Game Discussions Star Citizen Discussion Thread v12

HansAcker

HansAcker
Even in system chat people try to push the drug :cool:
"Buy the Admiral Package before the inevitable price-hike"
Not sure what that "Elite" is all about, though.

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Viajero

Volunteer Moderator
Viajero
VR Golgot said:
It's gonna be interesting to see where the community settles on the hype/salt continuum.

This is gonna be Pyro-con V4 after all. Even with something probably arriving downstream this time (in semi-broken 'Static Meshing' fashion), it's still gonna be a lot more 'trust me bro' tap-dancing on the day.

My guess is that the eventual delivery is gonna tilt that see-saw saltwards over time for a bunch of players. It's odds on that CIG won't have any gameplay that really leverages multiple systems or the enlarged playspace. The refuelling mechanic will still be mainly jank. The economy won't be up and running to any fiendish degree. The AI still won't be that performant, barring meshing miracles. And Pyro itself is designed to be a griefer free-for-all ;)

(And woe betide CIG if those server handovers aren't seamless ;))

The roleplayers will roll on. The emergent gameplay merchants too probably. I reckon a fair few other old guard will hit their 'enough's enough' wall in 2024 though...

I guess Chris is reliant on Mark Hamill coming to the rescue...

(And noob cash. All that lovely noob cash...)
Click to expand...
I’d imagine this CitCon won’t be only about Pyro V4 but it also HAS to be about SQ42 V5. I would imagine some kind of SQ42 prelude episode or similar (either way a far cry form a complete Chapter 1) can even be shipped sometime 2024.

If SQ42 is a no show at all at the CitCon that would likely spell certain doom talk. CIG can’t afford that possibility.
 

VR Golgot

VR Golgot
Viajero said:
I’d imagine this CitCon won’t be only about Pyro V4 but it also HAS to be about SQ42 V5. I would imagine some kind of SQ42 prelude episode or similar (either way a far cry form a complete Chapter 1) can even be shipped sometime 2024.

If SQ42 is a no show at all at the CitCon that would likely spell certain doom talk. CIG can’t afford that possibility.
Click to expand...

Oh yep that's the gossip. There'll almost certainly be a glossy show reel. And possibly another launch window too.

It's a hype driver, but it'll still lack substance until an actual launch. The old guard can only be revved up so many times ;)
 

Agony_Aunt

Agony_Aunt
Viajero said:
I’d imagine this CitCon won’t be only about Pyro V4 but it also HAS to be about SQ42 V5. I would imagine some kind of SQ42 prelude episode or similar (either way a far cry form a complete Chapter 1) can even be shipped sometime 2024.

If SQ42 is a no show at all at the CitCon that would likely spell certain doom talk. CIG can’t afford that possibility.
Click to expand...

Chris pulls up a slide "Answer the Call 2024"

The crowd goes wild!
 

VR Golgot

VR Golgot
Factabulous said:
Dunno - after the first 10 years I think they're in it for the long term. If they can stand playing with the current long list of broken stuff I doubt anything could stop them apart from the project collapsing in flames. And even then it won't be down to CiG (in their eyes).
Click to expand...

For a hardcore sure. But you see 'lifers' calve off the project all the time. Lots of 'After 8 years this was the last straw!' style posts about the place. Often after Citcon ;)

(I'm assuming Chris will set the SQ42 reel to maximum sizzle. But there's always a chance they fluff it. And for any PU-heads who are annoyed at SQ42 siphoning off resourcing, that could easily form their springboard out etc. 'Answer my call mutherlflupppperrrrrrr' etc ;)).
 
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VR Golgot

VR Golgot
So I did an effortpost again...

CIG Staff Changes 2023:

A very rough snapshot of staffing changes from January to September. (Public Linkedin profiles only)*


TLDR:
  • Half the Senior+ devs leaving CIG in 2023 had a tenure of < 2 years. [Average tenure: 10 months].
  • A quarter of those promoted to Senior+ level got their first job in gaming at CIG.
---

Comings & Goings:

The Good News!

I'm not seeing any signs of the rumoured dev exodus, or a significant hiring freeze. At least not compared to Jan-Sept 2022.

Leavers:
2022: 63 [Senior+: 30]
2023: 44 [Senior+: 18]

Hires:
2022: 40 [Senior+ 6]
2023: 40 [Senior+ 11]

I'm not sure if those numbers look particularly great for retention, but 2023 has at least been better than 2022 ;)


The Bad News!

