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While it may not be a well known company among the general population, since their products are traditionally manufactured for industrial purposes, it is almost a guarantee that Argo Astronautics’ hard work and effort has impacted your life. From the fresh shipment of beans in your morning coffee to the connector ferry you take to the office, Argo has become an institution in its seven centuries of existence, thanks to its varied line of rolling stock, shuttles and utility vehicles. Yet as widespread as the company is now, it all started with a single train.
In 2243, after close to one hundred years of moving people and cargo across the expanses of North and South America, the aging and complex Trans-America maglev rail line was in desperate need of an overhaul. Spanning from Barrow, USA, to Punta Arenas, Chile, it was the third longest stretch of continuous mono-track on planet Earth and transported tons of freightage daily. However, with sub-orbital transfers gaining a larger share of the overall cargo shuttling market, and the train crossing through so many different territorial governments, few companies wanted to take on the herculean task of upgrading the complex line.
While various governmental bodies tried to gain traction for investment into the infrastructure, the plans never gained the critical mass needed to achieve funding. All eyes had turned to the new growing community on Mars, Meanwhile, the new, faster quantum drives from RSI drove more interest, and with it money, toward establishing our place in the solar system, and focusing further and further away from Earth. As delays and breakdowns on the rail line became more and more frequent, it seemed like its fate was sealed. However, a young train engineer thought she had the solution.
A Step in the Right Direction
Alana Redmond had grown up on the Trans-Am line, spending much of her youth accompanying her mother, who worked as a shift manager aboard the train. Moving from town to town, Alana was fascinated by the way the rails served to bring the world together. How, even as data and information could be beamed around the globe almost instantaneously, it still took people like her mom working tirelessly to physically move goods from one continent to another. It was a fact she would happily discuss with anyone who asked what it was like to ride the rails, so it was little surprise to her family that after finishing her studies, Alana began working at Trans-Am as an assistant engineer.
It wasn’t uncommon for the crew to have to halt the train to make emergency spot repairs of the aging mono-track when their sensors detected vibrational anomalies from coils warping out of alignment. Difficult and requiring exact precision, the patching process would set the whole schedule back as the prepping, bonding and aligning all took time. Plus, the older the track got, the more patching they were required to do, which compounded the delays. This meant that a single patch could lead to a huge monetary loss for the run, but to continue on without repairing the line was risking a complete break and even bigger delays.
One day, while waiting for a levitation coil to set, Alana noticed a piece of scrap metal that had been twisted by the magnetic forces from where a train had inadvertently run over it. The curve of bent metal was about as good of a result as the repair equipment they were using on the composite patch. The wheels in her head began to turn and she theorized that she could use the forces being generated by the train to complete the patch instead of the current process, which was time and labor intensive. Inspired, she drew up her plans immediately, even though she knew she couldn’t test her idea on an active run. Instead, she reached out to a friend who worked in the stock yard and sorted out some time with one of the retired engines. With design specs and a test track, Alana cashed in all her saved up vacation time and spent two weeks fusing track bond.
When the time was up, she knew she was on to something, but had a choice to make. Nervous and excited, Alana quit her job and used all the money she and her mother had saved up to begin working on developing her new patching process full time. Six months later, in September 2243, a patent was filed by AR-Go Technologies for an automated mono-track repair system that could be mounted to a rail car. The company’s name was a play off Alana’s initials, an idea compliments of her mother. Not only could the system she developed replace the traditional patching method, but by equipping all the cars with the tech, the line could be rebuilt to almost like-new conditions while the trains continued to run, prolonging their operation indefinitely while also finally allowing for some of the newer generation superconducting trains to use the older mono-track as well. Demand for the repair system was enormous, with orders coming in from every major train ine. AR-Go Technologies became a massive success and single-handedly revitalized the rail industry almost overnight.
Next Stop
Over the next several decades, Alana and AR-Go Technologies continued to introduce new innovations — a faster cargo latch and lock method, new passenger management systems, and a vibratory recharger just to name a few. Eventually, with the acquisition of Todairo Manufacture and a name change to Argo Transportation, they would transition to producing full rolling stock themselves. The exacting standards and durability of the maglev cars they produced quickly made them an industry leader. This rapid success and expansion would eventually lead to Alana’s boldest (and last) project with the company she founded. A project that would take AR-Go in an entirely new direction — off-world.
Port Retanus, Mars had grown large enough that the city was seeking bids for a public transit system. Though Argo had never before built a complete transit system from the ground up, Alana’s impassioned presentation to the city’s governing board saw to it that they won the contract. Sadly, she would not live to see her vision for what she called a “radial networked transit hub” come to fruition, but the Port Retanus Rapid Transit System is still heralded to this day by city planners as one of the most elegant public transportation designs.
While Alana Redmond was no longer there to oversee operations, Argo’s success on Mars ensured that the company would be able to continue to move along without her. Other major contracts on several planets would soon follow, including the Prime Transit Metrorail on Terra and the Municipal Transit Line on Angeli. However, following Alana’s lead, the new leaders of company would soon take another major step forward as, for the first time, they would leave the rails behind.
Going Farther
Seeking to further improve their services and networks, Argo had a dedicated team of designers seeking problem spots that could be candidates for improvements. While analyzing delays with their cargo trains, they discovered that the biggest impact to schedule was often not with their rail systems, but with hold-ups incurred during the transfer process at various ports. Moving goods on and off the trains could take significant time and often be subject to a wide array of traffic problems. In order to streamline the process, Argo sought a way to control the transfers themselves.
The solution was found in the purchase of Telluman Shipworks, a struggling company that manufactured recreational shuttlecraft. Retrofitting Telluman’s facilities on Cassell, Argo’s engineering team created an orbital utility craft (OUC) that could move cargo storage containers directly from long haulers onto their train cars. Incorporating their lock and latch system into the craft’s frame, it streamlined the loading process significantly. It wasn’t long before the OUC found a wider audience than just Argo’s own transit systems.
As more and more pilots experienced the rugged ease with which the OUC operated, they soon started purchasing the crafts secondhand and outfitting them for their own purposes. Argo, seeing that the demand was there, ramped up production and in 2619 released the Argo Multi-Purpose Utility Vehicle, their first publicly available model. At the time of the craft’s initial launch, only a cargo module was available, but before long, people carriers, recovery pods, repair modules and more varieties were sold. If there was work to do, there was an Argo to do it.
The success of the MPUV led Argo to continue to expand their ship department till it overtook their ground transit division. A restructuring of internal priorities led to one more name change, and in 2665 the Argo Astronautics name that graces so many transportation mainstays emerged.
Today, Argo produces a wide range of utility crafts and transport vehicles — from shuttle crafts and low-atmosphere skippers to reentry pods — all working together to get the people and goods of the Empire where they need to go. Even the military has come to depend on the MPUV for their utility needs. And while Argo Astronautics’ scope has certainly expanded from the days of Alana, their dedication to ensuring things are done the best way possible still remains well and firmly intact.
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Hello and welcome to Spectrum Spectator. Thanks for joining us! That fine gentleman is Lars Gonall, and I, as always, am the indomitable Daisy Wences. If you were looking for a show with all the latest spectrum news, reviews, and a bunch of opinionated arguing, then you’ve found the right place.
Lars: If, however, you were hoping for a show about cooking aboard your starship, then you are in the completely wrong place. What you probably want is Dinner Adrift with Chef Carmilla.
Good point, Lars. We are not Dinner Adrift.
Lars: Now that I think about it, have we ever reviewed Dinner Adrift?
I don’t believe we have. We don’t really talk too often about cooking shows.
Lars: Well, at least ones that aren’t competition cooking shows.
True, we both got a little too invested in Hot Out the Oven last season. Still think Beatrice should have won Best Baker. Her scones were objectively a million times better.
Lars: Did you hear that neither host will be returning for the premiere of Celebrity Hot Out the Oven this season?
Yeah, my guess is that neither one of them were willing to risk trying a cake that Ellroy Cass baked.
