The Star Citizen Thread v 4

[kilvenny]

Clearly FD had the advantage of building their own engine and knowing its limitations. CIG mitigated that disadvantage by subcontracting, acquiring talent who had worked on the engine development and throwing more bodies on the project. Therefore I would have expected CIG to be at an initial disadvantage, but we are now over 3 years into the development and the tipping point should have been reached where the extra man power counts.

The interesting question is why it hasn't kicked in yet. My sneaky suspicion is that CIG didn't realise that the large maps recode would render a lot of the sub contract development (eg Star Marine) impossible to bring into the engine without massive rework.

It's worth looking at the development reports and thinking about the number of systems planned, how many are in the current pu alpha and how many are in the monthly reports.

I am anticipating that the initial release of the pu will be a subset of systems or the full count but a lot of procedural content, paving the way for payable content expansions.

 

[Arithon]

Greetings all,

I am looking at having a go with Star Citizen over the next free weekend (this weekend).

I had a go last October and got the game installed and working, but when I got into the "simulator" in the hangar I couldn't get the game to work with my X52 at all.

Any tips on joystick mappings? Are there presets or is it all manual config?

Obviously, as an original Elite fan I have a great love for all space games (last time I owned a joystick was for Descent: Freespace 1 & 2) so Star Citizen, No Man's Sky, Infinity: Battlescape, Eve: Valkyrie etc. are all on my list!

I need to buy a ship soon I believe, before the game becomes two, so any advice on what to get for a new starter would be welcome.

Many thanks.

 

[lysan]

The difference is in the approach. CIG wants to deliver everything at the same time, whereas ED develops the game step by step. So while CIG requires all parts developed and functional, FD were able to release the core, and now they are filling it with the content.

Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages.

It also means that at some point CIG should have a much larger staff compared to FD.

Do you believe that they will deliver a game with all (100%) features from day one they release the game?

To my humble knowledge, they already cut some of the promised features due to .. .. reasons. -_-

 

[Stormprooter]

Greetings all,

I am looking at having a go with Star Citizen over the next free weekend (this weekend).

I had a go last October and got the game installed and working, but when I got into the "simulator" in the hangar I couldn't get the game to work with my X52 at all.

Any tips on joystick mappings? Are there presets or is it all manual config?

Obviously, as an original Elite fan I have a great love for all space games (last time I owned a joystick was for Descent: Freespace 1 & 2) so Star Citizen, No Man's Sky, Infinity: Battlescape, Eve: Valkyrie etc. are all on my list!

I need to buy a ship soon I believe, before the game becomes two, so any advice on what to get for a new starter would be welcome.

Many thanks.

Hi Arithon,

For the joystick mappings - it's not that straightforward unfortunately - you need to spend a good half hour in the controls options getting it just right. This post on the RSI forums has a load of set ups - https://forums.robertsspaceindustri...-x52-pro-key-mapping-templates-profiles-v-2-0, but in my opinion, you are probably better off learning to set up the controls yourself, as you'll get it just as you like it. The control config interface in Star Citizen is not the best, but you should be able to work it out given enough time.

Also check this thread: https://forums.robertsspaceindustri.../unable-to-setup-x52-not-pro-controller-in-sc others have had issues getting the X52 working properly.

As for which ship to buy, I would err on the side of caution when advising others about this, I'd say go for the cheapest package available which gets you both SQ42 and SC. If you want to spend more money on more ships later on, then you can do so.

Good luck Commander!

 

[Monk]

@Arithon

If you do want a little bit better than the basic Aurora, The Mustang Beta is a nice all-around ship. Good speed, easy aim weapons, and the potential to carry a little cargo, when that becomes a thing.

 

[Mu77ley]

VideoGamerTV game podcast talk a bit about Star Citizen: https://youtu.be/bBg1_ONdfMs?t=1779

 

[Aleksej]

Time goes by and basicly i dont see much progress in SC. I guess at the end of 2016 they might have a small Ego Shooter game with small story out, while everything else will still be unfinished.
When i look at the Horizons roadmap of ED, i see a lot nice stuff comming making SC more and more obsolete.
Aside the fact SC wont be a game im interested in, if someone would ask me where to spend his money on a space game and even more money to support its developement i would clearly recommend Elite Dangerous.
Just because they deliver and also hear and do a lot for the community.

Significant flight model changes were implemented in 2.0 compared to previous versions. This was the first version when it was more comfortable for me to use HOTAS + rudder pedals than with KB/M. And as far as I know a lot people share this opinion. So the progress is definitely visible. And finding the right flight model was crucial. I think they are close to that.

Greetings all,

I am looking at having a go with Star Citizen over the next free weekend (this weekend).

I had a go last October and got the game installed and working, but when I got into the "simulator" in the hangar I couldn't get the game to work with my X52 at all.

Any tips on joystick mappings? Are there presets or is it all manual config?

Obviously, as an original Elite fan I have a great love for all space games (last time I owned a joystick was for Descent: Freespace 1 & 2) so Star Citizen, No Man's Sky, Infinity: Battlescape, Eve: Valkyrie etc. are all on my list!

I need to buy a ship soon I believe, before the game becomes two, so any advice on what to get for a new starter would be welcome.

Many thanks.

I've created my on mappings in Free Flight mode. For the moment it is the easiest way to set and test the controls. At first control config might seem complicated but then you are getting used to it and it seems fine.

Do you believe that they will deliver a game with all (100%) features from day one they release the game?

To my humble knowledge, they already cut some of the promised features due to .. .. reasons. -_-

Depending on your definition of 100% features. Most of the complaints regarding features are fue to the open development, i.e. the devs provide information regarding their progress and features they are working on or are implementing. Sure, the more information is provided the more likely it might cause all sorts of opinions from the community.

