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Star Citizen Aegis Concierge Event Summary

Welcome to some more Star Citizen with a Summary of some of the information that came out of the Aegis Concierge event over the weekend.

Basically the Nautilus was unveiled BUT we already have videos on this new concept for a minelayer. The actual event was for concierge backers to have a Q&A session with key devs as well as drink and dine with them & there has been a lot of info that various people have sent to me as well as showing up on Reddit, Spectrum & Discord.

Backers that went to the event got to meet Chris Roberts and take a picture with him more tangibly though. There was a 60 min presentation of the Natalis – The Nautilus is apparently has had a lot of work done to it already, with it’s exterior and interior as well as animations and is actually quite far through it’s development already. This was then followed by 30 min of Q&A for the ship, I’ll go over some of the additional info on the Natalis at the end of the video.

Attendees were Sat at dining tables with some dev’s on each and there was some reasonably good dinner & drinks. There was a quiz for some prizes after.

And for everyone that attended there was branded Chairman’s Club Merch – laptop bag, scarf, Aegis Mousepad, pen, notebook, challenge coin, pins more.

There was also ample mingling time though the event and then a bar citizen.

Everyone that I have talked to really enjoyed the event and said it was worth the trip.

There were a lot of chats with devs from various backers as well as some additional info conveyed at the event I want to summarize too. Let’s start with some of the bigger news, Server Side Object Container Streaming & some info from Chris Roberts:

SSOCS is being targeted for Alpha 3.8 (for the end of 2019) but there is certainly the possibility it would get pushed to 2020. Alpha 3.8 might see some other features slip, this is going to be based on other tasks being completed like SSOCS and the most likely thing I believe they are talking about is microTech slipping if it’s not ready.

SSOCS is a requirement for Squadron 42 though so they really want it ready ASAP.

This will also be coming online with the Item Cache allowing for better persistence in game and what we deem as “full persistence” and being able to drop items and leave ships, log out and you character, ship & item will still be there unless someone else has come along and moved them.

Static Server Meshing for the PU is planned for the end of 2020, this is not required for Squadron 42.

They are also working on code for the physics refactor of the game so that the engine can accommodate the scale of the game and perform to the highest degree while delivering a believable physics simulation for all areas.

Hover Mode is being revamped in Alpha 3.7 with many ships no longer acting like helicopters BUT some that are appropriate may still do so. 

The new idea is to have more auto balance and precision the closer you get to the surface of a planet or moon & you will not have to pitch/bank you ship

They are working on expanded gameplay for features like multi-crewing of ships and mission sharing but there aren’t ready to show this off yet.

There was some other interesting discussions about evocati leaks and the fact they can actually limit and hamper some of the testing that CIG could plan otherwise.

There was some deeper info about Cinematics & SQ42 – Star Citizen & Squadron will have more animations than other games, in SQ42 most of the characters animations will come directly from the appropriate actor and their mocap. Around 5% of the animations would be more standard or hand keyed animations, like holding weapons in FPS combat.

They are really trying to push the boundaries with immersion and characters looking real by unifying the actor doing the voice, mocap & body scan all tailored for their character rather than splitting it up to other actors for the animations, stunts or voices. A lot of the A list actors did there own stunts for SQ it seems.

They had to get some of the actors used to the type of mocap they were recording as there was no terrain or scenery BUT apparently it all worked out well.

There is around 11 – 13 hours of mocap in game and a play time well over that of a typical shooter.

The levels are directly related to the plot and narrative driven. Missions were built into the plot not the other way around, locations and characters are all tied to lore and the game world.

Squadron 42 is making good progress and they have some things to share with us soon & that’s where the development focus is currently getting SQ42 ready and out.

Some other bits – merchandise is being revamped, along with faster delivery times. 

Feedback really helps them in everything they do. Backers inspire them with new ideas, features and help evolve and fix current issues.

They also mentioned that there is a cool video coming up soon (within a week or 2 it sounds like) that backers will love.

The Devs at the event all seemed extremely enthusiastic and loved they work.

They love coming to events be they official ones or fan ones or bar citizens.

Though some people said Erin Roberts looked a bit knackered as he had potentially been at GamesCom and multiple Bar Citizen’s over the last few days. I’ve met Erin a few times and he is a good, incredibly hard working bloke.

There was some additional information about the Aegis Nautilus and Mine Gameplay:

There are currently 2 types of mine they have been working on the homing mine and deployable turrets BUT more may be added in the future.

Mine’s have thrusters BUT nothing powerful enough to chase an aware evading target for long periods of time or to counteract gravity from a celestial body. 

Mines require maintenance from time to time, so they will not be deployed and stay there forever.

Mines have a tiny signature BUT you can detect them to at least some degree with scans.

The Nautilus can store 2 Nemo Drones. There will be mines in SQ42. 

The interior of the Nautilus is extremely similar to that of the Hammerhead.

The Ship will be able to fit on large landing pads (which are smaller than the pads that the Reclaimer and 890J require for example).

The turrets on the Nautilus (at least some of them) should be able to be used with AI modules for auto turrets.

The range of the S7 guns is extremely long, I believe someone said they had done the maths and it should be over 6.5km

The ship is much tankier than a hammerhead being referred to a heavily armored and having 3 Large Shield Generators BUT it doesn’t have as much conventional firepower as the Hammerhead.