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SC has 212 developers
TheLizardbones
Member CommonPosts: 10,910
in Star Citizen
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/13610-Monthly-Report-February-2014
I don't really have anything to say about that other than the fact itself. I guess that's what you get when you donate that much money to a Kickstarter.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Comments
wow, do they really need that many...
You make me like charity
It's about 2-3 times as many as most AAA mmo's. Which means these are probably a bunch of part-time developers working together. Not a good thing.
You make me like charity
..Cake..
Agreed.
Gotta laugh at all the attempts to make this out as something bad though. I think it bodes well personally as most so called AAA titles lately look like they could have used a little more help...
huh?
SWTOR, Anet and ZOS (ESO) all had over 200 devs working on the game at one point or the other in production. Anet stayed that big too and ZOS haven't released yet.
SWtOR is the most bloated of your examples, and it had something like 800 developers spread over 6 years. Keep in mind that not all of those would have worked at the same time. Furthermore, Greg himself stated that "Coordinating it all is like teaching elephants to do ballet." If anything, I'd say it just goes to show that bigger is not always better, when it comes to development teams.
Also, keep in mind that most dev team sizes are including a rather large chunk of paid testers, especially later in the dev cycle. A game like Star Citizen shouldn't even be at that point yet, although I wouldn't be surprised if they are handing out paid positions like candy to various friends and family, simply because they have the money to burn. In that aspect, I could see them inflating their team size up to 212.
But again, managing that many people is not at all easy. I've seen nothing to suggest those guys can do it.
You make me like charity
*sigh* If you just read the article posted it actually breaks down who is doing what. The game is going to be very big in scale hence the need for a large team. There are 3 in-house studios each working on a different aspect of the game that makes up about 100 employee's and another 100 or so that are outsourcers working on other aspects of the game. A lot of the outsourced talent is working on building art assets as well. While they could have done the same with a smaller team it would have taken longer to finish. All in all the team size is not unusual for a AAA game.
As for not having much to show at this point as the game is only about a year into production. At this point they are still building systems in and they have not even completed 40% of the final features of the game yet. The DFM is coming at shortly after PAX EAST and after that there will be more for them to show but we're still seeing parts of the game FAR in advance of when you would normally see them from a typical developer. Everything they are showing right now is still Pre-Alpha.
@asmkm22
How about you read the link and understand how they are handling the development of their game.
It's not like prospective players have been donating developers the project doesn't need. If they're adding staff it's because there's work to do.
Charr: Outta my way.
Human: What's your problem?
Charr: Your thin skin.
Well, when the game gets delayed several times, and the stuff that IS available turns out to pretty crappy, feel free to come read this thread again. I've seen these kinds of games come and go a number of times. It will be defined by too much promised and not nearly enough produced. You'll end up with yet another example of "it looked good on paper" that's rabidly defended by a small but vocal following, and ignored by practically everyone else.
Even worse is how they are planning to release various modules (chunks of gameplay) at different times throughout this year, leading up to a full retail release of the complete game next year. Watch and see as the months roll by without anything solid coming out, and the full release in 2015 will get pushed back to 2016, etc..
It's what happens when you have a large project with too many people involved, and leadership that doesn't know how to manage it.
You make me like charity
Once a person has an opinion there is little you can do to change it. Throw as many positive facts about something at them and they will spin it into something negative. To few developers "What are they doing with all the money". Allot of developers "How can they manage all those people its going to be a train wreck". Its hysterically to watch people spin things in this thread.
The developers are largely compartmentalized. One group might only be working on UI and website, while another is working on the Single-player and a few ships. Another is working on Hangar module and server backend, while another is working on Dogfighting Module. And yet another is working on the FPS aspect.
It's a bunch of smaller studios making parts that they are designed to make, with an overarching goal in mind. Chris Roberts has experience producing large scale productions in gaming and movies. I'm not at all worried that it will get too big for him to handle.
dude on 7 or 8 location studios
each studio has its management and specific tasks
this does bode super well
So what you're saying is that everyone that just read the title and posted all the doom and gloom was totally justified as always .... right ?
EA hates this game, understandably
badmouthing won't work though, it's going to be a smashing success and the best space game ever made
Silence!!!! I keel you!!
OH MY GOD! People have jobs!
Time for a lynch mob!
"You'll never win an argument with an idiot because he is too stupid to recognize his own defeat." ~Anonymous
You have the planet building teams
You have the Ship building teams
You have the team working AI integration
You have story and quest teams
You have a team working on combat mechanics
You have a team working on processing and server requirements, code optimization, Projected hardware requirements. SC's Cryengine is already NV optimized. SC is is also going full blown Mantle. There is a lot of work making both work equally well.
There is probably a team doing thinktank and finding out what people want.
There is an in game economy team.
There is a Music and sound effects team.
There is a marketing department.
There is probably a team dedicated to the development infrastructure.
The list is probably incomplete and mabye inaccurate but it highlights where staff goes. I'd imagine the planet building team is pretty big.
The fact that SC has this many employees and good managment shows that the $ is indeed going to development and the projected business model they have for fund allotment is working. 212 Employees is a very good sign that we will see some really cool shit in upcoming months.
Was this staffing originally intended or added because the project was falling behind?
If it's the former than it's fine, if it's the latter I'd be worried.
There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.
-- Herman Melville
I wouldn't worry about the project falling behind or about timelines.
It's the most ambitious space sim project I have ever seen and all the indicators are the team is doing very good work on all aspects. The modeling looks fantastic. The attention to detail is unparalelled. The AI should be top notch. The economy walkthroughs are good, and the game with each funding goal the game keeps getting better and better. With AMD's Mantle and the engine already NV optimized performance should be very good across the board. Especially since NV is not just going to lie down and let Mantle demolish it performance wise.
There are bound to be Hiccups in the project timelines with such a project. There are so many new things that are being done with SC that I have the stance that it will be done when it's done attitude with it.
Your foresight capabilities are amazing. Why don't you seek a job in Wall Street and become filthy rich?