12 Years and $700 Million Later, What's Going on With Star Citizen's Development? (insider-gaming.com)
from Agent_Karyo@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 07:30
https://lemmy.world/post/20977027

#games

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[deleted] on 18 Oct 2024 07:42 next collapse

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FancyLad@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 07:43 next collapse

Vaporware until proven otherwise. I’ve given up on caring

Fecundpossum@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 07:58 next collapse

Yeah, and it’s sad bro. I put about 900 hours into Elite: Dangerous, which I enjoyed a great deal, but it still left me longing for something with more depth. Back then I thought Star Citizen would be the next leap forward in my career as a space trucker who dabbles in bounty hunting and deep space exploration. I wanted to have games worthy of justifying a home cockpit setup, and now it seems like a lost cause.

I really hope someone picks up the torch. Even if it’s just Frontier making a generational leap with the Elite IP.

subignition@fedia.io on 18 Oct 2024 08:33 next collapse

Elite:Dangerous is sad for its own reasons, too, and I have a similar count of hours logged. Glacial pace of development and a lack of strong game design / sense for balance. I'm still stunned by how much of a selling point the background simulation was, and how limited it actually is in practice (it did get some love over the years, but far too little too late IMO.)

Passerby6497@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 13:24 collapse

I really wanted to like it, but it just never scratched the itch when I played it. I love stuff like freespace 2, but E:D just never did it for me. Which sucks, because the community search thing sounded really fun at the time.

gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 18 Oct 2024 18:54 collapse

It annoyingly needs a more complex HOTAS to properly play than most cheap entry-level ones have, while also not having ENOUGH complex need to justify me pulling my godamn keyboard over for

Literally the main reason I don’t play it even though slapping my quest 2 on and space VR flying is fucking fun

Sonotsugipaa@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 18 Oct 2024 08:38 next collapse

I haven’t played E:D so I can’t really make comparisons, but maybe X3/X4 can pique your interest?
I don’t think they can justify a home cockpit setup, they’re also kinda hard to get into (especially X3, you can’t get far without a guide), but hey, there’s a combined 1.5% chance that you haven’t heard of them and that you’ll enjoy at least one of them if you don’t care much about graphics. Or voice acting. Or UI/UX.

Agent_Karyo@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 08:59 collapse

X3 is a fun game, with a very developed universe (you’ll see factions conduct invasion in real-time as you do your own thing) with a wide variety of gameplay. The universe of X3 honestly makes Star Citizen seems like a theme park for children.

That being said it is extremely difficult to get into them both because there are so many gameplay options and the UI/UX is subpar (prepare to be constantly fiddling with menu and looking up how to execute a given course of action).

erin@lemmy.sidh.bzh on 18 Oct 2024 08:59 next collapse

you can try X4: Foundations ^^

TachyonTele@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 09:10 collapse

The controls in X4 are so horrible though.

peopleproblems@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 09:49 next collapse

Good lord if that ain’t the truth.

It has every opportunity to be good, but I can’t even navigate the goddamn menus, let alone step into my ship.

Forget about using something other than a mouse and keyboard too, it just won’t work.

Fecundpossum@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 10:08 collapse

Yeah, I never even bought it after reading the reviews about how janky it is, I want to use a HOTAS and rudder pedals and it doesn’t sound possible in X4

arkthos@yiffit.net on 18 Oct 2024 11:51 collapse

I play it with hotas and it works fine. You’ll absolutely still want to keep a keyboard and mouse handy though because the RTS/management half of the game is really not that well controlled with a flight stick.

PushButton@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 10:16 next collapse

Like any of these games, you need to change the key bindings.

I have a set that I use in all space sim. What I am trying to say is that the control can be the same as any other space sim.

This type of game might not be your kind of stuff.

crapwittyname@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 10:58 next collapse

I couldn’t find a way to bind a double press in X4, so hold RB and tap X for example. These combinations are essential because there is no other way to use a controller to perform all of the necessary controls. It’s a shame because I would have invested a lot into the game if that was surmountable.

