Star Citizen Analytics Project

[Slapmeandcallmegurl]

Is the suggestion they just make these numbers up then or is it padded with extras or what?

They're keeping the lights on, so funding must be coming from somewhere right?

[StanTheMan]

IIRC the funding chart is highly suspect.

There have been various analyses done on the cost of running the entire operation which included those looking at industry burn rates, those looking at some of the accounts filed in the UK, those that consider what has been said, written, behaviour of various people connected to the project and everything imbetween.

It should go without saying anyone making predictions about the future can only do so based on historical facts at best.  This escapes many Backers who like to claim that anyone like Derek who predicts something is necessarily not worth listening to if predictions about Star Citizen don't come true.   They compound their ignorance by being selective about which predictions they ignore and those they cite.

If CRoberts could continue to raise funds and stay clear of any legal/personal impediments then it stands to reason that he could carry on "developing" the game.   That much is obvious.

So every time we have a major funding event something gets pulled out of the bag and some extra cash goes into the coffers.   

They appear to have plugged the refund leak but  few people are playing the demo and nor have they done so for a long time (if ever).

CRoberts got lucky with SC = he is no genius and he didn't see this coming.  SC is getting old, already is old and it is only a matter of time before people won't carry on funding it.  We know that the game is years off - no matter what and we know it is going to be no game most people that backed are going  to want to play because he has mis sold them all dreams and gamers don't play games the  way most of these Backers want the game to be played like - even if you could provide them with the means to do it.

Just take that troop ship in the last Demo.   Why do you need a huge ship to kill 3-4 NPCs that you can kill in a minute ?   How are you going to get x number of people to come along for the oh so monotonous ride and rest of the mission and for what reward ?    It would far more fun to do this

Then of course we have the Crytek legal case, the Coutts Loan, key people continuing to leave (remember the guy that was doing the flight model), the debacle that is SQ42,   the ongoing engineering debt and the technology it is based on.   Plus of course not least industry experts views.

[jwh1701]

IIRC the funding chart is highly suspect.

There have been various analyses done on the cost of running the entire operation which included those looking at industry burn rates, those looking at some of the accounts filed in the UK, those that consider what has been said, written, behaviour of various people connected to the project and everything imbetween.

I suspect it as well but you see players begging for skins and bragging on the ships they buy with screen shots. I cannot help but wonder if its not that far away from what is shown. If if they are falsifying the numbers, it would not surprise me if they were over 130m maybe even much more.

[dsmart]

Is the suggestion they just make these numbers up then or is it padded with extras or what?

They're keeping the lights on, so funding must be coming from somewhere right?

It's not 100% off. But there are so many ways to fudge numbers, that financial institutions have experienced people and software to detect things like that.

It's not hard to claim you are making $100K in order to show interest, when in fact you are making $50K - and carrying debt. No different from telling one group of investors that you have raised $100K, when you only raised $50K, thus trying to convince you to give you more money. It happens more times than you think. And though it's not as bad as a Ponzi schemes, it's about the same effect.

In fact, read up on this guy who just got sent to prison for 6 years. Among his schemes, was inflating the net worth of one of the companies he was seeking investors for.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/arts/music/fyre-festival-billy-mcfarland-ja-rule-criminal-investigation.html

In the case of CIG, aside from the fact that we already know that the funding chart doesn't take into account refunds or external loans, investments etc, they can plug any number they want in there because if they don't, their whales will panic and stop giving them money. So even if they got $100K, they can claim they got $150K in order to prove on-going interest in the project.

It's all lies. And I am 100% certain, that it's all going to be exposed either when the govt gets involved, they collapse and investors and banks come calling, or via the Crytek lawsuit.

[Slapmeandcallmegurl]

Wow, that's quite scummy. Have they been doing that from day one? Was the Kickstarter amount legit?

How do they pay their wage bill if they're not getting the amounts they say they are? All those staff must cost a fortune every month.

