I can only assume you've never worked on a movie if you'd say that. All kinds of things change at the last minute on movies, you lose the light, the weather changes, the set ain't ready, a prop breaks, or isn't delivered on time, the actor has a cold, the vehicles break down, the local authority butt in, you can't clear the set, a camera or light goes U/S, a costume has a problem, something changes at a location when you do a reshoot, the second unit has different weather or light, etc, etc. There are all kinds of things like this which end up necessitating changes to be made, despite all your meticulous planning and in many ways, the ability to come up with solutions and alternatives when these sort of things occur, is what separates the decent directors from the average ones.
I asume you never worked on a game. And specificly as lead programmer. Not artist. Where you deal with change on software architecture level.
Me also not but this is uniek to games and the big difference.
Mannaging the game engine software architecture. With change.
Change for games can be of a huge impact for a game engine. Wich means need to replan and shift milestones. And refactor the change to the engine. Well this could be a problem if it is a inhouse engine made for this game uniekly and engineerd to get functionality done. In often record of time. Instead more resource and time needed good extensible and easy to maintane software architecture solution wich could deal with change and extention much better.
But often this is not the case.
Games depend largly on software architecture if change is easy done or a recept for a huge disaster. That why frequently games are canceld due to change and resources spent on stuff that cut out or need to be redone.
And often to much bugy games.
Change on code level means breaking already tested code. Wich means going throught the whole proces of changing and testing. But inbewtween with very coupeld code chnge could work trough out large part of the engine.
change for a game can have a extreem impact for not so good maintainable code base.
The process of planning Star Citizen, and in particular Squadron 42, is remarkably similar to planning a movie in many ways. It's been stated numerous times by lots of people on the SC production crew, principally Chris Roberts, that SC and especially Squadron 42, are intended to be 'a cinematic experience' but one where you are effectively 'in the movie', that is what Chris Roberts is aiming for, and very obviously has always been aiming for when you look back at everything he's ever produced.
No it is not.but the squadrob 42 module is. But not starcitizen. Wich is a opensandbox game. CR has experience with both type of games and movie production. Wich movie is much more fresh to him as he come back from it to gamedevelopment. wich mean they got a lead from someone with experience in both fields. Wich might be a good signe if he could put this benefit of experience to good use.
The desire of Chris Roberts to make games 'movie-like' is most readily apparent in Privateer 2, where you had some brilliant A-List actors (and Clive Owen lol) including David Warner, Jürgen Prochnow, John Hurt, Christopher Walken, acting in the numerous cut scenes. Some of these actors Roberts later directed again in the movie version of Wing Commander, but it is also notable that Chris's brother, Erin (who worked on Privateer and Wing Commander) is now at the helm at Foundry 42, just up the road from me in Wilmslow, where they are handling much of Squadron 42's development.
His movies arent block busters but not need to be wenn going for a game experience. Game writing is different. But the experience does count.
Thus CIG and RSI have a team in place which is very familiar with what it takes to get a big production off the ground, they having done so before with both movies and games.
I don't think its that big. 30mil is nothing in singleplayer pure epic story blockbuster games and movies. Its also split over the core SC sandbox game. Vs squadron 42 module.
Good epic story need these important key team members. A very good game writer with block buster capabitities. There don't come cheap. So if funds arent up to it they probaly use some reqular professional but no high flyer. Even worse some regular teammember might get this task.
Some block buster triple A games go to top writers for deept high quality story. Bypassing game writer. Wich could be risk. Game writing is a special field.
I guess that on paper CR have a decent status of executing such deep story driven movie like game. But is he using a good writer to get a deep epic story.
But then again i am more into a very good gameplay experience. And cutscene I skip trough.
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