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Star Citizen... does anyone play it? What the hell is it? Why does it annoy me? (And thoughts on Inside)
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xtal
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October 24, 2016 - 12:31 pm
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I saw this morning a bit of news about Star Citizen being free to play for the rest of October, I though oh...okay. Is this a game? Is this not a game? I was talking with friends about it a few days ago. Someone said it exists. I thought it didn't exist, but that it maybe sort of does?

Okay I'll take a quick break from goofy, perplexed Max and be straight for a second - I'm pretty sure this is a game that has an alpha that people can play, right? That's it, right? Its Wikipedia page says it's an upcoming game. Upcoming means future. I know that much.

I read a bit more about the game. It has separate parts, including a separate campaign called Squadron 42? Okay, that sounds stupid but whatever.

I know Chris Roberts has a lot of cache based on his history in the industry, but the way this game is seemingly being delivered piecemeal and its delays and whatnot, well, it sure induces a lot of eye rolling.

Since I got my Xbox One not too long ago I've been playing a game called Elite: Dangerous; I believe a few folks around these parts have mentioned that game. Boy, I'll tell you, Elite: Dangerous is a game. I can definitively buy it, I can play it, it seems to be a complete game, it does everything that Star Citizen claimed it would do years ago, and I can play it right now, which I do (did I mention that?), and it's a game that is a game. It doesn't load to a page that says "maybe this is a game?" Nope. It just loads into a game that is a game.

 

You know what I liked quite a bit? The release of Playdead's Inside. I played that a few weeks ago, and I really, really like that game. In the six years since Limbo I've gone back to it and found that its initial charms have almost entirely worn off; to that point where I'd rank it third in the trio of Games That Started To Make Small Downloadable Games A More Normal Thing, behind the utterly pretentious-but-still-a-good-game-at-the-end-of-the-day Braid, and the better-than-both-of-those-because-it-has-character-that-hasn't-lost-its-shine-to-me-at-least Bastion. So to clarify: Bastion > Braid > Limbo. But that aside.. aside, Inside is a game that I think is very good. I'm positive it will hold up better than Limbo; it seems very similar at first, but Inside blows Limbo away.

Playdead just stayed silent, and sure it was a long time in between games, but so what? A little bit before it came out they were like "yep it'll be here soon." And then it was. And it is. And I think it's really good. And they didn't release the first five minutes of the game a year before the rest of the game. It's a complete game, released at once. And it has no bugs at all. It is so well made and precise. It took about 3-4 hours to play, and it was an excellent experience.

Inside is definitively a game. A game which I like very much.

I don't know what Star Citizen is. I don't really care. I'll just keep playing No Man's Sky and Elite: Dangerous. Those are both real games that I like, and that I can play.

I thought '90s Chris Roberts was a cool dude, but today's Chris Roberts seems kinda like a bag of rotten oranges. Have fun making and maybe releasing your maybe game, Chris Roberts. Sorry that Elite: Dangerous beat you to the punch.

If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever

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Synonamess Botch
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October 24, 2016 - 7:28 pm
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Xtal the fact that you barely know what Star Citizen is warms my cold heart.  I actually don't really know how much of a game it is, but I do know that the controversy surrounding its development (and especially finances) makes No Man's Sky's look like two toddlers slap-fighting.

I too had a high regard for Chris Roberts, since I consider Wing Commander 1 & 2 as some of my all-time favs.  But he does seem to have turned into a bit of a used-car salesman.  Or a carny (no wait that's Randy Pitchford).  Do let us know what you think.

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AJLange
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October 24, 2016 - 10:21 pm
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I'm on their mailing list, but mostly just because I enjoy being a tourist. I haven't actually funded this particular game. Honestly, the fantasy of the open world space thingie doesn't really appeal to me that much anyway, so I am not the target audience for this or No Man's Sky etc. I would probably buy an open world space sim if you let me be Samus Aran or Master Chief in it.

I do enjoy reading about the development though!

I am very skeptical that there is actually a game there.

In conclusion...

Wow, YouTube Embed is huuuuge

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Synonamess Botch
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October 25, 2016 - 10:15 pm
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A while back I commented on some other gaming forum which was discussing the latest Star Citizen fiasco, the details of which I've since forgotten.  I mentioned Derek Smart since he seemed so perfect a match for what was going on (I'm old enough to remember his infamous USENET rants) and I swear at the time I didn't even know he was involved in the whole mess.  What an all-star lineup of egos.

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xtal
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October 26, 2016 - 11:50 am
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That was funny, thanks for sharing, Amanda. "Hurt" was probably my favourite song in high school-- yes I was one of those NIN kids-- so this made me laugh and feel slightly nostalgic as well.

If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever

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Steerpike
Subtropical Southeastern Michigan
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October 26, 2016 - 11:55 am
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I would like Star Citizen to be great, but overall it seems too ambitious and too broadly focused. More and more it's becoming clear that "a game you play forever" isn't necessarily a great idea, and certainly isn't something that's easy to develop. Nine times out of ten "a game you can play forever" turns out like The Division -- great, but no less finite than any other game. Elite Dangerous has a bit of the same problem... there's just not that much to do once you've... well, once you've done what there is to do.

Given his budget one hopes Chris Roberts will deliver something really special here, and there's always that possibility. But usually when budgets go this high and expectations soar to these levels, that's when it's time to rein in the ambition, not give oneself to it.

Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.

AJLange
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October 31, 2016 - 10:22 am
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Maybe you saw this already because RPS linked it, but: look! Someone played it after all!

http://www.pcgamer.com/star-ci.....ually-fun/ Apparently there is really a game, of some kind.

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Synonamess Botch
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November 1, 2016 - 10:14 am
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So it's a lie down in bed and commit suicide simulator, interesting.  The precious snowflake crowd will adore it.

Seriously though, I do think it's cool how you have to actually climb aboard your ship and work your way to the cockpit.  Things like that are what can really create immersion and endear players to your game.  Of course it could get old too I suppose.

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