Hooboy! I put a post up yesterday relating my experience with what I'd consider to be "unfair" gameplay. It appears I kicked the hornet's nest. In case you want to read it: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/SC/forum/3/thread/to-the-griefers-i-m-not-ok-i-m-p-ssed The response has been pretty overwhelming. Over the last 24hrs I've had a number of people reach out to me, either through Spectrum, or Discord, to check in and make sure I'm ok. For everyone who did so, thank you. I appreciate your concern and consideration. First, let me be clear. The view I shared was mine, and mine alone. I am not claiming to represent the views, opinions, or experiences of any of the other players there at the time. If you have taken exception to my comments on this matter, please respect that your umbrage lies with me. Second, I understand some took exception to parallels I drew in my post, and quite rightly. I can only respond by saying that I was not trying to equate in-game events and the impact on me as a player to the lived experience of anyone who has ever been through a traumatic experience. It was not my intention to try and paint myself as a victim, nor even to characterise a player with a label. I was trying to describe a set of BEHAVIOURS, using what I believed to be the best match between the actual behaviour, the underlying intent, and linguistic definition. If I could go back and change my language or be clearer in my wording I would, but the horse has already bolted, so to speak. If my words caused offence or hurt, I am truly sorry. As far as the events of the other night, there are many things that, in hindsight, I might have done differently. If nothing else, I have learned that "soft armistice" is a thing. Many of the suggestions were very valid, but the particulars of the situation meant that it would not have materially altered the outcome. We had 10-15 seconds at most from missile alert to dead. I was co-pilot at the time, and our ship was destroyed before I could reach the turrets. The most significant thing we could have done to change the outcome was simply not being there at all. Is firing into armistice allowed? Some have pointed to the TOS and say no. Others argue there should be NO armistice; the fewer rules, the better. Honestly, I don't know what the rules say. It's not clear. The fact the question is so rigorously debated suggests it's not crystal clear to others either. Make of that what you will. I've been a fan of CR games from the get go... right back to Wing Commander 1. When I learned about Star Citizen, I was excited and bought into the dream. I purchased the game a few years ago, but didn't have a PC capable of running it. Last year I bought a new computer JUST to play the game. It's a game I have enjoyed immensely. I believed in the dream, and have understood the benefits of contributing to it financially. I had given myself an annual budget for SC spend, in the low-mid four figures. That was a contribution I was happy to make, year in, year out. As expensive hobbies go, I've had worse. Being semi-retired, I've had the time to be able to follow the game. I've posted on Spectrum, reported on bugs. Watched the ISC and SCL episodes religiously. The "Week in Review" from @SaltEMike. The daily videos and commentaries from @BoredGamerUK. The "TomatoTalks" by @SpaceTomato. Livestreams with @Croncy. Learning how to mine with @ELGUAPOE and @RedMonsterSC. "Living aboard a Reclaimer" with @Citizen_Kate. Dogfighting with @AvengerOne. And all the other videos from @GrumpyEye and @Morphologis and @LevelCapGaming and the many other fantastic people who contribute so much to the Star Citizen community. I have invested countless hours in salvaging, trying to learn the gameloop inside and out, and even toyed with the idea of producing my own content. In short, I was an enthusiast. To me, Star Citizen was a dream of a life among the stars, in a universe where our choices have meaning. But our choices are governed by our values and beliefs. My values include respect, kindness, patience. Rules of engagement. Declarations of intent. Some prefer to "nuke Brio's from orbit". I prefer to give people a warning and an opportunity to bug out. But that's just me. Others prefer to play their computer games according to a different set of values. I can appreciate that. One of the replies to my post talked about the Paradox of Tolerance. I can't speak to where CIG want the boundary to lie. I can only draw inferences from the way the game is designed and moderated. They glorify piracy. They give options for "illegal" gameplay, like data theft, or destruction of evidence. Being a partisan at Siege of Orison. The crime system, in comparison, is limited; it penalises people towing abandoned wrecks outside a bunker more than the people who kill other players. The prison sentencing is at most a minor