OFFICIAL Star Citizen

[human_error]

Some good info out of this months' PCGames mag in Germany (2.5 is due to land in the next couple of weeks):

2.5 is bringing an outlaw space station where you can land and store your ships, as well as race around the Yela asteroid belt. It also adds the Argo utility ship as a flyable ship and brings a bunch of new systems online under the covers (the new interaction system, the new and improved landing system).

2.6 will launch Star Marine as separate module just like Arena Commander, this was also played a gameplay stage was demonstrated by staff to PC Games and they are saying it's much more polished on the FPS side and feels a lot better than current rudimentary FPS in the PU. 2.6 will also hopefully bring the netcode re-write which will massively improve performance.

2.7 will bring procedural planets and you will be able to travel the whole Stanton system and all planets and moons can be directly approached down to the surface.

• They say the new lighting system as part of the procedural planets build looks much more natural.
• They say that approaching the planet looks and technically feels better than with Elite Dangerous.
• You can land anywhere manually, automatic landing gets you to fixed positions i.e. landing zones.
• Microtech and Hurston come in follow-up patches after 2.7
• They aim to have Stanton fully playable i.e. with all stations and landing zones (according to CR about 40 locations) by end of 2016
• There will be more jobs and missions as well.
• Trading will be in by then, specifically purchase and sale of goods should play a more important role
• Chris describing that missions accepted up in space stations could lead you eventually down to planet surfaces, not clear if this is going to be in with 2.7 but seemingly something SQ42 will benefit from.
• Planets and moons are revolving around suns, with naturally simulated day and night cycles.
• When flying over the ocean they were noticing that the horizon had a correctly simulated curve.
• Trees and Animals seemingly are planned (edit: doesn't seem to be in with 2.7, sorry) - they have them seemingly setup in pre-made templates they call ecosystems - these can be brushed over the planet surface, some magic blends the transitions to make it look naturally and consistent.
• Planetary surface and topography details are controlled by a dynamic LOD system.
• Some pop-up was visible during the planetary approach but they described it as impressive regardless.
• They were also impressed with the cloud system, which wasn't just a simple texture layer but seemingly is described what I assume would be volumetric, i.e. they have depth and height and impact visibility, leading to mountain crests piercing through clouds and valleys being covered.
• They are writing that there isn't any artificially restricted view range, visibility is rather a result from the volumetric calculation of the atmosphere.
• Parallax-Occlusion maps with dynamic tessellation is used for the surface details.
• GTX 980 was used with 45fps on the planetary surface, so performance seems to be pretty good already
• They mention that subsumption AI is going to allow NPC to form independent decisions based on environment and situational context. They then write that subsumption AI is also being used in real life for programming robots with human like behavior. (they don't really clarify what exactly they mean)
• Some stuff about the subsumption-AI saying NPCs might have hobbies and possess their own virtual mind, allowing them to remember and be influenced in their opinions by the player. To avoid performance issues, they seemingly control the update cycles for NPC AI based on player proximitiy i.e. update cycles go to 1hz instead of 60hz if no one is around.
• There was also a part about server architecture, how they intend to improve upon it in order to sustain more concurrent players in the same server zone. target is to reduce the numbers of instances.
• They intend to mesh servers together in order to form a huge cluster, the necessary optimizations are already being coded into star citizen, accordingly they also should yield some marginal performance improvements on the client side.

• One of the journalists wrote in his opinion piece that the gamescom presentation is going to drop some jaws to the floor. (just a mild disclaimer: it isn't clearly written if he has actually seen it or just speculates)
• He also wrote that he was positively surprised that all employees at Foundry 42 Frankfurt he had the chance to talk with, seemed truthfully grateful to be able to work on the project and the challenges it brings along. The journalist specifically points out, that the enthusiasm didn't feel faked.

There's some screenshots from the magazine here: https://imgur.com/a/whwyC

The only final thing that's coming but we don't know when is the new patcher, which will let us only download changes to files, instead of entire pak kits (so if 1 file out of a 1GB pak gets changed you only need to download that file, instead of the entire pak like you do now).

