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Potential New Ships, Designing Star Systems, Dangerous Areas & Terran Cities

we have had the Lore Devs talking about various elements of the game in a Community Questions post… let me summarize some of the highlights and important parts of that.

What Happened to the old Osprey and the Devastator Anvil Ships Mentioned in Lore, where they renamed?

Answer: When world building we often include names of ships, items, people, places and other things that aren’t an immediate focus for the lore or game. This flavor text enriches the world by creating a sense of history and mystery. Plus, having a few names like this sitting around helps when the Ship Team presents a new craft in need of one. In fact, that’s exactly how the Hurricane got its name. While the Hornet and Gladiator were part of Anvil’s original ship line-up, the Hurricane was not. When the Ship Team brought us the idea for an Anvil heavy fighter featuring six powerful ballistic guns, the Hurricane name fit perfectly. 

The Osprey has already shown up in lore as part of a fleet of security ships in an episode of Lost Squad, a spectrum show focused on the fateful days before the fall of Caliban to the Vanduul in 2884. The call out is intentionally lean on specifics but the ship is being used by a security force and engaging hostiles, so there’s a strong chance it’s a fighter. However, the Devastator has not been mentioned outside of the Anvil portfolio. With all that said, we’ll avoid getting into anything more specific, so the Osprey and Devastator names could be used if the right Anvil ship design presents itself in the future.

What is the Process for Designing A Star System and Its Aesthetics, is the Vega Star in Star citizen the same as the one IRL?

Answer: No, the star at the center of the Vega system is not the Vega star seen from Earth, which explains the difference in size. Same goes for any other system in-game that shares a name with a star in our sky. None are meant to represent the star we’re familiar with. 

Creating a system is an extremely collaborative endeavor between Narrative, Art, and Design. We’ll focus on the Narrative side here but if you’re interested in other aspects of the process check out this recent episode of Star Citizen Live with the Planet Content Team. On the Narrative side, we first brainstormed details for each system and then worked extensively with astronomers on the science behind each one. Sometimes we bent the science a bit to make something work for the game, and sometimes we changed our original idea to match the science. This process led to a massive spreadsheet that includes a tab dedicated to the stars in-game that tracks details like Stellar Classification, Solar Mass, Surface Temperature, and much, much more. That way when Art and Design begin to do their thing we can deliver details that guide them on everything from how the star should look and exactly where the habitable planets should be placed within the green band to a moon’s temperature range and Beaufort Wind Scale. 

Simply, part of Narrative’s job is to provide a scientific foundation for these systems and then collaborate with Art and Design. While these details provide a good starting point for other teams, and are based on current scientific thinking, there still may be adjustments due to art or gameplay requirements. This is still a game, so at the end of the day, what looks and plays best might sometimes win out over hard science. 

What’s the Most Dangerous UEE System?  In terms of overall crime levels & risk of piracy

Answer: Since player actions will also ultimately factor into exactly how dangerous a system will be, we haven’t planted a flag and said with certainty that this one system has the most criminal activity. That said, as a simple hauler who prefers stunning vistas to combat operations, here’s a few systems I’ll be avoiding unless absolutely necessary. 

Let’s start with Nexus, which is called the “Crossroads of Crime” for a reason. Currently, it has four jump points and three of them lead into unclaimed systems that outlaws can easily escape into. Some of the most infamous criminal actions of the past few decades (Kellar’s Run and the Walzer Massacre) occurred in Nexus. Criminality became so rampant that the UEE launched a major operation to reclaim Nexus III in 2934. An event that inspired the appropriately named Theaters of War map “Crossroads of Crime.” Even though the UEE military now controls Nexus III, Lago (Nexus IV) remains so dangerous that most cities and outposts are heavily fortified. To get a feel for what that means for its residents, check out the short story Sid & Cyrus about an aging couple forced to venture into the untamed planetside in search of their daughter.     

Following Nexus, Charon might not seem like an obvious choice, but a brutal civil war has been raging on Charon III since 2944. That means its local governments are unstable and more concerned with their survival than safety in the system.

 In addition, Charon owns the unique distinction of being the only UEE system to revoke their representation in the UEE Senate in protest over horrors committed there during the Messer regime. This means the Advocacy and other UEE forces are probably less likely to come to your defense here than elsewhere in the Empire. 

Next, Magnus, Ferron, and Fora all have a long history of outlaw activity due to a variety of factors, including ineffectual local government and law enforcement forces. Kruger Intergalactic left Magnus for Castra in 2789 after a key shipment of parts was hijacked by outlaws, threatening their extremely lucrative and important contract with RSI. Meanwhile in Fora, a terraforming mishap on Hyperion (Fora III), the only potentially habitable planet, left this system on the edge of Banu space largely ignored by the rest of the empire. The Starmap even claims “Informal censuses of the area indicate that visitors are more likely to encounter a smuggler, outlaw or Banu settler than a UEE Citizen while in this five-planet system.” Finally, Ferron was once a thriving system until manufacturers fled due to political pressure from the Messer regime and the system’s easily accessible resources being mostly depleted. Things have gotten so bad that the police force in Tram, Asura (Ferron III) has gone on strike in the past in protest of the overwhelming dangers they face on the job.   

