The speaker expressed disappointment over Star Citizen Interactive’s (CIG) current practices, criticising their “This Week in Star Citizen” feature as a poorly-disguised sales pitch rather than a useful player resource. The speaker also provided an update on the 320 project and previewed upcoming game features, while expressing skepticism about the effectiveness of a new tool, Rastar, blamed for recent project delays.
The speaker expressed disappointment over the “This Week in Star Citizen” initiative. Even though he complimented their idea of spotlighting things to do in the verse – starting with the Arlington Bounty Mission chain – he criticized it, calling it a “thinly veiled ship sale”. He argued that instead of guiding players towards community-focused activities and revealing the in-game cost of ships, this feature appears designed to encourage players to spend real money.
He suggested that Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) should post guides on its website and YouTube channel to make the gaming experience better and to supplement the “This Week in Star Citizen” feature. The speaker seemed genuinely dissatisfied, indicating that this approach to promoting sales made it challenging to remain a part of the gaming community. He further criticized the company’s strategy by pointing out the reality of gaming equipment, like the Hammerhead, costing as much as $725.
The speaker used the opportunity to provide an update on the 320 project. He noted that the development team is still focused on delivering the remaining parts and has made significant progress on clearing the previously encountered roadblocks. He also informed that the project would soon be reviewed by Evocati testers and that the information available in the public domain about the 320 project so far has probably come from leaks.
He gave a brief overview of the upcoming games features and updates for the week which includes a monthly report on Wednesday, the latest update about the location creation tool - Rastar on Thursday and a new Game Dev episode set for release on Friday. However, he pointed out that the new tool, Rastar, was the reason for recent delays on the project and expressed his skepticism about its effectiveness.
In his concluding remarks, the speaker reiterated his dissatisfaction with CIG’s approach towards the gaming community. According to him, the company seems unable to take any initiative without it leading to a sales pitch. He ended his commentary by restating his criticism and his distress regarding the situation.