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What is animation? What does it do for the player? How does the ability to toggle different views create challenges? This week on Star Citizen Live, Animation Director Steve Bender joins us to provide deeper insights into how it works.
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Attention, Subscribers: The April issue of Jump Point is now available! This time, we’re looking into Lorville’s upcoming rework, Anvil’s iconic military back catalog, the colossal RSI Bengal, and the origins of Pyrotechnic Amalgamated; the mining corp that discovered the now-outlaw-ridden Pyro system.
Interested in becoming a Subscriber? Learn more on the Pledge Store now.
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…
You've seen "Create A Better World" on billboards throughout Lorville, but what does that actually look like for Hurston's mega-industrial cityscape? Put your safety gear on, and tune in to find out!
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THE ARK, TAYAC SYSTEM
Welcome to this month’s Galactapedia update roundup. This month, we do a deep dive on the midas fish, visit the Kallis system, take a look at the Talon, Talon Shrike, Corsair, Valkyrie, and Lynx, visit the University of Rhetor, and meet Ellroy Cass. Join the Spectrum thread for any discussion or feedback.
Full-Length Article:
Midas fish – Elevate your fish tank with a hint of gold.
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Happy Monday, everyone!
Last week, Star Citizen Alpha 3.18.2 hit the Live servers, and brought with it a myriad of bug fixes and stability improvements. The XenoThreat have returned and are terrorizing Stanton, and we're seeing more of you than ever before joining forces with the Civilian Defense Force (CDF) to defend the system.
Despite anticipating some turbulence during its initial release, we've always recognized the importance of Persistent Entity Streaming (PES) as the most difficult and complex component of our efforts to enable Server Meshing. The engineering required for PES has been extensive, as it fundamentally alters how we record the state of the Universe and introduces an unprecedented level of persistence that is unmatched by other games.
We'd like to note that we're aware of the various issues that have popped up during XenoThreat, including the interaction delays, causing things like ASOP terminals, restocking, and general interactions not to work properly, as well as issues related to desync. The team is currently collating and analyzing the vast amount of data they have received, thanks to your participation and the tremendous amount of traffic only possible on the live servers. While these issues can be a hindrance in the short-term, they are a necessary and inevitable step in the ongoing process to develop and strengthen our backed for the big milestones ahead. Our team is committed to this, and is very optimistic about the road ahead.
Con42: Frankfurt, Germany
Last weekend, the community-organized convention Con42 took place in Frankfurt, Germany. This is the third iteration of this incredibly engaging event which brought together nearly 600 community-members, including many from the team! It was a privilege to attend and meet so many of you in person. We want to give a huge THANK YOU to the organizers who put in a massive amount of hard work to pull off an amazing event!
Now, let's see what's going on this week:
This Tuesday, the Narrative team is back with the monthly Galactapedia update, your vault of knowledge for everything Star Citizen.
Thursday sees the return of Inside Star Citizen, showcasing the latest Lorville magic coming out of our developers in Montreal.
On Friday, we welcome Star Citizen Live to our Twitch channel airing live at 15:00 UTC / 8 am Pacific. Info on guests coming soon!
Furthermore, you'll find our weekly RSI Newsletter directly delivered to your inbox, plus Subscribers can also look forward to Jump Point magazine's April issue.
One of the more exceptional aspects of the Star Citizen community is the limitless talent and creativity that emanate from its members, which often result in some pretty epic community-organized events. This Saturday, we've got not one, but TWO community racing events.
First up, the Crux Cup returns for its annual endurance race, which has been a staple for the community dating back to 2945! The race introduces a 94km track, titled Ahumahi Ring, in Orison, Crusader. The event welcomes any ship and skill level, with a variety of racing classes. Don't miss it!
Next, System 7, which is another spectacular organized by Atmo Esports, kicks off round three of its annual event. After the previous microTech Tundra Dash, the leaderboards have been close! Make sure to tune in to see who will take home the win at the Babbage Bash!
Both events take place this Saturday, so hop into your comfiest chair, crack one open, and get ready for race day!
Have a great week and we'll see you in the 'verse!
System 7 Racing League Race #3 Babbage Bash (System 7)
COMMUNITY MVP: April 24, 2023
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!
Smart Phone Wallpapers
Can't get enough of Star Citizen and need to have it with you all the time? We feel you! iNEEDAPEA is at hand with over 35 images cropped to be mobile-phone-screen friendly.
Hop over to the Community Hub and find the perfect background for you.
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…
Star Citizen Live returns! This week we're joined by the Mission Feature Team to answer your questions, followed by a tech discussion with Technical Director of UI Technology.
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…
A threat to the Stanton system has returned in Star Citizen Alpha 3.18. For those of you who have tangled with XenoThreat before, we commend you, but the battle is not over.
During this Dynamic Event, we need the help of all available local pilots, resupplying a UEE Navy flagship while defending against enemy attack.
This most recent iteration of the Assault on Stanton event offers an improved flow for veterans and newcomers alike, with increased server capacity and PES allowing for a truly scaled-up experience. Read on for the mission briefing, check back regularly for updates on the event's state, and be sure to gear up for battle.
NEW TO THE 'VERSE?
A HELPING HAND
New to Star Citizen? Don't worry, we've got you covered! Head over to the New Player Guide and get acquainted with the 'verse, learn how to become an ace pilot, and help defend the people of Stanton!
You can also explore our vast collection of FAQs, watch the best community-made tutorials, and even get in touch with a veteran player for one-on-one guidance. What are you waiting for? The 'verse awaits you!
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Rowena Dulli
Special Agent in Charge CDF Coordinator - Stanton System
Born and raised in Orison, Crusader, SAIC Rowena Dulli served with distinction in the UEE Navy as a logistics officer until she was recruited by the Marines, where she served another tour. Since joining the Advocacy, she has quickly risen through the ranks as a proven investigator and field agent.
She volunteered to take over as Advocacy attaché to the CDF in 2948 and believes that the CDF is a vital part of the Empire and is proud to assist in its efforts.
An outlaw group known as XenoThreat has launched a campaign of violence in the Stanton system and the Navy has requested civilian support to help combat the scourge. Preaching a viciously anti-UEE and xenophobic rhetoric, XenoThreat forces have been responsible for dozens of attacks against civilian and corporate structures.
Any and all volunteers who wish to combat this invasion should contact Rowena Dulli, Advocacy attaché to the CDF, through their Contract Manager in their mobiGlas for details.
Phase 1
Incoming Threat
Outlaw forces identified as XenoThreat recently attacked a corporate convoy headed for the Terra system. They destroyed all the cargo and publicly executed the crew as "collaborators of corporate greed."
The UEE Navy has dispatched an armed response to deal with this threat. Navy intelligence reports have also picked up additional XenoThreat hostiles on the periphery of the system, with an indeterminate force on an intercept course for Stanton.
The Civilian Defense Force (CDF) has been raised to provide support for Naval forces against this imminent threat. If you would like to volunteer, please monitor your mobiGlas Contract Manager for briefing when it becomes available.
Phase 2
TURN THE TIDE
The CDF requests all active members and prospective volunteers provide support in the ongoing operations against XenoThreat.
