The Star Citizen Thread V10

[Cobra1984]

I dont see anyhing about the cayman islands on that document?

You can join them at public events. They generally have presence at game conventions or you can email them and request a studio visit. Or drop by a bar citizen event near a studio. They visit those out of their own iniative.

Regarding on gamedev opinions many devs I worked with appreciated SC. Some are skeptical sure but and some support it. The guys at Paradox Development Studio got inspired by SC for example. Especially for Stellaris.

One of the Paradox devs posts in the Something Awful thread, not only has he joined in with laughing/mocking at this circus, but they've dropped a few things into Stellaris so they can mock it from inside their own game.

The Goat Simulator guys also appreciated SC a great deal, they were able to farm quite a bit of comedy from watching CIG's ridiculous claims vs its awkward, troubled and hilariously bad dev history.

I've seen comments from a Codemasters dev on there too, I think the phrase 'regularly mock' was used.

If you talk to anyone who has been around the block a few times in this industry, or someone with a bit of vintage within it, you'll learn very quickly that there has been a universal opinion of Star Citizen that is anything but 'supportive' of it for many years.

That's before you even get into working conditions, overtime etc.

On a positive note, they are employing a lot of artists, modellers, animators etc and have introduced a lot of young talented people into the industry and given them a foot in the door.

Some of them believe in the project, some of them don't, many of them move on. Many devs in UK studios have friends working in CIG. There is no sense *anywhere* of CIG having the capacity to deliver what they sold, and as a crowdfunded project that's the bottom line.

And it's also blindingly obvious.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I'm sure Leku was referring to inspiration how not to do it.

 

[Cobra1984]

I'm sure Leku was referring to inspiration how not to do it.

Which you learn when you move on to a competent company.

There's still a core of non-execs who have been there for a few years but beyond that their staff turnover is ridiculous.

It's deserving of a tell-all or a youtube documentary - but as the years slide by the interest in it is waning considerably.

It's notable that a mainstream twitch streamer is promoting for them now, because their ability to advertise themselves and promote outside of their community has been seriously curtailed by the toxicity of the brand.

This time last year there was downsizing and rumours of studio closures. Then there were rumours of 'new owners'. Then we learnt about the Cayman Island investment when CIG announced it a few months ago.

This year it's all about SQ42 as the SC roadmaps are stripped down and the UK studio gets a new manager and gets staffed up to build Chris Roberts' mocapped scifi opus. More news on that might (should) come out in March.

Where this goes now is entirely up to the backers. They're funding it - and they will not engage nor listen to any influence outside of CIG and their community.

However - the backers influence outside of their community is zero, and it remains to be seen if a single sponsored twitch streamer will be enough to pull more gamers into what is technically and practically a secular religion.

 

[Tippis]

The mind boggles. Stellaris was released nearly 3 years ago and yet here we are with barely any hope left of SC ever seeing the light of day.

There's a reason why there are all this ridicule towards SC in Stellaris after all…

But yes, let's just iterate that: Paradox has drawn no inspiration from CIG. They have only ever, increasingly explicitly, mocked them. Same as all other companies that reference the continued failure of CIG to actually develop anything.

CIG and SC have long since become industry jokes. If you believe otherwise, please ask CIG to increase your paycheck because you need better hazard pay for the kind mental gymnastics needed to keep up the narrative.

 

[Cobra1984]

CIG and SC have long since become industry jokes.

They were an industry joke two and a half years ago, today they are largely forgotten about and wholly irrelevant.

Outside of an occasional comment here and there Star Citizen is old news, the industry has moved on and truth be told the Roberts brothers have moved on to Squadron 42 in a last ditch attempt to salvage something from the project.

That other game they were working on, the mmo space sim, is dead - and every single thing you see come out of CIG this year will confirm that.

 

[Viajero]

One of the recent CIG vids showed a guy specifically talking about making assets and game play to a shipable state.
Consider a realization that they've bitten off more than they can chew,they could well be pushing hard for an official release to whatever end.
The faithfull can still harp on about how great this game "will" be when x y and z are implemented.
Cue a new micro transaction model.

Linky?

I dont see CIG releasing officially any game at all (PU related) any time soon. At most they will release some kind of Early Access. That, they can do any time actually, even today.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Linky?

I dont see CIG releasing officially any game at all (PU related) any time soon. At most they will release some kind of Early Access. That, they can do any time actually, even today.

How would early access differ from what they have now anyway expect for a name change? I don't think early access has any sort of legal definition so they can continue taking "donations" for JPGs.

 

[Backer42]

I don't think early access has any sort of legal definition

The legal definition is "in operation". There is no difference between "early access" and any other service going public. By the contract definition, Star Citizen is "released" and somehow got around the review system.

so they can continue taking "donations" for JPGs.

That's just another pay to win micro-transaction hell.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

The legal definition is "in operation". There is no difference between "early access" and any other service going public. By the contract definition, Star Citizen is "released" and somehow got around the review system.


That's just another pay to win micro-transaction hell.

There can't be any win if your JPG isn't in game!

*taps head*

 

[Asp Explorer]

There can't be any win if your JPG isn't in game!

*taps head*

Jpegs that aren't in the game are just another display of the remarkable visionary genius at work here.

