Vapourware Scam Citizen - Only people with too much money can become StarCitizens! WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE?

[Blaine]

So it is pay2win basically. That's unfortunate, game looks good.

Yeah, I bought all those pledge ships because having the biggest ship with the biggest guns will help me to win the game. You can't have fun, win fights, or really accomplish anything at all in a single-seater.

Hang on—that makes absolutely no sense. If I thought that, there would be four Idris Corvettes on my list and nothing else. Actually, there would be no ships on my list, because I wouldn't want to play the game.

 

[AstroZombie]

The pointy end of the ship is the back, which makes complete sense since it's a merchant ship.

 

[J_C]

So it is pay2win basically. That's unfortunate, game looks good.

How is that pay to win when you can buy those ships ingame with gamecash? Yeah, Blaine will have some edge against me in the beginning, if he sits in one of his ships and I sit in an Aurora, but I will catch up with him eventually. For the time being, I won't get in a dogfight with him.

 

[Raapys]

Have they said anything about how they'll handle large-scale combat? E.g. like Eve's timeslow bubble mechanic?

 

[Hoaxmetal]

How is that pay to win when you can buy those ships ingame with gamecash?

It would be pay2win if they'd sell ships for cash when the game launches, which won't be the case I think?

 

[tuluse]

You can buy in game money for real money. It's going to be pay2avoidgrinding

 

[AstroZombie]

There'll be a cap to how much money you'll be able to buy in a month.

Grinding implies that the game isn't fun to play and the game is balanced in such a way that accumulating enough money to buy anything takes forever. I hope this will not be the case.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

Well, it'll all be clear when we see actual numbers/costs/limits.

 

[Spectacle]

There'll be a cap to how much money you'll be able to buy in a month.

Grinding implies that the game isn't fun to play and the game is balanced in such a way that accumulating enough money to buy anything takes forever. I hope this will not be the case.

A game can be super fun to play, but it can still have grinding if there is a repetitive way to gain resources faster than playing "for fun". And an MMO with any kind of economy will always have a point where it takes utterly huge amounts of resources to progress, otherwise the no-lifers who play 10+ hours per day will quickly blow through all the content and get bored.

 

[Frusciante]

You can buy in game money for real money. It's going to be pay2avoidgrinding

Most F2P or B2P models are like that now. In general people still call this kind of model pay2win.

Won't stop me from playing anyway, but no need to sugercoat it....

 

[Blaine]

You can buy essentially unlimited amounts of game cash in EVE Online, and no one cares. No one calls the game pay2win, either. That's not because everyone buys their ships and modules with cash—the majority of experienced players actually play without even paying a single dime for subscription fees. Player skill, knowledge of the game, and interpersonal connections are ultimately much more important than having a large pile of ships.

EVE is also skill-based, and player characters accrue skill points in real time, whether the player is playing the game or not. These pilot characters can be sold to other players, meaning a (real-life) wealthy person can purchase a six-year-old character with tons of SP, and can then purchase tens of billions or even trillions of ISK. Again, no one cares. These wallet warriors typically have no experience with the game, no connections, and don't know how to play—all the important bits. And since they've bought everything for themselves with real money, chances are they won't learn to earn currency in-game the way everyone else did.

While EVE Online and Star Citizen are very different games, I'm reasonably confident that this principle will hold true in Star Citizen as well.

 

[Turisas]

SC doesn't have any kind of skill system, does it?

 

[AstroZombie]

A game can be super fun to play, but it can still have grinding if there is a repetitive way to gain resources faster than playing "for fun". And an MMO with any kind of economy will always have a point where it takes utterly huge amounts of resources to progress, otherwise the no-lifers who play 10+ hours per day will quickly blow through all the content and get bored.

You're right, I just usually equate "grinding" with the base gameplay being kinda boring.

 

[Metro]

pay2increaseyouroddsofsuccess

 

[RK47]

A game can be super fun to play, but it can still have grinding if there is a repetitive way to gain resources faster than playing "for fun". And an MMO with any kind of economy will always have a point where it takes utterly huge amounts of resources to progress, otherwise the no-lifers who play 10+ hours per day will quickly blow through all the content and get bored.

