Expensive or not?

[Kleinholz]

It is great to see this game being funded successfully. Due to real life i lost track of the sci-fi start-ups a while ago when they were all kickstarting their projects yet (namely Elite, Star Citizen, Limit Theory, but also Galaxial and a few others).

Now that i got some more time i'm thinking about backing it, and i was quite surprised to find out that it is more expensive to back Elite than it is to go for Star Citizen: If i interpret the descriptions properly you get access to the game with 30+ pounds, whereas SC costs $30+ USD:
£30 > $30, translates to 35€ > 22€ for me which is quite a difference.

Anybody who doesn't know Elite (including me, although i am from that era ) and compares prices will prolly go to SC because of the price difference; and SC being the more ambitious (i guess?) and already more successful project doesn't help it either.

I wonder if Elite was more expensive from the start, and why? Somehow i can't imagine how SC outpaced Elite otherwise in more than the 10:1 ratio, is it hype, or what happened? And: Shouldn't the current prices kinda be the other way around, in order to get some more funding in? Or am i just missing something?


Anyway, the progress looks great, hopefully it'll be as "free" to play&fly as everybody says, and if i get over myself i'll back it soon, too. The price difference just raised a temporary eyebrow.

 

[JazHaz]

I wonder if Elite was more expensive from the start, and why? Somehow i can't imagine how SC outpaced Elite otherwise in more than the 10:1 ratio, is it hype, or what happened?

It might be because the original game wasn't really known outside the UK, Europe and Australasia. E: D has a harder time to push into the US market than SC which is already there.

 

[Erimus Kamzel]

One of the things you need to take into account is Star Citizen may be slightly cheaper for the digital download pledge, but the game is heavily leaning towards pay to win in my opinion. CIG are selling their ships to pledgers and some of those ships range from $20 up to $250. The starting ship you get for your initial $30 starters pledge has already earned the nickname as the flying coffin (so that tells you how poor that will be!)

So unless you plan on playing solo, you may have to spend some extra cash to survive in the multiplayer game.

Frontier Developments aren't selling ships for real life money on the same scale. The best you can get is a few modified ships (like a long range cobra for explorers for example) for the higher pledges but as far as I know you can't fill a hanger full of hardware using out of games means (i.e. real life money). Also the only real way to get bigger and better ships in Elite is by gameplay means, earning credits via trading and missions etc. So its more of a level playing field for everyone who plays the multiplayer aspect of the game. I think ED will have some things you can pay money for but I don't think it'll be as prominent as the way Star Citizen is doing it. We'll have to wait and see.

About why SC has raised so much, its partly because pledgers are buying up multiple ships (so will have whole hangers full of them by games release), but I think its mainly because CIG have ran a really good advertising campaign and are constantly putting content out in the form of videos and interviews, as well as having weekly shows like the wingman's hanger all promoting the game. In contrast Elite Dangerous has been very low key, painfully so at times. Not sure why, but I'm sure the crowd-funding could have been far higher if FD had adopted CIG's approach in promoting the game.

Both games are going to be phenomenal from what I can tell. I pledged only to Elite but I will be playing Star Citizen just as much as Elite!. :smilie:

 

[natte hond]

It might be because the original game wasn't really known outside the UK, Europe and Australasia. E: D has a harder time to push into the US market than SC which is already there.

I think all Amiga users knew it.

if you knew the older versions , I suspect you wouldn't make this comparison.
I don't think its expensive at all.
especially when you back up to the level where you are entitled to any update released.
I expect the updates not to be free of charge , if you don't.
this makes it fairly low cost over time.
and because the game is procedurally generated its endless.
this makes it incomparable to SC witch is not made like this.
I don,t follow the development of SC , but from what i piked up from reading the treads here.
SC is entirely different.
and it seems to me it is going to be very crowded.
I feel this will undermine the vastness of space.

 

[Patrick_68000]

We eagerly await the opinion of Liqua

 

[JazHaz]

It might be because the original game wasn't really known outside the UK, Europe and Australasia. E: D has a harder time to push into the US market than SC which is already there.

I think all Amiga users knew it.

I'm talking the original 8-bit game from 1984. It was not released on popular American made machines until much later.

 

[izzy]

Many here in this forum have waited for so many years to have a sequel to FFE, the price is not a problem and £30 is not expensive for a game

 

[Commander Waterhouse]

I don't think ED is really more expensive if you compare the quality of the starting ships. I think I have now spent an equal amount of money on both titles and for that I can fly two ships in SC and three in ED.

What SC is doing really, really well is keep on fueling the hype. They release the games in bits and continuously release new ships and fun stuff you can buy. I also like how you can trade your ship for in-game credits (without costs) and then buy another ship if it comes out. Of course the new ship may be a bit more expensive so you pay a couple of bucks real money extra.. And so they keep generating revenue while the games is still far, far from being released!

What ED is doing well is developing a very good future proof game design with an almost limitless universe. In time, a lot of ( more detailed ) content can be added.

In short, SC seems to be working more bottom-up and ED more-top down.

 

[jedt]

Many here in this forum have waited for so many years to have a sequel to FFE, the price is not a problem and £30 is not expensive for a game

^this.... 30 quid for a game like this is peanuts...

 

[Kroy]

It's only expensive if you value 13 euros as a lot, considering the amount of entertainment you can get out of a sandbox game that has such a huge level of possibilities.

I can't comment on SC, but which ever game you are going to play, I'm sure you'll get hours upon hours of entertainment - so much so that the 13 euros you are worrying over will be diluted down to .00001 cents of a difference.

