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[Arcoril]

When features start getting pushed back and/or delayed (and if you know anything about game development you know it's folly to assume they won't), are people going to start freaking out?

Some people will freak out over anything, but you'd be surprised how understanding most people can be with really frequent, honest updates.

Chris even went on record today to explain that the dogfighting module was facing a delay due to a rewrite of CryEngine's netcode. Rather than using the out-of-the-box implementation that would just need to be torn down later, they're going to do it the right way from the start. I didn't see anyone break out the pitchforks and torches.

Backers just need to see steady progress. I don't think that many of us are under the illusion that everything is going to go smoothly and hit all the deadlines. But to put things into perspective, it's been nearly 15 years since Freespace 2 was released and enthusiasts are still modding the hell out of it since there's been no better alternative. The publishing industry hasn't been kind to this genre and its die-hard fans have been through disappointment after disappointment. This is the first really promising thing to happen to the space combat sim community in a very long time. Personally, I've waited over a decade and I don't mind waiting a little longer.

 

[Dead Man]

Not to mention there has been a steady drip of new universe information, gameplay information and ship information. If that was lacking I would be concerned, but since I see progress occurring, for now I am content.

 

[elyetis]

Chris even went on record today to explain that the dogfighting module was facing a delay due to a rewrite of CryEngine's netcode. Rather than using the out-of-the-box implementation that would just need to be torn down later, they're going to do it the right way from the start. I didn't see anyone break out the pitchforks and torches.

If what I've read on reddit is a good trasncript of the live, he actually wasn't that clear about that, 'inclination is to do it the "right" way', 'if don't have full dogfighting module by Christmas'. No pitchforks there but after so many delayed games I follow I'm actually hoping that just once, a develloper won't delay something again, always with that excuse of making things right; it's alpha things, I don't want them to see how perfect they are done, I just want my hands on them.
Or at least ask the community opinion on that matter, just to see the result.

 

[Dead Man]

If what I've read on reddit is a good trasncript of the live, he actually wasn't that clear about that, 'inclination is to do it the "right" way', 'if don't have full dogfighting module by Christmas'. No pitchforks there but after so many delayed games I follow I'm actually hoping that just once, a develloper won't delay something again, always with that excuse of making things right; it's alpha things, I don't want them to see how perfect they are done, I just want my hands on them.
Or at least ask the community opinion on that matter, just to see the result.

I'd rather they be useful for the further development of the game. And delays are inevitable in game development. No game releases on schedule. SC will be no different. Whether that is the fault of the producers or things beyond their control, it seems to happen every single time. Expect it.

 

[elyetis]

I'd rather they be useful for the further development of the game. And delays are inevitable in game development. No game releases on schedule. SC will be no different. Whether that is the fault of the producers or things beyond their control, it seems to happen every single time. Expect it.

I keep expecting it, it still always disapoint me. I just really don't like it when it could be avoided, but is still done 'for our sake in the long go'.
In this case it doesn't seems like it would be a big pain for the devellopement to use the cryengine netcode at first for the dogfight module, since apparently it would mean a release in december, si it's not like it would mean month of work on it for nothing, at worst just 2-3 weeks; if it's a delay people should be able to bear for the dogfight module, it's also one they could bear for the next module because they choose not to delay it.

If the problem was only that they are late for the dogfight module, disapointment would be there, but that's it, while there it's seems like it's because, just few week before the supposed release time, the goalpost when it comes to the netcode will most likely be put further than originaly intended; and that is something I don't like.

Is it completly selfish of me ? yeah definitly. I would just like to see a dev do it that way for once; or at least actually ask the community opinion about it ( seems so easy to take players money, but far harder to actually take their opinion on those kind of matter /rant ).

 

[Dead Man]

I keep expecting it, it still always disapoint me. I just really don't like it when it could be avoided, but is still done 'for our sake in the long go'.
In this case it doesn't seems like it would be a big pain for the devellopement to use the cryengine netcode at first for the dogfight module, since apparently it would mean a release in december, si it's not like it would mean month of work on it for nothing, at worst just 2-3 weeks; if it's a delay people should be able to bear for the dogfight module, it's also one they could bear for the next module because they choose not to delay it.

If the problem was only that they are late for the dogfight module, disapointment would be there, but that's it, while there it's seems like it's because, just few week before the supposed release time, the goalpost when it comes to the netcode will most likely be put further than originaly intended; and that is something I don't like.

Is it completly selfish of me ? yeah definitly. I would just like to see a dev do it that way for once; or at least actually ask the community opinion about it ( seems so easy to take players money, but far harder to actually take their opinion on those kind of matter ).

