It just dawned on my why I’m so mad at this “game”, and what I think its biggest crime is.
There are undoubtedly a lot of talented people working on this, attracted by the scope of the project and Roberts’ star power.
Those talented people, were it not for this project, could be working on other, amazing games, or even making their own.
Sure sure, they could leave whenever they wanted, some might say, but a lot likely don’t, stuck in the rut that is Star Citizen rather than, instead of making the next X-Wing or I-War.
I think it’s just this waste of talent, more than money, that infuriates me most.
A lot of us have this very same opinion. This is why when I write, I try to be less critical of the guys (some of long time friends and peers of mine) who I know 1) are doing the best that they can 2) need the paycheck
Totally agree with that assessment. A criminal waste of both talent and money. And it’s not even the first time we’ve been here, as Roberts did a variation on this same theme way back in 1999 with Freelancer. His original vision for that game was much like his vision for Star Citizen (vast and probably unachievable given technological limits of the time), and he would have run Digital Anvil into the ground with cost overruns and delays from his overreach had Microsoft not stepped in and taken over.
After Robert’s departure (he retained the title of Creative Consultant, but had little to do with the project post-Microsoft) and under Microsoft’s guidance, Freelancer was completed. The resulting fantastic yet ultimately far more feature limited game released in 2003 remains one of my all-time favorite video games to date. Imagine what the team who finished Freelancer could do today with $200 million!
Yeah, basically so. That’s why when he tried to get the license to both Freelancer and Wing Commander, both Microsoft and EA told him to go pound sand.
Oh you’re depressed, now? Most of us have been depressed since it became clear that this was headed for a train-wreck when all hopes of it ever being an advanced and modern-day Freelancer were dashed. Even when I wrote that first blog in July 2015 (they had only raised $85M at the time), I had said that it would take a capable engine, experienced team, and no less than $150M to pull off the over-scoped game - but I hoped they could pull it off. We’re now 3.5 years and +$115M later and it’s nowhere near Alpha.
Any capable team with a competent lead and publisher, could have pulled off a new Freelancer for $20M. Easy. Heck, go take a look at the upcoming Rebel Galaxy, or even X4. Neither one cost even $5M.
No, I’m depressed now because I hadn’t thought in those exact terms before - what the guys behind the Freelancer we got could do with this kind of money. Or the Volition guys from the Freespace era. Or milo. Or you.
I never trusted Roberts. I thought this project was a risk from the get-go, so I never got depressed with the huge red-flag-ridden sinking ship it is now. But I never stopped to think about the whole thing in those terms - thinking what other teams would do with that kind of money.
That’s the thing - there are so many capable teams who could have pulled off the original (even the over-scoped game, within reason) game with a whole lot less money.