 

[Voivod]

Depending on your definition of 100% features.

There's not really many definitions on what 100% means.
They implement exactly what they said they would.
They've already said they're "cutting back" on numerous things.

Most of the complaints regarding features are fue to the open development, i.e. the devs provide information regarding their progress and features they are working on or are implementing. Sure, the more information is provided the more likely it might cause all sorts of opinions from the community.

That sounds like something Ben would say:
"You guys should be grateful we're so openly developing the BDSSE or else you'd never know Star Marine has been delayed for a long long time."



In all seriousness, I thought most of the complaints were due to the lack of progress or the direction of development... I know those are my prime concerns.

 

[Marc Alexander]

The entertainment level in this thread has really gone down hill recently

 

[Aleksej]

There's not really many definitions on what 100% means.
They implement exactly what they said they would.
They've already said they're "cutting back" on numerous things.




That sounds like something Ben would say:
"You guys should be grateful we're so openly developing the BDSSE or else you'd never know Star Marine has been delayed for a long long time."



In all seriousness, I thought most of the complaints were due to the lack of progress or the direction of development... I know those are my prime concerns.

People have different perceptions and priorities. For instance, I want to play a space sim and not FPS, so FPS part is totally irrelevant for me as space sim is of priority for me. And I clearly see positive improvements in this department. To be fair I am quite happy that SM was delayed as it is not of importance. However, other people might consider SM of top priority. It is really difficult to please everyone.

 

[Tuub t Tute]

The entertainment level in this thread has really gone down hill recently

Or it had until you posted, you one-liner machine gun!

Aye the days of Mr Nowak posting a vid clip or gfx WIP as proof of outstanding progress and the popcorn gallery asking him if a 5yr old kid drew it in MS Paint seem a megathread ago...

 

[Monk]

Or it had until you posted, you one-liner machine gun!

Aye the days of Mr Nowak posting a vid clip or gfx WIP as proof of outstanding progress and the popcorn gallery asking him if a 5yr old kid drew it in MS Paint seem a megathread ago...

Ahh, good times

I do appreciate the distinct lack of circular arguments though.

 

[JOCKEY]

We're all waiting to see what 2.2 brings, but it's gonna be a while, apparently:

*WLeverett-CIG* - 2016-02-10 20:18:20 UTC

`No PTU this week. ��`

 

[Aleksej]

We're all waiting to see what 2.2 brings, but it's gonna be a while, apparently:

*WLeverett-CIG* - 2016-02-10 20:18:20 UTC

`No PTU this week. ��`

But why would one expect PTU while they are providing free access to the game? They have refined 2.1 to a degree when it was in state that they decided to release it to everyone. So it is pretty logical that we should not expect PTU until 14/02. And then there is little sense in continuing working on 2.1 when 2.2 is to be released soon.

 

[Jenner]

The entertainment level in this thread has really gone down hill recently

That typically means the drama level has also gone down, which is fine by me.

 

[JOCKEY]

But why would one expect PTU while they are providing free access to the game? They have refined 2.1 to a degree when it was in state that they decided to release it to everyone. So it is pretty logical that we should not expect PTU until 14/02. And then there is little sense in continuing working on 2.1 when 2.2 is to be released soon.

The PTU addicts on discord are very, very impatient.

 

[swfanatic717]

But why would one expect PTU while they are providing free access to the game? They have refined 2.1 to a degree when it was in state that they decided to release it to everyone. So it is pretty logical that we should not expect PTU until 14/02. And then there is little sense in continuing working on 2.1 when 2.2 is to be released soon.

What good does free access to everyone actually do for the project besides trying to attract more customers the same way drug dealers do? I thought early access to the alphas was a backers' privilege for supporting the project and a means of stress-testing their code. Was a million volunteers randomly unleashed on their code not enough to generate useful test data, such that they decided to try getting more? And besides, what sense is there in continuing testing 2.1? 2.2 is to be released soon.

 

[lysan]

That typically means the drama level has also gone down, which is fine by me.

Don't you worry, just ordered a bus full of drama queens heading this way

 

[swfanatic717]

And who said that everything is already done?

I don't think anyone is claiming that everything is already done. Quite the contrary actually, I think a lot of people assert that they'll be forced to "release" SC with many features still in the works due to time constraints, if not monetary ones. But when they do, you allege that they'll stop all ship sales, depriving themselves of a revenue stream that's produced over 50% of their income from their foundation to the present.

Sure, but why then you do not take into the equation that they still going to sell SC, SQ42, Behind the Enemy Lines, and SQ44, i.e. 4 separate products that might give them a total of $120-200 per player?

I'm sorry, 4 separate products? 2 of which will have already been paid for? Ship sales might have provided over 50% of their funding, but don't forget where the other 40-odd percent came from. The majority of people who are going to play SC and SQ42 have already paid for them.

I think you've forgotten that this discussion was in regards to CIG's funding sources after SC was released. Given the current state of the project I doubt many people would go for CIG's future products, particularly as they seem to be singleplayer only where the core of this product seems to be the multiplayer SCPU.

This is not even considering how SQ42 is due to be out relatively soon despite nobody having seen gameplay of it because playable code hasn't been produced yet. If that should be rushed out the door to negative reviews I doubt there'd be much interest in sequels. And even if there was, how much time would this be spread over? 4 years? 5? 6? Who's going to be adding new features to the PU while CIG works on the SQ42 sequels? They've clearly demonstrated that they can't develop both at the same time right now, let alone on a skeleton crew.

 

[Backer42]

What's speculation? That all store items will be obtainable in game for in game currency? That's been stated many times by CR.

That is exactly what makes it pure speculation.