 

[D007]

Don't get suckered in.. Buy the minimum... I got suckered in and now I have buyers remorse..lol.. Not seeing enough development to ensure a return on the desired outcome..
They made over 100 million already. Now they are just milking consumers, like mech warrior online..

 

[Scrizz]

things take time to make. money != time

thanks @human_error that great info and those screenshots :O

 

[Nobody99]

I would think that people who donated money would at least donate money to build open source game and not closed source. They might have to use different engine if it were open source.

 

[erocker]

I would think that people who donated money would at least donate money to build open source game and not closed source. They might have to use different engine if it were open source.

They know what they were "pledging" for.

2.5 is looking pretty good.

 

[human_error]

I would think that people who donated money would at least donate money to build open source game and not closed source. They might have to use different engine if it were open source.

Open Source vs closed source has no impact on how fun a game is, but it does have a significant negative impact on anti-hack implementations and the long term viability of the game developer. I'm glad it is closed source, as my investment and that of others has given CIG the ability to build an awesome game which they can then sell to continue to fund development in the game and future games. Your comment on the engine makes it sound like you'd rather they use a different engine? When Star Citizen development started CryEngine was the best engine out there for what they wanted to build - if they'd built their own from scratch then it would have cost a lot more and we'd be way behind in development, and they would not have gained much if any advantage at all.

Before saying "open source is amazing and everything should be open source" you should look into the advantages and disadvantages of OSS vs closed source - especially in games.

 

[Nobody99]

it does have a significant negative impact on anti-hack implementations and the long term viability of the game developer

That is true but anti-hack implementations can always be as a separate program which is closed source. And if the game is coded good and even though the client is open source I think it is possible to make it more or less hack-proof especially if it isn't only FPS.

The long term viability is the main reason why they did this, so people wouldn't be able to set up their own servers and not pay them anything but I still think that when people are crowdsourcing something that is more like a donation than investment in exchange for a share of the company and I presume that when they do it they wouldn't mind doing it for the common good. A lot of people are also of the opinion that all the research papers that are supported by grants from the state should be freely accesible and not available only behind a paywall and I think you can apply the same thinking here. Think of it this way if every person were part of a crowdsourcing of a new ultimate OS which has all the features of the existing OSes and none of it faults would you want it to be open source or closed source? Bulgaria recently passed a law which says that every software which is funded by state must be open source, I think that people should apply the same thinking when crowdsourcing prodcuts because if you donate and get something (symbolical) in return you can still at least donate for a good cause.

When Star Citizen development started CryEngine was the best engine out there

I personally think that CryEngine is the best and their development kit is also good but I don't think that Crytek would allow their code to be used in open source game whereas Unreal Engine allows that.

 

[erocker]

I still think that when people are crowdsourcing something that is more like a donation than investment in exchange for a share of the company

Crowdfunding is dictated by the "T.O.S." through which the transaction is taking place. I've crowdfunded a bunch of stuff and I make sure to go over the terms before pledging so that I know what I'm buying, what I get and what my rights are in terms of funding the product/project.

 

[Scrizz]

so people wouldn't be able to set up their own servers and not pay them anything

Setting up servers has nothing to do with paying. The only people that would do something like that are pirating.
AFAIK CIG is committed with letting users set up their own servers. People most likely won't be able to setup servers of the same size but will be able to set one up.

 

[Nobody99]

Setting up servers has nothing to do with paying. The only people that would do something like that are pirating.
AFAIK CIG is committed with letting users set up their own servers. People most likely won't be able to setup servers of the same size but will be able to set one up.

I think they will have a problem when someone decides to set up a server where you automatically get a few good ships at the start and don't have to pay using microtransactions.

Open source and freeware just offers convenience, I get how subscription games work and how one-time-payment games work but if you can play StarCitizen offline or on a server of your own choosing then it better be somehow free of DRM inconvenience because my idea is that once I buy the game and if I don't have to play on official servers or I can play offline then there is no reason for the game to require internet connection with the official server for checking up on me. Since StarCitizen isn't the usual AAA game I hope it will work more like a GOG style - no unnecessary DRM.

