I take issues with this so one at a time shall we.
"Jack of all trades master of none" Easy assumption to make BUT the prime example of this not being the case is that ship combat is already good even in the really rough stage it is currently, flight/combat already have surpassed Elite easily for me. There are a few things working in their favor as well to combat this as well. CIG is a many headed beast at this point, they have a dedicated team for Sq42 (UK), a dedicated team for the FPS (Colorado), a dedicated team for the PU (Austin) with CR as the head of heads. Its on vision with a lot of studios working towards it.
They are also setting boundries with the tech they are using, the recent procedural damage states for ships, the zero g combat for FPS, the GHOST state system for interior control, the mocap team up with Gollum/Imaginarium, managing a 64bit conversion for the engine, having multiple physics grids to be able to walk around in a moving ship, just the sheer level of fidelity they are achieving is mind blowing.
Finally on this issue, they are listening to the community as well, they are getting feedback from us at a stage that is unheard of. Admittedly we can be a bit much as a lot of people really don't understand how game development actually works but out of all that noise there is good feedback too. Stick to the sub reddit is my advice, avoid the forums at all costs. They have reacted to feedback and are making good noises in this department I feel.
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"if ANY free ships, items, etc. are added now, there will be absolute hell to pay"
Probably, but I think this is part of the reason they went with rental credits at this stage rather than full unlocks for Arena Commander. Rental credits let you play with "free" ships you don't own and still respect that people have paid a significant amount of money for some of them. There have also been free weeks already that have come and gone without any complaints so I have hope. I also do believe that the vast majority of the community understand everything will be earnable in the PU and they are just paying for a head start and by that time the ships won't be for sale anymore anyways and they will be playing the game so I do have hopes this won't be a widespread issue.
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"This bothers me on a visceral level since it sets a precedent that goes so far beyond DLC that it could negatively affect the way people purchase games in the future."
I've said it before, I hope so. DLC is half baked content that is sold only for a quick buck for the most part. I miss the days of expansion packs. Ironically, Shivering isles is still my favorite expansion and came for the same game that started the trend of DLC with bloody horse armor.
This is a funding method. It will only happen while the game is being funded. Everything is available in game for in game currency. This will end before the game launches. This is NOT DLC. This is allowing us to have a game that's only been a fantasy, potentially the Holy Grail of gaming.
CIG is doing it right, but I will say that this has a lot of risk to go wrong in different hands. CIG is being open in ways I don't think any other creative project has, they are budgeting all the money for game dev and not taking any as profit at this stage, they are not only showing but giving us the game in bits as they go. If we didn't have Arena Commander and the hangar I really don't think money would have kept coming in, it removes any vapor ware criticisms from it.
Could EA or Activision pull this off? No. Fairly confident if they tried they'd be laughed out of the room. People have faith and confidence in CR and CIG, they are doing what everyone else has been unable or unwilling to. They are challenging and setting every boundary of what a game can be and people love a dream.
Out of every KS I have done this is the only one I follow still really and aren't just waiting for the game to arrive. Why? Daily updates, constant dev communication in the forums/chatroll/reddit, 2/3+ videos weekly.
Just so I don't come off as completely insane and infatuated with this game I will say there's a lot I'm nervous about and a few things that irk be about it. I'm nervous about multicrew ships being the only way to do a few things, as a solo player I feel like I may be pushed into a few roles. It also make me nervous any time they say that loading of ammunition into a turret will be a role on a cap ship. I don't like that the main thruster is currently the weakest on the ships and you can actually accelerate without it in some cases. I'm slightly nervous about jump points and how the pillars will work in them. I'm disappointed that there isn't going to be much alien space open to us at launch. Ships are too fragile at the moment for me. FPS is going to be hell to actually pull off in a boarding sense. Space stations only being in one "Instance" of space.
I could continue my list of [Concerns] but NONE of them are around the funding model. CIG hit the sweet spot for it with their current model for themselves and if someone else gets into a position where they can pull it off good for them. CIG is showing off what is possible tomorrow while every other AAA game dev is still working on what was popular last year.
Honestly though if this game only pulls off space combat, bridge sim and a universe to explore I'd be more than happy. Honestly I'd probably just settle for Sq42. Though at the rate they are going I fully expect CIG to just absorb Crytech into itself at some point.
I also really still don't understand why this is the main topic of discussion in this thread when there's SO MUCH MORE! Any objections to me starting a new one titled "Star Citizen - Game Discussion" ? Because I would actually love to talk more about this game and not the money aspects. IF you do wish to continue it I am happy to but the game is just much more interesting for me. The financial aspects of this project will be discussed for years as they have managed a real coup here even if the game is a 100 million flop.
Edit: I am clearly procrastinating from actually writing what I'm suppose to be and should really go do that. Owell.
