Should You Buy Star Citizen?

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Star Citizen is arguably the most ambitious game in video gaming history. It is the largest Kickstarter video game project to date raising over $500 Million - The crowdfunding record for a video game is based on the trust of backers in Chris Roberts - the creator of Wing Commander, Strike Commander, Wing Commander Privateer and Freelancer.

The scope and scale of what Star Citizen is poised to become, is truly epic. Planned features include:

  • Persistent Universe with ≈100+ star systems to explore
  • Sandbox Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
  • VR Support
  • FOIP (Face over IP)
  • Voice Chat
  • Superb Graphics
  • Physics Engine
  • Space Flight Simulation
  • First Person Shooter
  • 9:1 AI NPC players to Human Players
  • Full In Game Economy
  • Crafted Story
  • Alien Races with unique languages
  • Hand crafted locations and environments
  • Procedurally generated planets
  • Gigantic space ships!
  • Many professions to choose from (Military, piracy, bounty hunting, exploration, and many more)
  • Organization / Guild support
  • Seamless transitions from planetside to space
  • Character ageing & permadeath
  • Outpost and base construction
  • Racing
  • Much much more!

Skill Based MMO (No leveling!)

Ever wanted to play an MMO where your real skills and knowledge were what determined whether or not you defeated your enemy? Star Citizen has no player character leveling system. None. Your first person shooter and piloting skills determine whether you are better than your opponents. To progress you will need to outplay and out-think the AI and human players.

Player Lives Matter

"If there's no challenge and no chance to lose, nobody wants to play the game." - Unknown human proverb

In Star Citizen death plays a very imporatnt role to the feel of realism. If you dislike how games allow players to respawn with minimal or no cost and you think character death should be meaningful to the story line of the MMO, then Star Cizen's death mechanic may be for you.

 

Why Should I Buy Star Citizen Now?

Currently the game is in development and has been since 2011 (source). The project has ballooned in both scope and funding since then. The Star Citizen Kickstarter campaign began in 2013 which is the date that most backers use as the start date for development (a backer is someone who has paid to fund this project with their money).

So after several years more than a decade in development and with so many people already pledging over $440M to the game why should you also put your hard earned cash into Star Citizen?

So Should I Buy Star Citizen?

The answer is simple, albeit unsatisfactory: It depends.

If you want to help with testing the game and / or offer your support to help with development then you should consider backing if you believe in Chris Roberts' vision to make a living and breathing universe of a space sim. Be warned, Star Citizen will release probably after 2024 (possibly 2030!) or even later - no one knows. The author of this article backed to see video gaming taken to new levels and to support space sims 🙂

However, if you're on the fence and would rather play a finished game then you probably should not be buying the game until it is launched. That said, it is also important to note that if you have the money now and are happy to wait several many more years until release, then purchasing the game might make financial sense since the basic starter package that comes with a ship, 3 month insurance and the single and multiplayer games is likely to continue to increase in price over time.

Originally you could buy the starter package with both single and multiplayer games for about $25*, then this went up to about $35* and it is now currently approximately $45* for the ship with either the single or multiplayer game and $65* for the ship plus both games (Squadron 42 and Star Citizen). With the community expecting the prices of the single and multiplayer game to perhaps end up being $60 each it might be worth purchasing now for three good reasons:

 

  1. You get to purchase the game cheaper than when it is released (post Beta)
  2. You get to test the game while it is in development (optional)
  3. You can learn to play the game. Star Citizen is a skill based game where the knowledge and skills of each player will contribute to how well they do in the universe. A bad pilot will be crashing his ship or dying in otherwise easy to win dogfights. Crashing on takeoff after loading your ship with precious cargo on day one will leave you wanting to have spent the time learning the game without permanent consequences.

*Note: Prices can and do vary across regions due to taxes.

Why should I not back this project?

There are too many reasons to list here why you should NOT back Star Citizen during Alpha development.