 

[Octopuss]

Open Source vs closed source has no impact on how fun a game is, but it does have a significant negative impact on anti-hack implementations and the long term viability of the game developer. I'm glad it is closed source, as my investment and that of others has given CIG the ability to build an awesome game which they can then sell to continue to fund development in the game and future games. Your comment on the engine makes it sound like you'd rather they use a different engine? When Star Citizen development started CryEngine was the best engine out there for what they wanted to build - if they'd built their own from scratch then it would have cost a lot more and we'd be way behind in development, and they would not have gained much if any advantage at all.

Before saying "open source is amazing and everything should be open source" you should look into the advantages and disadvantages of OSS vs closed source - especially in games.

I don't think you should call this an investment, because you don't get at least the same (ideally more) money back.

 

[Vayra86]

Some good info out of this months' PCGames mag in Germany (2.5 is due to land in the next couple of weeks):

2.5 is bringing an outlaw space station where you can land and store your ships, as well as race around the Yela asteroid belt. It also adds the Argo utility ship as a flyable ship and brings a bunch of new systems online under the covers (the new interaction system, the new and improved landing system).

2.6 will launch Star Marine as separate module just like Arena Commander, this was also played a gameplay stage was demonstrated by staff to PC Games and they are saying it's much more polished on the FPS side and feels a lot better than current rudimentary FPS in the PU. 2.6 will also hopefully bring the netcode re-write which will massively improve performance.

2.7 will bring procedural planets and you will be able to travel the whole Stanton system and all planets and moons can be directly approached down to the surface.

• They say the new lighting system as part of the procedural planets build looks much more natural.
• They say that approaching the planet looks and technically feels better than with Elite Dangerous.
• You can land anywhere manually, automatic landing gets you to fixed positions i.e. landing zones.
• Microtech and Hurston come in follow-up patches after 2.7
• They aim to have Stanton fully playable i.e. with all stations and landing zones (according to CR about 40 locations) by end of 2016
• There will be more jobs and missions as well.
• Trading will be in by then, specifically purchase and sale of goods should play a more important role
• Chris describing that missions accepted up in space stations could lead you eventually down to planet surfaces, not clear if this is going to be in with 2.7 but seemingly something SQ42 will benefit from.
• Planets and moons are revolving around suns, with naturally simulated day and night cycles.
• When flying over the ocean they were noticing that the horizon had a correctly simulated curve.
• Trees and Animals seemingly are planned (edit: doesn't seem to be in with 2.7, sorry) - they have them seemingly setup in pre-made templates they call ecosystems - these can be brushed over the planet surface, some magic blends the transitions to make it look naturally and consistent.
• Planetary surface and topography details are controlled by a dynamic LOD system.
• Some pop-up was visible during the planetary approach but they described it as impressive regardless.
• They were also impressed with the cloud system, which wasn't just a simple texture layer but seemingly is described what I assume would be volumetric, i.e. they have depth and height and impact visibility, leading to mountain crests piercing through clouds and valleys being covered.
• They are writing that there isn't any artificially restricted view range, visibility is rather a result from the volumetric calculation of the atmosphere.
• Parallax-Occlusion maps with dynamic tessellation is used for the surface details.
• GTX 980 was used with 45fps on the planetary surface, so performance seems to be pretty good already
• They mention that subsumption AI is going to allow NPC to form independent decisions based on environment and situational context. They then write that subsumption AI is also being used in real life for programming robots with human like behavior. (they don't really clarify what exactly they mean)
• Some stuff about the subsumption-AI saying NPCs might have hobbies and possess their own virtual mind, allowing them to remember and be influenced in their opinions by the player. To avoid performance issues, they seemingly control the update cycles for NPC AI based on player proximitiy i.e. update cycles go to 1hz instead of 60hz if no one is around.
• There was also a part about server architecture, how they intend to improve upon it in order to sustain more concurrent players in the same server zone. target is to reduce the numbers of instances.
• They intend to mesh servers together in order to form a huge cluster, the necessary optimizations are already being coded into star citizen, accordingly they also should yield some marginal performance improvements on the client side.