You complain about a delay to an alpha stage but say people should bear a 2-3 week delay of the next module?

 

[Zod the Bear]

I keep expecting it, it still always disapoint me. I just really don't like it when it could be avoided, but is still done 'for our sake in the long go'.
In this case it doesn't seems like it would be a big pain for the devellopement to use the cryengine netcode at first for the dogfight module, since apparently it would mean a release in december, si it's not like it would mean month of work on it for nothing, at worst just 2-3 weeks; if it's a delay people should be able to bear for the dogfight module, it's also one they could bear for the next module because they choose not to delay it.

If the problem was only that they are late for the dogfight module, disapointment would be there, but that's it, while there it's seems like it's because, just few week before the supposed release time, the goalpost when it comes to the netcode will most likely be put further than originaly intended; and that is something I don't like.

Is it completly selfish of me ? yeah definitly. I would just like to see a dev do it that way for once; or at least actually ask the community opinion about it ( seems so easy to take players money, but far harder to actually take their opinion on those kind of matter /rant ).

I'd much rather that they focus their efforts on projects that get us closer to a full release, and spend a little time polishing things so we can get a working hangar module, dogfighting, and what not along the way.

I'd much rather be told something will be delayed 2-3 weeks/whatever than have them take that time off working on something useful to just deliver us a dogfighting module that'll have to be largely rewritten.

 

[Momentary]

I got the Banu and Super Hornet out of this. I think this will be it for me unless a badass looking battle cruiser pops out of nowhere. I've never seen a appealing battle cruiser before. Plus my wife thinks I'm a little crazy for spending so much on a game.

 

[d0g_bear]

Guys, I'm new to Star citizen and I have a question. What will the flying in space be like in this game? I'm specifically wondering about the scale of the planets. Will they be massive and take you minutes (hours?) to orbit?

I saw a video of somebody flying and the distances and scale were so dissapointing. He flew over a planet in mere seconds. But maybe this was just some early footage that wasnt indicative of anything at all. Is it going to be different in the final game?

I think the video you saw must have been from the "Illum" test stage. I agree that little planet looked about fifty feet in diameter - ridiculous. That stage wasn't meant for use by the public, and presumably not indicative of the final product.

The only hints we have of the current flight model are what's shown in the aurora and hornet commercials. You see a planet approach at the end of the hornet video, it seems bigger, but still not actual planet-scale.

 

[elyetis]

You complain about a delay to an alpha stage but say people should bear a 2-3 week delay of the next module?

Might have used the wrong words, I mean if delay really aren't that important, are to be expected etc.. how is it really that different not to delay the module even if the use of the cryengine netcode would probably delay the next one ( or some other aspect of the game ).
Heck hangar and dogfight module probably delay the game just by existing, juste because some part of them wouldn't have been needed in a 'normal' developement.

I'll take numbers out of my hat and say that I don't think it is inherently a bad thing to make a game ( general example, not exactly representative of the Star Citizen case ) have a 2 month delay, if it mean avoiding having a 1 month delay for the alpha/beta/demo ( perfect example of something that usually delay devellopement )/whatever.

 

[Dead Man]

Might have used the wrong words, I mean if delay really aren't that important, are to be expected etc.. how is it really that different not to delay the module even if the use of the cryengine netcode would probably delay the next one ( or some other aspect of the game ).
Heck hangar and dogfight module probably delay the game just by existing, juste because some part of them wouldn't have been needed in a 'normal' developement.

I'll take numbers out of my hat and say that I don't think it is inherently a bad thing to make a game ( general example, not exactly representative of the Star Citizen case ) have a 2 month delay, if it mean avoiding having a 1 month delay for the alpha/beta/demo/whatever.

I think delays that add nothing to the final game (reworking code after the DFM) are a bit different to delays that will help the final game (delaying the DFM a few weeks to use the later spec net code).

I got the Banu and Super Hornet out of this. I think this will be it for me unless a badass looking battle cruiser pops out of nowhere. I've never seen a appealing battle cruiser before. Plus my wife thinks I'm a little crazy for spending so much on a game.

I don't know, the USS Guam with the funky camo always looked good to me ;p

 

[elyetis]

I think delays that add nothing to the final game (reworking code after the DFM) are a bit different to delays that will help the final game (delaying the DFM a few weeks to use the later spec net code).

Delaying DFM might help the game dev, but again, not releasing a hangar module and a DFM at all would probably allow a faster release too. My position is that in some case the game release is juste another milestone in what you actually deliver to those who already brought the game ( to take a very specific example, I doubt many people would say that player would have been happier if minecraft had far less patch content during the alpha/beta stage of the game, even if it meant the game would have released earlier ).

