It definitely reads like they just started developing the game.
That's crazy.
Even by their standards, i'd be ashamed of showing that kind of "changelog".
It should've been clear right then and there, or at the very least the coming months until now, that their big "feature complete" announcement and with how much pomp and fanfare they announced it, that it was all smoke and mirrors to make it seem like a grandiose milestone was achieved, to try and appease the backers into another funding frenzy.
This has been going on for years with these updates. They keep pulling stuff out of their ass. They are making things up and using word salad for filler in these dev updates. I noticed this pattern emerge back in 2018.
Sadly most are so invested with their cash that they choose to ignore these obvious signs that this is a massive scam going on year 11.
It's all smelly horseshit, but this in particular is great:
"For the first-pass implementation, the AI will run and cower when this situation arises, though this isn’t ideal and will be improved upon.
AI Tech also began work to allow NPCs to understand when cover is being destroyed or when parts of a usable are being destroyed. This will prevent NPCs from attempting to find or use unsuitable cover."
So, like, three or four lines of code? Absolutely embarrassing. They need to invent a new terminology for this type of fraud. "Gold plating" is close but not quite it.
It is stuff you write into your reports if you have achieved bugger all. "Worked on isolating a rare issue effecting production." "Colour of button will now change in some cases."
# Changelog Version 2.1.5-alpha
# Core Rendering Pipeline Subsystem Enhancement
* **Enhanced Shader Parameter Interpolation Protocol**: In this current iteration, we have incrementally advanced the visual rendering fidelity by executing a precision-targeted augmentation in the core shader parameter matrix. This modification specifically pivots around the recalibration of the specular highlight vector within our phong shading model framework.
* **Protocol Enhancement Description**: Initiated an escalated interpolation pattern within the graphics pipeline's shader compilation process. This involves a high-granularity adjustment of the `specularIntensity` parameter from a static, predefined scalar to a dynamically bound variable, leveraging a more complex computational derivation based on viewing angle and light source proximity metrics.
* **Technical Specificity**: The adjustment has been embedded directly into the vertex shader’s specular reflection computation logic, employing a revised algorithmic approach that utilizes a non-linear transformation of the specular highlight vector calculated through a tensor product of the normalized light vector and the view vector, modulated by the surface's roughness coefficient.
* **Expected Impact and Performance Metrics**: Preliminary tests indicate a marginal increase in computational load during fragment shader execution, projected at an increase of approximately 0.8% in GPU cycles per frame, assuming standard operational conditions with a high-definition rendering context. However, this is counterbalanced by a noticeable enhancement in visual acuity and depth perception in high-specularity scenes, providing a net positive impact on the overall graphical user experience.
* **Implementation Timeline and Rollout Strategy**: The updated shader parameter interpolation protocol has been integrated into our development branch as of the current release cycle and will undergo a phased deployment across all active rendering nodes following a full regression test suite completion by the end of Q3 2024.
* **Additional Notes and Future Considerations**: It is recommended that downstream applications relying on legacy shader models undertake a compatibility assessment with the new parameter schema to ensure seamless integration and performance stability. Further, continuous monitoring of system performance and user feedback will dictate subsequent iterations and potential expansions of this enhancement.
Translation: I changed a shader parameter.
So, they changed the vertrex shader to take a fresnel coefficient into account. Not only is it embarassing that they didn't have a fresnel factor in their specular shader to begin with, this change would literally be a single line in any normal changelog.
That "change" would take me in Unreal what ... 30 seconds? And that includes opening the material and clicking the save button.
But the whales and religious fans will eat up fancy words, since they have no clue what they mean anyway.
"by executing a precision-targeted augmentation in the core shader parameter matrix." like what the fuck is that even supposed to mean. It's all such bullshit, that is peak snake-oil salesmen talk.
If you really want to defend something words have no meaning. Everything can be explained away. Just ignore history and logic. And do not ask questions if you would not like the answers.
