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Dewgy
Nov 10, 2005

~🚚special delivery~📦

Cao Ni Ma posted:

What gets me of the "Its alpha" excuse is that its done without anyone giving any critical thought about how long the alpha stage is going to last. It'll continue to be called alpha till every single gameplay element they've sold is actually in game to be tested. They just marketed a ship and gameplay element that will take years to implement, whose groundwork doesn't exist at all, years after they sold things like dedicated mining and salvaging ships that still dont have any ETA. There is no reason to believe that SC will be out of alpha till like 2020 assuming they dont run out of cash first (they will)

It's in alpha, but it's also at 3.0. Totally normal.

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The Titanic
Sep 15, 2016

Unsinkable

XK posted:

If the 1,000 SC bucks per $1 holds true, 11.7 cents for delivering that box.

So if I’m mathing correctly, if this is true, to buy a new Aurora at about $45, you’d have to do this run about 391 times. If each run takes about 45 minutes, it would take 293 and a quarter hours. To buy a new Aurora.

I’m looking forward to this. :allears:

Colostomy Bag
Jan 11, 2016

:lesnick: C-Bangin' it :lesnick:

I'm confused, didn't Lord Roberts himself state 40 hours of gameplay could get you a Constellation?

big nipples big life
May 12, 2014

There's going to be a million infinite money glitches in their garbage spaghetti code either way so it doesn't matter. Kamakaziing in a pimped out javelin will be old news after the first week.

Foo Diddley
Oct 29, 2011

cat

Colostomy Bag posted:

I'm confused, didn't Lord Roberts himself state 40 hours of gameplay could get you a Constellation?

He meant a week's pay at your day job

Gort
Aug 18, 2003

Good day what ho cup of tea

big nipples big life posted:

There's going to be a million infinite money glitches in their garbage spaghetti code either way so it doesn't matter. Kamakaziing in a pimped out javelin will be old news after the first week.

That's the thing, isn't it? Either Star Citizen is pay to win or these guys are spending thousands of dollars on stuff you'll get as rewards for playing the game - it's lose-lose. Unless the game is terrible and nobody even wants to play it, in which case they also lose.

Mr.Tophat
Apr 7, 2007

You clearly don't understand joke development :justpost:
The time has come, Chris Roberts said, to speak of other things
Of tanks - and moons - and landing rights
Of biodomes and cringe
And why the 'verse is making bank--
And whether jpegs have sales.

Strangler 42
Jan 8, 2007

SHAVE IT ALL OFF
ALL OF IT

Dewgy posted:

It's in alpha, but it's also at 3.0. Totally normal.

Pre-alpha work in progress according to the demo. Alpha is a long way off.

AP
Jul 12, 2004

One Ring to fool them all
One Ring to find them
One Ring to milk them all
and pockets fully line them
Grimey Drawer
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/212968587?t=04h25m21s

:gary:

Ayn Marx
Dec 21, 2012

No Quid Pro Quo - Case dismissed?

PederP
Nov 20, 2009

Gort posted:

That's the thing, isn't it? Either Star Citizen is pay to win or these guys are spending thousands of dollars on stuff you'll get as rewards for playing the game - it's lose-lose. Unless the game is terrible and nobody even wants to play it, in which case they also lose.

They're funding this to make BDSSE heaven a reality. Imagine the adoration they'll receive from the masses! They don't need spaceships and land to win - they'll win through social capital and reputation. This is gaming nirvana we're talking about, just getting in is enough to some - as long as Derek Smart. the goonies and the filthy refunders are kept out, of course.

Drunk Theory
Aug 20, 2016


Oven Wrangler

Mr.Tophat posted:

The time has come, Chris Roberts said, to speak of other things
Of tanks - and moons - and landing rights
Of biodomes and cringe
And why the 'verse is making bank--
And if these whales have wings

I like it, but changed the last line.

intardnation
Feb 18, 2016

I'm going to space!

:gary: :yarg:

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

Well I gave it 30 minutes and nothing happened. Will uninstall and try again on my SSD.

