Star Citizen Nightbus Episode 8

SHOW TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to the Star Citizen NightBus, a quirky mixture of fact, fiction and opinion. I’m your host, Alysianah from AlysianahsWorld.com.  It’s been a while since the last Causal Citizen or Nightbus. I hope to return with at least a monthly pre-recorded show and monthly in-game event via Twitch before long.

In this episode, I’m going to discuss my excitement for the new faces that have joined the Star Citizen streaming family since from the Anniversary event, the magic of Hurston, re-visiting Stanton lore for new listeners and a new piece of fanfic. Please sit back, relax and enjoy. The Nightbus is existing statis. Please secure all personal items. Departing the station in 3…2…1

You can watch the YouTube version here.

New Faces

I didn’t partake in this year’s Anniversary Sale. With the fleet I’ve amassed over the years, it’s going to take a specialized ship to pique my interest enough to swap in something new. Note, swap-in. I’ve hit my ceiling on ship purchases. I know, I’ve said that before but this time I mean it!

What I have engaged in as a result of the sale and freefly, is the amazing influx of new players and streamers. It’s easy to spot new and returning players by the questions they ask. I enjoying helping out where I can – sharing information or giving a ship tour. It’s great seeing game chat alive with new names.

I’ve watched more SC streams since 3.3.5 than I have in a very long time. I like bopping between my long-time favorites, brand new low viewer streamers, and the mega Twitch names checking in. I haven’t laughed so hard or screamed at the screen as if watching a spine-tingling movie, as I have the past couple of weeks.

Lirik and crew simply had me in stitches. GiantWaffle was definitely entertaining. And the night they played together — my stomach hurt from laughing. At one point I was doubled over on the bed, crying at the hilarity. Seeing streams with thousands of viewers that aren’t a CIG  hosted events is very exciting.

CIG’s Tyler Witkin, who goes by Zyloh,  made appearances in several streams. He was a mole on one, turning on his party after arriving at Kareah. Another night he was trying to give Lirik a look at the 600i. Unfortunately, Lirik’s fidget-jump-wiggle everywhere like he’s tiptoeing on hot coals playstyle, had him glitching into anything and everything an unlucky player could. At one point, I guess Zyloh was over it and not going back for his dead ass, so he used a dev command to drag him from where he’d resurrected at Lorville over to Port Olisar where the 600i had landed. Comedy gold, seeing the ragdoll float up then disappear out of the habicube then land on a pad at Port Olisar. All the while, Lirik is like wtf man… chat, wtf is happening??

Of all the new streamers I’ve seen taking up the Star Citizen torch, the group that surprised me most, but in hindsight shouldn’t have, are the roleplayers. I don’t know why I hadn’t considered that they’d come. I knew we’d eventually see killer machinima using the game. But RP streamers? I’ve never seen them bringing in numbers, even in World of Warcraft where there are strong RP servers. I’ve really enjoyed watching their shows. You can check out the New Faces post on Aly’s World for a more in-depth discussion and recommendations.

Hurston Is Magic

As most will realize, Star Citizen is still in its alpha phase of development. Many of us had hoped, things would be moving along a bit faster. There is no shortage of complaints about the plodding and sometimes painfully mundane pace at which features were being released in 2017. And for all the waiting and need for polish eschewed, as to why a feature isn’t being released for testing, there are still significant bugs on Live. Yep, there’s no shortage of complaints about CIG and Star Citizen, even among loyal backers, myself included.

I spent two days and several hours trying to get out of the new city, Lorville, after 3.3.5 went Live. It didn’t make me angry. After a while, it was so absurd that it became my own personal mini-game, escape from Lorville. I mean come on, players were trapped in the first city, unable to get out and explore. I laughed a lot on Twitter but there are some who didn’t find it as amusing.

Yes, development is taking longer than most would like. Bugs hang around for a long time, even ones that break gameplay for some. Personally, I refuse to do missions at this point. I’m not a fan of game generated checklists, to begin with, let alone subject my gaming time to ones that are broken. All of that melts away, in the face of what was delivered in Alpha patch 3.3.5.

Until now, I haven’t bothered with clothing or armor because they’re no female avatar. Hurston arriving as the first location with a breathable atmosphere made me want to walk around in clothes so I did. It bothered me that my avatar was a guy. It annoyed me that I lost text chat by removing the undersuit. Yet the magic of Hurston’s Lorville and beyond, can’t be denied.

