Star Citizen has been completed, even its most fervent fans no longer believed it possible

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We are doubtless witnessing the most turbulent video gaming development in history. Star Citizen, the open-world space simulation project driven by Cloud Imperium Games (CIG), has been completed. At least, in part. It is Squadron 42, the single player campaign, launched ten years ago, which has been announced as finalised. And that is a minor miracle.
Arlesian, popular definition: ‘Said of a project or an event which is often spoken of, is waited for, but which is never completed, never happens or is never seen.’
Up until a few days ago, for Star Citizen, that was exactly the case. This immensely ambitious, some might say megalomaniacal, project was launched in 2012 by Cloud Imperium Games. At the head of the studio, Chris Roberts, an experienced developer known for his ambitious personality and his love of space. He launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his venture and in a few days amassed some 12 million dollars to deliver his dream project.
Promises and grandeur
The hype was totally full on, and everybody was waiting for all the promises he was throwing out there to be kept. Amongst them in particular was the creation of a vast persistent world, physically realistic gameplay features, procedurally generated planets in their thousands, visitable on foot or by vehicle and packed with details and life, technically plausible and habitable space vessels, and many other things besides.
After 3 years, the funding levels reached 151 million dollars. And the promises continued to swell. Roberts at that time announced the involvement of a Hollywood cast, with in particular Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman and Gillian Anderson.
Cinematographic trailers placing these actors centre stage stoked the enthusiasm of gamers. Other prestigious names such as Andy Serkis, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Strong, Harry Treadway, Jack Huston and John Rhys-Davies also joined the adventure, promising a previously never seen experience.
A wait which proved … interminable
But the years slipped by. After 11 years, Star Citizen funding had reached 600 million dollars and yet the game seemed still far from being finished by the development team.
Chris Roberts’ immoderate ambitions led to an incalculable number of technical and performance problems which prevented the game from being playable. Too heavy, too detailed, too vast, too complex, it suffered from a massive fluidity problem, even on the most powerful machines.
To such an extent that the enthusiasm fans had for it gradually morphed into increasing scepticism. It effectively seemed that the game would never be released, and the people who had (at times massively) contributed to funding the game were regularly subjected to ridicule.
Hallelujah
And then, out of the blue, Cloud Imperium Games made an announcement nobody was any longer expecting. As of last October 23, after almost 12 years of development, Squadron 42 finally seems ready for release. Even though no date has been set, the game is now said to have been completed, marking a crucial stage. The work concerning the beta phase and the launch is under way, and the team is focusing on optimisation and the finishing touches to provide an unprecedented cinematographic adventure.
And to celebrate that, the game is currently accessible free-of-charge until the end of November, offering gamers a unique opportunity to explore this vast and complex virtual world.
For the multiplayer version, however, people will doubtless have to be (very) patient.
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