Thank you for playing Star Citizen.

do you have a buttcoin though?

Thoatse
Feb 29, 2016

Lol said the scorpion, lmao

kordansk posted:

that idiot cymelion - keep it simple stupid is used by engineers, surgeons, and everyone else in the world that understands that overcomplicating things only makes poo poo worse.



The same people that murder Einstien by reciting the first half of his quote 'Everything should be made as simple as possible' like they've never heard the second part that says 'but no simpler'

Thoatse
Feb 29, 2016

Lol said the scorpion, lmao
https://i.imgur.com/VUNdsH4.gifv

G0RF
Mar 19, 2015

Some galactic defender you are, Space Cadet.
POLYGON: Star Citizen’s 3.0 update is finally here
The latest update to the multiplayer game’s incomplete alpha build


quote:

Star Citizen, the ambitious collection of spacefaring games, has reached a major milestone. The latest update to the project’s online multiplayer game, the so-called “persistent universe,” represents the largest addition of new content in several years. It is now available to all backers.

The Star Citizen persistent universe (PU) is an online multiplayer game that includes space combat as well as first-person shooting. The latest update, called Alpha Patch 3.0.0, includes a number of new locations to explore, including three planet-sized moons, as well as atmospheric flight. From our preview in October:

The biggest selling point will be the procedurally generated moons, named Yela, Daymar and Cellin. The smallest of those moons will have a surface area of more than 851,000 square kilometers, which will dwarf the entire landmass of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.... Players will be able to seamlessly enter their atmosphere from orbit and fly around unimpeded by loading screens or transitions of any kind. In this way, Star Citizen will leap-frog its closest competitor, Elite: Dangerous.

(Probably copy and pasted right from a Swofford email after the PayPal transfer cleared...)

quote:

The patch also includes many quality-of-life improvements, such as enhanced cockpit interaction for pilots, 20 new missions and AI for non-player characters such as shopkeepers. The full patch notes are available on the Star Citizen website.

The Star Citizen project began with a Kickstarter campaign in 2012. Since that time, it has become the single most-funded crowdfunding campaign of any kind, on any platform, for any thing. So far, Roberts Space Industries (RSI) and Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) say they have raised more than $174 million, with at least $15 million of that rolling in since the first week in October.

The project is not without its controversies, including several lawsuits.

At least two high-value backers recently asked for their money back. One tells Polygon that they’ve begun legal action to secure a refund of more than $25,000.
Both cite delays in the progress of Star Citizen’s single-player game, called Squadron 42. That project, which has been sold separately since February 2016, features the acting talents of Gillian Anderson, Mark Hamill and Gary Oldman among others.

Crytek, makers of the CryEngine which the Star Citizen games were originally built on, is also suing RSI and CIG for copyright infringement while implying that its executives behaved unethically during and after negotiations.

It’s important to note that this Alpha Patch 3.0.0 is still just a tiny fraction of the promised feature set for Star Citizen’s multiplayer game. Neither the multiplayer nor the single-player Star Citizen games have had a release date of any kind since 2016, a fact that Roberts himself regularly acknowledges.

Way to bury the ledes.

And get out of here with that leap frog bullcrap. The game with 3 moons in one star system of a planned 100 compared to the one with a simulated galaxy... The game with only combat and cargo mechanics compare to Elite’s full suite of space sim essentials... The game with 15FPS on monster rigs next to the one that delivers 100+ And VR in ultra on equivalent rigs... The game in pre-alpha after five years next to the one released and continuously expanding... The game with no real A.I. yet versus one that’s had it since pre-release... The game facing lawsuits from multiple corners and with no transparency to backers versus the one with quarterly financial disclosures to the public... The game pitching $50 to $100 protection racket land claims as yet not in game vs. one that sells cheap cosmetics for those inclined.

Yet “Star Citizen leap frogs Elite because no loading screens.” Yeah, okay man. Whatever you say, ye paragon of games journalism.

