[Megathread] Star Citizen

[stellvia]

There are also people that love the idea of a boardgame lasting months. But is that a healthy recipe for a large audience? It isn't, which is why such games belong to the niche market.

I think this is a logical fallacy that crops up whenever games are being designed for a niche market in these days where the bland AAA "white bread" game is the standard. That targeting a niche audience automatically sets you up to "fail". Obviously SC is a bit of an outlier even in that regard because you have a small niche of people paying AAA budget, but generally speaking there is nothing wrong with setting a small budget appropriate to the scope of the market you are targeting. Pantheon doesn't have a large budget, but it's targeting those that want an oldschool EQ feel so it doesn't need one to be profitable.

Even games like Ultima Online are still going despite probably having 50k or less subscribers these days.

[stellvia]

It didn't start out that way and the money it has been given was being sold on this idea though, so why does it matter? A bunch of old well-to-do engineers are shelling out to get the game of their dreams made they've wanted since they were teens or w/e... good for them.

[Malibutomi]

Just a small ad:

Not for your liking =/= niche market.
There ate plenty of people who like it, just in the free flight week i saw lots of post about they love the game after trying it out.
Plus theres Squadron 42 which they can sell a lit of copies of.

[Odeezee]

the expo continues so i thought i'd share some pics from it.

Merlin on Delamar:



Loreville at sunrise:



Sunset at Lorville and the new Arrow:



Reclaimer on Aberdeen:



M-50 at a cloudline on Hurston:

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Can't wait for gas giants, especially cities sitting on top of the gasses. Combined with the atmospheric gas tech shown in the Squadron 42 demo, it will look absolutely amazing!

Makes me want to revisit ToughSF's archive.

http://toughsf.blogspot.com/2016/10/...ets-venus.html

[nocturnus]

I think this is a logical fallacy that crops up whenever games are being designed for a niche market in these days where the bland AAA "white bread" game is the standard. That targeting a niche audience automatically sets you up to "fail". Obviously SC is a bit of an outlier even in that regard because you have a small niche of people paying AAA budget, but generally speaking there is nothing wrong with setting a small budget appropriate to the scope of the market you are targeting. Pantheon doesn't have a large budget, but it's targeting those that want an oldschool EQ feel so it doesn't need one to be profitable.

Even games like Ultima Online are still going despite probably having 50k or less subscribers these days.

It's not a logical fallacy; you can't call a game niche when you're targeting a large audience with a budget of 200 million dollar and rising. Nor does it matter how it "started out"; it's about what it's becoming and I doubt it will entertain sufficient people to survive, if it doesn't make some significant changes.

I could be wrong, of course.

[Yunru]

Are you guys still waiting for SC?
http://shrani.si/f/11/V5/4k6VObYp/1/201811301736161.jpg

Why bother.

Let's not start game vs. game debates or bait others please. Infracted. -Edge

[stellvia]

It's not a logical fallacy; you can't call a game niche when you're targeting a large audience with a budget of 200 million dollar and rising. Nor does it matter how it "started out"; it's about what it's becoming and I doubt it will entertain sufficient people to survive, if it doesn't make some significant changes.
I could be wrong, of course.

BLOPS4 is predicted to sell over 20M units. This game has ~2.1M backers that bought in for the promise of a more simulation/in depth experience than AAA companies are willing to deliver. They're supposed to not deliver what they want simply because you determine the number of those have poured over some threshold?

[nocturnus]

BLOPS4 is predicted to sell over 20M units. This game has ~2.1M backers that bought in for the promise of a more simulation/in depth experience than AAA companies are willing to deliver. They're supposed to not deliver what they want simply because you determine the number of those have poured over some threshold?

I think you completely missed the point, but okay.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I think you completely missed the point, but okay.

The fact that it's managed to get 200 million out of a niche audience is proof enough that it will survive. Chris Roberts knows the audience is aiming for and one the game launches having met all of the original kickstarter goals, everyone else isn't going to wait around anymore; they'll buy it. They'll also find other ways to monetize the game, such as merchandise, CitizenCon, and licensing out their tech.

[Kyanion]

The fact that it's managed to get 200 million out of a niche audience is proof enough that it will survive. Chris Roberts knows the audience is aiming for and one the game launches having met all of the original kickstarter goals, everyone else isn't going to wait around anymore; they'll buy it. They'll also find other ways to monetize the game, such as merchandise, CitizenCon, and licensing out their tech.

