Star Citizen and Squadron 42 are still years from launch, CIG confirms

Honestly guys, were's the 100+ comments?

It has been a while since we had a 100 post SC thread unless I missed one. Kind of indicative of overall interest in a project that has so little to show after so much time and will be in perpetually pre-alpha I'm guessing.

But, back to Star Citizen* - yes, I threw some money into it / away, but I do derive enjoyment from playing it.

* Feel free to message me directly about the Czech stuff. Or if you want to look me up on SC, hit me up there.

Dan =0)

Mr. Tact wrote on Jan 8, 2022, 12:57:

Dan =0) wrote on Jan 8, 2022, 11:37:
If you're asking about the SC name - the name is a bashing together of two Czech words, "Zmrzl" ("froze") and "skrz" ("through" or "between"). Source: Grew up with family speaking Czech and English.

Interesting. This makes me wonder what percentage of languages have words without vowels. Or perhaps it is a translation problem where there are vowels in the native language but they don't translate to vowels in the other language? I am so glad that is not my job.

Do you still actively speak both languages?

Not sure of the percentage of languages having words without vowels. In the case of Czech, the language uses and extends the Latin alphabet, with various marks over vowels and consonants, in addition to the "normal" ones - and each one has a unique pronunciation, which I like - so when you see a word as spelt, you know how to pronounce it as you see it right away (unlike English - e.g. "through", "tough", "cough", "dough"). So, to respond to your second statement/question, it's not a translation problem, because it -is- the native language using that (modified) Latin alphabet. Oh, also, there is technically a letter, "ch" which comes just after "h" in the Czech alphabet, which is pronounced sort of like you're preparing to spit or, I guess as one might say, hock a loogie.

When it comes to something like Russian or Bulgarian, which make use of forms of Cyrillic, well, that's out of my wheelhouse, though a few words might be related or (almost) the same.

English, I do speak, of course, and Czech, not as much - both parents passed, my mother last year and father back in 2002. Apart from my sister, and my godparents and god-sister (if you willl), I don't - and they'd probably all prefer to speak English, anyway. So, my best recourse is to listen to some Buty, Lucie or Olympic and at least keep that going - or maybe grab my accordion (yes, really) and play along to the music of Malá dechová hudba Valdaufinka.

Dan =0)

EDITS: Grammar and stuff.

This comment was edited on Jan 8, 2022, 14:31.

RedEye9 wrote on Jan 8, 2022, 12:15:

Dan =0) wrote on Jan 8, 2022, 11:37:
Thank you for asking!

As to the BN name - it's just how I sign off. There are worse things in the world I can think of to be upset about.

If you're asking about the SC name - the name is a bashing together of two Czech words, "Zmrzl" ("froze") and "skrz" ("through" or "between"). Source: Grew up with family speaking Czech and English.

Here's a Czech tongue twister for you.

Dan =0)

Google Translate says "Zmrzlskrz" is Czech for Frozen.

I am not upset nor worried about your name but I am deeply disturbed by the lack of vowels and the length of it. Whereas a fine wonderful American made name has two vowels and is shorter. /s /haha /poes law 😜

Haha! "zmrzlskrz" isn't an actual word in the Czech language, though - I just tossed "zmrzl" and "skrz" together for the halibut. But, usually Czech sentences use words that have both consonants and vowels, and sometimes only consist of a vowel ("a", "i", "o") , or one or more consonants together ("s", "k", "v", "skrz", "prst").

Dan =0)

Dan =0) wrote on Jan 8, 2022, 11:37:
If you're asking about the SC name - the name is a bashing together of two Czech words, "Zmrzl" ("froze") and "skrz" ("through" or "between"). Source: Grew up with family speaking Czech and English.

Interesting. This makes me wonder what percentage of languages have words without vowels. Or perhaps it is a translation problem where there are vowels in the native language but they don't translate to vowels in the other language? I am so glad that is not my job.

Do you still actively speak both languages?

Dan =0) wrote on Jan 8, 2022, 11:37:
Thank you for asking!

As to the BN name - it's just how I sign off. There are worse things in the world I can think of to be upset about.

