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HULL C
ENTERPRISE-LEVEL
CARGO HAULER
Any experienced commercial hauler will tell you plain as day that anybody taking interstellar freight seriously should lock their sites on MISC’s ubiquitous Hull series. Simply put, it’s how cargo gets around this universe of ours.
Considered by many to be the most versatile in the series and undoubtedly the most popular, the Hull C hits the sweet spot between the smaller single-person transporters and massive superfreighters that make up the rest of the range. With a telescopic spindle system capable of carrying a staggering 4608 SCU, the Hull C offers the cargo capacity of much larger ships while still retaining a modicum of the maneuverability allowed by the lower end of the range.
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Every MISC Hull carries serious weight, but the Hull C is your ticket to the big leagues with its easy-to-load cargo blades accommodating an enormous maximum payload of 4608 SCU.
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Loading and unloading gargantuan amounts of cargo is a snap thanks to the Hull C’s remote cargo management system, utilizing multiple industrial spec tractor beams.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Welcome to Loremakers: Community Questions, a series focused on answering your lore quandaries and conundrums. We’ve done a deep dive through the lore Ask The Devs section and selected ten questions to answer about the Star Citizen universe. All questions were edited for context and clarity but you can click on the topic to go directly to the original post and join the conversation. Also, the Narrative team plans to do one installment of Loremakers: Community Questions every quarter with the next entry scheduled for Tuesday, December 12th, so please join the discussion and drop any other questions you might have about the universe in our Ask The Devs forum.
Question:This Week in Star Citizen shows someone wearing a Second Tevarin War uniform at Invictus. As I understand the lore, the UEE is trying to distance itself from its pro-fascist Messer era. So why would people be encouraged to go to something like Invictus in a Second Tevarin War Uniform? It would be like having an ad campaign for the US Space Force with people wearing Civil War era Confederate uniforms. It runs counter to what the UEE is trying to be now, right?
Answer: People do not typically associate Second Tevarin War uniforms with the Messers, and their appearance at events like Invictus would be seen as patriotic instead of controversial. This attitude is in part because Tevarin forces instigated both wars. They're seen as historically justified and necessary from Humanity's perspective, and not wars of aggression pushed on the people by the Messers.
The First and Second Tevarin Wars also predated the outright fascist era of the Messer regime. Ivar Messer first came into prominence during the First Tevarin War, and his son Deacon Messer, considered by many to be the least problematic Messer, ruled during the Second Tevarin War. While the Messer regime would argue that the wars proved that the UEE needed strong leadership, the regime would not shift itself toward outright fascism to consolidate and retain power until after the Tevarin Wars. Another major factor is that the military uniforms worn during the Second Tevarin War would be changed by the Messers. Those uniforms are most synonymous with the iron fist of the Messer regime, and would raise ire if worn to Invictus.
Question:Will we see religion and religious figures in-game? Battle hardened warrior nuns. Priests swinging electron maces. Places of worship and religious factions. Maybe a gothic BMM that doubles up as a cathedral?
Personally, I'd like to see cult-like activity around mega-fauna like the giant sand worm, Valakkar, with priests feeding sacrificial victims to it to purify their souls. Hoping that SC will not be soulless.
Answer: Plenty of people will be believers within the universe. As we've previously stated, current religions still exist but will not be a focus of the lore. Instead, Narrative attention will be on religions and cults that have found followers since Humanity’s expansion into space, several of which we’ve already established. They run the gamut from the benevolent Church of the Journey, which teaches people to meditate on the path they're traveling through life, to the fanatical Outsiders (aka Sun's Eye Fellowship) whose aggressive anti-modernity stance lead to them overthrowing corporate interests and ruling Mya (Leir II) since 2812. There will also be smaller sects whose reach and influence will be more localized, like the flare star obsessed Fire Rats gang or those that believe an all-knowing prophet resides in Pyro.
We've also spent time developing the religions practiced by the various alien races. Banu will often have an altar dedicated to Cassa, the Patron of Luck, or Taernin, the Great Traveler. They will also hire a religious souli to do blessings for them, or even adopt a foreign religion they encounter on their travels. Meanwhile, Xi'an follow the Li'tova, which centers around the concept of time and was codified into Xi'an law in 19,668 BCE. The planet R.aip’uāng (Kai’pua III) is a religious commune dedicated to practicing Li'tova and famous for its labyrinthine gardens and sacred temples. Finally, Tevarin followed the war ethos of the Rijora until their defeat in the Second Tevarin War led them to abandon its practice during their cultural purge. The religion has seen a resurgence recently and found new followers among the Tevarin diaspora in Branaugh.
Question:I have a question about the production of oxygen on ArcCorp. Since there are no trees or any other kind of vegetation on this planet, how does an oxygen-rich atmosphere occur? Is the oxygen produced artificially?
Answer: Natural oxygen production does occur on ArcCorp. According to the planet’s description in the Stanton Galactic Guide:
"Almost all of the terrain has been sculpted, zoned and built upon, leaving only its mountain ranges and large bodies of water left for nature."
The version of the planet currently in-game doesn't represent those areas yet, but will hopefully be added in a future patch.
Question: The BiotiCorp Regen Serum is used as a base material for the bioprinting of bodies. My question is, how human is a regenerated person? I don't mean from a philosophical point of view but rather how well can the serum mimic real blood, bone, and tissue? Will a regenerated person feel the difference?
Answer: From a physiological perspective, regened Humans are 100% Human with real cells, tissues, organs, and so forth. There's no placeholder goo or tech replicating aspects or functions of the body, it's a real body. The serum works with the Ibrahim sphere to regen a Human or alien that's physiologically identical to their imprint, including imperfections and life's wear and tear.
Now, whether a regened person can 'feel the difference' between their previous and regened body is a question that veers into the philosophical, but we have already called out that phantom pain is possible. The regen serum creates the physical aspects of the body, but it's the Ibrahim sphere that captures and transfers a person's memories, personality, and other intangibles. Imprinting creates a link, or 'echo', that can pick up and register traumatic events that occur to the host's body. So someone regening after an accident might feel phantom pain in a leg that was crushed, as the physical pain and psychological fear of that experience will 'echo' to the imprint and impact their regeneration. This mind/body connection was important from a design perspective, so characters would age and face the consequences of their actions. While the psychological aspect of how someone 'feels' after regen aren't represented in the game design, the situation creates some interesting role playing situations for Players and dramatic possibilities within the lore, one of which was already explored in the short story Hazy Days.
Question:We are told that shields are an energy barrier in Star Citizen. Are there any details about how shields work, strengths, weaknesses, and variations?
Answer: The Narrative team recently did a lot of work reviewing the technological world building of the 'verse over its 930 years of history. Shields were, of course, a big part of this, but any firm decisions on how shields work, and their individual specifications, will depend greatly on Design and what they determine is best for the player experience.
However, the intent is definitely for there to be different types of shields with unique variations between them. The Tevarin, in particular, developed their own impressive shield technology that, at the time, was better than anything Humanity had access to. But a lot of time has passed since Humanity defeated the Tevarin across not one, but two wars, so it stands to reason a lot of those technological advances would've been adopted by the UEE and, eventually, public ship manufacturers.
Question:What is the Chairman's Club in Star Citizen?
Answer: In-universe, the Chairman's Club is an exclusive concierge service provided to high-end customers of the Central Core Bank. Members get access to luxury lounges, special edition items, and other perks. There is a ranking system within the club that people can climb up to access rewards that are otherwise unattainable. Entry to the club is generally seen as an impressive accomplishment, and attaining the highest rank within the club is a status symbol associated with the UEE's wealthiest people.
Question: Crusader is a gas giant. So where does the breathable atmosphere for Orison come from? What about the temperature regulation? Even assuming Crusader has a somehow oxygen-rich atmosphere, Orison is in the high atmosphere, which would thin the oxygen considerably. The platforms have thrusters to keep them up in the air, do they also have some form of atmosphere generation/temperature regulation?