The Navy’s prime flagship, the Aegis Javelin destroyer UEES War Hammer, is being restocked at INS-Jericho. Unfortunately, XenoThreat has been intercepting and destroying supply convoys, so the Navy is requesting CDF assistance in retrieving the scattered cargo and delivering it to Jericho station. XenoThreat forces are still at large, so combat support is also needed.
The UEE Navy and local CDF are planning to engage XenoThreat forces as soon as the War Hammer is restocked and need any and all assistance to help quell this threat.
XenoThreat has deployed capital-class ships along with a complement of fighter escorts in an effort to destabilize the system. Anyone with a combat vessel and appropriate training is urged to take up the fight.
Consult the Contract Manager in your mobiGlas for details.
Mission Complete
THREAT AVERTED
Attention, the outlaw group known as XenoThreat has been successfully driven from Stanton. Their forces were seen retreating to the Pyro system after a decisive defeat at the hands of the UEEN and CDF.
We at the CDF would like to join the Navy in extending our heartfelt thanks for the enduring efforts of all our volunteers during this crisis.
Although residents are urged to exercise caution, the local governments of the Stanton system have eased some of the lockdown restrictions on travel.
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 April 19, 2023
Progress Tracker
With this update, we're adding the majority of the Q2 2023 schedule for downstream teams, with additional teams coming in a subsequent publish.
The following deliverables have been added to Progress Tracker:
Headhunters Faction Outfits
Developing multiple outfit variants for the Pyro gang, the Headhunters. This deliverable has been added to the SC Character Art Team's schedule.
Rough and Ready Faction Outfits
Developing multiple outfit variants for the Pyro gang, Rough and Ready. This deliverable has been added to the SC Character Art Team's schedule.
New Missions - Mining Resource Rush
Various large clusters of asteroids around Stanton are being sold off by several organizations. For a fee, civilians are given access to these spatial mining claims and allowed to mine until the cluster is depleted, drawing many mining crews, and occasionally pirates, to these hotspots. This deliverable has been added to the Mission Feature Team's schedule.
New Missions - Package Extraction
A new multiplayer mission where players will work together to recover stolen prototype ship components. Crusader Security tasks players with extracting these highly-classified components from the Nine Tails transport ships before they can escape off-world. This deliverable has been added to the Mission Feature and Narrative Teams' schedules.
New Missions - Data Download
These missions task players with infiltrating ships defended by hostile NPCs to hack terminals, with both lawful and unlawful mission types. This deliverable has been added to the Mission Feature, Narrative, and VFX Teams' schedules.
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.
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Happy Monday, everyone!
Thanks to everyone who jumped into the PTU over the weekend to give 3.18.2 a whirl; we look forward to rolling this out to the Live PU very soon.
For those of you who might have missed it, the Free Fly is in full swing through April 20. Star Citizen is completely free to download and play, so invite a friend to join your adventures in the 'verse – but don’t forget about the referral bonus. Recruiting a friend will grant you both a Kruger P-52 Merlin for free! Check out the Free Fly Referral Bonus comm-link for details.
Lastly, 'tis the season for Bar Citizens, as we see events popping up all around the world. If you're looking to hang out with other Star Citizen enthusiasts in the flesh, you can check out Barcitizen.sc for a shindig near you. Also, if you're hosting an event, don't forget to let us know, and maybe your event will make it as a stop on our Bar Citizen World Tour 2023 (like Sacramento, California, which we just added)!
Lastly, rumor has it that the return of XenoThreat is imminent... be on high alert. o7
Now, let's see what's going on this week:
Wednesday brings about the Roadmap Update and the complementary Roadmap Roundup.
There will be no Inside Star Citizen this Thursday, but we'll return with the behind-the-scenes deep dives you love next week!
On Friday,Elliot Maltby and the Mission Feature team will be back on Star Citizen Live to answer questions from the community. Catch the Q&A live on Twitch at 15:00 UTC / 8 am Pacific. You'll also see our weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox.
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!
Star Citizen Tips - How To Create Video Part.1
Whether you're new to creating videos or are just looking for new insights to up your content creation game, NotGemini has a couple of handy tips and tricks to help you on your way. If you've always been interested in creating in-game trailers, machinimas or just impactful screenshots, this is definitely for you!
Pull up a chair and watch the full video on the Community Hub.
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To celebrate the release of Star Citizen Alpha 3.18.1, we are offering discounted Starter Packs now through May 2 (20:00 UTC). Choose from three select ships perfectly suited to start your adventure.
Now through April 20, download and play Star Citizen for FREE with five iconic vehicles. Learn more here.
All referrals by May 2 (20:00 UTC) will receive a P-52 Merlin for free along with the usual referral rewards. For more information check out the 3.18 Referral Bonus page.
Welcome Hub
Head over to our Welcome Hub for everything you need to know about life in the ‘verse, including a tutorial video on how to best start your journey with your new starter ship.
New Player Guide
New to Star Citizen? Don't worry, we've got you covered! Head over to our New Player Guide and get acquainted with the 'verse, learn how to become an ace pilot, and help defend the people of Stanton!
Are you looking for personal guidance from an experienced Star Citizen player to help you master the basics or sharpen your skills? Head over to Spectrum and meet our fantastic Guides and explore the stars together.
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Greet 3.18.1 in style with our latest referral bonus.
Everyone that brings a new pilot into the ‘verse by May 2 at 20:00 UTC will get a P-52 Merlin for free along with the usual referral rewards. Just make sure your friend uses your referral code when they create their account.
Referral Bonus FAQ
Find everything you need to know about the 3.18 Free Fly referral bonus.
What is the referral bonus?
The referral bonus gives you free gear, items, or ships for introducing new players to Star Citizen. This time, you and the players you refer get a Kruger P-52 Merlin. The bonus is granted when a new player uses your referral code and pledges for a starter pack or ship (minimum $40) on the Pledge Store.
The usual referral bonuses apply too, including 5000 aUEC and a point in the regular Referral Program.
This bonus promotion runs until May 2, 2023, 20:00 UTC, so don’t miss out!
How do I refer a friend?
Your friends must add your personal referral code when creating their accounts. This is crucial, as the code CANNOT be added after the account is created.
Where do I find my personal referral code?
You can find it on the Referral Program Page. Your Referral Code is unique and can be shared anywhere you like, including on social media, via email, or on your website.
What’s in it for me?
Recruiting one friend during the promotion gets you the sleek and agile P-52 Merlin, a perfect runabout for cruising your favorite locale or making an entrance at that latest Stanton hotspot.
Can I earn more than one P-52 Merlin during this promotion?
No. Only one P-52 Merlin can be earned per player.
What is the regular Referral Program?
The regular Referral Program empowers you to become a driving force behind the growth of the Star Citizen community. Plus, you’ll unlock cool in-game rewards, from exclusive hangar items to ships. The Referral Program Page details everything currently available.
When do I receive my referral reward?
The existing player will receive their reward immediately once the new player they are referring pledges for a starter pack or ship (minimum $40) on the Pledge Store. The new player's reward will be granted after the promotion endson May 2, 2023. Rewards may be distributed in waves, so if you don't see it show up right away, it should populate soon.
Are there any limitations to the referral reward?
The P-52 Merlin given out as a referral reward includes LTI and is non-meltable and non-giftable.
