Star Citizen Online - The search for more money

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Palum

what Suineg set it to
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It's a lazy comparison. SC doesn't have the bad publishing deal in place or the burden of having to pay something back. SC doesn't have certain goals of hiring a certain amount of people to handcuff them. There was nothing original in what Curt was doing, he also had to buy a game to get his IP out there instead of developing something from scratch where assests could be used in both games.

Yes there are some similarities but can't we say that a lot of gaming studios would fold if a massive project failed and it in turn destroyed future projects? I get why people want to compar it to something but I think due to the way the money was raised, it is in a very unique position that we have not seen before.

Cris has the ultimate deal and if he fucks this up he has nobody to blame but himself, Curt had a terrible deal from the start, combine that with his greed and you see why it failed.
Well, OK, but then again Curt actually shipped a game.
 

Palum

what Suineg set it to
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Wasn't Reckoning basically built and they just bought it and modified story?
Yea. I mean it's not like 38S is even in the same realm of shit, but at the same time it's hilarious to see people defending selling not evenpromisesof spaceships but promises of concepts they anticipate to add to the game for absurd money. No one knows how the game will be if it even comes out, what the worth of that dollar is compared to gameplay earning, whether anyone who didn't sink thousands will quit and leave the whales fisting themselves with hundred dollar bills or what. I mean there are so many ways this can fail it's absurd.

All I wanted was Freespace 2.
 

Tauro

Bronze Knight of the Realm
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If they really need SQ42 to be a "commercial success" to finish the development of Star Citizen MMO then they are in deep trouble... I just went over to the pledge site an looked up the numbers. They have 988k backers, and every one of them has already paid for SQ42? Thats probably 75%+ of their potential customers (at least as long as they dont do a console-spinoff for SQ42 only). I really cant believe that their most expensive pledge-pack is 17k $. Makes 50-100$ normal MMO games/expansions seem cheap
wink.png
 

Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
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I tried looking for a first post in this thread to tell me when I backed this game but couldn't. One of my first points was comparing SC to Amalur, so if you guys are going to look for someone to take the heat for the lazy comparison it's me. This is in 2013:
Yes, and I still have hopes for this game. What concerns me beyond the whole hopium dealer angle that Chris has taken is that the only controls on spending are on the company itself and Chris Roberts in particular. The modern studio system where the overloards are EA, Activision etc sucks for game innovation but they do help to keep costs under control - in the context of the entertainment industry that is (even the most cost efficient game company looks like a leaking sieve compared to the "real" world private sector).

But there arenocontrols on this game. Chris can spend the money however he wants. If he put out a 8 bit, dos game and took the rest of the cash to buy a yacht, there is nothing anyone can do about it. That is the downside of crowdfunded games.

I don't think Chris is going to do that, I actually believe his passion for the game and genre will temper that impulse. But that doesn't mean the cash will be effectively used. His 33 million dollar game will probably be much less than a similar game produced in conventional way. What gives him the edge is that no existing studio was willing make the kind of game Chris and the rest of us wants, at any cost.
I think you've stated my thoughts well. In addition I'd like to point out curt schillings enterprise as an example of a hopium outfit with a lot of money and no one to report to going south
 

Bondurant

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Chris Robert's TLDR response, big waste of time, IMO:
Chairman's Response to The Escapist - Roberts Space Industries


(When I read that link earlier he hadn't responded, so I figured I'd repost it)
This letter made me want to give money to Chris Roberts. I mean it's nothing new gaming journalism is most of the time a complete joke. It's very bad because there's also nice, skilled and competent people out there, but most of the time their work is shadowed by incompetent amateur assholes. I don't know if everything in the letter is true, but the part about the ID cards is quite compelling.
 

hodj

Vox Populi Jihadi
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Quaid

Trump's Staff
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Huh. Thats fucking hilarious if true, and a great way to demonstrate the article writer is full of shit.

This is getting interesting fast
They neglect to mention that The Escapist verified identities with blacked out pay stubs. They also verified identity with Skype call comparisons to LinkedIn profiles.

In fact, cruising over to lizzy's Twitter reveals that she used CIG ID badges for verification. These badges can be seen being worn in videos of the Star Citizen offices. They may not use employee 'ID cards', but anyone can verify for themselves that they do indeed use badges (like the kind for opening doors).

rrr_img_111913.jpg
 

Draegan_sl

2 Minutes Hate
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This whole drama shit ball probably makes them money. No doubt white knights are donating now.

For full disclosure I think I have 35$ in this.
 

hodj

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Yeah I bought the basic entry level package several months back.