TachyonTele@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 11:16 collapse

Steam might be able to bind that. But then you’re probably going to need a diagram next to you while you play so you remember all your controls.

crapwittyname@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 11:21 collapse

I tried binding in Steam but the controller settings in Steam are kind of terrible too. Half the time I don’t know what a setting does, and I feel like I need to do a training course to understand it. So I gave up and went back to Elite.

TachyonTele@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 11:25 collapse

I don’t blame you. Over the years I’ve seen some really impressive controller setting though. You can do a lot things with the steam settings. But yeah, you need to want to really invest in learning how to do it, and then actually remembering what you’ve set.

TachyonTele@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 11:18 collapse

No, X is absolutely my type of game. Don’t blame me for the horrible controls and menus, I didn’t create that hot mess. It’s also a well complained about part of the game.

haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com on 18 Oct 2024 10:37 next collapse

What part do you feel is horrible? I enjoyed playing it a lot.

TachyonTele@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 11:15 collapse

The controls and menus.

erin@lemmy.sidh.bzh on 18 Oct 2024 14:44 collapse

I play with an HOTAS, so controls are the same as in Star Citizen for me

FancyLad@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 10:13 collapse

I remember how awesome Distant Worlds was, as a community event, and I wish I appreciated it more at the time. 65000 light years and back, I even bought a T-shirt and coin to commemorate the event lol o7

Fecundpossum@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 10:17 collapse

My big in game accomplishment was making it to SagA*, I spent some time in colonia and joined a discord of nerds that hung out there getting big exploration creds. I actually made the trek all the way back to the bubble after spending about a month in the galactic core. It was an epic adventure in my mind, but afterwards it was hard to be motivated for the engineering grind.

morbidcactus@lemmy.ca on 18 Oct 2024 12:04 next collapse

I sold my pledges off 9 years ago, the reason I even made a reddit account in the first place. Was getting disillusioned with it back then and I was super excited when I initially backed it, had a decent amount of ships in the hangar at the time, but felt like I was only ever going to see them in the hangar

limitedduck@awful.systems on 18 Oct 2024 12:38 collapse

Stat Citizen has its problems, but it’s literally not vaporware since there’s something available that you can download and play with.

[deleted] on 18 Oct 2024 13:37 collapse

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brsrklf@jlai.lu on 18 Oct 2024 08:03 next collapse

Roberts is relatively well-known in and out of the Star Citizen community for being a perfectionist at the best times.

In a parallel universe, Roberts would have been allowed to continue working on Freelancer, and it would still be in development hell in 2024 with no end in sight.

Maalus@lemmy.world on 19 Oct 2024 11:39 collapse

On the other hand, Starlancer is a perfectly contained game with great singleplayer gameplay, story, coop and a lot of attention to detail that shines and rewards good players for playing the game. So he can do stuff well, the correct environment needs to be there for it to happen though.

brsrklf@jlai.lu on 19 Oct 2024 13:48 collapse

You’re probably right. But getting free rein and an almost infinite source of funding is certainly not that environment.

jagermo@feddit.org on 18 Oct 2024 08:06 next collapse

I backed it with about 60$ on the Kickstarter and have tried a few alphas. It’s nice but unpolished. I don’t care about the drama and by this point, if they release a game, I’ll be happily surprised - and if not, meh.

itsnotits@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 10:45 next collapse

It’s* nice but unpolished.

DarkThoughts@fedia.io on 18 Oct 2024 11:25 collapse

Tits* nice but unpolished.

blargbluuk@sh.itjust.works on 18 Oct 2024 11:41 collapse

I prefer unpolished tits personally

LucasWaffyWaf@lemmy.world on 19 Oct 2024 20:27 collapse

Iunno man, just a skinge of Brasso and them breats are pearly shiny 'n blindingly incandescent.

fulg@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 11:30 collapse

Same for me, though I did splurge a bit ($150 I think) to get the game on a USB key shaped like one of the starships in the game. I will never get that USB key…

If they ever get done I will consider spending more time with it, I don’t really care for early access into an unfinished game.