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This is a cross-post of the report that was recently sent out via the monthly Squadron 42 newsletter. We’re publishing this a second time as a Comm-Link to make it easier for the community to reference back to.
TO: SQUADRON 42 RECRUITS
SUBJ: DEVELOPMENT UPDATE 04:05:2023
REF: CIG UK, CIG DE, CIG LA, CIG TX,
FAO Squadron 42 Recruits.
Welcome to March’s Squadron 42 development report. Enclosed you will find details on the latest progress made across the campaign, including buddy AI, space mines, and augmented reality tech.
Thank you for your continued support of Squadron 42.
Sincerely,
CIG COMMUNICATIONS
AI (Content)
AI Content worked throughout March to refine AI behaviors and implement new features.
For the engineer, they enhanced various interactions and routines, which involved improving interactive entity positioning in the Idris Stanton and setting up a personal inventory for the ship’s engineer. The frequency and duration of the engineer's visits to key usables, like wall panels and work zones, were increased to create a more engaging experience.
Advancements were made on the utility behavior, including enabling AI to use trolleys in the Idris’ elevator. A locker entity was added too, where NPCs can change their outfits. AI now also use a datapad at the start of their shifts to enhance the realism of their routines.
AI Content implemented various leisure behaviors into the campaign’s capital ships and supported an initiative to change console UI screens based on AI animation. The team are currently working on clustering NPCs together for a more natural look at tables and seating areas. Security was also added to various game locations to add further depth.
Improved usables and interactions were added to the hygiene and medical behaviors. For example, the ‘sink’ usable now includes idle and usable actions for different use cases, whether a mirror is present or not. Additionally, AI can now enter and exit the sink usable and seated, angled console with or without a datapad, making medical interactions more realistic.
Finally, the janitor behavior, which was parked in 2021, was brought back.
AI (Features)
AI Features continued work on the buddy AI mentioned in previous reports. Last month’s tasks included supporting the buddy leading the player along a path and stopping and waiting for the player to catch up if they get too far ahead. They also improved the ‘following’ behavior to allow the designers to introduce specific points of interest for the buddy to move toward. This will be used in cramped situations, such as lifts and narrow corridors. It also helps to direct the behavior when the buddy needs to highlight certain views or points of interest.
AI Features also worked on two aspects of grenade use, the first of which is getting the AI to throw them. Now, AI in combat will perform a series of checks to determine if they should throw a grenade based upon the idea of flushing the target out from cover. The grenade path is determined and checked for collisions and the correct animations are played to ‘cook’ and then throw the grenade toward the target. Further work was also done to ensure this is something the AI can do by stepping out from high cover or standing up from low cover.
The second aspect enables the AI to behave appropriately when a grenade is thrown at them. This involves detecting when a grenade has landed, reacting to it (e.g. turning to face it and notifying other nearby AI), and then responding to it by moving to a safe position outside of the explosion radius.
Using the basis of the melee attack setup implemented for non-humanoid creatures, the behavior for humanoid melee combat was rapidly prototyped using the same structure. The benefit here is that any improvements will also improve the non-humanoid character combat. This includes identifying and fixing issues with motion warping, which is used to get the AI to lock on to the player while attacking so that it has the possibility of connecting.
Related to this, they worked on a specialized melee combat behavior for a specific encounter. This is more of a challenge and required bespoke animations specific to the situation. For example, player attacks will only be successful following an unsuccessful attack from the enemy.
AI Features also revisited a scenario featuring the Vanduul to integrate new tech to better play bespoke animations. Finally, the team completed the functionality groundwork for a key vehicle.
AI (Tech)
Throughout March, AI Tech made significant improvements to various navigation systems and AI tool features. This included implementing support for overriding agent-type properties for navigation mesh generation, which enables the designers to generate meshes inside narrow areas and create more complex levels. For example, NPCs will be able to follow or search for players inside vents.
Another related feature is navigation volume cost areas (NVCA), which will impact navigation-mesh generation and the dynamic path computed during movement requests. There are both static and dynamic NVCA types:
Static NVCAs are shapes/volumes preplaced by the level designers when they want certain areas to be preferred or avoided during pathfinding.
Dynamic NVCAs are shapes created at runtime based on player or NPC actions. For example, fire areas that can expand or shrink, or areas featuring obstacles placed by players.
AI Tech also continued to iterate and polish some otherwise completed features, including NPCs pushing trolleys and NPCs using transit systems and elevators (with or without trolleys). Support was also added for hover trolleys.
On the AI Tools side, the team iterated and added new functionality to the Apollo Subsumption tool. Some of the new functionality includes being able to reference engine component tags as part of the TagSelector variable. They also moved the graph map to its own tab, added icons to the outline tab for easier viewing, and added a prompt for unsaved changes.
For the Usable Coordinator, the team continued with quality-of-life improvements and updated UI functionality.
AI Tech also completed a pass on the recent idle-system improvements. Now, they can correctly mark up specific moments in idle animations where it’s safe to leave. This allows them to maintain the visual quality the animators expect without needing to wait for the idle animation to fully transition into the exit animation.
AI (Vehicle Features)
The Vehicle Feature team progressed with the combat AI rework. In previous months, they established a strong design for combat AI with new behavior trees for different types of combat. These were implemented in March.
“This is a very iterative process that involves a lot of playtesting. We’ve already done playtests of the most critical behaviors and, so far, it’s looking way better than before. Combat is closer, more engaging, and there is much more movement. We’ll be continuing this in the next month.” AI Vehicle Features Team
The team also supported gas clouds. AI ships are now able to detect that they’ve entered a gas cloud accidentally and prioritize getting out. However, certain alien ships have the ability to freely enter gas clouds, which will be built into their behaviors.
Animation
In March, Animation worked on AI grenade throwing, healing between AI characters, and the Titan mechanized platform. They also progressed with various background character life animations and activities, including NPCs moving crates and boxes and entering swivel chairs. Work was also done on NPCs attacking the player with knives and melee attacks and takedowns. The medical behavior and player’s prone movement were further developed too.
The ongoing fauna work continued; Animation delivered blockouts for an alien creature and will shortly move on to tasks for a dog. Mo-cap was also shot for various narrative scenes and gameplay elements.
On the facial side, the team continued to work through a large amount of new content added to the game by Narrative, with a focus on bringing more life to the game.
Engine
In March, the Physics team worked on the consistent handling of wheeled vehicles between different gravity fields. Additionally, further improvements were made to OBB box pruning, while lock stealing in the geometry intersection code was reworked. Data integrity regarding the mass assigned to physical geometry was tightened, and a method was implemented to find the parts of an entity that a rope is attached to between sessions. An optional update of grid space part bounds during reposition was added. This should save significant time during collision detection if thousands of crates attempt to collide with a ship consisting of several thousand parts.
On the renderer, more code was refactored for Gen12. Transient constant buffers are now used in more code. For example, in SSDO and motion blur. The processing of tessellated objects was improved so it will no longer execute unnecessarily. A lot of legacy render code was removed (deferred shading, shadow rendering, etc), and support for debug viz of antialiasing and shadow mask rendering was added.
Improvements to the temporal render mode for atmospheric and volumetric clouds continued. This included improvements to stabilize color neighborhoods for reprojection and transmittance profiles.