Lastly, for completion’s sake, two of the UEE’s most dangerous systems are that way due to natural phenomena. Banshee system has at its center a pulsar spewing so much radiation that too much exposure is a death sentence, leading to the system’s only habitable areas being underground. Finally, the recently discovered Tamsa system is still technically off-limits to people while the UEE surveys and studies the black hole found there.

What’s to Keep People From Using Regen as a Method of FTL Communication?

Answer: Since faster than light (FTL) communication doesn’t exist in the Star Citizen universe, it’s easy to see why dying and immediately regening elsewhere seems like a tempting data running option. That said, we’ve done our best to make it an ineffective one. When doing a mission, data would probably have to be stored on a physical device, which would either remain on the deceased’s body or the server aboard their now abandoned ship. Needing a physical device or ship server to store and transfer the data should negate regen as a viable FTL option for missions.     

Narratively, it does get a little trickier when it comes to general knowledge about stuff like the location of an enemy encampment or extremely valuable mineral lode. As a player, you could regen with the knowledge still fresh and share it with others to your advantage. We address this in-lore with the concept of gap, which refers to the length of time between an imprint being made and when someone is regenerated. The longer the gap, the more memories and experiences will be lost, which is why frequent imprinting is strongly encouraged. Regen making people’s short term memory a bit hazy reduces the reliability of this method of data running. In addition, the regen process degrades that person’s imprint and makes it less viable going forward. While some might try to exploit the tech for communication, it’ll come at the cost of degrading their imprint and bringing them a step closer to being wiped, which means that character will not be able to regen.

What Can You Tell Us About the Terran Cities of New Austin and Quasi?

Question: What information is out there regarding the cities of New Austin or Quasi? Looking to know more about how these cities are designed and the atmosphere surrounding them, including living conditions, available work and cultures.

Both cities are located on Terra III, an oxygen rich Super-Earth that was naturally habitable for Humans. Quasi is the planet’s second largest city after Prime and located in the southern hemisphere in the shadow of the Nessay Mountains. Summers there are relatively cool and it gets more than 200 mm of snow per season. The city is a tourist destination in part due to the large and mysterious ancient ruins located nearby. Esperia founders the Ingstrom brothers grew up in Quasi and became fascinated with the ruins. 

Meanwhile, New Austin is a smaller and more industrial city, though there’s been a concerted effort to integrate factories into the natural environment instead of destroying it. Compared to Prime and Quasi, New Austin has more of a “blue collar” vibe with the city center’s most famous landmark being the Old Hall where members of the United Resource Workers would meet. Generally less expensive than Terra’s other major cities, New Austin has become an increasingly popular spot for people and companies to move to. The Sataball Territorial League has their headquarters there, and most famously, Jennifer Friskers moved the headquarters of Origin Jumpworks from Earth to New Austin in 2913. A move that still stings some Earth-centric forces, who some suspect were behind the hack of Origin in 2944 that released details of their “Goldfinch” ship prototype. Despite being smaller and less of a tourist destination than Prime and Quasi, New Austin still boasts impressive infrastructure and enough prestige to have hosted CitizenCon in 2948.

 Do the Nine Tails and the gangs of Pyro have a color & armor scheme? 

Answer: Yes, you will be seeing these visual distinctions between gangs in Pyro. The look of each gang is definitely taken into consideration during their development and is something we hope to keep improving for the current outlaws in-game. A gang’s colors or other distinct visual traits are part of the kick-off process with the Character team. We also consider what type of armor they would wear and how it could distinguish between different ranks within the gang. Then there’s the question of if the gang has a symbol, identifying tattoos or even, like the insane Pyro gang the Fire Rats, if members have severe burns or scars from initiation rights. A lot of these visual details are worked out together with the Character team. We provide them the palette and then let them work their magic on the specifics.

Yet, it doesn’t stop there on the Narrative side. When creating these gangs we also consider factors like their area of influence, organization structure, approximate wealth, allies, rivals, and more. Answering such questions often leads us to ways to best visually present them. For example, a wealthy gang with a strict hierarchy and penchant for combat might have good gear and clear visual distinctions between ranks. Meanwhile, a shipjacking gang more focused on survival than riches might not have a cohesive look and instead mix and match whatever armor and equipment they find after a successful mission. There might even be a gang or two who avoid identifying colors and marks so they can remain mysterious and harder to track down. Simply, our goal is a diversity of looks for gangs and it’s a very collaborative process between Narrative and Characters.