Lars: What would that even taste like?
Glitter and sadness.
Lars: For those of you keeping track of the score, that’s Daisy one hundred and fifteen and Ellroy Cass zero.
It’s pretty easy to win an insult contest when the other person doesn’t even know you’re alive.
Lars: Sure, you say that now, but for all we know Cass is out there right now crying in a bathroom.
Safe money is always on Cass being in a bathroom doing something.
Lars: One hundred and sixteen.
All right, playful banter achieved! Shall we move on to today’s actual reviews? I’ll even let you pick where we start.
Lars: Oh boy!
What do you say? Rory or Star Marine?
Lars: Definitely going with the return of one my childhood heroes here. How could I not? I used to devour old Rory Nova episodes when I was a kid. People used to actually call me Rory.
I’m sure they did. For those of you who didn’t catch it, this weekend marked the premiere of a brand new Rory Nova series titled Rory Nova: Ready to Blast Off. This is the first time an original Rory Nova program has been on the spectrum in over 15 years, and it’s changed a fair bit from the wacky cat who flies a ship. Featuring a completely different animation style and a brand new cast of characters, this version has been updated to appeal to the kids of today, which apparently means a ton more missiles and transforming suits.
Lars: Yeah, they upped the action a bit, but that’s to be expected when you see the other shows that RTBO is going up against.
RTBO?
Lars: It’s what people are calling the new show on the message boards. RNOS is the original series.
Right …
Lars: Don’t give me that look. I love Rory Nova, no apologies. So trust me when I say as a fan, even I was in impressed by how deep RTBO dove into the show’s mythology. All these little winks and nods to RNOS have been used to create this incredibly rich setting. For example, in the original, Rory flew out of Spaceport Ringeroo, and you never knew what it was there for or who was in charge. Now in the new series, the writers have gone out of their way to give a full backstory to the owner of the station, Chief Grummels, who was only featured once before as a guy who kept slipping in Rory’s spilled soda. There is real storytelling going on here, and this is just the first episode. Makes me excited to see where they take it.
I wasn’t so sold. It felt like the show didn’t know who they were trying to appeal to: kids who probably don’t remember Rory at all, or the adults who do. I was expecting to see a silly cat get into trouble aboard his good ship Scootaloo, and instead there were all these new characters with complicated backstories. All of whom, I might add, just happened to be deeply scarred by personal tragedies they were trying to avenge.
Lars: I think a lot of the show’s original whimsy is still there, they just added depth to it so that the laughs mean more.
You laughed?
Lars: If you go back and watch some of the older stuff, and then watch the new premiere, there’s a lot of DNA being shared beneath the surface. The showrunners even went so far as having Eli Talloway, the widow of the original voice of Rory, Arthur Vin, come in to give the show her blessing.
I can see you are well gone on this one, which is quite touching in sort of a weird way. So, the verdict is, if you are an adult who remembers the original or a kid who loves missiles, then Rory Nova: Ready to Blast Off may be just right for you. For everyone else … meh.
Lars: Always exciting when we have a split decision.
You mean pretty much every show.
Lars: Yup. Every show we do is exciting.
Speaking of pure unadulterated excitement, Star Marine 2: BloodLock premiered last week. This is the sequel to Star Marine, which itself was of course the financially successfully yet critically panned film version of the popular sim franchise with the same name.
Lars: Unadulterated? If anything I’d say the action was full adulterated. Too adulterated even. They fell into the classic sequel trap of trying to outdo the first film by blowing up more stuff and killing even more people and lost sight of what made the first film such enjoyable camp.
I actually liked the first Star Marine, too. It was a mess structurally, but the action sequences really captured the feeling of playing the game. Like during the big second set piece when Captain Bledsoe races down the corridor, snags the ammo, dives into zero g, pops the clip as he spins upside down, and unloads just as the thug lines up his rocket launcher. I swear I’ve done that exact thing in the game.
Lars: It was a lovely bit of action choreography. Sadly, all the action in the sequel was a confused mess of dark close-ups, frantic cutting, random explosions and wide shots where you have no idea what you’re supposed to be looking at.
And it was just so much harder to get into the characters this time around. The story picks up where the first one left off: Captain Bledsoe has retired from the Star Marines and he’s now trying to forget his blood-soaked past on a transfer station in Nexus, when they get attacked by a gang looking to take it over. Bledsoe has no choice but to form up a squad with some of the ne’er do wells hanging around and take the outlaws down himself. Notice, I’m saying outlaws here. That’s because for the life of me I could not tell you what their name or motivation was in the film. I know from the press release that it was supposed be the Blinders, and that their fearsome leader lost an eye to Bledsoe in the past or something, but I’d be hard pressed to say if any of that was in the movie.
Lars: Yeah, the generic-to-the-point-of-bland bad guys were bad, but nothing compared to the cliché spewing compatriots. Were we actually supposed to root for these people to live? Holy crap, if I heard that mechanic say, “Screw it twice with a wrench!” one more time, I was going to snap my screen in half.
You don’t screw things with a wrench!
Lars: I know!
One thing they did get right was the station itself, which was directly modeled off the OP Station Demien level from the game. Everything from the door placements, to the weapon stash, to the path they take to get the advantage in the final shoot out, all lined up pretty perfectly with what you can experience in-game. It made me wonder though, why didn’t they just use the lore from that station in-game for the movie?
Lars: What do you mean?
If you dive into the Star Marine fiction, they have all this great stuff about how there was this terrible massacre there when these gang members slipped aboard the station and murdered almost everyone. One survivor managed to make it to a comm station and alert the authorities, and that’s when they send in the Star Marines. How cool would that have been? Bledsoe being the lone survivor and having to hold out till the Star Marines arrive?
Lars: Well we can only hope they do better with the inevitable Star Marine 3.
That’s a perfect spot to take a break. When we come back, we go from sequels to another remake; this time of the classic film One Way to Go which itself was a remake of another, even earlier film.
Lars: I actually didn’t know that until Daisy pointed it out to me. Turns out nothing is original ever.
Pretty much. We’ll give you plenty of history tidbits, and let you know how the new one stacks up, when Spectrum Spectator returns.
Cloud Imperium Games zeigt in einem neuen 60fps-Video die Neuerungen im First-Person-Gunplay von Star Citizen. Lasst euch auf die Raumstation Port Olisar entführen, wo die neuesten Effekte in einem ungefähr fünfminütigem Video demonstriert werden.…
This week, we go out to our Austin Studio where John Erskine gives us an update on what the studio is working on. We go into the code with DevOps, take a look at the Herald as it nears completion and take a first look at our Music Logic system.
Die aktuelle Alphaversion 2.5 von Star Citizen enthält mehr als bislang gedacht. Beim Durchforsten des Programmcodes stießen Dataminer auf zahlreiche nicht verwendete Assets, die offenbar zu einer futuristischen Metropole gehören. Per Sketchfab könnt…
Die neue Episode 3.6 der Webshow "Around the Verse" behandelt zahlreiche Neuerungen rund um das ambitionierte Weltraumprojekt Star Citizen. Unter anderem sprechen die Entwickler über die überarbeiteten Rüstungen der Marines, neue Gameplay-Systeme und…
Nachdem Chris Roberts nun wieder aus Europa zurück ist, führen er und Sandi Gardiner durch die aktuelle Folge von Around the Verse 3.6. Themen unter anderem: Rüstungen der Marines, Interaktionen mit Gegenständen und einigen Raumschiffen,…
It should come as no surprise that August was a very busy month. Teams all around the world were hard at work on the Gamescom demo, which showcased staggeringly new tech from a variety of disciplines. Meanwhile, we also pushed 2.5 Live, releasing the Grim HEX outlaw station, Argo and Reliant Kore out to all of our backers.
There’s no time to rest as we have big plans for Citizen Con, which is right around the corner, and 2.6 development and testing is well underway as well.
