Star Citizen: Target Release Timeline Unveiled

SBFord · January 2015

During last night's BAFTA ceremony, Star Citizen's Chris Roberts revealed the target timeline for each of the game's components to be released. Star Citizen is a four-games-in-one creation that includes a persistent first person universe, a single player campaign, space exploration and combat and an FPS component. If all goes according to plan, Star Citizen should be in final release in 2016.

Check the image below and let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: Polygon

Denambren · January 2015

hmmm

In their last year of work, they managed to go from single seater dogfighting to improved single seater dogfighting with a few more ships.

I'm not sure a persistent universe alpha for end of 2015 is a very realistic estimation of what they can accomplish.

hfztt · January 2015

So summer 2017 you say?

Denambren · January 2015

Originally posted by hfztt
So summer 2017 you say?

I think it's hard to say exactly when each module will be released during the year, but I was thinking 2016 would be persistent universe alpha and 2017 would be the official launch.

It's also a bit strange we don't see Arena commander 3.0 and 4.0 listed in that schedule, as those modules were included in previous schedules and were considered a core part of the game's evolution. Was this schedule pic made by MMORPG or it is a rip straight from a CIG presentation?

Unknown · January 2015

Originally posted by Denambren
hmmm

In their last year of work, they managed to go from single seater dogfighting to improved single seater dogfighting with a few more ships.

I'm not sure a persistent universe alpha for end of 2015 is a very realistic estimation of what they can accomplish.

This game doesn't have the development power to deliver on everything it promised. It is unfortunate, but you are very accurate with this assessment and the slow cycle at which stuff is accomplished. It is nothing to be ashamed of by this company, but it does mean that people who think it will be all peaches and happy thoughts will be sorely disappointed.

Lobotomist · January 2015

Interesting. Hope it will be true

vadio123 · January 2015

Based in history expect 6 moth delay for each module

chilliz · January 2015

They are making s much money of selling faaacking 3d ships and all sorts of other crap, I dont think they even give a shit if the game releases or not. There are people buying these damn ships and accessories for hundreds and thousands of $$$$$.

chilliz · January 2015

.

Erillion · January 2015

>>> I dont think they even give a shit if the game releases or not. >>>>

Then you neither understand the mayority of the backers nor the developer team. Does it matter if it takes longer to develop ? No! Not if the end result is why we backers support this project.

We give CIG the time and the money. Many people do not understand this. We do. We give the money, you do not. And the vast mayority of the 730.000 backers are NOT investing thousands of dollars .. thats just propaganda. If that would be the case, we would be at 700 million instead of 70 million.

Oh, all they did is put out a dogfight simulator in 2 years! --> Do some reading i suggest. The biggest part of the development - the solo campaign Squadron 42 - is done without public testing at the moment. We backers DO test the technology, but not the story (yet). in 2015 most of the pieces of the puzzle (revealed and unrevealed) come together, that is why the schedule speeds up now.

Have fun

goboygo · January 2015

Allot of baseless poison in this thread. But people love to pretend they are knowledgeable about things they know little about its one of mans greatest past times.

Gdemami · January 2015

Originally posted by Erillion

Does it matter if it takes longer to develop ?

Of course it does.

The development cost money and longer it takes, lower the quality of the product due delays.

I think it will become apparent very soon how overblown Robert's ambitions are, how much of Star Citizen is no more than big words and how negatively it affects the management of the project.

iir, this was very same issue with Freelancer.

Originally posted by Erillion

The biggest part of the development - the solo campaign Squadron 42 - is done without public testing at the moment. We backers DO test the technology, but not the story (yet)

If you are still testing the technology, you are not ready to develope the content yet - no story. Do not get fooled, Squadron 42 is still just on the paper...

Caldrin · January 2015

Originally posted by goboygo
Allot of baseless poison in this thread. But people love to pretend they are knowledgeable about things they know little about its one of mans greatest past times.

its the internet and a gaming forum and not only a gaming forum but a mmorpg gaming forum.. So yes the place is full of people like that sadly.. Over the last few years its what these type of sites have turned into.. a place for people to rage and cry about every tiny thing in the world and its getting worse..

Every new game release or alpha, beta or early access they all explode at the same time complaining about something..

Caldrin · January 2015

Originally posted by Gdemami

Of course it does.

The development cost money and longer it takes, lower the quality of the product due delays.

Wait what did you really just say that ?

Erillion · January 2015

Originally posted by Gdemami

Of course it does.

