In fact if SC would ever get released as serious competitor for ED that would likely be good thing for ED players. That would really motivate FD to add new features for game. Say like Atmo landings and or space legs. So why would I hate SC?
Is it true that Elite Dangerous is the only serious competitor for Star Citizen on the market? Or is this the result of a behavioral string where you dont even notice new projects anymore but focus solely on SC and just take ED into account as the "hating counterpart"? I dont make this remark lightly but many SC backers, especially the more fervent ones have a tendency to blast and bash ED out of the blue (when it wasnt even mentioned) for actual and imagined lack of qualities to a degree where you wonder if they ever even played ED in the first place. It comes across like looking for things to raise in defense so ED is reduced to being the scapegoat and the source of dissent.
How often did I read "oh you are a ED player, that explains the hate you have for SC" as if there would be any kind of logical connection between the two.
I often read about Space games mentioned in relation to SC in this thread but even tho I know most of them by name I hardly have investigated any of them in detail. I own NMS and I m looking for a sale for X4, have sampled Angels fall first in the past and just recently got into Empyrion. All of these games possess qualities that are suggestively the main reason for Star Citizens attraction. Space legs, fidelity, FPS and ships.
The main difference is that all the games I mentioned were
functionally more complete then SC tho with a lesser level of visual asthetic, even years ago. It really shocked me back then how much skill and dedication can influence and progress a project that doesnt have CIGs level of funding or workforce. NMS was the one game with the biggest team in its development from the ones I listed and the main difference between NMS and the other games is not complexity or depth or size but visual representation. Empyrion has a ridiculous amount of complexity, working gameloops and interactional options and its only early access with a tiny team working on it. Its graphics are "nice" if you consider the companies resources but of course its a world apart to Star Citizen. Angels fall first offered FPS and ship combat in a seamless environment years ago and the quality of that feature was beyond SC in regards to performance and complexity.
In fact all the games I sampled have shown considerably more progress and quality then SC managed to accomplish in all those years with a funding that would ve allowed all of the other games combined. As always Star Citizen defense points to the fact that only SC offers all of the different gameloops together while the other contenders "only" offer a limited aspect of the whole package. But the truth is that even if you allow that argument and only consider the specific features Star Citizen is still behind in every single one of them. And that is kind of shocking.
We all know the difference between a "specialist" and a "generalist" and its true that Angels fall first can be considered a specialist in its field while Star Citizen would be a generalist by only offering AFFs content in addition to other, equally important features. But here is where the time and the funding comes into play. CIG has received a truly unprecedented level of patience and understanding from the community all the while being showered in money in order to "help" them create this truly ambitious and incredible game. Mistakes or events that would ve
crippled other companies have been accepted and forgiven in SCs case. Usually this happens when the good outweight the bad. People dont forget bad stuff but are willing to ignore it if the return value is considerably higher so you take what you can with a "grain of salt" (not sure if thats the correct saying....).
Star Citizen even has modular development with stand-alone features unobstructed or untroubled by the whole games complexity like Star Marine or Arena commander or the racing one. These are limited game environments where only specific qualities are considered and processed. And it explains the jump in performance but it doesnt explain the lack of diversity or variation. Star Marine specifically is a bland, boring and run-of-the-mill FPS shooter if I ever saw one. Clunky movement. The "standard" range of weapon variety without any deeper level of complexity. Hiding, avatar and gear modifications, environmental interaction etc....all of these things are on the level of 1993 Doom.
It looks better but even the graphics are pathetic when you compare them to current FPS contenders. And it all goes down the drain in action with its junky movement and animations, lack of simulated physics, bugs and small size (mini-levels). Its no wonder nobody really talks about Star Marine because as a FPS game...its truly disappointing and not very impressive. But again...the selling point is that its going to be available WITHIN the main game. Only....that CIGs abilities to implement it in a sufficiant manner has been tested and found lacking for the last few years. Never forget that Star Marine is a project that a couple of dedicated developers could ramp out within a few months for pocket change but has taken CIG years and millions to accomplish only to sit in its sorry state...forgotten and sidelined because its not going anywhere. Arena Commander aka ship combat is pretty much the same. It lacks the detail, it lacks complexity, it lacks innovation and it only works "well" if you take out space legs. Because from what I can see in videos ship combat in the PU feels and looks extremely lackluster and again....only space legs or "the package" save it from going under.
The thing is that if you take a range of mediocre or lacking features and put them together you dont come out with a great product. Doesnt work in any other area of life either. Food dishes can LOOK great but are actually spiced crap if the individual ingredients are under quality or even bad. On the other hand you can have boring looking dishes that taste fantastic and are considered high value despite their lack of visual presentation....because the cook has skill and takes high-quality ingredients to make it. Do I really need to point out the resemblance to Star Citizen in this?
What I was willing to accept for a long time was the "illusion of art" where you stare at a chaotic mess of lines and colors which make no sense whatsoever. Something a toddler can make only it cost hundreds of thousands in real life cash. And then....while you continue to stare in shock
something is added or changed and suddenly
everything changes and turns this thing into something awesome. But this only works if the qualities that make it awesome are "hiding" in plain sight and people who dont know miss it.
