# Star Citizen is the Future of PC Gaming, and it \[was\] Free to Play this week (Edit: No Longer Free) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [October 13, 2015, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528 "2015-10-13T06:29:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/381 "2018-10-12T12:57:10Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Yeah, an extended cutscene without about 5 seconds of actual gameplay doesn’t exactly make me slaver in anticipation. > > And whoever made the decision to have the characters look exactly like their famous voice actors should be tossed out an airlock. “HEY! We got Gillian Andersen, the redhead from the X-files, and GARY FUCKING OLDMAN! We’re a big game. We’re the biggest!” I kept crashing into the uncanny valley. At which timemark was the gameplay? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/382 "2018-10-12T13:02:43Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > If it looks anything like the trailer, and it probably will given the PC system requirements to even run this game, it looks…AWESOME!!! So, do the games you buy look like the promotional trailers very often? BTW, what _are_ the PC system requirements for this game to run properly? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/383 "2018-10-12T13:06:24Z")
[Check to see if you can run it.](https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/squadron-42/16101) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/384 "2018-10-12T13:08:57Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Well, hey, that’s what Chris Roberts did with Wing Commander III back in 1997 or whenever it was. But that was actual live footage of the actors. And he had Luke Skywalker making out with a pornstar. > [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > At which timemark was the gameplay? Right at the end, 2:42 when the space battle moves into the cockpit. May not even be real gameplay, but it’s closer than anything else in the trailer. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/385 "2018-10-12T16:44:43Z")
This incredible saga reminds me of a perpetual motion company that raised about $2.9 million. :smack:😕:eek: [Steorn Ltd was a small, private technology development company based in Dublin, Ireland. In August 2006, it announced that it had developed a technology to provide “free, clean, and constant energy” via an apparent perpetual motion machine, something which is contrary to the law of conservation of energy, a fundamental principle of physics. In November 2016, the company laid off its staff, closed its facility, and prepared for liquidation.](‘[Steorn - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steorn)’) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/386 "2018-10-12T17:43:48Z")
Ha! Orbo! I’d forgotten about them. People stuck with them long after the scam was pathetically obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/387 "2018-10-15T19:57:46Z")
Star Citizen took in about [a million dollars](https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/14/17975478/star-citizen-launch-date-windows-pc) last week, at least in part because of the ‘release’ of a new $330 ship. I put it in sarcasm quotes because the ship is of course not available in what they’re calling the “persistent universe” module. A million dollars in four days. Why bother releasing a game when you can win the lottery literally whenever you want? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/388 "2018-10-15T22:17:58Z")
They’re really milking the Milky Way. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/389 "2018-10-30T22:07:53Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > “HEY! We got Gillian Andersen, the redhead from the X-files, and GARY FUCKING OLDMAN! We’re a big game. We’re the biggest!” > > I kept crashing into the uncanny valley. [The uncanny valley is getting deeper, and is totally not feature creep.](https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/pa959z/star-citizen-says-its-crazy-face-tracking-tech-isnt-feature-creep) [sub]Yeah, right.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/390 "2018-11-05T21:48:30Z")
That’s an interesting tech, but that article made my brain hurt. “This wasn’t a long effort by a big team, it was 4-5 guys working on stuff while also working on other things.” and then “It took us five months just to get the facial rigging right.” Uh…huh. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/391 "2018-11-05T22:01:27Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > That’s an interesting tech, but that article made my brain hurt. > > “This wasn’t a long effort by a big team, it was 4-5 guys working on stuff while also working on other things.” > and then > “It took us five months just to get the facial rigging right.” > > Uh…huh. To be fair, when a game is in development for decades (and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one ends up that way) five months is a very short time. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/392 "2018-11-06T11:01:58Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > To be fair, when a game is in development for decades (and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one ends up that way) five months is a very short time. I don’t know that it’s the best use of development time when your game is three years overdue, on the other hand. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/393 "2018-11-06T13:51:10Z")
If your goal is to raise more money from people buying into your project and you don’t actually care about ever releasing a full game then it’s pretty brilliant to show yet more features people might see as innovative. When a game is actually released, people will play the game, get bored, and move on. If you string them along indefinitely then your money keeps coming in indefinitely. If you look at it not as an attempt to make a product but just as a way to make money, these people are geniuses. The amount they’ve earned is staggering and it’s still working. Who cares if those who bought in early lose faith and patience and give up, you don’t allow refunds and you’ve withstood lawsuits so far. Just keep showing more features and make more promises and people keep buying in. At this point I’m actually excited to see how much they ultimately make. It’s like the movie _Catch Me If You Can_, you know Leonardo DiCaprio is a criminal but you admire how he gets away with it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/394 "2018-11-06T13:56:10Z")
I just went to their funding page. At the top of the page is how much money from how many customers. They are on the verge of breaking 200 million. > **[Stretch Goals - Roberts Space Industries | Follow the development of Star...](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/funding-goals)** > > Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and merch, as well as all the community tools used by our fans. As I post this it shows: $199,346,048 Wow! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/395 "2018-11-16T21:11:58Z")
[Another free trial next week](https://www.pcgamer.com/star-citizen-is-going-free-for-a-week-and-you-get-a-new-planet-to-explore/) and a new Alpha was released over Veterans Day weekend. Are they _that_ desperate for fresh [del]suckers[/del] geeks? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/396 "2018-11-24T22:14:16Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [Another free trial next week](https://www.pcgamer.com/star-citizen-is-going-free-for-a-week-and-you-get-a-new-planet-to-explore/) and a new Alpha was released over Veterans Day weekend. Are they _that_ desperate for fresh [del]suckers[/del] geeks? The new planet, it’s moons and the city of Lorville on the planet are pretty off the hook. More and more content is being added with each new update/patch. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/397 "2018-11-24T22:20:12Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > The new planet, it’s moons and the city of Lorville on the planet are pretty off the hook. More and more content is being added with each new update/patch. That’s nice. Where’s the game itself? ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/398 "2018-11-25T03:36:44Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That’s nice. > Where’s the game itself? Let’s not be demanding, here. Where’s an _approximate date_ for the game itself? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/399 "2018-11-25T03:45:30Z")
Their [road map](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/roadmap/board/1-Star-Citizen) currently extends into Q2 of next year, so one would assume no earlier than that. I don’t think they have an actual release date and haven’t had one in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528/400 "2018-11-25T18:31:44Z")
You’re right, still too demanding. Where’s an approximate date for an approximate date for the game, then? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-citizen-is-the-future-of-pc-gaming-and-it-was-free-to-play-this-week-edit-no-longer-free/734528.md?page=21)