Ayn Marx posted:

No Quid Pro Quo - Case dismissed?
:lol:

G0RF fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Dec 27, 2017

AlbieQuirky
Oct 9, 2012

Just me and my 🌊dragon🐉 hanging out

OMG :3:

Dark Off
Aug 14, 2015




this is one hell of a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5YbKcLc370

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5YbKcLc370&t=462s ----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5YbKcLc370&t=549s ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5YbKcLc370&t=616s ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5YbKcLc370&t=664s
:allears:

Mr.Tophat
Apr 7, 2007

You clearly don't understand joke development :justpost:

Drunk Theory posted:

I like it, but changed the last line.

For the better, my thanks

One in the Bum
Apr 25, 2014

Hair Elf

Dark Off posted:

this is one hell of a video.
:allears:

I made it to 3:30 before my brain screamed "MAKE THE STUPID STOP"

nnnotime
Sep 30, 2001

Hesitate, and you will be lost.

G0RF posted:

These are fair points and it became clear pretty quickly that pushing out something more retro-tastic than revolutionary became unacceptable to Chris pretty early. But I personally believe they started there and could’ve stayed there and nailed it.

Squadron never should’ve tried to be more. It was only ever something the minority of a 700,000 member customer base wanted. And most are owed it now for free anyway.

When I picture the Squadron 42 of the original pitch, and the Squadron 42 spec’ed to the probable market size for a PC-exclusive indie space dogfighter in 2014, I picture a much leaner work that hits the nostalgia notes really hard but isn’t trying to best AAA standards across multiple game genres while also delivering the biggest moviegame in history. Whereas Star Citizen’s success seems defined by ship monetization, Squadron’s can and should’ve been in beautifully packaging up an old school nostalgia trip. It can’t possibly ever compete with Star Citizen as money printing machine, but could’ve been a good will cementer for the olds and gateway title / loss leader for that subset of younger gamers who want space pewpew for Pros. If done right, it could’ve won their hearts then turned them over to Star Citizen to win their spaceship dollahs.
If Croberts wanted to make Squadron 42 he should have waited until after Star Citizen looked like it was "feature complete" and ready for a full launch. Then I don't think anybody would have a problem with his SQ42 side project as long as customers were happy with Star Citizen being in a playable state and having most of the baseline features delivered, meeting most of the reasonable gameplay expectations.

However I think Star Citizen was doomed from the initial choice of the CryTek engine, which has already been discussed.

The big question is how long can CRoberts shenanigans continue. Earlier this year the project could have gone onward for a long time, with Croberts and team getting more pledges by making incremental developments to SC and putting out a third-party generated "what-if" movie every year of new concepts and features. But now with the lawsuit the SC/SQ42 projects longevity are certainly up in the air.

Xaerael
Aug 25, 2010

Marching Powder is objectively the worst poster known. He also needs to learn how a keyboard works.

Isn't Montoya one of the old Eve Redditor leaders that didn't figure out the reason we kept drubbing them during Fountain was because we had multiple alt corps still allied to TEST from back when we tolerated them?

Those guys were pretty dumb.

CrazyLoon
Aug 10, 2015

"..."

Xaerael posted:

Isn't Montoya one of the old Eve Redditor leaders that didn't figure out the reason we kept drubbing them during Fountain was because we had multiple alt corps still allied to TEST from back when we tolerated them?

Those guys were pretty dumb.

I dunno if he's from there (though given the amount of EVE refugees that flooded Star Citizen RSI forums back in 2013, it seems quite likely. I mean poo poo, Captain Underpants came over from you guys lol), but he's been leading Star Citizen's version of redditor TEST ever since 2013 earliest I can recall.

So yea, he's in for this lock, stock and barrel, especially if he really is doing poo poo like taxing his members right now over this piece of poo poo tech demo lol.

NoNotTheMindProbe
Aug 9, 2010
pony porn was here
It's unbecoming for anybody with visibly graying hair to get that emotionally invested in a video game.