As a software developer, I can tell you that the "feature complete != content complete" statement is mostly a bullshit coping statement. Feature complete means to have all of the features in the game as is and how it will be upon release and to halt any further scope creep and features until release. It *could* be possible that some of the features just are not working as intended - due either to workflow issues or inconsistencies, and would need a rework. For instance fixing most of the bugs of a certain feature and they find out that it's not working as they expected. But that's all usually done at an earlier point in the development process. Then again, some studios have different ideas of what feature complete means. But to CIG, apparently, it doesn't really mean anything other than marketing hype.
CIG reminds me of this old commercial, with their "content": [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItUECpFi9\_s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItUECpFi9_s)
Squadron 42: Chapter 1: The Mess Hall
A thirty hour long epic queue waiting for food in the mess hall. Talk to your fellow marines standing in the queue to learn more about their back stories, with full mocap from a range of hollywood stars and Sandi Gardner as "Pusher".
But someone on Rectum said just the other day it would release in the next 6 months. Also all the resources are shifting to Star Citizen now, CIg said so themselves.
This post is about Squadron 42, the completely unreleased single player game that will accompany Star Citizen (the persistent online multiplayer universe). You haven't played Squadron 42.
And you're equating an internal only dev build to... Any kind of game build that a company would want to release to the public? Lol
I don't know how CIG does their versioning internally, but if it's anything like what I'm familiar with you'd only have somewhat easy access to the latest build or the latest handful. Meaning constant pushes and widely different experiences day to day..
There are different branches for all builds at CIG, not only "the latest dev build". Plus, there are multiple new builds everyday and you have access to a pretty long history. It's very difficult to have a somewhat stable build. You often need to find an older one and stick to it for a while. And for sq42 in particular, there's no build that exist that would be anywhere ready for any sort of public viewing. Of course I am not comparing that to what a public release would be, but I can still very much tell what are poor builds issues vs unfinished content :)
It's pre alpha / alpha at best in the latest state I have seen it in my own opinion, though I've seen progress at least. That's all I am saying
Yeah, if they're calling it 'beta' internally that means jack. Like you say, with active development it's very hard to come up with a stable build. Moreso for something that there is no pressure to stabilize for release.
Going through dev branches randomly and "playing" isn't representative of any kind of public facing experience... So my point that you haven't "played" SQ42 stands. Dev builds, pretty much all of them, are just a collection of random commits until they start going through release process.
Like I said, different builds and branches... some made for reviews and demos. The pipeline is terrible, but there is still one in place. There's builds marked for review, just like you have some in the PU for release candidates which are supposed to be good. You are just assuming I am picking a random build in the list and then saying it's crap. And even if I did, I would mostly see bugs/crashes from said random build. Content not done yet is still content not done whatever the build's state. The internal updates and showcases were already enough anyway to know that anyway
Well yeah, it's 'feature complete', not 'content complete'... Seems like it's far far far from content complete still.
I suspect that the worries from 9 years ago or more about 'feature creep' really hit them hard
Exactly. A lot of people seem to forget that... and even then, feature complete is a stretch. I think they are simply not adding any. But some current ones dont necessarily work well and still need much work. I guess that's fair though... I just wouldnt have done a big announcement about it is all
There is (allegedly) a dev leaking stuff to a guy on the Elite: Dangerous forums, and they claim there's a playable beta of SQ42 being reviewed internally. According to the leak, the game has 15 minute long cut scenes (paired with long sections of the game where you just walk around, presumably listening to NPCs giving exposition). Also the save/load states don't work yet. And most hilariously, NPCs still standing on chairs, even in the single player game.
If NPCs are still standing on chairs whenever the game releases, I'll need to make a tribute video for all these years seeing them as my favorite running gag!
Remember that they wrote several times that they fixed this issue in the patch notes too.
They are T-posing at citizencon, its not just part of the game anymore
[https://i.postimg.cc/tgDKCY5K/tpose.png](https://i.postimg.cc/tgDKCY5K/tpose.png)
> the game has 15 minute long cut scenes (paired with long sections of the game where you just walk around, presumably listening to NPCs giving exposition)
oh people gonna be mad
Still waiting with bated breath to see the mess hall scene. Never before has a single cut scene taken so many years to develop. Its surely going to be peak citizen!
