I wonder if someone could help me understand something I guess I could have emailed zup but I wanted a different view point on this.This game is awesome,there is no way I would spend 1234 hrs on anything I didn't think was. Had so much fun and met some great folks but Elite is bugging me I will explain why. Its natural to want to progress in something develop and grow, but why not simply upgrade df 1 into the lovely visual elite?.Is it platform inadequacy to allow for better graphics? Because I am struggling to understand why df1 could not have morphed into Elite. 2 games running alongside each other but having no interaction ie, rankings money hangars ect... Personally I have to choose between them as I dont have time to play both, Ive opted to stay with df but its becoming increasingly difficult to play, and feels like its been left to crawl to a slow laggy death at times.
It seems we are being nudged into the new which is fine and exciting but some of us are happy with the original, I dont mean this to be a negative as I have the upmost respect for Zup and his achievements, Personally I feel it would be nice to have a choice between 2 fully functioning games and not one dying off and leaping to the next like a relay in slow motion. As soon as subscription was available I did and still fully support financial backing for the game,but originals are hard to beat I am just asking that it could have an occasional eye cast over it to keep it running as a question of choice.What do you folks think?...

Michael,

The writing is on the wall. Original DFs days are numbered.

zuperman wrote: I have very little control over updates for Dogfight as I explained. You've seen a few updates because of major critical issues that they let me send it out, for instance the game did not run at all on Android 6, so I was given a special package so I could update and fix that... and I had to wait for 1 month!

So unfortunately I have little options for Dogfight 1 and that's why I moved all efforts to Dogfight Elite. My advise is to move to Elite, simple as that. I may be able to fix things on Dogfight but the time I may need to fix things there are out of my control... it could be 1 week or 1 month or more...

I have read some of Zup's comments on this. DF1 was set up to run on a variety of really basic systems. A lot of times this resulted in lag and upgrade delays across various platforms. DF1 is phasing out because the platforms are advancing and leaving it behind. The OS platforms becoming harder to get updates for on lower end devices that are no longer supported by the product manufacturers. Enter DF Elite that requires higher end devices still supported that makes updating a little more uniform (probably eliminating cell phone play and requiring a tablet). I think for Zup it was evolve or go away. This is just my basic understanding. I could be way off.

It still does not answer the question ( or maybe I don't understand the answers) . Now I ain't technical at all , but how much of the original game needs to be changed , couldn't the original game be re written to play on the new systems without such a dramatic change and then updates could be introduced slowly. I have tried to play elite but I can't say l particularly enjoyed the experience , especially the name tags. Hopefully it will get better but for now I will be sticking with DF1

Elite is still in Beta after all. one has to expect many advancements and refinements before it is touted as a finished release. it's only gonna get better!

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No matter what it looks like, the heart of any game is the game engine. I believe both DF1 and Elite game engines came from Unity. The DF1 version had a lot of bugs in it, and Unity has moved on to bigger and better things. Zup can't fix DF1 if he can't get the parts; he's holding it together with spit and bailing wire.

When the options are a.) throw all your time and money into a loveable, but ultimately unsalvageable game, or b.) save the franchise with a new, more easily upgraded and maintained game . . . which do you do?

Typically, I've seen two models for online game progression. You take a game like City of Heroes. The original game initially released on a subscription basis. Minor cosmetic additions and bug fixes came for free or were buyable options in the in-game store. Major new content bundles such as the City of Villains variant cost extra. The game had a good run (2004-2112), eventually allowing for free-to-play, before dying in 2012.

The second model would be the one followed by such games like Doom, or Call of Duty. You produce Call of Duty 1, you run it for all it's worth, and you develop CoD2 with that money. You release CoD2 it makes more money from not only your dedicated fans, but new players who want to see what all the noise is about. You leave the CoD1 servers open as long as they still support themselves, but you spend less and less of your resources on them, as you move on to CoD3,4,5, etc. Eventually, no one is playing CoD1 multiplayer anymore, and you shut it down.

I believe both those franchises had the benefit of significant development capital, and in CoD's case, they have drawn in massive revenue over the years. One advantage to the second model is that it is much easier (and cheaper) to integrate the newest game engine into the newest version of CoD because it is a brand new game within the CoD franchise.
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S.E Daily is right. The answer to all query is like Ms windows not supporting previous versions, likewise unity (I think the essential part of DF and DF elite) has stopped giving support to its earlier version.

Now will you go back to android version not supported by android industry or move along with marshmallow / Windows 10 / IOS 9-10.

If zuperman brings update for old devices then new devices can't play (like devices who have marshmallow operating system) and vice versa. In that case one group has to leave. So its better for those who have latest gadgets to move to elite and let others play DF1 to avoid lagging.