--> A personal opinion of yours not shared by the majority of backers as numerous polls on the forums have shown.

The development cost money and longer it takes, lower the quality of the product due delays.

--> Delays are usually occuring because you need longer to produce BETTER quality. Delays do NOT equal lower quality. Check out the development of Witcher 3, where that studio (CD Project) also is quite open with their communication to the community ... that they need more time to make it as good as promised. Same thing happens with Star Citizen. And lets be honest - if CIG REALLY would need more money besides the crowdfunding (which is unlikely), then IMHO at this point investors would throw cash at Chris Roberts faster than he could duck.

I think it will become apparent very soon how overblown Robert's ambitions

--> exactly because of this ambition 730.000 people are backing the project. We are not satisfied with the lesser quality we get at the moment from the gaming industry because everything must be console portable.

are, how much of Star Citizen is no more than big words and how negatively it affects the management of the project.

iir, this was very same issue with Freelancer.

--> Freelancer was a completely different situation, involving a publisher that was more concerned with shareholder return of investment than with a high quality product. Freelancer was good, but it could have been so much better. Yes, it was over budget and over time. Which in the case of Star Citizen does not matter - there is plenty of cash (also plenty of cash reserve) and the majority of backers will give the team as much time as necessary because they are not interesting in ROI.

If you are still testing the technology, you are not ready to develope the content yet - no story.

--> We will be testing technology for the next 5 years. This is a continually evolving project.

Do not get fooled, Squadron 42 is still just on the paper...

---> You are not staying on top of Star Citizen news, that much is clear. SQ42 pictures on the Star Citizen facebook and twitter pages, the producer notes/videos, the artist notes/videos, the hundreds of answers of UK devs on the forums, the Jump-Point magazine articles for subscribers etc.

--> Have fun

tawess · January 2015

2016 is perhaps a tad optimistic unless they aim is a MVP release. But it is nice to see that they have a time-line. Now the question is... What good does a dead-line do when your "investors" have given you carte blanchè to break said dead line. I guess it is a question of "we run out of money at (insert date) and the game need to be done then" But that is not a good way to handle dead lines.

I hope his real investors put more well defined border around him... It is generally a bad idea to give creative people to much freedom... Because they just keep adding and building.

Gdemami · January 2015

Originally posted by Erillion--> A personal opinion of yours not shared by the majority of backers as numerous polls on the --> Delays are usually occuring because you need longer to produce BETTER quality. Delays do NOT equal lower quality. Check out the development of Witcher 3, where that studio (CD Project) also is quite open with their communication to the community ... that they need more time to make it as good as promised. Same thing happens with Star Citizen. And lets be honest - if CIG REALLY would need more money besides the crowdfunding (which is unlikely), then IMHO at this point investors would throw cash at Chris Roberts faster than he could duck. --> Freelancer was a completely different situation, involving a publisher that was more concerned with shareholder return of investment than with a high quality product. Freelancer was good, but it could have been so much better. Yes, it was over budget and over time. Which in the case of Star Citizen does not matter - there is plenty of cash (also plenty of cash reserve) and the majority of backers will give the team as much time as necessary because they are not interesting in ROI.--> We will be testing technology for the next 5 years. This is a continually evolving project.

---> You are not staying on top of Star Citizen news, that much is clear. SQ42 pictures on the Star Citizen facebook and twitter pages, the producer notes/videos, the artist notes/videos, the hundreds of answers of UK devs on the forums, the Jump-Point magazine articles for subscribers etc.

It is not a matter of opinion. Let me explain how it works.

Assume you have a budget for your development. With that given money, you can do n amount of work. If you are delayed, it means you either pour more money in to keep with the original development plan or you drop some of the features and hinder the quality.

Since money aren't infinite resource, the latter is how it usually ends up.

Delays are not occuring because you want more quality, they occure because you failed to deliver what you were supposed to. No other reason there.

Publisher or not, funds are not infinite. People won't be showering Roberts with money forever. Same issue as Freelancer.

In fact, it is the other way round - investors will likely pour more money in so they can at least get some of their investment back but backers...? If they get fed up waiting or are unsatisfying with what they see/get, they will just go play something else.

Nothing of that invalidates my point - Squadron 42 being just on paper, there are only getting the some very basic technology framework together, thus no contrent yet.

Just because there is a podcast and forum post does not make it working piece of code. You make a huge leap there.

In fact, most of the podcasts are either very general development topics, some utterly menial, routine tasks any developer goes through or just the paper feature descriptions. There is nothing impressive to see.

