Squadron 42 releasing 2026

[cpmartins]

It is a miracle this game works at all

The funny part is that it mostly doesn't.

 

[anvi]

 

[quaesta]

Great, so they are almost done, only the "gameplay polishing" phase is left and once this is complete, they will release the ga…oh wait, no, they‘ll transition into an "optimization and stability" phase afterwards. Yeah, right… ANY DAY NOW BOYS, ANY DAY NOW.

JUST A FEW MICROISSUES!

Hey it's out, and he's working on a sequel. So Cleve > Sir-Tech.

 

[Zeriel]

Great, so they are almost done, only the "gameplay polishing" phase is left and once this is complete, they will release the ga…oh wait, no, they‘ll transition into an "optimization and stability" phase afterwards. Yeah, right… ANY DAY NOW BOYS, ANY DAY NOW.

JUST A FEW MICROISSUES!

Hey it's out, and he's working on a sequel. So Cleve > Sir-Tech.

Unfortunately it's entirely possible he died waiting for the game to come out.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Hey it's out, and he's working on a sequel. So Cleve > Sir-Tech.

Yes, but we'll need to wait until 2037 for Armoire: Heralds of the Eldritch Abomination.

 

[quaesta]

Great, so they are almost done, only the "gameplay polishing" phase is left and once this is complete, they will release the ga…oh wait, no, they‘ll transition into an "optimization and stability" phase afterwards. Yeah, right… ANY DAY NOW BOYS, ANY DAY NOW.

JUST A FEW MICROISSUES!

Hey it's out, and he's working on a sequel. So Cleve > Sir-Tech.

Unfortunately it's entirely possible he died waiting for the game to come out.

Should have eaten adrenal glands, that's how you become a lich.

 

[Crispy]

Are we there yet? ADL?

 

[Ryzer]

Are we there yet? ADL?

Just 2 microissues to iron out.

 

[Haba]

Are we there yet? ADL?

Just 2 microissues to iron out.

Each micro issue can be split into Googolplex nanoissues, estimated budget required for resolving said issues is roughly 4.2 teratons of gold.

No refunds.

 

[Crispy]

I think economists should and will be studying this game for years to come. I realize that there have been similar business models like SC's in the past, various levels of basically scams such as ponzis and pyramids whose goal it is to continue the income without actually providing any kind of real service or product, but SC has to be unique in this manner.

Since RSI is making so much money, on such a consistent basis, for so long, why would they ever actually want to provide a completed product? The glacial pace of development along with the continued promises and endorphine supply from continually supporting them is the product. I've said this before, but it's obscenely brilliant. It's like a license to just print money.

What would this kind of financial scheme even be called? The Stockholm Model? The Black Hole?

 

[Kev Inkline]

I think it's more a phenomenon for psychiatrists to study.

 

[quaesta]

I think economists should and will be studying this game for years to come. I realize that there have been similar business models like SC's in the past, various levels of basically scams such as ponzis and pyramids whose goal it is to continue the income without actually providing any kind of real service or product, but SC has to be unique in this manner.

Since RSI is making so much money, on such a consistent basis, for so long, why would they ever actually want to provide a completed product? The glacial pace of development along with the continued promises and endorphine supply from continually supporting them is the product. I've said this before, but it's obscenely brilliant. It's like a license to just print money.

What would this kind of financial scheme even be called? The Stockholm Model? The Black Hole?

The Dream Model. You're paying not for a product but a dream.

 

[RobotSquirrel]

The Dream Model. You're paying not for a product but a dream.

Same idea that Televangelism uses. If you give us money, god might give you what you want but you have to believe. Whoops you didn't believe hard enough *books flight out of country*.

 

[Taxnomore]

How many micro issues left ?

 

[mediocrepoet]

How many micro issues left ?

N+1

 

[ERYFKRAD]

What would this kind of financial scheme even be called? The Stockholm Model? The Black Hole?

Harnessing the power of the ones born every minute.

 

[gurugeorge]

I think economists should and will be studying this game for years to come. I realize that there have been similar business models like SC's in the past, various levels of basically scams such as ponzis and pyramids whose goal it is to continue the income without actually providing any kind of real service or product, but SC has to be unique in this manner.

Since RSI is making so much money, on such a consistent basis, for so long, why would they ever actually want to provide a completed product? The glacial pace of development along with the continued promises and endorphine supply from continually supporting them is the product. I've said this before, but it's obscenely brilliant. It's like a license to just print money.

What would this kind of financial scheme even be called? The Stockholm Model? The Black Hole?