You're right, I just usually equate "grinding" with the base gameplay being kinda boring.

Typical: Don't let the jobless win, spend your cash to get even! argument to make the ones paying feel better.

 

[GreyViper]

I'm probably getting some bonus at the end of the year, finally I can throw some money at Chris. Blaine will there be (or there is already) some kind of sale, when I can make a good purchase?

The sale that ran from Tuesday before last until this past Tuesday is over and done with. There likely will be additional livestream/sale events at some point in the future. There may be one for Christmas, or it may be two to four months down the road.

For the time being, there's nothing wrong with a basic pledge offering an Aurora, digital downloads of all game modules, and alpha and beta access. Personally, I'd recommend the 315p package or the Avenger package. If you want to buy something different during a future sale (for example), you can exchange your current pledge(s) for store credit and put that credit towards something different.

On a largely unrelated note, my current ship collection stands at:

• Origin M50 (interceptor/racer)
• F7C-S Stealth Hornet (stealth fighter)
• F7C-M Super Hornet (attack fighter)
• Captured Vanduul Scythe (fighter/raider)
• Xi'an Khartu (scouting/exploration)
• RSI Constellation (freighter/space superiority)
• MISC Starfarer (tanker/freighter)
• Banu Merchantman (merchant clipper)
• Drake Caterpillar (space rapist)
• Anvil Gladiator (bomber)
• Aegis Dynamics Retaliator (heavy bomber)
• Idris Corvette (small capital ship)

Im guessing most of your credits will be going to pay AI hirelings wages. But its a impressive fleet.

 

[Blaine]

I don't think you can hire NPC wingmen to fly your own ships, but it's an obscure enough subject that I'm not 100% sure. I'll look into it.

Equipping all of those ships will be far too expensive in the beginning, even with the cash shop. Equipping the Idris will also be too expensive at first. I'll begin with the Khartu if possible (obtaining Xi'an parts beyond stock could prove difficult), doing pretty much the same thing anyone else could do in a basic Aurora.

 

[RK47]

so can u even man a turret in this game? Like if you own a big ship can you bring your bros to man the turrets?

 

[Blaine]

so can u even man a turret in this game? Like if you own a big ship can you bring your bros to man the turrets?

Yes. In fact, larger ships will have a commander/captain, bridge crew stations to control various functions (ECM, radar, shields, weapons, etc.), manned turrets, launch-able fighters (on some ships), facilities and modules conducive to marines conducting boarding actions, security personnel (and perhaps defensive measures) for defending against boarding actions, and fire control/repair teams are planned.

Some of these positions can be filled by NPCs/hirelings, but all may be filled by players.

 

[IDtenT]

Abort! Abort! Linear hierarchy for organisations.

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

It doesn't matter what in-game mechanic gives you in an org, you can decide on whatever hierarchy you want. Don't limit yourself to mechanics!

On a separate note, I think codex org should be faith based - we are firm believers and defenders of the incline.

 

[IDtenT]

It doesn't matter what in-game mechanic gives you in an org, you can decide on whatever hierarchy you want. Don't limit yourself to mechanics!

I wholly disagree.

 

[Blaine]

Player organizations can't hold game-mechanical sovereignty over an area, and I don't believe they'll need to manage complex fiscal- and access-oriented affairs as is the case in EVE Online (or so I suspect—I'm not entirely certain). Six ranks should be plenty, although I prefer the pirate democracy method—everyone is nominally equal except for one (or a few) individuals who become leaders based upon the crew's perception of their ability to lead, and may be removed from office at any time.

It's most desirable to place the reins of the game-mechanical organization (and more importantly, the off switch) in the hands of a stable, unambitious, impartial individual who'll be a good steward of it.

Monocled individuals and true gentlemen don't require foolish rank insignia in order to know who's who and what's what.

 

[IDtenT]

I want a board of directors. Chiefs. Shareholders. Workers. Managers. Marketers. Etcetera.
I want politicians. Generals. Captains. Quartermasters. NCOs.

 

[tuluse]