Inside Star Citizen Summary – 3.9.0 Updates
Welcome to some more Star Citizen, we have had a pretty cool development update, looking at some bits coming in 3.9, concepts for space whales, cargo decks, new locations, Interaction Improvements and much more. Let’s jump in and summarize this bad boy.
Klesher Automated Prison is getting it’s final tweaks and details put in, ready for 3.9.
There is quite a bit to explore inside and out and they even showed off soft body assets moving tarps… It’s cool looking.
They have completed the Prisoner Jump Suit for 3.9s Klesher Prison and Gameplay.
There was a weird little space penguin statue in the Klesher work mines as well I WANT IT.
UI have completed various signage found throughout New Babbage in 3.9. They showed some of the food menus for 4 different eateries – Garcia’s Greens, Twyn’s Sandwiches, Ellroy’s Coffee, Whammer’s Burgers. Nom Nom lot’s of food in 3.9…
They have been working on Hologram Text displays, so you can see text really clearly from info terminals in a diegetic manner.
They completed a first artwork pass of a new SMG from Gemini.
A Pistol from the Lighting Bolt Company
And VFX Concepts for the Atzkav Sniper Rifle again from the Lighting Guys.
They are exploring it’s projectile and charge as well as how it explodes people when it hit them, from knockdowns, to chain lightning to DOT.
This is actually something I am really excited about touch blending is being worked on for plants and flora. This has the game engine spawning bones for plants when players are close that then deform and move when touched. It’s early R&D at the moment BUT I love this.
They have been improving detail terrain maps allowing for much greater looking detail between LODs and each given distance.
They have been working on Cargo Decks and more Generally Cargo for Modular Space Stations. It’s not planned until 4.1 BUT it’s a lot of extra gameplay to look forward to.
They showed some more of the Aciadeo Comm Array from SQ42…
They have been building outfits for Orison, the Crusader landing zone.
Specifically they showed work on Crusader Securities Batista and Gibbs Mission Givers that will be there.
Space Whales are not just a SC Meme they are also being concepted as a creature in game. SpaceWhales may form valuable materials on their bodies, making them a target for ships to hunt or land to gather as much as possible. The 3 versions they have of the whale are currently being reviewed.
Talking about Concepts Lead Concept Artist Jeremiah Lee will showcase his talents as he explores concepts for what vintage UEE military uniforms from the Second Tevarin War might have looked like at 7pm UTC today Friday 20th March on twitch.tv/starcitizen to see that live! Jlee is one of my favorites at CIG and he has made some genuinely amazing stuff… I think he has been then around 8 years now… WOW!
Something of a big player experience update in Alpha 3.9 is the new:
Personal Inner Thought System this is going to give players more options with items and their character that are contextual and easy to access.
You will be able to access this by holding F and Right Clicking
It’s a hierarchical wheel menu with nested categories and actions BUT also you can have common or favorited actions also there.
This will also have access to basic functions like leave a seat or even crouching that you could also have a hotkey for.
This also allows you to force respawn or choose an emote.
It’s just another way of finding the option or control you want in game… even I find functions I didn’t realized existed still!
You can rebind or favorite an action from here by right clicking on it in the wheel as well.
You’ll be able to interact with your ship functions from here too, so going into Quantum, scanning etc…
Also as part of PIT there is the Personal Inventory System which is selectable from the radial menu AND basically merges with the old system. You’ll be able to select a consumable straight from the system to eat or interact with.
There are quick select wheels for weapons so you can change between your equipped gear easily.
They are going to be expanding and improving these menus with new features and generally making them better in the future.
Due to the ongoing situation with corona and a mixture of staff working from home or ill, there is an assumption (at least by some) that 3.9 LIVE could see a small delay even tho CIG are reasonably lucky in their setup allows for remote working.
In Inside Star Citizen they confirmed that a lot of their staff are now working from home & their goals remain UNCHANGED. They may have some changes to video content BUT will keep the lines of communication open.
There was a message from Chad McKinney Replying to a user say:
“I’m going to assume that 3.9 is gonna be delayed”
Chad replied – “We’re Certainly trying to get it out on time. Obviously there’s been some disruption while we reconfigure to largely work from home. The good news is the company has been primed for distributed collaboration for years given the nature of our studios being so spread out. It’s not as disruptive as you might think actually.”