If you're asking about the SC name - the name is a bashing together of two Czech words, "Zmrzl" ("froze") and "skrz" ("through" or "between"). Source: Grew up with family speaking Czech and English.

Here's a Czech tongue twister for you.

Dan =0)

Google Translate says "Zmrzlskrz" is Czech for Frozen.

I am not upset nor worried about your name but I am deeply disturbed by the lack of vowels and the length of it. Whereas a fine wonderful American made name has two vowels and is shorter. /s /haha /poes law 😜

Mr. Tact wrote on Jan 8, 2022, 08:00:

Dan =0) wrote on Jan 8, 2022, 02:15:
SC pilot name: Zmrzlskrz

Did you let your two year old type your name?

Thank you for asking!

As to the BN name - it's just how I sign off. There are worse things in the world I can think of to be upset about.

If you're asking about the SC name - the name is a bashing together of two Czech words, "Zmrzl" ("froze") and "skrz" ("through" or "between"). Source: Grew up with family speaking Czech and English.

Here's a Czech tongue twister for you.

Dan =0)

Dan =0) wrote on Jan 8, 2022, 02:15:
SC pilot name: Zmrzlskrz

Did you let your two year old type your name?

fakespyder wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 21:39:

OpticNerve wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 15:52:
As for the FPS element in a space sim, I think a big part of it is the immersion-factor that goes with it. Here's a good and wacky video that sort of showcases it pretty well: https://youtu.be/xWO9GY8wiKM?t=1847

Once I got past my own personal annoyance at the player voices, that segment did look good.

If that is legit play and not a scripted or semi-planned thing, then you got to be at least a little impressed.
There's some lovely SC machinima out there too btw. The game can sure look pretty.

As a SC player now for a while now off and on, I have to say it is (to me) beautifully rendered. There are some spots it runs like a charm, and other spots where it lags horrendously (some areas of New Babbage comes to mind). But, yes, the gameplay that emerges with and against players, as we're voice-conferencing on Discord, is great, I think. Bugs aside. *

ED has gotten far too grindy, and I've unlocked all the ships, and it leaves me... exhausted? I thought I'd enjoy the idea of a 1:1 (of sorts) galaxy - and I do. In practice, however, the player numbers don't seem to justify it - and with the updates making some parts of the game even worse, if not leaving it simply unimproved - I have found myself only logging in once in a great while. A shame, as ED "runs" fairly well on my rig, large settlements/planetary ports aside.

As it is, I'll probably be playing SC in the late afternoon / early evening today.

SC pilot name: Zmrzlskrz

* Some of the SC bugs are wonderfully wacky, and entertaining if taken in stride.

Dan =0)

EDIT: Glad nin is okay!

EDIT 2: My A+ parking job one time...

OpticNerve wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 15:52:
As for the FPS element in a space sim, I think a big part of it is the immersion-factor that goes with it. Here's a good and wacky video that sort of showcases it pretty well: https://youtu.be/xWO9GY8wiKM?t=1847

Once I got past my own personal annoyance at the player voices, that segment did look good.

If that is legit play and not a scripted or semi-planned thing, then you got to be at least a little impressed.
There's some lovely SC machinima out there too btw. The game can sure look pretty.

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 07:40:

Kosumo wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 04:23:
It's very scummy behavoiur that I believe should be illegal. (I'm sure it is in some countries) Taking money for the promise of stuff and then not delivering is criminal.

It's a pyramid scheme - money being taken from new backers / purchases to deliver what was promised to early adopters. If funding dried up tomorrow, CIG wouldn't be able to complete development of the game with the remaining funds. The majority of funding comes from Star Citizen, yet the majority of resources are being used to develop Squadron 42.

And according to Chris and the backers, when Squadron 42 comes out, it will sell so well it will make hundreds of millions of dollars that will then be used to fund the continued development of Star Citizen!*

It's Win/Win!

*all the while Chris Roberts and his family and the Calder's will be taking millions and millions of dollars for themselves, like they already are doing.

