Star Citizen Video Game Launches $27,000 Players' Pack (bbc.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: Crowdfunded space simulation game Star Citizen has launched its $27,000 Legatus Pack, which includes nearly all its spacecraft plus extras. Only players who have already spent $1,000 in the game can access the pack. Cloud Imperium, the creators of Star Citizen, has received more than $200m in crowdfunding since launching a Kickstarter campaign for it in 2012. According to its website it has more than two million players, although the game itself is still in development. Star Citizen aims to create a vast science fiction universe that can be explored in dozens of spaceships, with first-person space combat, all online and multi-player.

Comments

Or that money

[Anonymous Coward]

Can fund a deposit of an apartment outside of your mom's basement instead.

Re:Or that money

[Luckyo]

Looking at commentary on its forums, big paying folks like this seem to be more of a "engineer at a tech company, earning six figures", massive nostalgia and desire for this kind of a game - types.

This is basically their Porsche/Harley Davidson/[insert middle age crisis marker here]. And they have money to burn.

Re:Or that money

[Anonymous Coward]

You'd be surprised how many rich parents support there adult child's lifestyles.

Re:Or that money

[Hognoxious]

You'd be surprised how many rich parents support there adult child's lifestyles.

Change the record, that one's whereing out.

Re:Or that money

[AlanBDee]

I'm surprised how many people think that is what's going on. Of the rich people I know not one of them were/are like that. It's a great narrative to get all heated up about but I don't think it's a true as many think it is. I think the "engineer at a tech company, earning six figure" is far more likely and perfectly fine if that's what that hard working individual wants to spend their money on.

Re:Or that money

[Anonymous Coward]

you mean north of six figures.

Re:Or that money

[Anonymous Coward]

The nostalgia seems to be for Wing Commander specifically.
Apparently one of the original designers is behind it.

Wing Commander was released 1990 so we are looking at people in their early to mid 30's.
I would say a tad early for a mid-life crisis, but it hits different people at different times.

On the other hand I don't think it has been verified that anyone have been willing to pay that much.
Just because something is expensive doesn't mean that there is a buyer.

Re:Or that money

[rtb61]

What point playing the game if you pay to win. What have you won, you have won nothing, you just paid to pretend you did win because you can afford to pay to pretend you did win, even though you are not actually winning anything, just pretending you did and pretending to yourself because you can afford to.

So spending as a goal unto itself, much like greed has become a goal unto itself, actual achievements, nobody gives a shit about them any more.

Re:Or that money

[Anonymous Coward]

And the big point your missing here is that you are not paying to win because you cant actually PLAY the game yet. You are paying for nothing.

Re: Or that money

[Anonymous Coward]

So, people in their early to mid thirties are nostalgic for a game they played when they were infants/toddlers/kindergarteners?

Re:Or that money

[Luckyo]

They have in fact promised that it won't be pay to win and that all ships will be available to everyone. How they will implement it with those sums being spent on ships remains to be seen.

Re:Or that money

[Luckyo]

I personally backed it because I wanted a freelancer with modern graphics and a better flight model. Back when I backed it, I was still playing Freelancer multiplayer. It was even at that time one of the best if not THE best arcadey space combat game and multiplayer support with all the mods was excellent.

They seem to have gone really far off the rails with that one, but I'm still interested in what they'll make it. That said, I'm in for literally minimal possible support from early days, and I'm not interested in paying any more until I see and try out the finished product.

Re:Or that money

[twistnatz]

Of course everything will be available for everyone, but to get that $2000 Spaceship you will have to grind 2000 hours in game

$1000?

[TechyImmigrant]

And I though that Far Cry 5 was pricey.

Re:$1000?

[The Fat Bastard]

I thought the Overwatch standard edition was overpriced at $20.

Re:$1000?

[AlanBDee]

Some games are worth it. Most people would consider me cheap and I wouldn't disagree. But I've spent well over that on Rocksmith DLC, much more if you count equipment. But that's more a hobby then a game so it's a little different. I would have a hard time justifying it for most games.

Re:$1000?

[TechyImmigrant]

I've got a heck of a lot more out of Rocksmith and its DLC than I did out of Far Cry 1-4. As always, I'll wait for the price to drop on steam before getting 5.

Re:$1000?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait a very long time for the 80% discount so you don't waste money. The endings are stupid. They should just have removed the plot progression completely.

Re:$1000?

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone who has played Far Cry before should know that the ending is going to be profoundly stupid.
What bugged me personally the most is how they used a real idiot plot in the 5th one. After finishing the first area I thought: "Well, that's weird given what that dude in his bunker said." After finishing the 2nd area I knew what was going to be the major plot twist towards the end (god I hope it was not intended to be a twist). And I assume that most people who've been consuming movies, series and books that target adults for some years could see it as well.

Re:$1000?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's just stupid.

For that kind of money you could play AN ACTUAL GUITAR!

da fuck is wrong with you?

Re:$1000?

[Khyber]

Rocksmith actually teaches you how to play. Not so great on fundamentals like theory, but if you want to learn that one popular song from x year, chances are you can find it available for Rocksmith and learn to play it.

Re:$1000?

[CronoCloud]

FYI, you play Rocksmith with a real guitar hooked to an interface box, not Guitar Hero/Rock Band controller guitars. I know this and don't even own Rocksmith.

Re:$1000?

[arth1]

Well, yes, and no.
It does use a real guitar, and teach you some basic guitar fundamentals. But as you say, not much theory.
And it doesn't teach you the songs itself, the way guitar is played in the actual songs. It teaches you to play notes or chords that can be mixed with the song without totally destroying the song.

Then the problems start.
It's very basic, due to technical limitations - the sound recognition can't handle complex harmonies or notes played at low volume, and is too slow to deal with fast fingerplay like Spanish guitar.
Unlike a human tutor, it can't tell whether you cheat and play the same note on a different string or bend to reach it.
But perhaps worst, it depends on a visual interface where you match colours to strings, which is non-portable unlike sheet music and tab notation. It also just won't work if you can't make the mental coupling between specific colours and specific strings. Some just cannot do that, no matter how much they try.

Re:$1000?

[Anonymous Coward]

And instead of playing Grand Theft Auto, you should actually go out and commit grand theft auto! Fucking loser

woah

[cascadingstylesheet]

OK, for that kind of money, you come to my house and custom program a game for me.

Re:woah

[JoeDuncan]

Nope.

For that kind of money, I can come to your house and custom program 1/8th of a game for you

Re:woah

[Anonymous Coward]

And that would be still more than what the developers of Star Citizen have delivered in 6 years.

Re:woah

[mentil]

Buy a server and pay a programmer to code game server software, at least.

Re:woah

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a fully functional flight sim and FPS right now. The story is not playable, but there are thousands of people playing and competing in the flight sim and FPS modules every day.

Re:woah

[JoeDuncan]

LOL

Re:woah

[cfalcon]

With no guarantee of how those pieces will eventually be integrated into a final product.

Right now, the pvp sim part is pretty fair. Do you really think it will be fair if I spend a hundred bucks and you spend ten thousand bucks? They aren't going to want to screw over whales of that magnitude.

Re:woah

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, in those loose modules things do work somewhat. But when you try the persistent universe, where everything is supposed to 'come together', if the client doesn't crash you get a slide show when there's something like 30 or more people on the same server.
I think they could be done by now if they kept their original goals, but all the feature creep that came afterwards makes it look like they'll never be finished. Their scope grows and grows and grows even though they stopped with the stretch goals.