Answer: There is a non-zero chance that a low-mass gas giant with a naturally-occurring nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, safe air pressure, and comfortable temperatures and gravity in its upper reaches can exist, but based on current theories of planetary formation, it is almost certainly not possible. However! We live in a universe where we have planets with diamond rain and areas of space with giant molecular clouds that taste like raspberry rum. "Space be crazy," to quote Dave Haddock. And space is full of things we haven't yet discovered. So Narrative decided that while we prefer to keep our environments as scientifically accurate as we can, sometimes we bend the rules in favor of creating something fun. Crusader is one of those cases.
Orison does utilize some technology to keep things comfortable for everyone. Things stay pretty temperate so climate control isn't an issue, but there are artificial gravity plates in the platforms. The plants you encounter around Orison were engineered by Crusader Industries to help keep the local air clean and oxygen rich. We've discussed the possibility of specialized machines that create breathable air in a small localized area, but that idea is tentative at the moment.
Question:Why are there ATMs in R&R stations and around ArcCorp if the universe uses digital currency?
Answer: As part of the UEE's switch to a purely digital currency, a faction in the Senate wanted to enshrine a right to fiscal privacy through guaranteeing an option to use physicalized credit-chits. Most people in the Empire prefer not to use them as they are inconvenient, only hold a set amount, and are much riskier to carry since any funds on them are gone if the chit is lost or stolen.
And while the chits are popular among criminal elements, they are not the only ones that use them. People wanting to make surprise purchases, folks living on the frontier with chancy comm connections, and tech-averse citizens all prefer to use physical currency. The ATMs serve as a way for people to move credits from their accounts on to a chit. Transferring funds off of a chit is easier as most mobiGlas have that ability. Design has been discussing various options for how to incorporate the chits into the game, and the hope is that they will eventually be something players can find around the 'verse.
Question:It was previously mentioned that the majority of the UEE population does not own a ship. I would imagine that the majority of pilots in the 'verse who own personal ships are probably Citizens who learned how to fly ships whilst serving in the UEE Navy, and received the appropriate pilot training along the way. But what about the ordinary civilians who are using their ships for jobs like cargo hauling? Are there different "classes" of ships that a pilot's license will allow them to fly, based on the amount of training they have received?
In addition to all the extra nuances of flying a ship compared to say driving a car even many so-called "starter" ships such as the Aurora are capable of pulling upwards of 7 Gs in the game - which, while not quite as much as a fighter or a racer, is still quite a lot (roller coasters, by comparison, usually top out at around 4 Gs), so I would imagine that an aspiring civilian pilot would probably have to undergo a similar physical fitness regimen, centrifuge training, etc. as a military fighter pilot just to obtain a license to fly their own ship. And probably even more so if the pilot in question is training to be a racer or a data runner, as the Herald is actually the fastest current ship in the game!
Answer: The Narrative team has discussed that the Traffic Safety Board (part of the Department of Transportation and Navigation) would issue certifications for pilots to legally be allowed to operate spaceships.There are different classes of certifications for various vessels depending on their size and capabilities. In recent years, thanks to how advanced sim-pods have become, much of the training and certification process can now be done virtually. And with the popularity of flight-sims like Arena Commander, there are numerous pilots across the 'verse who are accredited to fly without ever having physically flown a ship.
How this might be represented in-game is still being discussed with Design and the final decision is still pending. So, it may be that players will have to be certified before being allowed to legally operate vehicles, or possibly that there will be an assumption that they have been certified well before they even started playing.
Question:I've been looking at the available images for the alien species in the Star Citizen universe, and it immediately struck me that they're all 'humans in rubber suits'. They all have two legs with the same joints as humans, just slightly different stances and bone lengths. They all have two arms... with the same joints. They all have heads with primate-like faces... a high forehead, a pair of eyes above a nose and a mouth.
Why is this? Why do all these species need to be humanoid? Is it so that they can be performed by humans in motion capture suits? To make them more relatable to the players? Or is it just a lack of imagination?
As someone who has made a hobby of designing realistic, biologically plausible but truly alien aliens, it is rather jarring to see such un-alien 'aliens'.
Answer: It was a conscious choice for a couple reasons. It was so we could potentially capture actors playing the roles, but also one of the original goals was to ultimately allow players to potentially play as aliens so it would save us from having to create completely unique animation sets and allow for our ships to accommodate them with minimal modifications as well as letting humans fly their ships. It would be considerably more difficult if the aliens each had really exotic physiology. That said, our hope is that the fauna that players will encounter in the ’verse will be very diverse in their physiology.
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Avast there, buccaneers!
It's time to sharpen your cutlass and prepare to cast off, for Pirate Week has docked in Stanton, and booty awaits! Or, if you wouldn't call yourself a scallywag, lock and load to protect the good citizens of Stanton from the encroaching pirate threat!
On September 21, the battle for Stanton's infamous drug labs will reignite in the return of our Jumptown Event. Show you've got what it takes to become a glorious captain, not just a bilge rat.
For the saltiest seadogs looking for real adventure, the Treasure Hunt Screenshot Contest can secure ye booty beyond measure. The contest ends Wednesday, September 20, so make sure to dive in while you can!
CitizenCon 2953, our biggest event so far, is little more than a month away! If you haven't picked up your tickets yet, you can get them here. And if you can't make it, don't worry, you can still catch the show live from the comfort of your own home on twitch.tv/starcitizen. Also, if you're planning to celebrate from home, make sure to get your hands on this year's exclusive Digital Goodies Pack! We'll be sharing more details about the event later this week, so keep an eye out! We can't wait to see you there!
Last but not least, on the Alpha 3.20 front, if all sails smoothly today, we're targeting to release to the live servers tomorrow! If you haven't yet, set your course towards the iconic Port Olisar tonight to secure a memory (and a Spectrum badge).
Now, let's see what's going on this week:
On Tuesday, the Narrative team returns to us with the latest monthly Galactapedia update.
This Wednesday, we'll publish last week's August Squadron 42 Monthly Report email as a comm-link followed by our bi-weekly Roadmap Update and the complementary Roadmap Roundup.
On Thursday, Inside Star Citizen has the second part of Design Brief, detailing the future of cargo careers. If you missed last week's episode, be sure to catch up ahead of time. We'll also see the return of the Jumptown Dynamic Event.
This Friday, join us for Star Citizen Live on Twitch at 15:00 UTC / 8 am Pacific. We'll learn more about sound design and chat with the people who create the soundscapes for our games. Furthermore, you'll find our weekly RSI Newsletter directly delivered to your inbox.
Have a stellar week both in and out of the 'verse!
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We're constantly amazed at the contributions made by the Star Citizen community. Whether it's fan art, a cinematic, YouTube guide, or even a 3D print of your favorite ship, we love it all! Every week, we select one piece of content submitted to the Community Hub and highlight it here. The highlighted content creator will be awarded an MVP badge on Spectrum and be immortalized in our MVP section of the Hub.
Don't forget to submit your content to our Community Hub for the chance to see it here!
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Hoist a flagon of ale skyward in revelous homage to the Banu gods of pillage and plunder, for it be that time of year once again. That’s right, ya scurvy wretches, Pirate Week has once again made port and brought with it more piratical fun and shenanigans than you can rattle a cutlass at.
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Ever wanted to throw down with the saltiest dogs in the ‘verse? You’ve come to the proper place. Whether you’re a lone wolf or looking to start a crew, you can arm yourself and your vessel to the teeth and start stalking the outskirts of Stanton. Or, maybe you’re the type to walk the lawful path of righteous destruction, keeping the spacelanes free and clear. Either way, ye need look no further than Pirate Week for a heavy dose of action.
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Arena Commander’s Pirate Swarm mode is a great place to sharpen your dogfighting skills, while earning the right to pick up a Pirate Gladius or Caterpillar. With a brand-new Pirate Aggressor Spectrum badge and new challenges coming in Alpha 3.20, this is the perfect time to prepare for the gathering onslaught and your last chance to secure the classic Pirate Aggressor badge before it, and its access to coveted ship variants goes down with the tide.