Sometime the most optimal dev isn't inherently the best choice to make ( again another example but with ffxiv ARR, where many (most ?) people would prefer to see them do monthly patch over their big patch every 3 month, even if it actually mean less content by those 3 month )

 

[Raticus79]

Hmm, looks like Black Hole Event Horizon's going to win the location vote. Stellar Graveyard has second place.

I voted for the black hole one. Stellar graveyard was pretty much a given in a game with a salvage mechanic anyway. I'm curious to see how they interpret it - will they have weird graphical effects?

 

[GeoGonzo]

Hmm, looks like Black Hole Event Horizon's going to win the location vote. Stellar Graveyard has second place.

I voted for the black hole one. Stellar graveyard was pretty much a given in a game with a salvage mechanic anyway. I'm curious to see how they interpret it - will they have weird graphical effects?

We'll probably get some weird looking vortex instead of a warped background behind an invisible black hole... because the latter probably doesn't scream danger to anyone.

 

[Mindlog]

Avenger video with the new PBR materials posted to the RSI channel, along with the orchestra and HUD videos.

For some reason it's always the orchestra videos that make it seem real. Everyone that has supported this game is awesome :]

 

[Raticus79]

We'll probably get some weird looking vortex instead of a warped background behind an invisible black hole... because the latter probably doesn't scream danger to anyone.

Yeah, they'll have to do something to make it more obvious. It's predicted to look something like this:

They could have it consuming a gas cloud or something so it's not quite as abstract.

Closer up, it's more like this:

not sure you'd still be conscious at this distance though, I forget at which point the tidal forces become a problem relative to the event horizon.

It's a pretty cool thing for them to tackle. Having the lensing going on while looking at it in an Oculus Rift would really be something special.

 

[Momentary]

What is this PBR acronym they are throwing around? I know it has something to do with graphics. The only thing I can think of is that cheap college kid/hipster brew.

 

[MrBig]

Guys, I'm new to Star citizen and I have a question. What will the flying in space be like in this game? I'm specifically wondering about the scale of the planets. Will they be massive and take you minutes (hours?) to orbit?

I saw a video of somebody flying and the distances and scale were so dissapointing. He flew over a planet in mere seconds. But maybe this was just some early footage that wasnt indicative of anything at all. Is it going to be different in the final game?

It'd be incredible to have these majestic planets actually be to scale (especially for Oculus Rift.) It would take a good amount of time to fly over entire continents and stuff. And speaking of that, will we be able to to actually fly down and enter the atmosphere and land on planets without loading? Or how is that gonna work?

This with Oculus Rift is going to make me buy a gaming PC for the first time in many years. I think I need this.

Planets will not be actual scale, since they are balancing the Sim vs Game scale towards the fun aspect, but everything will be quite large, you wont be able to cross a system in a couple minutes for example but it wont take you hours. That video you saw was probably their test level, a giant platform with the Earth and some rocks in the background used for testing out ships; it's not indicative of anything.

You will be able to travel to planets (and do everything else in the game, if all goes to plan) without a loading screen. At launch, though there will only be certain landing points on planets, and these will be the only thing really built out, so you will be locked in to a pre-defined flight path to go to the surface, you will not actually control your ship, but will be able to walk around it or prep for something. Eventually they'll be building out the planetary content, and they want to be able to do free atmospheric flight, but creating content for hundreds of planets to be able to allow that is going to take time as they do not want to rely on a purely procedural system

What is this PBR acronym they are throwing around? I know it has something to do with graphics. The only thing I can think of is that cheap college kid/hipster brew.

PBR stands for physically based rendering. Short answer is that it makes materials look more realistic by simulating light reactions in the shader/rendering rather than in the textures. If you were to look at current gen diffuse textures you would see a lot of faux shading, ambient occlusion, etc baked into it, but if you were to look at a diffuse texture for a PBR material all you would see is flat albedo color values. Really it just ends up meaning it makes things look better with less effort by the artists.

 

[-tetsuo-]

If you don't think that every single module is going to get pushed back/delayed, you are lying to yourself.

 

[fresquito]

So I'm thinking about getting into this and I read yesterday there was a cutoff. Sweet.

Was the cutoff big? Can we expect a new cutoff by Christmass?

 

[Ithil]

So as money continues to pour in even as the game is well into production, what is it they're spending all the money on? Hiring more people for the teams? Buying better tech?

 

[MrBig]

So as money continues to pour in even as the game is well into production, what is it they're spending all the money on? Hiring more people for the teams? Buying better tech?

