The thing that gets to me is this:
Phase 1. Joining the game. This will usually happen with free fly events. You decide to test the game for free. I did this 3 years ago. Then I saw those detailed, monster ships and planets that no other game has. The scale is amazing. The detail is amazing. Very promising.
Is that the secret of Star Citizen’s success? People who haven’t played games in 30 years?
During my first Freefly, I wasn’t awed by what I saw. I’d seen similar sights in other games, including online games, before. Granted, I was already a skeptic, and a dirty refundian, going in, but in every game I’ve ever played, my first impulse is always to learn the basic gameplay, and get sufficient equipment to move on to the more advanced gameplay.
It’s only after I’m comfortable with the gameplay do I take the time to appreciate less important things, like the sight of a sandstorm in the distance, or sulfuric dust falls.