I just checked. You've made 3 posts here in 6 years! Your post development is slower than CIGs!
Stalker alert ^^
Ooof... looks like the citizens aren't having this sort of guff either. Its not getting the upvotes it would have in previous years.
Funny how "realism" is aways taken as "negativity". I guess the world and real life can be a harsh, unforgiving place which doesnt give 3
flowers of what you think or want
And if you operate under your own made-up rules like CIG does you simply wont succeed
My gut feel is that 2021 will be make or break for SC. Other space sims will be previewing their more updated content by then and Odyssey will be out.
No game by 2021, no 2022. It's the age of COVID, the usual tricks won't work anymore.
I learned that I cannot trust my gut feel when it comes to Star Citizen. First when CIG repeatedly failed to deliver on promises and claims and later again when CIG continued to operate as if nothing happened even tho their community was in turmoil and I expected the company to go belly up due to its desastrous results.
My current take is that the community has stopped being the main income factor for CIG so CIG has adjusted its treatment of them accordingly. The operating cost (cuz there is hardly any development going on, most of it is balancing and mantaining stuff - as if SC is already released, watch 2021) seems to come from investors mainly and CIG does a ship sale whenever they feel like they need some extra income for vacation or houses/bags. When in previous years new ships have been accompanied by detailed lore, fanfare and breathtaking videos nowadays its a mere shadow of its former glory.
And because "making the game" is a secondary condition for the people responsible for the money coming in development is treated like a stepchild right now. I have no idea why the investors are on board of this thing but from a cashflow point of view they are going to have their reasons. I just dont see how those can possibly align with creating Star Citizen except for being the carrot on the stick. And despite the fact that these people keep CIG from collapsing I as a backer would start to worry if I d care. I did that with several indi studios I was following which were "partnering" with big publishers and eventually degraded in creativity and quality. Human waste flows downstreams and the backers are at the very end of the river drinking whatever arrives. Now you have so many who play an act and suggest they LOVE what they get but they are all drinking the same stuff...just saying.
What TheAgent suggested, that the investors
demand a SQ42 beta by the end of 2021 sounds great at first but if you recall that "making the game" isnt their priority you gotta accept that its going to be at best a tool to milk the community even more...not make the project progress. And I m going out on a limb but say now that by the end of 2021 we ll have new stuff but none of it will bring the project closer to completion and we ll be as far away from release as we are today.
The investors priority will be to keep this mone printing machine running. If that means to throw the backers a bone occasionally they ll do that but keep it to an absolute minimum in order to stretch the milking session as long as possible.
Considering these facts, Star Citizen can still be made. Investors are holding all the trump cards in this scenario tho. They
dont care about Star Citizen but they can use it as a pressure tool to make CIG dance to their tune. For CIG not much has changed operationally really as I ve seen Chris
developing into his own pocket for years already but with the arrival of outside investors he probably has shifted to working for others more then he does for himself as a specific amount of CIGs income each month is going to go toward the investors as payback or compensation or maybe even penalty fee.
The monstrosity in the room if you will is the fact that real human beings are basically enslaved. If by design or accidentally is subject to argument but fact is that for many backers Star Citizen is an Ersatz-drug by now. Its always better, its always superior, its always going to be made and its untouchable, shut up hater. Some of these people simply cannot help themselves and will always buy new ships and whatever CIG throws at them regardless. They are so "connected" with their wish dream that they cant help but feel personally attacked whenever someone critizises the project or CIG. And you wont get through to them either as you wont with addicts of other kinds. You just become the enemy. Without any way of "way in" you simply cannot talk with them. Now I see some celbrities of Star Citizen arriving at their breaking point and they might help in this regard but chances are, if they continue they ll end the same way as FTR did....former fanboy, woke critic, known hater.
You could argue that video games in general are an Ersatz-drug for many people and I dont care about them. In fact there are thousands of companies out there exploiting the small people and using techniques that reduce the consumer to sheep and I dont go on a crusade against them do I?
And there you are wrong because I do. Whenever something affects me personally I become involved and usually offended. In some cases I tolerate or adjust to the real world (F2P money making schemes) but the relationship is permanently jarred. I keep pumping gas for my car but ever since I learned about the profit margin and what the stuff I pay for really costs the company I have less than favorable opinions about these people. I used to idolize Blizzard when I was younger. This was a company for me, I wanted to work there, they couldnt do wrong. Blizzard knew what gamers wanted. And then I got older and Blizzard made some really bad decisions that couldnt be explained as "simple" mistakes but revealed them as the money-grabbers they really are and I might play Blizzard games but I certainly dont hold them in high regard anymore.
Star Citizen touched me same as it did hundreds of thousands of video game players in 2012 and me not being involved financially has nothing to do with "want" but its due to random factors outside my control. Nevertheless I was following and hoping for this company especially because they made all these glorious statements and promises at the beginning. And pretty soon they started to fail, break their words and walk back on their promises. Usually these mishaps (development is hard and mistakes can happen) were not adressed in a responsible manner but justified in hindsight, explained away by rewriting history or simply glossed over (silence). Each time I felt a little more angry at the way CIG would take my money but refuses to stay true to their lofty words.