Re:woah

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope.

For that kind of money, I can come to your house and custom program 1/8th of a game for you

You obviously don't work for EA, for that kind of money you could by an EA developer for a year; because EA pays mostly in experience.

Re:woah

[Bing Tsher E]

Whales of that magnitude pay for features I can't afford for the devs to create, and I get to play them, too. And avoid the whale in-game, of course, because they paid to win. But it's perfectly fine that they've done so. I never, ever, frequent the leaderboards in MMOS that I play. I'm there for fun, not because I'm an expert at twitch-reflex motion.

Re:woah

[Anonymous Coward]

Agree with this. The 3.1.4 stability update released a week or so ago, and it's been awesome. Usual session is 4+ hours and almost never a crash or disconnect. Low FPS only in spots, but 50 players easily on the server.

Dynamic missions, multiple moons to explore, multiple star ports, lots of fun things to explore and see.

3.2 is a month away, and bring with it a number of features we've been waiting to see how they would implement (mining, new ships, better AI combat, etc.). They even have a roadmap to track your favorite feature per quarter, updated weekly.

I will continue to spend money on them, they are making great progress.

So far, most of the negative responses here have been for the sake of getting a laugh or is based on stale or inaccurate data.

Re: woah

[Anonymous Coward]

Call me when they reach version 1.0... Untill then... count me out

Re:woah

[halivar]

So far, most of the negative responses here have been for the sake of getting a laugh or is based on stale or inaccurate data.

Or salty has-been-but-really-never-was ex-game-devs who wail and gnash their teeth that their crappy 90's space sim never got the love and adoration that Wing Commander did. And the SA goons that humor them for a laugh.

people are starving

[phishybongwaters]

Literally, people are starving to death in North America, and on the other hand, 27000$ megatransactions. THE FUCK

Re:people are starving

[alvinrod]

I don't think the people who are starving were going to be spending money on $27,000 digital purchases. You may as well complain about the fact that there are hundred million dollar yachts, hundred thousand dollar cars, and hundred dollar steaks while you're at it. You yourself probably have some luxury device that you overpaid for too. Possibly the very same one you're using to post your comments here.

Also, North America has an obesity problem several times larger than it does with undernourishment. I believe that even the rate for morbid obesity is twice as large. If you're starving in the U.S. or Canada it's either because your out in the sticks and completely cut off from most support systems (and probably your immediate neighbors) or because you're mentally ill and wandering the streets.

There's such an abundance of food here that no one need starve. The real issue is that people would rather lament about it online instead of actually doing anything in the real world themselves to solve even a tiny part of the problem.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

source?

Re:people are starving

[Luckyo]

Who's starving to death in North America?

The only cases I know of are those of "starvation due to self-neglect" (i.e. elderly with no family, young children neglected by their parents) and starvation as a result of a crime (someone literally holding someone prisoner and starving them). And those are very rare cases.

Starvation due to lack of funds hasn't been a thing in North America is something close to a hundred years at this point. It's so good that even relevant charities trying to collect the funds now have to mask the numbers under arbitrary definition of "food insecurity" as to mask the fact that starvation due to lack of funds has been all but eliminated outside a few regions in Africa and Asia. And we're well on the way to eliminate those soon.

The food related problem that is actually acute in North America is the exact opposite. Far too much food. People are too fat.

Re:people are starving

[HeckRuler]

Literally, people are starving to death in North America, and on the other hand, 27000$ megatransactions. THE FUCK

This argument equally applies to any form of recreation. The gaming industry is ~$80 billion a year. The (legal) gambling industry is $335 billion. Film industry (Hollywood) is $40B. Tobacco is $500B. All of this is money being pissed away that could have just as equally gone to starving people.

And just why the hell do you only care about people in North America? All those starving kids in South America or Asia can just go chew shoes I guess?

But I guess that's an important distinction, because we're pretty rich over here. **Cough Central america is part of north america but we're going to ignore them too for now Cough**. If only there was some way to FORCE people into supporting those who need support. I mean, that sounds pretty fascist and authoritarian, but hey, it's for a good cause. Maybe these funds could even come from the people who could most easily pay it, the rich. Or at least the high income earners. Kinda the same thing*. And then you realize that EBT is a real thing and we already do that. If you're starving, we will feed you. Because we're a good nation of good people. There are some forms, there are people that will help you with that. And despite all this, there are STILL people who will be starving. And not just the fashion models. The people that have issues and just can't get themselves together to even go get a free handout. dropouts. Unless you want to make them wards of the state, strip them of their rights, strap them down, and force feed them... some percentage of society will starve. The goal is not zero, that's impossible. The goal is to be relatively low (making us more attractive than competitors), and to give people a means to go feed themselves. Because without a means, they tend to riot and burn shit.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

You lead a very very sheltered life. Around 25% of the American/Canadian population cannot afford enough meals to stay healthy/alive. They are often helped by social programs, but (left on their own income) they would starve.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

References to unbiased government studies or I call B.S. My sister reads crap from the internet and vomits it up at family holidays but it's all conjecture and opinion and very little reliable truth. Don't be my sister!

Re:people are starving

[HornWumpus]

Citation needed.

It's such bullshit that they have started to claim 'food insecure', as if that counts...Because they know poor people are _fat_ on average.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

Eating inferior food tends to raise weight, and so does stress.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

You lead a very very sheltered life. Around 25% of the American/Canadian population cannot afford enough meals to stay healthy/alive. They are often helped by social programs, but (left on their own income) they would starve.

Phew you think that's bad? Around 98% of American/Canadian population cannot produce enough meals to stay healthy/alive. They are often helped by farmers, but (left on their own food production) they would starve.

Hint: If they arnt starving because social programs, that means those social programs are working.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

Damn. How did all those Jews in the Holocaust manage to eat such superior food and maintain such low stress levels?

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

Your statistic of 25% is complete bullshit.

Re:people are starving

[Kneo24]

So what you're saying is that there are government and community programs aimed at making sure people don't starve to death as long as they don't "self-neglect".

Re:people are starving

[Smidge204]

Because they know poor people are _fat_ on average.

Citation needed.

Turns out something like hunger is a complex subject, and isn't as clear cut. That's why several tiers of "food security" exist; to better understand the problem. If you can only afford things from the dollar menu at McD's three meals a day, that's not good food security. You might not be starving but your diet is garbage, and your health and quality of life will likely suffer for it.

If you are making a choice between paying your utility bills or going grocery shopping, you're in bad shape... and by that definition, that's about 6 million people in the US.
=Smidge=

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

The typhoid helped.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course when you cherry pick definitions and add random constraints you can truthfully say anything. It can take over a month to starve to death with no food intake. Those that far gone often die of exposure first. But getting random food handouts will significantly prolong how long it will take to die.

Everyone getting food aid can be said to be starving due to lack of funds. They don't have enough money to properly feed themselves so they have to use handouts. That is starvation due to lack of funds even though they aren't going to die from it. So who's starving to death in USA? Not many. Who's starving and has accepted aid, is often hungry due to lack of food, or can't obtain enough nutritious food? Tons of people. The Great Depression was less than 100 years ago and there were food crises in the 70s and 80s. Starvation due to lack of funds has greatly been in thing, just most people don't directly die from it. That doesn't also mean we don't have enough food, you're right in that the world produces more food than it needs, but that food is never evenly distributed and a lot of it ends up rotting in the trash.

