Recently, Star Citizen dropped their latest update, Alpha 3.8, a large patch that comes with plenty of new features and contents. The highlight includes the law system, frozen Microtech planet, and the ARGO MOLE mining ship. For the technology aspect, the server-side object will increase streaming performance to new heights.
However, the Star Citizen release date is yet unknown, but the recent CitizenCon gave fans some hope as developers unveiled the upcoming system Pyro and a new mode, ‘Theatres of War, ‘ which consists of vehicles, space and on-foot combat for a similar experience like that of Battlefield.
But the interesting part of their new Alpha 3.8 patch is the current equity they raised, which is $250 million acquired through crowdfunding. Hopefully, they would hire more game designers and creators to ramp up the game in this ever-growing industry.
Let’s quickly look at the patch notes of Alpha 3.8:
New Technology:
• Procedural Planet Tech Update (Planet Tech v4) – new planetary enhancements: improved tools, workflows, planet surface blending, objects scattering and transitions, generation moved by climate data.
• Planetary Weather Effects – alongside procedural planet tech, Alpha 3.8 introduces weather to the Star Citizen Universe. Players will notice new weather effects like wind, snow, and sand storms that not only affect the environments of Star Citizen but also have considerable effects on how ships fly in-atmosphere.
• Server-side Object Container Streaming – this technology, stated above, divides the universe of the game into a series of separate containers, which dynamically load in based on the position and needs of the players. Instead of loading in the entire universe for a player, only the parts they can immediately interact with or view are streamed in. As a result, Star Citizen consumes less computing power to represent the full universe, leading to a dramatic increase in performance.
New Gameplay:
• Rescue Hijacked 890 Jump – built for up to four players, this mission asks players to safeguard the airspace around a hijacked 890 Jump, before they EVA through the open hangar. Players must fight their way through the luxury ship to locate and disable two hacking tools, all while clearing the boat of its hijackers to complete the mission.
• Multi-crew Mining Missions – with the new ARGO MOLE ship and multiple new mining lasers, players can group up with friends to mine, sell, and profit. There are new specialized mining lasers and various new mineable rocks with varying statistics – some stones may be more natural to mine than others. Some may be specialized or require a particular specific mining head.
For those interested in seeing the full patch notes, they can visit Star Citizen’s official website.