Expanding the team and expanding the future plans for the game. You can see some of the future plans on the stretch goal page, and they now have three studios, in LA, Austin, and England, as well as contracted studios in Canada (a new behavior interactive studio) and Emeryville (void alpha).

So I'm thinking about getting into this and I read yesterday there was a cutoff. Sweet.

Was the cutoff big? Can we expect a new cutoff by Christmass?

Not really, they cut off something that is perceived out of context as being essential but has actually been described as being paltry in game terms. Not having to pay to keep ships insured, like auto insurance, will be a very small invest of in-game money and was a single aspect of several insurance packages needed to cover everything. You can still donate for ships just fine.

 

[Zod the Bear]

So I'm thinking about getting into this and I read yesterday there was a cutoff. Sweet.

Was the cutoff big? Can we expect a new cutoff by Christmass?

People who had backed before like...June (that was the cutoff for Veteran Backers, right?) and Original Backers can no longer purchase ships/game packages that come with Lifetime Insurance.

You can still back the game, though! Your ship will come with 3-6 months of hull insurance, which you will easily be able to maintain with in-game currency as you play the game. The original alpha slots are full, but they added more recently. There's about 33.5k slots left. There are no further cutoffs until all of those are full (at which point you can still get in on beta access, but alpha access will be closed.)

 

[Hackbert]

hi citizens, i am a backer of the first hours of this crazy train. I watched the last few month more silently, but the nagging feeling, that they want to much keeps getting stronger. hope i am just a silly pessimistic person. Do they have a final budget yet set or are they cranking up the number of ships per week and million? i feel lost with just my little starter ship hehe

 

[Grief.exe]

hi citizens, i am a backer of the first hours of this crazy train. I watched the last few month more silently, but the nagging feeling, that they want to much keeps getting stronger. hope i am just a silly pessimistic person. Do they have a final budget yet set or are they cranking up the number of ships per week and million? i feel lost with just my little starter ship hehe

Their final budget was initially at 22 million I believe, now they have fully surpassed that and continue to grow. They were going to get as much via crowdfunding as they could, then the rest from private investors.

Now they can do more things, hire more studios to complete art assets, spin up more servers for the Dog Fighting Module, etc.

 

[FACE]

hi citizens, i am a backer of the first hours of this crazy train. I watched the last few month more silently, but the nagging feeling, that they want to much keeps getting stronger. hope i am just a silly pessimistic person. Do they have a final budget yet set or are they cranking up the number of ships per week and million? i feel lost with just my little starter ship hehe

The budget for the game was 23 million, since then I believe the stretch goals have mainly been about new ships and expanding on some already planned features.

 

[fresquito]

Okay, I'm in. Aurora MR+ Pack.

The thing is, I should have 1,000 EUC, but I don't have any (I lie, I have 5,000 after signing for the Hangar Module, but I should have 6,000). Is that normal?

 

[spindoctor]

Okay, I'm in. Aurora MR+ Pack.

The thing is, I should have 1,000 EUC, but I don't have any (I lie, I have 5,000 after signing for the Hangar Module, but I should have 6,000). Is that normal?

The credits you get with your package will not be available until the game releases.

 

[fresquito]

The credits you get with your package will not be available until the game releases.

Thanks ^_^

 

[Arcoril]

The budget for the game was 23 million, since then I believe the stretch goals have mainly been about new ships and expanding on some already planned features.

That's been my take on it as well. None of the recent goals have been too ambitious. New ships and systems are significantly easier to add than entirely new game systems and that hasn't seemed to deter backers at all.

 

[Ithil]

The budget for the game was 23 million, since then I believe the stretch goals have mainly been about new ships and expanding on some already planned features.

Well things like new ships are just bonuses, really, as they obviously don't take 10 million extra dollars to make, but they can have them in the game with the same amount of developmental time since the extra money goes to lots of salaries for the bigger teams.

 

[Grief.exe]

That's been my take on it as well. None of the recent goals have been too ambitious. New ships and systems are significantly easier to add than entirely new game systems and that hasn't seemed to deter backers at all.

Especially when they already have the backend for producing those systems and ships developed.

Iterating more content from that perspective just requires more people, which they have the money for.

 

[Momentary]

Man, I can already see them releasing special cross over ships for more money. I wouldn't mind putting down some cash for an Ikaruga. I'm telling you its going to happen. I bet some of the wealthier could even have one-off ships designed for them for a premium. It would probably be about 500,000 for that service... I would do it

 

[Zod the Bear]

Man, I can already see them releasing special cross over ships for more money. I wouldn't mind putting down some cash for an Ikaruga. I'm telling you its going to happen. I bet some of the wealthier could even have one-off ships designed for them for a premium. It would probably be about 500,000 for that service... I would do it

The modding community'll be able to give you access to these kinds of things on private servers after launch. I don't think they'll go this route with the main persistent universe.

