The Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #49 that went out a couple of days ago has cause an uproar among followers and backers, as Frontier Developments announces Elite: Dangerous will not support an offline mode, even though this feature was promised, as shown in this image of a reddit comment on the topic (thanks Joao). There is a firestorm about this including refund requests on the game's forums, including a post from the game's biggest backer who is demanding his money back: "I pledged £5,000 for the making of this game and feel deceived. Refund requested via store." Here's word on the change from the newsletter that's stirred things up like this:

We have also been able to create a connected experience which lets you play your own story whilst in a dynamic, ever unfolding galaxy that is constantly reacting to what you and every other player is doing, be that trading, combat, exploration or missions. This has become fundamental to the whole experience.

Going forwards, being online lets us constantly both curate and evolve the galaxy, with stories unfolding according to the actions of commanders. Exploration is also a key factor, too, and it is important that what a single player explores matches what other players explore whether single or multiplayer – a complex, coherent world – something we have achieved. Galaxy, story, missions, have to match, and it does mean the single player has to connect to the server from time to time, but this has the added advantage that everyone can participate in the activities that can happen in the galaxy. A fully offline experience would be unacceptably limited and static compared to the dynamic, ever unfolding experience we are delivering.