It has to actually launch first.

[nocturnus]

The fact that it's managed to get 200 million out of a niche audience is proof enough that it will survive. Chris Roberts knows the audience is aiming for and one the game launches having met all of the original kickstarter goals, everyone else isn't going to wait around anymore; they'll buy it. They'll also find other ways to monetize the game, such as merchandise, CitizenCon, and licensing out their tech.

I don't consider the fact that it's managed to raise 200 million proof that it will endure or even be a success to begin with. Let it launch first, then we'll see.

[Gorsameth]

Eve Online has shown that whales can keep a space MMO afloat. The playerbase for SC exists because its the same group that play Eve or ED now.

The difficulty is releasing a better game then both to grabs those players.

[Majestic12]

The fact that it's managed to get 200 million out of a niche audience is proof enough that it will survive.

Not really. Backer patience is finite. Not to mention the massive costs CIG have and a full reel of A-list actors. There's no evidence that it will survive or do well at all in any way shape or form.

[Odeezee]

Top GUn ala Star Citizen:



4k shot from a pro photographer og a Cutlass Black on Delamar:



Razor EX(?) with DoF enabled on the Hurston Savannah biome:

[sibut]

Not really. Backer patience is finite. Not to mention the massive costs CIG have and a full reel of A-list actors. There's no evidence that it will survive or do well at all in any way shape or form.

Yeah I think paying for A-list actors was a big mistake, but so many mistakes are being made in the production of this game that it's hardly surprising. I enjoy the pretty screenshots, but pretty screenshots do not a functional game make. We'll see how much longer CIG can keep milking idiots willing to drop $10k on a virtual spaceship for, because if the company doesn't deliver something real in the near future even the backers who went pretty hard on drinking the kool aid are gonna want answers.

Shame too, this could've been a cool game if they had focused on what people bought into rather than adding all this retarded FPS/etc. shit that nobody asked for.

[Deleted]

Btw, is Star Citizen P2W? As they have ships you can buy which I take are better than base ships you can get at the start?

I mean on release if some people will fly around with some ships that cost 10k $ and destroy people with base stuff?

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Btw, is Star Citizen P2W? As they have ships you can buy which I take are better than base ships you can get at the start?

I mean on release if some people will fly around with some ships that cost 10k $ and destroy people with base stuff?

No.

Pretty much.

I remember a debate on Reddit about this once.

Someone said "you aren't paying to win, you are paying to support the most advanced space sim ever". Or something along those lines at least.

Yeah......

Oh please, do your research before you make misleading claims.

There are no "better" ships. There are just larger ships with more capabilities that in turn require more people to take advantage of. Sure, I could throw tens of thousands of dollars for an Idris, but I'd never be able to kill a hornet. One person alone can't man turrets and fly. You need people to repair the ship, to scan, to use tractor beams to capture the fighters strafing around you, doctors to repair crewmen, people to reload supplies, and so forth.

The bigger the ship = the more capabilities = the more players required to use those capabilities. Throwing hundreds of dollars for a multicrew ship is great if you have an organization to use it with. If you're a solo player, a small ship ship like the Aurora, the Mustang (starter ships), or the Freelancer and Cutlass (2 person and three person ships respectively) will be better for your needs.

If you're going to get into Star Citizen, do not feel pressured to buy anything more than the base game. Once the game goes live, no one will be able to spend real money on ships anymore. Furthermore, the LTI (lifetime insurance) period for ship pledges has long since past, meaning that any and all ships bought can be destroyed ingame and you won't get a free replacement.

[Lanfall]

People still pay for this Vaporware crap?

[Miyani]

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/343710519?t=3h19m10s

The twitch streamer Lirik a streamer with over 2.3 million followers and one of the top 20 twitch streamers currently. Played star citizen the other day for nearly 3h40 mins and joined bye two other streamers later on. Was interesting watching all the usual scam citizen people at the beginning of the stream start to actually get interested in the game as he progressed. The stream itself capped out with over 46k viewers putting it at the 3rd most viewed game at the time of streaming. If people on here actually want to see the game for themselves without relying on bias from those that cry scam or praise the game like the second coming i suggest checking it out.