# 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:** 39
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:46pm 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/734528/761 "2021-11-16T14:46:35Z")
At least they are employing hundreds of people, soon to be thousands: [Star Citizen developer plans 1000-person Manchester mega studio | Eurogamer.net](https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-10-star-citizen-developer-plans-1000-person-manchester-mega-studio) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 5:38pm 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/734528/762 "2021-11-16T17:38:13Z")
Every project manager on the planet is thinking, “You don’t need more people, you need fewer.” It’s a pyramid scheme now. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 6:21pm 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/734528/763 "2021-11-16T18:21:31Z")
Devil’s advocate, from what I’ve seen they have one star system pretty much working with planets and moons and stations and such. The additional staff would be needed to create/tweak the other 49 star systems and all the various assets for the planets, moons, ships, and stations. Plus all the additional gameplay elements. They do have a progress tracker which I deem to be very optimistic: [Star Citizen Roadmap - RSI](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/roadmap/progress-tracker/teams) ---
**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 16, 2021, 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/734528/764 "2021-11-16T18:31:44Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > The additional staff would be needed to create/tweak the other 49 star systems and all the various assets for the planets, moons, ships, and stations. Is every system and planet supposed to be built from the ground up? No procedural generation? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 6:36pm 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/734528/765 "2021-11-16T18:36:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > No procedural generation? Do you think Chris Roberts would settle for procedural generation? This is the Bentley of video games, except that Bentleys exist whereas Star Citizen ~~victims~~ players buy pictures of their luxury cars at full price. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 6:43pm 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/734528/766 "2021-11-16T18:43:24Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > This is the Bentley of video games, except that Bentleys exist whereas Star Citizen ~~victims~~ players buy pictures of their luxury cars at full price. Soon, CIG will start selling NFTs of imaginary ships. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 6:49pm 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/734528/767 "2021-11-16T18:49:04Z")
From what I’ve read/watched it sounds like the basics will be procedural and then it can be tweaked. The planets are huge. This was from January: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/f7J72xaZC8U/maxresdefault.jpg "Star Citizen - Procedural Rivers, Deforming Terrain & Ship Combat Plans") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7J72xaZC8U) ---
**Author:** ![smilingbandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@smilingbandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smilingbandit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 6:58pm 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/734528/768 "2021-11-16T18:58:37Z")
Wait, they’re staffing up this new-ish studio for the next _five years_? When do they expect the game to release in that case? And at this point wouldn’t they already have the largest development team for a single studio on the planet? The other, other question I have is, “Who is going to fill up the game?” Space is _big_. You could very easily have one good star system cover all the needs of the community. The size and scope they have now doesn’t entirely make sense to me. It’s too big for most of it to be necessary for site-specific gameplay without an improbably-large player base, but too small for real exploration. I don’t think I understand the point. ---
**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 16, 2021, 7:10pm 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/734528/769 "2021-11-16T19:10:23Z")
> [@smilingbandit](#): > > The other, other question I have is, “Who is going to fill up the game?” Literally every gamer with a computer capable of running it. Remember that Star Citizen is the most ambitious game of all time. It will cover a dozen different genres. It will have millions upon millions of players. That’s an important part of the pitch to the backers. They’re getting in on the ground floor of something truly monumental. They’ll be a kind of nobility in Star Citizen: an old guard who kept the faith through the long years of development. > [@smilingbandit](#): > > And at this point wouldn’t they already have the largest development team for a single studio on the planet? I looked around and the best I found was a reference to GTA V having over a thousand people working on it over its development. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 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/734528/770 "2021-11-16T22:01:36Z")
A thousand people? Pshaw. The credits for Fable ran for over 40 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 10:16pm 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/734528/771 "2021-11-16T22:16:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Literally every gamer with a computer capable of running it. Remember that Star Citizen is the most ambitious game of all time. It will cover a dozen different genres. It will have millions upon millions of players. “It’ll cover a dozen genres” honestly does not sound like something that will bring in millions and millions of players. That sounds like trying to be all things to all people, a formula that rarely results in success in any commercial endeavor. It sounds like a recipe for failure. ---