Re:people are starving

[Luckyo]

How many of these six millions died of starvation. Citations please.

Hint: if there was even one such death, it would be international news for weeks. Wide variety of social nets specifically aimed at keeping people that can't afford food fed in North America has been fully reaching everyone for decades at this point.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

You can still die from malnutrition.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

So your definition of "food problem solved" is "people not literally wasting away to death from lack of food"? There's no standard higher than that you'd have society aspire to? You think any charity that includes food as a goal is needless because McDonalds has a dollar menu?

Jesus

I'm the real fool here. Why do I click on slashdot comments? Such a huge fraction is sheltered STEMlord monsters, and I should know that by now. I just wanted to see people joking about a ridiculous video game, and instead there's a hot plate of garbage opinions.

Re:people are starving

[Smidge204]

So if you're not literally dying from starvation, you're not actually starving and it doesn't count?

First of all, fuck you for that attitude.

Second, we're lucky enough to have social programs, both taxpayer funded and privately operated, that people can generally avoid literally wasting away to death... but that does not mean hunger isn't a problem. The mere fact that such programs are necessary means that hunger is a problem.
=Smidge=

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

Who's starving to death in North America?

Very few people actually starve TO DEATH in North America. On this, you are technically correct (which, I realize is the best kind of correct, but let's set that aside).

It's so good that even relevant charities trying to collect the funds now have to mask the numbers under arbitrary definition of "food insecurity" as to mask the fact that starvation due to lack of funds has been all but eliminated outside a few regions in Africa and Asia.

"Food insecurity" is about more than wasting away to a pile of bones due to insufficient calories. It's about not knowing when your next meal will come and being forced to skip meals because you can't afford them. Addressing hunger in America is a societal issue because full people are productive people. When you go hungry, your body will naturally make every waking thought an all-consuming desire to get food, which displaces anything "productive" (i.e. a job, school, etc.) that you might be doing.

This is especially bad for children because if they are hungry, they're not doing well in school, which sets them up for a lifetime of lower earnings, which puts them (and their children) at risk for food insecurity, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Federally-funded subsidized school lunches/breakfasts have gone a long way toward addressing the issue, but it's not a 100% solution; dinners and summers still aren't covered. In many areas with high poverty rates, you'll see charities giving away food to kids in the summer just so they have a meal.

The food related problem that is actually acute in North America is the exact opposite. Far too much food. People are too fat.

You do realize that it's possible to be both obese and malnourished at the same time, right? If you're not eating a balanced diet, you can miss essential elements in your diet even though you have sufficient calories. If you don't believe me, take the "rice challenge": you may eat nothing but white rice for an entire year, but eat as much as you want; 5,000 calories/day would be a good start. Bonus points if you can find unenriched white rice. Odds are good you'll gain a ton of weight and end up in the hospital for missing vital nutrients such as protein.

That's one of the difficulties of "food insecurity": the food that you can actually afford isn't very good for you. Poor people aren't eating kale and quinoa salads every day. Instead, they're eating processed food with ridiculous amounts of sodium and preservatives because it's cheaper, more calorie dense and easier to find (for fun, try to find a fresh vegetable in winter in the poorest neighborhoods of any major city).

Hunger in america is a complex issue. Hopefully our bar for calling the issue "solved" isn't "they're not dying in the streets, so fuck 'em!" You sound like someone who has never gone hungry a day in your life, and that's a good thing, but keep in mind that there are millions of people in America who have experienced hunger at one point in their lives and millions more who continue to do so.

Re: people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

Why are you shitting up Slashdot instead of selling your shitty computer to buy some dollar menu cheeseburgers for the pipes then?

Because you're a mere hypocritical virtue signaling fuckstick, of course.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

So if you're not literally dying from starvation, you're not actually starving and it doesn't count?

First of all, fuck you for that attitude.

Second, we're lucky enough to have social programs, both taxpayer funded and privately operated, that people can generally avoid literally wasting away to death... but that does not mean hunger isn't a problem. The mere fact that such programs are necessary means that hunger is a problem.
=Smidge=

No, it means that hunger is no longer a problem, because literally 0% of people in America are hungry enough to die. Even the poorest of the poor, homeless for decades, can't starve to death unless they specifically want to.

I'm hungry from time to time, and I don't eat the healthiest diet, but no one does here. The point is even the poorest of the poor eat more food than most kings did throughout history. The poor have the problem of being obese, not hungry and starving. You can buy enough oatmeal, to eat by itself with no other supplementation at all, for weeks, for around $1.99. You will not die, you will not be hungry.

Re:people are starving

[Anonymous Coward]

Literally, people are starving to death in North America, and on the other hand, 27000$ megatransactions. THE FUCK

This argument equally applies to any form of recreation. The gaming industry is ~$80 billion a year. The (legal) gambling industry is $335 billion. Film industry (Hollywood) is $40B. Tobacco is $500B. All of this is money being pissed away that could have just as equally gone to starving people.

And just why the hell do you only care about people in North America? All those starving kids in South America or Asia can just go chew shoes I guess?

But I guess that's an important distinction, because we're pretty rich over here. **Cough Central america is part of north america but we're going to ignore them too for now Cough**. If only there was some way to FORCE people into supporting those who need support. I mean, that sounds pretty fascist and authoritarian, but hey, it's for a good cause. Maybe these funds could even come from the people who could most easily pay it, the rich. Or at least the high income earners. Kinda the same thing*. And then you realize that EBT is a real thing and we already do that. If you're starving, we will feed you. Because we're a good nation of good people. There are some forms, there are people that will help you with that. And despite all this, there are STILL people who will be starving. And not just the fashion models. The people that have issues and just can't get themselves together to even go get a free handout. dropouts. Unless you want to make them wards of the state, strip them of their rights, strap them down, and force feed them... some percentage of society will starve. The goal is not zero, that's impossible. The goal is to be relatively low (making us more attractive than competitors), and to give people a means to go feed themselves. Because without a means, they tend to riot and burn shit.

If someone wants to starve themselves to death, who are we to stop them? Suicide and euthanasia should both be legal, for any reason.

Re:people are starving

[Luckyo]

You can tell someone has lived a sheltered life when they spin a first world problem of "mom didn't wake up in time from her hangover, so kids get lunch as their first meal" as something even remotely comparable to "people dying of hunger".

Seriously, fuck you. I've seen what actual dying of hunger did to people. You trying to conflate that with your first world problems of "oh noes, they're slightly hungry in the mornings" is beyond the pale.

Re:people are starving

[Luckyo]

>Literally, people are starving to death in North America

Yes, my definition of problem solved is people not starving in North America.

Have you ever seen what world hunger did in Africa and Asia? Just how sheltered, ignorant and frankly stupid are you to even suggest that this is not a good thing?

You truly are a fool, but not because you click on slashdot comments. Get out of the damn basement, and hit those few remaining regions in the world that still have hunger for a serious reality check. You sound like you desperately need one.

Re:people are starving

[Luckyo]

You can also die from being too fat. And chances of you dying of it are infinitely higher than of starvation, because as I noted above, no one dies of it any more due to financial constraints.