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Cloud Imperium Los Angeles
Engineering
This month the Engineering team was focused on several priorities, which included crushing bugs for Alpha 2.5.0 and ensuring target Gamescom features functioned properly. All while also getting Item System 2.0 ready for prime time.
Design
LA Design split time between long and short term goals. Immediate needs had us knocking out fixes for SC Alpha 2.5.0 and Gamescom. Meanwhile, we updated ship mass and health calculations for a number of flyable ships, made improvements to the Hornet, and did tech setup to the Constellation Aquila. We also worked with Engineering on features for Item System 2.0.
Art
Besides the normal bug fixes, Art focused on generating new content in August. Major advancements were made on the Drake Caterpillar, which entered the final art stage. Marine suits updated, fun new costumes created, heads polished to push them to that next level, and much more.
Narrative
Gamescom allowed us to introduce you to Miles Eckhart, who represents our first crack at a PU mission giver. We captured the actor during the July shoot and it was incredible to see the subtlety of the performance translate into the game. For 3.0 we fleshed out the tone, flavor, and characters of Stanton’s various locations, and worked with Design on needed text for missions and NPCs.
Quality Assurance
LAQA’s kept busy testing the Gamescom demo, 2.5, Star Marine, and Squadron 42. In addition, the team worked with developers on Item 2.0, ship LOD’s, lighting, and landing gear.
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Cloud Imperium Austin
Design
The Austin Design Team helped ensure that the elevators in Grim HEX worked properly (you might recall that this is trickier than it sounds when accounting for localized physics grids), and coordinated with LA Engineering to guarantee that they will work with the upcoming Item 2.0 system. Lead Designer Rob Reininger focused on the “Selling Kiosk” plan, which lets players sell stuff. He also created Blueprint Documents for additional Grim HEX shops, and synced up with other teams on content to sell in those stores. Finally, Pete Mackay identified the first twenty commodities that will be available to collect, transport, and sell. He also iterated on designs for resource spawning, trade routes, and quantum fuel models.
Backend Services
Lead Server Engineer Jason Ely wrapped up work on the Service Beacon feature, and passed it along to other teams to finish. Senior Server Engineer Tom Sawyer and Ian Guthrie at Wyrmbyte implemented Service Discovery, which will be extremely helpful once we have Dynamic Server Spinup/Shutdown online for the PU. Tom also worked on hooks into the Player Info Service that will provide details on NPC relationships. Finally, Ian and Turbulent continued to create a bridge between Platform and Services, so the two can share information like player presence, UEC transaction history, Org members, and contacts/friends.
Art/Animation
The Animation team was excited to see their assets breathe life into the Star Citizen universe. They implemented and polished numerous NPC animations, and finally saw their work function within Subsumption (our AI system). The Ship Animation Team reauthored enter/exit animations to “combat speed” for the Gladius and Vanguard, added Dropship seat enter/exits to the Vanguard Hoplite, and completed an initial pass on character interactions with the Ursa Rover and Drake Dragonfly.
Chris Smith’s update of the Constellation Aquila is in Greybox and will be into Final Art soon. Josh Coons is doing a final polish on the Herald, which is set for a lighting adjustment next. Lighting artist, Emre Switzer, completed his final pass on the Levski landing zone and Grim HEX station.
QA
Austin QA put in a tremendous amount of work on the Gamescom presentation. Special recognition goes to Don Allen and Todd Raffray for heavily testing the Stanton system, documenting it, and staying late to test builds for our UK and DE teams. Jesse Mark, Bryce Benton, and Scott McCrea field tested requests from our Developer groups to ensure a quick turnaround and integration of their work into our builds.
In August, Austin QA supported the deployment of 12 PTU builds and 2.5.0 to Live. Michael Blackard and Elijah Montenegro were integral to the process, which involves extensive test passes of the build, deployment services and patch note support. Tyler Tumlinson and Bryce performed vital work on 2.5.0 involved coordinating with the Game Support team to gather feedback and data from the community.
Once 2.5.0 went Live, future content became our focus. Scott McCrea and Brandon Crocker worked with the UK on daily smoke tests and helped organize frequent Star Marine playtests. Tory Turner and Andrew Rexroth focused on Squadron 42 while also building level flow and guides for other testers.
Game Support
Chris Danks, Eric Green, and Will Leverett spent time hammering 2.5.0 on the PTU with Evocati Test Flight. We wanted to express our appreciation for the volunteers who donated their time and energy to test a frustrating build. Game Support also worked with the Community team to produce Austin’s episode of Around the Verse and publish a post on the migration from combat visors to in-ship multi-function displays.
We’re very excited about some things coming up for 2.6.0, and will be adding additional testers to Evocati Test Flight. The additions will come from the top contributors on the Issue Council, so if you want to participate, make sure you’re active on https://robertsspaceindustries.com/community/issue-council
IT/Operations
Austin IT set up and tested all the equipment prior to the event and then shipped it to the venue. At Gamescom, our IT ground team, along with many helpful volunteers, set up and tore down the rigs. All the way up to show time, we provided 24-hour support on builds and fine tuning the network so all content from Austin arrived in Germany with time for testing and the live stream.
We also continued to work with DevOps on reducing our patch size. By migrating the new patching process into the build system output pipeline, we’ll be able to work with real build data rather than test data. Soon, we’ll be able to get new data to the internal teams using this system, and finally get to see the results of all this development work.
LiveOps/DevOps
In August, the LiveOps/DevOps team deployed 11 builds to PTU and published 2.5.0 to Live. Since we also publish a lot of builds internally, every minute we shave off a build or build replication time makes a difference. Here are a few fun stats that demonstrate the size and scope of information that we’re dealing with —
August Build Stats
161 builds completed successfully
Depending on branch and type, build sizes varied from 40-200 GB each
7,728 GB of build data was generated
Users deployed 78 servers across all build versions
30,912 GB of build data was replicated between studios
We transfer nearly 1,000 build copies a day to the desktop level across all studios with most testers and developers consuming multiple build versions per day
The central build system is currently made up of 48 servers
Currently configured with 524 cores and 812 GB of RAM with access to 400 additional cores during heavy build activity
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Foundry 42 UK
Programming
The Gamescom demo premiered the initial implementation of the Star Map in-game. Based on the application already on the RSI website, the version we’ve been working on will match the UI and feature numerous functions. For example: you’ll use it to select a Quantum Drive destination rather than the current system in-game, which, while functional, is less than optimal when trying to pick out a specific destination from a POI cluster at long range. .
In addition, our FPS team has been refining and implementing new game modes for Star Marine. Since it will be a focused FPS experience with its own specific maps, we’ve tidied up a lot of the code and repurposed much of the CrySDK. We also fixed a nasty performance issue that was blocking 2.5.0 from going Live. The bug, a low level CPU instruction — specifically a memory alignment issue with atomic memory access, didn’t appear internally, and only showed itself once the servers were filled with players. Thus the benefit of backers helping us test PTU releases. After an extensive investigation, we identified the bug and squashed it with a one-line fix.
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There was a lot on the table in August, including props both large and small. Soon you’ll see stuff like spiral fruit appearing in shops. mobiGlas got another pass to provide flexibility with the characters and more customization options. We also pumped out ship sale brochures, worked on a new ship we’re all excited about!
On the weapons front, the Kastak Arms ballistic shotgun is in development and a K&W energy handgun is about complete. We also running a Knightsbridge Arms weapon through our streamlined ship weapons process. Hopefully, it’ll cut down the amount of work needed and increase the production rate for in-game items.
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For the 2.5.0 release, our team fixed bugs and polished effects, which included a final pass on Grim HEX’s environment effects and the ARGO and Reliant thrusters/damage. We also improved the Aurora’s thrusters, and are steading working through all existing ships to ensure boost effects are consistent.
Our work was also all over the Gamescom demo. We created the burning effect on the Freelancer during atmospheric entry, polished all weapon effects seen, did a full flight/hover-ready pass on the Dragonfly, and made ship landing effects improvements. In addition to that, we added surface dust kicking up from the Ursa Rover, provided atmospheric effects (dust, steam, smoke) to Levski’s interior and exterior.
