The Star Citizen Thread v 4

[MaxLexandre]

*wakes up*

That ain't nothing new @Viajero

The moment, Mustang, was added to the Fly Now Starter Packages over Aurora, as happened once SC achieved 26 Million in funding on 2013. SC would then, offer several ship packages to BUY the game, to buy Star Citizen.
The only thing said, not selling ships as we see them on the Pledge Store, Sell Starter Packages to BUY the game, as per Fly Now Setting, that will go post-launch... With more options to it.

Now speculation is, say someone will be able to buy more than 1 starter package post-launch, as buy the game, is buy one of those. That can be balanced / limited.

So, it's something that back on 2013 we got to know when they added the Mustang to the Fly Now list how would SC be "sold", how would players buy the game, that is, buying a ship.
Now with that, and as long starter packages are limited post-launch, the claim made "we won't sell ships after launch", as, we see it currently on the pledge store, still stands.

 

[Tuub t Tute]

Aye, isn't this mainly due to the separation of SQ42 and SC? Wasn't the initial progress line to be "When you complete SQ42 your prize is to select a ship (starter-ish) to fly out into the SC universe? When they decided this wasn't how they wanted to pitch it, they had to give people an in-road to SC.

So rather than have a generic pay $50 and have a select a racer / DPS / Tank / hauler starter ship, they have split them off as discreet starter packs. This does lead to obvious speculation that a Citizen will be able to equip a small hangar of ships at $50 a shot.

 

[MaxLexandre]

Aye, isn't this mainly due to the separation of SQ42 and SC? Wasn't the initial progress line to be "When you complete SQ42 your prize is to select a ship (starter-ish) to fly out into the SC universe? When they decided this wasn't how they wanted to pitch it, they had to give people an in-road to SC.

So rather than have a generic pay $50 and have a select a racer / DPS / Tank / hauler starter ship, they have split them off as discreet starter packs. This does lead to obvious speculation that a Citizen will be able to equip a small hangar of ships at $50 a shot.

I remember on the old scope how SQ42 was supposed to be the game you were *forced* to play before play Star Citizen, meaning, only SQ42 alone would award you the ship to play on the PU (idk about if awards you get by doing stuff on SQ42 include a ship on the PU). But that's before i even backed, because when i did, it was already set this model of the Packages, as we see on Aurora // Mustang.

So what SC is now and it's to be once it releases, is a game where you buy a Ship to buy the Game. I think at the start they'll put some packages to buy SC, and see how it goes, as better the monetization of SC works, with those packages + micro-transactions (buy UEC). If the model works well, they don't need to push it and sacrifice things like game balance for money.

And quite honestly only thing they need to do to make it work successfully, is live up to the promises they made to the extent of deliver a good game.

 

[Rolan]

Aye, isn't this mainly due to the separation of SQ42 and SC? Wasn't the initial progress line to be "When you complete SQ42 your prize is to select a ship (starter-ish) to fly out into the SC universe? When they decided this wasn't how they wanted to pitch it, they had to give people an in-road to SC.

So rather than have a generic pay $50 and have a select a racer / DPS / Tank / hauler starter ship, they have split them off as discreet starter packs. This does lead to obvious speculation that a Citizen will be able to equip a small hangar of ships at $50 a shot.

Well, starter ships are the most basic ones, I don't see how it is profitable or under any circumstance wise to pay money (that's not cheap) for something you can obtain in game for little effort. But GL to anyone that want to! More easy ships to the pirates!

PD.-I love my Aurora xD but it is what it is...

 

[Aleksej]

Problem with CIG is that they say a lot, after filtering and adding a truck load of salt, you're left with something totally different.

The most famous case was LTI, next famous controls. To bend that into a reality world where it was "planed" from the start, one would need to be under some kind of hypnosis.

So, lets just wait and see what CIG will do in this matter.

And what's wrong with the controls? Seem to be fine to me now.

 

[MaxLexandre]

Which Glitch, mad bugs, also on un-seen parts of SC (SataBall Shown on N#1, 2:42):

[video=youtube;uXTCwsfI_7c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXTCwsfI_7c[/video]

 

[Tuub t Tute]

Well, starter ships are the most basic ones, I don't see how it is profitable or under any circumstance wise to pay money (that's not cheap) for something you can obtain in game for little effort. But GL to anyone that want to! More easy ships to the pirates!

