Short answer - I am.
Longer answer - The only reason I supported this project as much as I have is because of the depth of the simulation. If I wanted one-dimensional, single goal gameplay there are many out there.
In a way I feel slightly sorry for those who have come later to the project because the things discussed and agreed in the first couple of years don't get mentioned much anymore. They hear about things but they have no context to fit these future plans into. For example they might see the Imperator elections and they simply view it as fun flavour engagement while we wait for a game of rock-paper-scissors and this couldn't be further from the truth. A players everyday experience of the game will be nothing like it is now, a players motivations for engaging in an activity in the game, or moving about the game universe isn't
'because that is all there is to do'.
From the beginning the very core of Star Citizen is to create a universe which is like an ongoing soap opera that will go on around you whether you are there to see it or not. The characters and factions in the game universe are there (and I MEAN actually there) and they will live their lives and affect the world around them, you can see them doing it. CIG are doing things that no-one would ever do because they have the support of a community. The Murray Cup will be an annual event with races taking place in location around the game universe, with characters and events - hospitality. Just like the real world you can follow those 'motorsport' events and characters. You can go find Jax MaCleary. You can go to the Senate and see Imperator Laylani Addison arriving with her security team escort.
A big part of the experience of Star Citizen is going to be the Spectrum, you can think of it as Youtube/Twitch and every news channel rolled into one. This is not 'background flavour to read as in other games, it actually exists and will be a major source of information to players and their decision making processes about where they want to go and what they want to do. During the Squadron 42 vertical slice Chris talked about how they developed the Render To Texture tech for in game communications. Any other game company would think they are crazy to spend resources on it (an people often say so), why go to all that trouble when you could just use pre-canned video? It's because of the way they are making Squadron 42 and the persistent universe. They aren't building a universe of on-rails scripted events, they can add and add and add to the mix for years to come, that's why they concentrated on building tools to make it far quicker and easier - to be able to spin up and equip a team in Montreal in less than year and have their output into the game in less than 6 months. No-one else can do this on that scale.
Is the Spectrum just a fancier version of the radio stations in GTA - No. Why? Because in GTA they are pre-recorded and the Spectrum News is live from events in the game universe, even players can stream 'live' to the Spectrum. CIG can employ actors to give live performances in the game, that is a part of the point of FOiP and VOiP. They have a saying in Star Citizen 'If you can see it, you can get to it' and the surface interpretation of that is that if you look around you, or look up you can go to what is local to you, but that is a shallow interpretation because the things you see on Spectrum are not necessarily local - but if you see it on the screens - you can go there and see it live. There are natural disasters, politics and diplomacy, faction fighting, entertainment personalities all will come and go. Xenothreat is on it's second iteration and yet the experience of the next one could be much different if you see it all over the Spectrum next time - you don't see all the ramification of events like that now because the 'influences' are not all in place yet, but when they are you'll understand why they've gone to the expense and trouble to put this facility into the game universe. It really is the first baby steps of something that is going to build to epic proportions in future.
No development team constrained by investors could dream of developing such facilities, because the payoff is years away..
The way they are planning to populate the game universe with a virtually infinite variety of characters to meet is so monumentally different to the way other games do it, again no-one would even think to do it. These are procedurally generated human beings controlled by sophisticated AI in a dynamic universe where they have to respond to events around them. It's so huge that it is beyond the average gamers ken of what on Earth they are talking about. So here's an example:
quote:
You have an apartment in Prime on Terra III. There is a janitor in your building you see him most days, sometimes you stop and chat to him and he tells you about where he grew up, where he likes to go after work. You can go and see him dancing in his favourite nightclub. One day you figure out he's not here, where is he? So you have a screenshot of the guy and you come into Spectrum and say.. Hey all! Where has my janitor gone? And people will recognise the guy because all NPC's look unique - that is because they took the time to create 'DNA'. Someone in Spectrum says - Hey I've found him! He's on Tangaroa in the Helios system! You go and find him and he will remember you. you ask him, how can you afford to stay here on a janitors pay? He tells you he was special forces in the UEE Marines and he made a tonne of UEC fighting Xenothreat last time when they tried to take Daymar... so he's treating himself.
This is not scripted, it isn't just a few NPC's sprinkled around the place repeating the same behaviour over and over again, any of them that you see around you could have a similar story.. and this time might be the only time it happens.
Star Citizen is not just about high detailed ships, sunsets, pew pew and grind - it's about a living breathing universe absolutely full of new experiences and characters to meet all of which will change over time. The biggest experience of Star Citizen for the player will be FOMO on an epic scale because there will be so much going on you could never see it all in a lifetime. A billion planets that are all static doesn't compare to hundreds of thousands of characters that 'feel' as real as you or I. This is what Chris meant when he says he doesn't want players to be able to distinguish between NPC's and other players, it's not the running or bunny hopping, the language or poor microphone skills, it's the fact that the choices the NPC's make and the actions they take are based on the drivers and experience the players also feel.
Which other game do you know will have you setting dates in your calendar on a weekly basis? Because if you're not there, you'll miss it. This game is a social media streamers dream come true.
You've projected an statement which wasnt made.
Much like the above screen captured comment I am afraid this still doesn’t make much sense. I am sure you have your (very valid) reasons though, so no worries.
![[VR] Merkir](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/141/141091.jpg?1553527154){kind=avatar}
