The Saga Of 'Star Citizen,' A Video Game That Raised $300 Million—But May Never Be Ready To Play

[Chomiq]

You gave me $40 mil for nothing? Do you want to give me more? Yes?! *jackpot*

No studio in its right mind would fund this, but thx to the magic of crowdfunding thousands of people have entered the never ending saga of "but wait, there's more". As for $27,000 for a single DLC - I believe there are folks that payed much more in total before that DLC was announced. They also offered that DLC to people that have already spent more than a $1000 on the ingame items.

The Legatus Pack is purchasable on this page, but to do so or even just to view its contents, you’ll need to have already paid $1,000 USD. Without that, you’ll need to take it up with Star Citizen’s Customer Service.

 

[Sora]

You may be right. I think I read that they took 46 million dollars more last year. They even offer a DLC for $27,000 that includes every ship in the game. Can you imagine spending $27,000 on a DLC? I guess if you were rich you wouldn't mind.

This package is for an Organisation, which is star citizen lingo for a Guild.
multiple users put forth cash into a pool and buy what is essential a flight wing and carrier class ships to use.

You gave me $40 mil for nothing? Do you want to give me more? Yes?! *jackpot*

No studio in its right mind would fund this, but thx to the magic of crowdfunding thousands of people have entered the never ending saga of "but wait, there's more". As for $27,000 for a single DLC - I believe there are folks that payed much more in total before that DLC was announced. They also offered that DLC to people that have already spent more than a $1000 on the ingame items.

As far as the game is concerned, German accounting/tax officials have no problem with whats going on and if anyone would complain about it its them.

Everything is above board is a thrid party is willing to inject additional funds to cover the finishing of the SP campaign, which in turn will fund the finalization of the MP universe once it goes for sale.

I thought they only existed to make money?

Reaching additional markets's sole purpose is to profit in those markets.

There are already some big wins in the crowdfunding / free of publisher drama scenario, SC will be the largest and give studio's the courage to follow suit which is terrifying for publishers looking to fund and take a slice of the pie from the profits of smaller studios.

PSA: The Derek smart fanclub are well known for faking reviews on glassdoor and there is no real way to confirm a person has worked with CIG or not, a flaw that Lizzy Finnegan stumbled on and ruined her journalism career over when she did the escapist article in 2015.

Except you’re wrong on that. Some have evolved and basically reinvented themselves. Maybe if you weren’t armchair quarterbacking from the corner you’d know that.

No, they really haven't.

What you see is DLC being sold as a new product in the series, for example, the new Farcry is just what should have been an expansion pack for FC5 - no real improvement to gameplay or features.
Nothing has changed with battlefield gameplay, they just added a hd graphic pack and SJW content.
Assassins creed is still a climbing simulator, and has basically no real story direction since 3.

GTA5 was the last actual game which featured evolution over the previous product.

 

[moproblems99]

There are already some big wins in the crowdfunding / free of publisher drama scenario, SC will be the largest and give studio's the courage to follow suit which is terrifying for publishers looking to fund and take a slice of the pie from the profits of smaller studios.

Unfortunately, humans can't hold their breath as long as will be necessary but I wish Star Citizen the best. I would love to see nothing more than studios to take owner ship of their IP and Destiny. Hope they have a solid plan.

 

[Assimilator]

And in case with DX:HR, they did it, butchered a fine game in the core.

How so?

 

[Ferrum Master]

How so?

Cut down the plot. There was an additional chapter meant to be set in Montreal in addition to Prague. They cut it, so leaving the plot with more holes than a swiss cheese and the game was really short.

Something like that... the microtransactions... well also a point.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided sequel is in development - PlayStation Universe

A Deus Ex: Mankind Divided sequel has been in development for over a year, according to an Eidos Montreal source …

www.psu.com

 

[XiGMAKiD]

I have seen post about how paying for DLC is robbery and how microtransaction ruins gaming world, but with SC that is somehow acceptable

 

[kapone32]

This package is for an Organisation, which is star citizen lingo for a Guild.
multiple users put forth cash into a pool and buy what is essential a flight wing and carrier class ships to use.



As far as the game is concerned, German accounting/tax officials have no problem with whats going on and if anyone would complain about it its them.

Everything is above board is a thrid party is willing to inject additional funds to cover the finishing of the SP campaign, which in turn will fund the finalization of the MP universe once it goes for sale.



