This always intrigued me. Can you just say 'well, we got 5 times the money we needed for this crowdfunded thing we're doing, we just give em all the tiers we promised on our Kickstarter page and keep the rest of the money'. Or are crowdfunded projects forced to do more when they got multiple times the money they actually needed to fund the thing they're doing?
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Star Citizen is likely in financial trouble
- Thread starter RubberJohnny
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This always intrigued me. Can you just say 'well, we got 5 times the money we needed for this crowdfunded thing we're doing, we just give em all the tiers we promised on our Kickstarter page and keep the rest of the money'. Or are crowdfunded projects forced to do more when they got multiple times the money they actually needed to fund the thing they're doing?
Baleoce
Member
Ah, many thanks!
Eolz
Member
I see that derek smart zealots are out in force today...
I guess there'll be an official statement next week (not thanks to gaf or DS, but the community wondering), show that it's nothing, and conspiracy theories will continue.
Aka the same thing happening each and every year since the kickstarter 4+ years ago.
I guess there'll be an official statement next week (not thanks to gaf or DS, but the community wondering), show that it's nothing, and conspiracy theories will continue.
Aka the same thing happening each and every year since the kickstarter 4+ years ago.
This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Chris Roberts was in over his head from the get-go and can't manage a budget, much less a mega budget.
Like, why do you think every single release has been massively delayed? Who could have been looking at the progress of the game and thinking everything seems like its going smoothly?
Like, why do you think every single release has been massively delayed? Who could have been looking at the progress of the game and thinking everything seems like its going smoothly?
Well, Elite Dangerous is already out and doing fine.
Elite Dangerous and SC were announced around the same time, yet ED came out in 2014 and continues to be updated.
It's almost as if they set themselves realistic goals and stuck to them or something.
I didn't know that, which makes its development even more of a disaster. There was nothing about KoA that would have differentiated it from the likes of WoW, Everquest and Guild Wars that would have given it legs even if it did launch as a true MMO.
Name me one online space sim with the scope of SC that could sink it like that
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
So is anyone here actually like a banking lawyer or familiar with these matters in detail? Because going off Derek Smart and reddit posts is probably not an ideal way to get to the truth of the matter.
Star Citizen has torpedoed itself.
cyberheater
PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
For folks saying this was obvious.
Your crystal ball gazing astounds me. In future it would be helpful if you could start a thread before the fact so folks are aware of your pontifications. Thank you for your cooperation.
Your crystal ball gazing astounds me. In future it would be helpful if you could start a thread before the fact so folks are aware of your pontifications. Thank you for your cooperation.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Some people really want this game to fail evidently...
irrotational
Member
But the clause ii above, says Star citizen and IP etc is EXCLUDED collateral?
This is just one of those "Hey I don't want it to fail, but it's going to fail alright."
Jangowuzhere
Banned
Jeez, the shitty attitude in this thread gives me the impression that people want this project to fail for some reason.
I haven't been keeping up with the game much, but I get the impression that the fanbase that backed the game is perfectly fine with the game's current progress. People really like the updates the developers have been putting out, and the alphas released so far have gotten lots of positive feedback.
Even with this loan, Star Citizen hardly seems like a trainwreck.
I haven't been keeping up with the game much, but I get the impression that the fanbase that backed the game is perfectly fine with the game's current progress. People really like the updates the developers have been putting out, and the alphas released so far have gotten lots of positive feedback.
Even with this loan, Star Citizen hardly seems like a trainwreck.
I'm sure everyone is working very hard to create Star Citizen, but this isn't shocking. Way too much money and unchecked ambition, the chances this game actually turns out good (shit, if it even comes out) don't seem very high to me.
Limits are essential, if you want to do everything and think you can take all the time and money in the world to do it, you'll probably end up flat on your face.
We'll see, I hope I'm just being pessimistic, but this project never filled me with confidence.
Limits are essential, if you want to do everything and think you can take all the time and money in the world to do it, you'll probably end up flat on your face.
We'll see, I hope I'm just being pessimistic, but this project never filled me with confidence.
Eolz
Member
They did.
Jeff Gerstmann said from Day 1 on Giant Bomb that this would never be a shipped video game.
Did the Dev team even ever centralize ? Build or Rent an office somewhere or did they try do everything online? hiring who ever applied as a dev?
Thats always what this looked like to me, a triple A game trying to be developed by amateurs.