No way would I spend money on the actual ships and shit though. That's fucking dumb unless you're just rolling in dosh.
 

Tuco

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They neglect to mention that The Escapist verified identities with blacked out pay stubs. They also verified identity with Skype call comparisons to LinkedIn profiles.

In fact, cruising over to lizzy's Twitter reveals that she used CIG ID badges for verification. These badges can be seen being worn in videos of the Star Citizen offices. They may not use employee 'ID cards', but anyone can verify for themselves that they do indeed use badges (like the kind for opening doors).
I don't really give a shit either way I'm just here mostly for the lulz, but according to:
Liz O
@lizzyf620 If it's one of those, they're not ID (ie. not personalized). They have some numbers on them, and unlock doors, in my experience.
@I_Am_A_Number gotcha. Was told that the identifying information was blacked out. Wonder if it was a number.

The quote from
The Escapist Explains Its Star Citizen Sources, Vetting and Response | Video Games | The Escapist
says
Escapist_sl said:
Six gave their real names, while the seventh did not use his real name, but did show pay stubs and a Cloud Imperium Games ID with the name blacked out.
It seems like the original author didn't even see the ID cards or do the vetting themselves. Maybe she took Derek Smart's word for it!

HID ProxII lg.jpg
 

Mist

REEEEeyore
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They neglect to mention that The Escapist verified identities with blacked out pay stubs. They also verified identity with Skype call comparisons to LinkedIn profiles.

In fact, cruising over to lizzy's Twitter reveals that she used CIG ID badges for verification. These badges can be seen being worn in videos of the Star Citizen offices. They may not use employee 'ID cards', but anyone can verify for themselves that they do indeed use badges (like the kind for opening doors).

rrr_img_111913.jpg
That's a generic HID card.
 

Draegan_sl

2 Minutes Hate
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If you have personal info like that you have to show it or a signed affidaved saying you worked there. You can blur out personal info
 

hodj

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I don't really give a shit either way I'm just here mostly for the lulz
Its really win/win no matter what. If the game comes out, great, we get a (possibly) awesome space mmo and that's badass.

If the game bombs, we get to enjoy swimming in an ocean of angst and schadenfreude the likes of which have rarely been witnessed by mortal eyes.
 

Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
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All these shenanigans really circle around the real point here: Anonymous sources shouldn't be the core of your journalistic entry.
 

Quaid

Trump's Staff
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That's a generic HID card.
I realize this, but these are the cards people are referring to. That letter claiming they don't use them is a little misleading. Employees have badges, most likely with the company name across the top, even if they aren't personnel badges.

In any event, verification of identity was made visually via Skype/LinkedIn comparison, and with blacked out pay stubs.
 

Quaid

Trump's Staff
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All these shenanigans really circle around the real point here: Anonymous sources shouldn't be the core of your journalistic entry.
Wait... Where does it say the author's sources were 'anonymous'? They were allowed to remain anon in the article for obvious reasons, but that doesn't mean their identities are unknown to The Escapist. Got a link?

Apparently 2 of lizzy's sources offered to reveal their identity publicly, but were urged not to.
 

Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
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Wait... Where does it say the author's sources were 'anonymous'? They were allowed to remain anon in the article for obvious reasons, but that doesn't mean their identities are unknown to The Escapist. Got a link?

Apparently 2 of lizzy's sources offered to reveal their identity publicly, but were urged not to.
A source is anonymous if their identity isn't published.
Source (journalism) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When a publication uses an anonymous source they are saying, "This person who has real credibility says this. You will have to trust us that A: That person has credibility. B: That person said this.". This means the publication becomes part of the news rather than reporting it (which is bad), but in this case the worst part is that the Escapist has no credibility, so it can't be taken seriously.

When WaPo relied on anon sources for the Watergate scandal we were talking about a top shelf publication betting their very valuable reputation. If it turned out to be tripe they had a lot to lose. In this case we're talking about a mediocre gaming news site paying bottom dollar on shit-tier gaming journalists trying to make click bait. They simply don't have the standing to use anon sources and not be laughed out of the room by anyone who cares about journalistic integrity.
 

hodj

Vox Populi Jihadi
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Wait... Where does it say the author's sources were 'anonymous'? They were allowed to remain anon in the article for obvious reasons, but that doesn't mean their identities are unknown to The Escapist. Got a link?

Apparently 2 of lizzy's sources offered to reveal their identity publicly, but were urged not to.
Hopefully true, I'm withholding judgement in either direction for now.

All these shenanigans really circle around the real point here: Anonymous sources shouldn't be the core of your journalistic entry.
Agree