The Dream Model. You're paying not for a product but a dream.

Yeah this is it, tapping into the dream of the everything game.

I haven't put any money into it, but I can't say I'm unsusceptible to the dream - to the extent that part of me hopes they do actually finish it one day.

 

[Zeriel]

I think economists should and will be studying this game for years to come. I realize that there have been similar business models like SC's in the past, various levels of basically scams such as ponzis and pyramids whose goal it is to continue the income without actually providing any kind of real service or product, but SC has to be unique in this manner.

Since RSI is making so much money, on such a consistent basis, for so long, why would they ever actually want to provide a completed product? The glacial pace of development along with the continued promises and endorphine supply from continually supporting them is the product. I've said this before, but it's obscenely brilliant. It's like a license to just print money.

What would this kind of financial scheme even be called? The Stockholm Model? The Black Hole?

It's on a much smaller scale, but there ARE some EA projects that I would argue fall into this category too. Look at 7 Days to Die, a game that has had fairly high levels of sales for going on a decade and hasn't advanced out of alpha in that time. You can kind of understand the incentives at work, how the developers know in their gut that they will only be penalized for producing a final product, but it's still sad to see them actively churning their gears in place, removing good work they did previously to rework and abandon the basic gameplay loop over and over again.

It's a funny rejoinder in my mind to the hivemind consensus back in the Black Isle-shutting-down-days of RPGCodex that greedy publishers were the evil enemy that once vanquished would lead to an industry paradise. It turned out the real enemy was human greed and complacency, which is a lot harder to vanquish.

 

[gurugeorge]

I just reinstalled Freelancer (d/l game from abandonware website -> Freelancer HD from ModDB, works great, don't need anything else) after seeing the thread about Underspace, an indie game that's a sort of spiritual successor (with a slight Lovecraftian angle), and it reminded me of the promise of this Everything Game. (Freelancer had after all initially been advertized as an earlier attempt by Roberts at an Everything Game). Wondering about how SC is getting on, I actually looked at that 2 month old vid linked in the OP, and I've got to say I'm quite impressed. It all looks pretty spiffy, and Gillian Anderson, Mark Hammill, numerous famous British character actors, etc. - you can see where some of the money's gone right there.

I mean, in the end, does it matter, does anybody really care how long it takes (within a few years here and there) or how much it costs (within a few tens of millions here and there), so long as the dream of the Everything Game actually comes to some sort of fruition? Say Squadron 42 is finished 2 years from now, and the full MMO a few years after that, won't it all have been worth it in the end?

Well, it will if the game works and the gameplay's fun - but that's the real qualm I have. Freelancer is fun because it's arcadey and simple. One wonders how much the pursuit of immersion, detailed anims for everything, potentially over-fussy flight model, etc., etc., etc. - how much will that drag the game down? It's my belief that there's nothing intrinsically wrong with those things, but that the amount of extra tweaking and refinement and Q&A you have to do to get that kind of complexity and simulation sitting right to make a fun experience is probably enormous.

But then again, if we're to believe Roberts and his team, that kind of attention to detail is exactly what they've been spending their time on

Oh well, time, as always, will tell.

 

[KeAShizuku]

There are so many washed out has been game developers who don't live in million dollar LA mansions. Gotta give CR credit.

 

[Nikanuur]

What I don't understand is how can they have so many actors involved.

 

[Zeriel]

What I don't understand is how can they have so many actors involved.

Actors want money just the same as anyone else. More so really. You can get all but the most exclusive A list actors to record a video for you saying whatever for a few hundred bucks.

 

[Nikanuur]

Exactly. But it doesn't seem as 'some video to record'. Rather, a damn hard work with possibly many hours. With people like Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Mark Strong, that other dude who played Krennick, and more at that.
I think this can't be about money. Their salaries would have to be in the range of ten to hundreds thousands.
In any case, including such known figures gives me a little bit more hope of this being finished one day.

Star Citizen Squadron 42 Performance Capture Actors Speak​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXHsgucZuJk

EDIT: Now that it comes to mind, wasn't Hamill in one of the Wing Commanders too? It would make sense if he'd have talked Gary Oldman into the whole thing :D

 

[Haba]

What I don't understand is how can they have so many actors involved.

Chris the Scammer does not want to make games. He wants to direct movies. Always has.

 

[mediocrepoet]

What I don't understand is how can they have so many actors involved.

Chris the Scammer does not want to make games. He wants to direct movies. Always has.

Was he involved at all with the Wing Commander movie? If so, he should be punched in the dick and never be allowed anywhere near a film set again.