Star Citizen Preview – Chris Roberts strikes back at doubters at the 2015 CitizenCon

Star Citizen is back!

Last weekend the founder of Cloud Imperium Games, Chris Roberts, held the annual CitizenCon in Manchester. For some years he has been busy developing Star Citizen, an ambitious MMO-space simulator that harkens back to his early years (Wing Commander and Freelancer). After some delays, the release date has shifted to early 2017 for the MMO part and 2016 for the single player campaign. Chris Roberts came under attack from rival game-designer Derek Smart for being the reason the game was delayed. It is difficult to say who is right, though I have decided to give the benefit of the doubt to Roberts as Smart’s proof of a troubled development is an arrangement of spurious facts. Nonetheless, the CitizenCon from last week managed to impress industry insiders and it does feel as if the development of the game has turned a corner. You can check out the full CitizenCon presentation below you make up you own mind.

CitizenCon 2015 Presentation

So instead of releasing modules one at a time they will be released in bundles. Which makes sense as the game component become progressively more integrated. Fans of Star Citizen can look forward to Alpha 1.3 soon with the release of Alpha 2.0 set for some time in 2016. The latter will feature an integrated version of the FSP module and deep space flight.

World of Trolls Online

It has been one hell of a week for the Star Citizen community. For some time Star Citizen has come under attack for missing its November 2014 release date. While I don’t think it is cool that the deadline was missed I cannot say I am surprised. After all, Chris Roberts is not programming Command & Conquer and this not 1995. He is working on one of the most ambitious games ever considered. The release date was hopeless from the start. I never considered it viable, and so I was not disappointed when it was missed. But I refuse to jump on the bandwagon of internet trolls lead by Derek Smart and The Escapists who dredge up scurrilous rumors to suit their own warped view of what is happening at Cloud Imperium Games. Luckily the CitizenCon held by Cloud Imperium Games and hosted by Chris Roberts himself in Manchester seems to have quieted down the trolls. For now.

Squadron 42

The developers at Cloud Imperium Games have from the start also decided to develop a single player game based on their modified CryEngine. So far little has been revealed, but as Chris Roberts defined the space simulator genre with games such as Wing Commander and Freelancer you can expect a truly intense cinematic experience. At CitizenCon the first details were revealed about the motion capture technique used for the cut scenes, famous actor such as Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, Mark Hamill, John Rhys-Davies will lend their voice. The latter two have worked with Chris Roberts before while Gillian Anderson joked this was her first collaboration with Gary Oldman. Squadron 42 will be a single player game though it is not clear whether an internet connection is required during gameplay. The games production seems to be progressing well as CIGs website has been updated with the status being ‘production’. Below you can view the speech trailer for Squadron 42 that was shown at CitizenCon 2015.

Becoming a Star Citizen

Crowd funded games such as Star Citizen live on donations. As CIG does not have a publisher who can cough up 90 million before the game is released they will need to be careful with their expenditure. Luckily, if you help the development of Star Citizen for $ 54.45 you will get a free downloadable copy of Star Citizen and Squadron 42. You will also be able to choose a ship you want to fly in. For both available packages you will get beta access, 3 month ship insurance and access to the modules that are ready now and those that will soon become available. Several of those modules, collectively called Arena Commander, already allow you to fly ships in space. Check out the link below if you are interested in pledging for Star Citizen! Pledge Now!