Star Citizen: Chris Robert`s new space sim (the Wing Commander guy)

Page 226 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
60
91
Other than some random disconnects, the 'bugs' were really tame this weekend. I managed to squeak in a nearly 4 hour long session on one server saturday night. Pretty much did all the missions and racked up about $25k uec.
 

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
60
91
Actually I think it is the pirate base: GrimHex. They're going to put ballistic weapons at GrimHex and energy weapons at Port Olisar which will hopefully encourage travel between the two (and that travel will be outside the armistice zone so you know what that means).

I'm still curious how they're going to squeeze in more content with the current net code issues.....but maybe that's what 2.4.1 is for (some minor optimization to free up capacity).

Personally I'm more excited about progress in ship components and the piping system. Hopefully shields will be available and the entire interaction between power plants, cooler, weapons, shields, scanners, etc. will start to get fleshed out.

If it is the pirate base, will the PB be inside an armistice zone? I can imagine it being hard to shop at the pirate base if gun fights can break out. Who patrols the pirate base? Will pirates be running security? Seems easy enough. Treat the base like a comm array.
 

rivethead

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2005
2,635
106
106
All of those questions regarding GrimHex are great.....and the answers will be coming soon (tm). I'm thinking CIG have a few surprises in store for us with 2.5 and the GrimHex base.
 

rivethead

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2005
2,635
106
106
Yeah that was an interesting Bugsmashers.....he didn't smash any bugs. Just showed off a new, in development, "feature".
 

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
60
91
Yeah that was an interesting Bugsmashers.....he didn't smash any bugs. Just showed off a new, in development, "feature".

I think the point was that by using Item System 2.0, they're going to be smashing a ton of bugs by making them irrelevant.
 

Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,100
467
126
new Bugsmashers shows actions from new item system, which will replace the 'use' key.

It's still in whitebox model mode, but you can see it in use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhqsTEuIuQI

Not sure how far back that means things are being pushed. I guess at this point it all depends on if it saves more time in the long run than trying to fix the existing system. I would also venture a guess that they made those calculations and decided it would be faster to replace now that they have some more data from the existing system.
 

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
60
91
Not sure how far back that means things are being pushed. I guess at this point it all depends on if it saves more time in the long run than trying to fix the existing system. I would also venture a guess that they made those calculations and decided it would be faster to replace now that they have some more data from the existing system.

My guess is this is a big reason some bugs have persisted after quite some time. Fixing them is just toiling with a system that's on it's way out, so it's better to focus resources on the new system. The sooner it's implemented the sooner many of these bugs become irrelevant.
 

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
60
91
Posted this over on reddit but wanted to share here too

Just wanted to say tonight was one of the best times I've had in this game so far. Kareah was really busy; lots of ships fighting and lots of fps action.

In one instance, after fighting it out with several ships just to get close to the security station, I quickly landed a severely wounded avenger down at Kareah. When the hatch opened, there was another player right there to surprise me with a barrage of bullets. I think I got a head shot with the shot gun though, as I was able to take the player out, emerge from the back, and haul ass to one of the airlocks.

Sure enough, as I exit the airlock and enter Kareah, there's someone crouching off to the side, ready to ambush. I bolted, making a quick right around the first turn, and engaged in a shootout with the player. I took a lot of damage, but again somehow managed to take them out with my shotgun.

I then managed to sneak around a bit, hack the security console (I was lvl 5 criminal status), and make it about 30 seconds before someone finally took me out in a hectic gun fight. All the while I could hear ships fighting and exploding outside, and other gunfire elsewhere inside the station.

Simple as it may seem, it totally played out amazingly well for me. I can't wait for this thing to be more fleshed out.
 

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
60
91
Gah....I miss playing, sounds like you had a great time.

60-70 hour work weeks and a 10-month-old are taking their toll on my SC time. :(

There's something about Kareah that makes FPS action there more gratifying than something like... UT or a COD style shooter.

I think it's because you don't just spawn there and it's anything goes. So it takes work just to get there safely, and you never know what kind of people you will cross when you get there. So when you're there, you don't know what to expect, especially if it's a busy night. At one point I was literally cowering in a corner in Kareah because I knew there were at least 6 people in the building and I was lvl 5 criminal....because if I die, I have to start all over at Port Olisar, taxi my ship, fly out there, land safely, etc.
 

Stringjam

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2011
1,871
33
91


The Bengal.....sweet mother. I knew it was big, but the scale, especially when inside the hangar bay is just incredible.

Also, the Caterpillar is looking fantastic. They're really getting the ship building pipeline down it seems, and every new ship seems to have a higher level of fidelity than the one before. I'm kind of glad they've held off on the Carrack until now, because at this point I have no doubts it will be off the charts.

GrimHex is also looking very cool. The look at the audio work going into it was very interesting.


I like where AtV is going, but I would really like to see more in the way of WIP game mechanics. The big 3 for me right now would probably be Exploration / Mining / Cargo. I would like to see who is working on these and at least something about what kind of stuff is being worked on - even if it's just (what many people would find boring) back-end work and planning.

I would imagine cargo would be first, as there are already a number of flyable ships that can haul.

I realize a lot of those mechanics would probably rely a good bit on prerequisite systems to support them (UI - really a big one, and also ship systems).

I think I would actually be more excited about being able to throw some boxes in my Freelancer and take them somewhere, or scan a couple of asteroids in Yela for minerals than I am about the outlaw base, but alas, I know it's coming.
 