RedEye9 wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 17:17:

OpticNerve wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 17:07:

RedEye9 wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 16:36:
@OpticNerve
Here's is something cheap to gather dust. Logitech G Extreme 3D Pro Joystick on-sale $20 at Amazon.
Not a complete HOTAS but it may make your flying easier?
saw it mentioned here https://hardforum.com/threads/logitech-extreme-3d-pro-20.2016752/

Wow thanks for the heads up. At $20 each, that is definitely an easy grab to test the waters to see if I prefer two of those for flying. If I end up adjusting to those, I can pick up something more durable (and of course it'll probably be a bit more expensive). Thanks again RedEye9!

EGADS, you can run two at the same time? That may have scarred me for life.
6YO Dual Joystick Setup Review - Star Citizen https://youtu.be/JrxXrfYQ8UM
6yo reddit
you may want to double check all that

Thanks for the links! It's definitely going to be a huge learning curve for me being a traditional keyboard and mouse user but the general consensus that I've seen in a lot of SC flight-stick videos and threads is that dual sticks is optimal for most space sims due to the fine movement control you can have with them while flying in space (of course there are outliers who prefer different setups). While the mouse in particular is great for general aiming, the binary off and on of keyboard keys doesn't really allow for precise movement and control. The more I fly various ships (especially the agile ones), the more I'm noticing this so it'll be a fun experience to try out a different control scheme.

This comment was edited on Jan 7, 2022, 19:03.

OpticNerve wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 17:07:

RedEye9 wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 16:36:
@OpticNerve
Here's is something cheap to gather dust. Logitech G Extreme 3D Pro Joystick on-sale $20 at Amazon.
Not a complete HOTAS but it may make your flying easier?
saw it mentioned here https://hardforum.com/threads/logitech-extreme-3d-pro-20.2016752/

Wow thanks for the heads up. At $20 each, that is definitely an easy grab to test the waters to see if I prefer two of those for flying. If I end up adjusting to those, I can pick up something more durable (and of course it'll probably be a bit more expensive). Thanks again RedEye9!

EGADS, you can run two at the same time? That may have scarred me for life.
6YO Dual Joystick Setup Review - Star Citizen https://youtu.be/JrxXrfYQ8UM
6yo reddit
you may want to double check all that

RedEye9 wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 16:36:
@OpticNerve
Here's is something cheap to gather dust. Logitech G Extreme 3D Pro Joystick on-sale $20 at Amazon.
Not a complete HOTAS but it may make your flying easier?
saw it mentioned here https://hardforum.com/threads/logitech-extreme-3d-pro-20.2016752/

Wow thanks for the heads up. At $20 each, that is definitely an easy grab to test the waters to see if I prefer two of those for flying. If I end up adjusting to those, I can pick up something more durable (and of course it'll probably be a bit more expensive). Thanks again RedEye9!

@OpticNerve
Here's is something cheap to gather dust. Logitech G Extreme 3D Pro Joystick on-sale $20 at Amazon.
Not a complete HOTAS but it may make your flying easier?
saw it mentioned here https://hardforum.com/threads/logitech-extreme-3d-pro-20.2016752/

Mr. Tact wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 14:28:

OpticNerve wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 14:18:
I bounced off pretty hard with Elite: Dangerous due to how souless, overly-grindy and barebones the base game felt. And apparently the newest expansion/add-on just made everything worse for that game.

I haven't played E:D since before the expansion, which as you indicate is both not very good and not well received. Prior to that I thought the game was great. However, I'm not looking for FPS elements in a space sim, nor do I particularly understand why anyone would. The exploration, trading, mining, and combat provided in the base game can be grindy, but it doesn't have to be. Were you using VR and/or a HOTAS setup? I'm not a VR guy, but have heard/read good things about it. I think a HOTAS really helps immerse you in the game.

I don't have a HOTAS setup since I'm mostly a casual player (flyer?) and a game has never really warranted me shelling out money for a flight stick. I do have to admit that I'm very tempted on getting two for Star Citizen though (which seems recommended for space sims). I do have disposable income but the nagging part of my brain keeps thinking that outside of SC, I just don't see myself ever needing a flight stick (nonetheless two of them) for anything else. I never really got the appeal of the Flight Simulator games and space shooters are a pretty niche market so if I ever get bored or fed up with SC, those sticks would end up collecting dust.