Huge Ambitions With This Game

[Anonymous Coward]

Really, the ideas and concepts they have are pretty spectacular and with $200m in funding they can probably see it to the end. I mean, I won't spend $27,000 on a video game as that's rather absurd, but I paid $45 knowing full well I was getting something that's still in its very early stages of development but at least there is progress.

Re:Huge Ambitions With This Game

[Pinky's Brain]

I'm sure Chris appreciates you helping the propaganda cause as they go whale hunting. I'm not sure the whales will be as sanguine in the end though, they're in it for slightly more than 45$.

Re: Huge Ambitions With This Game

[Anonymous Coward]

I dropped a few dollars on SC as a thumb in the eye to the big publishers. My sincere hope is that even if someone only buys the base package they get an incredible experience.

Re:Huge Ambitions With This Game

[Anonymous Coward]

Basically I'm seeing this as basically a Peter Molyneux game but with funding so they don't have to cut all the amazing things that were promised.

Re:Huge Ambitions With This Game

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem with Molyneux wasn't necessarily that he promised and promoted innovative features. It was that he promised them publicly when most of the ground work had already been done and that idea was nowhere in that original list. In the days of Bullfrog he had some incredible talent alongside him who accomplished amazing things that all contributed to a more fun game experience. Then he created Lionhead and things weren't quite the same, even though he hadn't changed. And after that... Well, let's just pretend Molyneux rode off into the sunset and retired. Trust me, you'll be more happy believing that then seeing what he did next.

If this is a Molyneux game without the talent and the publisher breathing down his neck to actually finish something, then count me out.

Re:Huge Ambitions With This Game

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't you understand? Games are never finished, they're just put aside. So why not pay for as long as anything new is promised? No worries, you can trust us with this!!

(No apologies to George Lucas.)

Re:Huge Ambitions With This Game

[Sumus Semper Una]

You know, there are some things I really like about early access, crowdfunding, and other forms of "funding before game development is done". It's given us game concepts that never would have seen the light of day before and some real gems have actually seen things through to the end (Subnautica comes to mind). But it's also given us a huge list of abandonware, "this says early access, but it's been early access for years, so don't be surprised if it never gets finished", and games that completely dropped large parts of their early game mechanics to focus on others later in early access. From a developer/publisher's point of view it makes sense. Why spend a lot of time and money finishing something when it will earn you maybe 5% more on top of what you've already had paid to you?

The part that surprises me is how easy it is to try to defend and rationalize the abandonware aspect of early access. I've seen so many "I would have given this thumbs down, but I see so much potential" early access reviews on Steam that I just ignore any review like that and focus on the ones that treat the game as it currently exists. If the early access is fun and complete enough, I'll buy it. Factorio is a good example. It's still early access, but it's fun as hell to play around with and you can even win if you want.

I guess my point is, if you feel that Star Citizen is truly fun as it stands, that's good. But don't throw money at it hoping that it will make the developers eventually create the game you always hoped they would. You're going to end up disappointed, defensive, and over-rationalizing your decision to others if you approach these things with that attitude.

In real dollars?

[mnemotronic]

$27,000 in real-world dollars? What exactly does it buy someone?

...purchases like this can bestow special status on buyers within Star Citizen's community, as well as offering extreme shortcuts to a more advanced role within the game itself.

So it's just like American politics. Hell. America in general.

Re:In real dollars?

[JoeDuncan]

It buys you WIN

Re:In real dollars?

[jythie]

Eh, or economics in general. There is a whole parallel economy with prices orders of magnitude higher than the 'normal' one, mostly so people who's wealth is also orders of magnitude higher can demonstrate to others what class they are in.

Re:In real dollars?

[ChromeAeonuim]

If a game is so shitty that the developers are trying to sell pre-won versions, that's a good sign you need to find a better game.

Re:In real dollars?

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Actually mass production and the assembly line brought prices down so the common man could afford fancy stuff.

Fancy custom stuff AKA hand-made was the way of the world. $20 for a pair of jeans today = cheap. 150 years ago = over a week's wages for your Levis.

Re: In real dollars?

[Anonymous Coward]

Levi's over here in Sweden run me closer to $200 than $20... It's about a week's worth of disposable income for most people...

Re:In real dollars?

[gnick]

It buys you WIN

If "winning" costs $27k, I'm OK with "not losing" for free.

Re:In real dollars?

[DontBeAMoran]

Step 1. Buy game.
Step 2. Buy $27K pack to win game.
Step 3. Put game away because you've already won.

Wow, that is a time-saver!

Re: In real dollars?

[HornWumpus]

WTF? They're made in China, have been for over 10 years. You are being flat-out robbed.

Re:In real dollars?

[JoeDuncan]

a time-saver!

Sadly, not a money saver though. You gotta pay the cost to be the boss!

Re: In real dollars?

[CronoCloud]

He's probably buying REAL Levi's, they still make a few high end items in the States, not the Signature crap.

Re:In real dollars?

[halivar]

That's like saying you're done with Zelda once you have the Master Sword. I mean, I guess that could be *why* you're playing, but that wasn't the designer's intent.

Re: In real dollars?

[HornWumpus]

Where? They closed their last factory, years ago.

this is what's killing mmo games

[Anonymous Coward]

200m poured in, still in development. Of the games that actually make it to release after crowdfunding a good chunk come out looking nothing like what was advertised or even what was shown in testing.

If this game comes out worth playing it will be the exception not the rule

Re: this is what's killing mmo games

[Anonymous Coward]

Still in development, but you can play it now as a fully functional flight sim and fps.

Re: this is what's killing mmo games

[Anonymous Coward]

I think there are some exceptions to the rule. Noteworthy are Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2 - both were crowdfunded have received overwhelmingly positive reviews after their release. Of course these two projects were a lot less ambitious than many others, but they did deliver a lot of what was promised.

Re: this is what's killing mmo games

[Luckyo]

Off the top of my head, things like Divinity Original Sin games, Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2, etc all delivered on what was promised.

Some projects get things done, some don't. Welcome to world of entrepreneur.

Re: this is what's killing mmo games

[DigiShaman]

No shit, ain't that the truth!!! I bought in years ago to Star Citizen. It had everything going for it - the concept, characters, story, ships, models, roles, team play, the bloody fan base. Then, the giant fucking turd that would bearly qualify as an alpha release got maintained in perpetuity. As much money was sunk into this, and for as long as it's been, and the potential...this had everything going for for success. Hell, you might have gotten some good writers on board and spin off a Netflix mini-series....

So WTF happened? Endless ambition without a clearly defined goal of execution to mass-market. That's what happened. Now, I'm afraid they're a day late and a dollar short. It's all so very disappointing! No, really, it is. I was so amp-ed up over seeing greatness out of this project to the likes that only World of Warcraft and EVE Online could muster. But, instead nothing but a long sustained smelly fart; and I got tired of the smell.

Re: this is what's killing mmo games

[halivar]

To be fair, they had a vote before the Kickstarter even ended, to vastly increase the scope of the game. It's wasn't even close. This is what the backers wanted. I, myself, didn't hop on the wagon until after the project scope increased, because that's the game I wanted. I've since gotten married and had a baby, so it will be a couple more years until I can play any video games at all, so the pace of development is sitting pretty with me. I think lot of backers are in my spot; we're older, a bit more money, and we're willing to wait patiently for the game we've always wanted since WC1.

for 28K you can buy a REAL CAR!

[Joe_Dragon]

for 28K you can buy a REAL CAR!

