Star Citizen

[Yskonyn]

^ Have you played it ?  Saying star citizen is a farce is like saying DCS is a farce.  This thing in alpha state is better now than elite in finished state.  Like dcs this thing will be developed, improved, and added to for a decade.  I think people have a hard time wrapping their heads around that.

Thanks for the hyperbole, but I disagree.
Better than Elite in finished state? C'mon. Besides, Elite isn't finished yet either. They are also still adding to the game on their '10 year map'. SC is a cool tech demo at the moment, certainly impressive, but not much more.
And why the comparison with DCS? It doesn't make sense to me at all. :)

And I agree with Al; a roadmap for a roadmap... yeah.

[Jarhead0331]

^ Have you played it ?  Saying star citizen is a farce is like saying DCS is a farce.  This thing in alpha state is better than elite in finished state.  Like dcs this thing will be developed, improved, and added to for a decade.  I think people have a hard time wrapping their heads around that.

I mean, that's all well and good, but the whole "roadmap to a roadmap" thing is just outrageous, no matter what state the game is in.

I agree with both of you, actually. Star Citizen is totally playable and enjoyable in its present state. It is a great technical achievement, despite its flaws and unfinished state. I think the more it develops, the better it will be. Saying its a "farce" or a "scam" is just not seriously arguable given what already exists in PU.  In my opinion, some people have a hard time wrapping their head around the large sum of money that has been raised to develop this game, particularly when they really have no understanding of what has been and what currently is in development. 

That being said, despite my patience, understanding and love for what is already there, development should be much further along, and the lack of detailed information on SQ42 is pretty frustrating. I don't see the first chapter being released in EA this year at all. The "road map" for the "road map" strikes me as saying a whole lot of nothing, and it came across to me as meaningless and pretty annoying. I think Cloud Imperium needs to focus on delivering a stream of new content, rather than wasting time on revising its means of communication. This will serve the dual purpose of pleasing its backers while also proving the naysayers wrong. 

[Skoop]

That's why I always ask if the negativity comes from someone who's actually played it.  90 % of negative comments come from people who haven't even tried it.

I used the DCS comparison because I heard much of the same criticism with DCS projects and never being finished.

[SirAndrewD]

I'm a day one crowdfunding backer at a very high dollar level and I've played it plenty. 

I would not at all say it's better than Elite Dangerous.  A "scam" dunno.  I think it should be farther along but I'm not sure.  I haven't enjoyed it a lot, but these things are subjective. 

I had higher hopes considering the amount of money that's been raised.

[Pete Dero]

I'm a day one crowdfunding backer at a very high dollar level and I've played it plenty. 

I would not at all say it's better than Elite Dangerous.  A "scam" dunno.  I think it should be farther along but I'm not sure.  I haven't enjoyed it a lot, but these things are subjective. 

I had higher hopes considering the amount of money that's been raised.

We can't deny there is a playable Star Citizen game right now.  But is it enough considering the budget of $340 million ?

I wonder how DCS or Elite Dangerous would look like today if we threw $300 at those developers (or how Star Citizen would look in the hands of an other company) ?

[Jarhead0331]

Frontier, the developer of Elite Dangerous is no slouch either when it comes to revenue. In FY2017, Frontier generated approximately $45,000,000. In FY2018, $44,700,000 and in FY 2019, $117,300,000. This is publicly available information that is disclosed in their annual report.

So, nobody should conclude that Frontier has accomplished more with so much less.  Of course, Elite is not Frontier's only project, so it is not its sole revenue source.

[Pete Dero]

Of course, Elite is not Frontier's only project, so it is not its sole revenue source.

It looks like their other games sold as good or better than Elite.

