Spending $300 on an Internet Spaceship

Redlin5_v1legacy

Better Red than Dead
Aug 5, 2009
48,836
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Pffft, get a Freelancer. More mobility. =P

And don't worry, the game isn't going to be soley PvP. PvE elements are also going to be a big part of it.

There'll be a lot of naysayers but I think its worth getting a ship for. I've been a follower of Chris Roberts for a long time though. :D
 

Neyon

New member
May 3, 2009
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A lot of people don't seem to realise that these are in effect just rewards for crowdfunding the game. It was initially funded on kickstarter but by moving funding to their own site they have less fees to pay. It has currently raised $56,263,990 from 612,493 backers (see https://robertsspaceindustries.com/funding-goals). You do not have to pay $300 to receive a copy of the game - packages start at $30 ($35 with access to beta). The game seems to have very high production standards and there are continuous updates on the state of development (see https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link). iirc on launch you won't be able to directly buy ships as you can now.

TL;DR It's not $300 to just buy a ship, it's $300 to help fund the game, and you can pledge much less (or more)
 

RedDeadFred

Illusions, Michael!
May 13, 2009
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Nonononononononono. Please tell me you're joking! Don't encourage these people!

300$ for an in game item? For a game that isn't even out of Kickstarter? A game that you really don't know will be good? Yes, I'm sure it'll be decent at the very least, but still... have we learned nothing form the various pre-order, Early Access, and Kick starter debacles?!?

I'm sorry if I sound rude right now, but in the words of my avatar:

In all seriousness though, it's your money, you're an adult.... I think. If this is really how you want to spend your hard earned money, go for it. If it brings you lots of joy, awesome. If it ends up being a complete waste, you learned a valuable lesson.

Best of luck.
 

SacremPyrobolum

New member
Dec 11, 2010
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Thanks guys. I think I jumped the gun a bit in wanting to make this decision. I'm going to go take another look at Elite: Dangerous. At least they look like they made some progress.
 

MirenBainesUSMC

New member
Aug 10, 2014
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Well I went to the site...

Wow. Talk about getting lost without anything to show yet. You could very well make your self extra broke from all of these fees and packages.

Really with this type of money people are shelling out, I don't think I'd invest in anything until you actually see their first edition of the game go live.

Imagine that. Virtual " Ship Insurance". Then you have fuel costs... lol. Hey I love space sims as well but... ehhhh --- seems to me like this is a pretty virtual casino and pay-to-play venture targeting well off Sci-Fi enthusiasts.

Want to really make it out on top? Invest in the stock of this guy. If it does go live and people start paying these fees...its a def win during opening day on the Stock Market.
 

Agayek

Ravenous Gormandizer
Oct 23, 2008
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SacremPyrobolum said:
Hello Everyone!

I have recently (yes, late, I know) become interested in purhcasing my way into a little indie project called Star Citizen. Perhaps you have heard of it. Anyways, I was looking at how I could buy my way in and found that all my Han Solo fantasies could be achieved for a mere donation of $300 to purchase the Constellation Aquilla pack.

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pledge/Packages/Constellation-Aquila

Now, since I might spend so much on this particular internet spaceship, I want to be sure that 1) it is worth it and 2) that I won't get ganked and lose it right out of the gate. This community isn't as cutthroat as EVE, is it? I just want to map star systems on the edge of the galaxy in peace!

What do you think?
I'm a big supporter of Star Citizen (I think I've dropped like $1200 on this game, I may have a problem), so I really can't help but approve of more people wanting to get in on it, but I think you're approaching this from the wrong angle.

It's not "Is this ship worth the money?", but "Do I want to contribute to the game?". There's literally no reason to fork over real money unless you want to support development of the game. Nothing you spend real cash on, at this point anyway, cannot be gotten through the game itself when it comes out. The only reason to financially contribute is if you want to support development.

Now, as to your second question, that's a multifaceted answer. First and foremost, there's no way to know what the community is like yet. None of the MMO-like parts of the game have been released, so it's impossible to know how the community will behave or how they will respond to shenaniganery.

However, even if the game is full-on gank central, that won't rob you of the ship. The game has a system called "insurance", where any ship that is covered is replaced to the owner in the event of loss, be it by destruction or theft, and every ship purchased with real money comes with insurance. It used to be permanent insurance that lasted forever for the purchased ship, but I believe it's since been reduced to a 6 month period, which means that for the first six months of the game, you wouldn't be able to lose your ship at all, and after that you'd just need to pay a small fee (of in-game currency) to buy a new insurance policy.
 

briankoontz

New member
May 17, 2010
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It's apt that the most crowdfunded project in history is an outer space simulator. It's like a black hole sucking up cash.