In 2022 I lauded their Senior+ hires as a bright spot. They suggested that CIG could still attract experienced devs to the table.

A year on, things don't look quite so pretty. 3 of those 6 have since left the company. Including two guys who stood out as case studies:

  • Senior Networking Programmer [Rockstar]
    • Big resume, quite the scalp. Lasted 5 months...

Which could all just be anomalous and exaggerated by the small sample. But if we bundle up all of 2023's departures to date we get:

  • Senior+ Devs alone: 15/34 [44% of all dev departures] (No production, no QA etc)
  • Tenure < 2y: 7/15 [47%]. Average tenure: 10m

Senior+ Leavers < 2y:
Principle Artist - 3m [probably a probation fail]
Lead Designer - 0y 7m
Senior Sound Designer - 0y 7m
Senior Audio Designer - 0y 10m
Lead Character Artist: Squadron 42 - 1y
Senior VFX Artist - 1y
Senior Level Designer - 1y 5m

Senior+ Leavers > 2y:
8/15 [53%]. Average Tenure: ~7y


Notable case study:
  • Lead Character Artist: Squadron 42 [CD Projekt Red]
    • 'Established implementation pipeline and lead internal and external asset creation of vehicles for Cyberpunk 2077'. Bailed after a 1y at CIG...
---


CIG As Their First Job in Game Dev:
NB the following are Devs only. (No QA, no Production etc)

Devs:

New Hires: ~31% [12/39]
Promotions: ~43% [24/56]
Leavers: ~23% [10/44]

New Hires: ~10% [3/29]
Promoted: ~31% [11/36]
Leavers: ~13% [6/46]

Senior+Devs:

Promotions: ~25% [6/24]

Senior Lead Vehicle Artist - 7y 8m - Previously: Teeside University

Senior Weapon Artist II - 7y 4m - Previously: De Montford University

Senior Gameplay Programmer - 5y 11m - Previously: University of Warwick

Senior Level Designer - - Previously: Student at The Game Assembly

Senior Facial Animator - 6y 5m - Previously: Team Development Manager at AEK London FC

Senior Principle Engineer Online Technology - 7y - Previously: Senior Software Developer at Wulou Labs. Working on: 'Distributed data collection infrastructure, API and embedded software for a medication adherence product'.

[Ok bit of a reach that last one ;). He's definitely experienced. And I've included his Turbulent career in his CIG resume, because it was all on SC. But he didn't work in games prior ¯\(ツ)/¯. And given his lofty role, and the specific challenges of 'Server Meshing', it seems worth highlighting.]

---

The Producers:

Producers:

Hires: 3
Promotions: 12
Leavers: 7

Hires: 7
Promotions: 10
Leavers: 8

Producer+:
[IE no starter Assistants, Associates etc]

Promotions: 6
Leavers: 6

The 6 Producers who said goodbye this year included 1 Lead & 1 Senior. The odd eyebrow-raiser in there...

Lead Producer - 1y 1m - Promoted in August. Left in September.

Senior Producer - 9y 1m
During my career at Cloud Imperium Games, I've handled production for various global disciplines and teams, including Core Technologies, Technical Content, Network, IT, Dev Ops, Live Release, Outsourcing, Narrative Content, Systems Design, Vehicle Art and Character Art.
Click to expand...

Producer II - 4y 10m - Went to FDev ;)
Core gameplay pillar producer providing production oversight for all teams and producers working on core gameplay features and content for Star Citizen and Squadron 42 including: - Weapon Content - Weapon Feature - Core Gameplay Design - Actor Feature - Actor Tech - Actor Content - UI
Click to expand...

Producer - 7y 8m - Also went to FDev ;)

Producer - 6y 3m
Specialising in project scheduling, and serving as Scrum Master for three feature teams
Click to expand...
Prior role said:
Project production for Squadron 42, as well as driving features and developing pipelines.
Click to expand...

Producer - 5y 2m - Promoted in August. Left in September.
Predominantly working with gameplay code & design teams for vehicles/flight, to create features for a persistent universe and otherwise maintaining a live environment
Click to expand...
---
Guesstimated Producer+ levels currently, using all-profile search: 25
---


Odds & Ends:

  • Long-term concept king Jeremiah Lee left 1 month into his new role as Principle Character Concept Artist.
  • The Lead Server Engineer who left this year worked with Tony Z on Crusader.
  • A bunch of student -> programmer devs bailed, leaving various features behind.
  • Programmer who oversaw the transit system expansion, transit AI & stealth AI. They joined Kythera.[CIG's old AI contractors ;)]
  • AI Programmer who built the police security & Vanduul behaviours.
  • Gameplay Programmer who oversaw Quantum Travel & Restricted Area features.
  • They've hired a Lead Game Economy Designer. (Isn't that Tony's job?).
  • Two of the new AI promotions were working as 'Bartender' and a 'Bar Team Leader' prior. (They have gaming degrees, but no gaming roles prior to CIG. Maybe they're finessing the drunken AI? ;)).

