Now if you visit gaming websites you've probably seen the game mentioned now and then as they hit targets like $33 Million Dollars - and to most cursory glances the game seems to scream (Scam or Pay to Win or WTF?)
And the way it is presented it might come off that way. But trust me it's not there is no P2W here - just browsing the Pledging store and seeing packages ranging from $30 to $10,000 might switch you off instantly but give me a moment to dispel some myths and misconceptions about what is easily the BDSSE (Best Damn Space Simulation Ever)
First up.
The game deals with in game currency earned in game.
With a legitimate cap on any purchased currency to stop the economy tanking and to mitigate gold farmers and sellers.
There is no MMO style subscription model and is unlikely to happen - the money for the game is going to come from regular updates/mission packs people can buy for the single player side of things these will not be crucial to the Persistant universe.
Approx 95% of all in game features and content can be earned in game the remaining 5% being things like naming star systems or planets/space stations, designing NPC's - these were locked to certain pledge tiers but have no impact on content.
The game will feature servers both in Alpha/Beta and on Launch in Europe - America and Oceanic areas to provide the lowest ping possible, however it is believed you will be able to join friends on the other servers but will suffer the lag issues associated with it.
The game relies on skill - someone who learns how to fly well will beat someone who has large guns most of the time.
The game will have a 50-70 mission single player campaign with writing that looks to the mistakes of other games (Mass Effect for example) and endevours to not repeat them - it will be Fully voiced - and while no actors have been lined up people are speculating that Mark Hamill is on board for it.
The game will feature a very gender neutral story - they want to try very hard not to fall into the similar gender tropes affecting games lately you can pick your gender and design your character but they have been clear from the start they don't want the game to be about space bikinis.
The game will feature optional drop in co-op mode for the Single Player campaign or complete offline play - the ability to create and host your own multiplayer servers with your own settings and mods - access to a persistant universe MMO style game featuring - Exploration - Salvaging - Piracy - Bounty Hunting - Trading - Mining - Large Space Battles - First Person Shooting style boarding of ships or space station combat.
All the ships are made by in game companies so you can often tell what company a ship is from just from its appearance - they will add to these as they continue to grow and each ship will have a level of customization that will accent your gameplay style not hinder it.
Now why should you consider getting this game?
Well there are many many videos up now but they don't convey the message of hope that well - this game is Chris Roberts 3rd attempt at making a dream come true. The first was his Wing Commander series but there was no way he could make the game back in the late 80's do anything remotely close to what he wanted to do. Then EA obtained the rights to Wing Commander and would not allow him to reclaim them. So he tried making Freelancer and it was getting close to what he wanted before Microsoft bought them out and shortened their development time rushing the game out - a game that was released with so few bugs it still stands up today with no official patch ever released or needed.
So this time with a crowd of people world wide funneling in their hard earned money to make the game he and all of they have dreamed of for so many years. Whether you're spending just enough to get the game ($40) or buying every ship on you see the money being spent on this game is being used to make it better than anything that has ever come before it.
I hope if you've ever had an interest in games like this either trading and selling - or dogfighting - or exploring every nook and cranny for hidden secrets you would consider Star Citizen.
I've spent 1280 on the game including buying copies for 4 of my friends and I have not regretted a moment of it.
Have a look around my Hanger (Temp video till I can finish a better version)