Star Citizen 2020 Plans & 3.8.x Updates
Star Citizen News & Updates, we have a load of information from CIG about plans for 3.8.x patches, Alpha 3.9 and Features for 2020:
3.8.1 is the next patch and that should contain various hotfixes and QoL improvements BEYOND this they want to get more focused on 3.9 & 4.0.
They are aware of the major bugs like the desync, which they are trying to fix now.
They are planning to have the features locked in for 3.9 by Mid February which is much sooner than they previously have done. They want to focus on the new patch and making sure it’s up to shape rather than dedicate more time on lots of 3.8.x patches. That said I believe they will still be releasing the Cutlass Red Jan, Carrack Feb & Prowler March.
They will aggressively cull features if they don’t meet deadlines, pushing them to minor or major patches based on the feature in question.
Some of the bugs like the ship duplication bug require more investigation.
Server OCS is not complete as a feature and is still being dialled in, there wasn’t as much as an improvement as CIG had wanted. They are going to be updating SOCS patch to patch. AI has certainly seen improvements with it’s implementation however servers still degrade over time. Expect to see more improvements by 3.9.
There are various features of SOCS that are not ready yet or that CIG are building currently, these will increase performance, stability and potentially server player cap. There are still lots of issues that require fixing too. It’s a huge milestone tech wise though.
30k errors are server or client disconnections of some description but they are not a specific problem, more like a range that they cover.
Even after Platform Persistence is added wipes will still happen. If there are exploits, aUEC earning not as intended or bits that CIG want to test they will wipe BUT it will allow them to choose when to wipe or not. We should see better economic balance and longer term pricing balance as they are able to get more data and info from this improvement.
Even currently they are reviewing 3.8 data to help balance the game in 3.9. This process is done manually at the moment BUT they will be moving to the Dynamic Economy and Quanta Model in the future which will deal with this automatically and based on economic inputs from around the Verse.
The iCache (item cache) and improvements to Persistence and SOCS will also allow them to expand Cargo Features, the iCache is schedule for 4.0 / 4.1 at least for CIG to start using. They want to have larger cargo boxes, ways to move them. They are also trying to look at interruptions and disconnects that happen during cargo transporting and general gameplay and ways to recover from them. They want the functionality of external apps and tools as in game as possible, so you can have all the info from in game, the starmap will be able to better show trading opportunities. There will be other forms of cargo and missions too, volatile cargo that needs to be delivered in a certain amount of time OR will be spoiled or explode if you take too much damage.
They will be adding the ability to loot players and NPCs and sell that gear.
UEC transfers will be part of mobiGlas and the contract manager this & the mobiGlas will be getting more focus once the visor rework is completed.
There are teams that specifically looks at the gameplay experience as well as combat & flight and then try to improve those aspects of the game both short and long term. They will be balancing and improving auto-gimbals, general combat and more from patch to patch ( so that fixed weapons have their place) BUT they want to also consider final balance in the future to make this all feel fun.
Turrets are a focus for them to improve, desync is causing many issues with this & gameplay in general at the moment, they are working on them!
In the future we should be able to compare components and items for ships in game, some components widely vary from each other and currently the best way to see those differences is via an external too.
Alpha 3.9 will also see many improvements to mining gameplay. They are looking at asteroid clusters and belts like the Aaron Halo too. They are aware that mining pays relatively low in 3.8.0 and it’s certainly where they want it to be, they will be adding more asteroids, rocks and nodes to mine from in 3.9 it seems.
There will be other places to sell Ore (dedicated terminals) & refineries to “add value” to ore in the future.
They are going to add some more meat to Bounty Hunting and Delivery Missions.
They have lowered bounties as they thought they paid too much, this is subject to future balance.
3.9 will see outposts and vehicle spawn locations and missions hooked up to the planet.
They are continuing to review Quantum Travel times and drives.
They are planning to add a STORE button to the ASOP terminals to quickly store your ship so you can modify it or transfer cargo quicker and safer.
They want spawning vehicles and ships in their parent ship in game as soon as possible and we should see that this year.
They will look at weather and low-visibility flying in the future and see if any additional mechanics are needed to improve gameplay.
HABs are currently not persistent so you cannot re-enter them atm.
They don’t have windows currently in individual hab rooms for performance purposes.
Calling All Devs is coming back bi-weekly alternately with Star Citizen Live HOWEVER the name, format, length are all being potentially changed.
RSI Subscribers have access to the Dragonflies this month.
Next week will see an Update to the Roadmap
The sneak peek this week from the Newsletter was a beauty shot for New Babbage on microTech. We should be seeing the internals of the city in Alpha 3.9.