Random Global Stats:

2023:

Engineering: 7 [UK: 5, Germany: 2]
Design: 6 [UK: 3, US: 3, Senior: 3]
Art: 3 [US: 2, UK: 1, Seniors: 3]
Animation: 3 [UK: 3, Seniors: 2]
Audio: 2 [UK: 2, Seniors: 2]
Environment: 2 [UK: 1, Germany: 1, Senior: 1]
AI: 2 [UK: 2]
Cinematics: 2 [US: 1, Germany: 1, Senior: 1]
Networking: 1 [US: 1, Senior: 1]
Concept Art: 1 [US:1, Senior: 1]
Character Art: 1 [US: 1, Senior: 1]
Etc
Design: 10 [UK: 8, Germany: 2, Seniors: 5]
Environment Art: 6 [UK: 6, Seniors: 3]
Engineering: 7 [UK: 3, Germany: 2, Seniors: 4]
UI: 4 [Seniors: 2]
Vehicle Art: 5 [UK: 5, Senior: 2]
VFX: 4 [UK: 4, Seniors: 3]
Character Art: 4 [US:2, UK 2, Seniors: 2]
Lighting: 3 [UK: 2, Germany: 1, Seniors: 2]
Sound: 2 [UK: 2, Seniors: 2]
Animation: 2 [UK: 2]
Etc

Changes by Region

Devs & QA:

UK: -23, +34
US: -8, +0
Germany: -4 , +1
Canda: -0, +1

UK: -45, +26
US California: -5
US Austin: -4, +1
Germany: -6, +5


---The following figures are taken from Linkedin recruitment search, including non-public 'out of network' profiles---

All Staff:
814

Region Breakdown:

United Kingdom: 473 [58%]
United States: 207 [25%]
Germany: 85 [10%]
Sweden: 9
Canada: 6 (only leads and seniors listed)
Spain: 4
Portugal: 2
France: 2
Ukraine:1 [A new Snr 3D Artist apparently]
Etc

Graduation Stats:
Current CIG: Graduated 2022-2023: 74
Programmers: 15
Designer: 18 [From Dialogue to Level to Tech/System]
QA Tester: 12
Not corrected for false positives:
Current CIG: Graduated 2020-2023: 200
Current CIG: Graduated 2021-2023:141
Current CIG: Graduated 2022-2023:75

Director & Producer Numbers:

Current CIG + current 'Director' role: 63 - 6 false returns = 57
[Mind you this includes Tyler as 'Director of Community' and the missing Ben Lesnick as 'Director of Community Engagement and Content Strategy' ;)]

Current CIG + current 'Producer' role: 64- 5 false positives = 59

Current CIG + current 'Producer' role - Associate Producer - Assistant Producer: 35 - 10 false positives = 25

vs

Current FDev = 827

Current FDev + current 'Director' role: 34 - 9 false positives = 25

Current FDev + current 'Producer' role: 54 - 5 false positives = 49

Current FDev + current 'Producer' role - Associate Producer - Assistant Producer: 49 - 4 false positives = 45


---

  • This is a very eccentric data set, and not really robust enough to draw strong conclusions from.
  • I've only scoured the Jan-Sept period for 2022 & 2023 as the freebie Linkedin pro month was available in Sept. And it's easier ;).
  • I've mainly used only the individuals with public profiles. (IE where you can see their full professional history etc).
  • For the 'big picture' number tallies at the end I've included the 'off network' accounts as well.
  • The lists aren't a perfect snapshot in time. Many people update their profile months after changing role, and sometimes don't update it at all. I added 6 notable devs to the 2022 list due to this [5 senior+ leavers & 1 engineer].
  • I didn't go the extra mile to do multi-company comparisons for greater context. Too much work, sue me ;)
  • I've only included sourcing for the more public figures. Don't particularly want to 'out' a bunch of standard devs. You'll have to take my broader number crunching on trust ;).If you've got any specific queries sling them my way :).
 
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