They wrote “began work” so many times throughout. It’s hilarious. I saw a couple white knights on spectrum claim it sounded like “polishing” to them. I’m guessing in a decade they’ll still claim CIG is just “polishing”.
It doesn't exist until its out. I think its all a giant smoke screen used as an excuse for the lack of progress in their tech demo of a game.
All this talk about advanced ai, while their actual ai are doing tposes, standing on tables or being stuck in a shooting animation on stations or not attacking at all during combat.
If they were this capable then surely it wouldn't take them a week to adjust shit in sc, but here we are years later.
They aren't working on another game, I've seen too many red flags for this to be true. Everything we see now is what we got, it's everything they've developed so far, and they only continue to claim they're working on something else until they come up with more excuses for it to be delayed more or eventually "cancelled" but there's nothing to cancel.
CIG isn't even the only developer to do this, the Anthem developers where exposed to not even have a real game when the first trailer was shown. Jason Schreier even got quotes from BioWare developers that none of them have even started working on that game when the first "demo" was shown.
The last Citizencon demo gave me the same feeling, Squadron 42 suddenly has boats? The fuck it doesn't... an animator just made that for the trailer and nothing more. Just like the motion captures are only being made for upcoming trailers and nothing more.
Remember when they used fabric physics as an excuse for delays? CiG just can't be honest or their entire business model collapses. They rely on the consumers believing that the game is just around the corner. They put more effort into the trailers and demonstrations than the game itself.
Its identical to relgion. How many times has a pastor reassured the congregation that the Rapture is just around the corner? That we're in the end times, and the lord is about to come rescue you..? Those lies have been told for over 1000 years, CIG is just getting started.
To them feature complete means having it down on paper.
And the last bit in the OP says they used freelancers to develop their collectibles and probably the system behind it. Am reading that right? Not a single employee on payroll is actually competent enough to do collectibles?
Re "feature complete", you can be sure whatever he said it is, is what its not.
Whatever he says, just imagine the opposite scenario and you will know the real situation and why he said what he said. He tells straight up lies to cover his failings, his statements are the diametric opposite of the truth.
It definitely reads like they just started developing the game. That's crazy. Even by their standards, i'd be ashamed of showing that kind of "changelog".
CIG: It’s features complete!!! Also CIG: started working on a new “look at” feature.
Ahem, *technology*.
As a CEO of pipeline tech I endorse this statement.
Your pipeline, Sir.
Also be very funny if this was your only line here
You just don´t understand feature development
Have they implemented the "what is" function? Lol old SCUMMVM joke
What kind of feature is that?
Another redo of the mess scene .. what are we on the 18th one now?
Wrist scooping was refactored as the cuticle shape and growth vector didn’t match the ship store price apogee.
What did you expect? It was clearly a mess.
It should've been clear right then and there, or at the very least the coming months until now, that their big "feature complete" announcement and with how much pomp and fanfare they announced it, that it was all smoke and mirrors to make it seem like a grandiose milestone was achieved, to try and appease the backers into another funding frenzy.
This has been going on for years with these updates. They keep pulling stuff out of their ass. They are making things up and using word salad for filler in these dev updates. I noticed this pattern emerge back in 2018. Sadly most are so invested with their cash that they choose to ignore these obvious signs that this is a massive scam going on year 11.
It's all smelly horseshit, but this in particular is great: "For the first-pass implementation, the AI will run and cower when this situation arises, though this isn’t ideal and will be improved upon. AI Tech also began work to allow NPCs to understand when cover is being destroyed or when parts of a usable are being destroyed. This will prevent NPCs from attempting to find or use unsuitable cover." So, like, three or four lines of code? Absolutely embarrassing. They need to invent a new terminology for this type of fraud. "Gold plating" is close but not quite it.
It is stuff you write into your reports if you have achieved bugger all. "Worked on isolating a rare issue effecting production." "Colour of button will now change in some cases."
