Summary
Fans ofStar Citizenjust got a massive update with the release of Alpha Patch 3.2 this week. Gamers who love sci-fi and space exploration may be focused onStarfieldlately, but there’s another title in the works that’s drawing attention from players lately. In production for over a decade, since its launch on Kickstarter,Star Citizenhas been compared toStarfieldfor its similar themes, tone, and setting. While the latter title has seen its official release, Cloud Imperium Game’s multiplayer take on the genre remains in early access.
Despite its unfinished state,Star Citizenis among the most exciting upcoming space adventure games, and it’s attracted a sizable and passionate fan base. These players have been patiently waiting for the development team to roll out more updates and, eventually, bring the title to a complete condition. These fans were recently treated to another step along this path with a new update that brings loads of changes to the world.
RELATED:PC Game Already Costs More to Make Than GTA5, RDR2, and Cyberpunk 2077 Combined
Launched on September 19, Alpha Patch 3.2 includes updates and bug fixes for bothStar Citizenand its in-game space combat sim,Arena Commander. This patch includes major expansions for Seraphim Station, a new mission, and new ships, along with loads of tweaks and upgrades to existing locations and features. Altogether, this update should give players a reason to jump back in for the new content and to see how much smoother all the existing systems run.
Meanwhile, Cloud Imperium boasts that the space combat sim side of this patch “is the largestArena Commanderhas seen” to date. It introduces loads of new content to explore as well as improvements to the game lobby. Perhaps most exciting, however, is the introduction of “experimental” game modes that will be tried out with players in the coming months.Star Citizenalready ranks amongthe most expensive games ever made, and this new update shows that all that funding is going into massive expansions of the experience.
Although the space exploration game still seems far from official completion, Cloud Imperium is giving fans plenty of reason to keep engaging with the content and the community while they’re waiting. The updates toArena Commander, in particular, should have many players looking intohow to upgradeStar Citizenshipsand take on their fellow gamers in space combat.
Players should note that Cloud Imperium recommends deleting the Public client USER and Shader folders after the update to avoid possible bugs. After this has been done, they can dive in to see everything that the latest patch has to offer.
Star Citizen Patch 3.20.0
Known Issues
Workarounds: First, If the Hull-C has cargo as part of the end of the flow, try and request detach via the Cargo center rather than regular ATC. Second, if the Hull-C doesn’t have cargo, make sure the spindles are collapsed then store, retrieve again, and request via regular ATC on mG comms.
New Features
Locations
Bringing the Crusader Port station in line with the other stations and replacing the long standing Port Olisar, Seraphim Station brings many of the amenities needed to accommodate the various features required of a station such as hangars, cargo decks, shopping, clinics, and habs.
Gameplay
Alpha 3.20 includes the addition of the new automated cargo transferal experience to the PU for the Hull-C. The existing cargo transaction system, which other ships will still use for this release, will instantly pop all of the purchased cargo into a ship or instantly remove all sold cargo off the ship after the transaction has completed. The Hull C however requires a new experience where the player after buying or selling the cargo at the commodity kiosk will be prompted to pick it up/drop it off at a loading area. To do so the player retrieves their vehicle then hails the location’s Cargo Services to get assigned a loading area (similar to getting assigned a landing area from ATC). After flying their ship to the loading area they will be prompted to stop moving, and then extend the spindles on their ship. Once the ship is ready cargo will be added onto the cargo grids of the ship over a period of approximately 5 or so minutes, depending on the size of the load. Currently these boxes will just pop into place. If the player moves or someone enters the area the transfer will be interrupted until the disruption is addressed or the loading area is eventually revoked. After transfer is completed successfully the player will be prompted to leave the area, eventually getting a warning for impounding if they do not.
With the changes for the Hull-C comes a complete rewrite of how the cargo system places cargo into ships (any ships, not just the Hull-C). Previous versions of the system only dealt with 1 SCU containers, and could use fairly simple logic for placement or removal. We are now supporting various sized boxes to be placed in the cargo holds (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 32) as well as supporting various orientations of placement in the grid to work around grid obstructions. This also includes temporary tractor beam strength changes to support the attachment/detachment of those various sized boxes using the tractor beam.
Salvage Coverup is a new variation on the salvage missions. These new missions come as a new, illegal mission contract called The Tar Pits to cover up for the perpetrator of a crime, in this case NineTails, who want to keep their involvement under the radar. You are tasked to hull scrape their entire ship, to remove the NineTails paintjob before the ship evidence is discovered by security. If security forces arrive before you manage to perform the coverup, the security ships spot the hull colors, report back, and you will fail and be attacked if at the location. Do it in time, and the Tar Pits will pay you handsomely for your efforts, and your silence.
Ships and Vehicles
Core Tech
High Dynamic Range (HDR) is now enabled for players with a compatible monitor. This is activated in Windows by going to the ‘Windows Display Settings’ and selecting ‘Use HDR’. Then, open Star Citizen and select ‘HDR’ in the ‘Graphics tab’.
Feature Updates
Rastar is a tool which is used to quickly build POI’s on planet surfaces by combining pre-built modules together at the click of a button. They also change the way which mission locations are setup and streamed in, essentially, they are the future of creating planetary locations. This update moves all our original UGF’s over to the new Rastar tool workflow. All UGF’s have been replaced in the same positions as they were previously, with the settings they previously had applied to them reapplied where appropriate. This means functionally the current locations should be no different than they were before on the mission side of things and also art wise should be the same barring some minor adjustments to the exterior layout of each location.
