Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Ealso got funding trough FD and not just the kickstarter and pledges? While SC is purely crowdfunded. So the budget might still be similar.
Maybe not as large, but good point anyway.
Where is the buzz?
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Maybe not as large, but good point anyway.
IIRC, the other FD investors coughed up about half the budget at about 2 mil GBP. So total budgets are nowhere near close (FD optimistic 5mil, SC 42mil+)
SC got a huge chunk of money from private investors. If you look at their KS page it shows "only" $2 million (Elite at $1.5 million). He used this to show his investors there would be a lot of interest in a game like that. The rest is through later pledges, purchases and investors. Not sure if Chris also put a chunk of his own money into the project, but it's possible.Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought E
The huge number on the SC website was always the total amount of funds raised for the game - from all sources. I'm sure Elite has considerably more funding than the $1.5 million as well, they just don't show it on the webpage. Doubt it has close to $40 million, but still.
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SC is "crowdfunding only" for long time already. There were private investors, but they changed that around 20M USD.
Really? OK, I just hadn't heard they dropped the investors' funding then.
I found this interesting article on it: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/200998/chris_roberts_on_star_citizen_.php?print=1 (sucks about Origin and EA, so I can see why he did it.)
Pretty interesting that 95% of the money was raised after the Kickstarter.
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For some absurd reason this discussion got me thinking about pro wrestling, an industry that literally lives off hype for the wrestlers.
If upcoming games were pro wrestlers, SC would surely be Hulk Hogan:
"WHATCHA GONNA DO, WHEN THE LARGEST KICKSTARTER IN THE WORLD AND CR-MANIA RUNS WILD ON YOU?!"
but ED would be Jake Roberts:
"You have a lot of people that come out here, they do things, they say things. They have to come out here and scream and holler. I don’t have to scream because a long time ago I learned one thing: that if a man has enough power he can speak softly and everyone will listen. So it’s much easier that way, isn’t it?"
If upcoming games were pro wrestlers, SC would surely be Hulk Hogan:
"WHATCHA GONNA DO, WHEN THE LARGEST KICKSTARTER IN THE WORLD AND CR-MANIA RUNS WILD ON YOU?!"
but ED would be Jake Roberts:
"You have a lot of people that come out here, they do things, they say things. They have to come out here and scream and holler. I don’t have to scream because a long time ago I learned one thing: that if a man has enough power he can speak softly and everyone will listen. So it’s much easier that way, isn’t it?"
Remember those days when you waited for a game, and there was no bits of information out there? And then three months before release sea of screenshots was released, with tons of ads everywhere? That's marketing plan they aim for.
Is it still relevant in modern age of early access? I would argue that more than ever. Problem is that early access also brings lot of confusion and disappointment. It can literary spoil game for lots of players. Also majority of people are looking for *finished* game. Hype is required to build devoted community/fan base, to give feeling that game is vital and active. Especially it's important for MP driven game. So some hype is required, and since alpha 3 I think FD is warming up their engines for more exposure during premium and normal beta with exactly this goal.
Now, I have always thought FD can do more, and new flow of newsletters, show visits, PR materials, etc. all indicate their marketing team has turned up their levels of performance and they won't stop till retail release. And I suspect they haven't done any of their major moves yet.
Said all that, there's also other factors outside FD and ED community which lessens ED hype meter. That is SC, but not only that. There's big cultural differences between communities, developers and, essentially, also hype surrounding both games. SC is very loud, very American marketing piece. CIG has almost reality show like communication level with their community, while giving very little if any new information. This alone gives lot of new piers impression that "CIG is more open", while they know very little about facts of the game itself. CIG being vague has another side effect - "ultimate promise", t.i. after all they say they are making "the best goddamn space sim ever". At the start it sounded like a joke, but it slowly becomes type of religion in SC community.
Since KS there has been certain hostility towards ED from certain areas of space sim fans. At first, ED was copycat. Then it was "just a space shooter". Then ED ships were too "simple" and not enough "power fantasy". And then "it costs too much to play it", which is actually true, but ignores overall qualities of the game.
Why? Because lot of these fans see ED as competition. I know, I know, there are already few people saying games are different, there's enough space, etc. I will disagree. One can look at DFM release date and clearly see intent from CIG side. So while FD may not ready to compete with CIG, CIG has clear intent to compete with FD.
