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Star Citizen's Roberts talks dogfighting module, Elite alpha, and more
Cloud Imperium has released Chris Roberts' latest 10 From the Chairman video blog. If you haven't seen one of these before, it's basically a 10- to 12-minute show where Roberts answers gameplay questions submitted by members of Star Citizen's early adopter community. This time around, he elaborates on the reasons behind the recent dogfighting module delay decision, server backbone and integration between the game's various modules, and the size of the dogfighting alpha's map (20 kilometers cubed, including an asteroid belt and a nebula). Roberts also addresses the possiblity of tutorials as well as the fact that he's been playing a bit of the Elite: Dangerous alpha.
Star Citizen delays dogfighting module release
It seems that Star Citizen has fallen victim to the desirable weakness of having too much money. That sounds like the sort of problem you'd like to have, definitely, but it does mean that the game has grown a lot bigger in every way. That means delays due to the sheer size of everything. Chris Roberts has explained in the latest development blog that the long-awaited dogfighting module is one of the things that will be delayed a month or two while the team works out the kinks. Roberts states in the update that the module was originally built to be a quick and easy way of showing off the game to potential investors, a goal that evaporated as community funding completely financed the game. The result was rebuilding and a lot of extra work in making the dogfighting both fun and balanced, as well as building it into the backend for social interaction that really shows the module's strengths. Roberts has elected to wait on the release to ensure that it's as good as can be, and he hopes that players will join him for a livestream of the in-development module on December 20th at noon EST.
Stick and Rudder: Star Citizen and The Phantom Menace
It's May 1999 and nearing midnight. My best friend and I are standing in a swollen, sweat-soaked line of humanity that snakes through a movie theater lobby, out into the overstuffed parking lot, and around back of the palatial building. Imperial stormtroopers mill through the crowd. Kids armed with plastic lightsabers duel their friends, their parents, and armies of imaginary opponents. Nerds share pizza deliveries with strangers, and the whole enterprise is steeped in an air of electric expectation more akin to a championship football game than an evening at the cinema. And then my buddy turns to me and says, "What if it sucks?"
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 1 - 14, 2013
If it seems as if crowdfunding's gone into a turkey coma lately, you aren't just imagining things -- at least as far as funded games are concerned. News on that front has seemed scarce compared to the deluge of some other two-week spans, but the current campaigns are trying to make up for it. Life is Feudal canceled its Indiegogo campaign, but devs vowed to "survive according to Plan 'B'," so we'll keep an eye out to see whether it moves into personal funding as other games have done. (That route is working for Neo's Land, whose donations keep creeping higher.) Similarly, Novus AEterno scrapped its second Kickstarter campaign, but in a twist, it's already restarted another with a lower goal. Outer Worlds Online, however, just didn't make the funding cut. On the successful side, manners and dinner parties will be coming to an MMO near you; Ever, Jane got an invitation to join the funded club. A few other funded titles also saw some progress, and still others joined (or re-joined) the race for your support. And topping all that, we also bid farewell to Elite: Dangerous, who leaves Make My MMO for Betawatch now that its alpha has started. You can catch all the updates below.
More Star Citizen features mean more devs, Roberts says
You don't have to look very far to find armchair developers wringing their hands over Star Citizen's supposed feature creep. Heck, some bloggers and forum denizens have even gone so far as to label the space sim sandbox vaporware in spite of its publicly available pre-alpha hangar module. Cloud Imperium founder Chris Roberts spoke with Ten Ton Hammer recently and addressed the backlash. "Feature creep doesn't mean quite the same with Star Citizen as it might in other games. In other games, it's a concern because they have a hard release date and as you add new stuff it gets to a point where other things have to be rushed or dropped," Roberts said. "We add new people to the team to cover the new features and because everything is so modular, it has minimum impact on the rest of the game."
