Crowd funded game Star Citizen close to $100,000,000, anyone else playing?

originally posted by: RalagaNarHallas
a reply to: Belgianbloke

dont think gillian anderson,andy serkis and gary oldman or mark hamil throw their names into "ponzi schemes" but a few people tend to go around trying to spread negative press about the project /

That's just BS, when I look at SC I'm always reminded of the " the too big to fail " banks.
The actors are probably payed in advance, or else they wouldn't even consider it. If this project would ever fail the actors won't take any responsibility, and they shouldn't either.

Asking some critical questions is in order.
The whole project seems unbalanced.

We now have CR, his wife ( which he denied over 2 years ) and his brather in law running the company.
I hope you guys get a nice product, I really do. But he's shady as hell.

The guy was broke 3 years ago, he's own history tells you all you need to know. Every single time he had a project where he had the sole oversight the project failed.

Be it in games or movies.
He produced a few gems, but as has been said before many times, those where projects where he had a boss to tell him " no "

Sometimes it really does sound like a cult, and the sales seems like a cheap money grab.

Like the " limited ships " bloody hell, its digital, there is no limit. And if you sell them for a high price because they are " limited " then stick by it. In most cases after 2 months they give a new excuse and re-sell them.

But again, as a gamer myself, I really hope you guys get what you payed for.

a reply to: Belgianbloke

mark hamil was in wingcommander 3,4 and 5 one of chris roberts most sucesfull franchise (now owned by ea) John ryhs davis was also invovled previously and in the current project you may remember him as Gimli from lord of the rings but he played Palidin in the WC saga and novels so that explains some of the names(serkis worked with davis in lord of the rings and gillian anderson is mainstream again with new xfiles coming out) if its a Ponzi scheme it would have been stopped by now like the many shady kickstarters,you dont get tax breaks from germany and Uk from the government like they have with a ponzi scheme too much about the project is legit ,it may come out later then promised but it will come out

a reply to: Belgianbloke

www.theregister.co.uk... this is the only link i could find on him being "bankrupt" and this was a firm he funded not his main company as he is quite diversified in film and video game industry

his wiki en.wikipedia.org...

a reply to: Belgianbloke

I hear ya.

I'm seeing a lot of progression, it may not be super fast, but it's happening, and what gets released is awesome even when it needs a few fixes. These things don't happen overnight.

I think it's ridiculous to spend thousands here, I think it's ridiculous what I've spent, but I really want to see a game that I actually WANT to play succeed. This is the only game I really WANT to play, and even the few areas I get to play are worth at least $60. Beyond the $45 or so to get the current content you should be aware that the game may just not go forward, but if you've been paying attention it's clearly going forward. This game is a game changer. Even in it's infancy it's incredibly immersive and beautiful. It's fun, it's hard, there's a learning curve and it keeps getting better.

There is a certain fanaticism with some backers, but when was the last time you saw a group of gamers actually believe in something and help mould it? We get force fed games and say thank you even though we're eating crap. At the very least this is proving that the end user has some say, it's a change and we should at least respect that.

I'd rather waste a few hundred bucks trying to help a game I actually would enjoy than spend another $60 every 4 months on games that fall short.

a reply to: Domo1


The game itself is something i would like to play, and i have been tempted more then once to buy the starterspack.
But I can't get behind the way they approach it, if/when the game comes out i'l probably buy it. Till then i'm just trying to stay in the loop.

And let me be clear before I go any further, I'm not a Derek smart fan, he does however just like CR has been a goliath in the space sim genre. Most people won't accept that, but the guy really did some amazing stuff back in the days.

He pushed the absolute limits of computer processing power back in the days.
Where his games fun? No lol
Is he a nice guy? No, he's an narcisist

BUT, he is an old veteran in the gaming industry, and some of the things he says on his blog do hold water...
The reason why he's going about it are all wrong tho..

But again, some of he's investigation has been a real eye opener, lets not forget if it wasn't for Smart no one would ever know Sandy is his wife. And that might not seem like a big deal but it is.

The fact she uses SC funded rooms to pursue her acting career is something that shouldn't be smiled away.
Also Derek's remarks about burning rates, he know's the paychecks these guys get in the industry, so it is reasonable to say he has a good understanding how much and what rate SC can go on.


I certainly hope you are having fun
, Currently i'm waiting for Camelot Unchanged, the way Mark is going about it is amazing

DP

a reply to: defuntion

Hey man, if you don't get my U2Us right now it appears there is some sort of problem. We will figure it out, I'm getting a problem at the other site too. Heck yes we can fly together!

