The future of Star Citizen

[Rohith_Kumar_Sp]

This is a very good article about Star Citizen . The article is 3 Pages Long , i have snipped and only posted the first page, please do visit the source to read more.

With almost 60 million dollars raised and counting, Star Citizen holds the Guinness World Record for the most crowdfunded project ever. Chris Roberts, creator of the Wing Commander series, is the captain of this very expensive ship, and today I have the opportunity to talk to him about his vision for the space sim, how players will shape its universe, and why he thinks people are willing to spend so many thousands of dollars on virtual spaceships.

I start by asking if the money raised is enough. “It’s never enough!” he laughs. “We scale development according to how much money is coming in. The level of support dictates our level of ambition. This is a huge open-world game where you can go from planet to planet, so we could spend hundreds of millions of dollars on it quite easily.”
 

As well as the funds raised by backers, Roberts’ studio, Cloud Imperium Games, will be investing around $100 million of its own money into the project. “It’ll be at least another 18 to 20 months before the game is ready for release, so whatever we raise in that time will also be put into its development.”

 

 

We’re not having to have conversations with publishers who may have other agendas...

 

 ask Roberts what it’s like being freed from the traditional developer/ publisher relationship and going indie—albeit on a much grander scale than most studios. “Every day we can just focus on what we think is going to be the best game. When you’re working with a big publisher, a lot of energy gets expended on marketing and sales, and they determine what your budget is... The problem with that is they get a say in what you do with the game. I’ve had situations where marketing has said things like ‘Call of Duty has this, so you need to have this,’ and if we say no, they’ll mark the projected sales down by a million units, lowering the development budget. So you end up doing things you don’t believe in so you get a good forecast.”
 

Roberts is building a game he believes in. “The people backing it believe in it too. We’re not having to have conversations with publishers who may have other agendas... The downside—and it’s not really a bad thing—is having so many opinions and voices. Everyone has a different idea about what they want the game to be, so you’ve got to walk the line of trying to deliver something you’re really happy with, while making sure the backers get what they invested in.”
 

Roberts talks to Star Citizen backers regularly—a necessity for any crowdfunded project. “On the internet you get people that don’t have any sense of how to get something across in a constructive manner. But there are plenty of people who are super positive, and ultimately I don’t mind the bad ones, because everyone who backed the game is invested in making it better. You might not agree with them, but they care.”
 

Once a thriving genre on PC, the space sim had, until recently, faded into obscurity. Now we have Elite: Dangerous, EVE: Valkyrie, No Man’s Sky, and others on the way. I ask Roberts why he thinks these games are making a comeback. “I don’t understand why they went away. I think people just love science fiction. They like escapism, and playing computer games is one of the biggest forms of that. I loved games like X-Wing and Freespace, and after taking a break from the games industry, I came back and saw that no one was developing them any more, which is why I wanted to make Star Citizen.”



Page 2 and 3 : Do use the link below ; let me know if you want the rest of this article to be posted here as well , it might make a lengthy post  . 

Source : http://www.pcgamer.com/the-future-of-star-citizen/#page-1

[KayTees]

Pls, I have a AMD ship from a R9 290X I bought and I can't even drive the ship yet. All I do is hop in and hop out of the cockpit.

[Jerakl]

I'll definitely support this game once it hits release or even early beta. Vote with your wallet they said...

[Humbug]

 

The problem with that is they get a say in what you do with the game. I’ve had situations where marketing has said things like ‘Call of Duty has this, so you need to have this,’ and if we say no, they’ll mark the projected sales down by a million units, lowering the development budget. So you end up doing things you don’t believe in so you get a good forecast.”

Damn

 

[Humbug]

I think they should try to release a polished game within a reasonable timeframe.

And then work on the additional more ambitious stuff as expansions. Otherwise it could just keep snowballing...

[Stomplar]

I think they should try to release a polished game within a reasonable timeframe.

And then work on the additional more ambitious stuff as expansions. Otherwise it could just keep snowballing...

look at nintendo. Ive always respected them because they have quality games for the most part. Well polished, and tested.

[ACatWithThumbs]

Pls, I have a AMD ship from a R9 290X I bought and I can't even drive the ship yet. All I do is hop in and hop out of the cockpit.

