Star Citizen: Difference between revisions
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| Developer = Cloud Imperium Games | | Developer = Cloud Imperium Games | ||
| Official Website = https://robertsspaceindustries.com/ | | Official Website = https://robertsspaceindustries.com/ | ||
}} | |Logo=Star citizen logo.png}} | ||
Star Citizen, a crowdfunded space simulation game, has sold numerous digital products and features since 2012 that remain undelivered as of 2024. Key items include ships costing hundreds of dollars, a modding platform, and private server capabilities, pets, and much more, all of which continue to be marketed and sold despite no implementation timeline. | Star Citizen, a crowdfunded space simulation game, has sold numerous digital products and features since 2012 that remain undelivered as of 2024. Key items include ships costing hundreds of dollars, a modding platform, and private server capabilities, pets, and much more, all of which continue to be marketed and sold despite no implementation timeline. | ||
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*Pioneer: Marketed in 2017 for $850 (original concept sale), base-building vessel remains in concept phase<ref>https://starcitizen.tools/Pioneer</ref> | *Pioneer: Marketed in 2017 for $850 (original concept sale), base-building vessel remains in concept phase<ref>https://starcitizen.tools/Pioneer</ref> | ||
*Drake Kraken: First sold in 2018 for $1,400 (original concept sale), capital ship with privateer variant sold for $2,000, remains undelivered.<ref>https://starcitizen.tools/Kraken</ref> | *Drake Kraken: First sold in 2018 for $1,400 (original concept sale), capital ship with privateer variant sold for $2,000, remains undelivered.<ref>https://starcitizen.tools/Kraken</ref> | ||
*Railen: First sold in 2021 for $200 (original concept sale), remains undelivered.<ref>https://starcitizen.tools/Railen</ref> | |||
Note: All listed vessels have been sold multiple times since their original concept sales, often at increased prices. Many remain in concept phase or early development despite years passing since initial sales. | Note: All listed vessels have been sold multiple times since their original concept sales, often at increased prices. Many remain in concept phase or early development despite years passing since initial sales. | ||
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==Consumer Protection Concerns== | ==Consumer Protection Concerns== | ||
The practice of selling digital products years before implementation has raised significant consumer protection concerns. Despite marketing these items as 'pledges' or 'concepts', CIG continues to charge real money for digital goods with no firm delivery timeline or guarantee of implementation. The company's terms of service have been modified multiple times since 2012, changing the conditions under which refunds are offered and altering customer rights regarding purchased content. Many backers who attempted to obtain refunds for undelivered products have reported difficulties, with CIG often citing their evolving terms of service as justification for denial. The lack of concrete development schedules for sold items, combined with regular price increases for unreleased content, has led to criticism from consumer advocacy groups and gaming industry observers. Additionally, the practice of artificial scarcity through "limited-time sales" of digital products that don't yet exist has been questioned as potentially misleading marketing. | The practice of selling digital products years before implementation has raised significant consumer protection concerns. Despite marketing these items as 'pledges' or 'concepts', CIG continues to charge real money for digital goods with no firm delivery timeline or guarantee of implementation. The company's terms of service have been modified multiple times since 2012, changing the conditions under which refunds are offered and altering customer rights regarding purchased content. Many backers who attempted to obtain refunds for undelivered products have reported difficulties, with CIG often citing their evolving terms of service as justification for denial. The lack of concrete development schedules for sold items, combined with regular price increases for unreleased content, has led to criticism from consumer advocacy groups and gaming industry observers. Additionally, the practice of artificial scarcity through "limited-time sales" of digital products that don't yet exist has been questioned as potentially misleading marketing. | ||
[[File:ASA Response .png|thumb|A response letter from the Advertising Standards Authority affirming that Cloud Imperium Games likely had breached the Advertising Rules. ]] | |||
In 2021, following a consumer complaint to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) by a member of the /r/starcitizen_refunds community<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen_refunds/comments/pfgchs/uk_advertising_standards_agency_rule_concept_ship/</ref>, Cloud Imperium Games was required to modify their concept ship marketing emails after the ASA determined they violated Advertising Rules in the UK. The issue centered on emails promoting concept ships without clear disclosure that the advertised vessels did not yet exist in-game. In response, CIG added a standardized disclaimer to their marketing emails stating that concept ships are "being offered here as a limited vehicle concept pledge". The disclaimer also notes that purchasers receive a temporary "loaner vehicle" until their bought ship becomes available. | |||
==Development Status Contradictions== | ==Development Status Contradictions== | ||
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==Development Communication Issues== | ==Development Communication Issues== | ||
