Star Citizen - subscriber bonus and flair items

Erillion

Greetings, fellow Star Citizen subscribers. You might want to check your accounts.

It could well be that you are now owner of a few hundredthousand REC units. Which will allow you to test ships and equipment to your hearts content - without the need to fight in multiplayer battles (although IMHO  that IS the best way to earn REC units ;-) AND to help with playtesting the game).

Here is what you can currently test with those REC units:

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/electronic-access

Got this news via notification mail and have confirmed it by checking my account.

 

Have fun

 

 

PS:

Highest reported numbers (with screenshots) are slightly over a million REC  (some of that is from fighting multiplayer battles, but only a few percent).

Clarifications from dev posts:

1) "I've noticed some confusion with the amount of REC awarded based off your total time subscribed. REC was only awarded from the time the perk was added to the subscriptions. Everyone should have received REC from February 2014 on."

 

2)

 Interesting. So shouldn't this mean that the maximum should be 14 months? Clearly there is some discrepancy here as some folks are reporting many more months than that. If that isn't the case I would expect that 3 year subs would have some where around 990k.

"You can subscribe into the future."

 

sgel

I thought CR once said that subscribers wouldn't have any in-game advantages over non-subscribers?

 

rpmcmurphy

I don't think it's bad because what subscribers get for their $12 or $24 subscription seems like a real bum deal.

It will be bad if they get a huge REC hand-out and the PTU changes go through. 3 - 4x reduction in REC earnings will make things a right slog.

Kothoses

Will this currency be available in the live game or just for testing?

 

If it is just for testing, can some one explain to me what the benefits of subscribing are (and why they need to introduce a subscription model for a game thats already got a massive cash shop and 70 million dollars of pre-sales), if its for the live game, can some one explain to me how this is not pay to win?

 

 

If this was ANY of the major publishing houses, this would be blasted from the skies, why is this different?

sgel

Originally posted by Kothoses

Will this currency be available in the live game or just for testing?

 

If it is just for testing, can some one explain to me what the benefits of subscribing are (and why they need to introduce a subscription model for a game thats already got a massive cash shop and 70 million dollars of pre-sales), if its for the live game, can some one explain to me how this is not pay to win?

 

 

If this was ANY of the major publishing houses, this would be blasted from the skies, why is this different?

As far as I know no, REC won't be available in the main game. It's only available for Arena Commander.

Of course that might change but I don't think it will. I'd expect some better form of progression for the PU.

 

However all the ships you buy by "pledging" will be available in the main game.

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

When the average spending of people for pledge packages is slightly above 100 bucks (669,769 people with pledge packages,  78.516.390 $ in funds raised, average spending 117 $)  , please explain where you get the idea that people will start the game with whole armadas of ships ?

Have fun

JonBonJawa

Originally posted by Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

When the average spending of people for pledge packages is slightly above 100 bucks (669,769 people with pledge packages,  78.516.390 $ in funds raised, average spending 117 $)  , please explain where you get the idea that people will start the game with whole armadas of ships ?

Have fun

even if that would be the case, a player can only fly one ship at a time, and there is matchmaking as well, so I rather see a diverse universe instead of countless Auroras or Mustangs everywhere. It will easily even out withint 1-3 months anyway, getting to a Constellation doesn´t take forever.

I rather hope the smaller ships stay viable, because in other games they usually are swapped for better ones.

Every ship should have its specific role so you don´t just grind out the next new shinier ship, but rather get a ship "maxed out" for its role so it stays viable. There will be lots of chip tuning and special components you´ll also  need to work for to acquire.

As I see it the ships need to be "levelled up", and a ship hull is just like a character class you unlock

SpottyGekko

Originally posted by MoreOfTheSame

Originally posted by Erillion

...

even if that would be the case, a player can only fly one ship at a time, and there is matchmaking as well, so I rather see a diverse universe instead of countless Auroras or Mustangs everywhere. It will easily even out withint 1-3 months anyway, getting to a Constellation doesn´t take forever.

I rather hope the smaller ships stay viable, because in other games they usually are swapped for better ones.

