Wing Commander Creator Unveils Star Citizen

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

I was interested until I got to the words "massively multiplayer".

Then I quit reading

Pretty much what I thought. There is a mention of single player missions that will be "integrated into the online game upon completion", but that doesn't sound all that promising. Depends how it's handled I suppose.

Colour me interested - but not optimistic.

 

[Andrewtheeviscerator]

and in case there's any doubt about Roberts' commitment to the platform, the Star Citizen announcement trailer effectively dismisses consoles, tablets and mobile gaming as "the future" of gaming and stakes its future on the capabilities of PCs.

Huh guess my dirty console peasant money isn't good enough for him,shame as I was interested in this for a minute. Oh well there are better games for me to spend my money on made by developers who won't look down on me for what platform I play on.

 

[falcon1985]

It's about damn time someone revived proper space-simming. The Freespace SCP and wing commander mods for it were great and all, but they were still re-boots. In my excitement I threw $125 at it. No regrets.

 

[kyoodle]

Did the opening not come across as a little self important or petty to anyone? It feels like a long time since I've seen someone roll out the 'pc gaming is dead' banner and to pose as some kind of symbol that the platform is alive and well was smug enough to mar the news for me.

 

[Scars Unseen]

and in case there's any doubt about Roberts' commitment to the platform, the Star Citizen announcement trailer effectively dismisses consoles, tablets and mobile gaming as "the future" of gaming and stakes its future on the capabilities of PCs.

Huh guess my dirty console peasant money isn't good enough for him,shame as I was interested in this for a minute. Oh well there are better games for me to spend my money on made by developers who won't look down on me for what platform I play on.

I'm sorry you feel looked down upon, but you have to understand that consoles have technical limitations that PCs do not. This game does not have a AAA budget, so the developer has to choose between supporting one audience well or all audiences equally poorly. I believe he made the right decision.

 

[Scars Unseen]

I'm currently watching Until the video bugged out on me I was watching the GDC video found here. [http://www.gamespot.com/shows/gamespot-live/?event=roberts_space_industries_gdc_panel20121010] I'm liking this more and more. It's a persistent online world, yes, but not like current popular MMOs. It will have mods, private servers, and user generated content. This is looking to be more like NWN persistent worlds (IN SPAAAAACE!) with an optional official server with frequent microupdates.

This is the first multiplayer game I've been genuinely excited about in a long time.

 

[Petromir]

and in case there's any doubt about Roberts' commitment to the platform, the Star Citizen announcement trailer effectively dismisses consoles, tablets and mobile gaming as "the future" of gaming and stakes its future on the capabilities of PCs.

Huh guess my dirty console peasant money isn't good enough for him,shame as I was interested in this for a minute. Oh well there are better games for me to spend my money on made by developers who won't look down on me for what platform I play on.

Looking at the trailer and all the info, it looks like it's not you he looks down on, he just made the decision that what he wants to do with it is only possible on a PC. This looks like an attempt to push the limits of what you can do in a game.

Console gaming is a great thing but its limited, and MMOs have yet to take off there. It doesn't in short look to be a sensible game to make on a console. It's not that the money isn't wanted its that to take it he'd have to compromise his vision for the game.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

This game gives me a funny but pleasant feeling in my pants. I must own it.

 

[Andrewtheeviscerator]

and in case there's any doubt about Roberts' commitment to the platform, the Star Citizen announcement trailer effectively dismisses consoles, tablets and mobile gaming as "the future" of gaming and stakes its future on the capabilities of PCs.

Huh guess my dirty console peasant money isn't good enough for him,shame as I was interested in this for a minute. Oh well there are better games for me to spend my money on made by developers who won't look down on me for what platform I play on.

I'm sorry you feel looked down upon, but you have to understand that consoles have technical limitations that PCs do not. This game does not have a AAA budget, so the developer has to choose between supporting one audience well or all audiences equally poorly. I believe he made the right decision.

I have no problem with this not being on consoles, its quite obvious that this wouldn't really work on one. What pissed me off is him saying that consoles have no future in gaming, I refuse to support people who are trying to get rid of consoles. I play on my PC a lot but I still like having my xbox with me when I feel like doing something else.

 

[Tisiphone1]

I, in general, dislike multiplayer (I agree with Yahtzee [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/9967-Hating-Multiplayer-Creep]), but if that's the price to get my space sims back, so be it. Super excited.

 

[Ken Sapp]

TAKE MY MONEY NOW!!!!!!!11111!!!!!!!!!!!11111!!!!111!111!!