Last edited:

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
24,026
13,536
136
I plan to get into this game at some point.. if I deem the success rate and content is worth it.. however every 3 months or so i look it up I have a very hard time determining just exactly WHAT kind of state the game is in, how playable, whats new, is development stalling etc.
Its hard quantifying and summing up the incremental improvements and it sums up to be too big of a mess (for me) to want to dive into every time. :/.
 

Seba

Golden Member
Sep 17, 2000
1,520
186
106
Make sure you also follow price increases and maybe discounts on Anniversary Sale (in November). I bought Star Citizen just before the package split (now if you also want Squadron 42, the package costs $15 + VAT more). I expect another price increase (and a quite big one) just before the release of Squadron 42.
 

rivethead

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2005
2,635
106
106
The Bengal.....sweet mother. I knew it was big, but the scale, especially when inside the hangar bay is just incredible.

Also, the Caterpillar is looking fantastic. They're really getting the ship building pipeline down it seems, and every new ship seems to have a higher level of fidelity than the one before. I'm kind of glad they've held off on the Carrack until now, because at this point I have no doubts it will be off the charts.

GrimHex is also looking very cool. The look at the audio work going into it was very interesting.


I like where AtV is going, but I would really like to see more in the way of WIP game mechanics. The big 3 for me right now would probably be Exploration / Mining / Cargo. I would like to see who is working on these and at least something about what kind of stuff is being worked on - even if it's just (what many people would find boring) back-end work and planning.

I would imagine cargo would be first, as there are already a number of flyable ships that can haul.

I realize a lot of those mechanics would probably rely a good bit on prerequisite systems to support them (UI - really a big one, and also ship systems).

I think I would actually be more excited about being able to throw some boxes in my Freelancer and take them somewhere, or scan a couple of asteroids in Yela for minerals than I am about the outlaw base, but alas, I know it's coming.

While the Bengal is getting most of the AtV hype at the moment, to me the best part of the AtV was Zane's UI work. On one screen you can see an Aurora and numerous components for it. It looked pretty slick to me. As did the in-game star map UI.

And that audio work on Grim Hex. Oh my. Not sure I've ever played a game with this level of attention to detail.
 

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
60
91
While the Bengal is getting most of the AtV hype at the moment, to me the best part of the AtV was Zane's UI work. On one screen you can see an Aurora and numerous components for it. It looked pretty slick to me. As did the in-game star map UI.

And that audio work on Grim Hex. Oh my. Not sure I've ever played a game with this level of attention to detail.

Yea, Grim Hex so far has me hyped. I think it reinforces the idea that CIG is really polishing their production pipelines and their staff is getting more and more comfortable with the engine, the tools, etc.
 

Sabrewings

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2015
1,942
35
51
I plan to get into this game at some point.. if I deem the success rate and content is worth it.. however every 3 months or so i look it up I have a very hard time determining just exactly WHAT kind of state the game is in, how playable, whats new, is development stalling etc.
Its hard quantifying and summing up the incremental improvements and it sums up to be too big of a mess (for me) to want to dive into every time. :/.

It's definitely a lot of info. The available content has changed so much since the original hangar launch (2013, I think?). In general, most people are quite naive about game development, and the larger and more ambitious the project is the more teething issues it will have with all of the interdependencies. Things change, they move slowly, and we're given a front row seat to that process. As the game continues to take shape I imagine there will be more official and concise "what you need to know" type documents.

Honestly, it sounds like it might be better for you to wait a while. If you want to get in on the ground floor, you can purchase a package and forget about it for a year or so until SQ42 drops. Or, you can hold off and purchase when there's something more concrete, but the price might have increased by then.

As with any crowdfunding style project, only spend what you'd be okay with never seeing anything in return for. The project is moving along, but most of us understand we're in this for the long haul. I'm not expecting the MMO aspect of this to be in beta until 2018, to give you an idea. It's a huge project, more ambitious than any other game when you compare the size versus detail they're going for. For many people, it's probably better to wait and purchase a final reviewed project. If that sounds better for you, then you should be good to bide your time if you don't mind paying normal AAA or slightly higher prices for it.
 

Stringjam

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2011
1,871
33
91
And that audio work on Grim Hex. Oh my. Not sure I've ever played a game with this level of attention to detail.


Yeah - it just seems like with every new released asset / environment, they bump up the attention to detail another notch.

Not to mention they seem to be getting stuff out much more quickly, which indicates (as Tech noted), their production pipeline is becoming much more efficient.
 
Last edited:

Sabrewings

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2015
1,942
35
51
Not to mention they seem to be getting stuff out much more quickly, which indicates (as Tech noted), they're production pipeline is becoming much more efficient.

Ship and environment pipelines are definitely a few steps above yester-year. I do have concerns about the length of time needed to flesh out all the landing zones across all systems, but we'll see how they handle it. Hopefully it proves to respond well to parallelized workflows and they can just add more artists/designers as necessary.
 

Stringjam

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2011
1,871
33
91
Ship and environment pipelines are definitely a few steps above yester-year. I do have concerns about the length of time needed to flesh out all the landing zones across all systems, but we'll see how they handle it. Hopefully it proves to respond well to parallelized workflows and they can just add more artists/designers as necessary.

Yeah - especially since the landing zones are (at least looking at the available artwork) significantly larger than any of the space stations.

And looking back at where you quoted me, I can't believe I used the wrong form of "their." ;) Gah.
 

Stringjam

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2011
1,871
33
91
Confirmed in RtV - after the Caterpillar is done, it's Carrack time. awwwwwww yeahhhhhh