I should have asked for a refund when we had the chance…

jagermo@feddit.org on 18 Oct 2024 13:21 collapse

Oh, wait, it was 30 usd. And i backed Shadowrun Online for 66, so Star Citizen might even be the better bet :)

misk@sopuli.xyz on 18 Oct 2024 08:08 next collapse

I imagine that the news headlines of the future will be:

12 Dyson Spheres and 700 Million Years Later, What’s Going on With Star Citizen’s Development?

Mango@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 08:14 next collapse

I get the emails all the time and have no idea what’s going on.

thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org on 18 Oct 2024 13:14 collapse

I try to follow the emails also but its a hot mess. I can never understand any interesting developments. Its like reading AI jibberish.

Mandy@sh.itjust.works on 18 Oct 2024 09:00 next collapse

All bs and scam atuff aside. This is what happens when you have a leader who never gets told no.
Dude never finished and feature krept freelancer too before Microsoft kicked him to the curb and finished it themselves.

SupraMario@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 12:58 collapse

Yep, feature creep is basically this entire dev cycle. Dude just keeps adding more and more and never really finishing anything. I grabbed the game on sale a few years ago, I have maybe 15 hours into it. It’s got stuff to do, but not what I would expect from the money and time that’s been spent on it.

LouNeko@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 14:40 collapse

At those time frames it’s not just feature creep you have to worry about, but tech- and social creep as well. Think back what games were popular 12 years ago and what hardware we had. That’s why usually in longterm, large scale projects you have a technological freeze, where you essentially ignore all progress made outside of your project for the sake of completion, which Star Citizen clearly hasn’t done.

Mandy@sh.itjust.works on 18 Oct 2024 17:41 collapse

Onebof the reasons it runs like shit with seemingly going random glitches
They changed engines 4 times.

Their code is held together like an ork gargant

TachyonTele@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 09:12 next collapse

Why finish the game when you can sell “ships” for hundreds of dollars each?

Murvel@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 12:23 collapse

Try thousands. Most expensive ship runs you about 3000$

TachyonTele@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 14:04 collapse

Jesus. That’s hilarious

Maalus@lemmy.world on 19 Oct 2024 11:43 collapse

No, it’s horrific. And the reason why is evident in what the previous commenter said.

The most expensive “package” costs $48000. You just don’t see it till you already spend like $10k on the game. They have two additional hidden stores that unlock when you spend money on the game already. The commenter above probably didn’t see those two stores and only knows about the “reasonable” pricing.

Jrockwar@feddit.uk on 18 Oct 2024 10:08 next collapse

$700 million is the estimated development cost of the Falcon Heavy.

Not a game, not a space simulation, but the actual Falcon Heavy rocket. A rocket that can actually go into space.

I know they’re different things but I thought I’d leave this here to put things in perspective.

[deleted] on 18 Oct 2024 13:22 next collapse

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athairmor@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 13:34 collapse

As of 2022, according to its financials, the company has spent $637 million on development, with 2020 – 2022 averaging over $106 million a year. Assuming that the company continues spending around $100+ million a year, it doesn’t take a mathematician to realize that the $790 million raised so far at the time of writing is on the verge of, or has likely, run out.

No, the article is claiming $700M in development costs—based on $637M spent by 2022–and $790M raised. They’re speculating that the company is going to run out of money soon.

[deleted] on 18 Oct 2024 13:53 collapse

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athairmor@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 14:00 collapse

That’s not how you calculate profit. Their revenue might exceed their costs so far but they have to keep spending. The game isn’t done and it costs money to just keep the lights on.

