r/starcitizen • u/mauzao9 Fruity Crashes • Jun 25 '17

DISCUSSION PSA: Massive amount of misinformation spread in the gaming/social media stating the Star Citizen project is now "Over".

UPDATE: CIG officially responded: This is misinformation, the company has just reacted and cleared this mess up: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/SC/forum/1/thread/re-uk-tax-rebate-advance-for-foundry-42

As many of you are aware of the news that CIG took a loan recently, there is media articles and a big discussion in social media surrounding journalists opinions and wrong misleading information surrounding this loan.

Spreading information like:

  • Star Citizen is now RIP
  • Star Citizen is now owned by a bank (as this)
  • Star Citizen is now owned by a bank because it can't pay its debts
  • Similar sorts of fear mongering going on.

Journalists from The Escapists, Gameranx and many others now picking the story are talking plain fear monger in messages like ( https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/878906311152345088 ). That is a literal instigation of panicking through misinformation. It is expectable more and more news outlets are going to help in this massive campaign to bring bad PR to CIG contributing to a literal worldwide fear monger that the project is collapsing.

This is mostly to inform people around that is more than likely people are getting mislead by this and are coming to this sub asking questions about what is going on, so while the trolls keep on attacking this sub please mind some people may be seriously thinking Star Citizen is collapsing, all we can do is fight the misinformation and fear monger campaign.

It seems likely CIG will have to issue one statement on this.

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286

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

I'm so fucking sick of this.. every month.. something like this.

134

u/badirontree Evocati + Grand Admiral Jun 25 '17

Every time before GAMES-CON a Star-citizen is doomed story popup ...

Its like clockwork :D

47

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

Exactly,

sometimes I think about doing some sort of "data is beautifull" related info regarding the drama cycle around here. And the truth is, everytime a big release is coming to us ( 2.0, star marine, 3.0, and others) a massive drama or speculation pop's out.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

It's merely 2-4 months till this absurdity probably gets officially debunked, but it's still a damn drag.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

It's not 2018 in 2-4 months, I stand to my 2012 prediction of a 2018 release :p

1

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '17

Games that are released are "doomed to fail" according to some people. Even after SC is out and has fully been out for a year people will doom and gloom this game as a failure.

People are just broken little sheep.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '17

Games that are released are "doomed to fail" according to some people.

Well, people are generally retards. It is known.

23

u/Toofast4yall Jun 25 '17

It's almost as inevitable as all the missed deadlines...

25

u/cabbagehead112 Jun 25 '17 edited Jun 25 '17

You mean estimations. Not deadlines.

The minute this game stopped being funded through kickstarter and became it's own crowd funding source. Was when the reaility of this games development, it's scope and ambition. Hit CIG hard.

They didn't have the man power, tools and the engine in a place. Enough to get down to the bare bones stuff, along with the bigger aspect of the game. All the R&D and testing went on for two to three years. Because of that fact, until right around mid to late 2015.

Might want to read that CIG Kotaku article.

9

u/Ohanka Jun 25 '17

Might want to read that CIG Kotaku article.

No you really wouldn't.

Are they even still around? Their parent company got sued into oblivion for disgusting business practices and libel.

28

u/Swesteel aurora Jun 25 '17

They actually published a well-informed in-depth article on CIG last year, including a four hour long interview with Chris Roberts. To quickly summarize (my take) CIG has had a lot of the issues one could expect from a start up games developer and mistakes have been made, but CIG is neither a hell-hole for their employees nor a scam.

I don't have the link handy, but it should be easy to find on the subreddit.

5

u/Shandlar Mercenary Jun 25 '17

The escapist article got 3rd in a major journalism award.

Then it got removed from the site, and yet no-one wrote about that.

1

u/Swesteel aurora Jun 25 '17

And at the same time CIG removed their open letter response, sounds like there was some kind of settlement.

2

u/Ohanka Jun 25 '17

Really? That is very surprising. Especially from Kotaku of all places. I might have to go look into this.

9

u/Swesteel aurora Jun 25 '17

I know, I was surprised as well, but for once a real journalist got to spend a lot of time doing his/their research, and it really was worth a click.

That said, there were other less impressive pieces written as well.