 

[Lazlo]

They don't have to actually spend the money they raise right away either - it's not like they staff up to account for each new million.

 

[Momentary]

The modding community'll be able to give you access to these kinds of things on private servers after launch. I don't think they'll go this route with the main persistent universe.

I don't think they would do the whole crossover ships thing. But I do believe they would do one-off ships for those who are wealthy/powerful enough. That would definitely make the world more believable for me. People do it now with one off yachts and ultra super cars like the Lykan Hypersport and Icona Vulcano.

 

[Grief.exe]

They don't have to actually spend the money they raise right away either - it's not like they staff up to account for each new million.

I have a feeling they are just going to permanently bank a large percentage, if not the majority, of the investments at this point.

They have enough to release the game, with extra to spare. Use that extra to continue to support the company after release and into the next game they develop.

 

[Momentary]

I have a feeling they are just going to permanently bank a large percentage, if not the majority, of the investments at this point.

They have enough to release the game, with extra to spare. Use that extra to continue to support the company after release and into the next game they develop.

Man I could just imagine a mecha game with the amount of detail they put into the ships of this game. Hell, that could be their expansion for this. I know that's not Chris Roberts' style though.

 

[Mindlog]

I have a feeling they are just going to permanently bank a large percentage, if not the majority, of the investments at this point.

They have enough to release the game, with extra to spare. Use that extra to continue to support the company after release and into the next game they develop.

They've already stated plans to evolve the story and persistant universe along with possibly annual ship updates. It would be great if some of the stretch goals were to guarantee long term EVE style free expansion packs.

 

[Lazlo]

I have a feeling they are just going to permanently bank a large percentage, if not the majority, of the investments at this point.

They have enough to release the game, with extra to spare. Use that extra to continue to support the company after release and into the next game they develop.

Yup, but I was more commenting on how some people seem to think the second they raise extra money that it's spent on something which is not the case.

 

[ActStriker]

I just bought in through a friend who was an original backer.

Can't wait.

 

[derFeef]

The latest Elite dev video is really cool, I am impressed actually. Step your game up SC and show us some dogfights.

 

[Keasar]

The latest Elite dev video is really cool, I am impressed actually. Step your game up SC and show us some dogfights.

So happy to see so many space sims coming out in the next couple of years. The latest decade of military shooters is starting to get a bit tiring.

And yeah, that Elite alpha looked awesome.

 

[epmode]

The latest Elite dev video is really cool, I am impressed actually. Step your game up SC and show us some dogfights.

Yeah, that video looks great. It's disappointing that alpha access is restricted to those who backed with ~$300. I hope the beta starts soon.

edit: I guess I'll post the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6WmsnwNq98

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

Yeah, really liking the look of that Elite video (other than the laserbeam weapons, which I'm personally not a massive fan of).

 

[Starbuck2907]

Yeah, that video looks great. It's disappointing that alpha access is restricted to those who backed with ~$300. I hope the beta starts soon.

edit: I guess I'll post the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6WmsnwNq98

Wow. That video....if actual gameplay is anything like that, I will be VERY excited.

In other news...I put a Hornet Ghost with LTI in my basket on the 26th. I woke up on the 27th...it was still in my basket, so I bought it. Got lucky, I think, and managed to buy a LTI ship technically after the 26th.

My ship count is now up to:

325a
Hornet Ghost
Cutlass
Constellation

Nothing compared to what some here have...but, I feel like that is all I'm going to need for what I do. I can always buy a bigger ship if I need it in game.

After I bought the Hornet Ghost, I had to go edit the game's config file so that all my ships would show up. Man, that Hornet has a really nice cockpit!

 

[XEROWUN]

the saitek x52 pro is 135.50 sold directly by amazon... so tempting....

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LQ4HTS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[epmode]

the saitek x52 pro is 135.50 sold directly by amazon... so tempting....

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LQ4HTS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Might want to wait. Saitek is reportedly in talks with CIG for some kind of Star Citizen controller.

 

[Teknopathetic]

There's also the Saitek X55 that was recently announced, but that will more than likely be a bit more costly.

 

[XEROWUN]

There's also the Saitek X55 that was recently announced, but that will more than likely be a bit more costly.

i'm surprised they haven't shown it yet, i thought they said they are allowing for preorder end of Nov and will release before Christmas