The prices of the ships are stupid, I'm not into the whole paying before it's released thing that is killing the gaming industry, paying to alpha test when there was a job industry on alpha testing that has now been killed off by impatient gamers willing to pay hundreds of dollars to play the game in an unfinished state and do very little testing of the game.

I paid £10 for Elite Dangerous over the black friday weekend while it was on sale, it has just as big ambitions as Citizen but it's actually playable and rather fun, also David Braben is just as godly as Roberts.

I'll probably get Star Citizen IF it ever gets released but there's no way I'm putting money into what could never ever be released because Mr Roberts keeps wanting to "expand" the game by adding yet more stuff, putting back the none existent release date

Have looked it but now you say you got to pay thousands for a half decent ship then na.....hate paid content games.

a reply to: Belgianbloke

Yeah crowd funding is pretty iffy. Braid McQuiad the creator of EverQuest had burned a bunch of people a couple of years ago ( and still trying to now) in a crowdfunded game called Pantheon .E ssentially using the money to pay off his debts and to fund his living while he had developers working for free.

The problem with this from what I am seeing in the thread is the whole pay to win aspect that seems to be rearing its head in the form of donations. These ships people can get for 15k is it something game breaking? Will it be like EVE online in the way that there will be people that you will never be able to compete with /catch up to due to them being involved longer/donating more?

a reply to: Domo1
Why would it be a joke. Frankly I prefer it. Don't have the funds for such things and it seems fun creating my own ships with friends. But then I'd rather play Civ 5 at the moment.

a reply to: crazyewok

25-35 gets ya into the game and all assets can be earned in game,any one throwing money at it does so to fund the game or to give them selves a percived atvantage at launch time,i haven't spent a dollar on it since 2014

a reply to: Domo1

Looks...well, it looks like I'm going to be building a new PC and dumping some coin. Thanks a bunch, Domo...thanks a bunch.

No, seriously, I already know, I'm going to be glad you forced me to spend money on this. Will be checking out in more detail tonight, planning my build later, and then...hoping I have a big enough net profit this Xmas to get going!

originally posted by: Domo1
a reply to: defuntion

Give me a few minutes, I didn't know anything about a referral code. That makes the ponzi scheme comment make a lot more sense.

Check your messages in a few.

Domo1!!!!
I am registered and I got some cool mail!!
Check your U2U...
Anyway,
This is a very cool idea I think.. So far, it all seems legit and well thought out. I have much more to learn though..
I will let you know what I think after I familiarize myself some more..

a reply to: RalagaNarHallas

Wow, your comparing a SPACE sim with a landbased sim...
Ok "fanboy" (as im heretic)...
Well i doubt what ever i say would sway you, but as
a sim, when allowing flight in ANY sim, it will be too
small... And as a spacesim, what like 10min travers
time in system... No way...... TOO SMALL

a reply to: Miccey

Better to compare it with other space sims

Elite Dangerous (probably SC's competitor) currently has 400 billion stars all based on the stars in our milky way, somebody went as far as working out that it would take 11 days continuous play to go from one end to the other



100,000 light years across, pretty big world. Next update for ED we're getting planetary exploration

Mmm ED is imho a spacesim worth the definition.
BUT, as it is big it is also kinda booring...
Not much to do yet, and every system is
basicly the same... And it is like SC to simple
in travel systems...From point a to b you can
only go in one way... And that gives the griefers
the game...

Soo, what they should do is, let the playerbase
build it... The devs develop the system, graphics
and starsystems...

Then give the playerbase the software to build
ships, weapons, "devices", other stuff and such..

And YES, it is doable... Look at OFP/ArmA world....

Wellp, it's almost 2018 now and RSI are, at long last, on the verge of releasing the single player Squadron 42 and Star Citizen 3.0 Alpha expected to drop by Christmas or early in the new year at the latest.

From what I've seen i would predict that the actual S.C. as a fully featured and working MMO "game" will come on-line sometime in 2018 with the release of 3.1.

By 2020 the shape of the community and the resulting "lore" of the game will have taken on a life of it's own.

For anyone who's interested or invested in Star Citizen, or for anyone else, like me, who finds it to be fascinating (although i worry about becoming lost in it as a single person without a wife to drag me out of it) now or very soon would be a good time to familiarize one's self with the UI and game elements and the magnitude and scope of the persistence universe with an eye on some good real estate on a beautiful UEE (United Empire of Earth) planet or moon.

There are lawless systems which will eventually be colonized, but at the beginning it's definitely best to remain and to set down operations whether farming or mining or whatever, under the umbrella protectorate of the UEE.

