Chris Roberts Back in your wallet - STAR CITIZEN

[Nija]

People who spend 18k on digital goods don't have a credit rating high enough to get an AMEX.

[Lantyssa]

Not even a different store image for the 18.6k pack? What a ripoff. 

What you're missing is you that don't get the planet in the middle package.

[Jeff Kelly]

The saddest part will be all of the "insiders" and journalists telling us how Roberts being an asshole had been known for years by "everyone". How they always wondered why anybody would give money to him and that people who funded him deserve what they got because people believing proven tricksters should pay for their stupidity.

You know like they did after RPS published the Molyneux interview and basically everyone came out to say that it was "nothing new" and "no big deal" because "everyone had already known for years". Well except all of the poor sods they forgot to tell about it and that spent their cash on his promises.

They'll omit the fact that nobody of them said or reported anything on the issue before the jig was up when people were still ruining their lives on Star Citizen's virtual goods.

[Paelos]

That's because they aren't journalists. They only go after people once those companies can't possible give them free shit.

[Margalis]

She tried to have an intervention for him using myself and a few of his other friends and family. He went off the deep end and accused us of not understanding how important his investment was.

I'm trying very hard to imagine any such conversation that sounds remotely plausible and failing.

[Merusk]

You talk-up how much collector's editions of other successful MMOs sell a year or two out and go from there. CCE of the original WoW was $300 a few years ago for an $80 'investment' and looks like it's several thousand now.

It's like the Franklin Mint collector's plates where people convince themselves that their #122,339 plate out of a limited run of 500k can only go up in value.  Some people just aren't meant to have control of money.

[schild]

I still have sealed WoW CEs. I should sell them.

[Rasix]

Or burn them. Stream it.

[Surlyboi]

I'd buy one just to burn it. But I'm an asshole.

[schild]

YES THOSE ARE EXCELLENT IDEAS.

You guys do know the asshole move is to take the money from someone willing to waste it that probably can't afford it, right?

[satael]

You talk-up how much collector's editions of other successful MMOs sell a year or two out and go from there. CCE of the original WoW was $300 a few years ago for an $80 'investment' and looks like it's several thousand now.

It's like the Franklin Mint collector's plates where people convince themselves that their #122,339 plate out of a limited run of 500k can only go up in value.  Some people just aren't meant to have control of money.

Someone paid $300m for that painting and while it's "unique" it still doesn't really make sense if you try to think about it.  

[DraconianOne]

You talk-up how much collector's editions of other successful MMOs sell a year or two out and go from there. CCE of the original WoW was $300 a few years ago for an $80 'investment' and looks like it's several thousand now.

It's like the Franklin Mint collector's plates where people convince themselves that their #122,339 plate out of a limited run of 500k can only go up in value.  Some people just aren't meant to have control of money.

Someone paid $300m for that painting and while it's "unique" it still doesn't really make sense if you try to think about it.  

Someone likely being a Qatari sheikh on behalf of the national museums out there.  The previous biggest selling painting was by Cezanne and bought by the Al-Thani family for $250m back in 2011. So yeah, makes perfect sense. It really isn't quite the same thing as buying video game CEs or spending $18k on virtual spaceships.

[Mac]

Some men just want to see the Collector's Editions burn.

[Sir T]

The "people deserve it becasue they are idiots" club ignore the fact that these things work becasue there has been over a centuary of reserch on what works on what doesn;t. Thye know how to make you crave something, and once you crave youa re hooked. YOu should swear off TVC for 2 weeks sometime as an experiment, and then you will be surprised at how the stuf that is really important to buy suddenly makes you wonder "why exactly am I buying this shit"

They knoiw how to tap into the weak points of the brain. None of us are immune. They know how to push your buttons.

Once you crave the dream, and are greedy for it, you are most of the way there on bieng fooled, sadly.

[Merusk]

You talk-up how much collector's editions of other successful MMOs sell a year or two out and go from there. CCE of the original WoW was $300 a few years ago for an $80 'investment' and looks like it's several thousand now.

It's like the Franklin Mint collector's plates where people convince themselves that their #122,339 plate out of a limited run of 500k can only go up in value.  Some people just aren't meant to have control of money.

Someone paid $300m for that painting and while it's "unique" it still doesn't really make sense if you try to think about it.  

All monetary and valuation transactions make no sense when you take a different angle on them. To wit: We exchange large portions of our lives, give up our freedom to move around and decide what we are doing in exchange for pieces of paper and non-ferrous metals. Or, more accurately, ones and zeroes in a database we're told to trust other fools will keep track of properly.

There's a marked difference between the valuation of a one of a kind painting produced by one of the world's greatest masters after his death and my point.  I was illustrating the folly of people who believe mass-produced goods to be investment products. 500k is not a 'limited run'  Nor are game editions solid investment vehicles, because WoW could have easily been a flop or continued producing vanilla CEs for years after the fact.

[Maven]

I should sell my CEs, geez.

[Goreschach]

The "people deserve it becasue they are idiots" club ignore the fact that these things work becasue there has been over a centuary of reserch on what works on what doesn;t. Thye know how to make you crave something, and once you crave youa re hooked. YOu should swear off TVC for 2 weeks sometime as an experiment, and then you will be surprised at how the stuf that is really important to buy suddenly makes you wonder "why exactly am I buying this shit"

They knoiw how to tap into the weak points of the brain. None of us are immune. They know how to push your buttons.