I have seen CIG remorseful, reasonable, determined, apologetic, arrogant and delusional...pretty much every facet imaginable has been experienced in the last 8 years+ but even tho the company has gone through changes the one thing that has always stayed constant was the progress....slow to none. As idle games can prove even a small trickle of income can result in big piles of gold at the end of the day but in CIGs case the money that needs to go IN in order to keep the fire burning outweights the results coming OUT by orders of magnitude. Today millions each month are required to keep CIG from collapsing, never mind the development work which has dropped close to zero with only promises on the board and the company being unable to support their words with facts or results of their work (video, roadmap, SQ42 etc). CIG basically has been reduced to trust after 8 years of abuse of said trust. They dont really have anything else to offer because whenever someone points to all the things Star Citizen DOES have the people who know can put all that
into context and understand what hardship and cost was required to achieve those results and suddenly they dont look so promising or great anymore. And because we are left to CIGs word alone we split into "believers" and "haters". Nobdoy really can claim to be neutral anymore. Maybe if you are a fresh know-nothing yes but whoever follows SC for a certain period of time will migrate to one of the two extremes, this isnt even a question.
And the thing with these 2 extremes is that one of them is right and the other is wrong. We are just all passengers on this train to figure out who is what.
My interest into Star Citizen has forced me to look into topics I never would ve otherwise. Project management, game development, human psyche, leadership etc etc. And not as a means to enforce my opinion but to figure out whats what. These glimpses into the factual world has helped me to keep the dream at bay, to prevent the dream from infecting my thinking and my actions. I can understand the urge to support SC with money but the part of me being responsible and level-headed (cheap and begrudging) prevents me from doing it.
I admit that I feel jealous when I watch CIG but not because they do achieve something I can not. But because they are admired and defended for results or work that I would get berated or fired for...guaranteed. If I would deliver my work as CIG did I would get the boot, I wouldnt receive understanding and even tho I might get a second chance, I wouldnt get a third, a fourth or xth like CIG does.
Star Citizen really is the little rich spoiled kid and its parents (backers) dont know how to handle it so they throw money at it in order to keep it occupied and sedated. We all know how that goes....
And as if to confirm that analogy....today CIG isnt apologetic anymore. They feel in the right to continue as they did when in earlier years they showed remorse or even embarassment. We as backers or fans did that. We are responsible for Star Citizen developing into a dead end and the company responsible for it not even feeling bad about it anymore. Because so many of us have praised and defended CIG when we should ve been firm and discipline it. Now some always have done that, from the earliest years and continue to do it to this day but like a spoiled brat kid CIG simply runs to the one parent who always says "yes" and rewards it and avoids the firm parent who demands results and actual work.
Like certain companies, governments, former friends or people in general...CIG has alienated me so thoroughly over the years that the best I can do is to stay neutral when faced with them. I wont ever be friendly with them again, I might not use the words that really come to my mind but we ll never be friends, I wont ever see them as "good" again and there are times where I might slip a word or action that I feel bad about later. Like alcohol or drugs CIG is simply bad, it "should" be banned but people are empowered to make their own decisions and so all the habits that we as a race KNOW to be bad and self.destructive are commonplace and also presenting a problem for all (last time I checked I didnt spill millions of gallons of toxic waste into the environment and I also didnt make the decision to bag everything in plastic, ramp up production, use eco-hostile techniques but climate change is a problem for me and I m being blamed for it)
CIGs actions will have an impact on game development same as all the big bad publishers before who introduced micro-transactions and milked their stock for all they r worth and are now hated universally for it. Whoever ignored it or stood by tolerating it only helped establishing it and today when the limits are stretched and present a problem we all can look back and recognize our own fault in our actions or non-actions. CIG does the exact same and its community is split between the people who see it for what it really is and the people who cling to their dreams. All (most) of us are adults mind you. What other video game companies take away from this is not that you can exploit your consumer base. Thats a fact far older than video games in general. But that there are no limits and all gloves are off in what you can do because consumer rights and protection can only be applied conditionally to video games and the internet. If nothing proves to stop CIG from continuing as they do I can see alot more projects coming up operating with the same methods. Again....CIGs methods are not "new" or "inventive" (its all exploitation) but CIGs tools and ways are so extreme, so over the limit that hardly any other company has gone for them for fear of consequences.
Like all examples in the past where people didnt have anything to lose anymore they go out with a bang or achieve the impossible. If by skill, determination, hard work or pure chance doesnt matter.