Re:for 28K you can buy a REAL CAR!

[Revek]

and several real dolls to drive in the car pool lane.

Re:for 28K you can buy a REAL CAR!

[Joe_Dragon]

with some leftover to bribe the cop.

Re:for 28K you can buy a REAL CAR!

[greenwow]

Or the "road tax deluxe" as my friend calls his HOV lane violation tickets.

Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[Revek]

He can't move to the point where the game has any depth. He keeps chasing the duke nukem rainbow.

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[sinij]

Why wouldn't he if people keep dropping all kinds of cash on this without it getting released?

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[Revek]

It has been many years since this project was started. The current game play is terrible and he keeps changing things to keep up with current hardware. In short he can't finish since he can achieve his perfection. In the interim, several games with similar game play have been conceived and released. Some people are good at concepts and other are good at implementation. He is the former and what this project needs is the latter. He has the money. He needs to hire someone to take over and let them get a product out there. He has a history of this kind of thing. Check Freelancer

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[Anonymous Coward]

Sinij point is still valid. Chris Roberts found his cash cow. What is going to stop him as long as people are willingly throwing money at him?

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[sinij]

More so, if he releases game and it is disaster, then further cash infusions will stop. It doesn't even have to be an outright disaster, just fail to live up to it hype. Anything short of a perfect game and he is unlikely to be trusted again to "work in this town". So it isn't only financial motivation to keep everything in limbo, there is also career considerations.

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[tlhIngan]

More so, if he releases game and it is disaster, then further cash infusions will stop. It doesn't even have to be an outright disaster, just fail to live up to it hype. Anything short of a perfect game and he is unlikely to be trusted again to "work in this town". So it isn't only financial motivation to keep everything in limbo, there is also career considerations.

You do realize it's Chris Roberts you're talking about, who released the whole Wing Commander series back in the 90s?

The real problem is really $200M. That's a huge budget, much larger than quite a few summer blockbusters, and quite a lot more than a few games out there.

The problem is there are a lot of people who contributed to that pot. Enough so that it'll be impossible to actually satisfy all of them, so for a good chunk of people, it will be a disaster.

The other question is will they have a market or did they soak up the dollars of everyone who was interested?

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[Revek]

When he created wing commandeer he was an employee of origin and as such he had to operate under someone elses schedule. I'm not saying the guy isn't really good at getting things designed I'm just saying he will never be satisfied with any product he is working on. It not a fault to be a perfectionist but it is a hindrance to producing a salable product.

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[Dragonslicer]

Check Freelancer

Oh man, I loved Freelancer. Probably my favorite space combat game. I'd love to find a game like it that runs on Linux.

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[Anonymous Coward]

He pulled the same stunt with Wing Commander 3, 4 and later Freelancer too.

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[Sumus Semper Una]

Oh man, I loved Freelancer. Probably my favorite space combat game. I'd love to find a game like it that runs on Linux.

No idea if all of these work on Linux (some, like X2 and X3 definitely do), but other games similar to the Freelancer genre:

X2 (I know it's old, but it was still quite good if you could get over the terrible voice acting)
X3 (in its many forms. Just stay away from X: Reunion)
Rebel Galaxy (simplified combat and trading, but pretty fun)
Independence War 1 and 2 (these are really old, but classic - you can find them on Good Old Games)
Endless Sky (top-down only and somewhat simple, but it's free!)

It's a pretty stale genre unfortunately. There are some games in the genre in early access right now that could end up being good, but I'd pass on them all at the moment.

Re: Chris Roberts isn't a finisher

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize this is Chris Roberts you're talking about, who wrote and directed the Wing Commander movie?

The entire time I was watching it I was thinking, "Whatever idiot wrote this never even played the game. They're butchering everything about the setting." Credits rolled and I was shocked.

How long before this is recognized as a scam?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it's been seven years since I first sent them money, and there still isn't a release date.

Re:How long before this is recognized as a scam?

[Anonymous Coward]

The core problem is that they're trying to build a game that is world-class at first-person shooter, trading, and flight simulator. Any one of those three are hard by themselves. I bought into the kickstarter in Nov 2012. I'm upset at the delays, but even more so at the price to play the game. I think the cheapest ship is $45. That's ridiculous after already paying so much for just the game.

Re:How long before this is recognized as a scam?

[Anonymous Coward]

Same. I'd try and get my money back if I knew it wasn't hopeless to even try.

Re:How long before this is recognized as a scam?

[dave562]

I think that's the point of this $27,000 option. They are testing the waters to see how many extremely stupid people are still out there and interested in throwing money down the SC hole.

I think it is a great strategy. It takes some real intelligence and drive to accumulate $27,000 in play money that you can spend frivolously on a "product" that does not have any real world value and does not even exist in finished form yet.

If they can scam someone like that out of that much money, I would say that is a pretty good litmus test as to how many suckers are out there in the general population.

Re:How long before this is recognized as a scam?

[DigiShaman]

I honestly don't think it's a scam. The ol' adage holds true - "The perfect is the enemy of the good". Meaning, his indecisiveness governed by ambition has doomed this project from the very beginning. He, and the remainder of this supporters just doesn't realize it yet.

Re:How long before this is recognized as a scam?

[fazig]

I don't know if it is a scam, but I also don't know if that line about perfection stands up to scrutiny.
Yes, I've heard this very often. "They want it to be perfect." "Would you rather test an unfinished version or a perfect one?" "Everything comes together with the next patch."
But the sad fact is that everything they release is very far from being perfect. It's riddled with bugs and has performance so far. I can accept that, because that's how software development works. Maybe this idea of perfection exists in Chris Roberts' head, where he'd like to make everything perfect, just as he claims. Unfortunately there's little empirical evidence for this. But people are still repeating that perfection mantra. So what's left is what looks an awful lot like post-purchase rationalisation. And here I have a different phrase for you: There's a sucker born every minute.

My hopes are that they'll give us private servers at some point, that we can host and modify ourselves. Modding communities are extremely crafty and can do a lot of things. And they can satisfy different groups of players because they don't have to appeal to the lowest common denominator (mods are always optional). But I have the feeling that CIG is going down the same road as Frontier Developments went with Elite: Dangerous make it an online only game despite their early promises. After all you can't sell virtual goods and other stuff to players that may as well 'cheat' everything together on their private servers.

Re:How long before this is recognized as a scam?

[Megane]

All I have of SC is a cross-promo game code that I ended up with as a promo prize during a livestream for a different game. One which has finally declared "release" after four and a half years of monthly, playable, releases, and almost two years since persistence, Shroud of the Avatar. Yes, it can actually happen. And they will continue with monthly development as long as they can.

Meanwhile, is there even a properly playable version of SC yet, or is it still just a bunch of tech demo puzzle pieces?

Re:How long before this is recognized as a scam?

[Anonymous Coward]

Not a scam. It's just obvious the game is not for you. If it was you wouldnt have cared.

step up you F-in' PLEBS!

[Thud457]

I heard Martin Shkreli bought two.

Everybody's got problems

[OrangeTide]

That's individual freedom for you. We each get to decide how our personal property is used.

Where the system kind of breaks down is in two ways. When some people don't have any property and can't even survive. And when well meaning people want to use force to redistribute wealth by denying individuals their rights.

And if you think pissing away $27k on a video game is terrible you need to take a look at how the 1% and 0.1% live.