You can fly it you have to press esc and click on Arena Commander you can then select game mode and map.

[Humbug]

Some fascinating stuff..

He adds that the player-driven economy will alter the appearance of certain locations and the missions they offer. “If there’s a settlement and it’s doing well, it’ll grow. You can come back six months later and it’ll be turning into a city, which will then generate missions to deliver the materials to help build it. But if the economy suffers, there’ll be crime and unemployment, and things will begin to look run down.”

 

One of Star Citizen’s most fascinating ideas is that your character will die, permanently. “We want players to have a lifespan. Your character in Star Citizen, to think of it in arcade terms, will only have so many lives. If you get in a dogfight and your ship blows up, your body will be recovered and taken to a hospital on the nearest friendly planet. But there’s only so many times this can happen. “You might get a mechanical hand to replace a damaged one. Every ‘death’ will age you, and once those ‘lives’ are used up, your character will pass away, and your possessions will go to a new character.”

 

The idea is that you’ll be building a legacy as you play, and a family line that can be traced back. “I want it to feel like time is passing, rather than you being this immortal character and nothing ever changing. Ships and items have wear and tear, so if you’re getting into fights, your ship will begin to look scratched and beaten up. You can get it repaired, but it’ll never be pristine again.”

 

Unlike Elite, which is built around its player’s ships, Star Citizen is essentially a first-person game. It just so happens that a lot of time has been spent on the vehicle simulation. This has allowed Cloud Imperium to do a lot more than it would if the player was forever tethered to their spacecraft. “We can be walking around on the surfaces of planets, interacting with NPCs and other players. These are places where you can pick up missions, explore, talk to people, and buy and sell cargo.

 

 

[CatCloud]

Hmm no man sky and eve valkyrie ain't space sims though...

One of them have the potential though

[Biggerisbetter]

I really want to play this game, but the game has micro-transactions for online play. I will wait to see if the stand alone version will be worth the cover price. If online is the best experience, I will avoid it like the black plague.  

[CatCloud]

I really want to play this game, but the game has micro-transactions for online play. I will wait to see if the stand alone version will be worth the cover price. If online is the best experience, I will avoid it like the black plague.

I think your over exaggerating mate, but each to there own I guess.

Mind telling me your reasons?

[ACatWithThumbs]

I really want to play this game, but the game has micro-transactions for online play. I will wait to see if the stand alone version will be worth the cover price. If online is the best experience, I will avoid it like the black plague.  

It won't have micro-transactions the only thing you'll be able to buy is in-game currency which will be limited so it doesn't effect the games economy.

 

[Trik'Stari]

I swear, every time that dude opens his mouth, I can hear publisher companies grinding their teeth.

[Biggerisbetter]

I think your over exaggerating mate, but each to there own I guess.

Mind telling me your reasons?

 

I stay away from any F2p online games, for my own personal reasons. I feel the F2P model has killed  MMORPG model, because gaming companies uses it as an excuse not to try harder or come up with any good ideas. If the game fails it will go F2P. I believe in a more robust economy driven by the players, vanity items should be created by the players and prices set by supply or demand. Example: a ship builder, builds and adds customizable items to the ship. I believe online games today don't offer much to do, during downtime. This is one reason why vanity shops and micro-transactions has entered online games.

 

I do understand what I've stated does not appeal to a large demo, the causal gamer. So instead of me joining in, I just exclude myself and play strictly stand alone games. My game of choice if I was still single would be EVE online.

[CatCloud]

I stay away from any F2p online games, for my own personal reasons. I feel the F2P model has killed MMORPG model, because gaming companies uses it as an excuse not to try harder or come up with any good ideas. If the game fails it will go F2P. I believe in a more robust economy driven by the players, vanity items should be created by the players and prices set by supply or demand. Example: a ship builder, builds and adds customizable items to the ship. I believe online games today don't offer much to do, during downtime. This is one reason why vanity shops and micro-transactions has entered online games.

I do understand what I've stated does not appeal to a large demo, the causal gamer. So instead of me joining in, I just exclude myself and play strictly stand alone games. My game of choice if I was still single would be EVE online.

Fair point to but you don't seem to know how Star citizen works.