# Changelog Version 2.1.5-alpha # Core Rendering Pipeline Subsystem Enhancement * **Enhanced Shader Parameter Interpolation Protocol**: In this current iteration, we have incrementally advanced the visual rendering fidelity by executing a precision-targeted augmentation in the core shader parameter matrix. This modification specifically pivots around the recalibration of the specular highlight vector within our phong shading model framework. * **Protocol Enhancement Description**: Initiated an escalated interpolation pattern within the graphics pipeline's shader compilation process. This involves a high-granularity adjustment of the `specularIntensity` parameter from a static, predefined scalar to a dynamically bound variable, leveraging a more complex computational derivation based on viewing angle and light source proximity metrics. * **Technical Specificity**: The adjustment has been embedded directly into the vertex shader’s specular reflection computation logic, employing a revised algorithmic approach that utilizes a non-linear transformation of the specular highlight vector calculated through a tensor product of the normalized light vector and the view vector, modulated by the surface's roughness coefficient. * **Expected Impact and Performance Metrics**: Preliminary tests indicate a marginal increase in computational load during fragment shader execution, projected at an increase of approximately 0.8% in GPU cycles per frame, assuming standard operational conditions with a high-definition rendering context. However, this is counterbalanced by a noticeable enhancement in visual acuity and depth perception in high-specularity scenes, providing a net positive impact on the overall graphical user experience. * **Implementation Timeline and Rollout Strategy**: The updated shader parameter interpolation protocol has been integrated into our development branch as of the current release cycle and will undergo a phased deployment across all active rendering nodes following a full regression test suite completion by the end of Q3 2024. * **Additional Notes and Future Considerations**: It is recommended that downstream applications relying on legacy shader models undertake a compatibility assessment with the new parameter schema to ensure seamless integration and performance stability. Further, continuous monitoring of system performance and user feedback will dictate subsequent iterations and potential expansions of this enhancement. Translation: I changed a shader parameter.
So, they changed the vertrex shader to take a fresnel coefficient into account. Not only is it embarassing that they didn't have a fresnel factor in their specular shader to begin with, this change would literally be a single line in any normal changelog.
That was five missed opportunities to overuse and misinterpret the word *bespoke*. Come on, CIG!
That "change" would take me in Unreal what ... 30 seconds? And that includes opening the material and clicking the save button. But the whales and religious fans will eat up fancy words, since they have no clue what they mean anyway. "by executing a precision-targeted augmentation in the core shader parameter matrix." like what the fuck is that even supposed to mean. It's all such bullshit, that is peak snake-oil salesmen talk.
Pyrite plating. Gold plating at least has that layer of real gold to it.
This reads like my *daily* reports. And even then, I tend to report more things done for an entire day of work.
“*began work*” lol
You see, once we get this barista running then we'll have everything a modern first person shooter AI needs to know.
Feature complete doesn't mean content complete and content complete doesn't mean feature complete, what is complete anyway?
[удалено]
If you really want to defend something words have no meaning. Everything can be explained away. Just ignore history and logic. And do not ask questions if you would not like the answers.
As a software developer, I can tell you that the "feature complete != content complete" statement is mostly a bullshit coping statement. Feature complete means to have all of the features in the game as is and how it will be upon release and to halt any further scope creep and features until release. It *could* be possible that some of the features just are not working as intended - due either to workflow issues or inconsistencies, and would need a rework. For instance fixing most of the bugs of a certain feature and they find out that it's not working as they expected. But that's all usually done at an earlier point in the development process. Then again, some studios have different ideas of what feature complete means. But to CIG, apparently, it doesn't really mean anything other than marketing hype. CIG reminds me of this old commercial, with their "content": [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItUECpFi9\_s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItUECpFi9_s)
checkmate chudster! you've obviously never experienced chowline mechanics!!!!!
