Do we know that for a fact? Has anyone ever seen these 500 employees? I’ve noticed that the company web site seems to lack an “About Us” section, with the bios of the various team leaders. Have they ever posted pictures from the insides of their offices?
I can’t. It’s one thing to want to keep on adding features. But you have to have some sort of priorities. When you’re prioritizing accurate modeling of player avatar tear ducts over the ability to actually buy things in the in-game shops, that’s pretty strong evidence that you’re actively trying to avoid ever finishing the game.
FWIW, LinkedIn has 803 profiles claiming to be employed by Cloud Imperium and Roberts Space Industries doesn’t really exist outside Star Citizen.
You can also just read their financial statements. 2021 seems to be the last full year for which they have data:
748 employees, 545 of them in development, and $100.4M in costs.
Yes.
Though that pic is from 2018.
The idea that this is some conspiracy where CIG is actually a fake shell company that just funnels money to Roberts is a new one to me.
Really? I’ve been pushing it in this thread for about three years now.
Seems like the evidence is against me, though. Bummer. It would be awesome if it were true.
Also, my baseless theory isn’t so much that Robert’s stealing the money, but rather that money launderers are using the crowdfunding mechanism to funnel money back to themselves.
I think part of the problem is that most of us cannot imagine Roberts being completely clueless for this long. Maybe in the beginning he let feature creep overtake him but, surely by this point, he must realize it’s well past time to deliver a finished product.
Yet, here we are and it seems there never will be one despite having $600 million to get it done. That lends to the sense that something criminal is happening or, at the least, very sketchy (or just staggering incompetence but with 600+ staff that is a tough sell). Still taking money with no intention of ever producing a finished product.
Roberts wants an interplanetary civilization simulator. That’s what he’s been dreaming of since at least the 90s. What’s left to implement? Everything. I have no doubt that Roberts still feels hemmed in by the budget he has.
Take your favorite sci-fi series, whether Star Trek or Star Wars or the Culture or The Expanse or whatever. Now imagine that you were dropped in that universe and can do everything that an inhabitant could ever be expected to do, whether piloting a warship or running a coffee shop. That’s what Roberts wants.
I’ve always dreamed of taking a shit in an alleyway under a different set of moons. Someday…sigh…someday…
Buy the $2500 Defecation Pack and you can live your dream.
ARK: Survival Evolved has you covered.
Meanwhile, No Man’s Sky just dropped yet another large update and Starfield is out in two weeks.
Next Thursday (Aug 31 in the US) if you bought the premium edition.
So was this a huge scam? I just saw that it passed $600 million in funding, but was never released? Wow.
What do you mean “was”? It’s still in development.
But it wasn’t a “huge scam” in the sense that they were just faking it to get money. It’s not The Phantom. They’ve actually made stuff, and people can play, though it’s a buggy mess that is only a tiny fraction of what it’s supposed to be (since it’s still only in Alpha state).
I posted this EONS AGOOOOO
Check out post 969 and on to see some discussion on that article:
Thanks, sorry for popping in without reviewing the thread.
Yeah, looks like a real money collection scheme.
If the current trend of 100 mil every 11 months continues: April 2027.
Sure, and it’s only an extra thirty bucks for a whole week of playing early.
I’ll happily wait to play in on game pass