If you think they are breaking the law, then SUE them. Its as easy as that. All bark, no bite.
And regarding the reputation of Chris Roberts and CIG ... you don't read the press much, do you ? Gaming press or other. His reputation is one of the BEST in the industry. Ackknowledged by the (literally) avatar of the gaming industry:
Here is what Lord British aka Richard Garriott aka The Tourist Astronaut has to say about Chris Roberts:
"But other than a few exceptions, like Chris Roberts, I've met virtually no one in our industry who I think is close to as good a game designer as I am. I'm not saying that because I think I'm so brilliant. What I'm saying is, I think most game designers really just suck, and I think there's a reason why."
"Chris Roberts, who worked with Garriott back when Origin Systems was producing both Ultima and Wing Commander, isn't Garriott's only exception—he also identified Will Wright and Peter Molyneux as examples of quality game designers."
"...that Star Citizen will deliver is the fact that the man at the helm, the Mancunian by way of California, gets feedback like this from game development legend Richard Garriott: "Chris is a rare, truly brilliant game designer. I was always shocked to hear his first pitches for a new game. While myself and others would labor to reach a good idea, and then need large amounts of time to refine it, Chris would often show up with a game design far more clear and powerful than I have experienced with anyone else before or since. The clarity and power of his ideas means that Chris also attracts strong talents to be around him. This works as a virtuous feedback cycle, helping to keep his creations and his teams top notch."
I rather support a positive person working on an incredibly ambitious project with a dedicated team to build something great ...... than to listen to the whining of naysayers .....
And i have 660.000+ buddies who are with me on this adventure.
"...that Star Citizen will deliver is the fact that the man at the helm, the Mancunian by way of California, gets feedback like this from game development legend Richard Garriott: "Chris is a rare, truly brilliant game designer. I was always shocked to hear his first pitches for a new game. While myself and others would labor to reach a good idea, and then need large amounts of time to refine it, Chris would often show up with a game design far more clear and powerful than I have experienced with anyone else before or since. The clarity and power of his ideas means that Chris also attracts strong talents to be around him. This works as a virtuous feedback cycle, helping to keep his creations and his teams top notch."
I rather support a positive person working on an incredibly ambitious project with a dedicated team to build something great ...... than to listen to the whining of naysayers .....
And i have 660.000+ buddies who are with me on this adventure.
Have fun
660,000+ people who don't remember Freelancer or choose to ignore it because it paints a picture of how he manages his companies
660,000+ people who don't remember Freelancer or choose to ignore it because it paints a picture of how he manages his companies
Or 660.000+ people who LIKED Freelancer ....
liked it enough to fork out 63+ M$ for its (even better) successor .....
Maybe they are not ignoring Freelancer but ignoring naysayers that claim it can't be done/it won't be finished.
With some 35.000 new backers per month ... lemme guess what is the more likely pick of those two above.
Have fun
That's great that they liked freelancer. My point was that he made promises he couldn't keep and constantly overshot the production schedule and in the end had to have Microsoft buy out his company in order to even finish the game. When MS bought the company he was made a creative consultant which was a nice way of saying "Here's some money now never come back"
So far he has made promises that he went back on and has overshot the production schedule at every turn. I understand delays happen and schedules change but I don't think he really has a clue on how to properly manage a company.
I would love to be proven wrong and see a great space sim game released but given the monetization model that they are following and past history I have some serious doubts about it.
You know... a lot of people spent money on another game that looked amazing and sounded awesome. What was it called? Oh yeah... Dark and Light.
Then there was that other game done recently, where a company with a stellar track record released a game which looked amazing and was based on previous games that were awesome, over nearly 20 years... X: Rebirth.
Just saying. Until you can play an actual beta version of the WHOLE game, you are buying vaporware and the equivalent of a handful of facebook mini-games. I hope it is awesome. I hope it turns into the biggest and best space MMO ever made, and makes even the jaded SWG fans happy. But, until some solid proof of that appears, they can make do with the $60M+ they've already got.
He is doing now what Microsoft never allowed him to do ... finish what he started, to the level of detail he envisioned, taking as much time as necessary to do it properly and fully tested. Microsoft wanted a quick return-on-investment, NOT a good game.