Every ship should have its specific role so you don´t just grind out the next new shinier ship, but rather get a ship "maxed out" for its role so it stays viable. There will be lots of chip tuning and special components you´ll also  need to work for to acquire.

As I see it the ships need to be "levelled up", and a ship hull is just like a character class you unlock

EVE-Online is over 10 years old by now, and the frigates (smallest, cheapest ship) are just as viable as they were 10 years ago. That's because they have a defined role in combat ops. 

As long as SC takes the same approach to combat, all ship classes will remain useful.

sgel

Originally posted by Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

When the average spending of people for pledge packages is slightly above 100 bucks (669,769 people with pledge packages,  78.516.390 $ in funds raised, average spending 117 $)  , please explain where you get the idea that people will start the game with whole armadas of ships ?

Have fun

I don't get it... did you not understand the english behind the statement?

There's people who have spent a ridiculous amount of money and will have whole armadas on launch day... then there's people who will only have an aurora.

What on earth does the average spending have to do with it? Unless you think that ALL people will have a 117$ worth of ships on launch day.... and in that case where's the wormhole entrance to your universe of absolute equality in everything

rpmcmurphy

Originally posted by Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

When the average spending of people for pledge packages is slightly above 100 bucks (669,769 people with pledge packages,  78.516.390 $ in funds raised, average spending 117 $)  , please explain where you get the idea that people will start the game with whole armadas of ships ?

Have fun

 

The average means sweet frak all. You can't use that as a metric.

You could have all backers bar one spend $10 each and then the final backer spend $71.5 million and you'd still get an average of $117 per backer. There's no relation to how much people have spent at all.

https://www.instant.ly/report/54a985dde4b0cea5d72c8c2a is a better example of how people are spending their money.

sgel

Originally posted by MoreOfTheSame

Originally posted by Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

When the average spending of people for pledge packages is slightly above 100 bucks (669,769 people with pledge packages,  78.516.390 $ in funds raised, average spending 117 $)  , please explain where you get the idea that people will start the game with whole armadas of ships ?

Have fun

even if that would be the case, a player can only fly one ship at a time, and there is matchmaking as well, so I rather see a diverse universe instead of countless Auroras or Mustangs everywhere. It will easily even out withint 1-3 months anyway, getting to a Constellation doesn´t take forever.

I rather hope the smaller ships stay viable, because in other games they usually are swapped for better ones.

Every ship should have its specific role so you don´t just grind out the next new shinier ship, but rather get a ship "maxed out" for its role so it stays viable. There will be lots of chip tuning and special components you´ll also  need to work for to acquire.

As I see it the ships need to be "levelled up", and a ship hull is just like a character class you unlock

I'm sorry but EVERYTHING you just said is just speculation or theory from a very optimistic point of view.

I'm sure everyone will be happy if it turns out like that.

SpottyGekko

Originally posted by sgel

Originally posted by Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

When the average spending of people for pledge packages is slightly above 100 bucks (669,769 people with pledge packages,  78.516.390 $ in funds raised, average spending 117 $)  , please explain where you get the idea that people will start the game with whole armadas of ships ?

Have fun

I don't get it... did you not understand the english behind the statement?

There's people who have spent a ridiculous amount of money and will have whole armadas on launch day... then there's people who will only have an aurora.

What on earth does the average spending have to do with it? Unless you think that ALL people will have a 117$ worth of ships on launch day.... and in that case where's the wormhole entrance to your universe of absolute equality in everything

Of course there will be "people with whole armadas" on launch day !

 

This is the new age of MMO's, where some people pay for "convenience" so that others can play for free. So you better hope there are many whales in SC, otherwise the game will fail very soon after launch.

 

Some of the wealthiest players will probably even employ teams of interns to fly their ships for them...

 

/s

JonBonJawa

Originally posted by sgel

Originally posted by MoreOfTheSame

Originally posted by Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

When the average spending of people for pledge packages is slightly above 100 bucks (669,769 people with pledge packages,  78.516.390 $ in funds raised, average spending 117 $)  , please explain where you get the idea that people will start the game with whole armadas of ships ?