I haven't even downloaded it yet, as I'm getting my VR capable gaming rig and controls at year end, and I'll bet dollars to donuts that Squadron 45 will come VR optimized, how can it not with everyone buying up the Rift at around 430.00. It's got to go VR and I'm sure it will.

In the interim, while I'm waiting for Star Citizen, I'm going to learn to fly modern combat aircraft in DCS World who are about to release their long awaited 2.5 merge, as well as the long awaited and much anticipated F/A 18C Hornet with upgraded carrier operations as well as the Strait of Hormuz map (rendered in detail including Dubai). Thus, for Star Citizen I figure I'll begin by learning to master the Hornet and Super Hornet spaceship variants of their land-based counterpart.

It's interesting researching S.C. and then imagining what you would do when you're off their standard missions and objectives and professions, and they are making the game with the participation of the 2,000,000 person and growing.. community, in mind (unpredictable).

Thus, one would want to learn how to navigate and fight, but also how to scan, both planets below and potential hostiles above, and there's a Hornet for that in SC, to hunt down pirates as was as explorer and prospecting ships, for scanning the various planets and meteors (where one would expect mining to take place).

Next, you would want to begin to solicit other players to collaborate in certain objectives with their ships, accumlating the aid and support of a fleet of ships to protect a particular trade route for example, with the aim being to eventually mount a force that's capable of safely settling the wild west outside the UEE protectorate..

I'm a real world recruiter, so that's what I would be in the game. A certain degree of altruism could really pay off big time, along with an ability to marshall forces and various groups of people in pursuit of a single endeavor, a place of our own with a nice view and excellent resources for both farming and mining and human social interaction.

That planet they have that's one continuous city, I sure hope they'll let people move in there and build their own landing pads and garages.

So if when you're in there and playing you get recruited to be part of a "grand plan" with the farthest reaching implications for the future history and lore of the continuous "game", that was me.

What's needed in that game is an Armada and a whole convoy of ships of every different shape and size to form the trade route and to protect and guard all established assets.

While there isn't a "win" in the game per se, since one's profession could vary from a pirate or mercenery to a farmer, but perhaps there is if one win involves getting the best land on the best world.

My strategy then is to start with fighters including the long range sensor variant, and then try to get the help of some prospector ships while keeping the whole thing a secret until we find and stake claims at a number of the choicest places.

Later, outside UEE systems, what's needed for civilization is a strong military for constabulatory duties against pirates, who we would come to love to fight (bring it on, lawlessness and selfishness!).

What will drive this game as a "game" will involve impacting as many people as possible.

Then after we settle the wild west, they'll have to make new star systems and grow it outwardly, just for the pirates.

The first question that will arise for the community is when will a counter force to the UEE arise, and what kind of chaos is going to ensure with all these factions and individuals just looking for a dogfight all jockeying for prominence.

I wonder how good the "insurance" is if/when you lose a ship? Just 1 replacement or more?

Anyway, all I know is that it will be coming out, for real, by end of Q1 2018 and that in 2020 it will be declared the best computer game of all time.

Best,

Ankh

a reply to: AnkhMorpork
So this game is finally coming out.

I got to say, even though this sort of thing is not really my thing. The game does look really good, at least in the graphical department, and the whole premise sounds good. But I dont see how that will translate into a fun game, I mean looks like one big giant supposedly galaxy wide, expanse of a chat room.

What do you do in the game. With this whole realistic physics and what not, what is it going to take 10 years to fly from planet to planet? Just one long flyby screen, and one giant chat room with people doing random things. They got to add some sort of action or something else besides it being one giant simulator, I mean you got a flight simulator, you can fly in space and on planets, you got a walking simulator were you can walk and run around in spaceships and on planets, you got a shooting simulator were you can shoot various things. And a mine simulator I suppose, though I think mine-craft did it better, though not nowhere so pretty.

What I am saying is, it just looks like one massive simulator of a variety of things all blended into one. And while pretty, it think most people would get bored of just walking around or flying through space or even building things, no matter how much freedom they have, if there is just that, its bound to get old fast.

I see how once this game world is populated with hundreds of thousands of people, it can get and be pretty good. But what are they all going to do, walk around and fly from world to world, and then what? I mean trying to make it like a real life space to world to star citizen, it does sound not much fun and just sounds like work, tedious and one long drawn out monotonous experience. Sounds like people braying and scattering around about nothing more then digital realestate, which while looking pretty, is still just digital pixels.