You know... a lot of people spent money on another game that looked amazing and sounded awesome. What was it called? Oh yeah... Dark and Light.
--> Not made by Chris Roberts. The problem with Dark and Light was that it was released prematurely because of pressure by investors. That is EXACTLY why CIG is going the crowdfunding way and plans to takes as long as necessary to develop SC. And a great majority of backers (according to many polls on the SC forums) support this decision.
Then there was that other game done recently, where a company with a stellar track record released a game which looked amazing and was based on previous games that were awesome, over nearly 20 years... X: Rebirth.
--> Also not made by Chris Roberts. And i am not sure if I personally would call Egosoft a company with a stellar track record.
Just saying. Until you can play an actual beta version of the WHOLE game, you are buying vaporware and the equivalent of a handful of facebook mini-games.
--> If you compare the Arena Commander dogfighting and racing module to a facebook mini-game, i assume you have never played it.
I hope it is awesome.
--> I hope so too.
I hope it turns into the biggest and best space MMO ever made, and makes even the jaded SWG fans happy.
--> Being an old SWG vet that is exactly what I hope for. Except it won't be an MMO. Its a multiplayer game, but by design not a MASSIVELY multiplayer game.
But, until some solid proof of that appears, they can make do with the $60M+ they've already got.
--> IMHO they are constantly delivering proof. But for others the mileage may vary. With some 35.000 new backers every month, i can only assume that there are more people out there that share my point of view.
He is doing now what Microsoft never allowed him to do ... finish what he started, to the level of detail he envisioned, taking as much time as necessary to do it properly and fully tested. Microsoft wanted a quick return-on-investment, NOT a good game.
Have fun
Reads like nothing more than the revisionist history it is.
Wikipedia actually covers this debacle rather well;
Initially in 1999, Roberts announced the game would be available on the market by fall 2000.[35] However, the project suffered delays and by Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2000, Roberts said the earliest release for the game was at the end of 2001.[6]
In June 2000, Microsoft started talks to buy Digital Anvil. Roberts admitted that his team required large sums of money, which only a huge company could provide, to continue developing Freelancer with its "wildly ambitious" features and unpredictable schedule; the project had overshot its original development projection of three years by 18 months. Roberts trusted that Microsoft would not compromise his vision for Freelancer, and was convinced the software giant would not attempt the takeover if it did not believe Freelancer could sell at least 500,000 copies when released.[39] Roberts left the company on completion of the deal, but assumed a creative consultant role on Freelancer until its release.[40] Microsoft instructed Digital Anvil to scale down the ambitions of the project and focus on finishing the game based on what was possible and the team's strengths.[14][20] Features such as the automated flight control, conversations that had different choices of responses, and sub-quests were abandoned.[13] Despite the reductions, several reviewers believed the resultant product was still true to Robert's vision.[6][14]
The Freelancer team kept a low profile throughout 2001 before displaying a demo of their latest work at International Games Festival 2002, drawing large crowds. Microsoft announced the project was on schedule,[41] and Digital Anvil added all the planned content for the game by October 2002. A beta test with approximately 500 testers was conducted,[5] and the only main activities left were to refine the game's features and to fix errors uncovered in the testing.[5] The game shipped to retailers on March 4, 2003
Here is a TON of data about the usage of the Arena Commander module, the number of users in this pre-Alpha phase, who is using what controller at which success rate, what rigs they are using etc etc.
We are talking about 64.455 users around the world testing in Pre-Alpha in a SINGLE MONTH ! A minimum of 10 % participation in pre-Alpha is an excellent percentage by any industry standards.
He is doing now what Microsoft never allowed him to do ... finish what he started, to the level of detail he envisioned, taking as much time as necessary to do it properly and fully tested. Microsoft wanted a quick return-on-investment, NOT a good game.
Have fun
rpmcmurphy covered what I wanted to say nicely. Digital Anvil was bought out by Microsoft because Chris Roberts ran the company into the ground. Microsoft never stopped him from making the game, they were the ones who allowed the game to be finished after they cut out everything they knew was a unrealistic goal once they gave him the boot.
