No Offline mode

ATM especially the kickstarter backers don't get anything but a computer-generated letter pointing them to some interpretable phrases in the small-written.

Don't get me wrong, I - also- keep on supporting it and I'm not in with a request for refund.
Even though dissapointed.

The thing is... this is not a problem that all of a sudden happened.
Its not a step that was necessary to be done because all of a sudden they noticed that their is no other way of doing it.

Every step towards a server based universe has lead to the fact that the universe is not client based... so that should not be a surprise for them.

Quote

The problem is that the galaxy mechanics all sit on the online servers

And if the developers would have planned to make a offline game they wouldnt have designed it in such a way.
Claiming that this was a decision that was recently done because they just now noticed that they cant do it in a different way are not very honest. Its their design, their mechanics from the first moment.

When they say their system and developed engine does not support the SP due to the technical limitations than thats a statement which is true. You cannot compare that to other projects and say - its possible. Yes it is, but not with their system. And not if they would put another year or two or five in changing it.

Honestly i cannot really grasp if their vast universe can be handled solely on a home PC without having an impact on the game play. Procedural computing requires system resources, something has to calculate all the stuff. And while its calculated you surely want to play fluently through the game.

I dont think that this is a matter of whats possible or what not.
Of course you could handle such a game on a home PC. The client has only to calculate data that is relevant for just one player... not data for 1000 players.
Its like in FL... on the server the calculations for many players are required... for all the systems that they are in. On the client only one system at a time is active and that also could be applied on ELITE.

IF the data that needs to be calculated on servers is that big then how big must be the amount of data to update the universe of the clients through the internet?
I think that such updates and the amount of data would be a much bigger problem.

However... technical stuff does maybe dont even matter.
More important here is that people feel like being lied to. And the thing is... this is probably (most likely) even true.
Fact is... you dont promise an offline mode and then start to develop a pure online game just to realize all of a sudden that for some miracle reasons the offline stuff does not work (while you actually didnt even work on such mechanics).

@OP
This would implicate an outright fraud right from the beginning....

either that or pure incompetence

yeah sorry but it certainly has not been done due to an accident or reasons they could not have influenced

After reading what you people posted, I think they have made a false promise but, nothing one can't pass over. I'm pretty sure 95% of the people that actually funded/bought the game have constant internet connections, so the 5% that can't play it whenever they want are probably the only people that need to be catered to. But still, my hope for the future is a fully-offline mode, which I think BD/Frontier will eventually put up for the people to claim. Don't get me wrong, I'm no "fanboy" of some sort, I'm just looking at it from another point of view and trying to scan the whole situation that's happened in the past couple of days. I am most assured that this issue will be fixed in the near future, after the game is launched.

I'm pretty sure 99% of the people that actally funded the game - made it possible at all - have constant, well working internet connections.
But not always and anywhere they go, where they want to play also.

But the connectivity is only one IMO lesser part of concern for most of the ppl lamenting about the offline-mode pull.
It is security from server shut down.
There's a myraid of reasons why this can happen despite all the "good-will" of frontier. There are - unfortunatly - enough eyamples for.
Can you name me one MMO, that - run by company - lasted longer than 5 years ?
And these guys still play THEIR game for 20 years now. They expect the same from the new one.
It is the security from microadvertising and later P2P
The examples for this are also wide spread. Also : advertising, the methods are so elaborated and - subliminal - that noone can escape them. Only if you have at least some control of what happens on your PC/laptop you got a chance to dodge them. Only possible with an offline-mode.
It is the way you play Single Play.
When you leave your game in SP at a certain point, you might have been working for a long time to be reached, and have to leave for RL reasons. Next time you log in the game you want to be at EXACTLY the same point, in space as well as in the "development status" of the whole gaming universe you want o live in. --- Only possible with a stand-alone off-line mode.

You (noone special, everybody who reads this is meant ) see , there are many reasons, why someone wants a stand-alone at least offline.mode version.

Also this decision killed it for me. Thats why I am in for Crossfire now

But I am also with OP, if the universe is situated on the server this is a general design decision and by doing this it was already clear that there is no offline mode. Although it could be that it was there once. Would be clear when the size of the client reduced significantly from one version to another
Basicly it is possible when done nicely before ( in the end I expect universe software interaction to be done via engine and API. Moving this API to a server out of the client should not make too much difference for client logic, aside of the necessity of making the interface smarter, caching, catching all necessary connection problems like all possible timeouts and reacting properly on those events are just some things to be mentioned).

Hi Gibbon,

as many others on e.g. kickstarter the offlinemode was one of the USP's of this space sim. For me this was important and since this is now cancelled thats it for me also, very easy. As mentioned before other people share this opinion so this is nothing strange.
Not everyone plays only in his room, lot of people are very mobile and you do not have fat access everywhere. Note that Elite and Wingcommander are also highly pushed on kickstarter because people who played the old original game are now 20 years olders and do have the money now but this comes from other challenges they encounter now.

Hi,

at first I do not think that I have to justify my opinion not to play a game. And on top you do not seem to read what I am writing, what makes me sad since I wrote it explicitly for you. You are still talking about connection where you live, but I already mentioned mobility. How does that fit together? Ever tried online gaming in a hotel? Via a DSL line shared by a lot of clients what is not stable? Thats what I am talking about. Or hotel has no line at all. But lot of people have to travel for a living ( consultants, sales guys). And being at home have to care for wife, house and children. So they are looking forward to company bought evenings in hotels during the week when they have plenty of time they can finally use for what THEY want to do instead of being driven by the three things mentioned above constantly.

And if then internet is slow or server is down because of some update or internet connection is limited to news, this is crap. Btw doing this via mobile internet is also slow and very costly and therfore not an option.

Shuttle and Alienware are also companies which enjoy these people as customers ( sometimes even sponsored by the customers company which tries to please their employees ).

That was just one group of people which where looking forward to the offline mode. Why support ED and not participate in the star citizen already? Because ED has an offline mode. That was very differentiating. Now not anymore.

But for sure for lot of people who are anyway only using their stationary PC , also regarding the NPC only version possibility, was not so decisive.

Star Citizen I only saw some time ago, still this is early and by far not as finished as ED is.
Therefore not sure if this is something for me, at least looks promissing. But anyhow, FL:CF suits best and is worth to support. If we have here 50-60 people on the server as average will be already lot of sustainable fun.