This is How Star Citizen Plays 8 Years Into Development

Star Citizen’s latest developer update video shows off how the game looks in action eight years into its development. Originally slated for a 2014 release, Star Citizen still seems to have a long way to go before its a “full” launch, much to the chagrin of its many, many crowdfunding backers.

There are a number of reasons for Star Citizen’s multi-year delay, not least of which is the incredibly ambitious scope of the project. Developer Cloud Imperium Games set out to make a massive simulated universe containing a space sim and first-person shooter in one package. Beyond that, though, the reasons for the delay start to look more disturbing. A report earlier this year alleged financial mismanagement and a chaotic production pipeline, and there have been further rumors of a toxic work culture at Cloud Imperium Games that could also be hampering the game’s development. Cloud Imperium’s insistence on hiring famous actors to play characters for the unfinished game (that section, the Squadron 42 campaign, of which is now a separate product) and management’s lack of focus in development priorities are just some of the factors being blamed for its inability to actually release Star Citizen despite more than $200 million in funding.

The latest Inside Star Citizen video from Cloud Imperium Games is unlikely to put anyone at ease. The main focus of the video is a new mission the team is working on called “Hijacked 890.” The video shows a player board a hijacked spaceship, called the 890 Jump, and clear out hostiles inside. Despite interviews with the development team talking up the mission, the footage on display is less than spectacular. The player enters the ship to find hijackers standing motionless inside, who then stand in place and open fire once the fight starts. At one point, a ship inside the 890 Jump’s hangar glitches out, jittering from side to side when it’s hit with gunfire. Even aside from the bugs, it’s incredibly underwhelming for a game that already has so much to prove.

The rest of the video focuses on Star Citizen’s sound design, including interviews with members of the game’s audio team. It’s clear from the update that Cloud Imperium’s staff is still enthusiastic about the game it’s making, despite Star Citizen’s many setbacks.

It’s clear that Star Citizen’s many delays, including the recent delay of the Squadron 42 beta, are badly needed to get the game into shape. Still, that’s not likely to placate fans who have now been waiting almost a decade since Star Citizen’s announcement to see something close to completely realized. As Cloud Imperium Games associate creative producer Jared Huckaby notes in the video, Star Citizen’s fan convention, CitizenCon, will be held at the end of November, where we expect to see new live gameplay and hopefully, some major announcements.

Source: Cloud Imperium Games