PD.-I love my Aurora xD but it is what it is...

I suppose that depends on exactly how the pricing structure goes for starter ships in game and the correlation of $USD -> UEC If it is obviously bad economics nobody will purchase more than one starter package unless they are completionist collectors.

 

[lysan]

And what's wrong with the controls? Seem to be fine to me now.

I don't know if they are "fine" now, as I didn't test it. However If you look at the mega thread C Vs. C on the RSI forum you will see
that it was not fine and not as pitched for a very long time. Maybe they came to their senses and made it work as promoted in the early days.

However to my knowledge IM are still OP and still very much so active in the game.

 

[Aleksej]

I don't know if they are "fine" now, as I didn't test it. However If you look at the mega thread C Vs. C on the RSI forum you will see
that it was not fine and not as pitched for a very long time. Maybe they came to their senses and made it work as promoted in the early days.

However to my knowledge IM are still OP and still very much so active in the game.

Well, I am more comfortable with HOTAS now compared with KB/M, so that's an improvement for me.

 

[Viajero]

*Mod hat off

That ain't nothing new @Viajero

Well, for you and me indeed it is not. That was a response to Aleksej though since he didnt seem to be aware that ships WILL in fact be sold post launch as confirmed by CR. To begin with included in a number of diverse starter packages with different ships in each, and that any interested players should be able to buy if they so wish. And from there, who knows, the sky is the limit.

 

[Aleksej]

*Mod hat off



Well, for you and me indeed it is not. That was a response to Aleksej though since he didnt seem to be aware that ships WILL in fact be sold post launch as confirmed by CR. To begin with included in a number of diverse starter packages with different ships in each, and that any interested players should be able to buy if they so wish. And from there, who knows, the sky is the limit.

Isn't it logical that starter ships/packages should be available for sale after launch? Or how would one start playing the game if the package/game does not include any ships at all?

 

[Rolan]

Interesting...

 

[Viajero]

*Mod hat off

Isn't it logical that starter ships/packages should be available for sale after launch? Or how would one start playing the game if the package/game does not include any ships at all?

Pass mate. I honestly do not know. Each backer may have an opinion there, and you didnt qualify yours when you stated that ships wont be sold after launch.

The fact is that they will, and CR has confirmed personally as much. So ready and willing players should be able to buy all those ships if they so wished. Ship packages, starter or otherwise, I am sure are a very tempting marketing proposition for CIG to consider. So will there be other ships on sale in addition to the ones mentioned so far by CR (Hornet, Aurora, Mustang etc)? Only time will tell.

 

[PiLhEaD]

...So will there be other ships on sale in addition to the ones mentioned so far...?

The best indicator of future performance is previous performance.

So like it or not, I'd see it as highly likely that they will be selling more ships after (and I suspect long after) SC releases.

Every business in the world has the same one aim. To make money.

 

[Monk]

Isn't it logical that starter ships/packages should be available for sale after launch? Or how would one start playing the game if the package/game does not include any ships at all?

This is why it gets confusing. Early on CR gave a scenario where you might start the game with nothing. Having to take odd jobs on NPC and Player ships until you earned enough money to get your own Aurora. Now, I think that may have been spit-balling but when it is said in a posted video, people tend to take it as stated goals.

Now, with ship packages being tied to Star Citizen's PU access it seems they eventually went with a concept of a starter ship, like most space games.

I actually liked the idea of, without the help of others, being stuck in a gravity well until you had the scratch to get out. However, I think it is still conceivable that you could sell off your starter ship, buy a bunch of cool FPP gear (decent gun, flashy clothing) and start taking up missions at the station or with other ships.

 

[Voivod]

The best indicator of future performance is previous performance.

So like it or not, I'd see it as highly likely that they will be selling more ships after (and I suspect long after) SC releases.

Absolutely agree.
In fact I find incredibly unlikely that they'll stop at ships.
I think there's going to be a lot of other in-game items that will be for sale, including real estate eventually (considering they get persistance working properly).

Their shop infrastructure is the first thing they dedicated a lot of development hours on.. they're not going to "degrade" all that lovely code away just for selling ship skins

 

[Aleksej]

*Mod hat off



Pass mate. I honestly do not know. Each backer may have an opinion there, and you didnt qualify yours when you stated that ships wont be sold after launch.