Podcasts do not give you any insight into an actual development state, it is just marketing and PR.

Erillion · January 2015

Originally posted by Gdemami

It is not a matter of opinion. Let me explain how it works.

--> ** sigh **

Assume you have a budget for your development. With that given money, you can do n amount of work. If you are delayed, it means you either pour more money in to keep with the original development plan or you drop some of the features and hinder the quality.

--> Unless you have between 2 or 3 times more money than you need - which gives you plenty of cash reserve to put some extra time/work into any area that hits a speed-bump. Which is the case for Star Citizen.

Since money aren't infinite resource, the latter is how it usually ends up.

Delays are not occuring because you want more quality, they occure because you failed to deliver what you were supposed to. No other reason there.

--> There are many other reasons for delays, some of them coming from external influences. But i won't give you a lecture in project management 101 here. At least not for free. I usually charge people for that ;-)

Publisher or not, funds are not infinite. People won't be showering Roberts with money forever.

--> But they do try hard, you have to admit ;-)

Same issue as Freelancer.

In fact, it is the other way round - investors will likely pour more money in so they can at least get some of their investment back but backers...? If they get fed up waiting or are unsatisfying with what they see/get, they will just go play something else.

--> ... and come back to the project when its done. After all, they paid for it already :-)

Nothing of that invalidates my point

--> Thats what you say ....

- Squadron 42 being just on paper, there are only getting the some very basic technology framework together, thus no contrent yet.

Just because there is a podcast and forum post does not make it working piece of code. You make a huge leap there.

--> Nope. I read dev answers and progress reports. I have the impression that you do not. I met some people from the team at Gamescon. IMHO they did not seem like pathological liars to me. So when they say they are making progress (including the code) i believe them.

In fact, most of the podcasts are either very general development topics, some utterly menial, routine tasks any developer goes through or just the paper feature descriptions. There is nothing impressive to see.

Podcasts do not give you any insight into an actual development state, it is just marketing and PR.

--> That is why there are hundreds of dev posts besides these podcasts, with MUCH more detailed information. That is why there are detailed 20 page progress reports on the website every month. In addition to that there are several well connected backers that live near the CIG studios and know members of the dev team - their unofficial insider reports are confirming the official reports ("Hard work, progress being made, pieces of the puzzle coming together in 2015, more talent constantly being added to the team").

--> Have fun

Gdemami · January 2015

Originally posted by Erillion--> Unless you have between 2 or 3 times more money than you need - which gives you plenty of cash reserve to put some extra time/work into any area that hits a speed-bump. Which is the case for Star Citizen.--> There are many other reasons for delays, some of them coming from external influences. But i won't give you a lecture in project management 101 here. At least not for free. I usually charge people for that ;-)--> But they do try hard, you have to admit ;-) --> ... and come back to the project when its done. After all, they paid for it already :-)--> Thats what you say ....--> Nope. I read dev answers and progress reports. I have the impression that you do not. I met some people from the team at Gamescon. IMHO they did not seem like pathological liars to me. So when they say they are making progress (including the code) i believe them. --> That is why there are hundreds of dev posts besides these podcasts, with MUCH more detailed information. That is why there are detailed 20 page progress reports on the website every month. In addition to that there are several well connected backers that live near the CIG studios and know members of the dev team - their unofficial insider reports are confirming the official reports ("Hard work, progress being made, pieces of the puzzle coming together in 2015, more talent constantly being added to the team")

You plan your project in dependance on your budget, not the other way round.

Also, curious where did you get those implied figures from... Do you mind sharing your source?

I never said the delays are due internal causes only. I think you do not understand the point being made there at all...

Illusions crumble with time, not getting stronger. I am not sure you understand or even read points you reply to... There will be "nothing" to come back to, it would be a reason why pleyers left in the first place.

Please do provide me with some official material about Squadron 42 content that is already implemented - not just on paper. Apparently there is those hundrends of podcasts but somehow I must have missed that big memo...

Quantity does not substitute for quality. "We ordered 6 boxes of paper clips today!" is not saying much about development state but it seems like you make no difference there.

Erillion · January 2015

Originally posted by Gdemami

You plan your project in dependance on your budget, not the other way round.

--> You plan your project based on the project triangle - time, cost, quality. http://runesoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/project-triange-TCQ.jpg As I said - Project Management 101. Try it.

Also, curious where did you get those implied figures from... Do you mind sharing your source?

