Star Citizen Development Discussion (Is Derek Smart Right?)

Page 82 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
EXCellR8

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
4,066
901
136
I haven't touched NMS in years. I did play it upon initial release I believe, and it did concur with most of the user base about it's glaringly obvious shortcomings. I know Hello Games has continued work on it, and it probably does deserve my attention to re-explore, but idk something about the vibrant color palette, goofy alien designs, and procedural "blandness" turned me off. I don't think it's necessarily bad, but just not sure it's what I prefer.
 
F

Farfle

Member
Jan 10, 2006
92
3
71
A problem with Star Citizen, I feel, are the graphics are too realistic, rather than dumbing them down and instead going for the ultra-smooth gameplay experience a la Half Life 2. HL2 looked amazing AND played amazing at the time of it's release. It holds up today largely due to how smooth the gameplay is.

Give me that smooth FPS experience in Star Citizen, combined with a seamless transition from Foot-to-Ship-to-Space, with limited graphical hiccups, and I think you have a winning experience.

In a game with a vision as grand as Star Citizen's is, graphic fidelity needs to take a step back to world immersion. And that means as little technical glitches as possible.
 
T

ToTTenTranz

Senior member
Feb 4, 2021
713
1,182
136
Farfle said:
A problem with Star Citizen, I feel, are the graphics are too realistic, rather than dumbing them down and instead going for the ultra-smooth gameplay experience a la Half Life 2. HL2 looked amazing AND played amazing at the time of it's release. It holds up today largely due to how smooth the gameplay is.

Give me that smooth FPS experience in Star Citizen, combined with a seamless transition from Foot-to-Ship-to-Space, with limited graphical hiccups, and I think you have a winning experience.

In a game with a vision as grand as Star Citizen's is, graphic fidelity needs to take a step back to world immersion. And that means as little technical glitches as possible.
Click to expand...

Why would Cloud Imperium ever put effort in smooth gameplay if they don't intend for gamers to ever play the game in a finished form?

If they keep releasing demos as alpha tests with terrible performance, they can use the "hardware isn't ready for this masterpiece yet" excuse. And that gets brainless whales to keep paying for JPGs.
 
DrMrLordX

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
22,933
13,015
136
ToTTenTranz said:
Why would Cloud Imperium ever put effort in smooth gameplay if they don't intend for gamers to ever play the game in a finished form?

If they keep releasing demos as alpha tests with terrible performance, they can use the "hardware isn't ready for this masterpiece yet" excuse. And that gets brainless whales to keep paying for JPGs.
Click to expand...
Eventually the brainless whales will run out of money or lose interest. Being able to release something and walk away from the project would (at the very least) shield them from most liability.
 
EXCellR8

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
4,066
901
136
While I do appreciate the level of detail and realism in SC, I agree with most in that it will never actually be done. At this rate, they'll have gone through multiple dev teams' lifespans in order to deliver a finished product at the scale of what is planned. We've known this for years now, but the fact that only 2 systems (Pyro and Stanton) are available to explore after all this time is absurd.

For me, I enjoy jumping in for an hour or so here and there, and trying to earn credits for upgrades, but it doesn't offer much outside of some nice views, sound design, and slick controls. That might be enough for some, but the "tech demo" label is certainly still applicable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: igor_kavinski
Fallen Kell

Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,208
537
126
EXCellR8 said:
While I do appreciate the level of detail and realism in SC, I agree with most in that it will never actually be done. At this rate, they'll have gone through multiple dev teams' lifespans in order to deliver a finished product at the scale of what is planned. We've known this for years now, but the fact that only 2 systems (Pyro and Stanton) are available to explore after all this time is absurd.

For me, I enjoy jumping in for an hour or so here and there, and trying to earn credits for upgrades, but it doesn't offer much outside of some nice views, sound design, and slick controls. That might be enough for some, but the "tech demo" label is certainly still applicable.
Click to expand...
I think too many people put too much emphasis on there only being 2 systems at the moment. The point of the number of systems isn't to have 20 or 30 systems in the alpha/beta phases. The point is to test that multiple systems function correctly, that players' game clients transition between the one system to the next correctly and without bugs, and that they can test the various interactions and subroutines in the backend code to ensure the game mechanics properly function. They don't need more than 2 systems to test that functionality, which is why only two systems exist.

That all being said, I need to log in again for the first time in a couple years and see how things go (and get familiar with the controls again). I havn't really played much since the original dog fighting modules were released. But I definitely need to get a real graphics card before I do so (using an old 1060 Ti that I had in a HTPC while waiting on prices to actually hit MSRP just won't cut it).
 
Last edited:
EXCellR8

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
4,066
901
136
I think too many people put too much emphasis on there only being 2 systems at the moment. The point of the number of systems isn't to have 20 or 30 systems in the alpha/beta phases. The point is to test that multiple systems function correctly, that players' game clients transition between the one system to the next correctly and without bugs...
Click to expand...

I suppose this makes sense, but plenty of other development teams have come up with a way for players to get from A to B in space... in under 15 years. Sure, not every sim is going for that detailed, seamless transition from surface to orbit, and the scope on SC is huge, but even now the game has plenty of bugs in just about every corner; that's fine.

Developing state-of-the-art games takes generous time, effort, and funding, and I'm not a developer, but I'm probably not alone in that I'd be more compelled to throw money at this project if it felt more vast--like actual space. Even a handful of planets/moons to traverse would be good at this point, because it's not like this thing was announced 2 years ago. There could even be bugs w traversing system; that would be more excusable than seemingly simpler bugs, like broken contracts, NPC behavior, and inventory.

It's all good, though, because I don't feel like they're ever gonna fully deliver on what's been announced or planned.
 
EXCellR8

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
4,066
901
136
AFAIK the cheapest 'pledge' or game package is around $40 bucks. Gets you a ship with insurance, some credits, and access to the alpha... which should still be free given the state of the project, but you know. You can spend more for other ships, much more, but you can also rent ships with in-game currency. That's what I did, started with the cheapest possible all-rounder (Mustang), did some basic logistics and scouting contracts, and then used in-game currency to try some other craft.

Many of the missions are still super bugged, and it will depend on server load and player activity, so whenever I play there's an expectation that the server will crap the bed and any of my in-progress jobs will be rendered incomplete, or defunct. There's also the chance you'll be shot down outside of armistice space and have lost progress, which also means needing to respawn at the last 'hub' area and filing a claim to retrieve your ship. Good news is what comes around goes around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom