Star Citizen – The Next Star Systems
Welcome to some more Star Citizen today looking at The Next Star Systems that we are likely to see in the Persistent Universe Magnus and Pyro. What is planned for them and what it will take to get them in the game.
The Magnus & Pyro Systems are both proximate to the Stanton System that is currently in game. And CIG seem to be pushing for where possible & sensible for features that don’t require constant reworks.
They have stated previously that they have been looking at those 2 systems to potentially expand into and it makes the most sense as these systems are with their current tech and assets magnitudes easier than the Stanton System.
The Pyro System is an “Unclaimed System” with a Red Dwarf Flare Star and it’s planets are all uninhabitable yet it’s still home to a large amount of Outlaws. This is where the Dying Star AC map is located. Any improperly shielded spacecraft will sustain residual damage from Pyro’s star while making transit through the system.
The Pyro System has 6 major Planetary Bodies as well as 6 moons.
Pyro I – A dwarf planet charred black from the constant, violent solar flares of the system’s star.
Pyro II – A coreless planet that once held significant mineral deposits, a “metal rush” quickly picked the planet clean and left it an empty husk
Pyro III – Is a Lava Planet with seas of lava over it’s surface, Scientists speculate that this terrestrial planet survived a collision with pieces of the planet-sized body that knocked Pyro IV out of its orbit
Pyro IV – A rocky protoplanet that has been mined clean. Knocked out of orbit by a celestial body of equal mass, it is slowly being pulled into Pyro V … this should in game terms just have Pyro 4 Orbiting Pyro 5 basically as a massive moon.
Pyro V – is a massive yellow and green gas giant that’s slowly pulling Pyro IV into its orbit. The poor hydrogen mix in its upper atmosphere makes it a less than ideal refuelling spot. Pyro 5 also has 6 moons all named after fiery things Ignis – that has deep canyons and dried river beds. Vatra with lakes of hydrocarbons and a high pressure nitrogen-methane atmosphere, Adir – Crater-Ridden with a giant 700km long streak of obsidian in it’s southern hemisphere. Fairo – covered in lava oceans and has earthquakes that make waves, Fuego – that is a livid shade of yellow-black due to iron sulfide & Vuur that is rich in carbon and little else.
Pyro VI – Is a protoplanet that suffers little damage from Pyro’s distant star. Gold Horizon planned to terraform Pyro VI, but abandoned when it became clear that there was no reasonable terraformation to be done.
Orbiting Pyro 6 is Ruin Station populated with Pyro’s only permanent inhabitants (mostly pirates/outlaws). It’s a Gold Horizon platform previously owned and operated by Pyrotechnic Amalgamated until it was abandoned and then overrun by outlaws. Feuds between factions have lead to frequent & deadly battles; making this location extremely dangerous for civilians and outlaws alike.
Ruin Station would be the major landing zone for the System & may be the only location to receive reliable refuel, repair and rearm, though there is the potential for automated stations for cargo & rest stops in the system.
There should be various pirate and outlaw factions to do missions for here as well.
There is a bar on the station that is a bit more stable where players may be getting these missions or gathering info/connections. Though firefights could randomly break out.
An interesting point of note is that the planet looks like it was always going to be “un-terraformable” so why is there a terraforming station around it… is it just one of the bad decisions that made Gold Horizon go bankrupt or something else?
The System also has the Akiro Cluster – a charred cluster of blackened asteroids.
That houses a mixture of worthless rocks & some rare materials.
The Star is a Flare Star, exhibiting aggressive erratic solar flares. In game this is likely to be seen as an extremely bright Star with some occasional cool looks effects.
In regards to development work needed for the system it’s pretty simple.
Pyro 5 would require them to finish their Gas Giant Tech which Crusader & Orison will see first in the Stanton System.
With the rest of the planetary bodies all being similar to moons in regard to their more simple biomes and lack of hero landing zones.
We could see a range of outposts, abandoned stations, wrecks and POI of interest around the system and on the ground, but for they most part they are likely to be more procedurally handled or linked to mission components.
Land Claims in Systems like these aren’t required, you would need to build an defend your land, outposts or claims though… or I suppose just hope they stay hidden.
Pyro will represent a non-UEE enforced more lawless zone (though Ruin Station may well have some rules/security there to deal with anyone trying to murder or steal in front of them). This might be where we see pirate and outlaw bases thrive along with people that just don’t want to live in UEE space.
The Akiro Cluster might have some very good mineable areas to find, mine and sell the location of BUT may have a high – risk reward value as there very well may be pirates around.
Expect PvP, Lots of Pirates, Black Markets, Missions from Pirate Gangs to attack another pirate faction.
Magnus should see a lower level of security than the Stanton System but probably safer than the Pyro System… It is privately controlled and regulated by Drake Interplanetary at least around Magnus 2, just like Hurston is owned by Hurston Dynamics. But it’s supposed to be a bit more like the wild west & the very edge of the frontier that has just become more civilised.
The Magnus System has 3 major planetary bodies
Magnus I – A small rocky planet with no atmosphere.
Borea : Magnus II – The former home to the UEE’s shipbuilding facilities. Borea suffered an economic depression for decades. Things have recently begun to improve with ship manufacturer Drake Interplanetary’s decision to be headquartered on this planet.
Magnus III – Classified as a Super Jupiter, Magnus III is a large multi-colored gas giant situated on the outskirts of the system.
Here Magnus 1 & 3 are pretty simple, 1 not even having an atmosphere as well as being a rocky mass & 3 being a more colorful Gas Giant.
And in lore Surveys have located no protoplanets, or major gas pockets / asteroid fields.
But let’s take a closer look at Borea and what we are likely to see there
Classified as a near-Earth planet, Borea has a variety of climates and is generally ideal for Human settlement. The planet is dotted with dozens of centuries-old abandoned UEE naval facilities which are slowly fading into overgrowth.
Some have been settled by frontiersmen, while other prefab cities have sprung up elsewhere unrelated to the original settlement. Subsistence farms cover the planet’s temperate zones, most run by loners who have traveled to Magnus to escape contact with the rest of the Human race. The general feeling is of a world unnaturally stuck between then and now.
The capital of the world is Newcastle. A recent space-based assassination attempt on the whole of the planet’s Governor’s Council has caused the government to redirect all in-bound traffic towards the industrial city of Odyssa, which can now be considered Magnus’ only starport.
So we should see that Odyssa as a hero landing zone for the area, formerly a shipbuilding city before the UEE’s abandonment of Magnus, has been revitalized in recent years with the development of Drake Interplanetary. Vast tracts of empty warehouses and rusting construction yards have been modernized and returned to life building Cutlasses and Caterpillars. Gangs are a serious problem in the city, and squatters have claimed the rights to many former UEE facilities; the result is an interesting place to hunt for questionably legal ship repairs and upgrades.
This is going to be the place to get all your Drake ships and components.
When it comes to Capital Class components we know that you need to visit specialist shipyards like Borea will have to have have them changed and properly repaired / serviced.
Expect to see Drake faction Missions, land claim based missions maybe, not entirely sure how land claims work when a system is partly controlled by a body affiliated with the UEE, I expect it will require you to lay land claim plots.
When are we likely to see this?
We don’t have dates BUT Jump Points are needed for the game first, which don’t currently appear on the Roadmap in 2019. I am expecting them to start to add more systems & the first iteration of Jump Points for the PU toward the end of 2020 as a % of the devs will always be working on expanding out new gameplay area and associated props, modular sections, biomes, planets, buildings and systems.