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Star Citizen Alpha 3.13 Roadmap Q1 2021

We have the New Star Citizen Roadmap and with it a list of features planned for Q1 2021 with Star Citizen 3.13. This patch should be LIVE by the end of March 2021.

CI have said that they predict the next immediate quarter shown on the roadmap in this case 3.13 at around a 90% confidence in providing each individual feature listed on the release view, so let’s talk about those features first before moving on to some other potential content.

The Hercules Starlifter C2 and M2 are both planned for the 3.13 branch but as part of a 3.13.x build rather than the initial launch. Expect the A2 at a later date.

This is a cargo ship that specializes in transporting large vehicles like the Nova Tank, which we know is getting work for Q2 2021.

Force Reactions are getting updates to include staggers which are partial losses of movement control, knocking you around… colliding with the environment when a ship sudden moves, takes damage or you are in an explosion etc..

Missiles and counter measures should be receiving a much more refined balance and rework in Alpha 3.13 and we have a couple of features listed with that in mind. 

The old version of missile guidance and flight is changing to use the IFCS guidance and control systems. This will improve missile performance and tracking ability, enabling greater control over general missile behaviors.

Missiles will also now be controlled under a dedicated missile operator mode, which gives players the option to select and fire specific missiles while operating in ships, such as the Vanguard, which allow for different types of missiles and torpedoes.

A lot of players will be excited for Vehicle Names and Serial Numbers being added to the game… though we don’t know to what level we will have customization of them at this stage.

This is the ability for ships to display custom player-assigned names. Special serial numbers will also be shown, and all other ships will have unique serial numbers displayed, to identify them in the universe.

Visual wear-and-tear is being added to player ships as they age and degrade. Ships will subtly visually change depending on how long they have existed in the ‘verse.

We are getting 2 types of Docking in 3.13 as well!

Parasite Docking – Finally The ability for the Merlin snub ship to dock and undock within the Constellation, along with guidance mode UI to ensure correct alignment during the docking process.

Ship To Station Docking – Large ships will be able to dock at space stations. The ATC will assign you docking ports when appropriate, this feature includes docking connectors and lobbies in space stations for large ships to connect to.

Ability to use mounted guns on vehicles and potentially on the ground/structures.

Refinery Areas are expanding with non-commercial entrances, just expect additional content in those areas.

They are doing additional polish, visual improvements and adding more assets to the planets and moons of Stanton. 

They are Adding additional asteroid variations, I would expect some additional asteroid tech here too.

We have two new cave entrances. The ‘drive-in’ entrance will allow players to enter using a ground vehicle, the ‘sinkhole’ entrance will require players to enter and exit using a ship.

As part of the Hacking Gameplay Loop they are working on all back-end tech tasks related to creating the first pass of the hacking feature that will be used in future location and mission updates. This feature will be used to access systems and areas that have been previously closed to the player. The hacking process will be represented via a minigame that is displayed on the player’s HUD visor. We have the ability to use crypto-keys on consoles currently BUT this is actually deeper gameplay.

We have work on icache with them Converting Legacy Data Management

Retargeting all gameplay systems that use that legacy persistent data system to the new iCache interface. This is in support of the wider persistent streaming and server meshing initiatives. It is not the full iCache feature, just important work towards it.

We will see updates to icache on the Roadmap in January as CI add their 9 core tech teams to the Roadmap… work and updates pertaining to icache are planned for 3.13 YES but not the full icache feature.

As part of the continuing additions to bounty hunting and the law system Surrendering is back here on the Roadmap allowing players to be arrested without losing their life, they will be able to surrender by coming to a halt and powering down their ships when ordered to by security. Security will halt their attack and arrest criminal players (and impound the ship if owned by a criminal). We don’t know when you will be able to surrender on foot tho.

The Roadmap has a new view the Progress Tracker which shows what any given team is working on and CI have said they are currently planning to add additional teams in Q1 to the roadmap. This will include teams such as VFX, Audio, Lighting, Character Art, and more. There are some other things that are being worked on for Q1 2021 as well and the feature list is not exhaustive

We can also see some features that are receiving work that completes in Q1 2021 that could potentially mean more content for the patch, it’s going to be somewhat dependant on time and priorities.

Some of (maybe most of) these items will require work from downstream teams to complete BUT some features could potentially be done for 3.13 or the next and it’s good to know what else CI are working on Q1 2021 at the very least beyond that 3.13.x release.

The first iteration of ‘looting.’ This involves spawning weapons, bottles of water, MedPens, and clothing at various locations that the player can find, store, and use.

New Missions tasking players with delivering hazardous cargo to dangerous locations. Cargo will be damage-sensitive and must be protected while outlaws attempt to destroy it.

Timed delivery missions with multiple drops and varied timers. Requiring players to prioritize drops and plan routes to ensure all packages are delivered on time with both local drops and long-distance deliveries.

‘spawn closets.’ These areas allow entities, such as NPCs, to spawn in areas outside of player view. These will be used to support missions, location populations, and security responses.

The Security network system. This allows security features to know if players are trespassing without having to assign them a criminal rating. Also tracks criminal sightings.

Updating the Emergency Outposts as a proof-of-concept for the new dynamic interior environments. This includes allowing players to use the Multi-Tool Tractor Beam thanks to the addition of interactable props and consumables.

The Dynamic Mission System, that will allow select mission types to be dynamically tailored to the current environment (and Quantum at a later date). These missions will be customizable and payment will accurately reflect the distance traveled and risk involved. They also plan to have 1 shot triggers and runs of certain missions for players… and to do that mission again you’d have to join another player doing it I believe.

A new service that will continuously track the position of players, NPCs, and other entities so that our live-service tools can display them properly in real-time.

An Economy Pass.

A Reputation UI including a total list of reputation ranks, including those that have been completed and the ones they’re actively working on.

They are Bringing the Aegis Retaliator & Gladius as well as the Vanduul Fleet up to “GOLD STANDARD”

Weapon Capacitors – Players will have the ability to manage the amount of extra energy that goes into the weapons, making critical decisions on the distribution of energy in order to defend, attack or just run away.

And that’s it for Alpha 3.13 and it’s current listed and potential content for the 1st Quarter of 2021. There is a lot of potential content there in that patch, we will have a bit more idea of any more features in Janurary when they add more to that roadmap and the downstream teams… but it’s looking pretty good… there were also a few unannounced features that showed work BUT we don’t know what they are yet!