Is it still relevant in modern age of early access? I would argue that more than ever. Problem is that early access also brings lot of confusion and disappointment. It can literary spoil game for lots of players. Also majority of people are looking for *finished* game. Hype is required to build devoted community/fan base, to give feeling that game is vital and active. Especially it's important for MP driven game. So some hype is required, and since alpha 3 I think FD is warming up their engines for more exposure during premium and normal beta with exactly this goal.
Now, I have always thought FD can do more, and new flow of newsletters, show visits, PR materials, etc. all indicate their marketing team has turned up their levels of performance and they won't stop till retail release. And I suspect they haven't done any of their major moves yet.
Said all that, there's also other factors outside FD and ED community which lessens ED hype meter. That is SC, but not only that. There's big cultural differences between communities, developers and, essentially, also hype surrounding both games. SC is very loud, very American marketing piece. CIG has almost reality show like communication level with their community, while giving very little if any new information. This alone gives lot of new piers impression that "CIG is more open", while they know very little about facts of the game itself. CIG being vague has another side effect - "ultimate promise", t.i. after all they say they are making "the best goddamn space sim ever". At the start it sounded like a joke, but it slowly becomes type of religion in SC community.
Since KS there has been certain hostility towards ED from certain areas of space sim fans. At first, ED was copycat. Then it was "just a space shooter". Then ED ships were too "simple" and not enough "power fantasy". And then "it costs too much to play it", which is actually true, but ignores overall qualities of the game.
Why? Because lot of these fans see ED as competition. I know, I know, there are already few people saying games are different, there's enough space, etc. I will disagree. One can look at DFM release date and clearly see intent from CIG side. So while FD may not ready to compete with CIG, CIG has clear intent to compete with FD.
I remember when I never saw ads for games at all, but merely went to the games store and browsed until I found something that looked cool (usually an RPG) and bought it
Very zen, but probably not very real. Players have finite money to spend on games, finite time to play them, and a finite amount of influence upon fellow gamers. All these things being true to varying degrees, no two games can co-exist entirely without competition. Two games with a similar setting, even less capable. Two games with a similar setting and similar main game mechanics?
The mitigating factor is probably release date.
I'm new here today, original player of the BBC Elite, but I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to become involved in the alpha phase. I know a few of my (middle aged) friends who are in the same boat (ship?).
But as the game moves towards release, I think the buzz will begin to step up.
This is Frigging Elite! ELITE! Man, I can't tell you how long I've waited to play this game on-line. So much so that I spent far too long on Eve!
Looking forward to the release date!
But as the game moves towards release, I think the buzz will begin to step up.
This is Frigging Elite! ELITE! Man, I can't tell you how long I've waited to play this game on-line. So much so that I spent far too long on Eve!
Looking forward to the release date!
I think we'll see more publicity as we near the completion date. It is early days for ED and whilst its an impressively polished product it lacks the content so far to keep the masses (not just us fanatics) entertained.
I'm a backer of SC and ED and at the moment I'm more excited about ED purely because they are so close to delivering on many of their promises. I'm not even confident that SC will bring out their Dogfighting Module on Thursday.
I wouldn't be surprised if the upcoming premium beta test helps a lot with publicity too as there are bound to be far more testers than are during this alpha phase, new videos on youtube / twitch will generate a lot of free hype.
I'm a backer of SC and ED and at the moment I'm more excited about ED purely because they are so close to delivering on many of their promises. I'm not even confident that SC will bring out their Dogfighting Module on Thursday.
I wouldn't be surprised if the upcoming premium beta test helps a lot with publicity too as there are bound to be far more testers than are during this alpha phase, new videos on youtube / twitch will generate a lot of free hype.
I had been waiting for some word on "Elite 4" for months/years and then saw an ad for SC so backed it. Hangar module is nice but there is only so many times you can walk back and forth before getting bored.
Then I saw Elite Dangerous, backed it just before KS closed at beta level then upped it to alpha when I saw the youtube videos.
Tbh I've almost given up on SC even, or perhaps especially, after seeing the PAX footage..."Look I'm flying backwards". The promises have either been misunderstood, because they were ambiguously written, or they have been broken.
Unless FD drops the ball somehow I know who I'm going to be spending my time with. SC just looks too much like an arcade game IMO
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought E
You are wrong - from what I've heard through the traps.
SC had a number of business backers in addition to their Kick Starter campaign.
imo the 'hype' surrounding SC can only be a good thing for Elite Dangerous. It get's people thinking / interested in the space sim genre. We know how gamers are - they'll play Elite Dangerous to tie themselves over 'til SC comes out. Any promotion is good promotion in my mind.