The problem is that
CIG and its backers dont want the same thing. Backers want the game they were promised. CIG just wants to make money. Feigning to make a game is just a front to keep the people on the payroll (manipulation, extortion). Like in an arms race both sides up their stakes over time until a critical event or outside interference resets the spiral. So we have backers who border on delusion to justify CIGs every move, their non-results and to defend the project against logic and facts. At the same time CIG is forced to keep their own demeanor or "up their game" to keep match with the people who keep them alive. Which in turn triggers the people to become even more extreme in their justification, their expectations and on and on we go. The year is 2020 and Star Citizen is such a bloated mess of hardly working code yet promising the grail on a plate of adamantium that you cannot stay neutral anymore. You will either buy into it or you wave it off as a scam. And each side will call the other names and see them as opponents.
Now I m sure there are people who think they can "play the system" and use all of this to their own advantage and maybe they can but these people are not acting in the projects interest but their own (introduce investors, shills or some streamers/youtubers). Many will fail but some might succeed. Regardless the system in place wont become better because of it. Gambling is a perfect example for this. And we do have regulations in place to prevent complete extortion of people but even with limits and rules in place its a problem and everybody knows it. As far as I see it investors are not interested in SC getting better, they want the project to stay as it is right now because thats the quality that made them become interested in the first place. That realization alone should fill you with alarm and it does me or not really cuz you see I made up my mind about all this thus calling it a scam openly.
CIG and Star Citizen
are a problem. I dont think we can afford to simply ignore it anymore due to the fact that its focus has shifted from "making a game" to "exploiting people". Collapse probably isnt a factor anymore. CIG keeps running despite its lack of results and its really bad state. Usually video game companies go under or vanish with such a track record yet CIG makes money and
we dont know how. Pro-SC fans claim to have the upper hand so its backer confidence flushing more money into the bonfire. I think its because of outside investors who see an opportunity and going for it. Which means "ignoring it" will simply allow it to keep going. It wont get better, it wont get the people what they want but it will always push the limits, always keep
wanting and always exploiting people who allow or dont see it.
When I engage in Star Citizen discussion these days I came to realize that I dont talk to other gamers anymore. I talk to addicts who defend their addiction and I know I am powerless so why even try? I usually dont but same as religion, gambling or anything else I refuse....I "push back" when they penetrate my own circle of awareness. The best you can expect is a polite nod and refusal to engage in discussion but on my bad days I will counter and deny you and the situation usually spirals out of control quickly after that. And I dont think I am the problem here but the people who think they have the right to bring the topic up in the first place.
And then we all love drama right?
Usually we get our fix from the television, gorging ourselves on the misery or mishap of others. It can be sad, comical, enertaining or filled with glee but we as a species are a drama-oriented bunch for sure. Not all the time but we all have our moments. And too much of something we want always will be bad. Drugs, alcohol, love, sex, sugar, food in general you name it. Overdo it and you ll pay for it.Usually with your life.
I thought "the internet is safe". It allows us to bring ourselves in protected, without making ourselves vulnerable or open to attack. But if its not physical, words can hurt just as well and over the years I have honed my own resistance and skill in these matters. Recently I have engaged in political debates online and I use "debate" freely when basically its just "trolling". I look for entertainment and some fun so I throw in some aggrevating or "careless" remarks and sure as getting wet in rain my inbox explodes after a short while. Now most replies are exactly what I fished for and I sit at home, laughing at the silly people but some of them dish out prett well and hit the mark making me become aggrevated in turn. The best possible outcome in such a moment is if we both manage to stay calm and walk away without losing too much face in the process but its so easy to lose control which leads to moderation or demonstrations of rage that are again food for other people who prey on this.
Star Citizen isnt a real contender for video games anymore. It has lost its shine and if people take notice its on the sidelines or by hard articles. The reports we had at the beginning, hyping or revelling in the glory of the dream? All gone and only available today when the author overdoes the shilling and shows he is being paid for or is invested himself. But Star Citizen is a rich source of drama and cheap entertaiment. Not because of what it is but because of the people who follow it. Its cruel and sadistic, like poking the earthworms twitching under the magnifying glass but it happening is a fact and i can say that I m cruel and sadistic too from time to time. I dont want to be but I would lie if I said "I am not".
Being honest allows me to try to become better. And this is a principle that holds true in everything we do as humans. Admitting failure will allow you to overcome your former limits. Admitting addiction will allow you to drop its shackles.
Admit a problem to create a solution. And CIG doesnt do that. And its faithful dont do that. So Star Citizen will never get better. I claim to refuse the faithful to be right because I dont see anything changing. I dont see results that would prove I m wrong. All I see is a costant adjustment to CIGs ever-diminishing performance and results.
Some people will tell me to "take a break" and thats exactly what i was doing. In stepping back from the forums because the forums I frequent ARE Star Citizen, not the tech demo. But after a few days I feel refreshed enough to step back in so sorry "haters", you are not going to get rid of me so easily. But nevertheless I ll put this in spoilers so my gush of thoughts doesnt impose itself on you all ^^ (aka the MTBFritz "ToS")
Still only on page 497 so I might pull an "AgonyAunt" today