Are you implying that these 64455 users are the same 70k accounts you saw in 2012 ? And that NO ONE of the other 600.000 people who joined later are playing Arena Commander or using the forums ?
Yes, there IS something odd ... and its not the Arena Commander data ;-)
In my opinion only a small percentage of people backing a crowdfunding and/or early access game participate in the early Alpha and Beta Testing. Star Citizen follows the common trend here. The reason ? -->
The words from "World of Warships" come to mind : "Therefore, participation in alpha-testing is not just all fun and games, but important and serious work."
"with EVE Online being the exception to the rule."
The game that has the exact same (or similar) public contradicts the reality of Star Citizen as good.
--> You DO know that there were only very few people Alpha and Beta testing EVE Online, do you not ? Much less than currently are testing Star Citizen. Heck, as far as i remember EVE Online had less people playing it at release compared to the 65k people playtesting SC in pre-alpha. Both are great games IMHO.
The same reality is valid for Elite: Dangerous, that from his first release always got more participation than SC ever did, and always grew, while SC always seem to drop in the level of participation and interest in anything that they release, not just the game, but polls, forums, etc.
--> You forget that i am also a backer in Elite:Dangerous and do Beta-Testing there. And I personally do not see the things and trends you mention, in neither game. Again - both games are great IMHO.
I can see a message here.
--> Me too. But i guess its not the same message you see ;-)
--> Have fun
PS: EVE Online Subscriber numbers (2003 = Beta testing)
I could care less about the price. Can the game support millions online at the same time in a quality way. If the infrastructure is shit the quality of the game won't matter.
Charge me a guarantee the infrastructure will work and then I'll pay.
I could care less about the price. Can the game support millions online at the same time in a quality way. If the infrastructure is shit the quality of the game won't matter.
Charge me a guarantee the infrastructure will work and then I'll pay.
For a guarantee you have to ask Chris Roberts.
For the technical side you may want to read this detailed post:
"The way it works is that the persistent universe server, which we’re calling the Galaxy Server, keeps track of all players’ assets, group relationships and locations inside the Star Citizen universe. As the Galaxy server isn’t handling any realtime action it can handle our complete player base, which right now would be about 45,000 players, but is designed to be able to scale to millions if need be. The other key thing the Galaxy Server does is dynamically place players based on their location, skill level, alignment and player versus player (PvP) preference into battle instances. Think of a “battle” instance like a Battlefield 3 multiplayer session or a World of Tanks Battle with the key difference that the selection of players is done transparently and is “in fiction”."
From the current many ten-thousands pre-Alpha testing to the full many-hundred-thousands Beta Testing to the Game release (millions ?) CIG will most likely have quite some hands-on experience in server load management by then.
He is doing now what Microsoft never allowed him to do ... finish what he started, to the level of detail he envisioned, taking as much time as necessary to do it properly and fully tested. Microsoft wanted a quick return-on-investment, NOT a good game.
Have fun
This is what tells me you really don't know what's gone on, or else you are toeing the PR party line. Freelancer was terribly mismanaged, and Microsoft's buyout was the only reason anything got released at all. The money screw-ups there are the main reason that I am suspicious of Roberts' competence in handling the great largesse he's getting from the ardent fanbase.
And contrary to his largely self edited version of his history, the people who wouldn't let him 'deliver his vision' are the only reason that some of the games came out anywhere near a reasonable release date. Unfettered by any oversight, I question whether his grandiose and overweening ambitions will allow delivery of the game anytime near the scheduled times.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
It's a shame that the majority of the $20 Auroras got snapped up by resellers and existing backers who have no need for them bar cashing in and/or gaining NPC slots/extra ships.
They should have been solely aimed at getting new players into the game, I doubt CIG cares as long as the dollars keep rolling in.
I was wondering if they'd had any plan to deal with resellers, speculators, or hoarders just snagging all the cheap packages. Though they might not have cared. If the intent was to provide a talking point and advertising on Black Friday, then they'd have already succeeded.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
It's a shame that the majority of the $20 Auroras got snapped up by resellers and existing backers who have no need for them bar cashing in and/or gaining NPC slots/extra ships.
