Star Citizen - Is CIG Too Focused on Combat?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- This discussion comes and goes every so often, mainly because of a good size portion of players that play Star Citizen are looking for the more relax game play but in space. Whether its a space trucker, salvage specialist, taxi driver; these are game play loops that does not involve combat.
In some cases CIG will release a ship that has weapons but does not have any real chance of success in combat because the ship was not designed with that in mind. So why include them anyways? In this video, I discuss my thoughts on this topic and look forward to reading your comments below.
Intro - 0:00
Ships - 0:54
FPS - 3:45
Outro - 5:13
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Prospector is the perfect example, it should have a small utility amount for a tractor beam or a scanner instead instead of size one weapons
I've often stated in other vids people have released that this is supposed to be "Star Citizen" not "Star Soldier". Not every citizen is a Special Forces operative for God's sake! Agree 100% they have been too focused on money making combat for years now.
So... yes. I agree, and you're right. I do want to point out that lorewise every player is an ex- space marine combat specialist, due to Star Citizen being the direct sequel to the single player Squadron 42 game. That doesn't mean that every ship contractor in lore needs to make Prospectors and Auroras have guns, since non-players (i.e normal civilians) will be flying those around too. Just wanted to share some knowledge for those may not know this.
In a prospector I have used vtol to improve turn rate, works very well. I have also used ramming at a talon closing on me. He dodged but that opened a window to go to quantum. I have also taken the weapons off of the ship and changed most components to stealth which can help a lot to stay away from being detected. IMO industrial ships should either be fast or well armored. I do like the idea of defensive weapons. missiles that are proximity burst with radiation and bright light, like a lessor version of the Pyro star's MCE. Not enough to shut a ship's power off, but it should last long enough for quantum boost.
The biggest problem isn't that there is combat in Star Citizen, but that it dominates so much of the developer's time and attention that they do not work on the non-combat aspect of the game. Cargo transport, medical gameplay, salvaging have all received shortcuts to their game mechanics to avoid the work and time the Dev team would need to devote from combat encounters and gameplay, while professions such as Science, Passenger Transport, Exploration, News Broadcasting, and Farming have all received zero work in the many, many years since they were supposed to enter the pipeline. This creates an imbalance that is self-perpetuating in that the Dev team wants to keep putting off non-combat gameplay because it would mean reducing more work on additional combat gameplay, and this in turn fuels more combat gameplay to cover the void of non-combat activities that the Dev team refuses to work on.
Yes. Yes it is.
I'm a huge PVE person, I love exploring and seeing what the artist and devs tuck into weird spots in the verse. Currently you can play and be ignored it's been very rare I run into a person wanting PVP in the actual live build. That might be lower server cap ATM, 100 people in a massive system it's rare I see another ship after leaving atmo.
While my favorite ship is the Carrack hands down it's still missing massive amounts of it's game play. It won't be able to run cargo after the next update all that effectively. It's still missing the ability to fly by radar along with the blast shield. It's still missing the blast shield... Only thing she is good at is medical and punching above its weight when fully crewed.
Almost all of the exploration ships and all science ships are missing game play still. I would say the single seater ships don't really need weapons as they are almost a waste for a pirate. When you jump to multi crew 3+ those can hold some serious money in the cargo holds and do need weapons.
It will be interesting to see how exploration and science game play work out. Hope it's not just go scan this and report back. They have had 10+ years to think about it.
Being able to place an additional armored cooler, shield, or power plant on weapon/utility mounts would be a welcome addition for these ships.
They're too focused on those fucking manned turrets.
Even small weapon is sometimes useful, for example to open doors to abadoned ships. My starter ship is Cutter, definetly not a combat ship, but these 2 badgers are useful to shoot infantry, when You're solo and want to retrieve package in derelict settlement. But a choice to mount maybe small mining laser from ROC instead of gun to Cutter, would be great.
From a game development perspective, alternative combat abilities are just combat abilities. I do think, the weapon hardpoints are just filled up, because that is how the ship sells. I expect that this will change over time, as the game grows. It is fine to see how the weapons, which is just one form of combat ability that is already implemented (next to e.g. missiles), are placed on the ship. But yes, I would agree, that having various other uses for such slots would become a better reality. I actually hope one day this goes as far, as basicly using the weapon plug to insert power for strapped on stuff
I would love to see a crafting aspect like Star Wars Galaxies had. Slicing weapons, crafting clothes, armor, weapons, gadgets etc. This would open so many game loops that aren't especially contingent on combat. I enjoyed collecting materials for the crafters to use.
There is so much they could do if they opened up their minds and looked.
I’m sure those things are coming, to what extent? I don’t know, but just would like to see more innovative evade mechanisms for noncombat ships.