Reaching additional markets's sole purpose is to profit in those markets.

There are already some big wins in the crowdfunding / free of publisher drama scenario, SC will be the largest and give studio's the courage to follow suit which is terrifying for publishers looking to fund and take a slice of the pie from the profits of smaller studios.

PSA: The Derek smart fanclub are well known for faking reviews on glassdoor and there is no real way to confirm a person has worked with CIG or not, a flaw that Lizzy Finnegan stumbled on and ruined her journalism career over when she did the escapist article in 2015.



No, they really haven't.

What you see is DLC being sold as a new product in the series, for example, the new Farcry is just what should have been an expansion pack for FC5 - no real improvement to gameplay or features.
Nothing has changed with battlefield gameplay, they just added a hd graphic pack and SJW content.
Assassins creed is still a climbing simulator, and has basically no real story direction since 3.

GTA5 was the last actual game which featured evolution over the previous product.

I cannot agree with Assassins Creed Black Flag, Origins and Odyssey are all great games on their own.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I cannot agree with Assassins Creed Black Flag, Origins and Odyssey are all great games on their own.

It’s obvious he has played none of them. Like I said, armchair quarterbacking from the corner.

 

[moproblems99]

It’s obvious he has played none of them. Like I said, armchair wuarterbacking from the corner.

Clearly they are not hardcore enough. Or ambitious enough. Or delayed enough...

 

[Vayra86]

I have seen post about how paying for DLC is robbery and how microtransaction ruins gaming world, but with SC that is somehow acceptable

No, this is fine, these transactions are anything but 'micro'

 

[R0H1T]

Star Citizen sells 'Concept Motorcycles' at $36 and $48

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I don't know if it's scam or not but I have to say, these guys figured out a really innovative way to keep drawing money in endlessly. That's impressive.

I wish i could come up with something, £20,000,000 in bank the disappear

You gave me $40 mil for nothing? Do you want to give me more? Yes?! *jackpot*

No studio in its right mind would fund this, but thx to the magic of crowdfunding thousands of people have entered the never ending saga of "but wait, there's more". As for $27,000 for a single DLC - I believe there are folks that payed much more in total before that DLC was announced. They also offered that DLC to people that have already spent more than a $1000 on the ingame items.

Really $27k for a non existent dlc? my word there are some retards still.

 

[Vario]

Star Citizen sells 'Concept Motorcycles' at $36 and $48

None of that content will make for a better game. If this and eye candy is all they are developing, it won't be something worth playing let alone paying thousands of dollars for. A proper sandbox game needs a compelling world with a lot of characters, machinery, and a plot to interact with. If Rockstar's Red Dead development team had focused on creating a million different horse varieties rather than creating an interesting world, it would not be a very good game.

 

[moproblems99]

If Rockstar's Red Dead development team had focused on creating a million different horse varieties rather than creating an interesting world, it would not be a very good game.

Well, in fairness to RockStar, they were thinking about how long they had to delay the PC release so they could sucker in more people to buy it twice and keep the purchase price at full much longer.

 

[Assimilator]

Cut down the plot. There was an additional chapter meant to be set in Montreal in addition to Prague. They cut it, so leaving the plot with more holes than a swiss cheese and the game was really short.

Something like that... the microtransactions... well also a point.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided sequel is in development - PlayStation Universe

A Deus Ex: Mankind Divided sequel has been in development for over a year, according to an Eidos Montreal source …

www.psu.com

So you're talking about Mankind Divided, not Human Revolutions...

 

[Vario]

Well, in fairness to RockStar, they were thinking about how long they had to delay the PC release so they could sucker in more people to buy it twice and keep the purchase price at full much longer.

No one is forcing people to buy it twice. I am just glad that there is an option to buy it on multiple platforms. I don't own a PS4 nor an Xbox One.

 

[moproblems99]

No one is forcing people to buy it twice. I am just glad that there is an option to buy it on multiple platforms. I don't own a PS4 nor an Xbox One.

Remember, Chris Roberts said all you need to be able to play Star Citizen is the base $45 game.'

Although, I guess what he didn't tell you is that if everyone only bought the base game, they wouldn't have been able to build the Virtual Spaceship Dealership Simulator.

