Ghost404

http://www.reddit.com/user/Ghost404

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Ghost404214 karma

First and foremost, thank you for doing this; it's a wonderful thing to be able to directly interact with the people helping to make Star Citizen a reality.

Couple of basic questions, feel free to go into as much detail as you can:

  1. What kind of improvements can we expect for player movement, both animation wise and as far as controls/feel? What options will be available to us as far as movement goes (prone, lean, slide to cover, etc.)?

  2. How much weapon customization can we expect, both for the initial FPS module release and the final full game release? Something as simple as changing optics and such, or crazy advanced like being able to change any component (stocks, barrels, triggers, etc), or add any components (optics, grips, lights, etc.) to any available rail/mount?

  3. What sort of character damage model can we expect? Get shot and there's some sparks/blood depending on armor/health, or get shot and have chunks of armor fly off to reveal clothing/flesh underneath? If someone gets hit with a rocket, do they get thrown back and fall over or are we going to be scraping them off the walls?

  4. And for my final, and critically important question, what are the chances of getting a futuristic, but still recognizable, version of the venerable 1911 to add to my collection? :)

Thanks again, and I can't wait to see what you have in store for us at PAX Australia.

Ghost404210 karma

For those unaware, /u/mabent is Mark Abent, bug smasher and gameplay programmer at CIG.

Ghost404105 karma

TL;DR: If you're just finding out about Star Citizen, this should help you get up to speed on things. The sheer volume of information is daunting, but it's here if you're interested. If nothing else, watch the Full Cinematic Trailer, and if that doesn't pique your interest to keep reading, so be it. If you've been following Star Citizen's development up to this point, there's really nothing here you haven't seen, but it may still be useful to you as a quick reference during the AMA.

Table of contents:
1. What is Star Citizen?
2. Current Development Roadmap
3. Acronyms likely to be used during the AMA
4. List of Star Citizen links

  1. What is Star Citizen?
    -Star Citizen Project - This is the best place to start if you're new to Star Citizen; it will give you a good general overview of what Chris Roberts and his team are looking to accomplish.
    -Space Sim - Star Citizen, at its core, is a space sim; translated this means a high level of control over your ship, accurate physics, extreme levels of fidelity, and a highly immersive experience.
    -Skill based combat - There's no 'leveling' like in an MMO, and the combat is not point and click; buying the best ship and equipment in the verse won't save a bad pilot.
    -Persistent Universe - The universe/worlds/stories/characters are persistent, meaning that things continue to exist/evolve even when you're not playing, and that your pilot's reputation/history/choices follow you throughout the game.
    -Crowdfunded PC game - PC only game, (Read: PC=Windows; Mac/Linux support is still up in the air) funded by the community. Current funding total is a little over $8.7 million. (Recently there has been talk of a possible PS4 port, but that's still undecided and a very long ways off.)
    -No Subscriptions - Buy the game once, it's yours. Will retail for $60, can currently be pre-purchased for $30. Everything in-game is purchased with credits you earn in-game; you can choose to purchase some of these credits with real money, but you will not get anything extra for doing so, you'll just be spending money instead of game time. Not a free-to-play (F2P) game.
    -Star Citizen/Squadron 42 - Singleplayer is called 'Squadron 42', is a military campaign and can be played singleplayer or co-op. Multiplayer is 'Star Citizen' and is a mixture of PvE and PvP.
    -CryEngine 3 - Star Citizen is built using CryEngine 3, and the team is constantly working with Crytek to not only have the latest version of their engine, but to push for extra things like Linux/Mac clients, and Oculus Rift support on behalf of the Star Citizen community.
    -Mod Support - Not only is modding fully supported, including professional mod tools, but player made ships that fit certain criteria may also be added to the official game post-launch.
    -Wide peripheral support - Joystick, HOTAS, rudder pedals, mozzarella sticks, gamepad, mouse, keyboard are all supported. Oculus Rift support has been confirmed from day one; TrackIR will also be supported. Leap Motion is likely, possibly not official yet.

  2. Current Development Roadmap
    Funding Campaign:
    -October 10th, 2012 - Game announced, funding campaign begins on RSI site.
    -October 18th, 2012 - Funding begins on Kickstarter.
    -November 19th, 2012 - Funding campaign ends with $6,238,563 raised between the two sites.
    Game Development:
    -August 2013 - Hangar Module - Releasing for Gamescom and PAX Prime; in engine space hangar that lets you see, walk around, get in, and hopefully customize, the ships that you've pledged for.
    -September/Fall 2013* - Social Module - Planetside interaction; space bar where you can interact with NPCs and other players.
    -December 2013 - Dogfighting Alpha - Dogfight in your pledge ship against other players or AI, with some/most ship customization present.
    -Mid/late 2014* - Star Citizen Beta - Full beta in the persistent universe.
    -Early/mid 2015* - Star Citizen/Squadron 42 Retail Launch
    *'Game Development' dates are the best I could find, not guaranteed accurate, and also very subject to change. Hopefully, if anything is wildly inaccurate, Chris will chime in and I can fix them.

  3. Acronyms likely to be used during the AMA
    -RSI / Roberts Space Industries - Although it was originally only intended to be an in-fiction company, due to the name being front and center during the campaign, it has become frequently used in place of Chris Roberts' actual company name...
    -CIG / Cloud Imperium Games - ...which is Cloud Imperium Games, the official name of the company behind Star Citizen.
    -LTI / Lifetime Insurance - Early backers have lifetime insurance on their pledge ships, which means they won't need to purchase insurance in-game to cover their ship's hull in case it's destroyed. If you have no idea why buying insurance is part of this game, read through the Insurance FAQ and Update for better explanations.

  4. List of Star Citizen links

Ghost40413 karma

It would be nice to be able to hail an enemy ship; lets you try to talk to them but also gives them a chance to decline.

Ghost4047 karma

We have a winner!

EDIT: You're welcome; I should have known it would be an /r/starcitizen regular who spotted it.