• Waking in a semi-interactive habicube.
• Landing a hangar bristling with activity.
• Departing during the day to see the cityscape.
• Leaving at night is like seeing Paris lights.
• Alone on a Dragonfly, surfing sand dunes in the dark.

Until the Lorville Business District, we’d only seen the low economy, grunge, and utilitarian environments in the game, beyond those who got to see the Mile High Club. With this expansion to the city, we’re seeing a different aesthetic and it’s a welcomed change. While gold and glitz isn’t my thing, in particular, it does serve to remind us that we will also have architectural, ambiance and design variety based on a zone’s economy and wealth. The breathtaking view when you exit the yellow line into the Hurston building is an amazing feat.

It’s coming together now. We can see it. Feel it. It’s just around the bend.

This is magic…  It’s extraordinary…  Why we keep the believing…  This is Star Citizen.

Revisiting Stanton Lore

When we consider the crowdfunded scope for the Star Citizen universe, there are 100+ star systems planned. The persistent universe we’re currently enjoying as part of alpha is the Stanton star system. It contains four Super Earths – Hurston, Crusader, ArcCorp, and Microtech, all of whom have tidally locked moons of their own. Stanton’s biome diversity is one of the reasons it was selected as the starting point for persistent universe development.

Stanton was originally discovered by independent explorers. Although the details are fuzzy, most agree that the star system was discovered by a free agent trader. Word of mouth, spread the tale, of a system that contained four Super-Earths. Privateers moved in to capitalize on this extremely rare find. Planets of this size, all within a wide green zone is unusual in its own right.  Combined with the large variances in planet ecologies, even more so. When the existence of Stanton came to the attention of the UEE, they moved in quickly to claim eminent domain. The official reason was to protect and extend nearby jump lanes.

Unfortunately, the original settlers of Stanton hadn’t formalized their colonization by filing the necessary paperwork.  Largely made up of homesteaders, prospectors and survivalists, the local populace had no legal rights to Stanton and certainly weren’t in a position to dissuade military forces when they arrived.

The uniqueness of the system and the potential resources notwithstanding, the UEE was in the midst of huge economic struggles. A down economy from a hundred-year colonization drought, the UEE could only afford to do the bare minimum to claim its new prize. Naval engineers performed the small amount of terraforming required and underfunded military outposts were established. Lacking funds to do more, Stanton wasn’t developed further.

Eventually, the decision was made to sell the system piecemeal to the highest bidders. Large corporations were discreetly contacted and asked to bid on whole planets. It’s believed that the winners must have bid trillions to acquire rights. The winners did the obvious, naming the planets after their corporations – Hurston Dynamics, Crusader Industries, ArcCorp, and MicroTech

Stanton as of Alpha 3.3.x

As of Alpha 3.3.5, the persistent universe was expanded to include the first of Stanton’s planets, Hurston, its moons and capital city, Lorville. Unlike the locations we’ve seen thus far, Hurston contains multiple biomes. There are also bodies of water and underground bunkers. While Lorville is still incomplete, it’s a must-see location that introduces a working railway system and habicubes with interactive objects. More locations are being added over time.

The addition of Hurston brings the landing sights to:

• 1 planet
• 7 moons
• 2 asteroid based locations
• 1 starbase
• 2 space stations

This doesn’t include CryAstro fueling and repair of the various Truckstops located around Crusader and Hurston.

It’s worth noting that Delamar’s presence in Stanton is temporary. Delamar belongs in the Nyx star system, a dangerous unclaimed star system. However, it was placed in Stanton for testing purposes when its tier 1 development completed. You can find a more in-depth overview of Nyx on my YouTube channel as well.

A Day in the Life

Welcome to what will become a reoccurring segment on Nightbus. A Day in the Life is a fictionalized retelling of an actual in-game event. Where I set off for the evening with completing a particular task in mind, and turn whatever the outcome might be into a piece of fiction. I’ll rotate these shorter stories in between the longer fiction I have planned and other standalone sections. Let me know in the comments if this kind of content piques your interest. I have mining and passenger transport planned.  You can read this episode’s ADITL here.

Thanks for tuning into Star Citizen Nightbus episode 8. I hope you enjoyed your time here and will visit again. Your comments and feedback are welcome. Be kind and fly safe! This is Alysianah signing out until next time. The Nightbus is re-entering statis. Please disembark. Hibernation sequence begins in 3…2…1