Environment Art
The Gamescom event showcased a number of cool environments, from the beautiful vistas seen when traveling from space to planet, to Levski’s interior. There was also a moon base of small compounds built out of temporary structures. This is an idea we’re excited to develop further with structures half-buried in deserts or engulfed by overgrown jungles. We also polished Grim HEX and continued steady work on Squadron 42.
Animation
When animators weren’t off sick, on holiday, or injured from crashing bikes, we’ve provided support to the AI teams, revisited the player animations (specifically fixing some of the aimposes, select/deselect animations, crouch movement and smoothed out the headcam when jumping) and did some previz explorations on new FPS (personal) weapons.
Design
2.5 and Gamescom allowed us to progress with some of the core systems in the game that needed some love: coming soon will be flight model improvements, the landing and take-off systems were tweaked to feel more intuitive, and the Cargo system has begun to come online with the first tier design being implemented.
The tech designers have been getting to grips with the conversion of all our existing ships to Item 2.0, which is a huge but super necessary task to add the layer of usability that Chris described at Gamescom. They also got the Argo and Reliant flight ready, and are pushing on with the Dragonfly and Ursa Rover among other things.
Focusing on future releases, our Star Marine designers have been working with the environment art team to craft some cool FPS levels, and for Grim HEX, we are working on a slalom race track that will be awesome for all the Dragonfly pilots. Lastly, we have been updating the Arena Commander maps as well as adding some cool new missions to SC Live.
Props
We dedicated some of our time to polishing up and bug fixing any assets that were being shown on stage and I believe only one bug made it through. Damn you, popping container!
Alongside Gamescom and 2.5 release, we spent some time investigating photogrammetry and working with the environment team on the procedural planet tech. We have shifted our focus back onto Squadron 42 and the CitizenCon demo, locking down the backlog and putting together a solid plan through CitizenCon and towards the end of the year.
We’ve also started developing the damage and destruction pipeline for the ship items. Ultimately we want to create a system so when you pop open the ship panels and see your items, we can visually represent damage so you know what’s gone wrong and what needs to be fixed.
Graphics
Last month the graphics team focused on polishing the Gamescom demo, as problems often arise in areas we don’t expect. We also began to work on tech to populate the universe with asteroid fields, gas clouds, lightning, and VFX on planets. This tech will allow us to seamlessly spawn hundreds of thousands of asteroids at once and have asteroid fields containing billions of asteroids in total. The current focus is on the placement algorithm and making sure it’s fast and visually pleasing. The gas cloud and lightning tech are both coming along well and should set the scene for spectacular dogfights!
We’ve also worked on low level tech, like adding the ability for the engine to render secondary cameras (for video comms, holograms and UIs), and adding LOD mesh merging support to the new ‘object container’ technology (which will enable us to load and stream such large levels).
Audio
Collectively we had Gamescom, 2.5 and our usual tasks for Squadron 42, but here’s an overview of what CIG Audio has been up to over the past month.
Bob Rissolo headed up the charge for integrating the dialogue into the Gamescom demo. Working with Phil Smallwood, they handled the dialogue support for our mission giver, landing coordinator and NPCs as well as the various soundscapes you passed through.
The whole team contributed to building the incredibly dense soundscapes for the demo, from the general ambience of the locations (Levski, the derelict ship, Olisar, etc.) to the specific (the Dragonfly, in-atmosphere wind-drag sounds, even footsteps).
Ross Tregenza and Sam Hall continued working on the music system and incorporating the various musical cues into the game. The big system they’ve been working on is the music logic system, which triggers dynamic musical cues based on your actions during the game, allowing the musical score to change based on your actions and the situation. It’s a tremendously exciting addition to see develop.
QA
We touched many new exciting areas in the Gamescom demo: procedural planets, AI Subsumption, HUD alterations, the Dragonfly and the Ursa Rover. We worked in tandem with the QA in Frankfurt, Austin and L.A. and learned many valuable lessons about cross-studio testing that will come in handy for CitizenCon and any future events.
We’ve also devoted a lot of time to Star Marine, headed up by our main FPS testers Mark Tobin and Nathan Rigby. They have been drafting test case documents and really getting into the nitty gritty of the Free for All and Team Deathmatch game modes. We are really looking forward to getting this into your hands, as free EVA offers new tactics and gameplay opportunities to FPS which you just can’t find anywhere else!
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Foundry 42 DE
Engine
Shortly before Gamescom, team members from Frankfurt flew to the Wilmslow studio to provide on-site support while the final builds were being put together. There were numerous tech systems working in conjunction that introduced unique challenges with the local physics grid, like carrying a functional vehicle inside another ship. Throw multiplayer into the mix and we’re on a whole new level of complexity. We also improved ground vehicle and landing gear suspensions to make them more realistic, did some more work on vis areas culling and continued to develop the planetary system.
Last month, we mentioned the improvements to the Vision Stabilization: here’s a video from the internal layout that we used to test the results. In it, you will see this vision stabilization at work in combination with aiming, shooting and general weapon handling. We paid close attention to getting proper stabilization with a weapon while strafing, since that is an integral part of FPS combat.
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The AI team made a big push on the navigation system to allow designers to setup navigation meshes in different object containers. A navigation area placed inside an object container will now be loaded at run-time, and it will connect to the right zone and the right local physics grid.
In the image you can see the navigation mesh on the landing pad, in Blue, and the one attached to the zone and local grids of the Constellation. We also worked on fixing several bugs related to the characters moving on non z-up surfaces, we still have some work to do there but things are progressing nicely.
We are now consolidating the usage of GUID for all the elements inside our Subsumption Editor and the actual core code, so that we can allow designers a large amount of flexibility when changing names of variables or renaming activities and subactivities, all without breaking any logic. We also introduced several new tasks that are now available to the design team:
SelectTarget: this node allows an NPC to select a perceived object/character as a target.
TokenScope: this node allows designers to specify the maximum amount of NPCs that can execute a specific section of the logic.
ReserveScope: this node allows an NPC to reserve an object for the duration of a specific action.
IsEntityPlayer: this node allows an NPC to distinguish between an AI character and a Player character.
IsTargetWithinDistance: this node allows the designer to create a specific logic when the target is within a specific distance.
Over the last month we began moving the combat activity into Subsumption, so that we can start the complete unification of the human behaviors under the Subsumption system.
Regarding the perception system, we can now enable NPCs to track both friendly and hostile characters, allowing us to craft more complex relaxed behaviors. We also submitted the first pass on the Large Object Vision map, this is a very similar system to the normal vision map we use, but oriented towards tracking large objects as capital ships.
The Cover System received the same love as the Navigation System, we completed the first pass to allow designers to properly setup cover surfaces in different object containers and load the cover data connecting it to the proper zone and local grid.
Design
On the Systems Design side, we implemented the mission giver, Miles Eckhart, and got AI working properly in our new Container system with proper physics and local AI navigation meshes using our Subsumption system. This will allow us to create a variety of behaviors to make the universe come to life. We’ve also started designing new Space Flight maneuvers with the goal of creating more advanced Dogfighting tactics for the single-seater AI ships.
There has also been some design work done on our Gathering systems for various professions, specifically outlining how our core gameplay loop works for gathering different types of resources, ranging from harvesting asteroids or gas clouds to the gathering and selling of data. This coincided with developing ancillary game loops like being hired to either gather or transport materials.
We have almost finalized the FPS suit design, defining how we break up the suit for modularity as well as adding components and other attachments to the suits, allowing the player to customize suit pieces to fit their play style.
We have also finished up our R&D for the unmanned satellites, probes, landers, as well as small modular bases for procedural planets, that will eventually populate the nascent Stanton System in Alpha 3.0. It will still be some time before we implement these, but with the proposed system we will be able to build a large amount of these infrastructural devices fairly quickly for the Stanton system in 3.0.