Now that that is out of my system, I have long mourned the loss of space sims. I cut my teeth on the original Wing Commander and was ensnared until it ended. I tried some of the others but none of them felt right or came at the right time. I can't wait to see the finished product

 

[Superasil]

I, in general dislike multiplayer (I agree with Yahtzee [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/9967-Hating-Multiplayer-Creep]), but if that's the price to get my space sims back, so be it. Super excited.

There's an entire offline campaign, and the creator also said that he would put out updates (Free if i remember) like mission packs for Wing Commander, so don't fret.

OT: Already pledged $125, CAN'T wait for the alpha to start, this has amazing potential and i hope it does really well.

 

[Ken Sapp]

and in case there's any doubt about Roberts' commitment to the platform, the Star Citizen announcement trailer effectively dismisses consoles, tablets and mobile gaming as "the future" of gaming and stakes its future on the capabilities of PCs.

Huh guess my dirty console peasant money isn't good enough for him,shame as I was interested in this for a minute. Oh well there are better games for me to spend my money on made by developers who won't look down on me for what platform I play on.

I'm sorry you feel looked down upon, but you have to understand that consoles have technical limitations that PCs do not. This game does not have a AAA budget, so the developer has to choose between supporting one audience well or all audiences equally poorly. I believe he made the right decision.

I have no problem with this not being on consoles, its quite obvious that this wouldn't really work on one. What pissed me off is him saying that consoles have no future in gaming, I refuse to support people who are trying to get rid of consoles. I play on my PC a lot but I still like having my xbox with me when I feel like doing something else.

He did not say that consoles have no future in gaming. He said they are not the future of gaming.

 

[Shinsei-J]

God I miss space sims, I recently played Galaxies On Fire 2 on my Ipad but it didn't scratch that itch hard enough.
I may have to pledge to this.

But, o my mathing god! VR support for a space sim sounds like what it was made for.

 

[jindofox]

What I liked: sense of scale, dynamic thrust model on the ships. Neat.

What I didn't like: Roberts' defensive crouch, talking about "gamers like myself" and being "sad and angry that PC gamers get no respect," and the bashing of console, mobile, and casual gaming. You'd think a pompous throttle jockey like Chris would be using something other than an XBOX 360 controller to control his spaceship.

I'm one of those twits who think graphics are rather nice as they are, and that pursuing the visual "fidelity of a film" will only bring diminishing returns. This isn't 1992. Does watching our spaceman scratching his ass at 6:54 in the video really make you feel more immersed in the action?

Wing Commander 3 on the 3DO is a joy because it cuts all the crap and loads to the action very quickly. Wing Commander 1 and 2 on the PC, for all their "hardcore" elements, are lightweight arcade blasters by today's standards. A return to form for a fun, story-based space shooter with modern graphics would be a blast. I would prefer to play such a game on console or mobile.

This pitch stinks of Battlecruiser 3000 A.D.'s hubris and bloat. His crowdfunding moneygrab to cut through the "politics and noise of a publisher" strikes me as a self-indulgent ego stroke.

This isn't the Wing Commander rebirth that I want to play. I won't be contributing.

 

[saleem]

Isn't this just basically EVE?

Hell no, watching the conference session today the game is true blue space sim but with an mmo component attached. There is no leveling in the game and promises to be skill based instead of stat based ie you have to actually fly your plane instead of relying on percentages.

He described the single player aspect of it as tour of duties players sign up for, this part can be played offline and is played ala wing commander. After your done with that you can then go online and play ala freelancer/privateer in a persistent mmo universe. He plans to have mission packs in the vein of the WC1 & 2 games available as downloadable expansions so if your sick of privateering you can hop back into single player mode whenever there is new content for it.

In mmo aspect he explained that combat encounters are generated by dropping opposing players into instances when paths intersect or when you intercept someone. Then you have the option to invite friends or put out a general call for back up. Instead of XP it seems cash will be the main reward which is then used to buy new ships, weapons and equipment. He suggested that ships would be highly customizable and there will be no such thing as a fixed build, he also alluded that you will be able to eventually pilot capital class ships and have it act as a player hub.

One of the most interesting aspects he talked about are the stealth updates that will add new systems to the galaxy map. The lucky players you finds the jump point would then have to navigate it (my guess without going off course) and then be able to sell the nav data to established NPC vendors. The player then gets to name the system as it gets integrated into the game universe.

Overall very ambitious but it seems that he already has alot of the framework down. The trailer and all images are being generated by the in game engine and there appears to be no transition time when moving from one location to another even when launching into space.

One downside though, it appears that your going to need a monster machine to play it though.

 

[47_Ronin]

Yes, yes, make another mmo game, excellent.
F you game designing world.

 

[crazyrabbits]

I only discovered Freelancer a few years back, and absolutely loved it. If his new project can get anywhere close to that scope (and put in the dynamic economy that was removed prior to FL's release), it will be a monumental achievement indeed.