Star Citizen

[Chloe Darrieux]

I thought this seemed like a really cool idea. Until I read the information section...

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These would support single and multiplayer space combat battles where teams could hone their skills without having to use the public servers.

Read: RTW multiplayer battles as opposed to campaign mode. Imagine a game lobby, picking a system, assigning spacecraft to the different players etc etc, and then slugging it out in the selected system, without any persistent world to base the whole thing in.

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"Much like ArenaNet’s Guild Wars 2 ... provide convenience, and customize your experience ... Players who spend money purchasing in-game credits will have no advantage over players who spend time!"

I highlighted some keywords here. It is funny that he should mention GW2 himself because it truly gives me a base to stand on when I say - this will be borderline P2W, but never cross the line, as to prevent anyone of accusing them for it (well not accusing, but the loyal fans will always be able to refute any claims). As someone who spent considerable time in GW2 I can tell you that if you are not willing to pay for in-game stuff, you will have a severely diminished experience in the game. Many of these convenience items quickly turn out to be huge inconveniences for anyone not spending cash in whatever RMT store they implement.

If they choose to sell money in the cash store as well, expect to see huge money-sinks in the game that are practically mandatory, but can be circumvented through the use of your time. Take for example trade lanes. They might implement a small tax every time you use one. They could refute any claims of forcing people to spend their hard-earned cash by saying that you could just travel that distance with your thruster, but how likely is it that you would skip trade lanes in Freelancer to use a thruster instead?

Another problem with their RMT model is that many of the coolest skins will only be available through using their RMT store. This is, in my opinion, detrimental to the game as it does not promote personal achievements.

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Of course, if he is wrong and their model is not similar to GW2, most of this does not apply, but I wouldn't hang Chris's image in your Christmas tree just yet. I have during recent years been severely disappointed in PC games that didn't tickle my money-grab senses half as much before release...