People will sign on just because of the Chris Roberts name! I'm going to, but can't decide at what level yet.

Same here. The fact that's it's years out disturbs me. I don't know where I will be in 2014/2015. But 'The Man' (50 Dollar) sounds good.

 

They had a good quote on the scale model somewhere. Something like 'geez, that's no moon, that's a ship!' (Star Wars?) I like games where you see huge differences in regard to your own human-sized perspective. Well, when filled with details, that moon sized ship will be a heavy task, even more so when two/three parties are fighting around it.

 

I think Eve Online also features some massive ships. Now that game never really got me, unfortunately. Must admit I've tried a few online games with a (theoretically) cool plot. From the Star Wars (online) stuff right to the Matrix (Online). All failed so far, sometimes not only for me. ^_^

This just looks epic, awesome and mega. I really hope it comes to fruition. One of my favourite games of yore was Tachyon the fringe. I always wanted to proper land on their space carriers . Gonna make my (small) funding to this one for sure!

 

'geez, that's no moon, that's a ship!'

Nah, it was a ship. they were just using iOS6 maps to find their way . Sorry.....

:lol: on the map thing.

 

I just saw that Chris Roberts had an 'AMA' running.

I am Chris Roberts, creator of Wing Commander, Freelancer and the upcoming Star Citizen. AMA.

That's mainly an opportunity to ask the guy anything you want, even on map details. ^_^

 

Nice quotes. On the gameplay.

Star Citizen is not going to be as easy as a modern game where there is no penalty for failing or being sloppy.

The on planet stuff will be like Freelancer / Privateer. You will be able to visit a few locations to buy / sell / upgrade ships, buy / sell commodities, get missions, listen to rumors in the bar and so on. In space you'll be able to move around in first person on spaceships, including boarding and capturing (or defending) larger spaceship s/ installations.

The larger ships are designed so multiple people can crew them - one player as the pilot, one on the scanners, one on the fire control, and so on. In addition a large focus of the design is to allow players to "find" their profession - solider, merchant, pirate, explorer... So there are definitely parts of the game focused of discovery and exploration. I've already talked about how we're going to let the players discover new jump points and star systems rather than us reveal them. There will be a lot more stuff like this. Being an explorer will be a fun and noble part of SC.

 

Regarding the past years.

Its been a fun 10 years in the film industry and I've made some films I'm proud of like Lord of War and Lucky Number Slevin. I wasn't happy with how the Wing Commander turned out - it didn't match the picture I saw in my head - which is unusual for me, but I think it was down to my inexperience as a first time director, having a deal making vs a film making producer, a ridiculous short pre-production time (2 months!) and a low budget ($20M) for a complicated sci-fi film. There's still some parts of it that I thin are very well done, but if made that film again today t would be 10x better

 

I'm giving film a break for now and am fully focused on building SC as it represents everything I love about games or movies - universe building!

 

On the funding targets.

We plan on building the full SC experience even if we only end up with just $2-$2.5M which is unlikely given where we are now and our current pace. We should be well beyond here by the end but keep up the support!

The only difference is that we cant promise the full SC experience in 24 months after funding - it may take longer and we may not have as much content on launch, but we'll still deliver it!

We have private funding (not publisher funding). The crowd funding side helps to determine how ambitious we can be upfront. The overall game wont cost $20M upfront, but probably by the end of the first year of public release we will have spent that much between the original game and the ongoing content that year

I like the offhanded comment about spending 20million says quite a bit. I think he can do it, and with the hype he can generate in name recognition alone, he will probably have a good return on investment over the long haul.

 

But what occurred to me was how I would react if I heard somebody was about to spend that much on a "serious" flight sim. (I would think they were out of their freaking minds)

Ha, that Kickstarter thing already is at 97%, so I guess you're right about the name impact. Lets hope the bigger one on the main site keeps up to the pace. 1.3 million bucks so far.

 

Those game investment numbers often enough come in a bit surreal for me. But, same as you, I think the guy can handle that much money and that big of a project. And I truly adore the 'we are doing it without the publishers' attitude.