 

[64K]

I've been thinking all along that Star Citizen isn't a scam and it will be finished one day and be something very special for PC gamers. My faith got shaken a bit when Roberts started selling virtual plots of land a while back but I still believe the game will be finished one day.

 

[Ferrum Master]

So you're talking about Mankind Divided, not Human Revolutions...

Oh. My bad. I was thinking of the latest one.

 

[wiyosaya]

I´ve been one of the first backers of StarCitizen and from the start I knew this would A) take ages and B) may not even be completed ever.

But there was the slight chance that the many ideas would eventually form into a playable experience and what I did was bet on that chance. It was worth it for me to throw money down that way just to try to get a game that would be as immersive and joyful as I hoped it to be.
And after I played the alpha last year and went back to check it out this year I dropped more money on it because parts of the dream are done. They work and I can tell you walking up to my ship the first time on that station, climbing in and taking of with the looks, sounds and the feel of everything brought many tears to my eyes.
This already is an experience for me that is unmatched by current games and yes I have played elite and other stuff and funnily enough, these games like elite have finished content and many things to do yet still feel bland and boring to me. I can´t stand those, but in StarCitizen my immersion sucks a special kind of atmosphere in, it just feels 'real' in a sense.

Whatever will come out of it next, I already got paid back more than the 400$ I spend on it. 400$ for multiple moments of intense goosebumps, and whoa WTH moments. Tears of joy and awe. I´m in love. Yes many or even most people will not understand that since it is just my personal attachment to the game. But for me, the last 400$ I spend on modern titles and games like elite felt far more wasted than the 400$ I threw at this unfinished game.

Long story short, It may never finish but it is already 'ready to play' for me. You can have a lot of fun already. But this applies to a niche of players, like me, who look for a believable, immersive experience filled with atmosphere. Btw flying with high end joysticks is kind of mandatory for the experience, I mean common if you drop multiple hunderts of dollars on the game itself atleast get a joystick instead of trying to find any fun with a cheap controller.

As I understand it, this "story" is a rehash of a similarly poorly written article by The Escapist magazine a few years back. The Escapist was forced to take down that article. Perhaps CIG will file a lawsuit against Forbes, too, because if this is a rehash of the same tired arguments, it has little basis in reality.

Why is a video game website feuding with a crowdfunding superstar?

Why is a video game website feuding with a crowdfunding superstar?

mashable.com

https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2017/...zen-articles-removed-from-the-escapist/27419/

BTW - what joystick are you using?

 

[moproblems99]

I've been thinking all along that Star Citizen isn't a scam and it will be finished one day

The only thing that will prevent the game from being finished is Roberts. Either never stopping the scope creep and never releasing because it can't ever be finished or because it is still 'rough' and therefore not done. I think the latter will likely be what holds him up. He said it himself when he said something along the lines of I don't want to show anybody anything until it's perfect. That will be what gets him. A video game is never perfect. It can always use tweaking.

But will he get something out the door in a B or B+ state instead of chasing the impossible perfection?

 

[Dinnercore]

BTW - what joystick are you using?

I use the Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog with throttle and a single stick. Suits my ship very well, as with my connie I don´t need a two stick setup for max. dogfighting ability.

 

[64K]

The only thing that will prevent the game from being finished is Roberts. Either never stopping the scope creep and never releasing because it can't ever be finished or because it is still 'rough' and therefore not done. I think the latter will likely be what holds him up. He said it himself when he said something along the lines of I don't want to show anybody anything until it's perfect. That will be what gets him. A video game is never perfect. It can always use tweaking.

But will he get something out the door in a B or B+ state instead of chasing the impossible perfection?

I think he will bring Squadron 42 in the A range at some point and that's all I really want. I have always heard that multiplayer games are much more challenging to make so I'm not sure how Star Citizen is going to turn out but I agree with your points. That's why I've said for years that Roberts needs to be supervised. He's got talent, creativity and knowledge about how to make a great game but he needs to be supervised.

 

[Assimilator]

Oh. My bad. I was thinking of the latest one.

You should probably go back and edit your posts then, because they are HELLA confusing for people like myself who are fans of the rebooted Deus Ex. Human Revolution was great, Mankind Divided far less so.

 

[Ferrum Master]

You should probably go back and edit your posts then, because they are HELLA confusing for people like myself who are fans of the rebooted Deus Ex. Human Revolution was great, Mankind Divided far less so.

you cannot do that, there's a time limit.