Big Star Citizen event shows new system, new ships and new clouds

Cloud Imperium Video games has held its CitizenCon event – albeit in digital kind – and it showed off a range of new functions coming to the space sport.

Nonetheless, there was no reside gameplay demo and no release dates offered for any component of the controversial, extended-in development video game.

And Squadron 42, the story-centered game established to star Hollywood actors, was a no-display.

CitizenCon kicked off with a quick concept from CIG founder and CEO Chris Roberts, who talked about the challenge of shifting some 720 people to doing work from household as a consequence of the pandemic. Regardless of this, Roberts mentioned, 2024 and 2024 have been strong for the recreation, with the number of each day gamers on ordinary two to 3 times higher than at this issue in 2019.

What followed was a sequence of pre-recorded video clips every single concentrating on a distinctive aspect of Star Citizen’s growth. The highlight, possibly, was the Life In The ‘Verse panel, below, which provides a guided tour of the recent in-video game universe and a seem at Pyro, the upcoming process owing to be extra to the match, and its extravagant volumetric clouds.

Here is a person of the very best-wanting clips revealed for the duration of the panel:

Clouds and lights on Pyro 3
from r/starcitizen

This content material is hosted on an exterior platform, which will only screen it if you accept focusing on cookies. You should enable cookies to check out.

Players also received a kick out of seeing the Origin 400i starship:

But CitizenCon unsuccessful to deliver a headline-grabbing announcement such as a launch day – or even a launch window – that CIG is concentrating on in order to deliver what it considers the “definitive” version of Star Citizen, as Roberts explained it in the opening remarks.

Star Citizen’s present-day roadmap pegs the 3.15 update for release during the 3rd quarter of 2024 – so it’s currently late. 3.16 is due out by the conclude of the 12 months. 3.17 is because of out for the duration of the first quarter of 2024, and 3.18 is tentatively set for the 2nd quarter of following calendar year. There are no launch windows set over and above this level.

And what of Squadron 42? A calendar year ago, in October 2024, Roberts admitted CIG “nevertheless have a methods to go” just before Squadron 42 even hits beta. Squadron 42 is at this time seven a long time at the rear of its primary delivery focus on.

Squadron 42 is meant to be a cinematic, star-studded tale-dependent one-participant experience akin to the Wing Commander video games Roberts created his identify with in the ’90s. CIG has introduced flashy trailers for the video game, starring digital recreations of Hollywood actors this sort of as Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Gary Oldman and Mark Robust, but it has but to develop into playable for backers in any variety.

Star Citizen’s lengthy and controversial development is properly-documented, and Roberts has come underneath fire for yrs now for failing to release the video game, or offer a goal release date. CIG makes income by advertising starter packs, subscriptions and virtual space ships. In March, the recreation shot by the $350m elevated mark from above a few million consumers. Star Citizen is now up to in excess of $390m lifted.

Just about $2m was created yesterday, 9th September – the working day of CitizenCon.