Squadron 42's "Answer the Call 2017" marketing campaign ended in failure when CIG did not deliver the promised single-player campaign, despite extensive marketing featuring a star-studded cast including Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, and Gillian Anderson<ref>https://starcitizen.tools/Squadron_42</ref>. Following community backlash over the missed release, CIG announced plans for a new project roadmap in late 2017. However, this evolved into what became known as the "Roadmap to the Roadmap," with | Squadron 42's "Answer the Call 2017" marketing campaign ended in failure when CIG did not deliver the promised single-player campaign, despite extensive marketing featuring a star-studded cast including Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, and Gillian Anderson<ref>https://starcitizen.tools/Squadron_42</ref>. Following community backlash over the missed release, CIG announced plans for a new project roadmap in late 2017. However, this evolved into what became known as the "Roadmap to the Roadmap," with a release view being finally available in March of 2018. When finally delivered, the new roadmap consistently showed missed deadlines and delayed features. Rather than address these delays, CIG ultimately discontinued much of the roadmap's progress tracker in February 2022, dismissively labeling concerned backers as "roadmap watchers" <ref>https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/SC/forum/3/thread/roadmap-roundup-february-2nd-2022</ref> and claiming that showing development progress "puts too much attention on features that had a high probability of shifting around" and was "a distraction both internally at CIG and within the community". This marked a significant departure from their previous promises of transparency and was met with substantial community backlash, particularly from backers who had used the roadmap to track progress on features they had purchased years earlier. | ||
==Consumer Response== | ==Consumer Response== | ||
[[File:-r-Starcitizen Corruption.png|thumb|CIG Employee Zac Preece asking in a private discord server for a post to be removed from the /r/starcitizen reddit. This post by the account of the reddit moderator Ian (MrRiceGuy) didn't violate the rules yet proceeded to remove said post anyway. ]] | |||
The prolonged development timeline and sales practices have led to organized consumer response movements, notably the /r/starcitizen_refunds subreddit community with over 18,000 members.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen_refunds/</ref>. This subreddit serves as a platform for dissatisfied backers seeking refunds, documenting development delays, and tracking changes to terms of service that affect consumer rights. Discussion of these issues on official channels is heavily restricted, with CIG's Spectrum forum rules explicitly prohibiting posts deemed to spread "fear, uncertainty, and doubt" (FUD)<ref>https://support.robertsspaceindustries.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013196427-Spectrum-and-Website-Rules-and-Moderation-Responsibilities</ref> and the discussion of support tickets / moderation decisions. | The prolonged development timeline and sales practices have led to organized consumer response movements, notably the /r/starcitizen_refunds subreddit community with over 18,000 members.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen_refunds/</ref>. This subreddit serves as a platform for dissatisfied backers seeking refunds, documenting development delays, and tracking changes to terms of service that affect consumer rights. Discussion of these issues on official channels is heavily restricted, with CIG's Spectrum forum rules explicitly prohibiting posts deemed to spread "fear, uncertainty, and doubt" (FUD)<ref>https://support.robertsspaceindustries.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013196427-Spectrum-and-Website-Rules-and-Moderation-Responsibilities</ref> and the discussion of support tickets / moderation decisions. | ||
While unofficial communities like the /r/starcitizen subreddit and Discord server exist, these spaces are heavily moderated to prevent discussion of negative sentiment due to strong ties between their moderators and Cloud Imperium Games employees. As a result, /r/starcitizen_refunds has become the primary platform for maintaining records of unfulfilled promises and providing guidance for others seeking refunds. | While unofficial communities like the /r/starcitizen subreddit and Discord server exist, these spaces are heavily moderated to prevent discussion of negative sentiment due to strong ties between their moderators and Cloud Imperium Games employees. | ||
As a result, /r/starcitizen_refunds has become the primary platform for maintaining records of unfulfilled promises and providing guidance for others seeking refunds. | |||
==Ingame Moderation Inconsistencies== | |||
[[File:Example of Exessive Griefing .png|thumb|An example of a user being banned for the term 'Excessive Griefing' and being directed to review the terms of service and rules of conduct for a term that doesn't exist. ]] | |||
The moderation practices of Cloud Imperium have drawn criticism for inconsistent and opaque enforcement. Users can receiving bans for "excessive griefing" despite this term having no defined parameters in either the Terms of Service<ref>https://robertsspaceindustries.com/en/tos</ref> or Rules of Conduct<ref>https://support.robertsspaceindustries.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409491235351-Rules-of-Conduct</ref> documentation. Users receive these bans without stated reasons, requiring them to file support tickets to learn of their alleged infractions. This lack of transparency and disconnect between written policies and enforcement has created significant uncertainty about what constitutes acceptable behavior. | |||
Star Citizen's Persistent Universe or PU for short is an open sandbox that allows players to engage in PVP activities such as Piracy and Bounty Hunting yet activity participating in these activities could lead a player to being banned for 'excessively' engaging in this activity under the guise of it being 'harassment' to do so. | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[Category:Star Citizen]] | [[Category:Star Citizen]] | ||