Star Citizen's Crowdfunding-Driven Grey Market

szyzyg writes "Star Citizen has broken all the crowdfunding records, raising almost 25 million dollars in the last year to fund Chris Roberts' promise of the ultimate spaceship game. However, an investigation sheds light on a murky secondary market where items are being resold by investors for profit, all for a game that won't be fully released for two years. The standard crowdfunding tactic of rewarding early backers has created a tiered system with ample room for profiteering, profits which many not be shared with the developers. Few things would please me more than Star Citizen succeeding, but backers should read this article before being tempted to trade up their internet spaceships through a third party."

Comments

Re:Another EVE online?

[Fallen Kell]

No, this is actually flying/piloting a spaceship in WWII style dog-fights (with the aid tracking/locking computers, but aiming I believe will be up to the pilot for many ships/guns). Damage occurs based on what was actually hit by the aimed shots which ships having physical locations for things like engines, weapons, life systems, power generators, shields, armor, thrusters, etc., and damaging those different systems will physically affect the operation of the ship (i.e. if you lost all your port thrusters, and the ship doesn't have have a thruster on a gimbal/omni mount, you won't be able to turn to the starboard side (and would instead have to first roll the ship upside down so that you have active/working thrusters so you could then turn to the direction now that you have thrusters that work to push you there).

So actual flying skills will mater. Knowing how to properly dodge enemy fire, perform evasive maneuvers (possibly overriding safety systems that limit the G-forces you receive to do more extreme maneuvers, but then risking blacking out if you go beyond your body's and your suit's limits to keep oxygen going to your brain).