Environment Art
The Environment Art team in Frankfurt was fully tasked in August with supporting the Engine Team to develop the procedural planets. We spent a good amount of time working on ground materials, authoring new height maps and continuing work on the functionality and general usability of our “Planet Editor.”
Tech Art
For August, the Tech Art team in Frankfurt primarily worked on updating all weapons with proper individual mass and physics, so they can correctly collide with other items and the floor.
Weapon Art
Last month, we finished a bunch of prototype models for upcoming new weapons and gadgets, and completed a set of modular barrel attachments such as compensators and suppressors. We also finished another Behring rifle, the P8-AR, and are in the final stages of art production for a set of Behring grenades. On the ship weapon side, we wrapped up the new missile racks in all sizes and variants and have started to polish, optimize and adjust the missiles themselves.
Cinematics
The cinematics team in Frankfurt contributed animations, blocking, lighting, and camera work to the “quest giver” portions of the Gamescom playthrough. Going through the full process from beginning to end allowed them to test the existing pipeline and make it more robust for upcoming scenes and characters. We also worked closely with our Lead Engine Programmer to test how the look IK will perform in cutscenes where the player has full control and freedom of movement.
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When August began, DEQA hit the ground running focused on Gamescom demo testing. We worked tirelessly with UKQA, ATXQA and LAQA toward the goal of smashing all critical and blocking issues encountered during our testing up to the event. The QA team, with the addition of Grégoire Andivero from Design, were also given the opportunity to assist on the show floor for a few hours to ensure that all PCs were set up with the proper demo build. All the long hours paid off though with Chris Speak’s epic final play of the demo.
Since Gamescom, we spent the last week and a half of August creating Feature Test levels and testing Star Marine.
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BHVR
With the delivery of the 2.5 patch came along a lot of clean ups and long overdue fixes for us at Behaviour. On the engineering side, this meant making sure things were more stable and simpler for future features, as well as reducing the time spent updating the UI each frame. On the art side, we introduced the abandoned Green Imperial Housing Exchange asteroid base we have been working on for the past several months. A big focus for the team was on the lighting in order to reinforce the story conveyed by the level art and modeling. And we’re not done yet. We’ve included some before and after shots to show where Grim HEX is headed in future patches. We hope you’ll enjoy the new look once it has been integrated in game.
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Turbulent
Not even us devs in Montreal were able to escape the Gamescom excitement as we designed and built a special web page for the event. This page contained the Twitch 5-day livestream, as well as a new chat module featuring improved tech. It was great being able provide this cool experience to backers during Gamescom and we look forward to using this in the future for other events. In addition, work is underway on new search functionality, allowing for more intuitive, platform-wide results. This new search module will eventually replace the current website’s search altogether
Ship Happens
This month saw the introduction of the Anvil Terrapin, an exploration ship with a proven military track record able to take a hit… or two, and keep on going. It was offered up alongside a couple exploration themed combo packs. And while not a ship, the newly revealed Ursa Rover was there as well. The 2.5 patch saw the release of three flight ready ships: two Argo MPUVs, both cargo and personnel variants, and the Xi’An influenced MISC Reliant Kore!
RSI Newsletter
The official Star Citizen newsletter saw an overhaul as we moved away from the standard RSS news update, and into a new layout that favors curated content and more information from the community as a whole. Not only does it include each week’s top stories, but it also recaps updates for RSI Subscribers, current promotions, and showcases top Arena Commander pilots, fan creations from the Community Hub, and sometimes, brand new content you’ve never seen before!
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Community
Between our first major showfloor booth, five days of gameplay livestreaming, our fourth-annual Gamescom presentation where we demo’d Star Citizen Alpha 3.0, trips to our Frankfurt and Wimslow offices, and more Bar Citizen events in Germany and the UK than you can shake a stick at, August has been one heck of a ride.
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While Around the Verse and Reverse the Verse continued their trek around the globe, it was our Fourth-Annual Gamescom Presentation livestream hosted again by Chris Roberts himself that drew all the attention. We we’re able to show the community, not to mention the world at large, a preview of the upcoming Star Citizen Alpha 3.0.
Additionally, our five days of game streaming from the Gamescom Showfloor booth both before and after the presentation was a tremendous success. Members of our Star Citizen livestreaming community shared their experiences, and we gave away a whopping 42 game packages. It was such a hit that smart money says we’ll be continuing the program in the future.
You Guys
The Community continues to blow us out of the water each and every month with the amount of talented and detailed contributions submitted to the Community Hub. This month was one of the toughest to choose an MVP each week, as there was an abundance of deserving content. If you see something in the Hub worth highlighting for MVP, it’s not too late to vote! Even if it didn’t get MVP in August, this does not rule out a highlight in the future.
One of the best parts of our jobs is when we get to meet all of you in person! Gamescom alone had three fan gatherings in addition to the presentation after-party. These are an incredible way to get in touch with local Citizens, so make sure to check and see if there are any in your local area. As always, thank you to everyone who came out to support us and hang out: stuff like this really recharges the ol’ batteries.
And did you see Dastro34’s Big Benny’s costume? Big hit here.
The Wrap-Up
Looking Ahead
Thanks again to everyone for an awesome month. We’re going to get back to work and keep plugging away at Squadron 42, SC Alpha 2.6 and 3.0.
We’re almost a month away from Citizen Con 2016, being held this year in Los Angeles. Check back to find out more details about events and schedules. It’s definitely going to be a showstopper.
This week, join our LA Studio where we find out what’s new in Star Citizen! Get a complete update of what the studio is working on from Eric Kieron Davis. A look at what makes the Caterpillar so exciting as well as a peek behind the curtain of the Cloud Imperium Tech Content Team.
Squadron 42, der Einzelspieler-Ableger des Crowdfunding-Megaprojekts Star Citizen, hebt womöglich doch nicht mehr in diesem Jahr ab. Wie die Kollegen von der Gamestar berichten, hat Chris Roberts auf der Gamescom im Gespräch verraten, einen Release erst…
Diese Woche geht es in Star Citizen: Around the Verse nach Großbritannien. Die Themen dieses Mal: Schiffsladungen, Ursa Rover, Drake Dragonfly, Schiffswracks im Weltraum und auf sandigen Planeten.
This week, join our UK Studio where we find out what’s new in Star Citizen! Get a complete update of what the studio is working on from Nick Elms. A deep dive into the making of the Dragonfly as well as a special look at the future of ships from Nathan Dearsley.
Star Citizen hat inzwischen mehr als 1,5 Mio. Backer um sich geschart. Seit dem 25. August 2016 steht die Alpha-Version 2.5 live zur Verfügung. Das spielerische Highlight darin stellt die neue Raumstation Grim HEX dar. Tief versteckt in einem…
Die Alpha 2.5 von Star Citizen ist verfügbar und mit der neuen Piraten-Raumstation Grim Hex wird der Umfang des bisher vorhandenen Spiels deutlich erweitert. Im Trailer wird die Station vorgeführt, sie bietet nicht nur neue Shopping-Möglichkeiten für…
Another Concept Sale, another Question & Answer session. Since last Friday, we’ve been collecting questions from the dedicated Q&A post here and today our designers working on the ship will answer 12 more questions! We are very excited to discuss this ship in more detail, so let’s jump right into part 2!
Special thanks to Will Maiden, John Crewe, Steven Kam, and Todd Papy for taking the time to answer these questions for us.
Question & Answer
What do you envision Anvil Terrapin gameplay to be like?
