Welcome to the inaugural edition of what will be a weekly post summarizing the week in Star Citizen events, and news. Â I’m calling it ‘State of the Empire’ after the United Earth Empire (The Human government in game). Â I’m going to try and have this up every Sunday, so you can start the new week off right! Â This will let me capture newsworthy items I might have missed during the week, and where possible, I’ll include anything that I know is coming up in the next week, so you’ve got a good head’s up on it (like the live stream coming up on Tuesday).
It’s been a busy week in Star Citizen this week.. Â it started off with Chris Roberts taking to the forums to clarify CIG’s position on porting Star Citizen over to consoles (a dev version PS4 was seen on someone’s desk in last week’s Wingman’s Hangar, leading to the forums erupting in drama). Â His full post can be found here.
Here’s the highlights:
As far as consoles go Star Citizen will never be on the PS3 or Xbox 360. As for the next gen consoles, PS4 and Xbox One, we have NO CURRENT PLANS, but my stance remains open and is consistent with the many interviews I’ve given –
IF the platform holders (Sony & Microsoft) allow us to update the code and data without restrictions and odious time consuming QC procedures, IF they allow our community to openly interact with each other across platforms then I would CONSIDER supporting them.
And even then it would only be contemplated as a port from the PC, not the other way around plus we would require a financial commitment by Sony to make it happen.
So, never fear PC Gamers… Star Citizen is ours. Â Since Sony, and Microsoft have both, in the past, refused to allow console players to be on the same servers as PC players (see Defiance, for example)… I doubt they’ll change that stance for Star Citizen. Â Which means SC will be a PC exclusive for a very, very long time…and you can take that $400 you were going to use to buy a next-gen system, and go buy a new high end video card instead!
The Anniversary/End of LTI sale also started this week…and it’s been like opening the floodgates on crowd funding. Â Over 3 million dollars has been raised this week alone! Â This is a last chance to grab some of the limited availability ships, complete with LTI (regardless of your backer status).. so, hopefully you’ve picked up anything you’ve been waiting for. Â Full details of the sale are here.
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Monday, November 18 – ORIGIN M50
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Tuesday, November 19 – ORIGIN 350R & Lightspeed Package
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Wednesday, November 20 – Drake Caterpillar
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Thursday, November 21 – RSI Aurora LX
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Friday, November 22 – Anvil Gladiator, Aegis Retaliator, & Super Hornet (running through the weekend)
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Monday, November 25 – MISC Starfarer
As I mentioned, the sale has pushed the funding totals, over the 28, 29, and 30 million dollar marks. Â When we crossed over $29 Million, we got a behind the scenes look at the Foundry 42 team (the part of CIG that will be making Squadron 42).. here’s that video again if you haven’t seen it:
I’m hoping that we get some sneak peeks of the Squadron 42 stuff soon (even if it’s just concept art, and some basic information on the locations we’ll get to go).
We’ve unlocked a whole mess of stretch goals this week too:
- New Starter Ship – The team at Consolidated Outland has decided to take Roberts Space Industries head on in 2944 by premiering the Mustang personal spacecraft. We will use these additional resources to create another ship company and starter ship for Star Citizen. The new ship will be offered for sale alongside the Aurora, so players have a choice between two options to begin the game!
- Enhanced Mission Design for Squadron 42 – The team at Foundry 42 has big plans for Squadron 42, and we’re going to provide extra funding to make it a true spiritual successor to Wing Commander! Squadron 42 can go above and beyond anything you’ve seen before. From opening with an epic battle instead of a training patrol to missions that seamlessly combine boarding and space combat, we aim to put you right into the action! Additional funding will let the team realize this, with enhanced mission design and more resources and animations to enhance fidelity.
- Origin 890 JUMP – The rumors are true: Origin Jumpworks has a larger ship in the works! The Origin 890 JUMP is an interstellar super-yacht with exquisite styling and an array of high quality upgrade options. Travel the stars in style with multiple decks, high visibility windows and a small boat bay. Whether you’re outfitting it to explore new worlds or to take a pleasure cruise through Terra, the 890JUMP is the epitome of luxury, class and refinement!
CIG requested input from the community on the form the stretch goals for the 31,32, and 33 million dollar marks. Â The community voted for the following ships to be the goals:
$31 Million:
- RSI Orion – Roberts Space Industries’ goal has always been to make the stars available to individual Citizens. Now, with the RSI Orion mining platform, RSI is letting individuals take over a process formerly controlled by megacorporations. The Orion’s features include high-grade turret-mounted tractor beam arrays, durable exterior-accessible ‘saddlebags’ for mineral storage and a cabin designed by the team that brought you the Aurora and Constellation!
$32 Million:
- Aegis Surveyor – The Surveyor, from noted military contractor Aegis, is an industrial-quality salvage ship. Equipped with a reinforced cargo bay, a long-range jump drive and launch pods for unmanned drones, the Surveyor is an ideal ship for taking advantage of deep space wrecks. Tractor beams, floodlights, scanner options and docking ports round out the tool chest on this capable, utilitarian spacecraft.
And for the $33 Million goal, a dedicated Exploration ship is in the lead with 21% of the votes, with a dedicated Smuggling ship close behind at 20%, and an Information Runner coming in 3rd with 19%. Â We’ll see the results of this vote when Chris Roberts makes his $31 Million announcement (which, should be Monday at this rate).
The Star Citizen week wrapped up, as always, with Friday’s Episode of Wingman’s Hangar:
Things we know are coming up next week (besides Thanksgiving for us Americans):
Livestream from CIG – California (with Chris Roberts himself!) starting Tuesday, November 26th at 11:00 AM PST. Â The stream is scheduled for 4 hours, so it’s possible it’ll go a bit over.
During the stream, we’re expecting to get our first shot at purchasing some of the ‘second wave’ of ships.. we know the Banu Merchantman will be available starting on the 26th, but it’s unclear if it will be a permanent addition to the store, or only available during the live stream. Â It’s also not clear if there will be LTI available on the ships sold as part of the live stream, or not.
The live stream will also be another chance to get your hands on an Idris-P, with LTI, if you’re so inclined. Â CIG will be offering the Idris up during 4 different time periods on the 26th, to give everyone a chance to get one, regardless of time zone.
The 26th is also the cut off date for LTI (LifeTime insurance) for Original, and Veteran backers. Â So, if you were procrastinating on purchasing a Freelancer, Constellation, Cutlass..or, any of the current ships…better do it quick.. LTI is going away in a few days, and while it’s not a huge bonus (CIG has said repeatedly, that it won’t cost a whole lot of credits to purchase insurance in game), it’s a nice little perk.
Because of the Thanksgiving Holiday, there will be no Wingman’s Hangar this week, and I’d expect communication to be on the lighter side (after Tuesday).