Once you crave the dream, and are greedy for it, you are most of the way there on bieng fooled, sadly.

This is going to turn into a drunken rant about the jews, isn't it?

[Sir T]

You know it makes sense!

[HaemishM]

Space jews? Aren't they the worst kind?

[jakonovski]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAZhtT-dUyo

[Samprimary]

This entire thing is such a cynical commentary on humanity.  Jesus fucking Christ.  I hope he gets sued to hell and back by some dumb asshole's wife after said asshole spent their kids college money on fake spaceships. 

I mentioned a guy earlier in this thread, whom I have worked with extensively over the last decade. I still talk to him and his wife, since they were both friends. She has divorced him, and has full custody of his kids. Their youngest kid and mine play together frequently.

I bought him a beer the other day during our usual get together with a group of other guys. He confessed to now being well over the 20 thousand dollar mark on money spent on star citizen. He is convinced that it is going to be so amazing that he thinks he literally will not have to play any other games for the rest of his life.

I know this story is unbelievable, you don't have to trust me. However, I swear by its truth. The guy literally evangelizes the game to everybody he talks to. He reminds me of those people who get completely sucked into a religious group, his entire life revolves around star citizen right now.

I have a friend whose boyfriend is just off the fucking deep end in pretty much the exact same way about Bitcoin. To him, it's The Thing. It's Happening. It will Happen. It's his ride to being a captain of industry in the post-fiat world. he's become increasingly shut down and avoidant as the whole thing tumbled down around him. He will sit in forums full of bitcoin fanatics and they'll talk each other up into a froth of confidence about how any downturn in price is just an opportunity to buy more before it inevitably takes off again. He's getting ready to sell what few tangible goods he has left just to make rent, and has stopped buying food and just mooches off the girlfriend. She's growing increasingly despondent and unable to handle his bitcoin insanity. She's giving him an ultimatum soon.

[schild]

She's giving him an ultimatum soon.

Why soon, why not yesterday?

[Miasma]

Bitcoin zealots are one of the few groups that hardcore star citizen fans can look down upon.  Actually there is probably a good deal of crossover between the groups.  If only they could buy ten thousand dollar virtual space ships with their virtual currency.

The intervention would probably need an old school professional de-programmer because of the cult like effect of the mentioned echo chamber forums full of other people with bad ideas.  His ego is completely invested that he's right, other people are ignorant and that he'll show everybody once he's rich.  The realization that he's wrong just can't enter his brain because it would mentally ruin him.  You would need a pro who knows how to hanlde that or it will turn out just like the above star citizen intervention.

Or just wait until he forgets the password to his wallet or the place where he is stashing them steals everything like so many others.

[Pennilenko]

I posted on the official forums about twenty minutes ago.  I asked for somebody to explian to me, how all of the promises are even possible with the state of software technology as it exists today.

The thread didn't even stay up for three minutes before it disappeared.

[Paelos]

I posted on the official forums about twenty minutes ago.  I asked for somebody to explian to me, how all of the promises are even possible with the state of software technology as it exists today.

The thread didn't even stay up for three minutes before it disappeared.

Your fears don't belong in the public eye comrade.

[penfold]

Re - the guy who spent 18k on vapourware and got divorced

A guildmate was so addicted to EQ when his wife and year old child were leaving him and moving out he didn't even leave his grinding to help them pack or say goodbye the day they left.

Only cost him £12 a month though. Not quite as stupid as the SC guy. Heh.

[Lucas]

Re - the guy who spent 18k on vapourware and got divorced

A guildmate was so addicted to EQ when his wife and year old child were leaving him and moving out he didn't even leave his grinding to help them pack or say goodbye the day they left.

Only cost him £12 a month though. Not quite as stupid as the SC guy. Heh.

Heh, that reminds me of all the stories I read when I was subscribed to the "EQ Widows" yahoo group 

[penfold]

It might have made it way on to there.

Everyone who played EQ had a poosock story.

Imagine if Verant had monetised it right when everyone was most addicted. "Dragon lewtz from $999"

[HaemishM]

At least our Shadowbane guild leader only threw his computer through a wall before starting the chain that led to his divorce from the wife that was his co-guild leader.

[WayAbvPar]

At least our Shadowbane guild leader only threw his computer through a wall before starting the chain that led to his divorce from the wife that was his co-guild leader.

Where did they come from anyway? Tons of F13ers in that guild but most of the leadership was people I didn't know before SB.

[Sophismata]

What happened with BitCoin?

[Tannhauser]

Never made it to Bytecoin.

[HaemishM]

At least our Shadowbane guild leader only threw his computer through a wall before starting the chain that led to his divorce from the wife that was his co-guild leader.

Where did they come from anyway? Tons of F13ers in that guild but most of the leadership was people I didn't know before SB.

I'm not sure. I think I ran into them recruiting on an island before one of the beta phases ended, mainly because they were trying to fight the Rolling 30's.

[Merusk]

I thought they knew Cevik.

[Samprimary]

She's giving him an ultimatum soon.

Why soon, why not yesterday?

Theirs was a very close, very enduring relationship, and she loves him, but not enough to be able to put herself through this. she was reluctant and he had a lot of undeserved leeway because this was hard for her to make herself do.