The Terrapin was designed first and foremost for the UEE Military to provide overwatch, long-endurance picket, and reconnaissance capabilities to the fleet, as well as extend the Navy’s ability to provide a patrol presence to border systems that couldn’t be allocated capital ships or large fighter garrisons for defense. These capabilities lend themselves to civilian use as an explorer, particularly where a private operator principally gathers and sells information, point of interest data, risky deep scans of hostile environments, and survey data for a living, as opposed to collecting tangibles for sale. The Terrapin’s long endurance, advanced sensor suite, and range play to this aspect of exploration, whereas other explorers like the Freelancer DUR sometimes focus more on collecting trinkets, incidental salvage, and other physical items to supplement their exploration runs. While purpose built for recon, overwatch, and picket duty, the military makes good use of whatever is available, so the Terrapin’s supplemental military roles as an S&R ship or makeshift troop transport arose as a matter of need, in situations where the tried-and-true Argo wasn’t sufficiently robust for service under fire.
While the utility mounts are specced and rated primarily for sensors and scanners, we’re exploring the possibility of other options for those mounts. Current ideas include some command, control, and communications equipment that would allow the Terrapin to take particular advantage of its optional two-man crew to help oversee and direct group fighter combat without being as vulnerable as a traditional AWACS. A present day analog might be support or scout helicopters that some armies use in conjunction with helo gunships.
In terms of detection, we’ve noted some backers asking whether the Terrapin can do its job and keep tabs on enemies from a distance, even though in operation it might have a large signature. It’s worth noting that you can affect your craft’s signature by choosing which systems to power up or down. Almost every ship will have a larger signature when its power plant and shield generator are running hot; the Terrapin may have the signature of a larger ship when its shields are up, but not so much when the shields are down and the power plant dialed back – a common occurrence when the Terrapin and its crew are “listening” as opposed to fighting. This is an aspect of our intended stealth and signature gameplay in general, but the Terrapin’s capabilities bring this into very sharp relief. It’s easy to forget when you’re playing Arena Commander, where combat is direct and you have all of your systems pouring energy into weapons and shields and building up active heat all of the time.
In short, when a Terrapin crew is “stalking” or “shadowing” enemy movement, not only would a good crew attenuate the ship’s energy signature, the Terrapin’s sensors have a pretty good shot at picking up a small signature farther away than an actively hunting fighter would be able to detect a savvy Terrapin. And while the Terrapin’s shields might be down, its heavy armor makes it much more resilient to harm if surprised than a lighter ship would be in the same situation. The Terrapin may not have been “designed” as a stealth ship, but these principles really apply to this ship. They’ll help you realize the Terrapin’s full potential.
In part 1 it mentioned that the Terrapin was better off running from a battle than it is standing its ground in a dogfight. Can you explain in more detail what this means?
The Terrapin is designed for military long-endurance recon. It’s an intelligence ship; its best defense is, in fact, intelligence. The general idea is to see the enemy before they see you, and manage your position or make use of environmental hazards or features to keep them from finding you. If you learn the signature and shadowing game well, you should find that slower acceleration isn’t much of a problem, especially when you know where they are, but they don’t know where you are.
In a dogfight, the Terrapin has a lot of endurance, but it’s not the equal of a fighter in most direct combat situations. Fighters are purpose-built – you generally wouldn’t want to tangle with them at their own game. The Terrapin is the intel ship; the idea is not to fight against fighters directly. From a military perspective, when it comes to enemy fighters, the Terrapin’s job is most likely to detect them, anticipate where they’re going, and bring down the rain on them by calling in friendlies designed to tackle them.
What does “high-grade” mean in regards to the Terrapin’s shields?
The Terrapin’s shields are oversized; it’s a small ship, but it carries the kind of shield generator you’d expect on a much larger class of ship, like a Freelancer or Constellation, for example. Of course, an oversized shield generator has oversized power requirements and signature, which is one of the reasons why the Terrapin is also so heavily armored for all the operational reasons indicated above. Ideally, you don’t allow yourself to get caught by the enemy in a Terrapin, but when the jig is up and you’re spotted, your thick shell will buy you time you wouldn’t have in a lighter ship.
What can we expect the loadout/weaponry of the Anvil Terrapin to be?
As designed in the concept, the Terrapin’s only definite weaponry is the chin turret capable of mounting two size 2 guns. The Size 5 hardpoint for the remote turret was calculated using the older hardpoint sizing profiles, where a Size 5 hardpoint could mount a turret mechanism and two Size 2 guns (1 for the turret/gimbal and 2 each per size 2 gun). The original Terrapin template comes from a long time ago back when we were brainstorming the new starter candidates, so it missed the hardpoint sizing update. We will need to revise the stats to reflect the true size of a hardpoint set for a twin-size 2 gun turret, which will result in a smaller hardpoint. Under the current sizing scheme, there’s just no way to fit a Size 5 hardpoint on the chin of the Terrapin.
That typo aside, we are not declaring that this by itself necessarily reaches the “hard-hitting array” of weaponry we envision for this ship. We also want to find a way to give it weapons that are both appropriate to the ship’s mission and yet different from the general flavor you’d expect from fighters. Bear in mind that for a ship with a big power plant, a few small guns can be more hard-hitting than they would appear, due to the abundance of juice available. As we continue to tinker with this ship’s concept, we will keep you apprised of what we come up with. As the Terrapin’s mission profile emphasizes defense and SAR potential, we might for example, look into weapons that allow suppressive fire, point defense, or disruption (you may not want to risk blowing up the people you’re trying to rescue), or other options that would really emphasize what the Terrapin is about, but at the moment we’re still considering the possibilities.
Can you please elaborate on the different exploration mechanics the Anvil Terrapin will excel at?
Exploration involves a number of different possible activities, not all of which involve taking material things home. True to its original design as an intel and recon ship, the Terrapin is more concerned with finding, cataloging, and reporting critical information and discovering points of interest than it is about taking home incidental salvage, trinkets, or loose resources. The Terrapin’s great emphasis on scanning and detection – including the dedicated utility hardpoints for doubling down on extra scanning capacity – make it ideal for exploring and data processing larger volumes of space more efficiently than even many of its small-explorer contemporaries. It may not be able to bring back many souvenirs, but the real point behind the Terrapin is to locate valuable things for friends. When you bring the Terrapin home, you can sell the information to other parties or call in friends, guilds, or NPC interests to exploit the resources you’ve found for them – or you can keep the secret to yourself and come back with a ship designed or outfitted specifically to take advantage of whatever it was you found out there. This echoes its military role – why tussle with the enemy, when your real strength is calling in the full weight of the fleet you have behind you on your hapless foe?
An Explorer ship would be expected to at least bring back a few samples, why doesn’t the Terrapin have at least that?
Finding samples on trips, recovering some salvage, that’s all something that can be placed inside the Terrapin and brought back for the eggheads to study or someone to make a buck on the black-markets of GrimHex, but the Terrapin’s focus is on data collection, worth its SCU weight in gold. Selling the mining spot on a virgin world or finding the location of the most wanted pirate lord in 3 systems is what the Terrapin pilots are all about, and those are the paydays they are chasing. If bringing back cargo and salvage from these trips is something you’re more interested in, as I talked about the scale of explorers, it may be that buyers want a ship more suited towards that, but there will be a payoff of more cargo space meaning the ship loses scanning and radar abilities as a result.
The design post mentions the possibility of using the Terrapin as a drop ship/rescue boat in heavy combat situations. Without seats/straps to hold any additional passengers down, how do you see this working?
There are different degrees of customizability in different ships. For example, the Retaliator has modular spaces that it usually uses as bomb bays, the Vanguard has a drop-in, drop-out crew/escape module, and the Cutlass has an interior with hardpoints that can accept different types of equipment. While the Terrapin’s interior isn’t modular, we may find a way to play with the interior and allow for the installation of a few jump seats. Remember that the Terrapin wasn’t specifically designed for this role, but the military found it useful for the situation regardless, even considering it wasn’t part of the original mission profile.
Can we expect to see any variants of the Terrapin released at a later date?
None are currently planned. There is potential for it depending especially on what we find we can accomplish in design with regard to utility mounts.
Can the Terrapin go into “silent mode” while scanning? (Like when only manned with one person and that person is in the main room-chair for scanning and data evaluation?
Yes; see previous answer. Managing silent running is something you’ll want to master in order to get the most out of your Terrapin.