Xaerael
Aug 25, 2010

Marching Powder is objectively the worst poster known. He also needs to learn how a keyboard works.

NoNotTheMindProbe posted:

It's unbecoming for anybody with visibly graying hair to get that emotionally invested in a video game.

Nah man, he wasn't grey when he first started pre-ordering pledging

:rimshot:

Foo Diddley
Oct 29, 2011

cat

NoNotTheMindProbe posted:

It's unbecoming for anybody with visibly graying hair to get that emotionally invested in a video game.

Next sale: Just for Citizens hair and beard coloring products

Xaerael
Aug 25, 2010

Marching Powder is objectively the worst poster known. He also needs to learn how a keyboard works.

See, it's a joke about how everyone's going to die of old age before Chris finishes his lovely game.

AP
Jul 12, 2004

One Ring to fool them all
One Ring to find them
One Ring to milk them all
and pockets fully line them
Grimey Drawer
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/213011256?t=24m50s

Lladre
Jun 28, 2011


Soiled Meat

NoNotTheMindProbe posted:

It's unbecoming for anybody with visibly graying hair to get that emotionally invested in a video game.

Mr.Tophat
Apr 7, 2007

You clearly don't understand joke development :justpost:

Probably a bug you say. Hm.

I'm reminded as to the first usage of the word in computing. Here, an insect wasn't caught within the belly of the beast and caused a problem, the belly of the beast is a hive, and any code is mere happenstance to the torrent of locust swarming about Star Citizen

Mirificus
Oct 29, 2004

Kings need not raise their voices to be heard



big nipples big life
May 12, 2014

big nipples big life
May 12, 2014

I am glad that person is going to lose their "investment".

Foo Diddley
Oct 29, 2011

cat

You know, if you have to point out to everyone how hard you owned someone... you probably didn't

Mirificus
Oct 29, 2004

Kings need not raise their voices to be heard
https://twitter.com/montoya_test/status/946085340032495621

AP
Jul 12, 2004

One Ring to fool them all
One Ring to find them
One Ring to milk them all
and pockets fully line them
Grimey Drawer
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/213011256?t=57m38s

Klyith
Aug 3, 2007

GBS Pledge Week

G0RF posted:

When I picture the Squadron 42 of the original pitch, and the Squadron 42 spec’ed to the probable market size for a PC-exclusive indie space dogfighter in 2014, I picture a much leaner work that hits the nostalgia notes really hard but isn’t trying to best AAA standards across multiple game genres while also delivering the biggest moviegame in history. Whereas Star Citizen’s success seems defined by ship monetization, Squadron’s can and should’ve been in beautifully packaging up an old school nostalgia trip. It can’t possibly ever compete with Star Citizen as money printing machine, but could’ve been a good will cementer for the olds and gateway title / loss leader for that subset of younger gamers who want space pewpew for Pros. If done right, it could’ve won their hearts then turned them over to Star Citizen to win their spaceship dollahs.

More than anything, SQ42 needed to be a great branched mission dogfighter + Mark Hamill nostalgia vehicle that felt familiar and fun.

Hmmmm, maybe. Ace Combat is a decent example of mid-tier budget. I've never played those games. Alternately, something like Rebel Galaxy with a real budget, more narrative story, and a Wing Commander style. (Rebel Galaxy was one of my favorite games from the last few years, so I know that you can make fun games on a shoestring.)

Something along those lines may be possible, but it wouldn't have looked anything like the pitch video. And that's the thing, it was never going to be a retro-tastic indie game. The original pitch was "you give us a couple million start-up money, we get the rest from Big Investors with the show of demand". I have to believe that was an honest line, that they did have potential interest from VC or people with a lot more money than Bootcha.


quote:

At this point, it’s hard not to wonder whether the real plan is to put in a good effortshow on the Squadron 42 appearances front even while its internally been consigned to the dust bin. This is :tinfoil: of course and probably crap but the Coutts loan and Crytek lawsuit both put Squadron under unique outside duress, even while internal and external forces have long conspired to keep it constantly back-burnered. CIG testing of prospective demand via their latest mailing list signup is a suggestive tell and one wonders if, heading into year 6, they suddenly realized the marketing wisdom of a viability test for demand.