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Ask any buccaneer sober/alive enough to tell you a tale or two, they’ll surely admit that roughly 60% of piracy is how you look doing it. So, we’ve got you covered with the new Meridian paint scheme that’s certain to strike fear into the hearts of those foolhardy or unlucky enough to cross your path. Secure 'em now for your Mercury, Hercules, Ares, and Eclipse, and claim 'em when they make port in Alpha 3.20.
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A life of piracy requires many things, but above all else, it requires both nerves and a liver of steel. This diabolical treasure hunt puts both to the test, as you’ll follow a map to a pair of locations near Klescher with a beverage in hand, being ever so careful not to spill any of the precious liquid along the precarious journey. The freebooter with the most creative screenshot showing off their beverage at quest’s end will have a chance to secure booty beyond measure.
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On September 21, the infamous Jumptown drug labs become operational on moons across Stanton. Raise your colors and make a name for yourself as a ruthless reprobate or side with the dastardly do-gooders of the system and put an end to the madness once and for all. It’s a good and bloody way to sample life on both sides of the law.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Mit Port Olisar verschwindet mit dem demnächst erscheinenden Update Alpha 3.20 den fast zehn Jahren alten Startpunkt aus dem Orbit von Crusader. Doch es gibt eine Nachfolgerin.
Mit Port Olisar verschwindet mit dem demnächst erscheinenden Update Alpha 3.20 den fast zehn Jahren alten Startpunkt aus dem Orbit von Crusader. Doch...
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As we close in on Alpha 3.20’s Live release, many teams are finalizing their work on the patch’s various new features. Beyond the patch, significant progress is being made on content coming later in the year, so read on for the latest.
AI (Features)
Last month, AI reviewed perception to fix issues where NPCs wouldn’t correctly recognize that a target had died or that they’d seen a situation before. These issues led to various bugs, including the AI constantly calling for med-pens or remaining in combat after it had finished.
They also revisited cover usage, polishing various functionality and animations to ensure the feature works across a range of situations and environments.
Changes and fixes were also made to the tactical point system, which is used to drive where the AI moves. This will help identify what needs to be adjusted when reviewing combat in new locations.
Balancing was done for AI ammunition usage while maintaining reload and ammo-finding functionality to provide realistic and emergent behaviors and gameplay situations.
The team continued to review, revisit, and polish combat, including low and high-cover reload animations for different weapons and female animations converted from male assets. They also began developing animations for marine squad hand signals to sell group movement and combat.
AI (Tech)
Last month, AI Tech added undo-and-redo functionality to the Apollo Subsumption tool. They also began improving Subsumption data validation for better presentation and more explicit validation errors. This will allow the designers to iterate faster when creating or adjusting missions and behaviors.
On the boids feature mentioned in last month’s report, AI Tech continued implementing base functionality to allow agents (rats, birds, etc.) to adopt different states, such as wandering, idling, or fleeing, and transition between them. They’re currently looking for a low-cost solution to keep agents on terrain while moving.
For NPC audio perception, the team implemented new functionality for how audio stimuli is propagated. This involves using the room system and how rooms are connected to determine whether an audio event should be heard.
They also continued to improve navigation links. Firstly, how links connect navigation triangles from different zones, which wasn’t working as intended. Secondly, they fixed how animations play when they begin and finish in different zones. For example, when NPCs jump to the ground from a hovering ship.
Finally, investigation began into performance issues relating to the navigation system and pathfinder.
Animation
In August, the animators worked through a number of behavioral lines for background ambiance and flight. They also supported Tech Animation on creature skeletons that will eventually be used in the PU.
Art (Characters)
Last month, Character Art progressed with content for various upcoming events and assets for the Headhunters gang.
Alongside this, the concept artists explored additional ideas for the Headhunters and worked on a medical outfit and handoff sheets for a new flightsuit.
Art (Ships)
Last month, Ship Art completed their work on the Tumbril Storm, though they’re currently focussing on ongoing issues with the treads and how they appear. Two new variants of an existing vehicle were completed too.
An all-new ship progressed through whitebox, revealing various areas that require updating from the concept, including an increase to the interior space.
The Aopoa San'tok.yāiis almost LOD0-complete; final updates are underway, including polishing the pilot compartment. The damage pass is also in progress while the rest of the LOD0 tasks are closed out. Once complete, the team will move on to paints.
The Origin X1is currently awaiting whitebox review, though significant changes to item locations have already been made to maximize space. Modeling of the greybox geometry began too.
Community
August saw the return of Ship Showdown, an annual month-long event where the community champions their favorite vehicles by sharing original creations on the Community Hub and social media. The Community team hosted two contests in support of the event, rewarding the top 10 submissions from the Community Hub and the top three most creative videos on the official TikTok channel. After daily head-to-head battles between the top 16 ships, the Drake Corsair was crowned the Ultimate Champion of Ship Showdown 2953. Community also supported the Free Fly event, posted updates on the New Player Guide, and curated media on the Welcome Hub.
With CitizenCon 2953 approaching, much of August was also spent ramping up preparations, with a focus on finalizing the details of the various presentations, venue layout and design, Cosplay Contest, Community Booths, and much more.
“It's been four long years since we've had a physical CitizenCon, so whether you're joining us in Los Angeles or watching from home, we can't wait to celebrate our shared universe with you on October 21 and 22! Keep your eyes peeled, as we’re finalizing some details and will share more information with you very soon!” Community Team
The team continued to support dozens of evergreen publishes (such as this Monthly Report, the postmortem, etc.) alongside planning for a variety of future in and out-of-game engagements to come.
Lastly, the team attended Gamescom and a trio of Bar Citizen events in Cologne, Germany.
“The turnout was unbelievable, eclipsing our Gamescom events in the past. We were so happy to meet so many of you, veteran backers and fresh pilots alike. We hope to see you all again soon!”
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Economy
The new Economy team planned their upcoming goals, including rebalancing cargo and the related experience. They also began building a tool to investigate the current state of cargo, which could be expanded to other areas of the in-game economy.
Features (Arena Commander)
The Arena Commander Feature team polished and supported Alpha 3.20 while beginning stage two of the Arena Commander revitalization plan.
Alongside patch work, the Engineering team supported the new top heads-up display, which will feature in all game modes from Alpha 3.20.
They also assisted the ongoing investigation into the return of Theaters of War. This involved identifying the steps needed to update the new spawning module with several unique Theaters of War features (such as spawn locations and multicrew) and bring them into other game modes.
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Work continued on the new Custom Lobbies feature (previously Private Matches), with several successful tests conducted. The team are currently focussing on finalizing the UI design and hooking up the various interactions. Engineering began restoring the Spectator Module too, which will allow players to spectate matches in Custom Lobbies and other modes. For example, spectating a player who has lost all their respawns in a PvE game mode.
Design enhanced several outlines for upcoming updates and scouted locations from the PU and beyond for use in Arena Commander. They also began investigating the Theaters of War location Crossroads of Crime to help estimate restoration efforts.
The team also addressed a large collection of feedback from the Evocati and PTU regarding the frontend and game modes. The frontend game mode selection now shows which modes are new, which have REC multipliers, and which have achievements associated with them. Design also progressed with the spawn-screen UI for in-game vehicle selection, which began internal testing.
Finally, the team helped create several new game modes requested by other teams, including a 2v2 mode that will host Fight or Flight at CitizenCon.
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Features (Characters & Weapons)
August saw the Characters & Weapons Feature team working on weapon poses. Currently, when a player approaches a collision surface, their equipped weapon is raised to avoid clipping through the geometry. The team explored alternatives where the weapon is lowered, moved to the bottom of the first-person view, and rotated toward the body so that it lies diagonally across the abdomen. This is more natural in certain situations, limits clipping, and ensures the majority of the player's view is unobscured, particularly when interacting with screens in the environment.
Procedural recoil also progressed last month. To ensure that the feel of each weapon can be tweaked to make it feel unique, a large number of curves were exposed to the content creators.