• One of the journalists wrote in his opinion piece that the gamescom presentation is going to drop some jaws to the floor. (just a mild disclaimer: it isn't clearly written if he has actually seen it or just speculates)
• He also wrote that he was positively surprised that all employees at Foundry 42 Frankfurt he had the chance to talk with, seemed truthfully grateful to be able to work on the project and the challenges it brings along. The journalist specifically points out, that the enthusiasm didn't feel faked.

There's some screenshots from the magazine here: https://imgur.com/a/whwyC

The only final thing that's coming but we don't know when is the new patcher, which will let us only download changes to files, instead of entire pak kits (so if 1 file out of a 1GB pak gets changed you only need to download that file, instead of the entire pak like you do now).

Looks very promising. But then again, SC always has, and I'm still waiting to get convinced.

 

[Scrizz]

I think they will have a problem when someone decides to set up a server where you automatically get a few good ships at the start and don't have to pay using microtransactions.

All the ships will be attainable in game without microtransactions. This game is not Free to Play. You pay for the game, and it is yours. $45-60 is all that is needed to pay.
You should probably do some research on the game before coming up with random bs.

this should help you a bit:
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/284412/the-uee-wants-you#latest
http://starcitizen.wikia.com/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions

 

[Vayra86]

All the ships will be attainable in game without microtransactions. This game is not Free to Play. You pay for the game, and it is yours. $45-60 is all that is needed to pay.
You should probably do some research on the game before coming up with random bs.

this should help you a bit:
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/284412/the-uee-wants-you#latest
http://starcitizen.wikia.com/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions

There are tons of 'Free' to play games like this that have astronomical regular currency shop prices for these items, to boost cash shop sales. They have wiggle room, and if they need it, they will use it. They face a tough balancing act merging the cash players with the non-cash ones, for example.

 

[bpgt64]

I think Star Citizen is more of a reaction to how some of the major publishers rarely take risks.

Full disclosure, I am heavily invested, more than I care to admit.

 

[erocker]

There are tons of 'Free' to play games like this that have astronomical regular currency shop prices for these items, to boost cash shop sales. They have wiggle room, and if they need it, they will use it. They face a tough balancing act merging the cash players with the non-cash ones, for example.

I don't know of any free to play games that are selling the game for the sake of making the game. Generally the game is already made and the purchasable items are mainly for profit. Which is fine and a popular way for games to go nowdays. Star Citizen is charging people for the game. There's a base package and that's all you need. The more expensive packages are for those who want the game to be made and support the project. In every other free to play game I've played, the things you buy with real cash are generally better than anything you can get in game.

 

[Frick]

I don't think you should call this an investment, because you don't get at least the same (ideally more) money back.

This is my issue with the minds of backers as well.

 

[Scrizz]

This is my issue with the minds of some backers as well.

fixed

 

[erocker]

In ATV today they showed off the interior of a damaged Idris. It's amazing! The sounds, effects.. I especially love the fans/water/smoke/lights all working together.

Check it out here:

The segment after they go over the sound of the broken Idris which is also very awesome.

 

[INSTG8R]

I don't think you should call this an investment, because you don't get at least the same (ideally more) money back.

Actually I DID get my investment back from Project Cars. I thought that was pretty cool. They were paying me.

I have the starter pack(can't remember the ship) it's been awhile but it might be fixed now but I couldn't play it with TrackIR it was all over the place, clipping through my helmet. Wasn't fun at all. I reinstalled it recently. I guess whe this next patch drops I'll give it another try.
Honestly I'm only in it for Squadron 42 so I'm not in any rush.

 

[erocker]

I made a gif of the MISC Reliant taking off and jumping.

https://gfycat.com/HarmlessGoodnaturedAmericanratsnake

 

[Scrizz]

got mah ptu invite

 

[Jaffakeik]

I finally received my physical universe map from my early backing. looks very nice and shiny. Last time i was in game like 6moths ago, is it worth to check it out again>?

 

[droopyRO]

Any word on Squadron 42 release date ? 10x

 

[Scrizz]

Any word on Squadron 42 release date ? 10x

hopefully they say something at gamescon or citzencon