**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 16, 2021, 11:01pm 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/734528/772 "2021-11-16T23:01:05Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It sounds like a recipe for failure. I find your lack of faith disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:21pm 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/734528/773 "2021-11-16T23:21:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The credits for Fable ran for over 40 minutes. I used to have a computer that slow. 🤣 ---
**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 16, 2021, 11:32pm 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/734528/774 "2021-11-16T23:32:09Z")
I’ll be honest, when I first read about Star Citizen it sounded awesome. I wasn’t sure how it would be possible to do the scope they promised, but if it could be done it would be great. And I’m a big fan of the old Wing Commander games. If somehow it gets done, sweet. I’ll play it. But I was wary of buying in early because I didn’t think it would happen. I am glad about that. I blew some money (not much, but some) on Firefly Online which ended up being vaporware. So call me vaporwary when someone overpromises. If it gets done though? And it’s at least close to what they said they’d try to do, and it’s good? They might get my money then. I still think we’ll never see that though. ---
**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, 2021, 11:37pm 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/734528/775 "2021-11-16T23:37:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “It’ll cover a dozen genres” honestly does not sound like something that will bring in millions and millions of players. That sounds like trying to be all things to all people, a formula that rarely results in success in any commercial endeavor. It sounds like a recipe for failure. Six years ago: > [@Skywatcher](#): > > _Spore_, in space. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 12:02am 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/734528/776 "2021-11-17T00:02:17Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “It’ll cover a dozen genres” honestly does not sound like something that will bring in millions and millions of players. That sounds like trying to be all things to all people, a formula that rarely results in success in any commercial endeavor. It sounds like a recipe for failure. Right. What if I only enjoy playing, like, five genres? Will I have to suffer through seven genres I don’t like in order to play the game? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 1:10am 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/734528/777 "2021-11-17T01:10:08Z")
I think it’s just an open world sandbox sort of like Elite Dangerous. You can trade, fight, explore, do missions, etc. All that makes money and what goals you have are up to you. Whether they can make that compelling enough for people to keep playing remains to be seen. Squadron 42 will be the version of Star Citizen with an actual campaign. That doesn’t seem as far along in development at this point. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 1:45am 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/734528/778 "2021-11-17T01:45:19Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Six years ago: Spore is an outstanding example. > [@Alessan](#): > > Right. What if I only enjoy playing, like, five genres? Will I have to suffer through seven genres I don’t like in order to play the game? More to the point, if the game has seven genres,how many will be GOOD? The odds are one at best. Most video games are mediocre. More strategy games are mediocre, most FPS games are mediocre, most turn based strategy games are mediocre, most RPGs are mediocre. But they’re not mediocre because the development didn’t spend enough money on them; they’re mediocre because the game concepts and mechanics are poor. That new strategy game “Humankind”? Mediocre. Looks great, very expensive, but meh. I’ve seen it all before. “FTL” looks like it was made for sixty bucks and a beer ticket, but it’s sensational. Star Citizen is basically Wing Commander with a zillion bells and whistles, but it’s still just flying ships that behave like airplanes in space and shooting lasers at one another, basically. That’s cool, but there have been a million games like that, and the difference between the great ones, like TIE Fighter, and mediocre ones is not sooper-dooper graphics. I’ve seen it all before, and I have to say that Wing Commander with a boring thing where you run around a space station does not sound like a better version of that game. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 2:00am 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/734528/779 "2021-11-17T02:00:50Z")
To be fair, Spore actually got released, and it did what they said it would do. It’s just that, what they said it would do was boring to everyone but the developers. ---
**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 17, 2021, 2:26am 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/734528/780 "2021-11-17T02:26:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To be fair, Spore actually got released With some of it missing. How much of this game will be missing, if it ever gets released? [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=38) [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=40)