Development Leadership Team: Richard (Senior Game Director), Rick (Design Director), JJ (Assistant Design Director).
Notable Information
➣ Q – Is Alpha 3.23 coming out today (5/3/2024)?
A – No.
➣ Q – How did we end up with the new fauna and not the space cow or space whale?
A – We wanted to pick creatures that we knew would fit the schedule for this update.
➣ Q – What will the Economy updates in 3.23 look like?
A – We wanted to look at the overall size, manufacturer, and how it’s used for each item to determine the price. We are also looking at the mission rewards to make sure the balance is right. Players should expect significant changes as we try to create a more cohesive experience.
➣ Q – Will there be a wipe in 3.23?
A – Yes, we are looking to wipe aUEC and rentals.
➣ Q – What should players expect in terms of gameplay with the reputation/hostility feature?
✦ A – This is a foundational system that will change over time as we push to 4.0. You will not see a lot of the intended features implemented in Stanton right now, but we wanted to get it in ahead of Pyro.
➣ Q – Sniper glint!? What the hell, man!?
✦ A – This is something we wanted to try. We want players to know where they died as getting killed can be very frustrating. We want to improve this with muzzle flashes, a better “whisker” feature, and hit reactions.
➣ Q – Why can we scan other player ships but not our own?
✦ A – Scanning is meant to be detecting what’s outside of your ship. We are moving over FPS scanning from Squadron 42 right now.
➣ Q – What was the problem Master Modes are trying to fix?
✦ A – We asked, does this feature deliver the gameplay that we want, the community wants, and what Chris wants? So when we looked at the broad spectrum with the old system, the community was just jousting. We felt that we could do better than that and deliver a system that can still reward the best pilots. Master modes came from the goal to improve the overall flight experience by making it accessible to new players and still have enough depth for existing players.
➣ Q – Why is there lag/input delay in the EPTU, and what are you doing to fix it?
✦ A – It seems to be related to the Replication Layer and server separation. This is something the team will have to watch and mitigate over time.
➣ Q – How concerned are you with avoiding another 3.18?
✦ A – You have to evaluate two points of view before the patch goes live. We have to evaluate the gameplay experience to know if anything is lost or not working. We need to make sure that it’s functional and know that releasing foundational technology will always take time to get right.
➣ Q – Was 3.23 too packed with features? Should it have been broken up into separate updates?
✦ A – I did not want the features to transition to SC to take a long time. I want the team to focus on features that will be really specific to Star Citizen and will not be in Squadron 42.
➣ Q – What’s next with cargo and persistent hangars? (3.23.X)
✦ A – We still have some issues, but we are pushing hard to get it in the 3.23.X patch cycle.
➣ Q – With the launch of persistent hangars, will our landing zone stay the same when the 3.23.X patch comes out?
✦ A – There is no planned reset, but you can use the character reset to change where your home planet is.
➣ Q – Will Grim Hex be a home location?
✦ A – Not in 3.23, but we would look at it in the future.
➣ Q – How do you see AC? How important is AC for the team?
✦ A – AC is very important, but the priority right now is Star Citizen. We are trying to leverage AC to be a test bed for upcoming features that are not ready for live. We might use AC to test the new spawn closet for FPS AI.
➣ Q – What is the “Go”/”No Go” process like?
✦ A – We will take feedback from each team to see if the feature is ready to be delivered and if it feels right.
➣ Q – Does bed logging still fit the vision of Star Citizen?
✦ A – We still want players to bed log and are looking to add a buff where the player is well-rested.
➣ Q – What does the future hold for “Bad Guys” (Bad players)?
✦ A – We want players to have more gameplay loops that are affected by reputation.
➣ Q – What place is there for a solo player in SC?
✦ A – We want you to be able to play SC solo, but if you want to do larger missions, you will need to consider grouping up.
➣ Q – Why do we not have night vision?
✦ A – They are planning to put night vision on weapon optics and are planning to add visors and cockpits.
Note: This is not stereotypical night vision, its light enhancement