Here are some:

  • The game might never be finished. Development is taking what seems like forever
  • The game is extremely buggy and might even break your PC while in development
  • False hopes. Often the game can provide a sense of being done soon which can be highly misleading and always ends up in dissapointment
  • The game is not easy to get started and offers no in-game tutorial
  • Too many keys!
  • Needs keyboard and mouse to play - while in Alpha all gameplay cannot be controlled solely with a gamepad
  • Very complex game
  • No PVP slider and almost no safe zones (It's a dangerous universe)
  • The game is currently shallow
  • The game is far from complete (see Star Citizen & Squadron 42 feature completion)
  • Frustration from any of the above
  • The project could fail

CIG: Doing the impossible

Star Citizen is aiming to have the following features:

  • Seamless universe with no loading screens (after the initial loading of the game)
  • From first person on the planet to getting behind the controls of your ship to flying into space to landing on a moon to getting out of your ship - all without loading screens
  • Jaw dropping graphics
  • FPS, spaceship, atmospheric and vehicular combat
  • Brought to you by the Chris Roberts, the visionary behind Wing Commander, Strike Commander and Freelancer
  • Explore ≈100+ star systems in a living breathing universe
  • Pilot and help crew giant space ships 100s to 1000s of meters (300 to 3000 feet) long (yes these aren’t typos)
  • Massively multiplayer living breathing universe with 9:1 AI to player characters

Star Citizen Videos

If you are still on the fence about buying the game perhaps these points, images and videos will convince you.

All video is in-game engine footage (yes this is what Star Citizen gameplay looks like - not just the cut-scenes like so many other games). Please note that what is currently Testable / Playable is only a small fraction of what is planned. For a rough idea of overall project completion please view our article on Star Citizen Completion Features Percentage.

What’s Playable Now in Star Citizen?

  • Multiplayer Persistent Universe (PU - 80 to 150 players per server)
  • Single Player and Multiplayer Space flight simulator called Arena Commander
  • Multiplayer first person shooter (FPS) combat simulator called Star Marine

The Persistent Universe (PU)

The persistent universe in Star Citizen is where the “real” Star Citizen game will take place. Inside the game there are simulation pods where players will be able to access simulations to practice vehicle and on foot combat without risking items or in-game credits (known as UEC) in the Persistent Universe.

Currently available for testers is part of the Stanton System with:

  • 4 Planets (Crusader, Hurston, ArcCorp and MicroTech)
  • 12 Moons (3 around Crusader, 4 around Hurston, 2 around ArcCorp and 3 around Microtech)
  • Many caves
  • Space Stations
  • Asteroid Fields
  • Ground outposts
  • Harvestables
  • Mining (First person, vehicle and ship)
  • Bounty Hunting (PVP and PVE)
  • Cargo Hauling
  • Over 100 ships and vehicles
  • 1 Prison

FPS And Flight combat simulators

The simulator pod in the universe allows you to access simulation games in Electronic Access. The first person shooter is called Star Marine and the flight simulator is called Arena Commander.

Star Marine allows players to shoot it out in maps that have both gravity and non gravity combat. Arena Commander allows players to test the flight mechanics of their ships both peacefully and in combat. Credits can be earned in the simulator called REC (Rental Equipment Credits) and they can be used to purchase ships and items to test them out. This is a great way for players to practice their skills and research items or ships they are interested in without risking their Persistent Universe account.

If you are thinking of starting an account it is important to note that credits in Star Citizen are used to purchase items and pay in game fees. A starter Aurora or Mustang Package only comes with 1000 UEC and by using a referral code you will be able to receive an extra 5000 UEC. This can mean the difference between starting off with 1000 UEC or 6000 UEC (1000 + 5000 referral bonus) - a 600% increase. By using a referral code you will be able to start with up to 6x more UEC than someone who purchased the same game package without using the referral code. If you’re interested in buying Star Citizen please visit the referral code page.

Pros and Cons of Star Citizen

Check out comprehensive list of Pros and Cons for Star Citizen.

What the present looks like

The following videos are filmed entirely in game.

Bonus Videos

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