“These curves allow multiple layers of subtle movement and rotation to be overlaid to create a wide range of interesting results. It is a bit of a manual process and requires significant attention to detail, but it can add a lot to the personality of a weapon.” Features Team
Features (Gameplay)
Gameplay Features continued their ongoing work on the vehicle tractor beam feature, readying it for testing by QA. They also progressed with the Resource Network mentioned in last month’s report and supported the upcoming patch release.
Features (Mission)
The Mission Feature team spent the month working through their upcoming deliverables and bug fixing for Alpha 3.20.
Away from the upcoming patch, Siege of Orison received various improvements ahead of a future release, with the main focus being keeping players together. Development of Blockade Runner (which will replace Nine Tails Lockdown) continued too, with various technical issues considered and planned for.
Significant improvements were made to the existing Destroy Drug Stash missions to ensure mission-critical items are spawned when the player arrives. They also made great progress in modularizing the New Player Experience so that it can be used in any landing zone with the correct markup.
The Steal Evidence at Kareah and Retrieve Consignment missions entered the polish phase, with reputation being hooked up. Work also began on ship-restoration missions, which will require players to restore ships to a saleable condition. Data Heist passed another gate review and will enter internal playtesting to ensure the objectives are clear.
“The Ship Cargo Steal/Recover Hauling mission has been taken as far as it can until further cargo features are developed. In the meantime, we will make a ‘courier’ version in which small items are the objective.” Mission Feature Team
The team progressed with reputation-based hostility, devising a mission that allows players to work for the Nine Tails gang. Once completed, they’ll convert most of the nameless criminal missions to Nine Tails until further gangs are added.
Code work was completed on the highlighting and filtering of mission-critical items in the inventory. This was handed to UI for their pass. Finally, tasks for Ship Trespass progressed, with ‘nested trespassing’ being the main thing holding it back.
Features (Vehicle)
Last month, the team assisted with bug fixing and stability for Alpha 3.20 and beyond, including getting the MISC Hull C ready for release and completing smaller feature work for upcoming ship releases.
The designers then tuned how racing ships perform in-atmosphere to bring them closer together and converted more ground vehicles to the new physics model, which allows for more realistic behavior than before.
The mass of Size 1, 2, and 3 items were rebalanced for better consistency across ship loadouts and to improve the tractor beam gameplay of removing and replacing items. Smaller vehicle and weapon balance tweaks were also made.
Graphics, VFX Programming & Planet Tech
In August, improvements were made to the internal implementation of Temporal Super Resolution.
Further progress was made on water, with the shader gaining improved lighting and foam. Work on the simulation continued too, with foam propagation and bullet-impact support being added.
The prototype of the glint shading model was completed and comes in three versions with different performance characteristics. The team are now investigating whether they can take one of these into production. Distant lights are now drawn as tiny bright glows that pass through the existing post-effect system, with the aim of replacing the more traditional 'composite flare' system that can't support post-effects.
On the tooling side, the streaming debugger was expanded and now provides a powerful tool to track the detailed history of any asset or group to diagnose issues and facilitate optimizations. The Mesh Setup Editor was also expanded to allow finer-grained control of how animated meshes are imported.
The Vulkan sub-team added new extensions, including Synchronization2, Maintenance4, and TimelineSemaphore, to improve various aspects of the backend. Focus is now shifting to unblocking progress on Global Illumination, as the ray-tracing component is Vulkan-only.
The VFX Programming team implemented smoke spawning on fire along with various other quality improvements to bring the feature to a visually complete and “rather impressive” state.
Finally, further improvements to lightning effects were made, which will be used in the future within gas clouds.
In-Game Branding
The In-Game Branding team continued to progress with the underground facility exteriors. They’re also working closely with EU Locations 2 on an upcoming event and progressed with some event-related add-ons.
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Interactables
Last month saw the Interactables team create new assets for Pyro’s rundown station alongside various Flair items.
Lighting
The Lighting team continued to contribute to Pyro, working on tasks for the colonialism outposts and rundown station. They also worked on an upcoming event.
Live Tools
In August, the Live Tools team released a new version of the crash-handling pipeline, which is now in the maintenance phase.
For Hex’s Network Operation Center, they worked on general navigation to improve the quality of life for its main users; this included redesigning elements of the discipline module and Entity Graph.
Locations (EU)
The Locations team progressed across various areas last month, including the rundown station and colonialism outposts for Pyro. They also worked on signage and dioramas for an upcoming event.
The Organics team continued to build Pyro’s planets, including foliage, while the Sandbox team moved the new underground facilities through greybox.
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Narrative
The Narrative team continued to focus on Pyro, writing multiple missions and crafting strings to populate new locations with everything from signage to food items. In Stanton, several new mission types were worked on and improvements were made to existing content.
Alongside the evergreen tasks of naming and describing various in-game items and wearables, Narrative worked with Interactables on interesting ideas for future additions.
The Narrative Design team worked on NPC behaviors for Pyro and continued to explore how to make NPC behaviors feel unique across the various landing zones.
The Narrative team will have a new installment of Loremaker’s Community Questions coming up soon, so don’t hesitate to ask your questions in the team’s dedicated Spectrum channel.
Online Services
In August, the Online Service team worked toward finalizing the design and approach for updating several legacy backend social services to gRPC.
As a quality-of-life update, the team added new Social menu options, with players now able to enable or disable friend requests and friend-request notifications, and choose who they receive party invite notifications and currency transfers from.
Updates were also made to the discipline service, which is necessary for future anti-cheat enforcement and sanction updates.
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R&D
In August, work on the temporal render mode for atmosphere and volumetric clouds continued; various methods to rectify or reject frame history were experimented with.
Furthermore, a new disocclusion detection system to reject history was implemented that, in spirit, is similar to the general up-sampling solution.
Additionally, various code was updated to work with recent Gen12 improvements.
UI
As part of the development of Pyro, the UI team created fluff screens and converted flash animations into fluff screens. They also supported Mission Features on Data Heist by uplifting the screen style.
VFX
Last month, the VFX team continued working on various Pyro locations, including some with animated machinery.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Alpha 3.18 & 3.19
Post Mortem
Persistent Entity Streaming
What Went Well
The development of Persistent Entity Streaming (PES) involved a diverse strike team of programmers with specialized skills from multiple areas across the Core Tech group and Turbulent. This collaboration was crucial in successfully building this complex system. The strike team followed aligned sprints and goals facilitated by senior engineers and producers that were supported by regular meetings. This resulted in effective communication and minimized miscommunication or technical misunderstandings.
A high-code-quality bar was maintained by the strike team, who ensured it underwent thorough design, discussion, and multiple reviews before being integrated into the mainline codebase.
The initial deployment to the Public Test Universe (PTU) and testing with the PTU community went well, setting a positive foundation for further improvements. However, this led to issues (discussed below).
Finally, PES’ system architecture and API, which are based on durable queues, proved they can recover from the worst kind of problems safely and will always tend towards recovery.
What Didn't Go Well
The research-and-development aspects of PES posed challenges, requiring the engineers to invent ways around unforeseen problems. Due to the foundational nature of PES, integrating it into the Star Citizen game code resulted in significant changes that disrupted the game at a very low level, and some game teams were unprepared for the integration effort required to bring the game systems back to parity or to convert and leverage the new persistence layer for existing features.
Issues with the changes introduced by PES only became apparent during large-scale use and under heavy player load, which caused delays in identifying and resolving the problems. And features not thought to use persistence at all became affected by trivial delays (like tram systems, spawn queues, and others).
We also underestimated the multiplication factor between the PTU and Live operations; the group had estimated a 10x increase in backend activity but were faced with a 20x+ increase in requests, stream message sizes, and overall activity, which caused service outages across the board during the initial launch.
Regarding vehicles, PES heavily modified the way they are entitled and created in-game. This gives a better user experience (where you can choose where a ship ends up being created) but also significantly reduced the size of the inventory/global database for ships that are never used.