Star Citizen has been under close investigation and observation for years now. And while we still dont know the complete total of its inner workings we do have people with considerably experience and insight into development involved commenting and participating in its discussion. There really is no "mystery" involved as CIG is cooking with water same as everybody else. Only that CIGs water stinks and looks muddy from the start. What reason could CIG possibly have to "hide" its strong points as some people suggest? (secret dev builds, a gigantic list of ideas and features waiting to be implemented) Instead CIG is pretty tight lipped and slient when it comes to describe definitive versions of definitions of its game. Some people are allowed to go "all out" and lose themselves in theorycrafting of economy or equally far distant topics that wont be adressed for years to come. What are those "pipelines" or "things" that will turn this project around? Everything I know about affects performance mostly and I refuse to acdept that the whole development is on ice while everybody (including the devs) wait for a solution. Designs and features would and SHOULD be continued to develop but again....Star Citizen shows a remarkable lack in those. Its not complex, its not ambitious or better.....its not in
its current form. Everybody revels in the glory that "will be" possible once the foundation is secured. But that is a distant piece of fiction that wont be automatically accomplished once the prerequisites are in place. By all means the real work starts THEN and is still lying in the future. By all accounts CIG has spent 300 million dollars and 8 years fiddling around with the basics and truth be told....those basics dont really look all that impressive on their own if you dont present them still-frame in 4k resolution.
You can easily make the mistake to take the future dream (fiction) into account which will then overshadow the current experience but thats a mistake none the less. If a specific feature is bad or lacking without the added component of "the dream" then its bad or lacking.....not "promising" or "having potential". And this is a mistake I see many active SC backers doing. They get captured by the future version where every obstacle has been overcome, every imaginable thing has been accomplished and Star Citizen sounds better then real life. And if you consider how exactly CIG has mounted and approached this project from the start the question arises if its actually a REAL game or just a sticky web for people to lose themselves in? The longer I watch and observe and the more time passes the more it becomes obvious to me that Star Citizen isnt going anywhere. Because the company responsible lacks the skill, the idea or competence to overcome current problems (that other games have accomplished btw). Being patient and understanding is key of course but theres a point at which you have to stop your child from continuing on a futile course of action that only leads to ridicule or disappointment. In CIGs case this patience and understanding has cost millions and created a chasm between people who call each other fanatics, cultists or haters. You always have some select few who take video games too seriously and you can imagine physical violence when it comes to these nutjobs or no-lifers (as they are commonly perceived). How is it possible that this rare exception is the norm in Star Citizen? Where being "neutral" is all but impossible?
CIG must understand how its current development rips the community apart and how it comes across to anybody who has a slight understanding of development but it doesnt seem to care. It ignores obvious flaws and problems and only discusses the positives. It also only embraces the people who dont give them flak. Anybody who is even slightly critical is called out as a hater and viciosuly attacked by all the fanboys and ignored by the company. CIG seems to HIDE behind its shield of people who question nothing, who accept everything and who pay through the nose to keep it up.
Its really shocking to me how I have to spell these things out in detail when I am supposed to deal with adults who command hundreds or thousands of dollars to do with as they wish. Its not the spending itself, its how these people defend their habits or even try to paint ME as the clueless one or someone who is personally invested in SCs failure. Its like discussing flat earth or cults. Seriously....the similarities are frightening. And we are not talking about individuals who have secret informations that enable them to see things the rest of the world is unable to see. Like in stock trades or the corporate environment. Many people come up with ideas that sound ludicrous on paper and make the rest of the world go "???" but there are actual examples of success stories where these people possessed something that made their attempt valid. Usually these folks fund themselves or put their while life existence on the line to accomplish what they want. They fight alone unsupported against the world and eventually come up on top.
Chris Roberts and CIG are not that. Its not his own money, he never even invested any of his own. Suggestively Chris Roberts came up with SC when his life was in shambles with him selling used cars, when he had nothing else and he trudges along with a faitful group of people who defend him against any possible criticism or accusation. He has zero risk in this project. Let that sink in for a moment. If it fails, he walks away a millionaire. If he ruins his own reputation....it wont matter, due to his age its not likely he even tries to build or continue as a game developer. Its far more likely that Star Citizen is his own personal retirement project and undeserved as it is....it looks like hes going to live out the rest of his life rich and fat.....on the dime and trust of small people. Thats how scams usually go. They target the small people. CIG has messed up its relationship with Crytek and obviously, regardless how that will end....this was an opponent that can bite and pose a threat. All the small people on whos backs and wallets Star Citizen is built? They are not important, not a factor and can at best be seen as cash cows in all this.
The community as a whole has STARTED on the same foot years ago. Expectations were high and the hype had infected everybody. Over time these expectations diverged and are currently at a level of difference that is almost comical in its extremity. We have come from "THE BEST DAMN SPACE SIMULATION EVER" to "at least it works better then game x"......
how??? And the "chasm" we can observe is only existing because the
haters stick to the original portfolio of goals and expectations while the people who consider themselves
real backers have moved the goalposts and their own expectations drastically to match the slow and lacking development so for them everything is A-okay. Its a degeneration of expectations where (and make no mistake....we are already at this point) SC could turn out a complete disaster, failure or reveal itself to have been impossible from the get-go and these people would simply say "at least they tried" and forgive them.
"I had so much fun over the years. It doesnt matter that I was used and abused during that time and that what I "really" was hoping for never made an appearance."
Deception and abuse are two very valid terms when it comes to CIG and Star Citizens development. Abuse of trust, abuse of resources, lies and misinterpretations. In the most critical cases backpeddling on what was promised etc. Star Citizen truly is an incredible example of a video game project....but for all the wrong reasons......
