That is a pull quote for the ages. :)
When you license an engine like this, are you allowed to modify or rewrite parts of it? It seems they have had enough time to turn Cry Engine into their own engine that is completely unsuitable to acheive impossible dreams.
I think this is a very crucial consideration. There’s a huge difference between high-level, blue-sky, what-if thinking about game worlds where everything is modeled, and the actual worm’s-eye, player-level, minute-to-minute thinking about how this actually happens. Not just technically, but conceptually, because as much as people theoretically may want the simulation of everything, in practice they want to stuff that is interesting. So, any good game design (for a world-type sim at least) has to collapse the high level into the low level and create something that gives the illusion of simulating a world, while providing game loops that engage and interest players and give them far more agency than strict realism would allow.
Star Citizen, well, doesn’t do that, it appears. It’s like they have a linear progression from “what if” to “let’s make it,” and the result is hot dog stands, bartenders, and having to open a bunch of doors and push a bunch of buttons to get from one place to another. None of these activities constitutes a worthy game loop, but they all are part of the “simulation of everything.”
All of this stuff is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic of core game play.
I find that I tend to “game” most video games. Meaning I end up figuring out what the game programmers did with the AI and such and then plan a strategy that breaks through that. That ends up probably not being anything like how the game designers envisioned my gaming experience to be. But it is what I do, mostly.
There have been a couple of games where I did not “game” them as described above. One is HL2, which I have played though about a half dozen times or more. And I guess the Portal twins also come to mind. But I don’t think those were “gameable” as I have described. I mean, no matter what, I was ALWAYS low on ammo and hoping for more healthpacks in HL2 (and the “episodes”). So maybe that was just way better game design? Or did it just resonate with me (more than anyone who found that series blah)?
I think what you are saying is important; it points out the fallacy of trying to make “realism” a focal point of a game, when the entire paradigm is built around algorithmic approximations and arbitrary assigning of values. As a gamer, there’s a lot of fun to be had puzzling those out. Other times, as you note, just going with the overall flow is fun. Good designers realize it’s a fool’s errand to try to force players to play the "one true way.’
Thanks. However I must confess I am a self diagnosed OCD personality with very little self modulation. Still, at 50+ years in I am still kinda a big deal in my field of Engineering. Not quite sure why…
Game design is just a curious hobby of mine, I guess. I think I tend to gravitate towards games that have a slow enough pace that my “get off my lawn” persona can tolerate ATM. Definitely those that I can re-try (replay/restart) once I figure out how my previous playthroughs have gone awry. And so SC as an MMO has never really interested me. Kinda just played it to get some “twitch” skills assuming that SQ42 was about to drop! My bad…
Your interest in this is what?
Mostly general interest in games, as I’ve been gaming for a long time now, since the late '70s (started with mainframes on stolen passwords, heh). I also teach at a college with a strong game studio program, and I have been teaching game students for a long time as well. Mostly seniors doing their capstone, but also first-years just starting out. My academic background isn’t in engineering or science, though I’ve worked in tech fields before, though I did work as a game journalist/editor and did some freelance work (mostly writing or PR materials, a teeny bit of design type work) for game developers.
But mostly I’m just interested in most everything as kinds of processes.
^^^ and 1000 Internet points to you sir.
It seems like even the most dedicated super fans are becoming impatient with CIG’s lack of communication. I have to wonder if this frustration will meaningfully impact the game’s funding/business model though?
“What is going on is that we constantly signaling that we’re okay with how things are. We have a record breaking month in funding every other month. People don’t stop buying new ships. No reason for CIG to change anything. They can say and do whatever they want and people keep throwing money at them. I don’t think anything will change unless we have some noticeable decline in funding at least for some time period.”
The comments on that story are gold!
CIG: Hey! We’re gonna communicate more regularly with you about SQ42!
Players: Rad
CIG: crickets for months.
Players: Hey, what’s up with that communication?
CIG: radio silence.
Players: Oh well, let’s buy more ships and tell everyone with constructive criticism about the lack of communication that they’re haters
The thing is, even some of the game’s biggest supporters are starting to get more vocal and annoyed, so the shoe is due to drop…very soon, i’d imagine.
My educated guess (based on 21+ years as a indie game dev): The whole thing implodes in a rather ugly fashion, leaving a lot of people feeling really angry and cheated. It never actually gets finished to a decent standard, and Roberts and cronies disappear into the void.
I’ve been thinking that for years now.
I must be underestimating the size of the wallets of Roberts’ cult of personality.
This part is absolutely correct.
The when and how much money are the big questions.
I wouldn’t want to hazard a guess as to when, but I’m sticking to my original guess far upthread that one billion dollars is eventually reached. My logical mind says no way will they ever reach that, but hell, for them to have raised as much as they have already has me totally gobsmacked.
I don’t follow this debacle as much anymore because CIG is mostly silent so there’s not much new, but I believe Roberts has not been seen in any 2020 videos or anything. The ‘Pillar Talk’ video from earlier this year being filmed last year.
Yup. All of that - and then some
This has always been my opinion that it will be a sudden catastrophic collapse. And from what I’ve heard, it’s been long in the works. Heck, they hit $300m and Chris (currently MIA btw) didn’t even issue a thank you post to the backers as he normally did at various huge milestones.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch
Oh, and it’s now the most expensive game in recorded history. Seriously.
Funnies from behind enemy lines :)
Oh?
What? Is this true?
If so, uh…
Is anybody sure he’s even still alive.