Star Citizen: Chris Robert`s new space sim (the Wing Commander guy)

[TechBoyJK]

I think that's really where a lot of people are misjudging the project. They're looking at the totality of the 6 years it's been alive, and comparing the current state against that period.

When in reality things didn't really ramp up until late 2015 after they setup the Frankfurt studio and gobbled up all the CryTek refugees. Since then, and as you said, exponentionally so, they have been ramping up development progress significantly.

If you look at where things have come since 2.6, the gains are hard to ignore.

even if they stay at their current pace, the next round of quarterly patches through 2019 should be massive and put a serious dent at fleshing out remaining bugs, gameplay loop issues, economy, etc.

And to that end, the game will be more like a social media platform in that it will never be finished. Is anandtech 'finished'? Facebook? Nope. They're just going to be developed perpetually until it's taken offline.

 

[rivethead]

I think that's really where a lot of people are misjudging the project. They're looking at the totality of the 6 years it's been alive, and comparing the current state against that period.

When in reality things didn't really ramp up until late 2015 after they setup the Frankfurt studio and gobbled up all the CryTek refugees. Since then, and as you said, exponentionally so, they have been ramping up development progress significantly.

If you look at where things have come since 2.6, the gains are hard to ignore.

even if they stay at their current pace, the next round of quarterly patches through 2019 should be massive and put a serious dent at fleshing out remaining bugs, gameplay loop issues, economy, etc.

And to that end, the game will be more like a social media platform in that it will never be finished. Is anandtech 'finished'? Facebook? Nope. They're just going to be developed perpetually until it's taken offline.

I agree.

Honestly 2019 will probably be the most exciting time to follow SC because they should get their last foundational pillar installed (local item persistence). Once that it done, then game loops, content, balance passes, etc....all of that can come even more quickly. The pace of development should increase even more.

Still a long way to go, but we're starting to see something start to come together.

 

[kn51]

What is local item persistence?

 

[rivethead]

What is local item persistence?

It is me making a mistake. CIG call it "Full Persistence": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqxmonfCwvM&t=519s

And I missed a pillar (Server Meshing).....but I personally find that less of "necessary" pillar of the game's foundation.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

I have some renewed optimism in this game after playing it the past week (even though I can play the PU whenever). I actually enjoy Star Marine without the radar, and I was able to fly from Port Olisar all the way to a planet surface seamlessly. I couldn't figure out what to do on said planet, but it was very cool actually going through the motions of it all. It seems like they've at least got all of the base mechanics down now. I was hoping they would have been here 2 years ago, but actually witnessing the scale and detail of it makes you realize why this is taking long. I just hope it wasn't too big of an undertaking in the end.

 

[Whitestar127]

Digital Foundry posted a video on this a few days ago:

 

[Linux23]

still no beta huh?

 

[Skel]

still no beta huh?

still no alpha from what I've read

 

[Linux23]

still no alpha from what I've read

they've been in alpha for years

 

[Skel]

they've been in alpha for years

I'll direct you towards the other more critical thread on the subject. There's been a few debates on if it is or isn't in Alpha. I personally tend to think it's in Alpha but I also yield to those more in the know on the subject.

 

[rivethead]

Opinions definitely vary.

CIG calls it an alpha. They also call it game and invite "players" to "play".

Last time I ran the code (2.6), it felt more like a tech demo than alpha. Not enough gameplay loops to qualify as an alpha to me. Now, granted that was a over a year ago. But I've been following development and the code is still missing critical gameplay mechanics. It still sounds like an tech demo to me. It's a place for CIG to show off new tech (procedural planets, procedural biomes, procedural caves, etc.) but the tech still has very little gameplay associated with it.

 

[AdamK47]

Does this game have a release date yet?

 

[randay]

Does this game have a release date yet?

It literally always has a release date, it has ever since it was conceived. The question you should be asking is what is the current release date?

 

[rivethead]

Does this game have a release date yet?

CIG are building two games:

Squadron 42 (single player) is estimated to go into Beta by the end of 2020. I think 2021 is more likely.
Star Citizen (multiplayer) is estimated to go into Beta a year after SQ42 release. Most people believe 2022 is the likely target.

 

[BudAshes]

CIG are building two games:

Star Citizen (multiplayer) is estimated to go into Beta a year after SQ42 release. Most people believe 2022 is the likely target.

According to the other thread on this subject most people definitely don't think 2022 is the likely target. 3022 would seem to be the more widely held opinion as the release date.

 

[rivethead]

According to the other thread on this subject most people definitely don't think 2022 is the likely target. 3022 would seem to be the more widely held opinion as the release date.

Yeah, I should have clarified that most of the believers think 2022 is the likely target. Many other observers think they run out of money before then......