[dsmart]

Wow, that's quite scummy. Have they been doing that from day one? Was the Kickstarter amount legit?

How would they be able to fudge numbers on a third-party site where they have no control?

How do they pay their wage bill if they're not getting the amounts they say they are? All those staff must cost a fortune every month.

Obviously they make enough money for operations, though they have been laying people off, while others leave voluntarily.

[DemonInvestor]

How would they be able to fudge numbers on a third-party site where they have no control?

Shouldn't it be possible (at least theoretically) in the same way as music labels did fudge sales rankings?

[dsmart]

Shouldn't it be possible (at least theoretically) in the same way as music labels did fudge sales rankings?

What are you talking about? Only Kickstarter has access to their own numbers. So what is displayed on the Kickstarter page, is 100% accurate. So there is no way for CIG to fudge those. They do however have control over their own website. So they can do whatever they like.

[Slapmeandcallmegurl]

How would they be able to fudge numbers on a third-party site where they have no control?

Obviously they make enough money for operations, though they have been laying people off, while others leave voluntarily.

So paying all those staff and the operating costs of five studios must cost what, about 3million a month? They say they've raised almost 200 Million in about 6 years. That all seems to check out though right? They had a loan too I remember hearing, and investors? Didn't they also start with very few employees in the first couple of years, overheads would have been much lower.

The funding chart would have to be very wrong if it was true they have no cash left it seems. Yet they keep on operating so it can't be too far off. Or am I missing something?

[dsmart]

Or am I missing something?

Yes, you're missing the part where you think we're idiots who don't know that you're one of those guys.

ps: echoing the same nonsensical talking points was a dead giveaway. Serendipity, is that you? How are you doing ol' buddy?

Please come talk to us over here about the amazing performance gains and great stuff in 3.3. Thanks!

[Slapmeandcallmegurl]

Arrgghh, you got me guvnor. Grab your banhammer all swift like, did you miss me?

Just thought I'd pop back and see what y'all were talking about these days. It's about a year isn't it since I was here, all the impending doom talk from then looks a bit silly now.

Wasn't citcon 2015 going to be the last one? Is 2018 going to be the last one now? What about 2019?

Anyway, good to talk again. Have fun.

[N0mad]

Hi Serendipity - have you bought yourself a Kraken?

It would make my day knowing how much money you've wasted on this unplayable garbage.

[Slapmeandcallmegurl]

Hi Serendipity - have you bought yourself a Kraken?

It would make my day knowing how much money you've wasted on this unplayable garbage.

I haven't bought anything from CIG for a long time. Most of my spend came from donations for my Voiceattack profile. Turns out sci fi nerds love their sci fi enhanced with a talking ship emulator. One citizen even bought me a constellation!

True story. Anyway, I bought a freelancer and an avenger over a couple of years. Then when donations started coming in I used them to buy an aurora here and there, always expecting them to dry up, but they didn't for quite some time. An org gave me 50 quid here, citizen throws me a fiver there. Apparently it adds up. Once melted I ended up with a few nice ships. Haven't downloaded the 3.2 client, never mind the 3.3 PTU. I'm waiting for more to do before sinking more time into it.

I'm technically a professional programmer though, which is hilarious.

[DemonInvestor]

What are you talking about? Only Kickstarter has access to their own numbers. So what is displayed on the Kickstarter page, is 100% accurate. So there is no way for CIG to fudge those. They do however have control over their own website. So they can do whatever they like.

I'm talking about them simply investing in the game themselves, in the same way Record Labels actually sent people out buying CDs or might have even been Long Plays back in the days. Because they also couldn't fudge the numbers of sales retailers reported.

[Motto]

Haven't downloaded the 3.2 client, never mind the 3.3 PTU. I'm waiting for more to do before sinking more time into it.

You really should play it now, since it won't be long before there is nothing left to "play". Those stupid enough not to see that the are funding a ungoing scam can't keep up with the costs of running the scam. It's how all schemes collapse in the end.