A few Star Citizen questions
A few Star Citizen questions
I closely tracked Star Citizen for some time, but lately I've been less engaged because my workload increased and my current laptop couldn't handle it. With Christmas near and my friend's new build almost complete, I'm eager to get back to it. I'm curious about the game's official release date—earlier rumors suggested Q1/Q2 2016, but now I see it might be a full year later. It seems off, especially since they're adding more money and staff, yet it's taking longer. I haven't bought a ship yet, and seeing the AMD card bundle makes me think upgrading my PC is necessary. Should I try playing in modules or wait for the full version? I don’t care about early-game battles; I really want a Freelancer-style experience. Anyone else think he might be overestimating? If this trend continues, I’ll probably focus more on No Man's Sky’s PC release.
Back then, they thought it would launch in the first quarter of 2015. Probably not Man’s Sky then.
My view on the development process labels is clear: Pre-Alpha focuses on designing the game (i.e., deciding what features are needed). Alpha involves defining and building the features (creating the actual game). Beta centers on refining and balancing the game. Release/Complete marks when everything is finished together. Because the game is broken into modules, each will move through different stages as it evolves. Flight Commander is in Alpha, while Persistent Universe is in Pre-Alpha, suggesting the overall project depends most on the least mature module.
In short, you're suggesting that if someone keeps receiving money, the project will always go on. No Man's Sky provides a lot of creativity and cleverness. The person who built the game engine is exceptionally talented. During an interview with a senior AAA developer, he was impressed by his achievements and even mentioned he could probably sell a level design tool to other developers as a standalone product.
The overall game isn't fully ready until all essential components are included in alpha. Introducing modules that aren't central wouldn't require them to be in alpha even if the core remains stable. This might not be entirely accurate—I'm just summarizing what I've understood from the surrounding information.
I believe it will come out when CR is satisfied, Wing Commander was a remarkable work for its era, and Chris has been waiting 20 years for technology to match his vision; an additional year or two wouldn’t be a problem.