Have fun

even if that would be the case, a player can only fly one ship at a time, and there is matchmaking as well, so I rather see a diverse universe instead of countless Auroras or Mustangs everywhere. It will easily even out withint 1-3 months anyway, getting to a Constellation doesn´t take forever.

I rather hope the smaller ships stay viable, because in other games they usually are swapped for better ones.

Every ship should have its specific role so you don´t just grind out the next new shinier ship, but rather get a ship "maxed out" for its role so it stays viable. There will be lots of chip tuning and special components you´ll also  need to work for to acquire.

As I see it the ships need to be "levelled up", and a ship hull is just like a character class you unlock

I'm sorry but EVERYTHING you just said is just speculation or theory from a very optimistic point of view.

I'm sure everyone will be happy if it turns out like that.

nope, that´s actually what CIG said if you combine the info of the last two years.

Chip tuning, small ships staying viable, ships are like classes/roles, special components to acquire all over the universe, highest quality parts hard to acquire -> the info is all out there

sgel

Originally posted by MoreOfTheSame

Originally posted by sgel

Originally posted by MoreOfTheSame

Originally posted by Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

When the average spending of people for pledge packages is slightly above 100 bucks (669,769 people with pledge packages,  78.516.390 $ in funds raised, average spending 117 $)  , please explain where you get the idea that people will start the game with whole armadas of ships ?

Have fun

even if that would be the case, a player can only fly one ship at a time, and there is matchmaking as well, so I rather see a diverse universe instead of countless Auroras or Mustangs everywhere. It will easily even out withint 1-3 months anyway, getting to a Constellation doesn´t take forever.

I rather hope the smaller ships stay viable, because in other games they usually are swapped for better ones.

Every ship should have its specific role so you don´t just grind out the next new shinier ship, but rather get a ship "maxed out" for its role so it stays viable. There will be lots of chip tuning and special components you´ll also  need to work for to acquire.

As I see it the ships need to be "levelled up", and a ship hull is just like a character class you unlock

I'm sorry but EVERYTHING you just said is just speculation or theory from a very optimistic point of view.

I'm sure everyone will be happy if it turns out like that.

nope, that´s actually what CIG said if you combine the info of the last two years

Try and not be argumentative just for the sake of it and read the entire post.

It seems you missed the "or theory" part of the sentence... because it's exactly what CIG theoretically wants their game to be like.

As I said, if it gets implemented exactly as they envision it, lots of people will be happy. We've got quite a few more years to wait to see this implementation.

Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

Originally posted by MoreOfTheSame

nope, that´s actually what CIG said if you combine the info of the last two years

Try and not be argumentative just for the sake of it and read the entire post.

It seems you missed the "or theory" part of the sentence... because it's exactly what CIG theoretically wants their game to be like.

As I said, if it gets implemented exactly as they envision it, lots of people will be happy. We've got quite a few more years to wait to see this implementation.

We can speculate all we want ... only the game launch will show how it works out in reality. Only the final game will show if CIG stayed true to their design plans.  Some think they will, others have doubts.

Coming back to the thread topic ....

Many thousands of Star Citizen fans will now have PLENTY of in game currency to test out anything currently available, no matter what pledge package they have chosen. That will lead to a lot of testing of ALL the available ships and equipment and a LOT of new data for balancing and improvement. A good thing in my opinion.

 

Have fun

Phaserlight

Originally posted by rpmcmurphy

Originally posted by Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

So people are going to be starting the game with whole armadas of ships while other people start with auroras.

When the average spending of people for pledge packages is slightly above 100 bucks (669,769 people with pledge packages,  78.516.390 $ in funds raised, average spending 117 $)  , please explain where you get the idea that people will start the game with whole armadas of ships ?

Have fun

 

The average means sweet frak all. You can't use that as a metric.

You could have all backers bar one spend $10 each and then the final backer spend $71.5 million and you'd still get an average of $117 per backer. There's no relation to how much people have spent at all.

https://www.instant.ly/report/54a985dde4b0cea5d72c8c2a is a better example of how people are spending their money.