They should have been solely aimed at getting new players into the game, I doubt CIG cares as long as the dollars keep rolling in.
you surely have a source for your hilarious claims? your fantasy == reality
3 friends I notified about the deal are now new backers who joined with a 20$ game package yesterday and one added a Cutlass pledge
And your claim, based on three friends who got in in the one hour+ window, is somehow more sweepingly credible? There have been a couple of articles covering the reseller/speculation market. It's not like it is made up out of whole cloth.
Really, you should be trumpeting it, claiming it shows how wonderful CIG is.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
And your claim, based on three friends who got in in the one hour+ window, is somehow more sweepingly credible? There have been a couple of articles covering the reseller/speculation market. It's not like it is made up out of whole cloth.
Really, you should be trumpeting it, claiming it shows how wonderful CIG is.
They don't care who buys what as long as the money keeps rolling in. I would love a look at CIG's books and what exactly all the money has been spent on but that level of transparency will never happen.
Would be interesting to see what would happen if the money stream dried up before their "100million goal" and what kind of game they would put out in order to try to get some more cash.
Lesnick recently said that the Auroras were aimed at getting new marks (my word, not his) as CIG don't make much money from exisitng backers due to melting and upgrading. I'm watching the millions ticker go up and up and thinking yeah right, pull the other one Lesnick you greedy fraker.
When they're rolling in $65 million and he's crying about only making $100 from an upgrade I have to admit I'm glad they didn't get many new marks.
Lesnick recently said that the Auroras were aimed at getting new marks (my word, not his) as CIG don't make much money from exisitng backers due to melting and upgrading. I'm watching the millions ticker go up and up and thinking yeah right, pull the other one Lesnick you greedy fraker.
When they're rolling in $65 million and he's crying about only making $100 from an upgrade I have to admit I'm glad they didn't get many new marks.
Would you please post the link where he said anything of the things you mentioned above ?
I checked 3 weeks worth of Ben Lesnick posts on the forum and found none of this (no sense going further back because no one knew about the anniversary sale before that). About the anniversary sale (and zucchini ;-) he said:
"An Aurora package offered today is not the same thing as an Aurora package (err, "Scout Package") two years ago. They no longer include LTI, Alpha Access, Citizen Cards, etc. (I am also sorry to inform you that you missed out on the chance to be technically correct when we issued Subscribers their promised 15% off coupons a few months ago; those made existing packages cheaper!)
But more to the point: we explained what we're doing and why we're doing it. That's about as open as we can possibly be here... it's a NEW plan to interest new backers in the game. It is in no way the same thing as scheming to betray existing backers. It's entirely possible we'll come up with similar ideas in the future; the best I can tell you is that we will always try and explain the what and why.
And with that: knock it off already. A change in plans is not the same thing as a lie, and no amount of hand-wringing will make it the case. There's a wide, wide gulf there. Is there anyone who actually acts like this outside of an internet forum? "The store was out of eggplant, so I got a zucchini." YOU LIAR, YOU SAID YOU WERE GETTING AN EGGPLANT AND NOW I CAN NEVER TRUST AGAIN."
"Hey! I can't detail the sale yet, but I can tell you that it will not be the same as last year's sale. This time, all the ships (with the exception of those released in limited numbers, like the Idris) will be available for the entire week. Instead of unlocking just one a day, we'll have posts highlighting several of the ships during the week, providing new info and art.
The Carrack won't be this Friday, but it is coming very very soon! Once it's a week out, we'll announce.
To further clarify: that's not ALL THE SHIPS EVER, it's all the ships we'll have in the sale. "
"This is essentially correct, although there are also additional costs associated with each package sold that folks here aren't thinking about: every $20 Aurora represents an additional player for the game... which has a set of costs associated with it, especially for a game that isn't charging a monthly fee.
From our perspective, it's not $20 towards the cost of building a 3D model (though there is a significant cost in terms of design, engineering, audio, mocap, etc. there!)... it's $20 towards maintaining additional game servers, CS, community engagement, moderation and so forth in perpetuity."
