OOC: Star Citizen for TSW players
So, today(Feb 14th) will be the last day Star Citizen (MMO) and the Single player Squadron 42 will be sold together. After that it they will be two separate games. At first you will be able to buy one and get the other for 15 USD extra but they already announced that the price will increase the closer they get to the release until both games are fully priced titles.
EDIT: The split has happened by now.
I know a few of you have been interested in the game so I’d like to explain why I am so stoked about SC and compare it a little to TSW.
PS: All screenshots in this post are taken by myself from the current Alpha.
Business Model
I know it is kinda weird to start with this but it really is important to understand, that SC is a crowd funded game and therefore you are not actually buying the game but pledge to support the game in development. And as perk you get the game when it is released.
With this model comes a huge openness in the development process. Usually games at this stage would probably only be an announcement or something like that. The game that can be played right now is still an early alpha, a test bed and things are going to change. That also means, everything I’m presenting below, might be subject to change.
Right now you have several ways to support the game development. One of them is buying (yes I’ll just use the term instead of pledging) the base game with one of the starter ships for 45 USD. That gives you everything you need. A ship to explore the MMO, access to the game during development and the live game and at least until Feb 14th access to the single player campaign.
And this is what I would recommend people to get if they just want to play the game when it’s out. In my eyes the single player alone is worth it but you have to make that decision yourself.
For those that want to go beyond that, there are a lot different ships that can be bought. You don’t need them and they all will be available to get via ingame means. Yes, it gives you a head start in the MMO but nothing you can not achieve without paying money.
They also offer subscriptions that give you a few perks, nothing fundamental, access to some work in progress art, a magazine with further information and a flare item each month to put into your hanger (you will be able to get all flare items via ingame means in the finished game too).
The point of the subscriptions is to fund the community content. There are 3 videos about the development progress every week and a community life stream. Everyone can watch them but they are payed by the subscribers. No pledge money gets taken off the development for that.
You also are able to buy ingame funds but right now it does not make much sense since there is not really much to buy with it.
In the live game they intend to only sell ingame currency so far. No ships and no subscription. (Well and sell the game of course) The ingame currency will come with a daily limit for real money purchase that is intended to be capped at what an average player would be able to earn in one day.
Squadron 42 - the Single Player
SQ42 will be a story driven single player experience. A lot space combat, some ground combat and transitions between the two of them. All the scenes captured with pretty well known actors for the main cast. For those who still know it, a bit like how Wing Commander would look today. They try not to talk too much about that game to not spoil it for the players.
You can find more on https://robertsspaceindustries.com/squadron42
It is going to be like something between Mass Effect and call of duty in regards to story telling. There will be decisions and they will matter, NPC will react on what you are doing but there won’t be RPG elements like levels and such. They promised to not take player control away during the cut scenes like most games do though.
I expect it to be a lot more story telling than TSW. But that is an unfair comparison since single player games usually are better in that regard than MMOs.
Star Citizen - The First Person Universe
This is what really gets me excited and all over the place about this game. Sure the Single player is a game I wanted to play for decades but the MMO is what makes me drooling.
Why is it called First Person Universe? At first I took the term as typical marketing speech but after thinking about it, this really is what describes the MMO best. You are not actually flying a space ship, you are controlling a character who flies the spaceship. The goal is to do everything in first person. Yes there are third person views but they are mostly for beauty shots and not too useful to play the game in.
They aim to deliver a simulation of an universe where yes, flying spaceships is a large part of, but not the only thing. From mining, salvage, medical care, explorations, ground combat, trading, news reporting, hell even serving drinks, there are a lot options that do not involve personally flying a space ship.
A Sandbox
In MMOs you can distinguish between two types of games. One, like TSW or most current MMOs, is the theme park. You have quests, a predetermined story that you are following as player. Sure, there are branches but in the end, every player goes through the main story line.
The other approach is the sandbox style MMO. There a world is created and given to the players to form, to do what they want in. A good example of those would be Ultima Online or Star Wars Galaxies. Star Citizen is clearly one of those.
The developers aim to create a simulation of the (game) universe and players are up to explore it and do what they want in it. There is no inherent goal, no quest line everyone has to follow.
This usually leads to each quest not being as story intense and deep as they are in a theme park, but in return the sandbox games usually allow the players to shape the world in much higher degree.
Quests & Ingame Economy
Quests, or missions how they are called in both, SC and TSW, will be a lot different from what you are used to in TSW. The goal is to have the mission to be generated by the simulation of the universe.
Let’s say there is a demand for a recourse on one planet. It will lead to cargo hauling missions being generated to cover that need. Both NPC and SC cargo haulers will most likely take them. The idea is to have a 90% NPC to 10% Player ratio in the finished universe.
The increase in cargo being hauled along the trade route will bring out pirates (again both players and NPC) that will try to make a move on the haulers. This again will create missions for escorts of the haulers and for bounty hunters to get the pirates. After the fights there will be injured people and wracked ships that lead to even other types of missions.
In addition to that missions will be rather individually. If you have to kill pirate overloard x and finish that mission, no one else can do so. He is dead already. That does not mean some over pirate will take over the power vacuum and some time later a mission kill pirate overloard y might be created.
If this system will work as intended it will lead to an very immersive experience and the things players do will have (on a small scale) impact on the world.
Consequences & Perma Death
To add to the meaning of players actions, everything has consequences. There will be a complex reputation system in place that judges you based on your actions.
Things like shooting someone in a secure space, will result in a bounty on your head and so on.