Major issues were also discovered at scale with a third-party database engine that PES leverages for its functionality. These issues gave birth to very unstable request/response cycles as well as heavy queuing. These issues also caused ripple effects where one database server entering a deadlock condition would cause the entire shard cluster (instead of a single shard) to stop processing requests for a period. This was a major cause of the instability throughout Alpha 3.18.x until the team had identified and programmed a workaround to alleviate the effects. Additionally, multiple locking problems at scale were discovered in the global database system (same engine) that would cause a periodic stop of all requests to the inventory systems. The team had to investigate and report to our vendors to determine workarounds and ultimately fixes that would prevent the database engine from locking.
In the engine, several shards reached previously unknown hard limits of the maximum number of allocated entities, forcing the teams to seed/create new shards and cycle them out, diluting the effect of persistence on those shards.
Several bugs were uncovered (in those unstable times) with error handling in parts of the login flow that bricked some accounts in different ways related to character creation. Server-crash handling was discovered to take a much longer amount of time due to a new process that kicks in during the post-mortem analysis. This affected the shard post-mortem and delayed players getting stowed back to the global inventory, which could result in a player character being “stuck” in a shard.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
Going forward, we’ll finalize and use the new Cloud Test Launcher to adequately stress test the game shards at scale. This tool will simulate player behaviors and allow QA and the engineers to connect multiple modified game clients to the shard. By utilizing cloud computing resources, effective stress testing can be conducted, which will help identify and address issues relating to heavily loaded servers before moving to Live.
The team responsible for PES has now moved onto Static Server Meshing and are embracing a transformation approach to the new project. Unlike PES, this foundational technology can be integrated into the codebase gradually, avoiding a disruptive "Big Bang" approach. Parts of the Server Meshing tech are already available to the game team for testing compatibility with their game features. Combined with the Cloud Test Launcher, this approach aims to facilitate a smoother integration process for Static Server Meshing.
By implementing these measures, we aim to enhance our testing capabilities and mitigate integration challenges, ensuring smoother delivery of foundational technologies while minimizing disruption to the game.
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Rivers
What Went Well
The inclusion of rivers marked a significant milestone in our quest to create more realistic and immersive planets. We were quite happy with the improvements to river canyons we were able to achieve between Alpha 3.18 and 3.19 due to improvements in our asset pipeline. And the support from the Planet Tech team to address technical issues during this process was remarkable.
What Didn’t Go Well
The procedural river placement tool was not in as good of a state as we had hoped when we started using it. As a consequence, a considerable amount of manual effort was required to meticulously place and verify the resulting rivers to ensure their optimal quality. Moreover, this limitation also led to a decrease in the number of rivers we were able to generate.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
The numerous issues that were successfully identified and addressed during this initial run of rivers have already made a significant impact toward ensuring a smoother experience for next time. Although there is still considerable work ahead before we can consistently create planetary landscapes with rivers that look and feel like the real deal, we have made substantial progress and are now much closer to achieving our goal than ever before.
Sand Caves
What Went Well
We were very happy with the results of this initial push to develop an improved pipeline to produce individual rooms for all cave archetypes and to also define the visual identity of our sand caves. That we were able to release a first set of smaller cave systems out of that prototyping phase thanks to the concerted effort from multiple departments was the icing on the cake for us.
What Didn’t Go Well
With neither the tools for procedurally assembling locations nor automatically placing them on planets ready for use, we had to build and place every cave manually, which was the primary constraint on the number of caves we could place on planets in the Stanton system.
Unfortunately, these caves had to initially be released without missions, making them into locations the player actively needed to seek out to experience.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
We are currently in the final stages of refining the new visuals for rock caves, which will serve as the next archetype. We are looking forward to utilizing the Location Tool to construct a wider variety of cave systems.
Additionally, we will be working towards support for bigger connections, rooms, and entrances, which is a key requirement before we can replace the old caves.
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PTV Racetrack
What Went Well
It was created very quickly; we went into it with the idea that it was a simple location with a short timeframe and minimal impact on other teams. However, we achieved a lot more in three weeks than we were initially expecting, with a good modular kit for kart-style racetracks, and the addition of good dressing, theming, and lighting. It was really good to see how the community, especially the racing community, was excited when the track was initially shown to the public. We have since seen organized races on the track. We also got code support for upgrades to the respawning vehicle entity so if people were to crash, break, or abandon the Greycat PTV, it would respawn back at the starting area of the track. We can also set the values of things like time to respawn.
What Didn’t Go Well
Despite finishing the track before Alpha 3.17 was released, it had yet to have a QA pass and be bug-fixed, so we decided to hold it back until Alpha 3.18. Little did we know Alpha 3.18 was going to be delayed so much, so the track, even though complete, made it into the public’s hands a long time after we had hoped.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
We will certainly develop more modular tracks in the future (and have another in the works), but it is on the back burner for the moment. We will try and support other similar-sized ground vehicles like the Greycat STV in the future as well (initial tests have been positive). We will also work with the Mission team to look into adding a racetrack-style mission to the tracks, which will allow the tracking of race times, checkpoints, and laps, and enable the mission to give rewards to players.
Security Post Kareah
What Went Well
We could never have imagined the level of support we received from the Art team, which really rejuvenated the location.
The player-triggered sandbox activity was well received, and analytics showed that hacking CrimeStats at Kareah is still very popular, which was a concern for us as we were taking a risk removing the other hacking locations.
What Didn't Go Well
The mission still has rough edges that need ironing out, which is in progress. Also, additional analytics needs on sandbox activities were identified to be able to further understand player participation.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
We’ll continue to iterate on the sandbox activity and location based on the feedback we’ve received and add further analytics to better understand participation.
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Jumptown
What Went Well
The changes to the location were very well received, player participation was consistently very high, and the support we received from Art was well beyond what we expected.
What Didn’t Go Well
The implementation of PES led to performance issues around the location after a lot of ships were destroyed. We also wanted to redrop the locations with RASTAR. However, we were unable to at the time due to it breaking the shops.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
For the next run of Global Events, we’re planning to redrop the locations on different planets to give different gameplay. For example, in thick atmosphere, higher gravity planets, and forests.
Time Trials
What Went Well
The new racing content and time trial modes were well received by the racing community, helped by the Content teams who produced many more tracks than we could have hoped for.
In the backend, the analytics we added were fantastic and allowed us to make very in-depth analyses of each track, which helped determine where they should go on the difficulty ranking and what the target times should be.
What Didn’t Go Well
Poor server performance meant that a sophisticated new system of checkpoint tracking had to be created, though the markers still do not update as responsively as we would like.
Analytics also show that relatively few players actually unlock the second track.
Infiltrate Missions - Orison
What Went Well
The new FPS environments were well-received and a refreshing change after only having underground facilities for years. The ability to assault the locations on foot or in ships was great too.
What Didn’t Go Well
We had to turn the missions off for Alpha 3.19 because we were aiming to release Siege of Orison, but we were not able to achieve this or the new platform clusters (where we were to relocate them) in time.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
We have relocated the missions to the new platform clusters and will be releasing them when possible.
Prison Activities
What Went Well
The Prison Escape mission is surprisingly well-played and offers a new way for players to clear their CrimeStats. Inside the prison, loot on the AI and new selling terminals were well received; players felt the new AI made the prison feel more alive and it gave them another way to earn merits.
What Didn’t Go Well
The Ursa Rover continues to spawn underground, selling items at the prison kiosk still isn’t reliable, and excessive AI are being spawned due to a spawn closet issue.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
For the next release, we’ll fix any bugs we can, including the Ursa spawning issue.
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Drake Vulture
What Went Well
Adding the long-awaited “starter” of the Salvage career alongside its gameplay loop was a great milestone for the Vehicle team. While the vehicle was started some time ago, we had held on to it to ensure it released strongly with the gameplay loop rather than without, and this allowed the team to squeeze in some more features to the ship to make sure it hit all the current standards.