Comments
If you think they are breaking the law, then SUE them. Its as easy as that. All bark, no bite.
And regarding the reputation of Chris Roberts and CIG ... you don't read the press much, do you ? Gaming press or other. His reputation is one of the BEST in the industry. Ackknowledged by the (literally) avatar of the gaming industry:
Here is what Lord British aka Richard Garriott aka The Tourist Astronaut has to say about Chris Roberts:
"But other than a few exceptions, like Chris Roberts, I've met virtually no one in our industry who I think is close to as good a game designer as I am. I'm not saying that because I think I'm so brilliant. What I'm saying is, I think most game designers really just suck, and I think there's a reason why."
http://www.pcgamer.com/richard-garriott-game-designers-suck/
"Chris Roberts, who worked with Garriott back when Origin Systems was producing both Ultima and Wing Commander, isn't Garriott's only exception—he also identified Will Wright and Peter Molyneux as examples of quality game designers."
Have fun
http://www.usgamer.net/articles/chris-roberts-star-citizen-profile
"...that Star Citizen will deliver is the fact that the man at the helm, the Mancunian by way of California, gets feedback like this from game development legend Richard Garriott: "Chris is a rare, truly brilliant game designer. I was always shocked to hear his first pitches for a new game. While myself and others would labor to reach a good idea, and then need large amounts of time to refine it, Chris would often show up with a game design far more clear and powerful than I have experienced with anyone else before or since. The clarity and power of his ideas means that Chris also attracts strong talents to be around him. This works as a virtuous feedback cycle, helping to keep his creations and his teams top notch."
I rather support a positive person working on an incredibly ambitious project with a dedicated team to build something great ...... than to listen to the whining of naysayers .....
And i have 660.000+ buddies who are with me on this adventure.
Have fun
660,000+ people who don't remember Freelancer or choose to ignore it because it paints a picture of how he manages his companies
Or 660.000+ people who LIKED Freelancer ....
liked it enough to fork out 63+ M$ for its (even better) successor .....
Maybe they are not ignoring Freelancer but ignoring naysayers that claim it can't be done/it won't be finished.
With some 35.000 new backers per month ... lemme guess what is the more likely pick of those two above.
Have fun
That's great that they liked freelancer. My point was that he made promises he couldn't keep and constantly overshot the production schedule and in the end had to have Microsoft buy out his company in order to even finish the game. When MS bought the company he was made a creative consultant which was a nice way of saying "Here's some money now never come back"
So far he has made promises that he went back on and has overshot the production schedule at every turn. I understand delays happen and schedules change but I don't think he really has a clue on how to properly manage a company.
I would love to be proven wrong and see a great space sim game released but given the monetization model that they are following and past history I have some serious doubts about it.
You know... a lot of people spent money on another game that looked amazing and sounded awesome. What was it called? Oh yeah... Dark and Light.
Then there was that other game done recently, where a company with a stellar track record released a game which looked amazing and was based on previous games that were awesome, over nearly 20 years... X: Rebirth.
Just saying. Until you can play an actual beta version of the WHOLE game, you are buying vaporware and the equivalent of a handful of facebook mini-games. I hope it is awesome. I hope it turns into the biggest and best space MMO ever made, and makes even the jaded SWG fans happy. But, until some solid proof of that appears, they can make do with the $60M+ they've already got.
He is doing now what Microsoft never allowed him to do ... finish what he started, to the level of detail he envisioned, taking as much time as necessary to do it properly and fully tested. Microsoft wanted a quick return-on-investment, NOT a good game.
Have fun
Reads like nothing more than the revisionist history it is.