I dunno, as always with the Crobbler there are two good explanations.

There's the one where he knows he's screwed and just wants to string it out as long as possible. That CIG has become an elaborate, legal way to scam shitizens by taking money for things they know they can't deliver. They're putting on a show with Sq42 because that's the thing they can most easily produce more glitz fakery to sell more dreams. Star Citizen the online game has kinda run it's course, they've gotten close to the MVP escape hatch.

And then there's the one where he thinks he's still a demigod producer of games and movies, and that he's not the one that's hosed everything up. In that version Crobbler has gotten frustrated by Star Citizen and is plowing himself into Sq42 because he wants some results dammit. But he is so terrible that he legit doesn't know the difference between a scripted demo and a real game.

As always, the funniest thing is that these two possibilities are indistinguishable.

Mirificus
Oct 29, 2004

Kings need not raise their voices to be heard




Exposure
Apr 4, 2014

Sarsapariller posted:

Aw, that's too bad. Wonder why they rebranded it and threw it on facebook?

This is from their backer update after their year of inactivity:

quote:

The issues we ran into with Novus
The full story of everything that has happened can be read here:

Google Docs Link

It is a long story which I recommend you read however the TL:DR is:

In 2014 Havok discontinued support for the Havok Vision engine. This meant that the core issues we had with the engine would not be fixed, and the game would not work.

At this point we didn’t know what to do, we looked into workarounds, we looked into porting the client to another engine - but nothing worked. We were far too integrated into the Vision client, even our movement code used its math libraries. It had taken us five years to build our game around the Havok Vision engine, but with no other options, we had to try to redevelop the game on Unity, which sapped the remaining budget and our own personal investments. We were not willing to give up on our promise to you, and we put in many times the money raised on Kickstarter from our own pocket. This was as much our dream as yours. When this ran out, we were forced to seek a Publisher, which led to its own problems.

Without a large marketing budget for a very powerful on-launch marketing campaign, the game would fail. This was not immediately apparent, but was something that we began to notice with the Infiltrator Backers and boiled down to a geographical isolation. We would have 200+ people log in over a 5 hour period in an evening, but almost no one interacted with anyone else. This was because each of the players logging in found themselves in a sea of offline empires that effectively served to ensure each player was alone. When those players logged off, and another group logged in, the same process would be repeated. We would see Infiltrator Backers log in ask “anyone around” then log out at the exact moment his neighbor logged in and asked the same question.

This core issue made it very hard to get the ball rolling. This would not have been as much of an issue had we been able to continue with our publisher, who would have been able to provide the marketing required for a high-population launch of a completed, high polished product. The servers would be PACKED, giving everyone a positive first impression of the game which would continue to ensure each player was not isolated.

This problem was a major element behind our publisher backing out.

When we were independent again, we knew there was no way we could ever succeed with Novus Aeterno without a top tier publisher which we no longer had, though we fought to secure another. There was also one other, equally serious issue, which is that we still had a long way till Novus Aeterno would be finished and no budget to finish it.

We were not ready to give up on this dream of a MMO strategy game. We have the server architecture, which passed all reviews by the Publishers with flying colors. We have a dedicated and experienced team.
It's really fascinating, it's almost like, a nega-CIG in terms of what happened to the game.

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Sarsapariller
Aug 14, 2015

Occasional vampire queen


SARSAPARILLER DESTROYS AGEING SHILL WITH VIEWER COUNT IN THE TRIPLE DIGITS

Is it really "Destroying" if you have to declare victory in the title of your video? I mean, their arguments still stand and their predictions for the next year will be verified, or not, in the fullness of time. How about destroying them by making some competing predictions and seeing who's closer to being right? I wonder what kind of expectations you had for Star Citizen at this time last year- because their expectation for SC in 2017 was "Most likely to flop."

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