Star Citizen Alpha 3.5.0 PTU Release Imminent
Welcome to some more Star Citizen News with PU / SQ42 Project & Roadmap Progress a Summary of AtV, RtV, Newsletter and Rest of the News this week, this time for the week ending the 17th of March 2019.
Alpha 3.5 is about to go to 1st Wave PTU & there is a St Patricks Day Sale too!
This Week’s Newsletter Reads
“Dear Citizen,
With the final round of the New Flight Model testing now in the hands of the Evocati, wider PTU access is imminent. Meanwhile, the time has come to once again gather around and bask in the warm glow of the Persistent Universe monthly report. Want to know what all of our global studios have been up to for the past month? Look no further.
Also this week, get nerdy with the rabidly-dedicated gamers of Marine One, go green with a limited-edition Ursa Rover Fortuna, party for prizes with your fellow community members, and head down the holiday road on ATV.”
This week’s Sneak Peek was of the ArcCorp Area 18 Plaza.
Roadmap
Alpha 3.5.0 is about to go to the 1st wave PTU anytime next week is possible (hopefully it should make it by next weekend), this means that the Patch won’t just be locked to NDA’d Evocati and we can start talking about the additions, flight model and more.
For the PU Q1 Release Many tasks are now ready, almost ready or in polishing for Alpha 3.5
ArcCorp & it’s Moons are complete & they are now finishing off Area 18 & Spaceport.
The DNA Feature, Ship AI Combat Improvements, the 300i, the Reliant Variants, the Kastak Arms Coda Pistol and the Gemini S71 Assault Rifle, the New Flight Model, the Projectile Manager, Hard Surface Shader Improvements AND Network OCS Stall Fixes are complete. Vehicle Radar v2, Ship System Degradation Improvements, and Groups System Improvements v4 are all in polishing.
Female Characters, the Heat System, Scanning HUD Improvements, Quantum Travel Improvements, Scanning Improvements, Vehicle Tech Updates v1, VoIP and FoIP Improvements v3, Tachyon Singe Cannon, GT-870, 300 series variants & Missions on ArcCorp have all made significant progress too.
In Regard to Squadron 42 Episode 1 Progress
Q1 – Player Jump v2 has been delayed to Q2 & Vehicle Scanning v2 is completed.
For Q2 Fuel Mechanics v2 are already completed.
For Q3 AI Useables v2 & FPS Combat Weapon Types as well as Power Systems v2 have had additional tasks added.
Q4 has seen progress on the Vanduul Void Bomber and the Bengal Military Carrier.
Squadron 42 Episode 1 is a collection of 28 Chapters that are missions, scenes or major parts of the game that need to be completed in addition to it’s composite features, these are also tracked on the Roadmap AND go through various stages WhiteBox to Greybox to Production to Polish they also go through setup – playable phases with each of those stages.
- Chapter 17 & 18s whitebox playable & narrative phases respectively have been completed.
- Chapter 13, 15, 18 and 22 whitebox playable stage has been delayed to Q2 from Q1.
- Chapter 25’s Whitebox narrative has also had the same treatment pushing it to Q2.
Around The Verse
They showed off some of the Adverts and Neon signage that is going to be in Alpha 3.5 around Area 18 on ArcCorp. Some ads will be animated holograms.
The Projectile Manager is used to optimize and streamline projectiles so that they use less system resources.
They have 12 – 15 holidays planned for in game events and lore, some of which are based on current holidays including
Stella Fortuna – St Patricks Day
Trigger Fish – April Fools
Pax Humana – Sort of a Mixture of Humanity coming together and Veterans Day
Reverse The Verse – The IT Crowd
In Reverse The Verse they talked to IT Devs Across the Studios.
There IT team is relatively small and they have members on call 24 hours a day.
They are integral for getting events like CitizenCon setup, the PCs there working, on network and the demos setup.
They talked about what sort of Dev PC Specs they have and there is a range, they got a new PC build for CitizenCon 2018 & some of the devs are using them:
I7 8086k @ 5ghz (the chip is pretty similar to a 8700k with potentially a better overclock)
32GB Ram
Asus TUF Motherboard (asumidly Z370 chipset but not confirmed)
The Systems are Watercooled
They have Optane Drive & a mix of video cards.
They do try to have different motherboards, processors and systems too.
They have a good amount of hardware on hand to test / fix stuff.
They update hardware as an when necessary, this can be before a major show like GamesCom or CitizenCon.
Game/Dev Builds
Storage, Speed, Latency are all issues they have with getting new builds out both internally and externally.
CopyBuild helped a lot, this sends the latest builds out BUT only updates the changes in any build for quicker deployment.
These Builds go out peer to peer as well being grabbed by the closest source.
They use Cisco Systems for their infrastructure & 50% or more Linux based servers.
They use Perforce as their primary repository – It keeps track of all the revisions to files you make and archives the previous versions.
There is a St Patricks Day Sale & Stella Fortuna Celebration
Luck is in the air all around the ‘verse and, as you gather your closest cohorts for copious merriment, we tip our caps to you and your accomplishments.
Here’s to you and new discoveries. Here’s to fate ever smiling upon you. And here’s to the opportunity to commemorate the occasion with friends, frivolity, and frothy beverages.
Get in the spirit with limited edition commemorative green and gold vehicles, and show us how you celebrate in a revelrous contest.
There is a Limited Edition Green Ursa Rover Fortuna on sale for $50-55, it’s also available as an upgrade, the $50 version is warbond (no store credit) only and comes with LTI. There were also Fortuna Deluxe Packs from $395 that have sold out that contained a Ursa Rover Fortuna and Constellation Phoenix Emerald. These vehicles are just skin variants.
The Fortuna will be available in 3.5.
Also for RSI Subscribers the Anvil Hawk is currently on flash sale for $100.
There is an Official Star Citizen St Patrick’s Day / Stella Fortuna Screenshot Contest
Raise a glass to another year of revelry, success, and prosperity… just don’t forget to invite us! Throughout the weekend, we want you to share your most outrageous in-game party pics. And the inevitable FOMO of your fellow citizens (assuming they aren’t at your function) is the tip of the iceberg.
That’s right, the most provocative party purveyors have the chance to win fabulous prizes. So what are you waiting for? Drape yourself in green and gold regalia, get your groove on, and show the rest of the ‘verse what they’re missing this weekend. Who knows? Fortune could smile upon you.
- You are allow multiple entries
- Post-processing effects are allowed. This includes 3rd party add-ons like Photoshop/Reshade/similar.
- Screenshots should include depictions of celebration for St. Patricks’s Day.
- Only the person posting the screenshot can win a prize.
- Contest ends: 03/18/2019 (11:59 PM Pacific)
1st Place: Constellation Phoenix Emerald Standalone w/ LTI
2nd Place: Mustang Delta Standalone w/ LTI
3rd Place: Ursa Rover Fortuna Standalone w/ LTI
I’ll link the rules and thread where you are supposed to post entries.