All things Star Citizen
Star Citizen 3.18 definitely had a less-than-stellar start. Many players, myself included, were locked out of the game for days. It wasn’t until day seven that the stars aligned and I was able to beat the log-in server defects, account authentication snafus, and infinite loading screen. For the first few sessions of stable gameplay, I turned my attention to salvaging.
Salvage is the first of the industry professions I backed that’s now in the game, along with the ships I purchased. Refuel is here as a precursor to Pyro but is an unnecessary function at this time since game services can more easily refuel your ship. Also, I backed to do it with the Vulcan, not the Starfarer. CIG’s implementation of mining left me confident that all the professions would be done well. Yes, we’ve had hiccups along the way in balancing them
Recently, I made my first foray into using GameGlass for Star Citizen. In the past, I’ve utilized Voice Attack to handle the myriad of keybinds required but can’t fit on my HOTAS. These days, however, I want to avoid being tied to a microphone for basic gameplay. GameGlass offers free and premium service options and premade shards are available for immediate use. I opted to purchase a couple of shards.
On its own, the Mule isn’t of much use yet – another vehicle made available in-game while its core mechanics are being completed. Regardless, it’s a fun little vehicle and an item that most players will probably need to speed up moving boxes around. I definitely see its eventual usefulness across all content activities, whether it’s used in a hangar, on the ground, or aboard a large ship.
PVE ship combat bounties are a very popular activity because they don’t require specialized ships. You can successfully jump into the game with a starter ship and complete flight combat bounties. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for FPS bounties, which are equally popular. For the FPS bounties, you need basic gear that is purchasable in-game.
The tweaks to the food consumption in Star Citizen Alpha 3.17 aren’t a hit with everyone. Most notable is the frequency with which players now need to eat and drink before their character is penalized. I, for one, am fine with them. In fact, I’m actually enjoying the increased pace. But that’s coming from someone who has played The Sims since version 1.0 and all the variants of the Don’t Starve game series.
A byproduct of players dropping all gear as loot upon death is that many more players are now choosing to run around in the default scrub-looking white suit. Getting a marker to retrieve your corpse or the game persisting it through a full death isn’t 100% reliable.
Star Citizen Alpha 3.17 is turning players into little Loot Goblins. Those who are inclined now have multiple avenues of collecting loot. And not all of them require completing formal missions. I’ve even joined in on the fun by scouring nearby outposts when I’m traversing a moon while mining or as it’s convenient when I’m in transit.
You don’t hear much from Star Citizen backers about the stealth bomber, the Aegis Eclipse. I suppose it makes sense given that it’s a 3-hit wonder, being that it only carries three torpedoes. However, the beauty of that payload is that they are size 9 ARGOS IX torpedoes that use Crosssection signal tracking, giving them a high degree of accuracy at damaging a single target.
Regardless of long-time backer complaints and the number of years Star Citizen has been in an Alpha, interest in the game grows. I’m following several streamers who are new to the game, which generates interest in their pre-existing followers. Issues and all, new players are considerably more positive and excited about Star Citizen than those of us who have been watching the paint dry.