On the core engine, the remote shader compiler server received a final round of substantial performance improvements. The exception handler was extended to better deal with recently occurring silent crashes. Based on the memory tracking information made available by Alpha 3.18 PTU, a new custom system allocator (to replace jemalloc) was implemented, which significantly reduces observed overallocation and fragmentation. This is currently in test. Further improvements were made to huge pages support. Work on streaming system improvements and the new memory-tracking tool continued too.
The remainder of the time was spent supporting Alpha 3.18.In March, the Physics team worked on the consistent handling of wheeled vehicles between different gravity fields. Additionally, further improvements were made to OBB box pruning, while lock stealing in the geometry intersection code was reworked. Data integrity regarding the mass assigned to physical geometry was tightened, and a method was implemented to find the parts of an entity that a rope is attached to between sessions. An optional update of grid space part bounds during reposition was added. This should save significant time during collision detection if thousands of crates attempt to collide with a ship consisting of several thousand parts.
On the renderer, more code was refactored for Gen12. Transient constant buffers are now used in more code. For example, in SSDO and motion blur. The processing of tessellated objects was improved so it will no longer execute unnecessarily. A lot of legacy render code was removed (deferred shading, shadow rendering, etc), and support for debug viz of antialiasing and shadow mask rendering was added.
Improvements to the temporal render mode for atmospheric and volumetric clouds continued. This included improvements to stabilize color neighborhoods for reprojection and transmittance profiles.
On the core engine, the remote shader compiler server received a final round of substantial performance improvements. The exception handler was extended to better deal with recently occurring silent crashes. Based on the memory tracking information made available by Alpha 3.18 PTU, a new custom system allocator (to replace jemalloc) was implemented, which significantly reduces observed overallocation and fragmentation. This is currently in test. Further improvements were made to huge pages support. Work on streaming system improvements and the new memory-tracking tool continued too.
Features (Gameplay)
In March, Gameplay Features implemented multiple user profiles, separated out metadata and global progress (such as achievements), and added the in-game option to reload from the last checkpoint.
As part of the ongoing cargo crane work, they began implementing a system to remotely control a vehicle without having to sit in its seat and directly pilot it.
They also swapped out the old vehicle radar and replaced it with the new Starmap, which allows players to zoom and interact the same way as viewing it on the mobiGlas. Also for the mobiGlas, personal status, achievements, and homepage apps were implemented alongside some of the homepage widgets, including mission objectives and personal status. An ‘app link’ hyperlink was also created to give quick access to in-app elements without having to manually navigate to them.
Features (Vehicles)
Last month the Vehicle Features team completed space mines, which appear in several areas throughout the campaign.
“This is deeply integrated with bombs and the Missile Operator Mode in ships, so the feature has not been very complex to complete. We will be working with the level designers to integrate it with various scenarios in the game soon.” Vehicle Features Team
The new quantum travel feature, which was enabled game-wide in SQ42 last month, received feedback from the directors and testers. This was addressed alongside bug fixing to create the overall desired experience. Vehicle Features also worked closely with VFX to integrate new visual effects for quantum.
In February, the team began working with a new visor UI rendering method. Last month, they began implementing it, complete with augmented reality (AR) elements, such as gun reticles, and HUD elements, like the velocity tape. This new UI is contextual, simplified, and integrates with the new multi-function display (MFD) system. This is almost ready to be enabled in-game, which will lead to more feedback and testing from other devs.
MFDs also progressed well. Now that the underlying tech is complete, the team began connecting various game systems, including the Radar and Scanning feature.
“Radar and Scanning is a big one and we’re making some changes to how that system interacts with UI to get it all shown in the MFDs. Our goal similarly is to get the new MFD system enabled game-wide for testing sooner rather than later.”
The Wingman Commands feature progressed, which allows players to give orders to supporting pilots, such as ‘attack this target’, ‘form up’, or ‘defend this target’. This feature combines elements of AI, UI, and dialogue and is nearing completion.
The ongoing radar and scanning tasks progressed too. Last month, Vehicle Features worked with Level Design to determine what they need from radar and scanning to make the levels work.
Gameplay Story
Gameplay Story’s focus in March was using new mo-cap to build a complete maintenance loop for the deck crew. This enables the AI to push a mobile ladder into position, use it to climb on top of a Gladius, then come down and return the ladder.
“This was quite complicated and took a lot of time to get right, but the end result is looking very good in-game.” Gameplay Story
Alongside this, they made a number of smaller updates to idles and pose matching across several chapters.
Following the resolution of blockers, they finalized a selection of scenes in the med-bay. This means that characters can now rotate in their chairs and open medical cupboards to interact with the props inside.
The team also finalized scenes with a character seamlessly climbing into an Argo ship, grabbing the controls, and flying away.
Graphics & VFX Programming
In March, the Graphics team completed a version of mesh generation from spline inputs, which will be used for jump point tunnels.
Various shader improvements were made, including recoloring skin using physically based melanin controls and adding the initial support for customizable makeup and tattoos. Improvements were also made to water reflection, refraction, and fogging.
Work began to unify the static and skinned mesh formats, which should lead to large draw call reductions on complex meshes. They also started to integrate new logic into each individual streaming system for testing. In addition, the Graphics team made various changes to the render-to-texture system, including new culling options that will be required for the interior-map feature.
For Vulkan, updates were made to the backend to help visual parity with DX11. Various debug modes were also added to Gen12 to surpass the functionality of the legacy renderer.
Meanwhile, the VFX Programming team continued their work on quantum travel and fire. Quantum travel effects now rotate correctly based on movement direction, and various visual improvements were made based on feedback. For the fire system, the framework for GPU fire particle spawning was added to allow for much greater particle counts. Entities can now exchange heat with the room they reside within too.
In addition, the VFX team continued improving their editor, adding the ability to reference effects from each other. They also made improvements to lightning effects in gas clouds.
The Planet Tech team progressed with water, iterating on the simulation quality and building a system to manage and combine simulations for water surfaces. Work on the asteroid system continued too, with the aim of achieving a much more flexible setup for shaping and distribution.
Narrative
The Narrative team spent time in March on an in-depth level review of one of the bigger sections of the game. Along with a focus on revising the script as needed, they looked at the moment-to-moment flow, ensuring the player knows what they’re supposed to do and where they’re headed next.
“While much of this information could be communicated through onscreen prompts and objective markers, if it doesn’t align with what the character is experiencing, there could be narrative dissonance. So, our goal is to ensure that information is presented as dietetically as possible so that the player and character’s motivation align, allowing them to feel fully immersed.” Narrative Team
As mentioned in last month’s report, the Narrative team was in the UK to oversee a mo-cap shoot to capture a wide variety of materials, including dynamic conversations. While there, they also held high-level discussions on the current state of the game’s script and finalized plans for polishing the last few remaining sections in coordination with the Design team’s level-flow adjustments. This helped the team to begin to accurately schedule the year’s upcoming mo-cap shoots, ensuring they have the needed scripts ready in advance.
UI
In March, the UI Art team created concepts for a new vehicle UI style and puzzle screens found across various levels. They’re currently prototyping a new ‘modular fluff screen’ system, which will allow them to create environmental screens that AI characters can interact with. They also began work on the new visor and lens visuals and added visual polish to several screens following a Feature team pass.