Thanks for this.  People should really take a look at it.  The survey size was convincing enough.  The age profile was younger than I expected.  I've been told that this project is fueled mainly by 30-something CR nostalgia fans, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  I'm well above the median age by eyeballing it; maybe that partly explains why this project doesn't appeal to me.  The yearly income profile was interesting; also lower than expected.  The most telling piece, the total amount spent, struck me as very top-heavy.  Not at all a bell-curve.

Once again, I'm very glad I didn't back this thing.  I don't have a crystal ball, but let me offer a modest prediction: that top bracket is going to cause some problems for the persistent universe and the game as a whole on release day.

Erillion

Originally posted by Kothoses

Will this currency be available in the live game or just for testing?

 ---> REC is an in game currency used ONLY for sim-Pod battles  (Arena Commander dogfights, Battle Arena FPS fights). You can not buy any ships or equipment used in the Persistent Universe with REC. Any "real" equipment used in the Persistent Universe will be bought with United Earth Credits (UEC). 

--> At the moment REC is used only  in playtesting. REC will be in the live game, but only for the "game" in the game. If you knew Wing Commander ... there was a flight simulator for the pilots in the mess hall - for training. The simpod in Star Citizen does the same. 

If it is just for testing, can some one explain to me what the benefits of subscribing are (and why they need to introduce a subscription model for a game thats already got a massive cash shop and 70 million dollars of pre-sales), if its for the live game, can some one explain to me how this is not pay to win?

-->Benefits for subscribing

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pledge/Centurion-Sub/1-Year-Access-Pass

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pledge/Imperator-Prime/1-Year-Access-Pass

--> You get a monthly newsletter which in my personal opinion is quite good. You get information/pictures/articles/schematics earlier than others (or exclusively). You get a lot of decorative flair items, which do not give you any unfair benefits in the game - but they are fun and look nice. You get some special rewards like your name being used in the game somewhere. You can test fly ships (even some rare unique ones). With the new REC units you can test fly all available normal ships (and you get a boatload of those REC units, without the need to fight in multiplayer battles .. which most still do). You get access to special forum areas - they tend to be more "sane" than the "General" forum. Nothing of this is P2Win.

 If this was ANY of the major publishing houses, this would be blasted from the skies, why is this different?

--> Because major publishing houses don't do crowdfunding. And in crowdfunding, the backers give money voluntarily so someone can make the game THEY want.

--> Not the game some marketing department of a major publishing house deems to be appropriate for the unwashed masses, dumbed down, simplified and streamlined for maximum sales, castrated technology-wise so it runs on as many platforms as possible (even if that means you settle for less than what is possible on a modern PC).  THAT is the difference.

--> In crowdfunding backers often give more than was asked for (thats why extension goals where invented on sites such as Kickstarter). W.r.t. Star Citizen the backers gave A LOT MORE than was initially asked for.

--> Have fun.

 

Erillion

Originally posted by Phaserlight

The most telling piece, the total amount spent, struck me as very top-heavy.  Not at all a bell-curve.

There have been several other polls, also with many participants, where the number of people in the top segment was usually about half of what was reported in this poll. In that respect the quoted poll was a bit of an exception. As the answers have not been verified, its hard to know if people answer honestly or not.

CIG has not yet published an official set of data, with verified numbers.

 

Here an example of the other polls mentioned (you can find them easily with Google). This one is quite detailed.

http://www.thelonegamers.com/category/titles/star-citizen/star-citizen-community-polls/

"The average number of ships purchased by players polled is 2.89 ships and the median being 2 ships.  However, if you only purchased one ship, this doesn’t mean that you are alone – the majority of players polled only own a single ship.  In fact, 43.73% of players polled only own a single ship."

"Of players polled, players spent an average of $448.76 USD."

"The median spent was $180 USD, which should put a lot of players at ease.  The highest response to this question was $15,000 USD by three separate respondents each."

 

It can be seen that the median has lowered from 180 $ (2014) to 117 $ (2015) nowadays.

 

Have fun

sgel

Originally posted by Erillion

Nothing of this is P2Win.