2:50 lol, you just described what chaff or noise does. Lol
I know what it does, but targeting can be regained shortly after by moving around. I guess I could have worded it better, I was thinking in terms of targeting no longer working for a time period, like a cool down.
Great video. Great ideas. Subscribed. Thank you.
Thanks for the sub!
I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand they're 12 years in to implementing ships and vehicles with guns, even when it's oddly out of place like on industrial ships (Mole, Reclaimer, Prospector, etc.) On the other hand, they've changed the fundamental flight/fight model in year 12 so even they aren't sure what they want the mechanics of engagements to be yet.
I'm not a huge combat person myself, I see the game as being much more than that. But, I do recognize why there are so many combat ships and why we keep getting more and more of them.
1. They're some of the easiest ships to make. No special features, just pew pew.
2. They're easy to sell. People like pew pew and are always itching for the next shiny thing that makes the pews.
On the topic of combat in general and ships having what seems to be woefully inadequate armament, all I can say is we don't have the full picture yet. We don't know how all this will work yet, when more systems come into play. So I'm at more of a wait and see stance before making any judgement calls.
Yes CIG is very focused on combat at the moment. And I think this is because of SQ42. They need to make combat right for SQ42. But I hope they will focus more on non-combat later down the line. And your ideas für defensive and non-combat utilities on weapon hardpoints are great. Would like to see this in the game.
Variety shows priority. If I tell you, "I just bought my first light fighter", what did I get?
If I say I got my first mining ship or salvager... what did I get? The number of ways to perform the same task highlights priorities. Understandable, as combat is indeed a big flashy draw.
On the other hand there is some decent variety when it comes to freight, and some gameplay loops don't exist yet so it's hard to have ships for them that are notable.
But when it comes to fitting your ship, once again: lots of weapons you can mount, but most defensive tools are generic and fixed besides shields. It'd be nice to be able to swap on alternative modules to suit your playstyle.
They already have different "archetypes" ranging from pathfinder to interceptor to bomber who already indicate the purpose and role of the ship. A pathfinder, a small carrier or an exploration ship like C8X, 400i, C2, Nomad are sometime equipped with a shit ton of missiles??? Or worse like 2x front size 3 or size 4 weapons that doesn't make any sense exept for fan service.
I wish CIG could add deterent weapons like small mines replacing the rockets that drop from missiles ports behind the ship, or "escape" devices like you mention, something that could mess up a fighter's ability to chase you and heavy ship due to their mass should have good turret locations and different shield who counter different types of projectiles (laser, distortion etc...)
I don't say we should always end up good after a fight but that will certainly push for further gameplay engineering or repair aftermath for both players.
Swappable turret types would be an interesting aspect for a few ships. Turn a Hammerhead into an industrial salvaging powerhouse, just with really limited cargo capacity needing a dedicated freight hauler at its side to take the boxes.
Move a C1 weapon turret off the nose and onto it's back mount where it's tractor beam is, better as a blockade runner as now it can defend against chasing ships. Swap the front turret out with a tractor beam so you can pass cargo from the front to the back.
Don't see why these can't be implemented in the future, once the game releases or at least is in the Beta phase. However, adding additional complications and variations within the current development, spreading dev resources still further (feature creep) I honestly would prefer NOT to happen.
Remove weapons and associated components to gain (once ship resource and engineering are in above a tier zero) increased engine efficiency or output, or shield HP or effectiveness. Better to get contracts done faster or flight over fight, sure. When those game mechanics can be in.
Right now, combat is a major draw to the game and a known development component of the company owners/heads of CIG. Combat is literally a free mini arcade game with AC having multiple styles, locations.
Great ideas for expanding the current ships and future ones. Just, I would prefer the devs not be even more spread out just coming back from SQ42 than they currently are.
Fair point 👍🏼
The game is in Alpha development stage, which means it is not feature complete and still buggy. Combat is relatively easy to develop and to test, it’s the low hanging fruit of features so yeah SC is heavily combat focused right now.
EDIT. My original comment was missing some information, so just to be clear:
All Modifications I describe (whether to the ship itself or the turret weaponry) should be optional in my opinion.
They should not force players to fight a certain way, but instead give more different options on how they want to fight.
If players are happy with the way ship weapons work at the moment, they should be allowed to keep it that way.
(Original comment)
Good video, it really makes no sense for some ships to always have weapons.
For example, the Constellation Phoenix is a Luxury private cruiser that is never intended to fight. I think it would benefit if the energy of the pilot weapons could be used to strengthen the shields (but the weapons get removed) and the turrets to have defensive devices.
