[Particle Person]

After seeing my brother wear a little pin depicting the logo, I finally gave in and made the $7,500 down payment for beta access. Despite its unfinished state, this is already my dream game. It's like a nearly perfect recreation of what I imagined was really happening when I played the original Escape Velocity as a child. I've found that nearly every feature I would like to see implemented at or sometime after release has already been planned by the developers, whose attitude concerning game design seems to be very similar to mine.

Anyway, I was wondering if anybody else has played this. I would guess not, so this can also serve as a general discussion thread concerning the recent rebirth of the space sim genre. I'm sure you nerds have some le epic trol opinions to share about the subject.

tl;dr Elite rules Star Citizen drools

[Ghost of V]

You paid $7,500 for beta access to a kickstarter game?


I ask because I thought it was $100+.

[Particle Person]

No, it's $75 for beta access now. I meant 7,500 pennies.

[Ghost of V]

No, it's $75 for beta access now. I meant 7,500 pennies.

Oooohhhh.... 7,500 pennies. Right...


Anyways, this looks like an interesting title. I wouldn't pay to play beta though. I have always been interested in Space Sims, especially when they're done right. The closest thing we've got to a modern day Space Sim is Spore endgame, and that's really fucking sad. If this game is anything remotely close to what they promise at release then I will give it a shot.

[Particle Person]

Yeah, perhaps this goes without saying, but unless you're xXxXhardcoreXxXx like me just wait until the full release and price reduction which is only a few months away. Although the basic game mechanics already feel great, there isn't much to do besides explore an area of around 50 systems, basic trading, pirate hunting, PVP, and simple bulletin board missions. 

[Vindictus]

You're really taking the sarcasm to new levels.

[Particle Person]

I used to get in trouble in grade school all the time because my teachers thought I was addressing them with a "sarcastic tone", even when I was completely serious about what I was saying. I always told them to eat a boner. So eat one, Vindictus, because this is a very serious thread and I really like this game.

[Ghost of V]

Yeah, perhaps this goes without saying, but unless you're xXxXhardcoreXxXx like me just wait until the full release and price reduction which is only a few months away. Although the basic game mechanics already feel great, there isn't much to do besides explore an area of around 50 systems, basic trading, pirate hunting, PVP, and simple bulletin board missions.

Does it play similar to Freelancer? Despite that game's flaws, I really enjoyed it.

[Thork]

I loved freelancer. I loved finding my way to the corsair system to get the awesome ships. I didn't like that you couldn't blow up the big ships though. that kind of sucked. If they shoot you, you should be able to kill them.

[Particle Person]

Freelancer is a bit more "arcadey" in its execution. Star Citizen will probably be more like Freelancer than E:D is. They're both Chris Roberts games, after all. Chris Roberts tries to offer more focused and cinematic experiences in his games. For example, Freelancer and Star Citizen split space up into distinct and static "rooms", which can only be exited using some hyper-loading-screen-warpdrive, but each area is very detailed. David Braben, on the other hand, likes to offer absolute freedom and authenticity (as much as is possible in a distant future sci-fi setting). Our entire galaxy is recreated to scale in Elite. About 400 billion solar systems (or 100-200 billion, at the least. There is some controversy over whether the 400B number refers to the number of star systems or actual stars) will be available to explore at launch, and they're all potentially home to planets, moons, and space stations that all orbit whatever they should be orbiting in a realistic way.

[Thork]

Freelancer was just beautiful. Loved the way every system looked different and had its own colours and theme. Nice big planets etc.

I preferred the gameplay of the x series. x3 is just awesome. So cool that you can end up with your own systems, run your own factories, get huge battleships, expunge entire races etc. Its got the mechanics that Freelancer should have had. Its just not quite as easy on the eye.

Favourite system - 18 Billion ... named after the 18 billion souls that had died in a horrific war some years before you get there.

[Ghost of V]

Freelancer is a bit more "arcadey" in its execution. Star Citizen will probably be more like Freelancer than E:D is. They're both Chris Roberts games, after all. Chris Roberts tries to offer more focused and cinematic experiences in his games. For example, Freelancer and Star Citizen split space up into distinct and static "rooms", which can only be exited using some hyper-loading-screen-warpdrive, but each area is very detailed. David Braben, on the other hand, likes to offer absolute freedom and authenticity (as much as is possible in a distant future sci-fi setting). Our entire galaxy is recreated to scale in Elite. About 400 billion solar systems (or 100-200 billion, at the least. There is some controversy over whether the 400B number refers to the number of star systems or actual stars) will be available to explore at launch, and they're all potentially home to planets, moons, and space stations that all orbit whatever they should be orbiting in a realistic way.

Yay, 400 billion systems that are all procedural generated with little variation! Woo!

Game development has come a long way!

[Thork]

Freelancer is a bit more "arcadey" in its execution. Star Citizen will probably be more like Freelancer than E:D is. They're both Chris Roberts games, after all. Chris Roberts tries to offer more focused and cinematic experiences in his games. For example, Freelancer and Star Citizen split space up into distinct and static "rooms", which can only be exited using some hyper-loading-screen-warpdrive, but each area is very detailed. David Braben, on the other hand, likes to offer absolute freedom and authenticity (as much as is possible in a distant future sci-fi setting). Our entire galaxy is recreated to scale in Elite. About 400 billion solar systems (or 100-200 billion, at the least. There is some controversy over whether the 400B number refers to the number of star systems or actual stars) will be available to explore at launch, and they're all potentially home to planets, moons, and space stations that all orbit whatever they should be orbiting in a realistic way.

Yay, 400 billion systems that are all procedural generated with little variation! Woo!

Game development has come a long way!

Yes, it does sound a little too big. I like to finish a game.

[Particle Person]

Yay, 400 billion systems that are all procedural generated with little variation! Woo!

Game development has come a long way!

Why didn't you tell us before that you actually have played the game?

Yes, it does sound a little too big. I like to finish a game.

Most of the action will be centered on a few hundred inhabited systems that are created or at least heavily modified by hand.

[Ghost of V]

I don't need to play the game to know how it's made.

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Procedural_Generation

[Particle Person]

Procedural generation does not imply "little variation".

[Ghost of V]

Procedural generation does not imply "little variation".

I know. I'm just rustling your jimmies.

Have you heard of No Man’s Sky? It seems like they are trying to do something similar. Looks like the market is going to become over-saturated, but Elite is looking to be the best of the lot.

[Rushy]

Between both E:D and Star Citizen I ended up pledging for SC. Something about E:Ds big flying cheese wedges doesn't sit right with me.

[Particle Person]

Yes, I'm also interested in No Man's Sky, but that game seems to be focused more on pure exploration. It has a much smaller budget and team, so I don't expect it to be as fleshed out as SC or E:D. Nonetheless, I hope iit turns out to be an indie success.

Between both E:D and Star Citizen I ended up pledging for SC. Something about E:Ds big flying cheese wedges doesn't sit right with me.

I like the blockier ships. They look robust enough to travel through space at several times the speed of light. A lot of Star Citizen's ships look too over-engineered and fragile to me.


It's like they're just cramming polygons wherever they want to, with no coherent design plan. Compare to this:



Simple and elegant. Nobody is going to use the sillhouette of an RSI Constellation for their intimidating alliance logo, because it would look like messy poo. The Anaconda, on the other hand, has an easily identifiable and iconic shape. It looks imposing, rather than confusing.

Anyway, that's obviously a matter of personal preference, so we don't have to go on about it forever. Apart from that, what do you prefer about SC?

[Saddam Hussein]

Not linear enough.  Needs more leveled zones.