The biggest scam ever perpetuated in gaming history. Well, unless you count Gacha games I guess.
this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
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Gacha games isn't a scam, it's just legalized gambling for kids. You get exactly what you paid for, a chance to win.
A chance to win the access to use a fictional character/weapon that will be revoked as soon as the game closes. Seems like even more of a scam than regular gambling, and that's already pretty iffy.
Gambling for JPEGs on a screen that cannot be resold and will be taken from you at a moments notice. This is a billion-dollar industry btw. God people are stupid.
Yeah I guess it’s more predatory than scammy. Still shitty though.
By the time it comes out, other games will have already filled its shoes multiple times over. I bet Starfield will have several community mods that do everything Star Citizen does.
Calling it a scam would imply competence.
True
Star Citizen delivers exactly what it promises: an infinitely developing sci-fi starship sandbox simulator.
The pace of development is glacial? Well, yeah, this kind of project should have a thriving community of add-ons to be of any use, or have 1000x the developers/artists working on it 24/7... but they decided to follow a single vision, instead of allowing people to fly in copyright infringing X-Wings and dildo shaped ships, so this is the resulting compromise.
In all honesty: Star Citizen is better in many important ways than Starfield. Yeah it has technical issues and it is perpetually incomplete, but you can do things in this game that you can't do in any other.
you can do things in this game that you can’t do in any other.
I'm not a SC hater, and had purchased Squadron 42 almost a decade ago, and I call bull shit on your statement. Please name all of the things you claim it innovates no other game does. I bet you money it does not and you cannot name anything special.
The thing is I got Starfield for free on game pass.... And it scratches the itch along with Starsector.
More people need to try Starsector. It’s so goddamn good.
100% agree
Played SC before, backed in 2015. SC is shit and a broken piece of vaporware.
Are you saying you played it in 2015 and your whole opinion is based on that experience?
Played it in 2015, 2018, 2021.
It's been the same shit every time I tried it, and CIG's behaviour as a company is garbage.
You back 16 alphas and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Starfield won't call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
fraud
Star Citizen is flawed in major ways, but it's still my favorite game even unfinished. It does things no other game does. It's a broken, incomplete experience, but it is still my favorite thing regardless.
It's easy to hate on it from the outside. I was an early backer and I echoed the sentiment many of these articles have. Last December I hopped into the Alpha with a friend and after playing it every week for the past 9 months I have to say that while I acknowledge the slow and flawed development, they made something I think is awesome today. It's maybe never coming out, but there's a sandbox today that's been worth exploring.
And I think this is what divides the folks who enjoy Early Access games and those who do not.
I do think it's lovely the kinds of people who acknowledge the warts and yet are still inspired to play.
Majority of the resources are going to squadron 42, star citizen has NOT been the main focus. Can "journalists" get anything right?
Sq42 has reached a pivotal development milestone and developers will shortly be moving focus to star citizen, integrating the modules built for sq42
600M for an mmo that pushes the boundaries of technology and a goregous singleplayer game is not insane.
I believed that like 5 years ago, when S42 was "releasing next year!" Wish I could get my money back.
So uh, what are the story beats of Squadron 42, exactly? And what kind of release date does it have? And say, what exactly, are the features it offers? Because it's been in development for 10 years now, and literally all I've ever heard is 'It'll be good, trust us!', and yet I've seen less gameplay from it then Star Marine.
You can access the development blog, roadmap and newsletter on the site. Your refusal to read does not discount the effort that has gone into building it
🎶 This is the road map that never ends
Yes it goes on and on my friends
Some people started reading it not knowing what it was
And they'll continue reading it forever, just because
This is the roadmap that never ends... 🎶
It is when it's still in Alpha a decade later.
Let's not forget squadron 42 wasn't even a part of the original kickstarter. Just continual scope creep.
That, and from what I've read elsewhere, the main dev is a self-important narcissist who doesn't like other people touching his code. If he'd ask for competent help and loosen that iron grip, he'd probably finish it before he dies of old age.