Star Citizen's first round of guild functionality scheduled for January
Are you itching to form a private military company in the world of Star Citizen? Maybe you're more partial to some sort of syndicate, squadron, or even a for-profit corporation. Whatever your particular guild slant may be, Cloud Imperium wants to tell you about its plans for Star Citizen's Organizations as well as introduce all the related web-based functionality that will go live well before the game launches. Each SC player Organization will get a customizable public page on the Roberts Space Industries web site. CIG is including a ranking system with user-definable names and roles (i.e., if Spaceman is more to your liking than the default Lieutenant, knock yourself out). Organization names will not be unique, so don't worry about taking a day off work to reserve Browncoats. CIG says that "an unlimited number of players can form groups named Red Squadron," for example, but each of those groups will have a unique ten-character alphanumeric SID designation to facilitate gameplay. Public testing of Star Citizen's Organization system begins later this month, with a planned rollout scheduled for early January. Future functionality additions will include private forums for every Organization, an Org Blog with a shoutbox and news update capabilities, and interactive visual charts showing divisions, jobs, and members. Cloud Imperium is also upgrading its current web chat capabilities, so say goodbye to the 500-user chat roll limit. Finally, the firm wants you to know that you can now apply upgrades to your existing ships and packages. "Upgrading a package will change the overall value and will allow you to see the enhanced ship in your hangar," CIG says.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 17 - 30, 2013
One thing gamers can definitely be thankful for this year is crowdfunding! Thanks to this phenomenon, we have many more options opening to us than ever before. And there are definitely some good gaming prospects on the horizon, even if news about all but one is seeming a bit scarce lately. While it's true that a few funded projects tossed out a news morsel or two, two new campaigns replaced two unsuccessful ones (neither The Zodiac Project nor Omuni Online made their goals), newcomer The Mandate already made its goal, and another hopeful -- Ever, Jane -- has secured three-quarters of its goal with only a couple of days left, the majority of the spotlight has been stolen the upcoming space sim Star Citizen, which continues to blast the crowdfunding record to smithereens. If you missed any of the news, you can catch up on it all right here in Make My MMO.
CIG releases Star Citizen livestream vids, tops $33 million
If you missed yesterday's four-hour Star Citizen livestream, you missed several new behind-the-scenes videos that are definitely worth a look. We got to see footage of the Avenger with its new texturing and PBR effects, a peek inside SC's orchestral recording sessions with composer Pedro Camacho and audio director Martin Galway, and a look at the game's HUD and UI development hosted by all of the principle developers, including Iron Man 3 design veteran John Likens. Finally, we got a quick look at the new hangar-based weapons test rig that will be playable by the end of the year as well as a second look at the Foundry 42 video released last week. Oh yeah, and the game topped $33 million in crowdfunding, too, prompting yet another letter from the chairman. We've embedded all the videos for you after the cut.
Leaderboard: What will Star Citizen's final crowdfunding tally be?
Star Citizen fans continue to throw money at Cloud Imperium Games. The space sim sandbox has cleared nearly two million dollars in additional funding this week and is well on its way to a $35 million war chest. Where it finally stops is anyone's guess, at this point. Well, actually, it's your guess because that's the subject of this week's Leaderboard. Do you see Star Citizen breaking the $40 million barrier? $50 million? Let us know what you think after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Star Citizen salvage, smuggler ships detailed
Another day, another million dollars in crowdfunding for Star Citizen. Chris Roberts' latest letter from the chairman outlines the game's $32 million stretch goal unlock, otherwise known as the Aegis Surveyor. The Surveyor is "an industrial-quality salvage ship" that is "equipped with a reinforced cargo bay, a long-range jump drive, and launch pods for unmanned drones." Roberts also unveiled the $34 million stretch goal, which takes the form of a hide-in-plain-sight smuggling ship called the MISC Hull C (Discreet). Read all about that and more at the official Star Citizen website.
