dsmart
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Just went you thought it couldn’t get any worse, another tier one dev has exited. Mark Skelton – Art Director – has quit CIG.
That’s because gaming media are not journalists. And nobody wants to pick sides, especially if it means admitting Derek Smart was right. So my guess is that they are going to wait until the final collapse, then pretend as if they knew anything. When that happens, it’s up gaming and readers to make up their own mind about how this whole train-wreck has been ignored, while some in the media continue to pander to Chris Roberts and co.
GDC 2013: Chris Roberts expounds on Star Citizen’s crafting, economy
LOL!!
“The crafting system in Star Citizen will be different than that of a traditional MMO. In fact, Roberts likened it to SimCity’s. Production nodes and factories will be present on the planets, but whether an AI agent runs one or a player does depends on whether a player has purchased it. If a player owns the factory, she has to manage all aspects of production, from getting resources to keeping factory workers happy to getting equipment to distribution to the market. If no player owns it, then the AI takes care of everything, including getting goods out to the market (so there will always be a market, even if players aren’t currently filling it).
To illustrate the crafting process, we’ll use the example of a laser. For a laser to come into being, it needs to be manufactured at a factory in a laser production node. The node needs raw materials to make the laser, so the node spawns missions on the mission board requesting those particular materials. These jobs are taken by others, and when the materials are delivered, the factory goes into production. Once the final product is done, it can be sold via a storefront, either exclusively right on the planet or far away. In order to get the product to outlying storefronts, players will have to do the transporting themselves. The crafter can take it himself or he can hire someone to make the delivery for him. He can even hire an escort for protection. At each step along this path, AI will fill the role if a live player is unavailable.
In the Star Citizen’s economy, there’s a role for everyone. Players can choose to own the factories, produce the goods, obtain the raw materials, transport the goods, run the storefronts, or even pirate the goods. Players can also contribute by overclocking ship components, which involves taking a basic item and improving it. Roberts says that players can make names for themselves in any of these areas, whether by creating a large economic empire or filling a smaller niche. And to help facilitate those who really want to delve into the economic aspect of the game, the game’s planned companion app will allow players to manage all facets of their businesses even when they can’t log in.
Additionally, if a factory is mismanaged and its owner can’t pay his workers and is forced to lay them off, the population of the planet becomes unhappy. And an unhappy planet spawns more criminal missions, which increases piracy in the star system.”
I can smell the echoes of distant hand-waving from here. Jesus! Anybody think ANY of that code has been worked on or it will be implemented in the hotly-anticipated MVP? That we’ll have a fully fleshed out factory owner game simply because CR once played SimCity?
“Roberts says that the full game will likely release toward the end of 2014.“
For those of you who read my Condition Red blog in which I explained the technical hurdles for a twitch based MMO, a new space combat MMO, Dual Universe, was unveiled earlier this week. Read their dev blog for an explanation of how they are handling a single shard universe.
Anyone seen the 2.4J patch notes yet?
Ff nothing else, the on-going 2.4 “persistence” update clearly proves what I’ve been saying all along; in that their primary focus is on implementing features which make money. e.g. instead of implementing core game features, they implemented shops and in-game currency; which will turn into RL currency at some point in the short term.
And the 2.4j test update that went live last night, also clearly shows that they’re not building an MMO and that, at some point – if they survive that long – they are going to stick with the instanced session based gameplay style. e.g. they’re now charging in-game currency for re-spawning ships! Which, at the current rate of exchange means that when it’s final, you will have to pay $3 per respawn if you don’t want to wait 5 mins. Here is a video showing it.
Not to mention that the nature of the current “missions”, ensures that the game has to remain local instanced. Which means, definitely no MMO of any kind.
LMAO!! Yeah, I saw this yesterday. I was laughing so hard. Those guys are hilarious. Here is a direct link to the video.
Their interpretation of the ToS is flawed in many ways. And it will be tested in court before long. So don’t pay any attention to it. Just keep reading my updates as things progress. And whatever you do, try not to agree to any new ToS changes. This is very important.
Where are you located? When did you back the project? Roughly how much are you in for? If you don’t want to disclose this in public, just email (dsmart at live.com) or DM (http://twitter.com/dsmart/) me.
Anyway, just be sure to keep all the correspondence.