What Didn't Go Well
A few complaints surrounding the traversal of the ship due to the gameplay mechanics were somewhat a product of the Salvage mechanic evolving over time to require more manual input than initially expected during the vehicle’s concept in 2018.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
Releasing vehicles alongside their gameplay loops rather than earlier in the project (see Starfarer and Reclaimer) is something we’ve been striving to do in recent times, and we’ll continue aiming to do this.
RSI Scorpius Antares
What Went Well
The Antares was designed alongside the base Scorpius as an optional variant to put into production in the future, with the tail section of the ship outlined as the part that could be geometry-swapped. However, during development, it was clear the needs of the EMP and quantum drive required slightly more power than planned and the team reacted well to adjust both the base and Antares to allow the component layout to suit both.
What Didn't Go Well
There were a few technical issues that we weren’t able to solve that reduced the ability for the second player to have more control over pilot features and a more enhanced MFD setup.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
With Master Modes and new MFDs coming in the future, we should see the copilot get more gameplay features rather than being half passenger, half button-presser.
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Salvage & Cargo - Vehicle Gameplay
What Went Well
We were able to support both Feature teams' introduction two key features to the PU, with Salvage requiring a lot of time be spent on the art assets and Cargo requiring a pass across all ships by Design.
What Didn't Go Well
Unfortunately, the scope of the work for Salvage was drastically underestimated, as we thought the existing UV2 damage system all ships used would be suitable out of the box. However, we very quickly realized we’d have to do an entire pass on every ship to up the quality, as you were looking at the visuals much closer than the damage system.
In addition, the gameplay mechanic was built around the idea that you’d be able to 100% scrape the entire hull. However, this wasn’t a consideration in the UV2 damage setup, so some areas were inaccessible, causing frustration to early testers who couldn’t “100%” a ship.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
We’re now more closely integrated with the teams working on big features like this so issues can be found and investigated before development properly starts, rather than being looped in once the prototype has been completed.
Hull Scraping
What Went Well
The long-awaited first iteration of Salvage gameplay finally arrived with Alpha 3.18, which enables players to scrape off hull material and either trade it or use it for field repairs. The core gameplay loop was generally well received and provided a great contrast to other activities.
We also expanded the harvestable system with ship-wrecks and salvageable metal pieces, and introduced the first miniature version of Crafting by allowing players to create a few select items using RMC.
Releasing Hull Scraping alongside the Drake Vulture meant that the ship could come out with a proper gameplay system, and the Aegis Reclaimer finally has appropriate gameplay available to it.
What Didn’t Go Well
A lot of features and systems Hull Scraping was relying on were still in active development when we were building the core gameplay system. This meant the feature was handed off to the EUPU team with a fairly compressed timeline for release.
We addressed the way players would find salvageable objects in the universe way too late in the process, and the balance work for salvageable-object distribution was not properly mapped out.
Not all vehicles could be upgraded to the new Damage Map, meaning some vehicles still won’t work correctly with Hull Scraping.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
We’ve changed our approach to how early we get other teams involved, meaning that downstream teams get involved as early as the prototyping stage. We’ve also introduced additional milestones where downstream and content teams can review and approve the progress we’ve made before we move on to the next stage.
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Alpha 3.19
Salvage Contracts
What Went Well
We’re very proud of what we achieved; initially, we had only expected to release with Hull Scraping, but were able to get cargo and the brand-new detachable-components feature included. The mission was well received by backers too.
What Didn't Go Well
We didn’t choose the best ships for the mission, as only some have detachable internal components and gold-standard hulls for scraping (which we only found out after the fact). And, due to developer illness, the first release saw a very rough pass of cargo spawning, meaning there was no time to properly balance or verify that all items could be sold.
The Economy team had to change the value of ship weapons very late into development. This was necessary to balance the problematic insurance issue, which needs a further rebalance. The change meant some backers were disappointed having gotten used to higher rewards.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
For the next release, we’ll choose more appropriate ships with detachable internal components.
New Player Experience
What Went Well
We received a lot of positive feedback from new players that the New Player Experience has helped them learn the game. The visual upgrades to Area 18 have greatly improved navigation, alongside new control and contextual hints.
Throughout the development of NPE, we’ve been able to make many improvements to our mission system, such as the introduction of mission persistence, which allows us to resume a mission at the last active objective if a player loses connection or experiences a client crash.
What Didn’t Go Well
The mission is largely modular but not entirely so, which means more work is needed to bring it to other locations. We didn’t have sufficient time or support to teach the player inventory management or interacting with shops.
In terms of the production itself, New Player Experience was a cross-team initiative and as such, was complicated to coordinate. Production support for New Player Experience changed a few times as it wasn’t owned by a dedicated team.
Additionally, we didn’t have sufficient support to remedy the visual issues with the existing HUD elements clashing with the new Control and Contextual Hints.
What We'll Do Better/Future Plans
We’ve started work on modularizing the remaining parts of the New Player Experience to reduce maintenance and allow us to bring it to multiple locations. We will also introduce additional components to NPE, such as inventory management, shopping and more.
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RSI Lynx
What Went Well
The Lynx started off as a very simplistic adjustment of the Ursa but, as we progressed, we felt it deserved more. So, it ended up with virtually all-new geometry and materials, which paid off as the vehicle now looks the part and sits well with the Constellation Phoenix.
We also managed to cram a huge amount of interactive content within the vehicle, including animated chairs, TVs, lockers, and fridges.
What Didn't Go Well
Increasing the scope of work for the vehicle (primarily redoing the entire cockpit area) resulted in the Vehicle team working longer than expected, leaving less time for other teams, such as VFX and Audio, to do their work.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
Next time, we’ll ensure scope adjustments are discussed with all teams and that they’re not unnecessarily waiting for all aspects to be delivered to start their pass.
Mirai Fury & Fury MX
What Went Well
Despite its size, the Fury series is one of the most complex vehicles we’ve ever put in the game, requiring complex animations and state machines all compressed into a very small spaceframe. It was also delivered ahead of schedule, as we were so excited by the vehicle we actually started production before the concept pass was officially complete.
Vehicle Features made a pass on the gimballed thrusters to make them work as we had envisioned. This means the Khartu-al and San’tok.yai will benefit from this in the future.
The MX’s blast shield was our first proper foray into integrating custom Building Blocks UI into the vehicle pipeline rather than reusing other assets, such as door control panels.
What Didn't Go Well
Some of the tech we needed for the thruster rotations took a few attempts to iron out, and we accidentally caused other issues with thrusters on other ships, but all was solved before release.
The MX was originally intended to have generic missile racks but it was clear early on they needed to be bespoke to prevent them from launching into the body or wings when changed for alternatives. This sadly reduces player customization but ultimately makes it more reliable in use.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
We’re pretty happy with how the Fury and Fury MX turned out and no specific things occurred with their development that need adjustment in the future.
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Tractor Beam - Item Attach/Detach
What Went Well
Finally, players are able to loot vehicles for components and weapons, greatly expanding the Salvage gameplay loop. This feature also provides additional gameplay opportunities to other features, such as allowing players to swap out mining heads and modules, and provides a strong foundation for the Vehicle Tractor Beam feature.
Internally, the Vehicle Content team were very responsive to addressing content issues with existing components and weapons.
What Didn’t Go Well
This feature wasn’t originally scheduled for Alpha 3.19, so we had a compressed timeline to work with. The QATR for this feature also revealed a lot of issues with content that couldn’t all be resolved in time for release.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
We’ve started requesting downstream support much earlier in the process so that necessary content changes can be done in anticipation of the feature getting ready, as opposed to doing the handover toward the tail end of development.
Mining Rebalance
What Went Well
The community reception has been fantastic and we’re very happy with how the release panned out; long-standing metas and balance issues have been resolved and mining is now a much more nuanced gameplay loop that allows for multiple strategies.
Changes to tractor beams greatly benefited the Mining gameplay loop by enabling the ability to swap out mining heads, modules, and pods. We also identified a better process to balance gameplay loops holistically.
What Didn’t Go Well
There were some issues that we couldn’t properly resolve until after the release, such as mineable rocks always exploding, and the redistribution and rebalance of shop prices required quite a bit of back and forth between various teams before we got it properly implemented.