I like the thought of having something to put on the turret that is used to keep the ship alive, not destroy the attacker. Maybe with hacking, we could get a directional hacking turret (you keep the enemy in your crosshair until the hack is completed, which shuts off their weapons for a certain amount of time) or a directional shield that the operator can aim to block shots. This would also give players more exciting content with turrets other than "Shoot at the enemy and hope you get him first".
Your argument is not admissible since most of the content featured ingame is combat oriented, and many many times it has been said that combat or PvP can happen anywhere anytime. Removing gameplay from ships is not really an exciting prospect.
The Phoenix is an interesting choice on this subject, because I don't mind a ship that is fully capable of defending itself having weapons. But I understand the perspective of a luxury transport ship not staying around to fight and simply focus on getting away since you have passengers. I'm guessing once the VIP transport feature is in, your ratings will be determine by how rocking the travel was.
@@sebastienjonas4984 I understand that the ships need weapons at the moment because of gameplay (like stated in the video) but I hope that we get some more options in the future.
I should have made it more clear that these changes are meant to be optional, so if a pilot prefers weapons, he installs weapons, if he wants more shield capacity he removes the weapons for aa different component.
But I never said you should take the combat out of the vehicles, but rather give the crew more options and focus on the turrets for defence. If a crew intends tp make a stand and destroy enemies they should have weapons, but if they want to be safe and run (for example to get VIP passengers out with a Phoenix) they can have turret options that stop the attacker from attacking (through emp/hacking/barriers and more).
And I know that combat can happen anytime anywhere, that's the beauty of our universe and space pirates are exciting, but I hope that we get more gameplay to combat pirates (not remove it) through more options that can be used to handle the situation differently.
It could also be more exciting for the pirate if he doesn't always have to simply dodge bullets and shoot, but maybe he has to restart his wrapon software after being hacked or has to stay away from one turret thag has an emp weapon.
I see where you got your critique about my comment, I edited it a bit to make my intentions more clear.
@@sorecgaming Yeah, the Phoenix might be an odd choice to explain my idea, since the gameplay of it is not even in the game yet, but the ideas get through (kinda).
I realized after this (and one other) reply that my original comment was missing some important information, I have edited it.
The most importtant thing that is missing is, that all these "modifications" should be optional in my opinion. I like the thought of the phoenix being well armed to protect its passengers, but I wish there were more options. Not every captain wants to stay and battle it out, maybe the goal of a crew is getting the ship out of there alive so they should be allowed to remove weapons and thus buff their shields and maybe even engines.
It's the same for the turrets, if players want to have gun turrets, they should have them but if there were options like directed emp's or hacking it would give the turret operators more freedom to play the way they want and do what they like, if someone does not like shooting but wants to do a hacking minigame that should be available.
I also think that would give the pirates more exciting gameplay, because they will not just do the same thing over and over again, but will have to adapt to the setup of their targeted ship.
But all of this is pretty much future dreaming, I doubt we will see anything like this in the near future, but maybe one day, I can finally hack these annoying gladius pilots, while protecting some filthy rich person for minimum wage.
To quote another worried about this balance “Players doing other activities only exist to provide content for PvPers focused on combat”
I've always found CIG's relative focus on combat funny, as it's not even the most profitable way to earn money and new ships in the game. It's to the point a couple people I know who came specifically for the combat ended up leaving the game because they saw how much I make in an hour in my Reclaimer compared to their bounties and stolen cargo.
I don't see the weapon mounts on non-combat ships are offensive weapons or defensive weapons, but rather as a deterrent. "Sure, I can attack this Prospector, but is it worth it if it can fight back?" VS "Sure I can attack this Prospector, the worst it can do is temporarily blind me."
That was simply an example 😆. I’m sure CIG can come up with more creative ideas that can equal or go beyond the deterrent of two size one repeaters (which really isn’t going to scare anyone).
@@sorecgaming I understand what you're going for and appreciate it as I am terrible at dogfighting but I think having weapons on non-combat ships is an important deterrent to casual pirates (nothing will stop determined pirates). I was thinking that instead of replacing the hardpoints with weapon alternatives, turn them into small remote or even automated turrets that do enough damage to make casual pirates think twice about attacking you without making the non-combat ships a viable combat ship itself.
I think the main problem is that they do not understand combat, or basic flight mechanics.
You are in space. A remarkably hostile place to be for humans. Guns have a lot of purposes. Deterrence, blowing up stuff, and an extra tool to use in those unfortunate situations you do come under attack. When maelstrom is in, maybe using a vultures guns to more quickly open the way or lower shields is a useful thing to have.
As a solo player i don't want to always have to rely on escorts. Maybe if i know the threat is low, i can just get away and even win a fight with something unexpected.
