[Bolle Boos]

Post by Jongware

Post by Bolle Boos

Post by Cmdr Snakebite
I have to admit its been some years since I posted here, I have
checked in now and again but the only post i've seen were spam.
Its hard to imagine that we spent so many years discussing Elite IV on
here and eventually it seems everyone got fed up waiting, and
believing that it was 'vapourware' eventually the group died out.
Perhaps now with Elite IV (Dangerous) now about to be released this
group will come to life again ?
I do hope some of the old contributors re-appear, proton, Frantic,
Dylan, Jade, oPless, red ravens, jannah berrin, dan, Norman mosser.
just a few I remember exchanging friendly discussion with...
Also, its going to be really interesting to see how close E4 comes to
the ideas that were discussed 20-5 years ago, I think a few arguments
will be laid to rest in the next few weeks...
-Snakebite (formerly Rafe Zetter of GalNET)

I bet most now discuss on the elite website, as beta's.
I do, and why don't you? ;o)

"The elite website", you mean Frontier Development's?
I dunno. Thrashing the games, discussing bugs, and talking about hacks
and remakes seems kind of disrespectful on "the owner's" site.
[Jw]

well, we own it, that is the fun of crowdfunding ;o)
And I just said were they probably went. And the discussion
is more about pirates, are they nice enough.

[Rhino]

Post by Bolle Boos
I bet most now discuss on the elite website, as beta's.
I do, and why don't you? ;o)

This has always been very much an enthusiast, specialist group. What percentage of those on the Elite site forums are into JJFFE or Oolite, I wonder? Or talk about whether the Archimedes or BBC version was better..!?

I might be wrong, but this still feels like the right place for that sort of chat. And although I funded Elite: Dangerous (and will get it when it's released), I doubt it will recapture the fun of playing the previous versions or chatting with other geeks about all things Elite, no matter how good it is!

I'm probably just bitter because I'll never have time to properly play the new Elite :)

[Bolle Boos]

Post by Rhino

Post by Bolle Boos
I bet most now discuss on the elite website, as beta's.
I do, and why don't you? ;o)

This has always been very much an enthusiast, specialist group. What percentage of those on the Elite site forums are into JJFFE or Oolite, I wonder? Or talk about whether the Archimedes or BBC version was better..!?
I might be wrong, but this still feels like the right place for that sort of chat. And although I funded Elite: Dangerous (and will get it when it's released), I doubt it will recapture the fun of playing the previous versions or chatting with other geeks about all things Elite, no matter how good it is!
I'm probably just bitter because I'll never have time to properly play the new Elite :)

Yeah, and I noticed I don't have the reflexes I used to have ;o)

[Graham Thurlwell]

On the 1 Nov 2014, Cmdr Snakebite <***@elite-products.co.uk> wrote:

<snip>

Post by Cmdr Snakebite
I do hope some of the old contributors re-appear, proton, Frantic,
Dylan, Jade, oPless, red ravens, jannah berrin, dan, Norman mosser.
just a few I remember exchanging friendly discussion with...

Well I've done a bit on my site recently, thinking about playing FFE
for a bit on the Win98 machine. Keep half an eye on the FD forums but
never joined.

Post by Cmdr Snakebite
Also, its going to be really interesting to see how close E4 comes to
the ideas that were discussed 20-5 years ago, I think a few arguments
will be laid to rest in the next few weeks...

After today's anouncement regarding the offline mode being dropped
I've decided to give ED a miss, I long ago decided that I wasn't going
to buy any game which demanded an internet connection even for single
player - no matter what that game was.

Others can spend their money how they wish of course. I suppose I'm
not the only one who found the pay for beta thing with ED ironic given
that's effectively what most people did when they bought FFE.

Ironically, I'd only recently managed to persuade the parents to pay
for a major upgrade of our PC, it would now actually be able to run
ED.

Oh well, time to try to remember which machine has the newest version
of my FFE saves. Could also see if I can finally become Elite on
ArcElite (/still/ Very Deadly).

Post by Cmdr Snakebite
-Snakebite (formerly Rafe Zetter of GalNET)

Heh, good to see you again!

[Tim Wheatley]

Post by Graham Thurlwell
<snip>

Shame to see a personality that is obviously such a big supporter of the Elite series say this, but I completely understand as I feel the same. Though I intend to keep going and play Elite Dangerous anyway.

I used to post in here, but I'll be damned if I can remember what username I used. I might have posted under my real name as well for a while. If it's OK, I might post whenever I have a cool E4 video, but I don't want to SPAM you guys (not that there isn't spam in here... lol)

[Graham Thurlwell]

Post by Tim Wheatley

Post by Graham Thurlwell
<snip>

Shame to see a personality that is obviously such a big supporter of
the Elite series say this, but I completely understand as I feel the
same. Though I intend to keep going and play Elite Dangerous anyway.