A lot of issues and edge cases with pricing and distribution were revealed during testing that needed constant fixing and readjustment.
What We’ll Do Better/Future Plans
We want to continue to improve our communication around mining with the community and keep listening to critical feedback to make mining the best it can be.
We’ll also put more trust in the data we gather to help inform future design decisions around mining gameplay.
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Happy Monday, everyone!
Last week saw the dramatic conclusion of Ship Showdown 2953, which culminated in an intense battle between two Drake newcomers, the Corsair and the Vulture. The community has spoken and declared that the Corsair has truly stolen the people's hearts by crowning it the ultimate champion in this year's edition of the biggest annual smackdown in the 'verse! In celebration of the win, the Corsair will be available to all backers to Free-Fly through September, and we can't help but notice the serendipity of this charismatic explorer being the one to accompany the upcoming Pirate Week!
On the Alpha 3.20 front, the team is hard at work tightening the nuts and bolts on this patch that will bring about some exciting new features and a plethora of quality-of-life improvements, which you can read about in our Patch Watch post. We're thrilled about this update and hope to have this in your hands shortly! As a reminder, Alpha 3.20 will also see the sunsetting of one of the most iconic locations in Star Citizen as we usher in a new era, with Seraphim Station replacing Port Olisar. You still have some time to visit Port Olisar to say your goodbyes, and for those who do, you'll be awarded a commemorative Spectrum badge (more details can be found on Spectrum).
We're less than 6 weeks away from this year's big CitizenCon event! With more than twice the attendees of our last show, this is shaping up to be our biggest event yet. There's still tickets available, which you can pick up here, and if you can't make it out, fear not, as you can still enjoy the show from the comfort of your own home (Pico slippers not included) live on twitch.tv/starcitizen. Also, if you're looking to celebrate from home, make sure to pick up this year's exclusive Digital Goodies Pack!
We're excited to share more details about this year's event soon, including the schedule, ticket distribution, and more; stay tuned! We can't wait to see you!
Lastly, this weekend has multiple Bar Citizens happening from Texas, USA, to Coimbra, Portugal. And if you're in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday, come join the team on our next stop of the Bar Citizen World Tour! You can always visit barcitizen.sc to find out about happenings near you, or even register your own.
Now, let's see what's going on this week:
On Tuesday, delve into the little Humanity knew about the San’tok.yāi before Aopoa's surprising announcement that it would be exported to the UEE in the Narrative team's latest Whitley's Guide post.
Wednesday brings the latest development updates with August's Monthly Reports for both Star Citizen and Squadron 42. Don't forget to subscribe to the Squadron 42 newsletter here.
This Thursday, Inside Star Citizen returns with a special two-part Design Brief detailing the future of cargo careers. If you've seen prior Design Brief shows, you'll know they're light on visuals but big on the details of work going forward. PLUS: Meet the new North American Persistent Universe team that's making it! Also this Thursday, it's time to hoist the black flag for Pirate Week!
Friday's episode of Star Citizen Live is a Q&A show with the Vehicle Gameplay team (formerly the Vehicle Experience team). They'll be answering questions from the community live on our Twitch channel starting at 15:00 UTC / 8 am Pacific, so don't forget to include yours on the Spectrum thread. You can also expect the weekly RSI Newsletter delivered to your inbox.
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We're constantly amazed at the contributions made by the Star Citizen community. Whether it's fan art, a cinematic, YouTube guide, or even a 3D print of your favorite ship, we love it all! Every week, we select one piece of content submitted to the Community Hub and highlight it here. The highlighted content creator will be awarded an MVP badge on Spectrum and be immortalized in our MVP section of the Hub.
Don't forget to submit your content to our Community Hub for the chance to see it here!
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No sappy goodbyes here. Dean_Ironstar shares their head-banging tribute to Port Olisar with video clips of this iconic space station from over the years, proving that we can bid farewell without tears. Right? RIGHT?
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Get ready to lock and load! Today, we're putting the Arena Commander Feature Team's gaming skills to the test as they play and showcase a variety of new game modes coming to Arena Commander in Alpha 3.20.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Are you feeling the need? The need for speed? Then join us behind the scenes of our internal playtests of some of the new racing elements coming to Alpha 3.20 including a review of a new racing variant from Mirai.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Every two weeks, we accompany the Roadmap update with a brief explanatory note to give you insight into the decision-making that led to any changes. This is part of an effort to make our communications more transparent, more specific, and more insightful for all of you who help to make Star Citizen and Squadron 42 possible.
With that said, let’s go ahead and dive into this week’s Roadmap Roundup!
-CIG Community Team
Notable Changes for September 6, 2023
Release View
The following cards have been added to Release View in the 3.20 column, targeting a launch with Alpha 3.20.0:
Mirai Fury LX
Building, implementing, and balancing Mirai's snub racer, the Fury LX, as a game-ready vehicle.
Progress Tracker
With this publish, we've added Q3 schedules for the NA PU Gameplay Feature and Vehicle Gameplay Feature teams. These are existing deliverables previously on Progress Tracker and are simply being reallocating. Additional deliverables will be added once they're scheduled out.
That's all for this week! Join the discussion on Spectrum, and check out the Roadmap Companion Guide for more information on the Star Citizen Public Roadmap.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Surviving the ‘verse can be a game of chance, and sometimes it’s hard to choose which patch to follow. Luckily, September’s Flair has you covered, whether you’re making a difficult decision, rolling the dice, or calling it a day and cuddling up for the night.
And wherever fate leads you, you’re in good hands with the latest Ship of the Month. Built for deep space exploration and safe long-range travel, the Drake Corsair is your ticket to adventure.
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This six-sided die houses a rotating sphere covered in blue and red lights. When rolled, one of the two colors will display on the upper face of the die, helping the user to make binary decisions.
Current Centurion-level Subscribers get the Chance Cubeas part of their subscription.
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These six-sided dice house rotating cores that features the numbers one through six. When rolled along a surface, a random number will display on the upper face of the die as the rotating core comes to rest.
Current Imperator-level Subscribers get the Chance Cube and Six-Sided Rotating Dice Setas part of their subscription.
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Ready to roll? Make your randomly generated numbers a little more squeezable with these plush icosahedrons in red, green, and blue. Each surface of each large die features a different easy-to-read number.
The Twenty-Sided Plushie is available to all Subscribers to pledge for from the Subscriber-Exclusive Store.
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If you would like to receive this flair as part of a subscription, you can subscribe before August 8th, 2023, 20:00 UTC.
If you subscribe after August 8th, 2023, you can pick up these and previous months’ flair (going back to 2014) in the Subscriber-Exclusive Store. You can fill in any gaps in your collection and pick up extras to gift to non-Subscribers.
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Our goal is to make most items earnable in-game. For this reason, many Subscriber Flair items have been added to the in-game loot table as rare drops from Alpha 3.17. Most pre-2023 items that can be carried by players are available now, with new and future flair being added after a three-month exclusivity window.
NOTE: Some exclusive digital event items, such as those from CitizenCon Goodies Packs, will not be discoverable via the in-game loot system.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Happy Monday, everyone!
Happy Monday, everyone!
Every year, Ship Showdown challenges the community to champion their favorite vehicle, and with more than 120 flyable ships in the 'verse, there's no shortage of passionate opinions! After thousands of creative submissions (screenshots, videos, miniatures, original songs, 3D models, and more) and two rounds of epic head-to-head battles, we've finally entered the FINAL FOUR! If you can't decide between the upcoming finalists, you can still join the Free Fly until September 7 to put them through their paces.
Remember that the Final Four of this year's Ship Showdown will be highlighted at the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo with their brand new Best-In-Show Paints for 2953 and a manufacturer-themed poster. The ultimate winner will join the ranks of other legendary champions of the biggest annual space smackdown in the 'verse and be unlocked to free-fly for a month for all backers.