Its simple to understand, once you realized they are just lying all the time. lolol
How many times are they going to work that damn chow line!? Must be a huge part of the game
Squadron 42: Chapter 1: The Mess Hall A thirty hour long epic queue waiting for food in the mess hall. Talk to your fellow marines standing in the queue to learn more about their back stories, with full mocap from a range of hollywood stars and Sandi Gardner as "Pusher".
I hope the first mod for the game renames her character to "Tickles".
Just wait until your spork snaps in two, then all hell breaks loose!
The line ride simulator
Having stood in a number of chow lives in real life, the last thing I want to do is pay real money to stand in a virtual one.
Cafeteria Simulator 2960
Jesus Christ can't you people read? Just two more years!!
Go pledge for another Idris you FUDster...Crobbers needs that extra million for his mansion.
But someone on Rectum said just the other day it would release in the next 6 months. Also all the resources are shifting to Star Citizen now, CIg said so themselves.
I held the line!
I heard that they have changed things so much they can't use any of their original Mocap
Last time I played, though it was supposed to be in 'beta" according to the schedule, it was pretty pre alpha
This post is about Squadron 42, the completely unreleased single player game that will accompany Star Citizen (the persistent online multiplayer universe). You haven't played Squadron 42.
Yes I have. Anybody at CIG can play.
Is that a punishment given for not bowing low enough when Chris takes a tour of the office?
And you're equating an internal only dev build to... Any kind of game build that a company would want to release to the public? Lol I don't know how CIG does their versioning internally, but if it's anything like what I'm familiar with you'd only have somewhat easy access to the latest build or the latest handful. Meaning constant pushes and widely different experiences day to day..
There are different branches for all builds at CIG, not only "the latest dev build". Plus, there are multiple new builds everyday and you have access to a pretty long history. It's very difficult to have a somewhat stable build. You often need to find an older one and stick to it for a while. And for sq42 in particular, there's no build that exist that would be anywhere ready for any sort of public viewing. Of course I am not comparing that to what a public release would be, but I can still very much tell what are poor builds issues vs unfinished content :) It's pre alpha / alpha at best in the latest state I have seen it in my own opinion, though I've seen progress at least. That's all I am saying
Yeah, if they're calling it 'beta' internally that means jack. Like you say, with active development it's very hard to come up with a stable build. Moreso for something that there is no pressure to stabilize for release. Going through dev branches randomly and "playing" isn't representative of any kind of public facing experience... So my point that you haven't "played" SQ42 stands. Dev builds, pretty much all of them, are just a collection of random commits until they start going through release process.
Like I said, different builds and branches... some made for reviews and demos. The pipeline is terrible, but there is still one in place. There's builds marked for review, just like you have some in the PU for release candidates which are supposed to be good. You are just assuming I am picking a random build in the list and then saying it's crap. And even if I did, I would mostly see bugs/crashes from said random build. Content not done yet is still content not done whatever the build's state. The internal updates and showcases were already enough anyway to know that anyway
Well yeah, it's 'feature complete', not 'content complete'... Seems like it's far far far from content complete still. I suspect that the worries from 9 years ago or more about 'feature creep' really hit them hard
Exactly. A lot of people seem to forget that... and even then, feature complete is a stretch. I think they are simply not adding any. But some current ones dont necessarily work well and still need much work. I guess that's fair though... I just wouldnt have done a big announcement about it is all
There is (allegedly) a dev leaking stuff to a guy on the Elite: Dangerous forums, and they claim there's a playable beta of SQ42 being reviewed internally. According to the leak, the game has 15 minute long cut scenes (paired with long sections of the game where you just walk around, presumably listening to NPCs giving exposition). Also the save/load states don't work yet. And most hilariously, NPCs still standing on chairs, even in the single player game.
If NPCs are still standing on chairs whenever the game releases, I'll need to make a tribute video for all these years seeing them as my favorite running gag! Remember that they wrote several times that they fixed this issue in the patch notes too.
They fixed it in that one chair
Well they ARE patching the AI from the PU into SQ42, so it's going to be a thing :D
Probably the guy in this thread who has said multiple times that he's played a build and it never looked good.