Of course it's P2Win. You pay real money and get a large advantage towards those who don't pay, hence it's easier for you to "win"... no matter how you perceive "winning".

--> Because major publishing houses don't do crowdfunding. And in crowdfunding, the backers give money voluntarily so someone can make the game THEY want.

Are you saying that publishing houses MAKE you buy their game? Are you saying that every single SC backer is happy with the development of the game?

 

--> Not the game some marketing department of a major publishing house deems to be appropriate for the unwashed masses, dumbed down, simplified and streamlined for maximum sales, castrated technology-wise so it runs on as many platforms as possible (even if that means you settle for less than what is possible on a modern PC).  THAT is the difference.

What an absurd statement. You practically called every single published computer game "dumbed down, simplified etc etc"... which is an obvious lie.

Please stop exaggerating.

 

Erillion

Originally posted by sgel

Originally posted by Erillion

Nothing of this is P2Win.

Of course it's P2Win. You pay real money and get a large advantage towards those who don't pay, hence it's easier for you to "win"... no matter how you perceive "winning".

--> You mean I get a large advantage because I have a snow globe with a spaceship inside in my hangar and you do not ? I am UBER in the game because somewhere my name is used in the game ?   THAT is P2Win in your definition ?

--> Because major publishing houses don't do crowdfunding. And in crowdfunding, the backers give money voluntarily so someone can make the game THEY want.

Are you saying that publishing houses MAKE you buy their game?

--> Yes. Its called advertising. And tens of millions of dollars are used for that. Sometimes per game. And it works. Verifiably works (google effect of advertising if you want to know more...).

Are you saying that every single SC backer is happy with the development of the game?

--> No. Its simply not possible to make 867.348 people happy at the same time when some have mutually exclusive views on what this game should be.

 

--> Not the game some marketing department of a major publishing house deems to be appropriate for the unwashed masses, dumbed down, simplified and streamlined for maximum sales, castrated technology-wise so it runs on as many platforms as possible (even if that means you settle for less than what is possible on a modern PC).  THAT is the difference.

What an absurd statement. You practically called every single

--> No one mentioned anything about "every single" ....

published computer game "dumbed down, simplified etc etc"... which is an obvious lie.

--> As no one claimed this for "every single published computer game", your sentence is a bit .... pointless ....

Please stop exaggerating.

--> Please start making sense.

--> Have fun

 

 

tawess

Well we will have to wait and see if rec actually become a subscriber perk.. but on the list of things they can put in to entice people to sub.. it is one of the better.

 

As for why SC "get  away with it"... A: They don´t... there are about 2 threads bashing it fro every positive one... But with that said B: the people who donated to the game feel more invested and thus more inclined to defend it. It also help that beyond selliing very agrresivly priced packs... They have not really done anything wrong yet... Not EA or Ubisoft wrong at least... That part of the show is still to come once they have a working game... That can run on a normal computer...

 

The the real shitstorm will kick up.

rpmcmurphy

Some stats regarding the concept art ship sales - http://imperialnews.network/2015/04/vanguard-analysis/ it's interesting that people will lay down $6 million by virtue of some artwork.

I'm not sure if it says more about the people selling or more about the people buying

Erillion

Originally posted by tawess

Well we will have to wait and see if rec actually become a subscriber perk..

--> It is already. The REC already shows on the subscriber accounts. I see it on mine and many others have posted screenshots.

--> Or maybe you think this was just a one-off single event. That could be, although personally I think they will make this an ongoing subscriber perk. Guess I can tell you more in a month or two - in case they start transferring monthly amounts of REC.

but on the list of things they can put in to entice people to sub.. it is one of the better.

--> I agree. The sci-fi short-stories in the "Jump-Point" magazine are pretty good too IMHO.

 

As for why SC "get  away with it"... A: They don´t... there are about 2 threads bashing it fro every positive one...

--> A measurable way  to see if SC "gets  away with it" is the number of backers. Whatever is said on the forums, every day some 1000-2000 new people join  (for the last 6 months now).

