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Star Citizen's salvaging career unveiled
Don't look now, but there's some more, ahem, feature creep coming to Star Citizen. OK, not really, but Cloud Imperium has announced the $21 million stretch goal, and it is "a major gameplay feature we have been hoping to include," according to Chris Roberts' latest letter from the chairman. The feature is salvage, and "salvage isn't an aside: It's a career with its own mechanic, story tie-ins, and universe-shaping endgames." The dev team has also released some new concept art of a female explorer avatar, and Roberts also takes a moment to outline the options for continuing the fundraising campaign beyond the original fully-funded mark. "The more funds we can raise in the pre-launch phase, the more we can invest in additional content and perhaps more importantly we can apply greater numbers of resources to the various tasks to ensure we deliver the full functionality sooner rather than later," he explains. There's currently a poll at the end of the letter that offers three options for crowdfunding continuation. As of press time, 88% of the 13,000 respondents have voted to continue crowdfunding extra features and development milestones.
Stick and Rudder: On Star Citizen's so-called 'feature creep'
I'm going to address the allegations of "feature creep" in Star Citizen this week before misperceptions get further out of hand. If you haven't been following the sci-fi space sandbox in recent weeks, note that Chris Roberts and Cloud Imperium unveiled the title's $20 million stretch goal several days ago. Said goal is FPS combat on select lawless planets, but to hear some armchair developers tell it, Roberts is jumping the shark and gunning for PlanetSide 2 instead of simply adding some instanced bells and whistles onto what's affectionately known as the best damn space sim ever (BDSSE). If you're a Star Citizen backer or enthusiast, you already know everything I'm about to type. If you're casually lurking on the periphery of the game's fandom, though, join me after the cut for the most complete SC crash course that 1,700 words can buy.
Stick and Rudder: On Star Citizen's cash shop
Remember last time when I said that Cloud Imperium's decision to release a playable pre-alpha Star Citizen module was a risky move? Forget that. I mean, it still kinda was, but this particular story had a happy ending. Star Citizen's first public-facing in-game deliverable has been live for over a week now, and for all intents and purposes it was a smashing success.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding August 25 - September 7, 2013
If you build it, they will come. While that adage hold true for baseball diamonds in cornfields, it's a little bit different for MMOs. If you're set on developing a new virtual playground, you get them to come so you can build it! That's the philosophy behind crowdfunding, anyway, and many are latching onto it. So how fare the fields of crowdfunding lately? New projects (Alteil Horizons, Epic Space) sprouted up, one took root and grew stronger (Divergence), and others (Project Snowstorm, Realms of Creation, Enspira Online) withered away from lack of nourishment. See how your favorite projects are growing right here in Make My MMO.
Star Citizen's $20 million stretch goal is planetside FPS combat
Star Citizen smashed the $17 and $18 million crowdfunding barriers over the past seven days, and as per Cloud Imperium tradition, the latter milestone "unlocked" the next tier of funding rewards. In his latest letter from the chairman, Chris Roberts revealed that the sci-fi sandbox's $20 million stretch goal is "first person combat on select lawless planets." Star Citizen was already primed to include FPS combat on space stations, landing platforms, and via ship boarding actions, but the new goal takes it a step further. "Don't just battle on space stations and platforms... take the fight to the ground," the post says. Speaking of outside-the-ship environments, the post also includes a two-minute sneak preview of Terra Prime's landing zone. Check out the full video after the cut!
Dragon Con 2013: Star Citizen's Lesnick and Haddock on player feedback, CitizenCon, and more
It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Cloud Imperium Games. The makers of Star Citizen jetted to Cologne, Germany, for Gamescom, released the game's first live module, and traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to chat up the BDSSE (that's best damn space sim ever, for the uninitiated) at Dragon Con. We caught up with designer and community manager Ben Lesnick and lead writer Dave Haddock for an update on all the Star Citizen things. Well, OK. Some of the Star Citizen things. Join us after the cut for tidbits on the dogfighting alpha, CitizenCon, and more.
Star Citizen's hangar module is live
Star Citizen's journey from crowdfunding champ to actual game is officially underway. Cloud Imperium just unveiled the hangar module, the first of several planned mini-releases designed to get early adopters testing various aspects of the title as it's being developed. If you've met the pledging prerequisites, you can download the Star Citizen launcher directly from the game's website. From there, you'll need to wait out the three GB patch before logging in to your personal hangar space where you can tour your pledge ships both inside and out. System requirements for the module include eight GB of memory, a quad core CPU, and a DirectX11 capable GPU with at least one GB of onboard memory. Click through the links below for the hangar module FAQ. Pew pew!