The Terrapin is able to accommodate a crew of two, why is there only one bed?
It’s a small, military ship. The UEE design brief didn’t include lavish creature comforts, and as a picket ship, the military expects at least one crew member to be awake and on duty at all times. How much good is a picket if the whole crew is asleep? Civilian operators might think differently, because they may be using their Terrapins as explorers, but Anvil designed the ship for military use.
The Terrapin mentioned its role is firmly in data gathering. What type of data? Asteroids? Planets? Rare minerals? Other ships?
As above; see existing answer. Information, points of interest, recon, enemy positional info, and whatever resources out there that the sensors and scanners can catalog and report on.
Will it be as maneuverable as the Gladiator?
The Gladiator is tough but it’s still designed to dodge fire. The Terrapin is designed to bull through it instead.
The Terrapin was one of the reasons the UEE military approached Anvil to design the Hornet and the Gladiator. The Terrapin was pretty much the toughest small ship the military had ever seen, and as the Terrapin proved itself in operation, the UEE eventually asked Anvil if it was possible to design a dedicated strike craft with some of that incredible durability. Naturally some of that toughness had to be traded for improved speed and agility, since the Hornet and Gladiator were expected to be able to hold their own in a dogfight and couldn’t fit the Terrapin’s oversized shield generator and powerplant while doing so, but they’re still some of the toughest, most durable fighters in service. Don’t be too miffed if the Terrapin isn’t as fast or agile as a Gladiator, though. If you’re comparing nearly any other ship type to fighters or dive bombers specifically in terms of speed and agility, they’re going to tend to come out behind.
Alpha-Version 2.5 des Mammutprojekts Star Citizen ist live und steht zum Download bereit. Ein packender Launch-Trailer zeigt die neuen Inhalte und macht Lust auf Chris Roberts Weltraum-Simulation mit dem wahnwitzigen Detailgrad und der schicken Grafik.
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We have published a major update to Star Citizen. Star Citizen Alpha 2.5 includes significant changes to Star Citizen’s Crusader persistent universe environment. This patch, now available in your Star Citizen launcher, introduces the detailed Grim HEX pirate base, which is a major addition to the game world and an important part of our evolving faction system. Three ships have been added to flight-ready status, the Reliant KORE and two variants of the ARGO MPUV short-range transport. Details on other aspects of the patch are available below, and a full list of changes, balance updates and bug fixes can be found in the complete Patch Notes.
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The GrimHEX Outlaw Base
For the first time in Star Citizen, those that live outside the law now have a base of operations! The Grim HEX outlaw base is a home away from home for those that choose to live outside the United Empire of Earth’s laws. There’s plenty to discover at Grim HEX, including a pair of stores: Skutters is a guns and armor shop with a focus on energy weapons, and KC Trending is a new clothing store with unique merchandise, but that’s only the beginning. Grim HEX will continue to expand with future patches with the addition of a bar, criminal missions and outlaw racing area.
Grim HEX isn’t just a cool place to explore: it’s also an essential evolution of Star Citizen’s faction and reputation system. With Alpha 2.5, lawbreakers will now spawn (and respawn) at Grim HEX and will also no longer have Port Olisar as a Quantum Travel option.
Grim HEX is located deep in the Yela asteroid belt, and you’ll need to explore the region yourself to locate it. Or, just ask an outlaw… they’re a trustworthy sort!
Sidebar: Green Imperial Housing Exchange
Housing Exchanges (also known as HEXs) are a popular style of cheap stations built into hollowed asteroids in an effort to save money on construction materials. HEXs offer affordable housing as well as shopping and entertainment options for temporary workers fulfilling contracts in the area. The simplicity of their build made them easy to maintain and their signature hexagonal honeycombed pieces made them exceedingly durable. Though originated by Everline Structures Inc, this style of station has been adopted by a variety of manufacturers because of their relatively low cost to build and operate, you can find these stations in various forms all over the universe.
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Updated Player Health System
We have implemented the first phase of our new player health system, including updated individual limb damage and health mechanics, more granular damage states, and many back-end improvements to support a better FPS combat experience and future features like permanent health. Player health should now show Normal (Green) when health is between 100%-60%, a Hurt (Yellow) state from 59%-40% health, a Damaged (Red) state from 39%-10%, and the Ruined (Dark Red) state at 9%-0%.
In addition, we have implemented some early versions of injury penalties. This includes a speed reduction for wounded legs, as well as a limping animation. Overall health damage (particularly head wounds) can also cause blurred vision around the edge of the screen, which will increase in intensity as more damage is taken.
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Landing System Launches
As the ‘Verse expands, the process of landing (and rearming, repairing, refuelling) your ship in a variety of different environments will become all the more important. With Star Citizen Alpha 2.5, we are pleased to introduce the first iteration of a landing system that offers a simple and smooth automated landing system AND gives players the ability to land manually. The system will grow over the coming releases to ultimately incorporate things like docking and the ability to request/obtain landing authorization through the Comms System.
With this patch, players are now able to enter Landing Mode by simply lowering their landing gear (done by tapping the “N” key on the keyboard). Landing Mode reduces the speed of the ship down to Precision Mode speed and changes the AR display from regular AR to landing AR. This flags landing pads as either Valid (blue), Invalid or Recommended (green.) By default, Valid pads are unobstructed and the correct size for the ship, whereas Invalid pads are either obstructed or the wrong size. There will only ever be one Recommended pad flagged at any one time, and it’ll normally be the closest Valid pad to the player. Once over a pad, the player can either land their ship manually or automatically (holding down the “N” key). A few seconds after touch down, Landing Mode will be disabled and the AR display will return to normal. Likewise a few seconds after taking off, Landing Mode will re-enable for as long as the landing gear is down. Putting the landing gear away will disable Landing Mode.
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The 2946 MISC Reliant is cleared for launch. Featuring a distinct flying-wing shape, extensive cargo room, unique weapons mounts and Xi’An influenced technology, this new addition to MISC’s lineup is sure to be popular around the inhabited universe. Planned as a ‘starter ship’ for new pilots, the Kore variant of the Reliant is a hauler with additional speed and dogfighting capabilities not found in a dedicated freighter ship.
In fact, the Kore was designed specifically by MISC to act as a balanced support its own Hull series. While the Hull line is solely dedicated to moving cargo from point to point with little interference, the nimble and better-armed Reliant is ideal for journeys that might involve an engagement or two. The Reliant has recently been approved for sale and flight around the inhabited galaxy.
The Reliant KORE is now flight-ready. You can learn more about the 2946 MISC Reliant here.
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In a galaxy full of badass starfighters, impossibly complex explorers, massive cargo ships and rough-and-ready miners, is there room for some simplicity? The team at ARGO Astronautics says: YES. The ARGO may not be any kind of warship and it’s unlikely an ARGO will ever be the first to set down on an alien world… but they are an essential part of human commerce, which makes them a valuable tool for anyone interested in building a mercantile empire.
The MPUV platform, generally called the ARGO after the company that designs and produces the ship, consists of a universal cab attached to a variety of different role-specific modules. The United Empire of Earth’s military forces use ARGO variants extensively for everything from search and rescue to personnel transport to munitions loading. The ARGO is, by all accounts, easy to pick up and fly (many new pilots train on them) and especially effective in its particular roles. Today, two variants are available for service in the Stanton System.
The ARGO Astronautics MPUV is now available in two flight-ready variants. You can learn more here.
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For the past several 2.x patches, we have been introducing elements of Item System 2.0. With Alpha 2.5, we have begun converting player and ship items. As with the prior, similar updates to ship components, this is largely at the back-end level: implementing new component class systems, naming conventions and other needed functionality, as well as retrofitting all existing armors and weapons to be compatible. These changes will allow us to implement greater modularity to first-person items. This should not affect the function of any in-game items and changes to player item stats should be minimal.