Over the years, publishers surely made certain games possible but also dictated the actual devs some ridiculous changes due to their planned business model. By this, they've also destroyed some good stuff. Well, subjective impression of mine of course. :blush:

 

Since you've mentioned flight sim numbers. I wonder how much money was (or is) planned for that Aerosoft flight sim. They still say it's running. Well, in a way to actually transport that it's not. ^_^ 20 million? How much did FSX (development) cost? And what would have been the absolute number since it used ingredients and knowledge from way older sims? Good question indeed.

I like the offhanded comment about spending 20million says quite a bit. I think he can do it, and with the hype he can generate in name recognition alone, he will probably have a good return on investment over the long haul.

 

But what occurred to me was how I would react if I heard somebody was about to spend that much on a "serious" flight sim. (I would think they were out of their freaking minds)

 

I've seen $30 million been seen thrown around as the cost of developing a new sim. Its a pretty typical budget for a modern big-budget game. It wouldn't surprise me if MS spent the same on Flight. The Flight team had something like 50 members. For a two year development time that's something like $5-10 million in salary alone.

I like the offhanded comment about spending 20million says quite a bit. I think he can do it, and with the hype he can generate in name recognition alone, he will probably have a good return on investment over the long haul.

 

But what occurred to me was how I would react if I heard somebody was about to spend that much on a "serious" flight sim. (I would think they were out of their freaking minds)

 

Well Microsoft has so much infrastructure and overhead that its almost a given that they would spend more than a smaller, more flexible team would. Even with that in mind (and not to derail the thread) your point just highlights the insanity of sinking that type of money into something and then wandering off without giving it even the ghost of a fair chance.

 

If I was a stockholder, I would be wondering about management.

 

It seems to be a matter of belief and commitment. Chris Roberts does not project the demeanor of somebody who would be satisfied with an incomplete product, or who would just shrug and walk away. He has a track record of dedication that allows you to believe he will follow through to the best of his ability.

Close to 1.5 million and Kickstarter being at 124%. Way to go! The confusing part is that the package's names changed, or their corresponding amount of money. :wacko:

Yikes, they are marching towards the 3 million limit and already have enabled a 'stretched goals' step, means extra content. :Party: Leads me to the question if there are any flight sim related funding projects.

 

I mean, people spend money on an unknown game, an unknown outcome and the closest release date to be two years away. Edited. And four guys spend 10.000 bucks in advance! :Money Eyes:

You don't really seem to get very much more for that 10k though...........

 

They should offer something more tangible.

Just tell them how much you want to spend. :lol: I think the 10.000 bucks folks get that day with the team.

Hang for a day with Chris Roberts and key peeps on the dev team!

 

Lol, 5000 bucks only is half. Guess you are right.

Spend half a day with Chris Roberts and get into the details of the development!

 

But I'm happy they've made it that far and the funding isn't over yet. Those 3 million gadgets look really nice.

3 million goal achieved! :Party: And still 9 days to go.

 

And here's an interview with Chris Roberts stating that even the next gen consoles may not really cut it. Interesting. http://arstechnica.c...e-on-pc-gaming/

 

The main reason, Roberts says, is memory capacity. "You can’t do that much with 512MB [of RAM on a console], so that constrains a lot of your game design. If I’m building a PC game, I’m going 'Yeah, you need 4GB on your machine.' Of course you’re not going to get all 4GB because Windows is a hungry beast, but you’re getting a lot more than 512MB so it kinds of open up what you can do, what you can fit in memory at the same time, and it changes your level of ambition."

 

Four gigabytes of RAM might sound like a lot, but keep in mind that Star Citizen isn't set to see a final release for another two years. "I’m looking at the high-end [hardware] today being the 'Normal Gamer' level in two years time," he said. "It'll be kind of like Wing Commander used to be. If you had the extra memory, if you had the 386, it was a better experience, but you could still play it on a 286."

I just knew those asymmetrical ship designs were based on the Kilrathi!

Don't forget the Star Wars stuff. Millennium Falcon. :Big Grin: When will Boeing and Airbus ever learn? :Batting Eyelashes:

 

Ok, there are nice symmetrical ones too. Take this one for example. http://masseffect.wi...rian_Envoy_Ship And lets talk about Borg ships now.

Lol, I like how they alter the goals. http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/star-citizen/ 3.5 million and still counting. While the initial goal was only 2 million. Lots of fans around.