As much as I can't stand Star Citizen and it's marketing and the like... I mean we can't police everyone and slap their hands away from their mice as they choose to throw money into the project.
CIG try their best to control the narrative around the game and it's development but you can't pretend like people can't be held accountable for not googling it themselves and figuring out that maybe throwing a cool $300 they need for rent at a JPG of a ship is a bad idea. This applies even if it wasn't SC but a fully functioning game or hobby! I have fun with photography but I Still shouldn't buy a $4000 Canon 1D if I need that money to pay my electric.
Scummy as it may be, they are making a product and that product does exist in a playable(ish) state. A grown adult has full responsibility of his money barring some edge cases.
No doubt about it.
People should absolutely research the project prior to purchase. Theres enough information on the net providing a pretty conclusive picture if you are willing to put in the effort. And if you are thinking about more then just the basic package a little more effort on your part is mandatory IMO. Most people dont dump thousands in one go either. Its usually folks who start with a small amount then add more over time meaning they cant really complain about having been "cheated".
Fact is of course that CIG received a lot of money in good faith and for features and assets that hasnt made it into the game yet. Worse, the dream from years ago has drastically changed and very possibly isnt anymore what people bought into back then. Those people are pretty much out of luck because refunds are not an option anymore. They might feel abused or cheated yet they are denied a voice because they dont simply walk away and remain silent as was suggested even here on this thread.
Now projects in active development do change. Thats not unheard of but usually they at least try to stay what they promised. Thats not what happens in SC tho. Star Citizens scope or dream didnt really change out of necessity. it was artificially altered for reasons only Chris Roberts knows. We all know that what he said on that community poll was a big lie (more content with faster progress, no additional delays). The idea what Star Citizen "should be" was pretty clear in 2012....you had wiggle room in your interpretation but not so much. Fast forward a few years and SC has changed so drastically that nobody in 2012 would ve had any idea. Backers were promised respect and transparency. But thats not the case. They are reduced to observers looking in from outside, impotent and helpless, for the most part ignored. It was a kickstarter game so people should ve realized their investment was a high-risk one. But still, if development doesnt go as expected, even tho your money is gone and you wont get it back and you are not happy with the course. That doesnt mean you have to take it, shut your piece and walk away. You have every right to voice your concern, your frustration and disappointment.
Why would you deny those people an opinion?
It wont change anything but as all we do is talking anyway I dont see the harm apart from saving new people from getting into this mess or at least warning potential new players about what they are getting into. Which shouldnt be a problem again.
Generally saying "you should ve googled it" is too simple a statement. Development is too long and the involving factors too complex by now to reduce the solution to a simple "google search". Usually you would leave the "heavy lifting" in reviews to game magazines and online gamesites who share their impression or verdict but as we all know, that isnt possible yet because of SCs "alpha" status and most sites are really careful with what they report because of the angry tox-mob waiting for an opportunity to pounce.
What Star Citizen and CIG has absolutely managed in those 7 years is to grow a resistence that is pushing back against all the hype and marketing and many certainly have a personal "grudge" with the more fanatical elements of the pro-crowd. Word-of-mouth is pretty essential for Star Citizen, I dont think they even have the financial means to raise a marketing campaign but even if they did, without a product that can stand up to expectations and promises made it wont go far.
Some people like SC as it is. Others dont. Most uninvested people possibly reserve judgement until it gets out. Public reviews are either non-existent or heavily fought over. All the discussions and threads about it wont change or affect development. We all are just spectators going through SCs twitches.
Pressure is completely on CIG and its supporters tho and it shows sepcifically in the sensetivity to criticism and bad press. They are at risk to lose everything and ending up with nothing. And without big changes in SCs progress rate development will require a lot longer until release. Or it gets released in a very diminished state which wont help it with new blood buying in of course or the reputation for "BDSSE". And we all know that development isnt cheap, especially not with such a workforce. CIGs refusal to die also isnt important or a "victory" because if they manage to stay afloat the bare minimum wont ensure fulfillment of expectations. And SC needs to change and improve to stay even with competing games coming out. We already observe how scope and feature list gets bigger and bigger putting more and more strain on SCs skeleton simply because new games releasing offer more complexity or better visuals. It looks like CIG doesnt even try to get Star Citizen
done anymore, they are buys trying to stay
current at best and while demo.videos specifically scripted and produced for hype events manage to do the trick I m VERY curious to see if what we ve seen ever makes it into the PU and if CIG will manage to deliver everything in its backlog.
I dont have any beef with people enjoying Star Citizen or who remain hopeful but we know those are the minority. People who openly state stuff like "SC is already better then many released AAA games" or similar nonsense tho have to face opposition and it doesnt help that whenever I do follow up with questions or knowledge of my own come under personal attack simply for not falling to my knees or get responses with laughable information. Its always the over-the-top comments or attacks either against people or other games that invites and triggers the outright wars we can observe.
I usually refuse to put the fault at the victims feet but in Star Citizens case there really is enough information and enough warning out there by now to prevent new people from complaininig in case they dont get what they expected. That only counts for newcomers tho. Backers from years ago have every right to be miffed or complain. They wont change anything anyway.