As for the FPS element in a space sim, I think a big part of it is the immersion-factor that goes with it. Here's a good and wacky video that sort of showcases it pretty well: https://youtu.be/xWO9GY8wiKM?t=1847

For context, this is a PvE Bounty mission where normally you're supposed to use one of your ships and do the traditional, simple thing of flying to the target bounty (in this case, a Hammerhead sub-capital ship) and just shoot it down and the Bounty is done and complete. Now these wacky idiots instead used their hoverbikes to stealth their way to the Hammerhead, cut open the hatch doors, leave a gift on the Captain's Desk, shoot the captain/pilot, self-destruct the ship, escape under fire to provide their own cover fire for their pick-up with rocket launchers while floating in space. I didn't even know that was possible in PvE at all in bounty missions but it makes complete sense that you could do this since this is absolutely possible against other players in a PvP environment. This kind of stuff (the FPS elements) just adds a big layer of immersion and emergent gameplay for me that few other games really provide at the moment and seems less like a gimmick now that it's incorporated into the multiplayer mode.

This comment was edited on Jan 7, 2022, 17:13.

OpticNerve wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 14:18:
I bounced off pretty hard with Elite: Dangerous due to how souless, overly-grindy and barebones the base game felt. And apparently the newest expansion/add-on just made everything worse for that game.

I haven't played E:D since before the expansion, which as you indicate is both not very good and not well received. Prior to that I thought the game was great. However, I'm not looking for FPS elements in a space sim, nor do I particularly understand why anyone would. The exploration, trading, mining, and combat provided in the base game can be grindy, but it doesn't have to be. Were you using VR and/or a HOTAS setup? I'm not a VR guy, but have heard/read good things about it. I think a HOTAS really helps immerse you in the game.

Mr. Tact wrote on Jan 7, 2022, 08:16:
That's the most positive post I have seen about Star Citizen in some time, OpticNerve.

I personally can not factually disagree with it since I haven't spent a single second in the game. That said, your opinion swims against the stream of many others. I hope you are right, that there is a good game in there which might break free some day. However, as I like to say, I wouldn't bet on it.

It's probably due to it being a relatively shiny and new thing for me to play with friends and the in-game community is very helpful and friendly (so far) which probably provides a bit of biasness on my part, especially since I (as a casual) haven't really enjoyed a space sim/shooter since Freespace 1 & 2 and Freelancer (for the modded multiplayer). I bounced off pretty hard with Elite: Dangerous due to how souless, overly-grindy and barebones the base game felt. And apparently the newest expansion/add-on just made everything worse for that game.

At the moment it essentially feels like Grand Theft Auto Online, a Space Sim and a FPS had a love-child - but in space. It's not just a bunch of separate hanger, FPS and racing modules bundled together like I originally thought but an actual online mode with one big galaxy to explore, various proc-genned missions to do (bounty hunting/delivery/mercenary/search/maintenance) as well as mining, pvp and a lot of ships (obviously) to aim for. It's also bug-prone, laggy and runs like shit so a player's patience with that can be tried at times.

I can completely understand the deserved criticism that CIG/Chris Roberts gets about Star Citizen and the slow, glacial pace of the development cycle. If I was an original backer and waited all of these many, MANY years for the promised game to be released by now, I'd probably be pissed off and bitter about it as well. But since I'm relatively new to the game, right now all I can see is the potential that the PU (Persistent Universe) has with what is currently in there and apparently a lot of players with a ton of money to waste are seeing that as well. Of course this will probably change once time goes by and the lack of promised features starts to annoy and gnaw at me but as it currently is, I'm enjoying my time with it since it scratches an itch that no other online game currently scratches.

(Edit: $40k for all of the current ships is fucking ridiculous though)

That's the most positive post I have seen about Star Citizen in some time, OpticNerve.

I personally can not factually disagree with it since I haven't spent a single second in the game. That said, your opinion swims against the stream of many others. I hope you are right, that there is a good game in there which might break free some day. However, as I like to say, I wouldn't bet on it.