Aren't we supposed to be afraid of black holes? I guess the intrepid Captain Kirk space cadets aren't really afraid of anything but not boldly approaching the final frontier.
 

Frankster

Space Ace
Mar 13, 2009
2,507
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Agayek said:
insurance snip
Out of curiosity whilst I understand that the owner of the stolen ship gets a replacement (for first 6 months), does the pirate get to keep the stolen ship anyways? In effect making 2 copies of such a ship?

I'm just seeing some potential for shennanigans here...
 

Autumnflame

New member
Sep 18, 2008
544
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Frankster said:
Agayek said:
insurance snip
Out of curiosity whilst I understand that the owner of the stolen ship gets a replacement (for first 6 months), does the pirate get to keep the stolen ship anyways? In effect making 2 copies of such a ship?

I'm just seeing some potential for shennanigans here...
in game police and bounty hunters will come after the pirate. and the ship can only stay in lawless space other wise the law will take it
 

Frankster

Space Ace
Mar 13, 2009
2,507
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Autumnflame said:
in game police and bounty hunters will come after the pirate. and the ship can only stay in lawless space other wise the law will take it
I see... So can't just get in agreement with another player and get some free ships that way entirely without consequences xD

Still this does make being a piratey player kinda fun and interesting :) Jack other players ships and return to lawless space with your spoils. I think when this game comes out I'll be playing a pirate methinks, with my crappy starter ship I'll seek out a bunch of fellow cut throats and join their gang and together we will try to swarm over players with good/expensive ships :eek:

I expect to be blown up a lot but someone's gotta populate this universe with low tier enemies and make flying around dangerous and exciting!
 

Spartan448

New member
Apr 2, 2011
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There's a general rule in EVE that makes up a lot of the reason why there is no way to use real money to directly buy ships (though PLEX converting is fine): don't fly anything you can't afford to loose. That means don't fly anything you can't buy and fit 10 of to cover your losses. Would you be willing to drop 3K for one ship? If not, keep your money.
 

Product Placement

New member
Jul 16, 2009
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Now, a question I have about the +300$ ships:

Will they be...

A) Significantly better than the cheaper ships, giving those who spend more money an edge over other players. If so, why isn't anyone bitching about this being a "Pay to Win" game?

or...

B) Just as good as the standard ships, thus essentially making them nothing more than vanity items. If so, where are the people who lost their shit when EVE was trying to offer $60 dollar vanity items?


...........


Just so it's clear, yes I have not pledged for this game but it's not that I dislike these types of games. It's because I missed the kickstarter campaign and I'm one of those who really dislike early access stuff, that's impossible to obtain afterwards. It would be impossible for me to play this game and not feel like I'm missing out on stuff. The fact that a wast majority of the stretch goals have a "only available to backers who pledged before X" clause isn't helping. Like the towel on the 42 million stretch goal. I want a towel, dammit!
 

wildstars

New member
May 24, 2013
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I have the Constellation. I bought in to Star Citizen with a 300i two years ago, and my wife got me the upgrade to the Constellation (the "Rear Admiral" package) as a Christmas gift. Personally, I couldn't spend $300 on a virtual ship, even though I wanted it badly. My wife doesn't have those sort of financial inhibitions.

I'm not sure what your Han Solo fantasies entail. I don't really think of Han Solo as an explorer.

Is owning this ship an advantage over the basic ship? It depends on what you plan on doing. I don't think it's gonna be so hot for fighter combat, but will excel at merchant / smuggler type activities. I wanted it so my friends and I can work as a team and play to our individual strengths. I don't think there are any $300 fighters, but I bet that everything else being equal that the Hornet will walk all over the Aurora in combat, and that the 315p or 325a will leave in the dust in races.

If you bought in when I did, you do get one definite in game advantage, which is free lifetime ship insurance.

Product Placement said:
Like the towel on the 42 million stretch goal. I want a towel, dammit!
If you want, when the game goes MMO, You can visit my hanger and use my towel.
 

AzagalTheBroken

New member
Oct 2, 2014
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A lot of very good points. There's no way to justify $300 on a virtual item when the same amount of money could be used to upgrade your comp so that when the game does come out you'll have the advantage in processing power.

But whatever you do, don't have someone give you a ship as a gift package. You won't get any of the backer bonuses if you do.
 

Tanis

The Last Albino
Aug 30, 2010
5,264
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There's this twisted it of me that wants this game to fail, just to bathe in the sweet tears of blood that would surely come.
XD

OT:
If you got the cash, go for it.
I'll laugh at you, but go for it.