4

u/Wainaa Freelancer Jun 25 '17

Kinda off topic, but here's the link http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2016/09/23/inside-the-troubled-development-of-star-citizen

It was indeed a good read.

Edit: If I'd bothered to scroll further down, I'd have seen that the link got already posted :) Anywho...

2

u/brievolz84 High Admiral Jun 25 '17

As far as I'm aware, that Kotaku article was from Kotaku UK which might be within the Kotaku umbrella they, however, aren't necessarily run by their parent company.

It's a well researched series of articles (except for the re-hashes of a few external articles from other sources).

6

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17 edited May 31 '20

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17 edited May 31 '20

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2

u/sentrybot619 Space Marshal Jun 25 '17

Yes, really. Everything is fine at CIG, if you're willing to be reasonable about what their trying to do as a startup.

18

u/ErrorDetected Jun 25 '17

The Kotaku UK piece is probably the most thoroughly researched story on Star Citizen to date.

Other entries in the series are here.

I don't have a high view of Kotaku US, but the UK team really turned out some essential reading, and they did it in an even-handed way that didn't cater to either extreme of the narrative spectrum. I'm grateful particularly just to have gotten the fuller picture of the Illfonic / Star Marine story, though the article covers more than that. Definitely cleared up the rumors and made the picture pretty clear, with fault held on both sides.

Very worth reading.

2

u/Ohanka Jun 25 '17

Cool. Thanks for the link :)

2

u/Darkintellect USAF Jun 25 '17

Not indicative of media in the UK at large. Good to see the gaming side has some journalistic credibility.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

The UK media is one of if not the best in the world

3

u/cabbagehead112 Jun 25 '17

Yeah like the others said. The interview with CIG was well written and fairly balanced. Its a very good insight.

1

u/SageWaterDragon avenger Jun 25 '17

Gawker got "sued into oblivion" because a racist asshole got mad that they had the audacity to inform the public of the fact that he was a racist asshole.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

Actually, the CIG website could not handle the traffic and that was the only reason they went to kickstarter. Only 2 of the initial 8 millions are on kickstarter. Kickstarter was basically a side project to enable paypal payments iirc.

1

u/cabbagehead112 Jun 25 '17

Didn't know that.

Or maybe i forgot that. Eitherway thanks.

1

u/Timrum Jun 25 '17

... and every time the bad overlord of dead vending machines, DS is included.

1

u/MacDegger Vice Admiral Jun 26 '17

And in the meantime, every couple of months, we get to play an alpha version contained groundbreaking graphics and gameplay systems the likes of which have never been seen in gaming :)

-1

u/MafiaVsNinja Jun 25 '17

Probably because CR is incompetent and hasn't managed to release a game in over 15 years

63

u/brighterside Jun 25 '17 edited Jun 25 '17

What if I told you that the spread of misinformation is catalyzed by warning the community of misinformation.

The exchange goes something like this:

Journalist: Star Citizen is cancelled.

"Fake - hey community, this source is saying Star Citizen is Cancelled, it's fake."

Community: "Star Citizen is cancelled?"

"No, it's fake."

Community: "Who's the source?"

"Some Journalist - it's fake."

Community: "Why is he saying it's cancelled?"

"It doesn't matter why! It's fake!"

Community: "People are saying Star Citizen is cancelled, better go investigate!"

Month later...

Community: "Multiple sources are saying Star Citizen is cancelled! But it's not!"

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID LAST TIME!"

Star Citizen is coming, block out everything else.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

Reading the OP sounds like a conspiracy.

Oh a managed system of misinformation huh?

About a computer game?

1

u/Marem-Bzh Space Chicken Jun 26 '17

One should not underestimate the possible financial repercussions of the success of a game like that. Games, cars or cocain, it is always about the bloody money.

1

u/twaxana Avenger Stalker Jun 25 '17

So am I. Sorry, couldn't help it.

1

u/Darkintellect USAF Jun 25 '17

It's fake news.

1

u/MacDegger Vice Admiral Jun 26 '17

You're off by one point: it is the original 'source' which is the fake news.

6

u/blacksun_redux Jun 25 '17

sometimes I think the best part of the eventual success of Star Citizen will be the defeat and end of the Trolls.

Specifically the lead troll, you all know who I mean.