The only ships that should not have guns are the ones that remain within the protected zone of another ship or space station.
The features you mention are interesting but they are only complimentary to an existing gun array, because then you dont have a choice to make when faced even with the smallest opponent (like an aurora) you always have to run away. Nor does the aurora have to consider you as a threat, it can just keep coming.
Yes!
Personally it makes sense to have at least light defensive armament. lol. Look what they do to almost all war vehicles.. when left to their own peeps put weapons on. SO.. yes.. it DOES make sense.
Lol you said yourself. "Look what they do to almost all war vehicles"... That's exactly my point. Industrial ships aren't war vehicles. Their sole purpose is non-combat. Although I agree (as mentioned in my video) some armament is reasonable for ships that have the ability to truly defend themselves, but pointless for ships that will have no effect in dissuading an attack with two size one repeaters. I respect your opinion though.
Absolutely agree. The fps crackheads are invading the game and combat is all CIG cares about
If the ships had no weapons on them then every one would cry and bitch they are easy kills and cant even fight back, there no making you people happy.
yes they are an they are also way to focus on multi player game play an forget solo players
Yeah, CIG must optimise...😢😅
Or CIG must multiply 😂😂
Yes.
“I want to bring space games back,” said Roberts, the chief creative officer at Cloud Imperium Games, in an interview with GamesBeat. “The space sims just aren’t happening anymore. This is a spiritual successor to games like Wing Commander and Privateer,” which is another Roberts creation.
They are too focused on scamming cash out of hopeless nerds.
"This is a successor to wing commander series" (Chris Roberts)
If they were focused on combat master modes wouldn't be such horrible trash.
Miners/ Truckers/Salvagers
Even though most have a passive Defund the Armory Stance lol.
Remember you may have missiles on your boat one day as defenses. So your constructive input is valid .
This Is Wing commander 2.0 ( always meant to be -best game ever)
Wing Commander (video game) - Wikipedia
"This is a successor to wing commander series" (Chris Roberts)
“I want to bring space games back,” said Roberts, the chief creative officer at Cloud Imperium Games, in an interview with GamesBeat. “The space sims just aren’t happening anymore. This is a spiritual successor to games like Wing Commander and Privateer,” which is another Roberts creation.
Not Minecraft in space or Euro space truck simulator.
All though these industrial activities are; and will be the backbone of the SC economy.
Please Remember at this games core is a space combat shooter, but it's also apparently attempting to be a Sudo metaverse .. possibly the first ever to truly exist (with an avatar anyways)( the PU)
PVPers
Yes, we know ...murder Hobo ( Me..mostly).
Consensual PvP encounters are a privilege not a right (you don't know me.... don't act like you do).
The Fact is, SC would not be the same game with sliders or optional PvP. It's been said many times "SPACE IS DANDGEROUS".
SC is the only FPS full loot PVP/PVE open world title (at this scale) in the world. This is the only game in the world that allows you to live out the space pirate fantasy. Where else are you going to go lol ?
No manlies sky lol ...Zero PvP worth a dam!
Elite (dead) not so dangerous lol ........what a shame that story is lol
Gonna play Marauders ? (aka my ship sucks and the game wishes it was tarkov lol)look I'm flying in a box
EvE ok if you're a CPA and like RTS and like to read charts as gameplay lol... sure... why are you here?. .....(aka I wish I was a combat sim)
Not sure if you misinterpreted my video. I'm not an anti PvPer, nor advocating it shouldn't be in-game. You said it yourself in that this game is looking to achieve more than it's successor. The whole point of my video is that SC is more than just combat and so as CIG continues it's development we'll receive more non-combat things to do. So for players waiting on those things, hang tight, it's coming. Meanwhile, I also criticized CIG for not being a bit more creative with industrialized ships and slapping on two size one repeaters as if that is really going to save you in an attack. I would like to see CIG think of newer ways for ships to evade/survive an attack, not out-gun the attacker.
not focused enough:) this game needs to be planetside3 or die...
this is a combat sim period!
this game in fact needs more of the opposite...its need planetside 2 InjecTec (just a little bit ) then the miners/truckers will be left alone by pirates lol .......and it will keep the community busy for a long time lol ...worked for planet side for 20years kik .....CIG needs to solve the issue with dynamic pvp and large battles lol in the pu anyways lol welll lol look at planetside 2 lol ...the lore even matches a little lol corpo warz lkol
industrial will be the back bone of the economy in the game but its not the point of the game:) ...you guys deserve fully rich game loops ...but this game in no way is a cargo sim its a combat sim :)
So you keep saying. But it’s not otherwise there would only be one career choice. Period.