Just in time for backers to dive into it over the Christmas period following weeks of Evocati and limited-scale PTU testing, Cloud Imperium Games have made Star Citizen Alpha 3.8 – New Frontiers accessible to all backers. The final quarterly patch for 2019, this update brings a number of front facing and behind the scenes additions / improvements as the developers make small steps towards a more persistent universe.
In terms of front-facing additions, the newly announced ARGO MOLE multi-crew mining ship is now accessible to players. This maximum five-person ship comes with three mining lasers which must be manned individually for greatest efficiency. This is currently the next step in progression from the MISC Prospector, the already flyable single-person mining ship. Mining is currently the main speciality implemented into the game, with more to become available in 2020 and beyond. Additional ships including the Anvil Carrack and Drake Cutlass Red will be released in sub-patches over the coming months.
This update also includes new locations including the microTech Planet – the first frozen planet. Its moons and landing zone “New Babbage” previewed during Citizencon 2949 will be implemented in Alpha 3.9. Also included are improved Rest Stops generated via procedural tech, which increases the variety, look and feel of those orbital rest stops.
Other content additions include new gameplay systems include improvements to the law and melee combat systems, multi-crew Mining Missions and a fleshed out “Rescue Hijacked 890 Jump” mission recommended for four players. The latter mission will see players tasked with securing the airspace around a hijacked 890 Jump before EVA’ing through an open hanger. Players must battle their way through the luxury ship to locate and disable two hacking tools, all whilst clearing the ship of its hijackers to complete the mission.
More behind the scenes is the implementation of new technology used both now and going forward. These include:
Procedural Planet Tech Update (Planet Tech v4) – new planetary improvements: improved tools, workflows, planet surface blending, objects scattering and transitions, generation driven by climate data.
Planetary Weather Effects – alongside procedural planet tech, Alpha 3.8 introduces weather to the Star Citizen Universe. Players will notice new weather effects like wind, snow and sand storms that not only affect the environments of Star Citizen, but also have considerable affects on how ships fly in-atmosphere.
Server-side Object Container Streaming – This technology divides the universe of the game into a series of separate containers, which dynamically load in based on the position and needs of the players. Instead of loading in the entire universe for a player, only the parts they can immediately interact with or view are streamed in. As a result, Star Citizen consumes less computing power to represent the wider universe, leading to a dramatic increase in performance.
I couldn’t imagine a better way to close out the year for Star Citizen than by adding both major technology like Server-side Object Container Streaming, our new procedural planet technology: Planet Tech v4, as well as new gameplay and features like melee combat and content such as the ice-planet of microTech.
While we have a lot of additional features and content in the pipeline I’m incredibly excited about what our players can experience in Star Citizen today.
CHRIS ROBERTS – CEO OF CLOUD IMPERIUM GAMES
NOTE
For the last few years, Star Citizen has been continuously crowdfunding through the sale of game packages, in-game ships and other items. It has currently raised more than $250 million. As the game stands at the moment, it is currently in its alpha phase, and it is currently unknown when the Persistent Universe module will actually launch in its final form. Just be aware that if you pledge towards Star Citizen at this time, you are doing so for an unfinished game at the moment. Like most crowdfunding campaigns, the usual risks – including potential non-delivery – apply in doing so.