Star Citizen to deliver first content, hangars, to Kickstarter backers
Star Citizen, the space exploration MMO by Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, is ready to launch. Well, sort of - hangars, the first piece of playable content, are about to be made available to those who backed the Star Citizen Kickstarter. The catch is that you won't be able to actually fly any of the ships parked in your space-garage, at least not yet. According to a Polygon report, backers will be able to access their hangar, walk around it, look at their ships, and sit in the pilot seat, starting August 29. The hangars and ships included vary depending on backer level, but more will be added as time goes on. As Roberts and his team at Cloud Imperium Games continue to roll out content, the hangars will remain; these structures will be a permanent part of the Star Citizen universe. Cloud Imperium Games plans to release major updates to Star Citizen every two months, with smaller updates every few weeks. By the end of the year, hangars will have a flight sim of their own so that players can take their virtual ships into another virtual world and have double-virtual dogfights. It's flight sim-ception in space!
Stick and Rudder: Star Citizen's risky hangar module reveal
Man, I'm excited for next Thursday! Not because it's the day before Friday -- although that's pretty great, too -- but because we're going to get our hands on the first official release of Star Citizen. Chris Roberts called it the "baby Star Citizen" during last night's Gamescom love-in, which you should watch if you'd like to see the Cloud Imperium crew overwhelmed by the rock star treatment it received from the backers who journeyed to Cologne. Anyway, the hangar module! The devs have been showing it off to fans and press, and if initial reactions are anything to go by, it's going to be a successful mini-launch. It's still a risky move, though.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding August 11 - 24, 2013
Just when you think it will be a quiet couple of weeks on the crowdfunding scene... it isn't. Crowdfunding hopefuls seem to be following the advice of The Gambler this week: Know when to hold them, when to fold them, when to walk away, and even when to run! The funded crowd is holding steady with only a few bits of news, but two projects are on the brink of folding as they are both far short of their goals. Legends of Firestorm, on the other hand, didn't just walk away -- it high-tailed it out of Kickstarter without a word of explanation. In the meantime, thwo new projects (StarCraft Universe and Enspira Online) have joined the scene, and another project resurfaced. Check out the details right here.
Gamescom 2013: Roberts demos Star Citizen's hangar module
Star Citizen's hangar module will be available to backers a week from today, but if you can't stand the wait, have a look at some footage of Chris Roberts' Gamescom demo. The presentation runs for about 10 minutes, and it offers a preliminary glance at the game's ship interiors, avatars, and associated functionality. Cloud Imperium is rolling out bits of Star Citizen in a modular fashion reminiscent of Minecraft's staggered release. Roberts and company are reminding everyone that next week's hangar bay represents a tiny portion of the game in a pre-alpha state, but the firm is nonetheless excited to offer its crowdfunding backers a hands-on progress report. Star Citizen's hangar module will initially be available in basic, business, and deluxe versions depending on customer ship pledges. Roberts says that eventually CI will add additional types including pirate hangars. For the first release, SC pledgers will be able to walk around and inside each of their ships. In other Star Citizen news, Roberts recently told Eurogamer that he no longer needs traditional investor money to make the game. "I'm actually not taking money from investors now. The budget for what we're delivering is about $20 million, and we're almost there [via crowdfunding] -- we'll probably be there before the end of the year," he said. Don't forget to click past the cut to view the video!
Your guide to MMOs at Gamescom 2013
Can you believe it, Gamescom is this week already! The massive trade show in Cologne, Germany, will run from August 21st to the 25th. Of course, if you're reading this, then you have one pressing question in mind: Which MMO studios will be there, and what will they be talking about? While we can't answer the second part of that, we can give you a heads-up regarding the studio attendance. Hit us after the jump for the run-down of which studios will be there along with their Twitter handles because you just know that any big news from the show will be insta-tweeted two seconds later.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding July 28 - August 10, 2013
Ah, the joys of bringing more games into the fold. Sadly, we don't know whether this will be just a brief passing in the night or a more permanent stay; that all depends on how newcomers Project Snowstorm and Legends of Firestorm do on their respective Kickstarter campaigns. Will the community help them make their MMOs? We'll keep watch and keep you informed. Speaking of keeping informed, a few of the funded projects found themselves in the news lately -- and we mean more than just crowdfunding king Star Citizen! And we've got it all rounded up right here for your perusing pleasure.
Star Citizen backers proving big publishers 'very, very wrong'
Star Citizen continues to pile on its record crowdfunding run. The space sim from Chris Roberts and Cloud Imperium just crossed the $15 million threshold. The milestone means that a new flyable ship class (the escort carrier) will be developed, as will a special backer-only 42-page upgrade handbook that details "customizing and overclocking ship systems." Cloud Imperium now sets its sights on $16 million, which will bring about a galaxy-wide arena mode and a laser pistol for each pledger. "Ten years ago, big publishers decided space games weren't profitable," says the Star Citizen website. "And you are proving them very, very wrong!"