inconvenience - and if you don't like being in prison or being flagged as a criminal, they even built in ways to escape from prison and clear your crimestat. Believe it or not, I'm totally on board with all of it. My issue is the system doesn't scale up to deter players from repeatedly and consistently breaking the "law". Being a criminal is easy, and the consequences minor. "Lawful" gameplay is harder, doesn't reward anywhere near as well, and comes with higher risk of loss. In Star Citizen, it's quite simple... crime pays. CIG are feverishly working away at expanding the functionality of the game, but my feeling is that little is being done to manage the community. Few systems in place to support org functions and activities or give them a true in-game purpose. A lack of game systems to deter anti-social behaviour. Instead of adding in a decent player reputation system we get structural salvage. Instead of implementing a police/military response system, we get freight elevators. Instead of improving station security and defence, we get ship towing. It's easy to dismiss some of these issues by saying "it's an alpha". After all, we have bugs, incomplete gameloops, and ships still in concept stage. So much still needs to be done to finish the game. But CIG just passed 5 million accounts. That's a LOT of people. How many of those players treat SC like an alpha? Doing things like extensively testing game designs and systems. Logging defects. Critiquing the game and offering constructive criticism, feedback, and suggestions. My guess is a very small minority. I suspect most people just jump on and play, fly with their friends, go do some bunkers. They PLAY, not TEST. SC is, for all intents and purposes, a live service game. A buggy, incomplete game, but a game nonetheless. A huge community playing a live service game needs to be managed, for everyone's benefit. Not "down the line" or "when it goes live". Now. But that's just my opinion. Many have pointed out that the game is working exactly as intended. That it's all part of the design. Well ok. That wasn't the Star Citizen dream I had in mind, but only Chris Roberts knows whether both the current state of the game and the future direction align with his vision. Maybe SC is the game for piracy and sweaty fighter jocks rather than cargo haulers or salvage operators. Our ship got blown up. Big deal. That's life in the 'Verse. I can accept that. What bothers me is the game systems and design that punishes me more than it punishes the perpetrator. I acknowledge I am operating under the "Fallacy of Fairness". And the Star Citizen universe is not a fair place. Right now, I feel the burden that all the risk sits with me, all the consequence sits with me, while the anarchists have free reign to do what they like, and without consequence. Hours of effort from myself and other players trying to do the right thing, robbed in seconds by a player who runs from a fair fight and takes us out with a cheap shot. The system feels unbalanced, and that bugs the hell out of me. I acknowledge my own actions contributed to that outcome, but abhor the lack of repercussions for theirs. Some have suggested that Star Citizen is what it is, and if I don't like it maybe it's not the game for me. They're probably correct. While I love the technical aspects of the game, I have become disenfranchised by the anti-social behaviour. Or more accurately, lack of effort or systems to challenge that behaviour. When I look at Star Citizen and what's on the roadmap, I don't see anything there that gives me hope that things will change. I've lost the dream. I wish to god I hadn't. I love this game. But when a computer game starts to take a toll on your mental health, you have to walk away. Hopefully it will be a short respite, but who knows? I don't regret a single cent I've spent on this game, but I can't keep contributing to a game that I have lost faith in. CIG will continue to make plenty of money without my contribution. And to be fair, they're probably better off with 100 enthusiastic new players than making the same money from one old man. It would be easy to just stop playing, to go quietly into the night. But even as I go, I still believe in the potential. Leaving without explaining why to the community or the developers deprives them of an opportunity to make the game better for others, whose experiences may reflect my own. The ones who slip away without a trace. I'd like to think I will come back to Star Citizen. Maybe in a week. Maybe a month. Maybe 3.23. Never say never, right? To all the people and friends I have met along the way, it's been a great ride. To anyone whose ever taken the time to read and respond to my (very lengthy) posts, thank you, I appreciate it. To all the pilots out there who share the same passion for this game that I once felt... fly safe, be nice, all the best. Strych - O7