[quote]I'm saying that objectively a normal player has no chance if "everything" can bought.[/quote] Genuine question: have you played the game? Because I’ve been playing for a decent time now, and every ‘meta’ ship if you will in the game, whether it be dogfighting, mining, salvaging, cargo running, you name it, can all be purchased with credits in game, which is exactly what me and all my friends have done without spending a dime outside of the starter packs. [quote]That's why the tiers are locked behind escalating whale triggers, they don't want "regular" players reminded of it every time they use the cash shop.[/quote] See above. With the way the game is at the moment [i]outside of the whales[/i], there’s no real incentive to a lot of people I’ve played the game with and spoken to in the game itself to purchase those bigger packs because guess what…you can get everything in game. [quote]It's the same tactics Casinos use: If Dana White is losing millions of dollars in a private backroom, you're just a marketing tool for their hustle AND they'll still take your money. Your 50 dollar hands, the dollar slots... you're just padding their bankroll. You're "risk mitigation". Same with Star Citizen... I wonder how many people would have invested, without share... because they've done alot of crowd source funding from players... ?[/quote] Except star citizen is not a casino and gets all of its funding from crowd sourcing. And furthermore it would be different if I’m spending £40 on a game that I can’t play. Yet that £40 has gone towards me [i]playing[/i] one of the most immersive space games I’ve ever played with my friends, exploring a multitude of planets with hundreds of ships and unique experiences to be had. Oh yeah and side note about the ‘secretly losing millions of dollars’ they aren’t, they’re public with their income and losses every year when it comes to the company. Whether or not the game releases [i]completely[/i] is another story sure. However I don’t see purchasing star citizen as a gamble because it’s an actual playable game at this exact moment in time. [quote]If you got points (revenue share), I get it... but I doubt the players, that get the game and some extra bonuses for their early support, would have endorsed a comprehensive "pay-to-win" monetization paradigm that literally makes it impossible for the average player to compete.[/quote] Would be a valid point except you’re forgetting that all the meta stuff currently in the game is purchasable with credits. And does not take long to farm. Last update I was making upwards of 30 million credits a day. Wanna know how much one of the meta dog fighters costs? About 5 million…and that’s coming from an ‘average player’ who started years after my friends…yet I caught up to them within a few weeks. [quote]You can buy a Bugatti cupholder, but your car doesn't have a shot in the race.[/quote] Moot point when you can have the Bugatti in game. [quote]So yes I'm saying, if the groundbreaking tech is cost prohibitive it's virtually meaningless. It's proprietary tech, it's not open source.[/quote] Even if it’s not open source that does not matter because at the very least it proves that it’s possible in the first place. [quote]And we're talking services and consumer products, this isn't a scientific endeavor... they're not curing cancer.[/quote] Of course, we’re talking about a game where it costs half the price of a triple A game to get started, and from there it’s your choice whether or not you want to pay to collect/pre order more ships without the grind. But I wouldn’t say it’s pay to win seeing as like I said last update I was making enough credits running with other people to buy any ship I wanted within a few hours. Hell I even recruited some completely new to the game randoms and had them do some work for me and they left a few hours later with any ship they wanted because of the profits…because if you’d played the game you’d know what it’s actually like lol. [quote]There's no video game that's worth 58k, and regardless if the person can afford it... you're taking advantage of that person... and undermining the integrity of your game. It's ethically corrupt... if it wasn't they shouldn't have to hide it.[/quote] I do think 58,000 is a stupid amount sure. But I’m sorry your view on the ‘average player’ having the experience ruined by someone who pays for a ship or two here and there is just objectively wrong and clearly shows that you have never touched the game, and even if you have it would clearly not be enough to make a fair judgment on what the game is actually like.