--> https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen

--> Pledge goal : 500.000 dollar. Current: 70 M$. So "officially" we are at 139 times more money than needed ;-) That should be enough cash reserve ;-) And yes, i know, those numbers are in need of SLIGHT adjustment these days ;-)

I never said the delays are due internal causes only. I think you do not understand the point being made there at all...

--> you make your point. I just do not agree with it.

Illusions crumble with time, not getting stronger. I am not sure you understand or even read points you reply to...

--> I do read the points. I may arrive at a different conclusion than you do.

There will be "nothing" to come back to, it would be a reason why pleyers left in the first place.

--> Strange. I wonder what "nothing" i am spending my time in several hours a week, shooting down PvE and PvP ships, doing races, fooling around in the hangar etc.

Please do provide me with some official material about Squadron 42 content that is already implemented - not just on paper. Apparently there is those hundrends of podcasts but somehow I must have missed that big memo...

--> e.g. Monthly Reports , scroll down to "Foundry 42 part" for detailed work reports (including some words on coding/programming --> "vehicle seat code, server optimizations to increase the number of players, StoryForge tool, built upon DataForge, to help the designers/scriptwriters set up dialogue and conversations., zero-g traversal, a new looting mechanic, takeoff/landing and the conversation/reputation system." etc.)

--> https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14345-Monthly-Report-November

--> But if you want to know: Can YOU play in SQ42 yet like you could in Arena Commander ? Nope. Later this year. Just as announced. Enjoy Arena Commander and FPS Battle Arena in the meantime.

Quantity does not substitute for quality. "We ordered 6 boxes of paper clips today!" is not saying much about development state but it seems like you make no difference there.

--> When Chris Roberts says he hired the best (e.g. referring to Andy "Gollum" Serkis and his mocap company) ... thats the kind of quality i am speaking about. When he hires some of the best CryEngine experts from Crytek ... thats the kind of quality i am speaking about. And this DOES make a difference.

--> Have fun

Reizla · January 2015

I surely hope they can pull this timeline off. If for once they'd stop making new ships and actually start on programming the modules... I really don't care about that whole dog-fight thing and am waiting for both planetside and the universe...

Erillion · January 2015

Originally posted by Reizla
I surely hope they can pull this timeline off. If for once they'd stop making new ships and actually start on programming the modules... I really don't care about that whole dog-fight thing and am waiting for both planetside and the universe...

Work on the programming of the modules has been going on for at least a year now. Detailed reports about this work can be found on the CIG homepage under "Monthly Reports" (about 15-20 pages per month).

The part about the work on the various landing zones (planetary environments like ArcCorp, Beijing and Terra Prime etc.) may be especially interesting for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UaFSd-ezQc

(very early Alpha version 2013 of Terra Prime landing zone, CIG has made great strides since then)

Have fun

Geddon95405 · January 2015

looking forward to this game but I have major doubts they can meet that launch schedule without cutting features

how big and skilled is the team working on this thing?

Erillion · January 2015

About 280 people. Around 200 in the various CIG studios (working basically 24/7 via a handing over system across timezones from the US Santa Monica to US Austin to the UK and back). Some 80 contractors, including such names as Andy "Gollum" Serkis for motion capturing. CIG was looking for experienced contractors in specific fields (e.g. Illfonic for FPS, Crytek engineers for the game engine itself, Moon Collider for AI etc.). Number of employees is still growing (especially with the new CIG studio in Frankfurt, Germany, near the Crytek HQ).

Skill wise its a mix of very experienced people (e.g. amongst the producers) and new talent. The first 6 months of the project they had to build up the offices and teams, as the project was much more successful than expected and allowed a much more ambitious, revised schedule.

Have fun

justabloke · January 2015

Originally posted by hfztt
So summer 2017 you say?

Made me laugh, and I mean laugh out loud. Been playing games a while hfztt ? :-)

Randorita · January 2015

Where the big problem lies with the amount of time it takes to develop is technological advances during that time. You work hard to make everything look good on current hardware. 5 years down the road, that hardware is crap and you have to update graphics, then you have to make all the changes work, then you are another year down the road. Before you know it, you have a Duke Nukem in 15 years of development and coming out with 10 year old graphics and 10 year old jokes.

Don't get me wrong, I am waiting on this game to come out and I hope it is everything Chris Roberts thinks it can be. It is just that we have been hearing about it and talking about it for several years, and after a while and a few of delays, we start to get discouraged. I just want a good single player space game with the quality of his older work. Then take it MMORPG.

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