UI Tech completed work on the underlying systems for AR markers. The new visor and lens are also ready to hand over to the Feature teams and artists. Finally, they made incremental improvements to several areas, including text edit boxes, scrollbars, holo-volume interactions, and hyperlinks.
VFX
Last month, the VFX team paid particular attention to large-scale space locations, working closely with the Art team to provide several effects, including dangerous-looking lightning and debris from asteroid fields.
They also continued to clean up placeholder effects across several locations, swapping them out for bespoke versions that better match the environment.
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Happy Tuesday, everyone!
First things first, we wanted to give you an in-depth update on the continuing work on Alpha 3.18 and its upcoming patches. Last week, the teams focused on load testing and validating the game changes that went into 3.18.1, primarily focused on the ASOP delivery feature, which reduces the size of player's default inventories and thus the size of the global databases substantially. This is aiming to alleviate some of the entitlement issues you all have been experiencing.
In addition, on the infrastructure side, an updated set of tools tailored for 3.18 load testing as virtual service clients were augmented and deployed to improve the resilience of the system overall. This is a huge step for service testing as it allows the publishing teams to perform large-scale traffic tests automatically by having those virtual clients perform the full login flow, go through entitlement processing, request ship deliveries, etc.
With these updated automation tools, publishing teams are now able to validate whether the system functions (or not) as it should under different conditions without needing QA groups or PTU deployments. This also opens the door for chaos/destructive testing (which some of you may have noticed over the weekend), where random services are killed or restarted while the workloads are running. This enables us to ensure alerting and recovery functions as it should. It also facilitates discovery, regression, and validation of issues that happen only under higher concurrency and that are typically very hard for us to reproduce, even on PTU.
Armed with the data of the last few weeks, the team has also spent considerable amount of time analyzing and optimizing the cloud footprint of the game to resize and adjust the layout of the clusters and regions where the game hosts services. This is all due to the needs of Alpha 3.18's infrastructure being a lot higher than previous game versions.
The long and short of it is, the team has made significant progress toward the launch of 3.18.1, and we hope to have this in your hands very shortly. We once again thank you all for your continued patience, support, and understanding as our teams continue their efforts.
Now, let's see what's going on this week:
This Tuesday, the Lore Team will make the Portfolio on WiDoW available, first appearing in an issue of Jump Point. Highly addictive to users and highly profitable to distributors, WiDoW went from an ultra-exclusive opioid to what the UEE has called “one of most significant public health issues of the 30th century.
On Wednesday, we'll repost last week's Squadron 42 Monthly Report as a Comm-Link.
Friday won't have a new episode of Star Citizen Live, but we'll be back soon! You'll also see our weekly newsletter in your inbox.
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!
50 Tips & Tricks for Star Citizen
LoudGuns has put together an extensive list of tips, tricks, hotkeys, and more, perfect for the new player getting out into the 'verse, and great for those looking for a refresher too.
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This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 10.4.
On a moon in the Stanton system sits a nondescript outpost that few know of and even fewer have visited. At least that was the case until an error caused the automated processing facility inside to sell its product at a drastically deep discount. Those who noticed tried to keep the glitch a secret, but word quickly spread through the system’s underworld. Soon the outpost, by then better known as “Jumptown,” became a warzone with outlaws fighting for access. These brazen battles garnered enough attention that the issue was even discussed during a Senate hearing focused on rising crime rates within Stanton. So what drastically discounted, high-priced, and always in-demand product drove people to fight over the processing facility? WiDoW, a synthetic opioid that has become one of the most prominent recreational drugs in the UEE. It’s also one of the most dangerous. Not only for the devastating and tragic impact it has on those who fall under its spell but for the lengths some will go to profit off it.
WiDoW is a highly processed and highly illegal narcotic that is injected directly into the bloodstream. Its evocative name derives from one of the prominent side effects of extensive use: the drug’s viscous, ink-black consistency can stain the user’s veins, creating web-like subcutaneous patterns. A Class A substance that is illegal to possess and distribute inside the UEE, WiDoW produces extreme feelings of euphoria alongside providing pain relief and anti-anxiety effects. It’s also highly addictive and damaging to the Human body. Repeated use can lead not only to the telltale black markings but eventually collapsed veins, various liver and kidney diseases, heart conditions, and more.
The widespread availability of WiDoW is in part due to it being relatively easy to produce, which allows everyone from multi-system criminal syndicates to individuals to manufacture and sell it. While the production process is easily replicable, potency can vary greatly depending on several factors including quality of ingredients, cleanliness of equipment, and temperature fluctuations during processing. Some longtime users even claim that not knowing the potency of a dose is part of the thrill for them. While the WiDoW found today is completely synthetic, the substance has organic origins that shaped its initial image as a relatively safe and extremely exclusive designer drug.
FLOWER POWER
WiDoW’s rise to prominence is a beguiling mix of fact and fiction. Several details are well-established while others are lost in the haze of history, half-truths, and top secret classification. Its story begins with the discovery of the Oso system in 2861. The breathable atmosphere and lush biosphere of Oso II made the planet the primary target for government survey teams. Yet, upon the discovery of the Osoians, the most advanced developing species ever encountered by the UEE, Oso II was put under the protection of the Fair Chance Act. A strict lockdown was enacted that would prevent its lush and varied biomes from being thoroughly explored. Still, one early survey team that was already exploring the tropical region before the lockdown did manage to collect a handful of unique native plant samples.
Scientists informally named one of those uprooted plants ‘nightspiral,’ due to the flower’s vibrant multi-colored swirls set against its dark petals. Government scientists studied the plant but struggled to propagate it, and with Oso II off limits, a return trip to understand its natural environment was out of the question. Instead, scientists crossbred the plant using a variety of techniques, including grafting and genetic modification, only to discover one variant produced seeds containing alkaloids. Investigations into the seeds’ medicinal potency and intoxicating effects were done but still remain highly classified. Still, at some point in the process, someone saw the potential and seed samples disappeared from a research facility.
Rumors of a new injectable opioid called NightNight first spread in late 2867. It quickly gained a reputation as the fashionable drug du jour, available only to the ultra-elite with underworld connections. NightNight’s popularity only grew when rumors spread that the powerful opioid was not addictive. While this rumor would eventually prove tragically false, it’s believed that most early users avoided falling under the drug’s spell because of its limited and exclusive availability.
As demand skyrocketed, production lagged behind. New plants produced relatively few seeds and processing NightNight became an expensive, time consuming, and extremely meticulous process. It’s believed that underground chemists worked on a completely synthetic version for years before perfecting the process in 2879. If the stories can be believed, the chemist who cracked the formula sold the secretive process for an exorbitant price to several gangs around the same time and then vanished. Whether that story is apocryphal or not, the manufacturing process spread widely around the UEE within a year.
THE DARK WEB
The first synthetic version of NightNight made its way through the circles of the rich and powerful. Now quick and easy to produce, the drug’s reach rapidly expanded to those who’d been desperate to try but unable to acquire it. Of course, few knew the version they paid the premium price for was completely synthetic and not quite like the original drug.