Look, I don’t know their financials. I’m just correcting what you claimed and pointing out what the article is claiming which is that their spending appears to be outpacing their revenue.

Cagi@lemmy.ca on 18 Oct 2024 14:59 collapse

I actually do appreciate the clarification then, thank you. But I’ll still suggest to the readers of this convo, articles like these aren’t written for the edification of its readers, it’s written to bait engagement. The speculations of gaming journalists on Star Citizen is as reliable as Fox News’ speculation on the Mexico/USA border.

And as someonewho has been following following the numbers, it’s growing in revenue and daily active players every year. They just opened a massive new office in Manchester so they can hire more people. The people they do hire get paid well and stick around for years. If they were worried about cash flow, they have a lot of fat they would be trimming right now, but their expenses and revenue keep growing in step with eachother. They have no investors to pay, no vaults to fill. They make money and spend it growing the business. Those expenses represent 12 years of good wages and benefits for workers.

Star citizens success is a threat to capitalist, investor focused gaming. Gaming news is run by game industry capitalists and has zero oversight or accountability for bring truthful.

Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 18 Oct 2024 20:50 collapse

Pretty much all articles these days are “written to bait engagement”. Even the ones that are also “written for the edification of [their] readers”.

TheYang@lemmy.world on 18 Oct 2024 13:25 collapse

but only as in the modifications to Falcon 9 to make Falcon Heavy, right?

Jrockwar@feddit.uk on 18 Oct 2024 14:47 collapse

I don’t think so, SpaceX claimed (and NASA apparently verified) that the development costs for the Falcon 9 were $300 million. It’s in the Wikipedia article, also here: newspaceeconomy.ca/…/how-much-would-falcon-9-have…

I was under the impression that the Falcon Heavy was a ground-up development. But in any case the Falcon 9 was cheaper, so go figure…

tacosanonymous@lemm.ee on 18 Oct 2024 14:07 next collapse

Who tf is Erin Roberts?

ms_lane@lemmy.world on 19 Oct 2024 01:53 next collapse

It was a scam then and it’s still a scam now.

Harvey656@lemmy.world on 19 Oct 2024 03:45 next collapse

They aren’t listening to their community is what. I play almost daily, and all they fucking talk about is ‘wait for 4.0, it’s going to be so much better!’ But they refuse to fix major problems, performance sucks, and the recent 3.24.2 patch may or may not have borked the game in many ways.

They need to perfect the game that already exists, fix the issues and iron out the code before working on more fucking mechanics. I swear it’s so bad. The article calls Chris a perfectionist, but that couldn’t be furtfrom the truth, he is a dreamer, that says put this amazing thing in then forgets about it and moves on to the next thing overnight. The game will go nowhere until he’s gone.

Edit: fixed a spelling error and added some basic formatting.

Denjin@lemmings.world on 19 Oct 2024 10:01 next collapse

Bug fixes don’t bring in new whales with investment money, new silly features does.

The point ceased to be about making the game years ago and became about attracting new money because that’s easy and making good games is hard.

dax@feddit.org on 19 Oct 2024 10:46 collapse

The interesting part is, if they say the game is complete or at least in “1.0” shape, it will suddenly mean that people will judge it as a product and not just a vision. CIG won’t call it finished as long as they possibly can.

Maalus@lemmy.world on 19 Oct 2024 11:34 collapse

The game was supposed to be finished 6 years ago. 12 years in development for what we have now is a joke

nutsack@lemmy.world on 19 Oct 2024 04:44 next collapse

pay to win pay to shit your pants pay to get ripped off

TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.world on 19 Oct 2024 07:06 next collapse

Apparently the player base is happy with how things are and the only people complaining are doing from outside

Blackmist@feddit.uk on 19 Oct 2024 11:00 collapse

12 years of early access. Thousand dollar DLC spaceships. Remaining players “happy”.

This is as close to a cult as you will find in gaming.