Star Citizen's latest dev livestream is going on right now
Hey, did you know that Cloud Imperium's latest Star Citizen livestream is going on right now? You can catch it live on Twitch through 6:00 p.m. EDT. Currently, CIG founder Chris Roberts is chatting up audio director Martin Galway and composer Pedro Camacho. Earlier bits of the stream introduced CIG's Los Angeles dev team and delved into the ongoing dogfighting module work as well as a Squadron 42-specific question-and-answer session. If you missed it, don't worry, we'll recap it for you shortly via Stick and Rudder. Click past the cut to watch the stream.
Roberts: Star Citizen is 'deeper than just a combat game'
Hopefully by the time you get to the bottom of the page, Star Citizen will not have crossed the $32 million barrier and rendered this news post hopelessly out of date. It's happened before, of course, given that the space sim sandbox passed $31 million a short while ago (i.e., while we were reporting on the $30 million milestone). Cloud Imperium CEO Chris Roberts has to be tiring of all these letters from the chairman at this point, but he's published another one that outlines the new RSI Orion ship and the Anvil Carrack explorer. Roberts also takes a moment to acknowledge backers and their recent purchases of Star Citizen's new tanker ship that propelled the game past the $31 million mark. "It's exciting to see sales of the Starfarer tanker push us past another stretch goal," he wrote. "To me, that says that backers understand that Star Citizen is going to be deeper than just a combat game... that we're going to make unique experiences for all kinds of players, from pirates to refuelers."
Star Citizen crowdfunding campaign reaches $30 million
Cloud Imperium Games's crowdfunding campaign for Star Citizen continues to barrel along and doesn't seem intent on stopping yet, as creator Chris Roberts has announced that the campaign has officially reached the milestone of 30 million US dollars. A new milestone means new rewards. Along with the announcement, Roberts included a gallery of concept art for the Gladiator ship "created to show how the rear-facing turret can be changed with different upgrades." In addition, Roberts revealed that players voted for a salvage ship in the $32 million "ship role" poll. As a result, the post unveils the first details of the Aegis Surveyor ship. Described as "an industrial-quality salvage ship," the Aegis Surveyor is perfect for retrieving the remains of some poor chump's wrecked ride. Lastly, Roberts reminds players that they can vote for the role $33 million stretch goal ship (right below the post, to boot), so to have your say, head over to the game's official site.
Roberts on Star Citizen's immersive mining and Squadron 42
Ho hum, Cloud Imperium collected another windfall this week for Star Citizen, pushing the crowdfunded space sim sandbox's total take north of $29 million. Chris Roberts returns with the obligatory chairman update, and there's plenty of interesting stuff in there relating to enhanced Squadron 42 functionality and more. The team at Foundry 42 has big plans for Squadron 42, and we're going to provide extra funding to make it a true spiritual successor to Wing Commander! Squadron 42 can go above and beyond anything you've seen before. From opening with an epic battle instead of a training patrol to missions that seamlessly combine boarding and space combat, we aim to put you right into the action! Additional funding will let the team realize this, with enhanced mission design and more resources and animations to enhance fidelity. If you're new to Star Citizen fandom, it's worth noting that Squadron 42 is the single-player story campaign that serves as an optional introduction prior to entering the SC persistent world. And speaking of that persistent world, Roberts also says that a resounding number of citizens asked for a mining ship. "We're happy to oblige," he writes, "but I'll go ahead and warn you that mining in Star Citizen is going to be a lot more immersive than what you've seen before; you won't be clicking on an asteroid until you've collected metal!" Click past the cut for a six-minute video featuring the Foundry 42 dev team.