Just adding this in response to Pecisk's comments - yes I can see a certain irony that with Frontier Developments having made a fairly far off announcement date for Premium Beta that SC used that to 'trump' FD.....
Yet we all know how these things go, first release, buggy as all hell, can't log in, people screaming at the devs, nada, nada, nada........
Actually SC going for the 29th is a huge compliment to ED. For FD I think its a case of getting the core game working, get the networking sorted, introduce all the game elements (missions/mining) so you have a stable offering which demonstrates the game properly. I think this was why gamma was added. Just before that point we should have reached marketability and they can launch at 35 quid and not have the problem of the price question. I would not want to be marketing this when the price of getting it is over 50 quid. No matter how you perceive the value, to the average punter that's hugely expensive.
I believe 2 space sims can co-exist but the publishers and the buyers will automatically compare. Large budget automatically gives credibility especially in comparison to something with a low budget. Allied with hype and being in massive market (USA) SC has a huge advantage. However at some point what you deliver becomes a factor and ED will be at market earlier.
Interesting times but I hope both are a success.
I believe 2 space sims can co-exist but the publishers and the buyers will automatically compare. Large budget automatically gives credibility especially in comparison to something with a low budget. Allied with hype and being in massive market (USA) SC has a huge advantage. However at some point what you deliver becomes a factor and ED will be at market earlier.
Interesting times but I hope both are a success.
My thoughts as well. ED's initial impression, which was only based on an article and a very early kickstarter video, did not leave much. However revisiting it at a later and slightly more mature date made a major difference. I "got it". Combine that with the alpha videos flooding YouTube and I was sold. I will have to say that CIG flexing the cryengine with their initial trailers, left a huge impression on me, however I did not fully bite when I realised what they in reality actually had to show for it. I have yet to back. This could change in the future but buzz for more discerning gamers only gets you so far. As to the masses... Well, buzz is all it takes sometimes. Unfortunately for them that leaves a lot of expectations and pressure for them to deliver. I honestly hope Chris and his team are able to do it so I can have two awesome space sims in my collection.
While noticing how slow the E reddit is compared to the SC one, I took a look at the current online and total pilots statistic.
SC: 516 online, 26,112 total.
E: 39 online, 2,365 total.
Kind of crazy that all the SC people are waiting for something that E already has (the equivalent of the dogfight module), but better, and ultimately are waiting for access to the persistent universe aspects, which E is about to launch in about 24 hours or so... yet SC has over 10x(!!!!) the interest.
Everything they are craving is already available to them right under their noses, but they don't care.
Funny.
reddit is compared to the SC one, I took a look at the current online and total pilots statistic.SC: 516 online, 26,112 total.
E
: 39 online, 2,365 total.Kind of crazy that all the SC people are waiting for something that E
already has (the equivalent of the dogfight module), but better, and ultimately are waiting for access to the persistent universe aspects, which E is about to launch in about 24 hours or so... yet SC has over 10x(!!!!) the interest.Everything they are craving is already available to them right under their noses, but they don't care.
Funny.
Apples and oranges.
One if fantasy.. other is more realistic.
One if more of game the other more of a simulation.
If you want the James Cameron version of a space game go play SC when its done. If you want an authentic sandbox experience play this one.
Problem is this game is too high brow for the masses who want "pew pew pew"
One if fantasy.. other is more realistic.
One if more of game the other more of a simulation.
If you want the James Cameron version of a space game go play SC when its done. If you want an authentic sandbox experience play this one.
Problem is this game is too high brow for the masses who want "pew pew pew"
SC has been an excellent honeypot thus far, drawing away character names such as xX-**dA_oVerloRd**xX and [Yo_Mamma_lol]. It has done ED a great service for which many of us will be eternally grateful.
That said, I'm an original backer of SC. Not because I held such great hopes for it's persistent WoW in space universe, or the Roberts saviour of the universe game tradition with cheap style over function aesthetic, but for the mod tools potential.
Then the ED Kickstarter arrived, and I said to myself, "I want to go to there..."
That said, I'm an original backer of SC. Not because I held such great hopes for it's persistent WoW in space universe, or the Roberts saviour of the universe game tradition with cheap style over function aesthetic, but for the mod tools potential.
Then the ED Kickstarter arrived, and I said to myself, "I want to go to there..."