To a large extent it does of course depend on individual
circumstances. If you're always going to be playing online multiplayer
then you need to be online anyway, so the requirement isn't really
going to affect you.

I've never been particularly interested in online multiplayer so
would've been playing ED exclusively single player. Even if I was
going to be playing online it I'd be using an alias. ;-)

Watchdogs, which came free with my motherboard and I've played a lot
recently, also initially had a permanent online connection requirement
but the publishers eventually relented and allowed it to be played
offline, obviously without the online elements working.

Post by Tim Wheatley
I used to post in here, but I'll be damned if I can remember what
username I used. I might have posted under my real name as well for a
while.

Depending on how long you've been posting on usenet you may, like me,
be finding the alarmingly large flame war that's raging over the
offline thing oddly reminiscent of a certain other huge flame war back
in the late 90s about He Who Must Not Be Named and his own space sim.

I remember a few years back when this group used to talk about the
prospects of an Elite 4 a lot of people said that they hoped that the
single player game wouldn't be compromised by the multiplayer element.

Post by Tim Wheatley
If it's OK, I might post whenever I have a cool E4 video, but I don't
want to SPAM you guys (not that there isn't spam in here... lol)

It's still an Elite game so it'll be on-topic, I doubt anyone will
mind.

[Tim Wheatley]

Post by Graham Thurlwell

Post by Tim Wheatley

Post by Graham Thurlwell
<snip>

Shame to see a personality that is obviously such a big supporter of
the Elite series say this, but I completely understand as I feel the
same. Though I intend to keep going and play Elite Dangerous anyway.

To a large extent it does of course depend on individual
circumstances. If you're always going to be playing online multiplayer
then you need to be online anyway, so the requirement isn't really
going to affect you.

It really did affect me and it was quite annoying to see the usual psychological firestorm mess on their forum, where I didn't spend a lot of time before the offline news.

Frustratingly most of my posts were just to correct mis-information. People kept saying there never was supposed to even be an offline mode, despite Frontier offering refunds due to the newly-announced lack of it. People still don't realize that when someone is actually affected you have to let them feel the loss, not stifle them.

My brother is in Mexico and has a very spotty connection, we're both Brits who live elsewhere. My intention was to play offline or in the online single player (called solo), while talking to him about our experiences - just like we used to when playing FE2 on Amiga. You didn't need multiplayer to have a shared experience.

I even went so far as to make a to-camera video of me explaining my disappointment in what I feel was a mature and heartfelt way, and eventually DB said he'd ensure if Frontier went away they'd find a way for us to keep playing. Which really was my main issue. Having played FE2 from 1993-4 to 2012, I didn't want ED to be around for just a couple of years! Especially when I want to teach my kids about gaming by showing them my working Vic-20, C64, Amiga 600, etc. It wasn't just about the game really, for me.

Anyway, if you have time, here is the video:

Sorry about the ums and ers. :)

[Bolle Boos]

, despite Frontier offering refunds due to the newly-announced lack of it.
Not for everyone, if you played alpha/beta/gamma, no refund.

But I don't care, I have a good connection now.

[Andy H]

Not having a decent online connection must suck. I would have liked to see an offline version of the game but I understand the reasons for why they choose to design it this way.

However to put that aside and focus on the game itself, what have Frontier created? There are a lot of positives.

I've been playing since the regular Beta and have seen it develop over the last few months. It gets a lot of things right in the spirit of both the original Elite and the sequels.

Dog fighting is exciting and challenging and feels more like the original game. The mechanics of travelling around the universe and the system work well with a mixture of realism and the 'J' key! The trader, pirate, bounty hunter, explorer and miner roles work well. The is a lot of love and attention in this game.

There are risks with creating an online game despite the promises made. I would feel more comfortable if the server was available so we could set up our own local universes and effectively have an offline mode. Maybe that will come in time, maybe it won't.

I respect anyone's decision if they chose not to play it for any of the reasons brought up in this discussion, it is completely up to you. But I do think you are missing out on a game that is every bit as enjoyable to play as the original Elite, FE2 and FFE.

Talking of the originals, have you seen the latest release of the Direct3D port of jjffe? I have finally been able to get the most recent version (released around November) to work and it is very solid. Full 1920x1080 resolution with updated models and textures it looks the business.

[Impy]

Post by Cmdr Snakebite
I do hope some of the old contributors re-appear, proton, Frantic, Dylan, Jade, oPless, red ravens, jannah berrin, dan, Norman mosser. just a few I remember exchanging friendly discussion with...

You can find Frantic and oPless (and others) in the IRC channel.
irc.synirc.net #alt.fan.elite

I'll give them a poke to read the newsgroup too. :)