P.S. I'm for spending tax dollars on things that improve life for everyone, even if only indirectly. (i.e. I'm not a Libertarian) One example that has a big pay off is when women are educated to a high school or college level. Their children tend to grow up with a higher standard of living and the next generation has fewer problems with addiction. Living in a community where there aren't a bunch of drug addicts committing property crime would improve my current situation. (putting junkies in prison doesn't work, in my experience they get out and repeat the same crap and cost tax payers millions)

Re:Everybody's got problems

[K. S. Kyosuke]

One example that has a big pay off is when women are educated to a high school or college level. Their children tend to grow up with a higher standard of living and the next generation has fewer problems with addiction.

You mean when people are educated to a high school or college level? Or is it that you can pair a college-educated woman and a grade-school-educated man and get the same outcome you'd get with two college-educated parents?

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Anonymous Coward]

Says the man living in America who by definition is a part of the 1% on the WorldWide Income scope.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[skam240]

"And when well meaning people want to use force to redistribute wealth by denying individuals their rights."

I'm curious what you mean by this given that all successful and current world governments that I know of practice some form of wealth redistribution.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Anonymous Coward]

I live in Canada and my yearly income is about one third of that players' pack amount if it were in Canadian dollars.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[OrangeTide]

It's based on a study I read (which I might be able to dig up if you'd like). Mostly the study was to show that literacy in women is an important factor in the third world. Perhaps not directly applicable to the US.

Growing up in the rust belt, I know that there are (or at least were) full time jobs for men that paid pretty well and didn't require a college education. And fathers generally have less of an impact on early child development than mothers. Paying the bills and make sure the baby has material needs met is the classic contribution of a father. But babies learn to talk and (hopefully) read from their mother. In an ideal world both parents would contribute equally, but if you're working or traveling from 7am to 6pm you aren't necessarily the biggest part of your child's life. (sorry to share the bad news)

P.S. - when I say "for men" or "for women". I mean the current gender ratios are 80% or greater for that job. Not to indicate that discrimination is OK. (sorry guys, most schools don't want to hire men as a kindergarten teacher. guess you'll have to be a junior high teacher and get paid more. boo hoo)

Re:Everybody's got problems

[OrangeTide]

I acknowledge my privilege. I have a good job. Live in a region of high paid (perhaps overpaid) highly educated people. Still there is lots of property crime in my neighborhood, so this is not really an affluent area, despite the $700k houses.

And you definitely should be skeptical of anything I have to say on the topic of poverty and wealth. But my own situation doesn't invalidate a logical argument.

I'm technically not in the 1%. Maybe the 5%? If I can speak metaphorically. Let's say 90% of Americans are only seeing the mountain from a distance. And the 1% are at the summit. I'm standing part way up a mountain, but no were near the top. I can tell you from my position that it is pretty fucking steep and I won't get to the top with hard work alone.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Hognoxious]

Let me put it in a different way. A way inspired by cayenne8, c6gunner and roman_mir:

*froth* *froth* Venezuela *froth* *froth*

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Anonymous Coward]

Fuck you. Don't think for a second you aren't in that basket of deplorables so stop trying to set yourself apart.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Anonymous Coward]

The huge caveat is your story predicates on their being a pair of parents present. Change it to single mothers, or both parents working, and now no one is there for that 'biggest part of your child's life'...or why it'd fail in the West.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[OrangeTide]

The huge caveat is your story predicates on their being a pair of parents present.

How so?

Change it to single mothers, or both parents working, and now no one is there for that 'biggest part of your child's life'...or why it'd fail in the West.

Yea, all those working class single mothers with nannies in the US.

Absolutely children with single working mothers don't have their parent around them 24 hours a day. But that doesn't automatically mean that a mother is still not the primary caregiver for a child. It means a small percentage than before, but not necessarily less than 50%.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Anonymous Coward]

And the existence of college education doesn't support the claim that it ALWAYS makes for a higher earning potential for their children.If you're going to blather on about "Oh, your point is invalid because it isn't a guarantee, only a factor", then the original essay is likewise invalid and the counterpoints win because there was no point to begin with.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[OrangeTide]

If you're going to blather on about "Oh, your point is invalid because it isn't a guarantee, only a factor",

Thanks for ending the discussion. No need to read any further. You could have saved everyone a lot of effort by opening with that one.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Anonymous Coward]

Not to indicate that discrimination is OK. (sorry guys, most schools don't want to hire men as a kindergarten teacher. guess you'll have to be a junior high teacher and get paid more. boo hoo)

So are you trying to indicate that discrimination is OK? because you just said it there yourself. The funny part is that social justice/feminism will latch on to the fact that men are being paid more, so even discrimination against men in this way will only result in worse outcomes for everyone in the future. If you want to be a kindergarten teacher and you're a man, GO FOR IT. Don't let morons talk down to you.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Anonymous Coward]

You might not be in the 1% in America, but globally, you are.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Growing up in the rust belt, I know that there are (or at least were) full time jobs for men that paid pretty well and didn't require a college education. And fathers generally have less of an impact on early child development than mothers. Paying the bills and make sure the baby has material needs met is the classic contribution of a father. But babies learn to talk and (hopefully) read from their mother. In an ideal world both parents would contribute equally, but if you're working or traveling from 7am to 6pm you aren't necessarily the biggest part of your child's life. (sorry to share the bad news)

But if you're college-educated, you're more likely to be employed, especially if there's two of you. Consequently you have on average less time for the child. If you're an employed woman, and the father is less likely to work because you are the one getting more money, how come that "fathers generally have less of an impact on early child development than mothers" in such an arrangement? Are women doing absolutely everything in such pairs?

Re:Everybody's got problems

[K. S. Kyosuke]

I have a good job.

I'm technically not in the 1%. Maybe the 5%?

You have to be below $32500 to not be in the top 1%. You have an American job below $32500 and call it "good"?

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Anonymous Coward]

I think you dropped a 0 there.. should be $325,000 for top 1%. $32,500 puts you a little ways over the poverty line.. Average income for the US family of 4 is around $75,000 I believe

Re:Everybody's got problems

[K. S. Kyosuke]

No, I didn't in fact. An income of $32500 per year in the US puts you above 99% of the world population. An income of $325000 puts you above 99.97% of the world population.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[skam240]

I'm not sure if I'm following you here but bringing up Venezuela to point out how wealth redistribution has failed does nothing to contradict its success story in every first world nation.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[Hognoxious]

I'm not sure if I'm following you

You aren't. Reading comprehension is a bit of a prerequisite, I'm afraid.

Re:Everybody's got problems

[skam240]

Hahahaha. Yeah, this is a well written post that is perfectly clear to someone who isnt you

"Let me put it in a different way. A way inspired by cayenne8, c6gunner and roman_mir:

*froth* *froth* Venezuela *froth* *froth*"

For starters, you rattle off three names I'm sure are slashdot handles. Are slashdot users so famous now that everyone just knows their name? Do you really think that everyone should be so invested in slashdot that they should know the names of users you deem to be important enough to know?

After that your last sentence isnt even a coherent thought.

But yeah, the problem isnt that you write like a child at all. It's clearly me.

"Putting aside the marketing value of this move"

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a trick to get it posted all over the place, and since I'd never heard of it before Slashdot posted this story, mission accomplished.