The fact is that they will, and CR has confirmed personally as much. So ready and willing players should be able to buy all those ships if they so wished. Ship packages, starter or otherwise, I am sure are a very tempting marketing proposition for CIG to consider. So will there be other ships on sale in addition to the ones mentioned so far by CR (Hornet, Aurora, Mustang etc)? Only time will tell.

This is why it gets confusing. Early on CR gave a scenario where you might start the game with nothing. Having to take odd jobs on NPC and Player ships until you earned enough money to get your own Aurora. Now, I think that may have been spit-balling but when when it is said in a posted video, people tend to take it as stated goals.

Now, with ship packages being tied to Star Citizen's PU access it seems they eventually went with a concept of a starter ship, like most space games.

I actually liked the idea of, without the help of others, being stuck in a gravity well until you had the scratch to get out. However, I think it is still conceivable that you could sell off your starter ship, buy a bunch of cool FPP gear (decent gun, flashy clothing) and start taking up missions at the station or with other ships.

My opinion is that the SC (PU) should come with a starter ship, which is defined by CIG, according to the current pledge costs (i.e. Aurora/Mustang basic variant ships).

SC is primarily designed as a space sim, not FPS, as such I think that if a player would start without a ship, it would contradict the idea of the game. I want to fly a space ship, and not walk around in FPS in order to find away to fly a ship.

 

[MaxLexandre]

You can over-complicate it, but since 2013 the Starter Ships, the model of the game that to buy it, you need to buy one Ship, or to have one Ship, was solidified right there.

From Aurora and Mustang, we will have Aurora and Mustang and others. Whatever they decide on what was mentioned the T1/T2 in-game activities, that i don't think there's info on what tiers are each activity supposed to be.
I don't believe at the moment they even know for certain how will things like this work out post-release, they'll roll things out and see how well monetization goes, because this moment, they can't possibly get those numbers.

What's to be post-release is then, what we have today as "Fly Now", not the Pledge Store.

Independent of that, if you buy SC, your starter ship, and for some reason, you loose it, the old plans where you'll have to do side-activities, like even work for AI on multi-crew or whatever, must still be in place. So you are not attached to a ship after you buy the game, being able to play SC without one ship. Obviously, some people on this thread will certainly say if you loose your only ship by something not covered by insurance, you'll have to buy Star Citizen again.

http://i.imgur.com/RTaXjBt.png
Interesting...

Playing Squadron 42?!

/// *U*

~~EDIT, oh i got it now!
Still have all those CIG online at once, the PTU Discord is coming back to life.... Hmm!

 

[Marak]

My guess is that they WILL sell ships for cash once the game is released. It's their best money maker and I'm sure they'll make a killing. They'd be daft not to.

I have no problem with this as I intend to start in my Aurora and work my way up to be master of the galaxy through hard work - working towards the next ship so EARNING stuff makes the game more exciting for me. Some of my best times in ED was in taking risky (profitable) missions so I could get the next ship sooner. Progression is a big part of enjoyable gameplay.

My concern is that players who already have "endgame" ships will wonder what they have to play for. There's gotta be a ton of scripted content to keep these guys happy, and good scripted, engaging content is hard to do well.

 

[MaxLexandre]

Buy the Game under different ship packages, sure, we already know that... now that they will sell a Capital Idris / Javelin *starter* package post-release? That's just super drama, even currently the system to buy them is so limited, and they stock out ASAP once available?... over the fact these monsters are persistent on the universe?.... yeah right!

Also depends on the value per player time, the UEC will be valorized in-game, will affect the prices and values of both, and balance the whole system. How easy will be with in-game work, to get the X starter ship with UEC? Remining of how the first time CR hinted at this, was just a few hours to get a 200$ ship value, what is far too little of what's the MMOs standard. And that's how MMOs monetize themselves, specially when they don't have subscriptions, or paid expansions models. Even EvE online with a pretty normal currency system, is still accused of P2W, let the massive flame war begin!

The good side of having people with already the capital ships when SC releases is that will force the most end-game content. Is CIG to focus on end-game content and activities as well, that will be more on the top of the chain. Usually one frustrating aspect many MMOs fail on, however the progression of SC is not ships, the WIN is not ships, some people say to "Win" SC you have to get to own the "best" ship? Maybe some do, but that's not how you play the game!


Another Glitches EP:

[video=youtube;GvXx6qJMdh4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvXx6qJMdh4[/video]