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding July 14 - 27, 2013
Another fortnight down; another MMO hopeful lost. The casualty? Story Quest Online, which didn't come close to meeting its Kickstarter goal. The newest addition to this list, Realms of Creation, is still moving toward its goal and has another 34 days left to reach it. To see more about it, check out the new video after the break. In other news, Pathfinder Online also has a new video, and Star Citizen's Chris Robert's talked at length in an exclusive Massively interview. Even controversial Greed Monger headlined with a demonstration of its house building feature. Catch all the links to these stories right here in Make My MMO.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding June 30 - July 13, 2013
The last two weeks haven't been quiet on the crowdfunding front. While Star Citizen takes the lead with the most news (from ever-expanding coffers to just "finding ways to make the game more awesome"), other titles had their own snippets to report as well. There's also some upheaval in our ranks: We gained a new MMORTS/MMORPG mix project but lost two others from our list when both Skara: The Blade Remains and Anthym didn't meet their goals. And yet another title makes its final appearance before moving on to Betawatch! That's right, folks; TUG is saying hasta la vista to Make My MMO in favor of alpha land. Curious as to what all else has transpired? Then check out the details after the break.
Star Citizen's Roberts: 'Every day I'm just thinking about how to make this game awesome'
Can't get enough Star Citizen news? We can't either, so we're passing along this nine-minute video documentary recently released by Stage 5 TV. It's called Rise of the Indies, and it offers a newbie's look at Cloud Imperium's upcoming space sim. The filmmakers interview Chris Roberts and environmental artist Dave O'Preska, both of whom show off a few behind-the-scenes work-in-progress tidbits. Roberts also offers up a smidgeon of commentary illustrating the benefits of crowdfunding vs. traditional publisher-funded development. "[With publishers], you're still in these meetings with marketing, you're still in the meetings with sales, and you've got people who are like 'well, demographically we need to appeal here,' so there's a lot of extra stuff that gets in there," Roberts explains. "They're writing the check, so you try to have as much of your stuff as possible but you also have to do some stuff for them, and I always think that kind of compromises stuff. In [Star Citizen's] case I don't deal with any of that. Every day I'm just thinking about how do I make this game awesome." Quotables aside, there's nothing really new here if you're already on the bandwagon. That said, it's the perfect introduction for that SC virgin on your friends list. Check it out after the cut!
Star Citizen crowdfunding tops $14 million
Another day, another million crowdfunding dollars under Star Citizen's belt. The all-time fundraising champ added to its total over the weekend and broke the $14 million barrier. If you're keeping score, there's approximately $7 million to go until the game becomes fully funded by its community. Among the $14 million unlocks are a hibernation/save game mode for explorers and a fourth landing spot on Earth, though Cloud Imperium remains coy on the particular city. As per usual with these milestone announcements, the firm also previewed the possible unlockables for the next two crowdfunding tiers. If the total reaches $15 million, an additional flyable ship class -- the escort carrier -- will be developed. If $16 million is reached, players will get an arena mode testing feature that hearkens back to Wing Commander's TrainSim, as well as an avatar-based laser pistol to help ward off those pesky pirate boarders.
Star Citizen a 'remarkably detailed space combat sim with an equally in-depth economy'
You're probably aware of the fact that Star Citizen has spaceships. But did you know that space combat is just part of what the game offers? If you didn't know that -- or, heck, even if you did -- check out the latest dev blog on the game's economy, along with the accompanying video featuring Cloud Imperium founder Chris Roberts. "Star Citizen is, at its heart, a vast living world that combines a remarkably detailed space combat simulation with an equally in-depth model of the economy of a star-spanning empire," CI's blog post explains. There's quite a bit of detail about nodes, the role of players and AI, and production chains and resource flow, so settle in with your favorite caffeinated beverage. Elsewhere in the Star Citizen news universe, it was another record crowdfunding week. The $13 million barrier is the latest to fall, and Cloud Imperium will now be able to add frigates as player-flyable ships as well as the Command and Control module on larger ships that allows pilots to coordinate between multiple craft. Stretch goal unlocks for the $14 and $15 million plateaus are viewable via the announcement post. Don't forget the economy video after the break! [Thanks Robyn!]
Star Citizen tops $12 million in crowdfunding, outlines additional stretch goals
Star Citizen's recent 24-hour livestream saw the game's crowdfunding total roll past $11 million. Last night, Cloud Imperium posted yet another milestone as the game eclipsed a whopping $12 million in community funding, which basically means that the sci-fi spaceflight sandbox raked in a cool $1 million over the weekend. The milestone also means that Cloud Imperium will be building a pro sound studio to replace the "current home office" used for the game's audio production. What happens if the crowdfunding totals top $13 million? Star Citizen will get a new playable ship class (the frigate) as well as command and control center functionality. This means that larger ships like the Constellation and the Idris will allow pilots to tie all of their ships together "and assume central command from the third seat." If the community manages $14 million, a fourth landing spot on Earth will open up -- possibly London or Berlin -- along with a feature-length behind-the-scenes documentary film and a hibernation mode save-game system.