Fuck you video game industry

[Anonymous Coward]

Shit I know it's always been about money but for fuck's sake it's like it's not even a legitimate game anymore it's just an arms race fuelled by whoever has the most disposable income to blow on so-called 'in game purchases'. Why stop there? Why not just sell a God Mode upgrade for $1,000,000 that makes you omniscent, omnipotent, immortal, and gives you everything there is to get in the so-called 'game'?

Re: Fuck you video game industry

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh my gosh thatâ(TM)s a brilliant idea, thank you!

Warmest regards,
Chris

Re:Fuck you video game industry

[Anonymous Coward]

Gaming always used to be an arms race fueled by whoever had the most disposable time, now developers have realized disposable income makes more sense financially.

Re:Fuck you video game industry

[Anonymous Coward]

PUBG already has this - you sign up as a streamer and you get your own server where you control everything, including excellent pings and selecting who you play with. Most people don't know it, but it is hard not to be successful when you are a PUBG streamer with all the assists.

Re:"Putting aside the marketing value of this move

[Harvey Manfrenjenson]

It's a trick to get it posted all over the place, and since I'd never heard of it before Slashdot posted this story, mission accomplished.

Posting to reverse an accidental mod (I was trying to mod the parent as "Insightful" and accidentally hit "flamebait")

Hard choices

[Anonymous Coward]

Would I rather play Elite where all real money will buy you is a sick paint job and people with nice ships actually have to work / farm / grind / cheat for it.

Or would I rather play Star Citizen where only rich elitists bastards with money and no brains get to have nice ships?

For me it's not a hard choice.

Re:Hard choices

[dj245]

Would I rather play Elite where all real money will buy you is a sick paint job and people with nice ships actually have to work / farm / grind / cheat for it.

Or would I rather play Star Citizen where only rich elitists bastards with money and no brains get to have nice ships?

For me it's not a hard choice.

This may be a snarky response, but the Star Citizen model seems to be a more realistic simulation of space exploration. Maybe that is what they are going for.

Re:Hard choices

[Anonymous Coward]

This may be a snarky response, but the Star Citizen model seems to be a more realistic simulation of space exploration. Maybe that is what they are going for.

Elite gives you the whole galaxy hundreds of billions of stars based on real data and realistic modeling.

Star Citizen is like being stuck inside a static warp bubble that's about to collapse.

Re:Hard choices

[Anonymous Coward]

I've backed both games and played both games. I'm also in both communities and found that all of them are quick to claim that 'their' game is more realistic for (arbitrary) reasons. All that I can say is that realistic is very relative.
For example in Star Citizens your lasers propagate through space as crawling blobs of light. You have a lot of uselessly flimsy spaceship constructions that don't make sense in a vacuum and produce problematically huge drag in atmospheres according to the flow simulations some fans ran themselves. And the developers are upfront about it: Rule of cool > realism.
In Elite you have nonsense like artificially nerfed yaw rotations, that don't make sense because in a vacuum all degrees of freedom are equal. You also have some weird other flight mechanics. The developers are also upfront about this: Gameplay mechanics > realism.
Both games have non realistic velocity caps, while ships in a vacuum should be able to keep accelerating until their ability to accelerate is gone. FTL travel and communication. Stuff like energy shields that can block electromagnetic radiation and similar things. You have windows on your ship that you can look through, but apparently can't shoot lasers through at the same wavelengths.
If you want something that at least tries to be a bit realistic and simulate what may be under such circumstances, take a look at Rogue System (also Early Access and probably never finished). And of course that game isn't completely realistic as well.

Re: Hard choices

[Anonymous Coward]

I assume these lasers you want to shoot out of windows are for combat?

While you can see through a window that transmits 99% of visible light , yet shoot a high power laser through that same window and the 1% being absorbed will absorb enough energy to quickly destroy the window.

This is before considering other effects that the window may cause such as dispersion.

Your post is a good one, but you have to exclude that comment about windows.

Re: Hard choices

[Anonymous Coward]

Think a bit simpler, in terms of what is already possible today. If you have something where electromagnetic radiation passes through, it means that you should be able to use a weaponized version of those wavelengths as well. There are non lethal applications here where you can blind or strongly distract a pilot. Why do you think the police goes after those twats that even use their low power laser pointers against their helicopters?

gimmie three

[Anonymous Coward]

ppl are so stoopid

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Pay to win

[genfail]

For those of you concerned about the class implications of Star Citizen's extreme pay to win PVP model there is but one retort, "Silence Pleebs!"

Re:Pay to win

[Anonymous Coward]

You can't "pay to win" something that doesn't exist, except as shitty alpha builds of separate modes.

Which will arrive first?

[Anonymous Coward]

Star Citizen or my Tesla 3? Bueller? Bueller?

$200M in funding? No.

[hackertourist]

The Kickstarter campaign raised about $2M.

Re:$200M in funding? No.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, but they have been collecting donations from devoted cult members ever since, and it's on the order of $200M total that's been raised through all funding channels. 7 years on, the insanity continues with no end in sight.

I bet...

[Anonymous Coward]

I bet your fun at partys.

Re:I bet...

[Anonymous Coward]

I bet you're fun at parties.

Re:I bet...

[Anonymous Coward]

Not as much fun as your mom.

Re:I bet...

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice!! I was just about to FTFH

Re: I bet...

[Anonymous Coward]

Wooooosh!

Why do normal people play "pay to win" games?

[Maxo-Texas]

I've never understood it.

Re: Why do normal people play "pay to win" games?

[stroxor]

Damn the V. Roberts he is greedy mothersucker!!!?

Re:"Putting aside the marketing value of this move

[Hognoxious]

I'd never heard of it either, but as the expectation of the amount I'm going to spend on them is somewhere between nothing and fuck all I'd say mission *not* accomplished.

and you can still get the game for 60 bucks...

[Anonymous Coward]

and you can still get the game for 60 bucks... smelling jelly people

Given that I never gave them money...

[Anonymous Coward]

7 years ago? :D

Sadly, on the same note the Space Quest equivalent of SC has been dead in the water after Mark Crowe I think it was bailed for 2 years while dealing with a family member with alzheimers. During the same time the voice of the narrator from the previous games had died leaving them with a bunch of spots to fill to bring the game up to modern standards.

Also Star Control got sold to Stardock, and the latest game is a 'reboot' fully done by Stardock with no input from Reiche III and company. So yeah, barely 30 years later everything that I grew up with has been recommercialized and proven why perpetual copyrights suck ass: Because it just leads to some legally mandated asshole buying the IP and turning it into something completely different than the original creators presented to you.

you think homeless do not exists ?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are many family bordering on on hungering (e.,g. not eating every day) I will grant you that, this is not starvation. But there are also homeless some of which qualify as starving , as in the medical condition. So no, starvation did not go away. It is just more well hidden now. Ask a local morgue in big city and they will sure to show you a few cases.

Re:you think homeless do not exists ?

[Luckyo]

If there was a case of someone genuinely dying of starvation because they couldn't afford food, which was the claim, it would be international news for weeks.

So good luck looking for citations of things that aren't about self neglect, dependent neglect or crime. Because you won't find any. Starvation has not been a thing in 1st world in so many decades, we literally don't know what it looks like any more, hence the knee jerking.

See, people dying of starvation are actually fairly visible. They look the part. And death takes weeks to month to arrive. Which is why they're usually caught by social security net even in case of self neglect, and the few cases that aren't actually do make news when found.

