I think there may be a “surprisingly” large gap between feature complete and finished.
And has been in “close out mode” for three years.
No, it’s not; it’s now in “polishing phase” and who knows how long that will take.
Then I give CIG too much credit, which is sad because in my mind they toe the line between legitimate developers and straight-up con artists.
I do actually think that they will eventually release Squadron 42 and that the announcement reflects real progress. So, not a scam in that sense. But I also think that the actual release date is years and not weeks/months off.
The ship selling stuff is scummy but no more so than a casino.
That’s why I don’t go so far as to say that they are scammers. I’ve seen developers who were scammers. I mentioned the Phantom gaming console earlier in this thread. That’s what a real scam looks like.
But all the broken promises, all the extra garbage… It’s like you hire someone to renovate your kitchen, which was supposed to be done in a few months but two years later they aren’t done, but hey maybe you want to look at this idea they had for a really nice set of cabinets they could put in when they’ve finished, and even though you didn’t ask them to, they’re also going to add a half-bath and all of the plumbing work is going to cause more delays but don’t worry, you will love not having to go to the other side of the house when you need to pee. And great news, they got approval for the permitting on that bathroom and the pipes will be installed next week. Here is a bill for the copper pipes, only the best for that bathroom you didn’t ask for. They are also considering adding a shower stall too while they’re at it, more to come on that.
How is that functionally different from a scam? Sure, they may claim they’re acting in good faith, but who cares?
For me, it’s a scam if they’re not actually making a product. In this case there’s actually a game and people are even playing it. It’s far behind what they keep promising and who knows if they’ll ever finish (it’s doubtful) but I would only call it a scam if it was total vaporware, which it’s not. (Just my opinion.)
Well, that’s why the qualifier ‘functional’.
It’s true they are probably clear in a legal sense, but they’ve in effect defrauded anybody who has contributed money expecting a completed game by now. It is immaterial that there exists some subset (even a large subset) of consumers who are using some version of the product and are satisfied with it.
That victims of a fraud are satisfied with being defrauded is rather irrelevant - cf. MLMs. Even a sincere intention to eventually make good does not really absolve the business in an ethical sense, even if it may not rise to the level of an actual crime.
And it will give them the chance to add more ‘features’ to the ‘feature complete’ game.
I haven’t really looked into this game, because it seemed to be little more than a fiasco.
Recently I got back into Elite Dangerous VR. I have been thinking of upgrading to a VKB HOTAS, so have watched some review videos. It seems that every one of these videos the presenters are playing Star Citizen. Was a little surprised.
So…I went to the website. Advertising play for free for a limited time. What a labyrinth of obfuscation. The play for free now button opened a new tab and then another. I did get to a sign up process eventually, but not before offers of starting packages, and ‘ships’ that you can buy(?) for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Nowhere did I see some kind standard purchase of a basic game. It wasn’t even clear to me that there was a basic game.
Well, I cant be bothered. If I want to nerd out on detailed flight SIMing, there are excellent published games that I already have like DCS or Sturmovik. Plenty of story and adventure focused finished offerings as well.
I am too miserly to even shell out on full price games as it is. I usually wait for a sale or play indie or even very old games. I am not interested in some offer that can’t even tell me an actual price.
How is this still possible? When sitting around in the company wondering how to make more money this is what they come up with?
This is why this game is never going to come out. The second it’s “finished” all those 600 million worth of pledges immediately come due.
Which is also true if there is an announcement that the project is being abandoned.
I don’t understand. I thought the money people paid in was akin to a Kickstarter campaign. Are you saying they have to be paid back once the game’s finished?
Not paid back, but those people were buying things that are due once the game comes out. At this point that is just another massive amount of work they have to do on top of actually making the game.
For instance, if you gave $10,000 to the original Kickstarter program, you were supposed to receive:
Title: WING COMMANDER: The finished game for your PC with your top of the line RSI Constellation spaceship ready to fly + 20,000 Galactic Credits + Custom skin for your RSI Constellation Spaceship + Name your spaceship (after you if you want!) + Exclusive access to the Alpha and Beta + 1 Million Mile High Club Ownership - Invite your guests to your private club in the game + Spaceship shaped USB stick of game and all digital elements + CD of game soundtrack + Fold up glossy full color map of the game universe + Set of 5 Ship Blueprints + 10-inch painted model of your in-game ship + Hardcover copy of ‘The Making of Star Citizen’ including loads of behind the scenes images and info, prelim concept art, development stories + Hang for a day with Chris Roberts and key peeps on the dev team + Titanium Citizens Card
See, nobody is ever going to see any of those physical rewards.
Unless there are requests to do so:
The stretch goals from their inhouse fundraising campaign promised even more:
Stretch Goals - Star Citizen Wiki
If I pay for a Bugatti Chiron to be delivered within two years, and at the end of those two years they deliver a used Geo Metro that isn’t even street-ready and a note that says “Hold tight, True Believer!”, then I have been scammed.