Does it come in VR? If it was in VR, it would definitely help it a lot with the experience, but otherwise, it sounds good, but not that fun and ya just tedious. Or, it could be the new updated and spiffy galaxy wide minecraft of a the new generation, but then again, minecraft I never found all that fun as well. I suppose we will see.

a reply to: galadofwarthethird


Ok, lots of questions. Will do my best to answer them.

First off, the "game" isn't "out" quite yet, but the first group of something like 1000 testers are putting it to the test over and over again in what they are calling the PTU or persistent testing universe. Sometime in the spring of 2018 or by summer at the latest, we'll be seeing the release of a precursor, single player game from the same universe called Squadron 42, along with the 2nd or 3rd of 4 waves of testers the fourth involving the tested Alpha 3.0 game going "live" on their servers for anyone and everyone to start playing, but it will remain buggy and unfinished until the 3.1 release, which will take place in late 2018 or early 2019.

They have to deliver in 2018 and they will but not until it's playable. It must begin and is already starting to form as a playable game.

The number of star systems in the verse will at first and for the first few years be limited to maybe 100 max, with about 25 worlds and moons or so forming the core of the gameplay, along with a large asteroid belt.

I would imagine that some day the entire mapping process of other worlds could eventually be generated by AI systems, as which point it would explode in a whole galaxy as Elite Dangerous has (without managing the transition from planet to space and vice versa without a cut).

As to travel, unlike Elite Dangerous, where a person spends an inordinate amount of time just sitting in their ship travelling (I'm not sure what they call it but it would have to be FTL), Star Citizen has something called quantum travel, which doesn't take all that long between the planets, which include those of our own solar system, including Earth, but it's scaled and can take longer, like up to 10 or 15 minutes when travelling longer distances say beyond the UEE planets.

In terms of what you refer to as the "chatroom" elements, and interplayer communications, well, just watch the video at the end of this post to see precisely where that's going, which will involve the most immersive interplayer communications ever, even capturing facial expressions or FOIP (face over IP) and Voip-based communications. Within this person to person interaction there's multiplayer of course, but also the ability to contact anyone, presumably, including ship to ship communications although I don't know if there's any delay for interplanetary calls as proximity in the verse could impact instantaneous communications, but presumably if they have quantum travel there's also quantum ansible type communications across the verse - all the better for conspiring with others..

They are beginning to develop it with VR in mind, say for the Rift hand controllers for their MobiGlass system, which is a scrollable holographic screen that pops up off your arm with various options and status reports etc.

It will work in VR eventually, and should already since VR is just a projection. It looks VR friendly to me.

For the time being, there isn't a high enough frame rate for VR, until they work out the bugs and scale up the server farm supporting the game which they're going to host.

As to what you can do, remember this game is led by famed game-maker Chris Roberts, the maker of Wing Commander, a space-based first person shooter, and it most definitely has those elements in it, for sure, and there's space in the game for all manner of piracy and lawlessness, a status that many will choose even at the price of having bounties placed on their heads for going lawless. Those people, to evade arrest and temporary imprisonment on Earth under the authority of the UEE, a task handled by innumerable bounty hunters, will have to flee UEE territory and somehow make a life for themselves in unprotected space and planets. Some of those will form factions for incursions into UEE territory and many will attempt to steal ships and cargo and to cause chaos and disruption ie: rack up kills, perform mercenary actions against certain people and forces and groups. It will be very peaceful in some places and filled with warring factions in others. The entire lore of the game will unfold based on the activities and the ingenuity of the players. To die is sure to be a major setback, so it has a heightened element of risk to it.

Protection and safe transport will be big business in the Star Citizen economy, from what I can tell. Whoever can provide the best planetary and space based security to create spheres of untouchability around surface and space operations ie: cargo transport will gain wealth and influence in the verse. Thus the ability to persuade people who own certain ships to band together in pursuit of a common cause, could form one very successful "tactic" (what I would call "recruiting"), but it depends on how you define "success", since for some that could mean being a great and wealthy miner, or a farmer with a nice view somewhere, but there's so much more to it than that in terms of what will be possible to play out in the game.

As to what you'll be able to DO in it, well, give me a moment to reflect on that some more, but it's, it's endless, the possibilities, and highly rewarding. Trust me on this. It's not what you presume it to be. It's way way bigger and more grandiose than just a galactic type of simulation where you don't do anything but build outposts or man a mining ship or farming or what have you.

In the interim, here's the video (again) outlining what they're working on, much of which is planned for the 3.1 release of the fully functional live game (which is sure to drop by the end of 2018).
Jump to 11:00 for the start of the demo