The game will have changed beyond all recognition from when you purchased it. You really need to realise this. The jpeg's original role has now been surpassed - because you simply don't understand game development - and fidelity has increased to such a degree that your nearly decade old jpeg would just give other, more forward thinking, competitive, competent and obviously MOAR cash-rich gamers a lesser experience by inflicting your ancient jpeg upon them.

Your only option is to refund or buy a newer jpeg.

Oh, and we don't do refunds. Or release games

 

[Cobra1984]

Linky?

I dont see CIG releasing officially any game at all (PU related) any time soon. At most they will release some kind of Early Access. That, they can do any time actually, even today.

I cannot provide any source for this or back this up whatsoever, but CIG's upper management do consider the game in early access and they consider the jpeg spaceships as DLC. Keep that in the back of your mind as the year unfolds.

Edit - there was something about their contract with Turbulent floating around a year or two ago, that involved the thing moving to early access as part of a contract term.

It's never getting out of the state it's in so all of this is academic. Nobody is building a commercial release from that... whatever it is

 

[Iron Golem]

Jpegs that aren't in the game are just another display of the remarkable visionary genius at work here.

The game will have changed beyond all recognition from when you purchased it. You really need to realise this. The jpeg's original role has now been surpassed - because you simply don't understand game development - and fidelity has increased to such a degree that your nearly decade old jpeg would just give other, more forward thinking, competitive, competent and obviously MOAR cash-rich gamers a lesser experience by inflicting your ancient jpeg upon them.

Your only option is to refund or buy a newer jpeg.

Oh, and we don't do refunds. Or release games

Buying jpegs is the game.

 

[Viajero]

How would early access differ from what they have now anyway expect for a name change? I don't think early access has any sort of legal definition so they can continue taking "donations" for JPGs.

That is why I think an explicit Early Access release of some kind is the only possible (as opposed to an official, non early acces, traditional one subject to non delivery complaints and formal review ratings). IANAL but EA prolly allows CIG to dodge some those liabilities related to “non delivery” with regards to either customer or regulatory complaints. And at the same time allows CIG to rationalise vis a vis the community the lack of content and bugs/instability, with the eternal carrot being dangled ahead of them.

Best of both worlds. It will certainly still be a hard pill to swallow and disappointing for many backers. There may even be some poor Early Access critic reviews popping up etc but liability-wise is prolly the best option for CIG.

 

[cheesenbiscuits]

Releasing unfinished games is the trend in gaming and we all know CR loves to follow trends.

 

[metatheurgist]

Buying jpegs is the game.

I'm imagining Star Citizen Go! where you have to catch them all, except you throw your credit card details and you don't actually have to go anywhere to catch the jpegs, they just come right up to you. [haha]

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Releasing unfinished games is the trend in gaming and we all know CR loves to follow trends.

Ye, but it's been done before. He needs to take it a step further.

 

[Dementropy]

I cannot provide any source for this or back this up whatsoever, but CIG's upper management do consider the game in early access and they consider the jpeg spaceships as DLC. Keep that in the back of your mind as the year unfolds.

Edit - there was something about their contract with Turbulent floating around a year or two ago, that involved the thing moving to early access as part of a contract term.

It's never getting out of the state it's in so all of this is academic. Nobody is building a commercial release from that... whatever it is

November 2017: Star Citizen 3.0 update "akin to Early Access" launch

At Gamescom we're getting a good look at Star Citizen version 3.0. Are you in a state now that you'd term beta? What's next?


Chris Roberts: The term beta in terms of Star Citizen - with 3.0 the game is moving into a phase akin to Early Access. It'll build and grow from there, and then you could say 'well, it's not really Early Access anymore'. The price will probably go up a little bit and it will have much more of the features and content going on.


3.0 is the first time you'll have some of the basic game loops and mechanics. It's the first one which has proper persistence for your character, ship and items in terms of what their state is, their location is. When you log off and your ship is damaged, when you come back it'll still be damaged. There are a lot of jobs and options. The AI is still fairly basic - there's a lot more coming, but the AI... the previous 2.63 update was done the old scripted way. Now it's a scalable, modular mission system which designers can build from different blocks. We have procedural missions so there's a lot of 'go deliver something to this place', 'go identify a dead body on a spaceship', 'go after this particular pirate'. It's all templated up. There's a basic buying and selling mechanic, hauling cargo, the ability to earn and spend money on clothes, weapons, ship items or ship weapons. 3.1 will let you buy ships as well. And then from there we'll add more features for specific activities - mining, repair, building out more of the infrastructure for a dynamic universe.

 

[Tippis]

Look, guys, we're just out to get our socially awkward endorphin kick apprently. [haha]

Spoiler

 

[Tuub t Tute]

Look, guys, we're just out to get our socially awkward endorphin kick apprently. [haha]

"I found a lot of men there..."

Did he just assume our genders?....

 

[Asp Explorer]

"I found a lot of men there..."

Did he just assume our genders?....

I, and many other sandwichists are frankly appalled.

“hate” is wrong word when applied to Star Citizen. It was a persuasive and interesting enough project to convince me to part with a not insignificant amount of cash for my immersion chariot jpeg, but thus far it has only delivered broken, inept tech demos and buckets of lulz.