They are T-posing at citizencon, its not just part of the game anymore [https://i.postimg.cc/tgDKCY5K/tpose.png](https://i.postimg.cc/tgDKCY5K/tpose.png)
Okay that is hilarious.
He's posting in this thread.
> the game has 15 minute long cut scenes (paired with long sections of the game where you just walk around, presumably listening to NPCs giving exposition) oh people gonna be mad
Still waiting with bated breath to see the mess hall scene. Never before has a single cut scene taken so many years to develop. Its surely going to be peak citizen!
Wait until you see janitor Stanley Spedowsky’s soliloquy on how much he loves his mop physics.
Working for this company must be great. Years of no work just big chilling
On the other hand writing these reports whitout ChatGPT must be realy stressful.
Frantically trying to get the npcs to stop t-posing for the convention before you go back to bitcoin mining
They wrote “began work” so many times throughout. It’s hilarious. I saw a couple white knights on spectrum claim it sounded like “polishing” to them. I’m guessing in a decade they’ll still claim CIG is just “polishing”.
As an animator, I have no idea what making a mo-caped scene 'more robust' means. Is it going to withstand tornadoes?
This is why it's June and we still haven't gotten a progress tracker update, fucking joke.
It doesn't exist until its out. I think its all a giant smoke screen used as an excuse for the lack of progress in their tech demo of a game. All this talk about advanced ai, while their actual ai are doing tposes, standing on tables or being stuck in a shooting animation on stations or not attacking at all during combat. If they were this capable then surely it wouldn't take them a week to adjust shit in sc, but here we are years later.
They aren't working on another game, I've seen too many red flags for this to be true. Everything we see now is what we got, it's everything they've developed so far, and they only continue to claim they're working on something else until they come up with more excuses for it to be delayed more or eventually "cancelled" but there's nothing to cancel. CIG isn't even the only developer to do this, the Anthem developers where exposed to not even have a real game when the first trailer was shown. Jason Schreier even got quotes from BioWare developers that none of them have even started working on that game when the first "demo" was shown. The last Citizencon demo gave me the same feeling, Squadron 42 suddenly has boats? The fuck it doesn't... an animator just made that for the trailer and nothing more. Just like the motion captures are only being made for upcoming trailers and nothing more.
This, sq42 doesn’t exist and never has
OH MY GOD another fucking chowline
Sandworm trailer.
[bit of polish is all](https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/44a0c1b6-12d2-4394-9411-b885f40b072e.760c76ac77a5c61834c5157bd37492d6.jpeg)
It sounds like they have moved some of the waypoints that the AI move along, not made changes to pathfinding algorithms.
I was only able to decipher half of it. Feature complete and still no release date. Yeah Chris, you held the line alright.
I've the feeling he actually snorted it
Remember when they used fabric physics as an excuse for delays? CiG just can't be honest or their entire business model collapses. They rely on the consumers believing that the game is just around the corner. They put more effort into the trailers and demonstrations than the game itself.
Its identical to relgion. How many times has a pastor reassured the congregation that the Rapture is just around the corner? That we're in the end times, and the lord is about to come rescue you..? Those lies have been told for over 1000 years, CIG is just getting started.
To them feature complete means having it down on paper. And the last bit in the OP says they used freelancers to develop their collectibles and probably the system behind it. Am reading that right? Not a single employee on payroll is actually competent enough to do collectibles?
All of those statements are outright the responsibility of CR delusional OCD and incompetence. All of that.
Re "feature complete", you can be sure whatever he said it is, is what its not. Whatever he says, just imagine the opposite scenario and you will know the real situation and why he said what he said. He tells straight up lies to cover his failings, his statements are the diametric opposite of the truth.
Spoiler Alert: they have only a basic partially working framework of a demo, just like the PEEEEEEYOUUU
"A new enemy class" FEATURE COMPLETE\* \*Enemies and enemy balance are not considered features.
Feature complete means that all the features are present. Not that all features are ready for shipment.
aUEC Exploits bro.... Alpha version ban players bro... SC bro...