Today in a communicated published on the London Stock Exchange website, the studio said that Planet Zoo was its best launch, and that it had exceeded one million copies sold in less than six months in its basic version. For its part, Elite: Dangerous has sold more than 3.5 million units, while Jurassic World: Evolution has passed 3 million copies. Finally, David Braben, Managing Director, indicates that Planet Coaster has crossed the 2.5 million games sold in January 2020. He took the opportunity to take stock of the situation, and in particular on containment:

https://geeky.news/frontier-takes-stock-of-game-sales/

[Yskonyn]

So, nobody should conclude that Frontier has accomplished more with so much less.  Of course, Elite is not Frontier's only project, so it is not its sole revenue source.

That's a rather important distinction in the discussion however.

[Jarhead0331]

So, nobody should conclude that Frontier has accomplished more with so much less.  Of course, Elite is not Frontier's only project, so it is not its sole revenue source.

That's a rather important distinction in the discussion however.

Why? I don't see how the source of the revenue is important. I think the more important question is how the revenue is spent and reinvested into development. I mean, if you were to discover that only a modest fraction of the capital raised/earned by Frontier was put into development for Elite, that might have relevance to a comparison with Star Citizen.

[Yskonyn]

Its important because the parallel was made between Elite and SC, where the CI only gets money for one project.. or 1.5, while Frontier has several good selling games.
Therefore reducing the discussion about total financial 'power' of the whole company for either SC or Elite respectively is not really fair.
IC's financial figures are about one thing only, Frontier's aren't.

[Jarhead0331]

But the discussion isn't about "financial power". It's about the amount of money available for development.

[Father Ted]

But the discussion isn't about "financial power". It's about the amount of money available for development.

I think part of the image problem that SC has is that players imagine that there is a direct correlation between money available for development and quality of product, and I don't think that's the case.  After a point the scope of a computer game is limited by the power of the players' PCs.  Sure, with infinite cash you could hire the best programmers, who could squeeze a bit more performance out of the code, but what else does all that money buy?  Ideas? Inspiration?

[Yskonyn]

But the discussion isn't about "financial power". It's about the amount of money available for development.

Yes exactly, but my point is that ALL the money CI makes can be put into SC and SQ42, but this is not the case with Frontier and Elite, because Frontier has multiple games to maintain and new games in development.
Perhaps we're meaning the same thing afterall? I might be thick.

[Pete Dero]

Star Citizen Free Fly Event   https://www.bluesnews.com/s/214685/star-citizen-free-fly-event

Cloud Imperium Games announces they are celebrating their Ship Showdown event with a new Free Fly event in Star Citizen, their upcoming space game announced a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. This kicks off at noon EDT today and will run for two weeks, ending on September 23rd, giving the chance to sample 16 of the game's ships. They say to get started on the Ship Showdown Free Fly Page, which currently returns a 404 error, but will presumably be live when the event launches. Here's more on the plan:

Pilots can fly for free in Star Citizen in celebration of the second annual Ship Showdown event. Choose from the "Top 16" most-voted-on ships selected by the Star Citizen community as prime representatives of the best and most iconic spacecraft in the game. During the Ship Showdown Free Fly celebration, new players can also look forward to special discounts on starter ship packs and a limited-time referral bonus granting a P-52 Merlin for players that refer a friend to Star Citizen. Boasting a centerline Gatling cannon and a Lightning Power engine, the Merlin is a fast, maneuverable ship that packs a surprising punch! Ideal for racing, local reconnaissance, and fast combat.

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/citizens/17764-This-Week-In-Star-Citizen

Also kicking off with Phase 2 is the Ship Showdown Free Fly! That's right, all 16 ships nominated by YOU will be flyable for free from September 9th through the 23rd! Two weeks! Stay tuned for more information.

On Friday, Star Citizen Live welcomes Ship Showdown LIVE on our Twitch channel, where we'll review (and probably argue) the top 16. We'll update this Comm-Link with the air time soon, so keep your eyes open. Last but not least, you'll see a Roadmap Update and Roundup, an update to the Subscriber Vault, and the RSI Newsletter delivered to your inbox.

[Yskonyn]

Aren't these freeflight events like a open house event by exotic car dealers ? If you let people fly the coolest ships for a bit they'll be more likely to spend (even more) cash on your digital wares. :)