Last Saturday, we saw this year's online 2v2 Fight or Flight tournament finals! The final eight teams duked it out in the largest 2v2 dogfighting tournament in the 'verse to secure a chance to compete at the CitizenCon Fight or Flight Invitational. If you've missed the live stream, visit Atmo Esport's Twitch channel to relive the action and see the winners, Shadow Moses, grasping for the champion spot.
Now, let's see what's going on this week:
This Tuesday, we'll publish the Subscriber Monthly Newsletter and Subscriber Comm-Link.
Wednesday will see the publish of our bi-weekly Roadmap Update and the complementary Roadmap Roundup.
This Thursday on Inside Star Citizen, we're taking a deeper look at Racing in Star Citizen and will introduce the latest addition to the Mirai line-up, the upcoming Fury LX.
On Friday, Star Citizen Live returns with our previously scheduled episode with Duncan and Sam from the Arena Commander Feature Team starting at 8 AM Pacific / 3 PM UTC on our Twitch channel. They'll jump into Arena Commander to showcase much of what's in the upcoming Alpha 3.20. You'll also find our weekly RSI Newsletter directly delivered to your inbox.
Have a great week, and remember to cast your votes for Ship Showdown to determine the ultimate winner for 2953!
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We're constantly amazed at the contributions made by the Star Citizen community. Whether it's fan art, a cinematic, YouTube guide, or even a 3D print of your favorite ship, we love it all! Every week, we select one piece of content submitted to the Community Hub and highlight it here. The highlighted content creator will be awarded an MVP badge on Spectrum and be immortalized in our MVP section of the Hub.
Don't forget to submit your content to our Community Hub for the chance to see it here!
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Audio is one of the most crucial elements of creating immersion within gameplay. From the sounds of ballistics hitting your ship, to the unique roars of the engines. Join us today to explore how we're making ship sounds, sound... shippier!
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Every year, Ship Showdown challenges the community to champion their favorite vehicle. With more than 100 pilotable ships, snubs, tanks, hoverbikes, and more in the 'verse, there's no shortage of passionate opinions! After thousands of creative submissions (screenshots, videos, Lego® models, original songs, 3D prints, and more), and the first round of epic head-to-head battles, we've finally entered the ELITE EIGHT, all now available to FLY FOR FREE! However, now it’s time to crown the ultimate Ship Showdown champion and determine which vehicle is the true community favorite in 2023.
Here are the top eight vehicles this year, chosen by you:
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Ship Showdown is known for many things, and one of those things is its reckless disregard for weight classes, which brings us to today’s bout: an Anvil v Aegis grudge match featuring the welterweight Arrow punching well above its weight class as it takes on the intimidating heavyweight Redeemer. Will longstanding debates and well-warn clichés be put to bed once and for all? Will speed or power win the day? In a momentous clash destined to settle bets, ruin friendships, and send somebody’s favorite fighter to the semis, only you can decide. No pressure or anything.
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As the quarterfinals continue we see a surging Terrapin take on a confident Vulture in a matchup that brings to mind the fables of yore. Anvil’s crafty turtle managed to sneak past the beloved two-time Ship Showdown champion Carrack, but will it ride Drake’s dirty bird to the semifinals or be violently thrown planetside as the new school scavenger continues its bid for a rookie season championship? This one has gearheads and analysts across the galaxy stumped, so vote hard and vote true, loyal fans. This is where it starts to get real interesting.
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The penultimate bout of the quarterfinals sees one of the oldest ships in the ‘verse going head to head against one of the newest, as the tried and true Connie Andromeda, having acquired a taste for wrecking Drake ships in its first round handling of the infamous Cutlass, looks to turn the rookie Corsair into flotsam. But the piratical pathfinder isn’t going to take this fight lying down, and coming off a decisive victory over the Ship Showdown fixture Mercury, its feeling unstoppable. Any way you cut it folks, today’s fight is one you’re gonna tell your grandkids about. Go forth and vote.
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We close out the quarterfinals with yet another rookie Drake ship taking on yet another tournament veteran as the plucky Cutter looks to battle past an Origin heavy for the second week in a row, taking on a confidant 600i with its sights dead set on a championship run. Who will take the final spot in the semis? The Cutter made short work of the 890 Jump in round one, and looks to strike another blow for the people, while the 600i is Origin’s last hope for a 2953 title bid. But neither ship can win with tenacity alone. They need your votes to cement their place in Ship Showdown Valhalla, so what are you waiting for? You have the power! See you in the semis, folks.
Ship Showdown Prizes
The Final Four of this year's Ship Showdown will be highlighted at the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo later this year with their brand new Best-In-Show Paints for 2953, as well as a manufacturer-themed poster!
However, one ship will be crowned the ultimate winner, joining the ranks of other legendary champions of the biggest annual space smackdown in the 'verse, and be unlocked to free-fly for a month for all backers.
Take the top eight ships for a spin with the Live Showdown Free Fly starting today!
To allow everyone to make an informed choice, we invite you to take the eight best ships for a spin. So if you can’t decide between the upcoming finalists, join the Live Showdown Free Fly to put them through their paces. The Free Fly will run until September 7, at 8 PM UTC.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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THE ARK, TAYAC SYSTEM
Welcome to this month’s Galactapedia update roundup. This month, two navjumpers, visit the Oya, Th.us’ūng, and Tohil systems, and learn the history of the Akari-Kr.ē treaty. Join the Spectrum thread for any discussion or feedback.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Happy Monday, everyone!
Last week, some of our community and development teams attended a trio of Bar Citizen events in Cologne, Germany in tandem with Gamescom. The turn out was unbelievable, eclipsing our Gamescom events in the past. We were so happy to meet so many of you, veteran backers and fresh pilots alike. Check out the photo gallery below the content schedule, and we hope to see you all again soon!
Alpha 3.20 is now in PTU Wave 2! The Hull C, mining and ship stat updates, and an absolute bevy of new Arena Commander content (including a Master Modes limited test!) are now available to put through their paces. We've already received some fantastic feedback, and we're hoping to open up to more PTU waves very soon.
Ship Showdown Phase 2 kicked off last week, and we saw some pretty intense battles between some fan favorite ships, including a few upsets (although the Carrack might've had it coming). Today's bout puts two of the most common multicrew ships in the 'verse up against each other, the Cutlass Black and the Constellation Andromeda. Make sure to get your votes in as we approach the Elite 8 matchups later this week.
Last but not least, we're less than 8 weeks away from CitizenCon 2953, and we could not be more excited to see you all on the big weekend! Details and tickets here!
Now, let's see what's going on this week:
Tuesday has the latest Galactapedia update from the Narrative Team.
Inside Star Citizen returns on Thursday with Part 2 of our look at Ship Audio this quarter, with several new features currently in development that make ship sounds sound...shippier. (That's what Jared said.)
Thursday also marks the next round of Ship Showdowns as we enter the Elite 8 stage, and the 8 ships that made it past Round 1 will be available to fly for free! Keep an eye out for our Free Fly Comm-Link for more details.
On Friday, you'll find our weekly RSI Newsletter directly delivered to your inbox. Star Citizen Live also returns on Friday with Duncan and Sam from the Arena Commander Feature Team. They'll be jumping into Arena Commander live on our Twitch channel to showcase much of what's in the upcoming Alpha 3.20. Tune in at 8 AM Pacific / 3 PM UTC.
Last but most certainly not least, this Saturday the final 8 teams in this year's online 2v2 Fight or Flight tournament duke it out, not only for the top prize, but a chance to compete at the CitizenCon Fight or Flight Invitational. Tune in to twitch.tv/atmoesports to make sure you don't miss any of the action.
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We're constantly amazed at the contributions made by the Star Citizen community. Whether it's fan art, a cinematic, YouTube guide, or even a 3D print of your favorite ship, we love it all! Every week, we select one piece of content submitted to the Community Hub and highlight it here. The highlighted content creator will be awarded an MVP badge on Spectrum and be immortalized in our MVP section of the Hub.
Don't forget to submit your content to our Community Hub for the chance to see it here!
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