Wikipedia actually covers this debacle rather well;
Initially in 1999, Roberts announced the game would be available on the market by fall 2000.[35] However, the project suffered delays and by Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2000, Roberts said the earliest release for the game was at the end of 2001.[6]
In June 2000, Microsoft started talks to buy Digital Anvil. Roberts admitted that his team required large sums of money, which only a huge company could provide, to continue developing Freelancer with its "wildly ambitious" features and unpredictable schedule; the project had overshot its original development projection of three years by 18 months. Roberts trusted that Microsoft would not compromise his vision for Freelancer, and was convinced the software giant would not attempt the takeover if it did not believe Freelancer could sell at least 500,000 copies when released.[39] Roberts left the company on completion of the deal, but assumed a creative consultant role on Freelancer until its release.[40] Microsoft instructed Digital Anvil to scale down the ambitions of the project and focus on finishing the game based on what was possible and the team's strengths.[14][20] Features such as the automated flight control, conversations that had different choices of responses, and sub-quests were abandoned.[13] Despite the reductions, several reviewers believed the resultant product was still true to Robert's vision.[6][14]
The Freelancer team kept a low profile throughout 2001 before displaying a demo of their latest work at International Games Festival 2002, drawing large crowds. Microsoft announced the project was on schedule,[41] and Digital Anvil added all the planned content for the game by October 2002. A beta test with approximately 500 testers was conducted,[5] and the only main activities left were to refine the game's features and to fix errors uncovered in the testing.[5] The game shipped to retailers on March 4, 2003You want numbers ? Here are numbers:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14304-Arena-Commander-V0921-Released
Here is a TON of data about the usage of the Arena Commander module, the number of users in this pre-Alpha phase, who is using what controller at which success rate, what rigs they are using etc etc.
We are talking about 64.455 users around the world testing in Pre-Alpha in a SINGLE MONTH ! A minimum of 10 % participation in pre-Alpha is an excellent percentage by any industry standards.
Have fun
rpmcmurphy covered what I wanted to say nicely. Digital Anvil was bought out by Microsoft because Chris Roberts ran the company into the ground. Microsoft never stopped him from making the game, they were the ones who allowed the game to be finished after they cut out everything they knew was a unrealistic goal once they gave him the boot.
@Germinlit :
Are you implying that these 64455 users are the same 70k accounts you saw in 2012 ? And that NO ONE of the other 600.000 people who joined later are playing Arena Commander or using the forums ?
Yes, there IS something odd ... and its not the Arena Commander data ;-)
Have fun
In my opinion only a small percentage of people backing a crowdfunding and/or early access game participate in the early Alpha and Beta Testing. Star Citizen follows the common trend here. The reason ? -->
The words from "World of Warships" come to mind : "Therefore, participation in alpha-testing is not just all fun and games, but important and serious work."
http://blog.worldofwarships.com/world-of-warships-enters-closed-alpha-test/
Numbers usually increase significantly in late Beta / Open Beta.
Numbers are usually highest one month after release. For MMO's this is especially true, with EVE Online being the exception to the rule.
Have fun
(in thousands)
I could care less about the price. Can the game support millions online at the same time in a quality way. If the infrastructure is shit the quality of the game won't matter.
Charge me a guarantee the infrastructure will work and then I'll pay.
For a guarantee you have to ask Chris Roberts.
For the technical side you may want to read this detailed post:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/12770-Chris-Roberts-On-Multiplayer-Single-Player-And-Instancing
You will most likely want to hear this part:
"The way it works is that the persistent universe server, which we’re calling the Galaxy Server, keeps track of all players’ assets, group relationships and locations inside the Star Citizen universe. As the Galaxy server isn’t handling any realtime action it can handle our complete player base, which right now would be about 45,000 players, but is designed to be able to scale to millions if need be. The other key thing the Galaxy Server does is dynamically place players based on their location, skill level, alignment and player versus player (PvP) preference into battle instances. Think of a “battle” instance like a Battlefield 3 multiplayer session or a World of Tanks Battle with the key difference that the selection of players is done transparently and is “in fiction”."
From the current many ten-thousands pre-Alpha testing to the full many-hundred-thousands Beta Testing to the Game release (millions ?) CIG will most likely have quite some hands-on experience in server load management by then.
Have fun
This is what tells me you really don't know what's gone on, or else you are toeing the PR party line. Freelancer was terribly mismanaged, and Microsoft's buyout was the only reason anything got released at all. The money screw-ups there are the main reason that I am suspicious of Roberts' competence in handling the great largesse he's getting from the ardent fanbase.