As availability rose, so did use rates. What was once a monthly habit for an elite few suddenly became a daily habit for a growing percentage of the population. It wasn’t long before the repercussions of overusing the synthetic variant became readily apparent. The seriousness of addiction was publicly highlighted when the plight of socialite Khali O’Brien made headlines in 2880. Friends of O’Brien leaked stories to the press expressing concern for her sudden and dramatic weight loss and the shocking appearance of black veins on her neck. Paparazzi hounded her every move and, after layers of concealer failed to hide the black veins, O’Brien took to wearing black scarves and turtlenecks. This prompted one gossip columnist to label her the “Black Widow,” an evocative term that stuck as black, web-like patterns appeared on more users. This condition and the drug’s now completely synthetic nature prompted government officials to classify it separately as WiDoW to distinguish between it and the earlier non-synthetic version, with the unusual capitalization originating from the common spectrum and comms shorthand for the drug: “WDW.”
Despite clear adverse effects and skyrocketing addiction rates, many users in the late 29th century still believed WiDoW to be relatively safe when compared to other opioids. This false conviction, alongside the drug being widely available, led the UEE government to declare WiDoW as “one of most significant public health issues of the 30th century” and designate it as a Class A narcotic. While billions of credits have been poured into Empire-wide information campaigns, rehab facilities, addiction counseling, and more, WiDoW remains as popular and profitable as ever; a fate drug experts expect won’t change unless something drastic happens culturally, economically, and politically.
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Welcome to March’s PU Report! Read on for everything completed and in progress across our global studios last month, including several new vehicles, gas clouds, updated missions, and various backend tasks for the upcoming Alpha 3.19 patch.
AI (Tech)
Throughout March, AI Tech made significant improvements to various navigation systems and AI tool features. This included implementing support for overriding agent-type properties for navigation mesh generation, which enables the designers to generate meshes inside narrow areas and create more complex levels. For example, NPCs will be able to follow or search for players inside vents.
Another related feature is navigation volume cost areas (NVCA), which will impact navigation-mesh generation and the dynamic path computed during movement requests. There are both static and dynamic NVCA types:
Static NVCAs are shapes/volumes preplaced by the level designers when they want certain areas to be preferred or avoided during pathfinding.
Dynamic NVCAs are shapes created at runtime based on player or NPC actions. For example, fire areas that can expand or shrink, or areas featuring obstacles placed by players.
AI Tech also continued to iterate and polish some otherwise completed features, including NPCs pushing trolleys and NPCs using transit systems and elevators (with or without trolleys). Support was also added for hover trolleys.
On the AI Tools side, the team iterated and added new functionality to the Apollo Subsumption tool. Some of the new functionality includes being able to reference engine component tags as part of the TagSelector variable. They also moved the graph map to its own tab, added icons to the outline tab for easier viewing, and added a prompt for unsaved changes.
For the Usable Coordinator, the team continued with quality-of-life improvements and updated UI functionality.
AI Tech also completed a pass on the recent idle-system improvements. Now, they can correctly mark up specific moments in idle animations where it’s safe to leave. This allows them to maintain the visual quality the animators expect without needing to wait for the idle animation to fully transition into the exit animation.
Art (Characters)
Last month, Character Art polished outfits for the Duster faction along with Subscriber items for the year ahead. Production also began on the frontier helmets.
Concept-wise, the Art team explored the Headhunters and Rough & Ready gangs, and prepared handoff documents for the Dusters.
Art (Ships)
The UK Vehicle Art team spent the month closing out the Argo SRV alongside two unannounced vehicles. Each progressed through the final art pass stage, which includes LODs, damage, and optimization.
TheMISC Hull C received further support, with the team fixing several visual bugs and polishing where needed. Progress on the Crusader Spirit continued, with the ship moving from greybox to the LOD0 phase; the vast majority of the interior and exterior greybox work is now complete.
Whitebox work began on two unannounced vehicles, with one receiving a flyable in-editor prototype.
A component pass also began for the MISC Freelancer to ensure the component bays adhere to the required metrics and open and close properly.
In the US, Subscriber Flair paints inspired by microTech, Crusader, and Hurston were created.
The greybox for a new vehicle approached completion. Some unique maneuvering components were heavily detailed, including the front housings and suspension system. The seat enter-exit mechanism was fleshed out, while the front and rear doors were adjusted to prevent clipping and create a tight seal when closed.
Greybox on the Aopoa San'tok.yāiis ongoing, with the wings and thrusters now fully modeled out. All clipping during motion has been addressed, with additional Xi’an tech used to move parts away from others. The landing gear was also redesigned to have a stronger look in comparison to the rest of the ship, while all visible pistons were removed in favor of ‘mechanical muscles.’
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Community
To coincide with the release of the RSI Scorpius Antares in Alpha 3.18, the Community team published a Q&A answering key questions about the new EMP-equipped heavy fighter.
Then, in celebration of the opening of the Vision Center race track, the team hosted the first Star Citizen low-speed racing challenge.
Community also supported the Stella Fortuna celebrations and held a festive Screenshot Contest. Stella Fortuna also made use of the events tab on the Community Hub, recently debuted. The next major update of the Community Hub is already in the works, coming very soon.
Also in March, they released the full schedule for the ongoing Bar Citizen World Tour 2023.
“We’re excited to see you in person as soon as possible! Remember, if you're organizing an event or just looking for one to attend in your vicinity, you'll find everything you need at barcitizen.sc.” - Community Team
The team has also been heavily involved in supporting the publishing and player experience teams with the release of and ongoing work for Alpha 3.18.
Finally, the team has been entrenched in planning and organizing this year's CitizenCon event.
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Engine
In March, the Physics team worked on the consistent handling of wheeled vehicles between different gravity fields. Additionally, further improvements were made to OBB box pruning, while lock stealing in the geometry intersection code was reworked. Data integrity regarding the mass assigned to physical geometry was tightened, and a method was implemented to find the parts of an entity that a rope is attached to between sessions. An optional update of grid space part bounds during reposition was added. This should save significant time during collision detection if thousands of crates attempt to collide with a ship consisting of several thousand parts.
On the renderer, more code was refactored for Gen12. Transient constant buffers are now used in more code. For example, in SSDO and motion blur. The processing of tessellated objects was improved so it will no longer execute unnecessarily. A lot of legacy render code was removed (deferred shading, shadow rendering, etc), and support for debug viz of antialiasing and shadow mask rendering was added.
Improvements to the temporal render mode for atmospheric and volumetric clouds continued. This included improvements to stabilize color neighborhoods for reprojection and transmittance profiles.
On the core engine, the remote shader compiler server received a final round of substantial performance improvements. The exception handler was extended to better deal with recently occurring silent crashes. Based on the memory tracking information made available by Alpha 3.18 PTU, a new custom system allocator (to replace jemalloc) was implemented, which significantly reduces observed overallocation and fragmentation. This is currently in test. Further improvements were made to huge pages support. Work on streaming system improvements and the new memory-tracking tool continued too.
The remainder of the time was spent supporting Alpha 3.18.
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Features (Arena Commander)
In March, the Feature team saw the first stage of Arena Commander’s rework pushed to game-dev. Now, all development teams have the new frontend, lobby system, racing tracks, and more.