Don't bat an eye

[Anonymous Coward]

It seems entirely reasonable AFTER you view the articles about designer shorts for $515 that look just like my 20-year-old cutoffs and like a $1000 for a paper bag to put them in!

Vaporware

[duke_cheetah2003]

Star Citizen has been 'in the works' for what, 5 years now? Longer? VAPORWARE. And those of you forking over money for this never-will-be-completed game... a fool and their dollars are easily separated.

Gotta hand it to Cloud Imperium, they're duping everyone out of money and already litigating in courts (VERY EXPENSIVE.) Fools. This has to be the greatest thing ever for Cloud Imperium, they're making tons of money and have NEVER delivered a product. Amazing.

Re:Vaporware

[Anonymous Coward]

I think you need to look up the definition of vaporware. People are currently playing it. It might not be finished, it might never be finished, but it's been released as a playable game and that's hardly vapor.

Re:Vaporware

[Anonymous Coward]

> I think you need to look up the definition of vaporware.

Yep. Vaporware _never_ exists. It's exclusively hot air! (Hence the term)

Whining about "perpetual Early Access", or "creeping cost disease" would be reasonable. RSI has released parts of Star Citizen that are -collectively- quite a bit better than some of the stuff released in the 1990s that we paid full price for!

Re:Vaporware

[Anonymous Coward]

Gee @TheRealDonald, I didn't know you were interested in space sims.

Re:Vaporware

[Anonymous Coward]

Not quite, you can play parts of the game now: ship racing, dog-fighting and the FPS deathmatch. It's not a complete experience by any means, but at least it's something. Still, they really need to stop adding features and just finish a basic experience that they can expand upon later.

Re:Vaporware

[duke_cheetah2003]

Not quite, you can play parts of the game now: ship racing, dog-fighting and the FPS deathmatch. It's not a complete experience by any means, but at least it's something. Still, they really need to stop adding features and just finish a basic experience that they can expand upon later.

This and all the other defensive posts. Really? You guys are defending the game by saying it sort of works? That's some fan dedication. You're jazzed about pieces of overall game experience that's frankly, never going to happen, at this rate. By the time Star Citizen ever comes close to it's lofty goals, the hardware it's designed to run on will be obsolete.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the conceptual ideas behind this game. They were lofty at the beginning of the entire ordeal. But many years down the road and nothing even remotely close to what this game is SUPPOSED to be, I lost interest a long time ago.

I stand by my vaporware accusation. They have not delivered THE GAME they imagined so many years ago.

And for just another $25K....

[mr_resident]

They'll tell you when the game is going to be released.

Um... no.

[Dutchmaan]

WHO are these people with $27000 to spend on a single video game... ?

Seriously... $27k?!?.... If someone can literally pony up that much money for a video game's digital content. They should literally have their money straight up taken from them and used to house homeless people. Not even joking!

Re:Um... no.

[Carewolf]

WHO are these people with $27000 to spend on a single video game... ?

Whales

Re:Um... no.

[Anonymous Coward]

People buy a bottle of alcahol at the same price.
Your just butt hurt for not being rich xD

Re:Um... no.

[Dutchmaan]

People like that...(don't deserve wealth) AND YOU.. (wouldn't deserve the wealth - because people who pull the "you're just jealous card" aren't rich)

starcitizen scam rolls on.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ugg... I wish Star Citizen would die.... It is just a rolling perpetual scam. How many years? (like 7?), how much money has it raked in? Chris Roberts has a pretty good scam going on. Crazy to spend 27k on this c.r.a.p., I wish I could get a refund for the money I did put in back in 2011.

Greatest vaproware Kickstarter scam in history.

[waspleg]

I cannot wait for this to to fail and be a pale underwhelming joke like No Man's Sky only on a grander scale; if it even gets that far. The schadenfreude will be epic. This is the new Duke Nukem Forever.

What kinda idiot

[Anonymous Coward]

Buys a bunch of 1s and 0s with real money. People have completely lost touch with reality. I worked hard for my money and increased it several fold through wise investments in Bitcoin. I'll be damned if I'm going to waste it all on some 1s and 0s on that arent even stored on MY OWN PC they are on someone elses server!

Re:"Putting aside the marketing value of this move

[Anonymous Coward]

A video game that sells things for 27k might appeal to you? It doesn't me. A company that displays those tiers only for their proven big spenders doesn't alarm you? Why do they have to hide it form the common folk? (That's the big backfire here)

Yeah they got a ton of publicity and there is that old adage but I don't think it is true in this case. Those willing to buy in either already know about the game and history or will be frightened away by the reason for the publicity.

Ah Star Citizen

[DMJC]

I backed it for $1250. Why? Because I grew up on Wing Commander and you never forget your first love. Is it really a surprise that someone who tried to remake Wing Commander: Privateer as an MMO would back a game that basically promises to be Wing Commander 2/3 mixed with Privateer in an MMO setting? The only person I've met through work that backed it for a similar $5000 or more amount was a 6 figure salaried Network Security engineer. Similar in age, people that still appreciate space games and had to wait 15 years for their genre to get revived are happy to pour money into one of the biggest names in the genre.

How much do people spend playing golf or fishing?

[Nocturrne]

How many thousands of dollars do people spend on golf gear and green fees every year? How about fishing boats? Gaming is not the most expensive or retarded hobby, by a long shot.

It better suck a lot of dick for that much....

[Anonymous Coward]

TSIA.

You can ask the same thing of the griefers

[Anonymous Coward]

They do things like screw up game world charity events just so that people get pissed off. What do they win when they gank and grief? Nothing. What they do it for is varied but one reason is the same reason why the daytime tv has those shithole shows where someone in a worse situation than the bottom of the barrel in society live in. They want to know someone else has it worse because only then can they feel that they are not compeltely fubar'd.

And a pay to win is another way to be powerful in a world that doesn't give a shit for you and teaches you every day that you're a meaningless cog in a massive machine, so do your job, slave.

It's "het up about".

[Anonymous Coward]

Heated would require a grammar change to the sentence. And given you still have to say "I think" your claim is no better than the parent posts' claim. look at the simpsons episode of bonestorm. Do you think they lampooned it because it never happens?

Try this game.

[Anonymous Coward]

http://libregamewiki.org/Chaos...

Opensource, vehicle and FPS combat, city generation, over 100 weapons.

Re: Try this game.

[Anonymous Coward]

I did, and the graphics suck.

Better be some A+ gameplay to make it worthwhile!

not a scam chris has set a barely achieveable goal

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not a scam, he just got carried away by feature creep. Albeit, he is making substantial progress. He didn't set out to cheat people. But, the more people throw money at him for new items, ships and features the more feature creep appears. Chris Roberts has always wanted to make the perfect space shooter, and that's why people backed him. This isn't some random guy. He has the vision and he's made the best space games in the industry that everyone is fond of and have set precedents for other games of its genres. That is why everyone believes in him. It is a "If he can't do it no one can." situation.

Re:How much do people spend playing golf or fishin

[angel'o'sphere]

Or surfing, diving, sailing, rock climbing, skiing, on a car or motor bike, or god forbid: fashion?

Theyâ(TM)ve already succeded

[Baldrake]

By announcing this product, they have at no cost to themselves gained advertising of Star Citizen all over the Internet. Who knows, they might even sell one or two, but it doesnâ(TM)t matter. They have brought the world to their web site, which was the real point all along.