Also, no one says you HAVE to donate now. If 13 euros means that much to you, I strongly suggest you hold on to all your cash and wait for the games to release. People seem to forget that a successful kickstarter is no guarantee that the project will complete and launch.

So yeah, hold on to your cash, and purchase whichever you think looks best on release. At least that way you don't risk losing those precious bucks/pounds/euros.

 

[Slawkenbergius]

Elite is certainly more expensive than Star Citizen to back. I got alpha on Star Citizen for $35, whereas it was £200 for Elite. That price-point may have been a misjudgement on Frontier's part, as there are over 600 slots left. That said, it may make the Elite alpha that little more exciting, knowing that you're one of about a thousand, rather than one of nearly two hundred thousand...

No idea what the result would have been if the prices had been lower for Elite, or if the campaign was run along similar lines to Star Citizen's. Fortunately I don't think it will have a negative impact on the quality of the game, which what I really care about.

 

[Kroy]

Really don't see what all the fuss is about. Both games can be successful. Elite will certainly be successful purely down to the hardcore fanatics that many of us are about the first universe we ever lost in. Elite has scored the money it set out to achieve and a lot more.

It's from a company that has been trading for many years, has some cash reserves of its own, and some amazing talent working at it who have proven themselves time and time again over some mad projects.

You don't say that Eve Online is somehow a failure when you compare its annual subscription intake to World of Warcraft, either.

Sure, I'd bet FD would love to have another 10 mill to play with, but they haven't, and it appears that they don't need it (let's hope so) to get to a "finished" game soon™!

 

[Oddball]

Anyway, the progress looks great, hopefully it'll be as "free" to play&fly as everybody says, and if i get over myself i'll back it soon, too. The price difference just raised a temporary eyebrow.

Better hurry up then because the window for backing this project is soon to close. And if you feel that there is a big difference between £30 and $30 then I suggest that you take the cheaper option because the cheaper option is just that - cheap!

 

[Pyros]

SC was a viral success fueled by a high profile game dev in a very large market - and quite relevant, a market very prone to fund Kickstarter project. As it was said, their campaign was extremely professional and well executed. Part of it was a better price structure than ED. While it didn't affect the fans to anyone from the outside it can be a factor.

But while ED funding pales in comparison with SC, not only all other projects also do as I almost certain that ED was the largest non American KS game project so far. Not shabby at all.

Personally, ED was my most expensive game ever. It has been a nice ride so far

 

[Jenner]

I've spent more money on both than I care to think about.

But seriously, I agree somewhat about ED being more expensive and therefore (perhaps) a more difficult choice for some. I know that I put a lot more into SC than ED at first simply because of the higher price of ED (and the exchange rate). Still, eventually I succumbed to the pressure and got up to Alpha in ED. Both games will keep me busy for some time, I'm sure.

 

[Cosmos]

Elite Dangerous is probably a little more expensive on the face of it. Reward wise I had the feeling your money went slightly further with SC.

Yet Elite was the first sandbox space game. It inspired Roberts to do what he did with his space games and I am rather tired of mediocre USA tech companies making a mint with crappy games.

I think the British gaming industry deserved my support more and if we compare the games, despite the obvious difference in funding at present, Elite Dangerous has far greater potential, is way more technically advanced, and in five years time will be streets a head of SC.

What also needs to happen here is a change in drive from Frontier. Lets not cozy up to Roberts and make nice. These games are in competition, lets make a better game and for a change rub the Americans noses in it.

 

[Slawkenbergius]

What also needs to happen here is a change in drive from Frontier. Lets not cozy up to Roberts and make nice. These games are in competition, lets make a better game and for a change rub the Americans noses in it.

This kind of attitude is really not helpful... Some people on the RSI forums already have got the impression that the Frontier forums are 'hostile' to Star Citizen, and are xenophobic and/or stupidly patriotic. 99% of the time that's not true, but then a silly 'joke' like this comes along, and that's all they'll pick up on. Frankly, it makes life a bit worse for the rest of us when stuff like this gets said. Also, I suspect that it has the potential to harm sales if this kind of nonsense is spouted too often.

 

[Oddball]

@All....

The original posters comments didn't help and I feel that he knew what he was doing by trying to wind us up.

In future it is probably best to completely ignore posts like this that try to encourage some sort of confrontation.

If he doesn't want to pay £30 for Elite Dangerous, let him go to the other game for $30. I won't miss him.

 

[Cosmos]

This kind of attitude is really not helpful... Some people on the RSI forums already have got the impression that the Frontier forums are 'hostile' to Star Citizen, and are xenophobic and/or stupidly patriotic. 99% of the time that's not true, but then a silly 'joke' like this comes along, and that's all they'll pick up on. Frankly, it makes life a bit worse for the rest of us when stuff like this gets said. Also, I suspect that it has the potential to harm sales if this kind of nonsense is spouted too often.

Its an opinion, not an 'attitude'. Many people here have backed both games, I rarely see anything to suggest any particular ill feeling. I don't have ill feeling either. And frankly I couldn't care less about what other people express on other forums. Elite Dangerous is a welcoming and friendly forum.

Its not a 'silly joke'. The US tech industry is far too dominant. What is wrong about supporting a Brit based company?

But lets explore a little more what you suggested. Precisely how does it make your life more difficult, to hear me 'spout this nonsense'?

 

[Cosmos]

@All....

The original posters comments didn't help and I feel that he knew what he was doing by trying to wind us up.

In future it is probably best to completely ignore posts like this that try to encourage some sort of confrontation.

If he doesn't want to pay £30 for Elite Dangerous, let him go to the other game for $30. I won't miss him.

I don't understand what the problem is in having a discussion about the two projects and making a choice about the merits of choosing one or the other.