Arena Commander Features worked alongside the Planet team to improve Ellis III, Green - the planet that hosts Horizon Speedway. Updates include a new biome with higher mountains, increased water levels, and beaches to better represent the vast oceans and in-lore vacation destination the races are hosted over.
Design began a full rework of the Defford Link racetrack alongside finishing work on Old Vanderval. They also completed a pass of all holographic checkpoints to ensure they best represent their areas and environments. Design continued to improve and fix the new Arena Commander frontend with a refined style sheet.
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Features (Characters & Weapons)
Last month, the Features team revisited the prone locomotion set, as several successful mechanics used in the new EVA system could be transferred over. For example, the player character will now roll on the spot instead of spinning around at the hips and, as the player looks around, the collision shape does not change. This replaces the button press for switching between front and back, and the player can start moving from any prone pose.
The player character’s pivot has also been moved further forward, which centers the rotation in first-person view closer to the camera in both idle and movement animation sets. This makes rotation control far smoother, though requires a full update to all animations and transitions. As part of this, the collision shape has been changed from a single capsule to multiple smaller capsules. The main capsule is at the pivot, and the others trail out behind it and are allowed some freedom to retract.
“As a visual aid, consider this similar to a caterpillar. The end result is a much better first-person experience with fewer issues where the character gets stuck on terrain.” - Actor Features Team
The team also supported new behaviors around weapon heating. There is now an option for FPS weapons to overheat, which requires user intervention to restore functionality similar to a reload action. However, before the weapon hits the overheated state, it can change its behavior at various temperature thresholds. For example, the firing rate can increase, the fire mode can change to beam type, or the number of projectiles fired in a single shot can increase.
Features (Gameplay)
In March, the Gameplay Features team supported the ongoing QATRs for the Mining update and tractor beam.
This led to improvements in the tractor beam UX. For example, adding a toggle for on/off rather than press and hold, and adding new augmented reality (AR) markers to show the validity of an item the player wants to attach.
The team also improved the loot-generation debug tools to make it easier to validate loot distribution.
Ship refinery work also began; the design intentions were brought up to speed to allow the engineers to start work in the next sprint.
Features (Mission)
In March, Mission Features continued work on the Salvage contracts missions, adding polish and balance. Package extraction also progressed toward its eventual release.
“We are looking at adding general cargo to mission ships to give players a reason to investigate destroyed ships or ships that are in soft death.” - Mission Features Team
The ship escort mission that involves quantum travel progressed. The team’s current focus is getting all base-flow edge cases worked out to understand their dependencies on other teams. Production of a new mission began, currently known as Data Heist, which tasks players with reaching a location and stealing data.
The team also began adding quality-of-life fixes for Alpha 3.19, including enabling players to see historical data of whether a mission was completed or failedand why.They also modularized the missing-persons missions so they can be used more easily by the Content teamsas part ofthe ongoing initiative to build a more modular system.
On the law side, the team worked on the ability to defend a ship’s interior from trespassers. This includes not automatically adding players to a ship’s comms channel unless they’re a party member. As well as this, a liability system was created to deal with crimes committed with tractor beans.
“This includes a new system for attributing blame for the act of defenestration, which is a fancy word for throwing someone out of a window.” - Mission Features Team
Graphics, VFX Programming & Planet Tech
In March, the Graphics team completed a version of mesh generation from spline inputs, which will be used for jump point tunnels.
Various shader improvements were made, including recoloring skin using physically based melanin controls and adding the initial support for customizable makeup and tattoos. Improvements were also made to water reflection, refraction, and fogging.
Work began to unify the static and skinned mesh formats, which should lead to large draw call reductions on complex meshes. They also started to integrate new logic into each individual streaming system for testing. In addition, the Graphics team made various changes to the render-to-texture system, including new culling options that will be required for the interior-map feature.
For Vulkan, updates were made to the backend to help visual parity with DX11. Various debug modes were also added to Gen12 to surpass the functionality of the legacy renderer.
Meanwhile, the VFX Programming team continued their work on quantum travel and fire. Quantum travel effects now rotate correctly based on movement direction, and various visual improvements were made based on feedback. For the fire system, the framework for GPU fire particle spawning was added to allow for much greater particle counts. Entities can now exchange heat with the room they reside within too.
In addition, the VFX team continued improving their editor, adding the ability to reference effects from each other. They also made improvements to lightning effects in gas clouds.
The Planet Tech team progressed with water, iterating on the simulation quality and building a system to manage and combine simulations for water surfaces. Work on the asteroid system continued too, with the aim of achieving a much more flexible setup for shaping and distribution.
In-Game Branding (Montreal)
The In-Game Branding team continued work on the Pyro gangs' visual identity and environment.
They also made the final touch-ups to Invictus Launch Week, and are currently exploring Ruin Station in pursuit of adding new branding elements throughout.
Lighting
The Lighting team spent part of March working on Invictus Launch Week before continuing to light new and existing areas around Ruin Station.
They also progressed with their work on the colonial outpost modules in development by the Sandbox 1 team.
Live Tools
In Montreal, the Live Tools team began designing a new module for the Network Operation Center. In the future, this shard-management tool will support Server Meshing by displaying real-time information about the servers.
Locations (EU)
The EU Locations team progressed with Ruin Station, looking at new ways for the player to traverse and how new gameplay elements will fit into the areas already developed.
They also progressed with the local law offices, developing layouts and working toward playable prototypes.
Cargo elevators were worked on alongside the USPU team. Last month, Location prototyped elevators and how they will work in various scenarios.
EU2 also worked alongside Mission Features to add new platforms to Orison. These will be used for missions and to add additional points of interest to the city.
The EU Sandbox team created non-airlock outpost entryways, which will be used in Pyro’s breathable atmospheres.
They’re currently tidying up the underfloor areas for outpost modules for use in stealth gameplay. Work also continued on wrapping up the final pieces for Content Pack 3, which will enable the team to move onto outpost distribution across Pyro.
Design is almost finished with markup for Content Pack 2 and will be moving on to the final pieces of Content Pack 3 as they’re completed. They’re also near to closing out the Stanton and Pyro jump points, with some final bits of feedback being applied.
In March, EU’s Sandbox 2 continued their work on the underground facilities, which can be seen on a recent episode of Inside Star Citizen.
Finally, the Organics team progressed with rocky caves. Upcoming work involves reworking and touching-up Pyros planets and moons to bring them up to the current standard.
Narrative
With Alpha 3.18 live, the Narrative shifted back to work on the upcoming patch as well as ongoing development. They worked closely with the various Design team owners to further develop mission text for several upcoming mission types, including Salvage, Investigation, Mining, and some new ones that have yet to be announced.
For Pyro, Narrative revisited some of the scientific lore around the planets to ensure it aligns with the latest design and gameplay intents. They also started drawing out territories for the various gangs in the system to see where they would operate and overlap, which could establish conflict zones. They also began looking at the ‘outlaw’ lifestyle, specifically brainstorming a new approach for players drifting into criminality, rather than having unlawful missions available alongside legal ones.
In March, the Online Services team focused on hot fixes for the Alpha 3.18 live release. These were primarily aimed at inventory login, entitlement, and releveling stress on the global database.
For Alpha 3.18.1, the team added the new ASOP ship delivery system.
