In this video, Space Tomato revisits his first Star Citizen retrospective from 2019, reflecting on how the game’s development has evolved, his own content creation journey, and the slow but steady progress of the game. He humorously comments on his early video’s technical flaws and expectations, highlighting improvements in communication from CIG and ongoing development challenges while expressing optimism for the future.
In this video, Space Tomato reflects on his first YouTube video from July 2019, which marked the beginning of his channel focused on Star Citizen. He explains that his initial motivation was to provide more context and historical perspective on the game’s development, as he felt the existing YouTube coverage was too focused on news without showing how far the game had come over time. The video he revisits was part of his “Retrospectives” series, where he compared past updates and dev talks to current progress, aiming to give viewers a clearer picture of the game’s evolution.
Throughout the video, Space Tomato watches his old footage with humor and some embarrassment, noting how much his delivery has improved over time. He comments on the technical quality, such as microphone issues and editing, and remarks on how his expectations and understanding of the game’s development have matured. He also highlights how the developers have become better at setting realistic expectations, especially with the progress tracker and roadmaps, which have improved since the early days of the project.
The content of his old video covers various aspects of Star Citizen’s development, including ship purchases, planetary mining, weather effects, group systems, weapon attachments, and the law system. He notes that many features discussed, like ship rentals and planetary refueling, were in early stages or delayed, and that some gameplay elements like AI and exploration had seen limited progress. Space Tomato points out how certain features, such as soft body deformation and AI improvements, were still in prototype or planned but not yet realized, emphasizing how development has been slow but gradually improving.
He also discusses the broader context of developer communication and expectations, criticizing how early promises often overestimated what could be delivered within specific timelines. He observes that CIG has learned to better manage expectations now that the game is more playable and that less hype is needed to maintain community interest. Despite this, he highlights ongoing issues like AI development delays, incomplete systems, and the slow pace of creating new planets and features, which continue to hinder the game’s overall progress.
In conclusion, Space Tomato reflects on how much has changed since his first video, acknowledging both the improvements and ongoing challenges in Star Citizen’s development. He appreciates how the community’s perception has shifted, with the game now being more tangible and less reliant on hype. He promises to continue his retrospective series, improving production and content, and encourages viewers to engage with his channel. The video ends on a nostalgic note, reminiscing about the early days and expressing hope for future progress, while humorously hinting at upcoming streamathon challenges.