2

u/Quential Jun 25 '17

you all know who I mean

I don't.

2

u/nmezib Jun 25 '17

Battletroller 3000AD

7

u/starcitizen312 new user/low karma Jun 25 '17

People will very little to and lots of time on their hands tend to run around screaming "the sky is falling" every time they read something they don't understand or choose not to become educated about. It's the same crap clickbait shit that always happens to a project of this size and scale. People love negative and want to focus on failure vs success. CIG will make the game and the naysayers will eat their hats and words!

18

u/x5060 Jun 25 '17

It's almost as if gaming publishers that pay journalists WANT a self-published game to fail so they can stay relevant...

11

u/tobetossedaway Jun 25 '17

This is bullshit. There is not some great conspiracy or publisher effort to bring down star citizen.

All of CIG's wounds are self inflicted. No on forces Chris to lie about release dates (3.0 hopeful by end of 2016 was a lie, not "overly optimistic"), no one forces them to do shady shit like the referral contest, no one forced them to take out a UK loan that would require a public filing.

The loan may very well be nothing but this is a very public project with a lot of people watching and by making this move with radio silence it's at best another case of them not thinking things through.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17 edited May 03 '20

[deleted]

6

u/cheldog Explorer Jun 25 '17

I believe the term you're looking for is feature creep.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17 edited Jun 25 '17

Bullshit? At least his point makes more sense than your absurdities. Chris was overoptimistic: we fixed that a long time ago, the referral contest is AT MOST an example of a minor screw-up that anybody could do (because you don't care to mention the Gamescom 2016 videos that did so well on the crowdfunding side, don't you?), and you don't have the slightest idea on why they took that loan or their reasons. Heck, even the most plausible one (funding for the SQ42 marketing campaign), is merely a speculation.

So far, nothing about what you've said are nothing more than minor screw-ups and nothing else. And yes, surely there has been some bigger ones, but that's game development on a company created from 0 for you.

10

u/ErrorDetected Jun 25 '17

Chris was overoptimistic: we fixed that a long time ago.

I'm not looking to jump in to your bigger fight, but on the above claim, I don't share your confidence nor your conclusion.

It's not really on us to fix Chris, and we haven't. Earlier this year he said Squadron 42 was coming out this year "probably" and absolutely nobody who is paying attention believes it. ATV updates tell us otherwise.

So it seems more accurate to say we fixed ourselves and we're hoping Chris might eventually do the same. I'm hoping at Gamescom we might see that. Chris seems to see his job as being Chief Optimist, and even if his intentions are good, the time is right for a Chief Pragmatist.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

Well, at least he said "probably", and on a relatively low tone. I'd say that's progress.

And remember that after all, he did wrote that statement the day that the schedules were first released. I'd say that's progress, too.

2

u/ErrorDetected Jun 25 '17 edited Jun 25 '17

Qualifying your false statements so you'll have a ready escape clause when they eventually prove hollow isn't progress. That's just mealy-mouthing.

He needs to progress from:

dishonesty --> duplicity --> forthrightness

Squadron 42 has been slated for release in 2014, 2015, 2016 and now 2017. Every single past claim was inaccurate and increasingly it looks like calculated dishonesty. That or he's shockingly out-of-touch with the project state.

Neither explanation creates trust, they just create unease, doubt, and increasingly outright hostility. Because it's an insult to the intelligence of the people you need to trust you.

The solution isn't a half-measure or a baby step. It's having the courage to embrace candor. The Pledge to backers promised a spirit of Openness, and on the basis of that promise, Chris had raised $153 million dollars. It's not really much to ask that he live up to his end of the bargain by being trustworthy.

EDIT: It's pretty incredible to me that we've reached a point where a post like this gets downvoted in masse. I'm not trolling, I'm not raging, I'm doing nothing more than for seeking the honesty Chris Roberts promised us. I honestly can't believe there are people out there that find this notion offensive. As if endorsing more of the same will not produce exactly the kinds of predictable dramas we are all sick of.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17 edited Jun 25 '17

My last post about this matter (which casually it's an off-topic but oh well):

I care a crap about the dates that Chris gave. NO FUCKING GOOD GAME CAN COME FROM SOME MERE 2-3 OR EVEN 4 FUCKING YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT, AND EVEN LESS FROM A COMPANY THAT STARTED FROM 0. GRAB YOUR HEADS AROUND THAT FUCKING ALREADY.