While I've heard the same for posterity in a different comment of mine, they also have a team of 1.1k developers. So it seems like it's almost more of a management issue
Dude, your money’s gone, just accept it and move on
I'm not a CIG white knight by any means. Infact I'm very open on the piss poor upper management and very shady marketing practices. But with that said a lot of people just don't realize that CIG is building 4 games, 3 single player (sq42) and one multiplayer. All under a billion and creating new technologies and art assets along the way. Compare to the rumor of GTA VI being over double in cost.
I think it’s important to remember that this was pitched as a single game originally. It was announced the year Mass Effect 3 came out. Comparing it to anything else is honestly pointless. Rockstar is building a game off its success and profits of GTA V. This is a ten year saga of broken promises and scope creep so astounding that people are saying they’re building four games when they’ve yet to prove they could deliver one. That’s just wild.
It's also important to mention that the community was polled before the pivot to multiple games and increasing scope creep. The backer community itself said to keep adding features.
The backer community itself said to keep adding features.
A prime example of FOMO and sunk cost fallacy at work.
That poll was very early on. Like 2014 or so.
It's not like this was hundreds of millions of dollars later. The community just wants it to be the best game it can be.
I mean, who would say, "You know what? This thing I bought into—I want it to be dog shit."
I get that people want their money to have been used well, but I would bet money we'll see a completed Starfield II before Star Citizen launches its first beta.
I'm largely wondering what you're basing your opinion on. It seems, like many detractors, you're just hating to hate.
I'm basing my opinion on the fact that the development cycle is completely beyond what even indie studios have. As others have said, at some point, you need a finished product. You can continue to develop after that, but the project lead doesn't seem to know how to do that and continue to build upon that foundation. Scope creep, indeed.
This might not technically be a scam, but half a billion dollars for a decade of snail's-paced development and only alpha-ware to show for it at least begins to smell like one.
Plus, technology is developing faster than the dev is able to create. As it progresses, will the dev revise the scope to match the new tech? Based on the track record, I'm betting "yes," and this will never be finished in his lifetime.
I guess we'll see. I've paid fairly close attention and so long as the single player delivers what's been promised the money won't be wasted.
People oftentimes ignore what's actually being communicated. They built a huge chunk of the Lumberyard engine and have built tons of tools around it. They've also spent a good chunk of time ramping up employees. The team growth takes a while.
Personally, I've been pretty satisfied with the progress they've made. I'm also pretty happy that Squadron 42 has been reporting moving toward primarily testing functionality. The S42 progress is the primary litmus test. Not SC.
Well, if you're a backer, and you're happy, I don't see any reason to try to take that from you (which I doubt I could anyway). You enjoy!
Personally, I'm unimpressed with what it is. The idea is cool, and I would consider buying the finished product if they do achieve everything in their stated goals, but its state and pace of development don't thrill me or make me want to invest right now.
Ever hear of "Chase Two Rabbits, Catch None"? Reminds me of George R. R. Martin talking about writing the last two ASOIAF books at the same time. Just... finish your fucking product please.
To me the whole purpose of that game is too get your money. There is either no intention to every finishing that game or the founder is so into good own bubble that he doesn't realize that this week never be finished.
Dev is actually going pretty well. What they have achieved is pretty amazing.
But they are going to say the game is in 'alpha' as long as they can, because it means they can keep collecting "pledges" instead of "paid content".
I bet that has some tax purposes.
I hear about this game from time to time and then it goes back into obscurity.
Here's a short summary of the linked article
Star Citizen is an ambitious space simulation game that has been in development for over a decade but has yet to release. It has raised over $600 million from crowdfunding yet faces significant delays. Possible reasons for the prolonged development include an initially small team, engine troubles, and an ever-expanding scope. The game now faces high expectations that will be difficult to meet given the lengthy development. While the alpha shows potential for an impressive space adventure, the project has attracted controversies around its lengthy delays and lack of a release date.
If Star Citizen is able to overcome its development challenges, it aims to deliver an unprecedentedly vast and seamless space simulation experience.
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