Essence_of_Meh

Essence_of_Meh, 4 months ago

Is this suppose to be an article? Or is posting tweets linked on a website a new fad?

I know SC is a game many people like to dunk on (sometimes for completely right reasons) but let’s not pretend like there’s absolutely nothing there and CIG somehow scammed millions of players.

If anyone is actually interested in the game, I’d like to stress that you can buy the cheapest package and have access to everything using in-game money. There are also free flight events, available multiple times a year, so you can try the game out and decide for yourself if you like what’s there. So far, despite horrible technical difficulties that often happen due to stress on the servers during those times the number of players keeps growing. Take that as you wish…

As for the package… Is it ridiculous? Yes, absolutely. It’s 100% worth dunking on.

Essence_of_Meh, 4 months ago

Just so we’re clear, I’m not trying to convince anyone to buy (or even like) the game/alpha/whatever you wanna call it (personally I think if you have micro- let alone macrotransactions, “alpha version” defense doesn’t hold much legitimacy). I absolutely agree that there were (and still are) issues with the development process and CIG’s approach but let’s not pretend like any developer could create what SC is aiming for in less time.

And I don’t mean “has similar features” like in case of Elite - I’m sure it’s a great game but they have a completely different approach even if many features are similar. SC aims for a borderline immersive sim gameplay in an MMO setting which, in addition to all their other goals, is a massive technical undertaking.

Officially (and yes, I’ll stick to this wording as that’s all we have) the last few years were spent on building the tech to do just that, as was shown during the last CitizenCon (I know, convention for an unreleased game). Some small parts of said tech were already added in the last patching cycle, many are suppose to trickle down throughout this year - will this really happen? We’ll see.

For many people, SC is their dream game which is why they are willing to spend way, waaaay more than that. Additionally, many of those $300 or so purchases aren’t one and done affairs but rather people who bought a cheap package and decided to upgrade throughout the years.

Next point is the fact that a good chunk of the player base consists of older IT folk (i.e. people with lots of disposable income). Finally, many people decide to throw money at the game after trying it out during free flights - one of the worst times to play due to overloaded servers, as mentioned in my original post.

And to reiterate, I’m not trying to excuse the spending, just want to add some context.

While for me SC is also a dream game I’m not a whale. I can’t justify spending shit-ton of money on a game, no matter how good (especially an unreleased one). I’m someone who bought a $40 package (Star Citizen + Squadron 42) back when the only thing available was the hangar module - a simple, single player map where you could run around and enter your ship. That’s it.

I enjoy what’s there, take a break when I’m bored or annoyed, hope for the best and criticize CIG when they do something stupid. I don’t expect SC to be perfect nor take everything the devs say as gospel. There are many like me but, as it usually is with online discussion, the ones most passionate/crazy for or against something are the loudest.

As for people starting with more ships, here’s my take on it:

Having a massive fleet doesn’t mean squat if you have no one to operate it. This isn’t EVE where one person can control a whole capital sized ship and rule the world. Ships in SC require actual crew to be effective or even used beyond flying. Personally, I don’t plan to upgrade to anything bigger than a two player ship for that very reason, and even when I do that, I’ll stick to buying stuff in game.

At the end of the day, this is a sandbox - some people will aim to have everything, others will be fine having a basic ship and going about their day doing chill activities. For people with huge fleets to have advantage there needs to be some kind of victory condition and as of now, there really isn’t - nothing beyond what you set out for yourself anyway.

Lastly, I’d like to add a quote from CIG included in this article from Polygon written in 2018 on the topic of the same package (different price though since it includes more stuff now).

In a statement to Polygon, Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games said it created the Legatus Pack in response to requests from a hardcore segment of the community. That includes people who lead guilds and others who view the game as more of a lifestyle hobby consistent with golf or sailing, according to the company.

“It wasn’t created in a vacuum,” said Eric Kieron Davis, the head of Cloud Imperium’s studio in Los Angeles. “We were responding to what the community asked for. We have some passionate supporters that are not looking at Star Citizen as your typical game purchase/transaction but rather a dream project they want to see happen.”

Sorry for the wall of text but I wanted to add some details to the discussion.

Essence_of_Meh, 4 months ago

Welp, Kimiya did pretty much what I expected him to but it’s interesting seeing Urumin so proactive, good for her. Can’t wait to see her reaction when she finds out what they talked about.

Popchi’s backstory was a little surprising - I like it, it explains a lot.

Essence_of_Meh, 4 months ago

He lives the life of a true simp.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 months ago

Frieren once again touches up on a topic I’m really fond of and which is, ironically enough, often forgotten - I’m talking about ephemeral memory of historical events.

Reality of historical event being misinterpreted, exaggerated or warped by time and fallible human memory is a concept that can lead to some really interesting, funny and, at times, dramatic story moments and yet, many (even plot/lore heavy) series (not just in manga but in general) seem to completely disregard its potential as a storytelling tool.

Another lovely chapter.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 months ago

The few glimpses at technology (future bike for example) and ads gives me hope for a neat spin on the classic elements of the setting. That’s all we can do for now, I guess.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 months ago

I wish all you guys had the same access to modding as PC crowd but I’m afraid anything like script extender would be too much of a risk for any console manufacturer. Still, they do experiment with console mods so who knows, maybe one day?

Essence_of_Meh, 5 months ago

THERE’S A BEYBLADE MINIGAME!

I mean, it looks interesting. I don’t expect much from the writing based on what was shown but gameplay seems alright?

Essence_of_Meh, 5 months ago

Wait, they’re playing Grand Theft Auto 2? And modded one at that? How? Both Rockstar and Take2 are famously anti modding. I’ll have to check it out.

Edit: OK, not GTA2. I’m still surprised they were allowed to play a modded GTA game.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 months ago

No worries, I realized my mistake after taking a look at Aki’s channel. Looks interesting.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 months ago

I’m pretty sure devs are fully aware of what’s going to happen which is why they avoided putting their names on the project and included the source code.

Hammer was always going to come down since they included game assets in the build - news articles won’t really change much on this matter,

Essence_of_Meh, 5 months ago

Of course, I hope my comment didn’t imply otherwise. Unfortunately even a different title and completely original assets (AM2R?) won’t help much with some companies.

Good enough project will catch their eye sooner or later anyway.