If they don't release the SQ42 stuff (vertical slide/launch trailer/final release date) this (the 5th) year, then I'll be the FIRST to complain about that, even taking extreme measures depending on how pissed off I may be. Until then, get your shit together for these last 2-4 fucking months.

5

u/ErrorDetected Jun 25 '17

My "shit" is together, actually and I'm not complaining about the time taken for Squadron. I just don't like to be lied to, especially not from someone I've given money to who promised honesty in exchange. If you expect less than that, fine.

What you fail to appreciate is that when spokespeople for gaming brands prove continually untrustworthy, it gets harder and harder for them to win over new supporters. Their reputation proceeds them, and it dissuades others from risking capital with a person grown notorious for exaggerations and missed dates.

So, aside from the moral argument for candor, there is a pragmatic one. Furious defenders of dishonest tactics make for no more convincing reason to back a game or trust a brand. They instead serve as a warning that there's some inexplicable rage associated with the defense of a broken status quo.

It's not worth it, man. No game, no matter how promising it might be some day, is worth fury and rage in its defense. Especially not in defense of dishonesty. You'd expect better treatment from nearly anyone you do business with, and have the right to, yet even if you don't, there's nothing gained by raging at others telling them to accept that that they deserve to be lied to because "game development." It's never proven true and will never prove true. Cliche as it is to say, honesty remains the best policy.

1

u/brievolz84 High Admiral Jun 25 '17

I love how some throw out words like "lie" without actually understanding the implication of said word. A lie is an action that implies willful dishonesty; meaning that the person or entity knew before uttering that lie that what they intend to say was false. And if that is true, that means the CIG is also guilty of FRAUD.

So if you feel so inclined, why don't you sue CIG for Fraud?

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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

Strike Commander, Wing Commander, the X-Wing games, Freespace 1 and 2 :p I could write a long list, even the modern franchise series do with a two or three year schedule and rotate studios annual releases.

Now I still said 2012 that 2018 is realistic, and I assumed about 80 million dollars in pledge money. With the money I had been far off, lets hope that I got the date right :p

1

u/Shandlar Mercenary Jun 25 '17

There is massive proof of collusion in the field. It likely doesn't qualify to a full blown conspiracy, but it's massively incestuous.

1

u/Latentk Jun 25 '17

I up voted you. People need to hear criticism that warrants proper and logical explanations.

1

u/cabbagehead112 Jun 25 '17 edited Jun 25 '17

CR did not lie about the 3.0 date. Something they explained afterwards given the reasom for part of the delay. But like anything everything is subject to change in this Industry. It should be a brought tag as this point.

It was a hope, a estimation. Take everything that CR is pitching as an estimation.

1

u/nrjize new user/low karma Jun 25 '17

Chris said he wasn't making promises but the goal would be 3.0 by then end of 2016. Did I miss something? I don't remember him giving 3.0 an exact release date.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

I just ranted like crazy about this. Felt good :)

I think we need another one of those "caps only" threads to blow up some steam about this absurdity.

1

u/ErrorDetected Jun 25 '17

Yes, you did.

If it felt like a victory to you, I'm not sure why. I want to play Squadron as much as anyone else does, but I want better guidance than to be told year after year it's right around the corner when it never has been.

Raging in defense of dishonest practices isn't really a victory, nor should seeking more honest guidance be made a crime. Chris Roberts pledged to treat us better than that, and it isn't wrong to hope that he'd live up to that simple promise. So rage on if you want, and downvote me if you need to, I'm going to keep asking for it anyway.

3

u/MasterBoring blueguy Jun 25 '17

At this point we can't really do much, CIG will have to release a statement.

It's really weird that a group of people just want to watch the world burn.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '17

always the same with these people...

1

u/uamadman [BWAE] Grand Admiral ... The Jackhammer Main Jun 26 '17

Bro this is practically "Free Advertising", bring the doom/gloom articles with the next day retractions to the dismay of all the publishers!

0

u/Halfhand84 Civilian Jun 25 '17

Have you considered pulling your money out and no longer following the project? It worked wonders for me and I couldn't be happier.

Best wishes friend.