Bring Out the BIG GUNS
M7A Launches With a Bang
Alpha 2.5 introduces a new gun for the Voyager Direct and in-game rental stores: the size 5 Behring M7A laser cannon. This is the largest gun we’ve introduced for civilian ships in Star Citizen and needless to say, it packs quite a punch. This versatile long distance energy cannon is the latest in Behring’s M-Series. The M7A is designed to act as a high impact deterrent effective at medium to long range. The new AC8 Lens system minimizes stopping power loss over distance, making each shot equally effective at longer ranges. The M7A has also been mounted on the Starfarer Gemini’s turret by default. Check it out in Voyager Direct store here.
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Thank You, Citizens!
We would like to close by thanking the thousands of backers who submitted bug reports in Alpha 2.4 and those that participated in the Evocati and PTU testing phases for Alpha 2.5. Your feedback, thoughts and willingness to ‘battle the bugs’ with us is what makes releases like this possible.
“It doesn’t have quantum drive! It doesn’t have a laser cannon! Why the [redacted] would I want my own ARGO? Because I work for a living, that’s why, and no interstellar commerce has ever moved from point A to point B without touching an ARGO’s hull plating somewhere along the way.”
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In a galaxy full of badass starfighters, impossibly complex explorers, massive cargo ships and rough-and-ready miners, is there room for some simplicity? The team at ARGO Astronautics says: YES. The ARGO may not be any kind of warship and it’s unlikely an ARGO will ever be the first to set down on an alien world… but they are an essential part of human commerce, which makes them a valuable tool for anyone interested in building a mercantile empire.
The MPUV platform, generally called the ARGO after the company that designs and produces the ship, consists of a universal cab attached to a variety of different role-specific modules. The United Empire of Earth’s military forces use ARGO variants extensively for everything from search and rescue to personnel transport to munitions loading. The ARGO is, by all accounts, easy to pick up and fly (many new pilots train on them) and especially effective in its particular roles. Today, two variants are available for service in the Stanton System.
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The ARGO Astronautics MPUV-1C (commonly ‘Argo Cargo’) is a dedicated merchant transfer ship, a ubiquitous intergalactic stevedore. Vast numbers of Argo Cargos are responsible for loading and unloading goods onto massive long-haul transports and miners that cannot otherwise land on planets or drydocks, such as the Hull D and the Orion. Some captains choose to own and operate their own Argo, while others pay privately owned ships operating as port services a rental fee for performing the unloading process.
The second variant is the ARGO Astronautics MPUV-1P (commonly ‘Argo Personnel.’) This version of the Argo is geared towards a simple but incredibly important responsibility: moving grounds of people from place to place. The UEE Navy uses MPUV-1Ps extensively, and any new recruit can likely recall those terrifying moments in which such a ship carried them to their first space assignment. In civilian hands, Argo Personnel ships are adapted for everything from standard taxi services to use as makeshift combat dropships. The ARGO is capable of carrying up to eight humans and their equipment.
A third ARGO variant is in development. The MPUV-1S will replace the utility pod with a dedicated search and rescue area featuring medical equipment. More details about the MPUV-1S will be available in the future.
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The ARGO MPUV was developed for two purposes. The first was a co-starring role in Squadron 42, Star Citizen’s single player adventure. As seen in the ‘Morrow Tour’ displayed at CItizenCon 2015, the Argo Personnel will transport your character to his first assignment in the game. The second purpose of the Argo was part of Star Citizen’s raison d’être: immersion. We believe strongly that the galaxy should not consist only of ‘hero’ ships, but should instead be a complex patchwork of ‘working’ ships that explain how and why our universe functions. The Argo, which helps makes commerce happen and moves people from place to place, helps us speak directly to that immersive complexity!
We would like to pay special attention to the backers who asked that we offer the Argo as a pledge ship. The Argo has been completed because of its role in Squadron 42, and backers have asked that they be allowed to fly it in the current game. Since the ship is fully functional, we had no objection to this and have included the first two Argo variants in Alpha 2.5. The ship is available now in the persistent universe. Backers who have already pledged for the Idris or Javelin in the past will already have an ARGO in their inventory (Personnel for the Idris, Cargo for the Javelin.)
To learn more about the ARGO, check out the brochure linked above or the holoviewer model below. The team building the ARGO did not cut any corners; it is just as detailed as any of Star Citizen’s other ships or locations! We hope you enjoy exploring it and are confident that even before cargo transport is added to the game that backers will find interesting things to do with this ship around Port Olisar.
CONCEPT SALE
About the Sale
The Personnel and Cargo variants of the ARGO are being offered for the first time as a limited concept sale. This means that the ship design meets our specifications. Unlike other concept sales, both ships are ready to fly in Star Citizen 2.5! The sale includes Lifetime Insurance on the ship hulls. Additional in-game features, such as cargo transport, will be added to the persistent universe in the future to better support the roles intended for the ARGO. In future sales, he ship price will increase and the offer will not include Life Time Insurance or these extras.
If you’d like to add one to your fleet, they’re available in the pledge store until August 29th, 2016. You can also view a detail of the Prospector in the Holo Viewer in the Tech Overview of the ship page!
Disclaimer
Remember: we are offering this pledge ship to help fund Star Citizen’s development. The funding generated by sales such as this is what allows us to include deeper, non-combat oriented features in the Star Citizen world. Concept ships will be available for in-game credits in the final universe, and they are not required to start the game. The goal is to make additional ships available that give players a different experience rather than a particular advantage when the persistent universe launches.
“When I tell people I’m a hauler, they instantly assume I got some lump of a ship. That it can’t be sexy. I’ll tell ya. There ain’t nothing better than seeing their face drop once my Kore goes vertical.”
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The 2946 MISC Reliant is cleared for launch. Featuring a distinct flying-wing shape, extensive cargo room, unique weapons mounts and Xi’An influenced technology, this new addition to MISC’s lineup is sure to be popular around the inhabited universe. Planned as a ‘starter ship’ for new pilots, the Kore variant of the Reliant is a hauler with additional speed and dogfighting capabilities not found in a dedicated freighter ship.
In fact, the Kore was designed specifically by MISC to act as a balanced support its own Hull series. While the Hull line is solely dedicated to moving cargo from point to point with little interference, the nimble and better-armed Reliant is ideal for journeys that might involve an engagement or two. The Reliant has recently been approved for sale and flight around the inhabited galaxy.
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MISC’s design won a backer poll asking which ship we should build as the next starter. The finished product ended up being a fair amount more capable than a standard Aurora or Mustang, and so we have dubbed it a ‘Tier II’ starter (alongside the 300i and future ships to be announced).
The Reliant is available in the current patch and can be spawned at Port Olisar. Remember that the Reliant mixes both human and Xi’An technology, which is why it has such distinctive weapons hardpoints and a rotating flight mode.
You can learn more about the MISC Reliant Kore in the video, via the updated 3D model in the holoviewer or in the image galleries below. The team at MISC has produced six special blueprints for Reliant Kore owners to explain the ins and outs of their new ship. Enjoy!
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Concept sale
About the Sale
The Reliant is being offered as a flight ready sale. This means that the ship design meets our specifications, and that it is now ready to fly in Star Citizen Alpha 2.5. If you’d like to add one to your fleet, they’re available in the pledge store until August 29th, 2016. You can also view a detail of the Prospector in the Holo Viewer in the Tech Overview of the ship page!
Disclaimer
Remember: we are offering this pledge ship to help fund Star Citizen’s development. The funding generated by sales such as this is what allows us to include deeper, non-combat oriented features in the Star Citizen world. All ships will be available for in-game credits in the final universe, and they are not required to start the game. The goal is to make additional ships available that give players a different experience rather than a particular advantage when the final persistent universe launches.
Star Citizen hat einen neuen Meilenstein in seiner Finanzierung erreicht: 120 Millionen US-Dollar von fast 1,5 Millionen Unterstützern hat das ambitionierte Crowdfundingprojekt inzwischen zu verbuchen. Als Grund für den jüngsten Schub wird die…