But with that said B: the people who donated to the game feel more invested and thus more inclined to defend it. It also help that beyond selliing very agrresivly priced packs... They have not really done anything wrong yet... Not EA or Ubisoft wrong at least... That part of the show is still to come once they have a working game... That can run on a normal computer...

 --> Make that a good computer (by end of 2016 standards). Normal ones will most likely not cut it. Just like with the old Wing Commander games, where you often had to buy a new rig when a new WC hit the shelves.

Then the real shitstorm will kick up.

--> If the game is bad, then yes .... an L5 shitstorm will darken the skies. If the game needs a good computer and will barely run on a normal one ... that is kinda expected by most backers (and many backer polls show that they plan to buy a new high-end rig when SC launches). 

--> Have fun

 

sgel

Originally posted by Erillion

--> You mean I get a large advantage because I have a snow globe with a spaceship inside in my hangar and you do not ? I am UBER in the game because somewhere my name is used in the game ?   THAT is P2Win in your definition ?

Are you pretending to not understand? You do have an advantage when you have a choice of many more ships to fly at launch because you payed more dollars than someone who has a mere Aurora.

You have an advantage over them. How difficult is that concept to understand?

Are you saying that publishing houses MAKE you buy their game?

--> Yes. Its called advertising. 

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry (at you).

 

 

Are you saying that every single SC backer is happy with the development of the game?

--> No. Its simply not possible to make 867.348 people happy at the same time when some have mutually exclusive views on what this game should be.

Exactly, so stop exaggerating about the features of crowdfunding.

 

--> No one mentioned anything about "every single" ....

Then try and clarify it in what you write instead of characterizing every single published game in one sentence.

--> As no one claimed this for "every single published computer game", your sentence is a bit .... pointless ....

Yes you did. Maybe you should read what you typed.

 

--> Please start making sense.

Please show me something I wrote and didn't make sense to you. I'll try and explain.

 

 

 

tawess

Originally posted by Erillion

Originally posted by tawess

Well we will have to wait and see if rec actually become a subscriber perk..

--> It is already. The REC already shows on the subscriber accounts. I see it on mine and many others have posted screenshots.

--> Or maybe you think this was just a one-off single event. That could be, although personally I think they will make this an ongoing subscriber perk. Guess I can tell you more in a month or two - in case they start transferring monthly amounts of REC.

We are pretty far from release... backlash against it might change their minds.. if the community decieds they want nothing of it.

but on the list of things they can put in to entice people to sub.. it is one of the better.

--> I agree. The sci-fi short-stories in the "Jump-Point" magazine are pretty good too IMHO.

 

As for why SC "get  away with it"... A: They don´t... there are about 2 threads bashing it fro every positive one...

--> A measurable way  to see if SC "gets  away with it" is the number of backers. Whatever is said on the forums, every day some 1000-2000 new people join  (for the last 6 months now).

Well the question was why they don´t get "hated on" like bigger companies like EA and such... That was what i was answering too.. To what my reply was.. they are not getting away with "it"... 

But with that said B: the people who donated to the game feel more invested and thus more inclined to defend it. It also help that beyond selliing very agrresivly priced packs... They have not really done anything wrong yet... Not EA or Ubisoft wrong at least... That part of the show is still to come once they have a working game... That can run on a normal computer...

 --> Make that a good computer (by end of 2016 standards). Normal ones will most likely not cut it. Just like with the old Wing Commander games, where you often had to buy a new rig when a new WC hit the shelves.

Yeah, my slightly above normal rig handle it more like a comic then a space shooter.. =P

Then the real shitstorm will kick up.

--> If the game is bad, then yes .... an L5 shitstorm will darken the skies. If the game needs a good computer and will barely run on a normal one ... that is kinda expected by most backers (and many backer polls show that they plan to buy a new high-end rig when SC launches). 

--> Have fun

 Yeah... Having sailed my way in the storm around MW:O and later H1Z1... It will be glorious... 

 

TheYear1500

Originally posted by sgel

I thought CR once said that subscribers wouldn't have any in-game advantages over non-subscribers?

 

Ya that was thrown out the window.  Now its all about being P2W.