Systemic Services & Tools
Alongside supporting the Alpha 3.18 release and bug fixing cargo, ASOP terminal, and GIM issues, the team began R&D for a Service Beacon architecture update.
They also made progress on a character-creation service, supported USPU in testing the new expo halls, solved Subsumption editor issues, and worked with Design on the Quantum/Odin tool.
UI
The UI artists supported several upcoming gameplay features by creating screen mockups and concepts along with ideas for in-world displays. Several artists and some of the UI Tech team worked on the new visor and lens setup for SQ42, which will eventually make its way into the PU.
UI Tech helped improve VMA data download speeds and improved the underlying loadout system for Arena Commander and Star Marine. They also made incremental improvements to several areas, including text edit boxes, scrollbars, holo-volume interactions, and hyperlinks.
VFX
The VFX team put the finishing touches to their new particle library folder structure this month. This was in anticipation of the new ‘external ref’ functionality that will be moving into the testing phase imminently. This will provide a way for VFX artists to create template effects which can then be referenced in other libraries. This method will make for easier maintenance in the coming years as Star Citizen increases in size.
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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 April 5, 2023
Release View
The following cards have passed their final review for Alpha 3.19, therefore we are updating their cards to Committed:
Tractor Beam - Attach and Detach
This iteration of the tractor beam gameplay will add functionality to the tractor beam attachment of the multitool, allowing it to detach and attach items from ship itemPorts. This functionality can either be used for component exchange, replacement or restocking (rockets) or to scavenge other ships.
New Player Experience
An initiative for improving the initial (first 30 minutes) gameplay experience, which will help players understand the context of the world and introduce them to some of Star Citizen's basic features. This update focuses on the experience in Area 18 and Baijini Point.
New Missions - Salvage Contracts
With more civilian access to salvage ships, contract brokers are offering salvage jobs for derelicts around Lagrange Points around Stanton. These brokers charge a fee for their services so this will require some buy-in, but the contractors are free to keep any salvaged material for resale.
New Missions - Ghost Hollow PVP Mission
Adding a new mission type to the Ghost Hollow point of interest in the Stanton system. Making use of the comm-array as well as AI nav-mesh, this mission type will create PVP encounters where players will need to fight for control over terminals for a chance at big credit payouts.
Lorville Cityscape
Reworking the Lorville skyline to better fit the scale of the city and its distinctive buildings.
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.
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Welcome to April, Subs! Alpha 3.18 is well and truly live in the PU, and among the groundbreaking tech and updated features are all-new racetracks. To help you make the most of these thrilling (yet dangerous) new challenges, April’s Ship of the Month is the agile MISC Razor series. As usual, they’re available with enhanced insurance for all Subscribers until the end of the month as part of the Subscriber Special Promotion.
April also brings the Merchandise Spring Sale! From April 3rd - April 14th Subscribers receive an additional discount of up to 70% off on select merchandise.
This month’s Flair is planet-themed ship paints, featuring new colorways for the Crusader Ares, MISC Razor, Anvil Hawk, and Drake Cutter.
(Flair will be available in the Alpha 3.19 Live patch.)
Crusader - Hosanna Ship Paint Pack
Inspired by the gorgeous clouds that enshroud Orison, the Hosanna paint blends red, ivory, and pink to give any ship a distinct appearance. It also features a silhouette of the landing zone's famous Hosanna tree complete with its pink flowers.
Current Centurion-level Subscribers get the Hosanna Ship Paint Pack as part of their subscription. (Flair will be available in the Alpha 3.19 Live patch.)
microTech - Aspire Ship Paint Pack
The Aspire paint evokes both the hallmark colors and frigid temperatures of New Babbage. In honor of the landing zone that inspired it, the design also features a depiction of the Aspire Grand building that dominates the city's skyline.
Current Imperator-level Subscribers get the Hosanna and Aspire Ship Paint Packs as part of their subscription. (Flair will be available in the Alpha 3.19 Live patch.)
Hurston - Central Tower Ship Paint Pack
This orange and black color scheme is inspired by the furnaces of Lorville’s industrial sprawl. It also features a representation of the landing zone's iconic Central Headquarters and Shared Services Center, aka Central Tower.
The Central Tower Ship Paint Pack is available to all Subscribers to pledge for from the Subscriber-Exclusive Store. (Flair will be available in the Alpha 3.19 Live patch.)
If you would like to receive this flair as part of a subscription, you can subscribe before April 11th, 2023, 20:00 UTC.
If you subscribe after April 11th, 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.
Earnable In-Game
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!
First and foremost, we want to give a quick update on 3.18 and the relevant upcoming releases. The team is still focused and hammering away at remaining issues. We do want to assure you that we're aware of the influx of 40014 errors that some of you are encountering, among others. Our team has uncovered what we believe is the cause of this one (40014) and is currently working on a solution. We remain all hands on deck and are dedicated to getting both 18.1 and 18.2 in your hands as quickly as possible, which we hope will bring much needed relief for those still experiencing issues.
In our 150th episode of Inside Star Citizen, we saw the return of the community-favorite Sprint Report, which featured several sneak peeks of exciting things to come. We then followed things up on Star Citizen Live with an exclusive AI Sprint Report by our very own AI Director Francesco Roccucci.
Finally, last weekend the Bar Citizen World Tour continued as community team members and developers traveled to two events. Together with veteran players and newcomers alike, they met for some drinks and a great time in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, & Paris, France, EU, and talked all things spaceships and Star Citizen. We had a great time, and we'd like to give a HUGE thank you to the organizers an all who came out!
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Now, let's see what's going on this week:
This Tuesday, we have our SubscriberComm-Link and newsletter detailing April's Subscriber benefits!
On Wednesday, we will release not only the bi-weekly Roadmap Update and Roadmap Roundup but also March's Monthly Reports for both Star Citizen and Squadron 42. Don't forget to subscribe to the Squadron 42 newsletter here.
Thursday won't see an episode of Inside Star Citizen as we brought the quarterly season to a close with its one hundred and fiftieth episode last week. Don't panic though, as we'll be back soon!
Friday won't see an episode of Star Citizen Live this week due to the holiday weekend, but keep an eye out for our weekly newsletter so you don't miss a beat.
Have a stellar week both in and out of the 'verse!
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!
Life as a Security Guard #2
Star Citizen provides you the freedom to tell your very own adventure and form your own destiny. And StarrStreams has decided to sign with New Babbage Security, adding so much warmth to our coolest landing zone.
Please hop over to the Community Hub and leave an upvote for New Babbage's most welcoming guardsman.
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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Don't miss our incredible Spring Sale now through April 14! Pick up a variety of official Star Citizen merchandise for up to 55% off and up to 70% off for Subscribers! Plus, some new arrivals are available for pre-order.
Subscriber Discounts & Perks
Get monthly rewards including additional discounts on merchandise, complimentary in-game items, access to the Vehicle of the Month offers, and more!
Tobii Eye Tracker 5
Get 15% off the Tobii Eye Tracker 5 now until April 14! Enjoy a more intuitive and immersive flight experience as you explore, battle, and race around the 'verse with Tobii head and eye tracking hardware.
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…
How do NPCs figure out what's what and who's who? Join AI Director Francesco Roccucci as they walk us through the latest updates from the AI Tech and Feature Teams.
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…