Updates and improvements to current ground vehicle movement parameters and simulation, allowing for more robust tuning and identity between various ground vehicles.
Until now, there has been a very small pool of ships available for use as AI in missions. With this new change we have included every ship able to QT into the mix for both Criminals and Civilians, though some that didn’t make sense for Criminals have not been added, like Cutlass Blue for instance. This update includes a full AI Ship Rebalance of difficulties. Ships have been divided into difficulty bands which have mainly been derived from large data sets based on PVP analytics. Finally, we have also made a new ship difficulty band of Very Hard which is now reflected in the Very Hard bounty/assassination missions.
Implementing updated Vaulting & Mantling improvements that make the process much more smooth and intuitive for players. This update allows players to now be able to grab ledges while running and jumping, low/high vault while running and/or in mid-air, and allows low/high mantle while running and/or in mid-air.
Server Crash Recovery has been updated for PES to now remember the last location the ship hailed for landing and landed/docked at. This will allow players who hit a server crash to have their ship spawn back at the last hailed location instead of their chosen home location where the landing area may not be equipped to handle their ships, such as a fully loaded or extended Hull-C.
Along with 3.20, we have added a new Combat Logging mechanic to avoid as much of this issue as possible. With this updated mechanic, while a player is in combat and outside of a green zone, the player and their ship will remain in the PU for a short period after exiting the game fully or to the menu. This also comes with a warning while exiting to menu to make sure you are in a safe area before leaving as it will leave your ship and character vulnerable at the location they left the server.
We have added multiple new options to help control what notifications and comms you will receive from other players. This includes blocking comms calls from non-friends as well as block friend requests, notifications from friend requests, party invites, and aUEC transactions.
We have done a full pass on all ships to make sure all the Quantum HUDs have been properly aligned in view. Along with this, much of the Quantum UI has been removed to be much cleaner and remove unnecessary elements until a full, future quantum HUD update.
Added the ability for the Pilot in the Argo MOLE to use the ships mining scanners. This will not allow the pilot to use the lasers from the seat but will give the pilot the much needed information directly while scanning mineables.
Custom Vehicle MFD selections should now persist for as long as you keep the vehicle intact. Players should only have to set MFD menu selection once per vehicle but losing and insurance claiming it will create a new vehicle, thus losing the saved custom MFD.
Visual updates to help the mobiGlas more readable on bright backgrounds. Vehicle/Ship HUD and other selective UI is now hidden while opening the mobiGlas in a pilot seat.
Enhanced lifetime of ROC coolers to help adjust them overheating while in use and breaking down too quick.
There have been many changes to default keybinds in this latest 3.20 update including removing some as default keybinds. Activate Ping changed to hold & release V, Flight ready changed to Right Alt+R, Decoupled mode moved to C, Cruise Control moved to Left Alt+C. (Please note: The default keyboard visual has incorrect bindings shown for this release. Please reference the “Advanced Controls Customization” for full list of updates.)
Technical
Arena Commander 3.20 Patch Notes
Welcome to Arena Commander 3.20. This patch is the largest Arena Commander has seen since its creation. Below you’ll find all the details for all we’ve been up to during Stage 1 of our revitalization of Arena Commander. This is an important stage in our plan as it sets Arena Commander up for success, though it does deliver a lot of content it unlocks even more. We’re all excited to unlock Arena Commander’s potential and bring it to new heights with each patch. We hope you enjoy everything this patch delivers if you’d like to share your thoughts head over to the Spectrum Feedback forums!
Thank you,
Arena Commander Feature Team
Unified Frontend & Lobby System
Electronic Access, Arena Commander and Star Marine have merged under a single “Arena Commander” frontend menu. This new frontend, powered by Building Blocks, unifies the various simulation module brands and menus into a single easy to use interface.
Included in this significant refactor is a complete rewrite of Arena Commander’s lobby system allowing you to squad up with people directly from your friends or party list with new squad limits per game mode, which can be seen from the game mode selection tiles.
This refactor sees Singleplayer, Multiplayer and Private renamed to Offline, Online and Custom respectively.
Experimental Modes
An exciting new initiative for Arena Commander has “Experimental Modes” rotate for a limited time throughout a patch cycle. These modes range from simple variants of existing modes like Single Weapon Elimination to brand new modes that explore new mechanics, locations, or even in-development features before they reach the Persistent Universe like part of the new flight model, Master Modes.
Play each game mode to be eligible for the “999th Test Squadron” Spectrum Badge!
Gun Rush is a fast-paced elimination mode where each kill changes your weapon. Victory goes to whoever progresses fastest through all ranks to claim a kill with the final weapon.
Tank Royale faces players off in a free-for-all tank battle across various ground arenas. Prove your skill using the new tank tunings & improved physics in this elimination-based game mode.
Slightly larger scale than Tank Royale Team Tank Battle pits two opposing teams against each other, push forward against the enemy team and declare victory for your team in this team-based elimination mode.
Ever wondered how you’d fair on an even playing field? Single Weapon Elimination debuts with the ArcLight pistol, the weapon all players have when beginning their journey in the Persistent Universe.
Single Vehicle Elimination didn’t quite have a ring to it. Mirror Match equips each player with a communal (no purchase necessary) MIRAI Fury. Prove your dog fighting skills in this 1 vs 1 game mode where each player flies the same ship.
Try out the brand new “Endless Vanduul Swarm” during this limited test of Master Modes. Come nose to nose with a swarm of Vanduul Scavengers, Hunters, Alphas and the 7 infamous Vanduul Primes that ravaged humanity for decades. There may never be an end to this swarm; but how long can you survive?