And contrary to his largely self edited version of his history, the people who wouldn't let him 'deliver his vision' are the only reason that some of the games came out anywhere near a reasonable release date. Unfettered by any oversight, I question whether his grandiose and overweening ambitions will allow delivery of the game anytime near the scheduled times.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
All 5000 Aurora pledge packages were gone in 100 minutes.
Have fun
It's a shame that the majority of the $20 Auroras got snapped up by resellers and existing backers who have no need for them bar cashing in and/or gaining NPC slots/extra ships.
They should have been solely aimed at getting new players into the game, I doubt CIG cares as long as the dollars keep rolling in.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
you surely have a source for your hilarious claims? your fantasy == reality
3 friends I notified about the deal are now new backers who joined with a 20$ game package yesterday and one added a Cutlass pledge
And your claim, based on three friends who got in in the one hour+ window, is somehow more sweepingly credible? There have been a couple of articles covering the reseller/speculation market. It's not like it is made up out of whole cloth.
Really, you should be trumpeting it, claiming it shows how wonderful CIG is.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
They don't care who buys what as long as the money keeps rolling in. I would love a look at CIG's books and what exactly all the money has been spent on but that level of transparency will never happen.
Would be interesting to see what would happen if the money stream dried up before their "100million goal" and what kind of game they would put out in order to try to get some more cash.
Lesnick recently said that the Auroras were aimed at getting new marks (my word, not his) as CIG don't make much money from exisitng backers due to melting and upgrading. I'm watching the millions ticker go up and up and thinking yeah right, pull the other one Lesnick you greedy fraker.
When they're rolling in $65 million and he's crying about only making $100 from an upgrade I have to admit I'm glad they didn't get many new marks.
Would you please post the link where he said anything of the things you mentioned above ?
I checked 3 weeks worth of Ben Lesnick posts on the forum and found none of this (no sense going further back because no one knew about the anniversary sale before that). About the anniversary sale (and zucchini ;-) he said:
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/comment/3917684/#Comment_3917684
"An Aurora package offered today is not the same thing as an Aurora package (err, "Scout Package") two years ago. They no longer include LTI, Alpha Access, Citizen Cards, etc. (I am also sorry to inform you that you missed out on the chance to be technically correct when we issued Subscribers their promised 15% off coupons a few months ago; those made existing packages cheaper!)
But more to the point: we explained what we're doing and why we're doing it. That's about as open as we can possibly be here... it's a NEW plan to interest new backers in the game. It is in no way the same thing as scheming to betray existing backers. It's entirely possible we'll come up with similar ideas in the future; the best I can tell you is that we will always try and explain the what and why.
And with that: knock it off already. A change in plans is not the same thing as a lie, and no amount of hand-wringing will make it the case. There's a wide, wide gulf there. Is there anyone who actually acts like this outside of an internet forum? "The store was out of eggplant, so I got a zucchini." YOU LIAR, YOU SAID YOU WERE GETTING AN EGGPLANT AND NOW I CAN NEVER TRUST AGAIN."
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/202278/commlink-schedule-week-of-november-17th/p2
"Hey! I can't detail the sale yet, but I can tell you that it will not be the same as last year's sale. This time, all the ships (with the exception of those released in limited numbers, like the Idris) will be available for the entire week. Instead of unlocking just one a day, we'll have posts highlighting several of the ships during the week, providing new info and art.
"
The Carrack won't be this Friday, but it is coming very very soon! Once it's a week out, we'll announce.
To further clarify: that's not ALL THE SHIPS EVER, it's all the ships we'll have in the sale.
And specifically about the Aurora he said:
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/comment/3916875/#Comment_3916875
"This is essentially correct, although there are also additional costs associated with each package sold that folks here aren't thinking about: every $20 Aurora represents an additional player for the game... which has a set of costs associated with it, especially for a game that isn't charging a monthly fee.
From our perspective, it's not $20 towards the cost of building a 3D model (though there is a significant cost in terms of design, engineering, audio, mocap, etc. there!)... it's $20 towards maintaining additional game servers, CS, community engagement, moderation and so forth in perpetuity."
Have fun