I think the only way this will be salvaged is if another developers buys all the created assets for cheap and releases it themselves.
Thats always what this looked like to me, a triple A game trying to be developed by amateurs.
I think the only way this will be salvaged is if another developers buys all the created assets for cheap and releases it themselves.
lol nope Smart is an idiot that has consistently been proven wrong.
Exactly threads like this consistently make me shake my head at how out of touch they are.
cyberheater
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I don't recall him posting on GAF about it.
Sure would help explain things
Magic Mushroom
Member
There is nothing wrong with Kickstarter in and of itself. Games like Shovel Knight, Hyper Light Drifter and Hollow Knight are fantastic. This is something else entirely of course.
Tertullian
Member
This is really the problem. Yeah, we all know it takes a lot of time and money to make a AAA video game. But they can't keep making it forever. You can't just keep saying "video game development takes a long time! It'll be done when it's done!" until 2030. The money will eventually run out. You can't pay for 4 studios and 400 employees for 15+ years on $150 million.
So they take on debt. And I get it; that's normal. Video game companies do that all the time. They've achnowledged that they do that. But if they really have put up the entire company as collateral, then they're presumably leveraged to the max, no? They can't take on much more debt, if any. The amount of money they have to spend is finite; eventually it will simply run out. Will the game be released in a reasonably finished state before that happens? Based on the degree of progress they've shown so far? Ehhhhh... maybe? Call it 50/50?
Welcome to every SC thread ever. The naysayers are desperate to make it a self fulfilling prophecy, especially the Derek Smart cultists. They cause enough uncertainty around the whole thing, eventually people panic then hit the refund button. Everyone bails, the development collapses as a result, "SEE WE WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG NOW WHAT KICKSTARTER IS A SCAM"
MohitParty
Member
Amalur was A) not the predominant reason 38 Studios went under(that was Schilling being shit with money and Copernicus) and B) was not originally an MMO, it was another conventional RPG from when THQ still owned Big Huge Games.
eh, I hope that people that spend money on stupid shit like that have enough of it. I mean sure it sucks..but let's be honest. It probably wasn't a wise investment to begin with.
Eolz
Member
Foundry 42 UK (the studio talked about in those docs) is the biggest studio out of 5 different ones around the world.
Magic Mushroom
Member
Exactly. Roberts could learn a thing or ten from Braben.
I want you to produce proof of this because I've never heard him say that.
There have been numerous posts saying that this game is the purest of vapes
http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=198267835&postcount=7
I dunno but that doesn't really make it less likely that SC can be in trouble, no?
And on the opposite end of the spectrum, the backers who put in $100+ are desperate to justify the money they put into this by any means necessary. They're in so deep that no matter what happens to this game, this is going to be their reaction.
How can you blast through 150 million and not ship a product?
Even if you account for the hookers and cocaine igloos.
Anyway, this project got way out of hand, you don't need 400 staff to ship an ambitious game - especially one on Kickstarter/ this is a case-study on poor management.
Even if you account for the hookers and cocaine igloos.
Anyway, this project got way out of hand, you don't need 400 staff to ship an ambitious game - especially one on Kickstarter/ this is a case-study on poor management.
I don't want to be one of those plonkers who always say I smelled it, but I smelled it
hyper sad, and angry for all of those who spent money on this. If SC came to be sacked and 150 millions down the loo the news will make headlines, that's for sure, casting a HUUGE shadow of anything Kickstarter
hyper sad, and angry for all of those who spent money on this. If SC came to be sacked and 150 millions down the loo the news will make headlines, that's for sure, casting a HUUGE shadow of anything Kickstarter
I mean all you need is a general understanding of how development works. And their scope is fucking ridiculous there is no way this was getting delivered either in the way they promised if at all.
cyberheater
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Yep. You are correct.
I can't believe a game can consume $150 million and still not make it. There is a finite limit on how much you can spend on hookers and blow.
Of course there have been success stories. But for every one there's an equally disappointing story of cancelled projects, misuse of funds and terrible management. Picking a project and hoping it actually delivers what it promises on time is a shot in the dark at this point.
And on the opposite end of the spectrum, the backers who put in $100+ are desperate to justify the money they put into this by any means necessary. They're in so deep that no matter what happens to this game, this is going to be their reaction.
Not everything is automatically a disaster waiting to happen just because you distrust it
The post you linked to is asking why the game isn't out after 2-4 years... I mean, how long do you think a game this ambitious should take?
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