Star Citizen passes $28 million, 300K backers
It wasn't very long ago that Star Citizen eclipsed the unheard of (at the time) $10 million crowdfunding mark. Less than six months later, Cloud Imperium's sci-fi space sim sandbox has nearly tripled that figure with a whopping $28 million-plus in funding and over 300,000 individual backers. CIG chairman Chris Roberts marked the latest milestone with a new installment of his traditional producer's letter. In it, he announced a new starter ship (the Mustang) and a bit of a change in the way further stretch goals will be handled. We are constantly asked where the additional money goes. Surely new mocap hardware or a new starship design doesn't cost a million dollars. The answer is that the stretch goals are an example: One big thing we will be doing with some of the money. Every additional million means that we're hiring additional artists and programmers, equipping the team with better development tools and increasing the size of the talented outsource groups being trusted with aspects of Star Citizen's development. It means more actors and time for mocap studios, more reference for designers, greater variety in game characters, more options in clothing and armor and a large array of ship items and weapons. Every dollar improves the project. That isn't as sexy as spending large amounts of money on impressive, headline-grabbing stretch goals... but it means a significantly better game in the end. So, for the next several stretch goals, we're going to leave you with the knowledge that the money goes to improving all aspects of Star Citizen's development. Instead of specifying some new development goal, we're going to add a new ship to the game as a reward.
Chris Roberts addresses Star Citizen PS4 hullabaloo
If you were part of the throngs worrying over the weekend that Star Citizen was jumping ship from the PC to the PS4 because a devkit for the console was spotted on a dev's desk, you can breathe easier. Creator Chris Roberts addressed this wild speculation in a new dev post, stating: "Star Citizen IS a PC game. It will NEVER be dumbed down for a lesser platform. We will NOT limit the input options or supported peripherals to the lowest common denominator. We will NOT pass on features and technology just because they will only run on some hardware configurations." So lay those console fears to rest; the PC is the platform for Star Citizen. Is there some snippet of possibility that the game could also be available via a console at some point in the future? Roberts answered yes: He'd consider it if certain conditions were met. He'd require that his devs be able to update their code without any restrictions and the community be able to interact freely across platforms.
Stick and Rudder: How to be an informed Star Citizen
Massively's podcast fielded a listener question about Star Citizen and various other Kickstarters a couple weeks back, and while I answered it on our weekly show, I'd like to expand on it in more detail here. Call it a public service for people who are mildly interested in Cloud Imperium's space sim but not interested enough to scarf up the considerable amount of news flowing out of the studio these days. The question, in a nutshell, was how can a 30-person dev team make a triple-A title. There was more to it, including the usual concerns about crowdfunding, trust, and bits about investing vs. donating, but the dev team portion is the portion that I want to highlight.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 3 - 16, 2013
A quiet fortnight in the land of crowdfunding these past two weeks have not been. In fact, with the popularity of this funding model, it may never be quiet again. The past two weeks have had their share of campaigns starting, campaigns closing, and campaigns obliterating goals and funding records alike. Three new prospective games have popped on the radar (including one for those with impeccable manners!), and one has disappeared. But even that game isn't gone for good; although pledges had climbed to over $86K, Trials of Ascension canceled its campaign in order to "regroup, rework, and return." Another title, City of Titans, is taking its place among the fully funded crowd. And there there is Star Citizen, which proved that a single fortnight can't go by without the game's gathering another million or two. All that information and more can be found here in Make My MMO!
Star Citizen breaks $27 million
Star Citizen, the crowdfunded space sim helmed by Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, continues to demonstrate its incredible ability to generate enormous sums of money. Roberts today announced that Star Citizen has officially passed the $27 million mark, an amount that makes it possible for Cloud Imperium to add new ships and technology based on the Banu race of tradesmen. Roberts also announced the next stretch goal; at $29 million, Cloud Imperium will add more resources to the single player campaign such as an epic opening battle and more animations.
The Daily Grind: Do you like staggered or modular launch schedules?
Regardless of your feelings toward Kickstarter or crowdfunding in general, you have to admit that it's starting to have an impact on the way games are made. More specifically, two of the larger crowdfunding projects -- Shroud of the Avatar and Star Citizen -- are doing away with a traditional launch date in favor of a staggered release schedule. Star Citizen has already released a playable piece of pre-alpha content, and just yesterday we learned that Shroud of the Avatar's initial client will be available as early as next month. What do you think about these newfangled rollouts? Do you like the opportunity to see games in their raw, pre-beta states, or do you prefer to wait on a more traditional or feature-complete release day? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