One of those consequences is, that you can permanently die. To not make it too harsh, you inherit some of your reputation and all your possessions minus some taxes to your new character. This system is so ingrained, that you even have to name your heir during character creation.
But it is a game and mistakes happen and players grow attached to their characters so you won’t perma die the first time you suffer lethal injuries. The idea is that you have a set amount of ‘lifes’ every time you waste one, you will wake up on a medical station, having been recovered barely alive from space.
But again, nothing is without consequences. Wasting a ‘life’ leaves marks on your character. Maybe some scars, maybe an arm needed to be replaced by a cybernetic. But in the end, you can run out of ‘lifes’.
This probably is one of the biggest differences to TSW, where we have barely any consequences enforced by the game (yes, wing color but that’s it).
Player skill based
Another mayor difference to most MMOs is that Star Citizen will not have any levels or unlockable skills for the characters. Everything is based on the players skill. If you are a good pilot, your character is, if you are terrible at aiming with a rifle, your character is too.
Like in TSW you will be able to fulfill every role, every task if you have the right gear. Yes, you need the right skills in TSW as well but eventually by playing the game you fill out the ability wheel.
Of course you will have progression when it comes to gear. Different ships, weapons and upgrades to them for example.
Instancing
The idea for how they will handle the world is very similar to TSW. It is one persistent world but if too many players for the servers to handle are in one region, it will be split into different instances.
They aim to have systems in place that will have you play with your friends and enemies but a lot of that is still undecided because they need to see how far they can push the tech.
PvE vs PvP
In most current games PvE and PvP are divided. Some zones where PvP is enabled or special servers that allow for PvP.
Star Citizen will handle it differently, aside from areas where no weapons are permitted and the rule enforced, there will be PvP enabled everywhere. That does not mean that PvP is encouraged in every place. Rather the opposite.
As mentioned above, everything is meant to have consequences. Security forces will react to you if you attack others, bounties will be placed on your head and so on.
To accommodate for different play styles you will have a slider though where you can adjust the likelihood of you encountering PvP content. Neither setting is a 100% you can not fully opt out of PvE or PvP but the system will try to give you the content you prefer.
But of course, if one player set a bounty on your head and a bounty hunter takes that mission, he will be put into your instance to give him a chance to move on you. It is a simulation of a universe and you never are 100% secure.
Lore Everywhere
The developers try to keep as much as possible of the game in lore and in character to create more immersion. Like the quest tracker being an actual IC AR interface and not just some game mechanic or the Arena Commander game mode that is an in fiction computer game.
They are creating a whole universe and for that purpose a lot of lore is written. There are a regular lore posts, updates and short stories on the official website, you can find some of them here.
You can see some players are even commenting in character to some of those articles.
Summary
Overall I think Star Citizen is vastly different from TSW and speaks to a different audience. I expect it to be an very immersive game but also doubt it will be for many of you.
For those of you that are interested in a game that enforces consequences, allows for players to shape the world and meaningful interactions, it might be something.
If you want to learn more about different aspects of the game, don’t hesitate to get in touch, I can give you a lot more info than would have fit into this post or give directions to articles and videos.
Free Fly
They offer every now and then a free fly weekend where you can fly a few basic ships in the alpha for free. Right now there is one of those promotions ongoing that will last until the end of today (Feb 14th). So yes, you can test the alpha before you make a decision if you want to pledge before they separate the packages.
All you need to do is register an account and download the game.
If you want, I would totally give you an in person flight lesson and introduction to the game. Just get in touch with me.
What is in the Alpha right now?
These are the things you can explore during the free flight or when you buy the game. But keep in mind, it is only a test-bed of the function the game is supposed to have later. It is an early alpha.
Bugs
I mentioned it is an alpha, right? You will encounter bugs and instabilities. And a lot of them. Seriously, if you can not stand them, you should not log in and try it right now.
Arena Commander
The pure dog-fighting module. You can kill some AI or kill some players. Perfect for learning to fly and the basics of space combat.
Arc Corp
This is the first landingzone. All you can do is run around and explore but it gives a good impression of how awesome the game will look. It also had been the test-bed for emotes, chat and so on.
(Baby) Universe
The Crusader System, it is the primer for what the ‘real game’ later will be. You can do a few missions, find some FPS weapons, repair your ship and generally explore the map.
The basics of Multi Crew ships are in here too. Fly together with your friends in one ship.
You can find a lot emerging gameplay here as well. Player requesting help in chat, staking raids on others. A lot of ship stealing … It is pretty exciting to see what the player make out of the little that is available so far.
No females
So far there is no female player model. They are redoing player models, both male and female are build from the scratch up again and while the finished game is meant to have a very detailed character creator that supports different body types and all heritages, so far only a base model is implemented in the alpha.
What should I buy?
If you want to get started with SC I would recommend the Aurora LN Game package It comes with a solid starter ship and if you later on decide to invest more you can still upgrade it. No need to spend more money than this.
EDIT: The package split has happened and the recommended package therefor does not exist anymore. I still recommend the Aurora as starter ship and advise to try the other ships ingame first before upgrading id you really want to.
So if you want to get in, I’d go with Package - Aurora MR SC Starter if you only want the MMO or Package - Aurora MR Star Citizen + Squadron 42 Combo if you want the single player as well.
(I really would take the Single player as well.)
Referral code
When you sign up at the RSI website you can enter a referral code. This gives you 5000 UEC (ingame currency) and the person who’s code you are using a little bonus once you decide to buy the game.
It does not change the price of the game so it is a win for both sides. If you have a friend ask them for their code, they will be happy to give it to you. Otherwise you can use mine:
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