First of its not a free 2 play game, it's the classic buy 2 play.

Second of I'm surprised you mentioned EVE, that game has subscription AND micro transaction.

Star citizens store as far as I know will be similar to Eve online and will be more aimed/designed towards those that don't have a lot of game time but still wishes to be very into the game.

The Ingame store is not designed completely yet so how it will be on release no one knows, I base what I've said on what Chris Roberts have said and what I found avaible on the RSI forum.

[Biggerisbetter]

Fair point to but you don't seem to know how Star citizen works.

First of its not a free 2 play game, it's the classic buy 2 play.

Second of I'm surprised you mentioned EVE, that game has subscription AND micro transaction.

Star citizens store as far as I know will be similar to Eve online and will be more aimed/designed towards those that don't have a lot of game time but still wishes to be very into the game.

The Ingame store is not designed completely yet so how it will be on release no one knows, I base what I've said on what Chris Roberts have said and what I found avaible on the RSI forum.

 

I stop playing EVE online prior to the whole microtransaction mess EVE created. If I had been playing during that time, i would have left the game. I do understand Star citizen will be F2P online only and the core game has to be purchased. I will wait and see how things come about, if the standalone is worth the cover price, I have no problem getting game. I will always keep  an open mind and not judge the game in its current state. Only after the game is released will I decide to get it on not

[Zweihander]

Impulse backed this in late 2013...hope it's worth. 

[Victorious Secret]

Put 200 into this game. 

 

No regrets. Even if the persistent online is full of shit (along with the FPS components and everything else) it'll still have a spectacularly abusable single player that can be modded to death. 

[NAP51DMustang]

I stop playing EVE online prior to the whole microtransaction mess EVE created. If I had been playing during that time, i would have left the game. I do understand Star citizen will be F2P online only and the core game has to be purchased. I will wait and see how things come about, if the standalone is worth the cover price, I have no problem getting game. I will always keep  an open mind and not judge the game in its current state. Only after the game is released will I decide to get it on not

First off SC is in no way a F2P game. A f2p game requires zero upfront cost where as you do have to buy SC. Second, SC will have a dedicated single player called Squadron 42 and will be releasing episodically to backers (basically we get to play a chapter once they finish it) but is fully available upon release if you buy the game. However the main thrust (see wit I did thar) is the online persistent universe for which you can run your own private sever if you want. Lastly the "microtransactions" in SC are only for UEC (in game money) and they already said there is a planned cap for how much you can buy in a month and that pacing isn't based on buying UEC.

 

In Roberts we trust.

[Sky Daddy]

Star Citizen might become the first MMO that I might actually enjoy.

 

I'm gonna be a space pirate/mercenary.

[Lord Baal]

Pls, I have a AMD ship from a R9 290X I bought and I can't even drive the ship yet. All I do is hop in and hop out of the cockpit.

Err you can in fact fly the AMD Mustang Omega. I've already raced mine a few times

[Lord Baal]

I really want to play this game, but the game has micro-transactions for online play. I will wait to see if the stand alone version will be worth the cover price. If online is the best experience, I will avoid it like the black plague.  

Lol What?  Well it's focus is ONLINE so of course that'll be the best experience.. Doesn't really sound like you know what you're talking about or like it's a game that you really want to play at all. It's not free to play nor has that actually ever been mentioned so i have no idea where you got that idea.

[SynapseBreak]

From the amount of work the CIG team has put into Star Citizen from the beginning and moreso the amount they have put in the last month to release their most recent update to Arena Commander, i have no doubt in my mind that once "complete" for full release Star Citizen will be a game unlike any other . Its fantastic to see a team of developers who are completely in love with their game and want to create it with a passion. Chris Roberts is dead set on making the Best Damn Space Sim Ever and I honestly believe that he can. See you in the verse guys! ;D

[KayTees]

Err you can in fact fly the AMD Mustang Omega. I've already raced mine a few times

Really? Someone told me that the ship hasn't been programmed/activated yet.

[Lord Baal]

Really? Someone told me that the ship hasn't been programmed/activated yet.

It was included in the last patch aka Arena Commander 1.0 along with a bunch of other ships so it was only added in December.