Star Citizen 3.6.0 PTU Wave 1

Welcome to some more Star Citizen, Alpha 3.6 is now out to Wave 1 PTU which adds RSI Subscribers & Concierge members to the testing pool but also means we can actually talk about and show gameplay from the patch, so lets checkout the patch with a quick rundown of it’s patch notes and new features as they currently stand as well as a link to the other videos on 3.6 we completed today!

New Launcher

Firstly there is a new Game launcher for both LIVE & PTU.

You’ll launch both versions of the game via this launcher now.

You will still need to go to the RSI website settings section and copy over your account to the PTU though BUT when you logon to the launcher you’ll use your main accounts password rather than a PTU one, then select PTU in the top left drop down option.

3.6.0 PTU Patch Notes

Let’s take a look at the Patch Notes for 3.6.0 Initial Wider PTU Wave BUT please remember that This patch does not contain all of the intended features, which will be added iteratively to the notes as they become available & some features may only be partly implemented. In addition, not all ships are currently available, they have provided a small selection of ships for usage for now.

Ships and Vehicles

Added hover mode – Hover mode will automatically engage near planetary surfaces at a low enough speed. When engaged, ships will swap to VTOL thruster modes, which will include alternate thruster configurations when applicable. When in hover mode, the ship will hover level until the player gives an input. Pitch forward/backward will result in moving forward/backward and roll will result in lateral movement. If the ship attains enough forward velocity it will automatically switch to rear thrust driven forward flight.

Added ship purchasing kiosks to ship shops around the verse –  These have different ships available based on the kiosk & cover a large portion of the flyable ships in game.

Added visual wear to ship components and tweaked the parameters of wear – Ship weapons now have visual degradation and the rate of normal degradation for all ship components has been increased. Degradation can accumulate through time and through specific behaviors (frequent overheating, damage).

• New Ship: Kruger Intergalactic P-72 Archimedes
• And Revised it’s sister ship the P-52 Merlin.
• Added a cargo grid to the Valkyrie.

• Added nozzle flaps to the F7C and F7CM.
• Grouped thrusters into a “power group” which can now be throttled to control thruster acceleration.

Thruster power throttle is default bound to RALT+mouse wheel and is available in the keybinding menu. To allow players to track current power throttle to thrusters, a meter of percent power has replaced what was the hydrogen fuel meter and hydrogen fuel has moved to a static percent readout on the bottom of the HUD.

Reworked shield values and functionality – Shields have been reworked to add major differences between manufacturers and classifications with the goal of providing a difference in feel and value. Size 1 shields have had their health pools readjusted and regen reworked. For size 1, shields now stop regenerating on hit and once a set period of time passes without further strikes, the shields will began to regen again. The functional goal of this is to limit shield regeneration during a fight and have the shield work more to stop the enemy doing significant damage right at a fight’s outset. There is one exception, ASAS (manufacturer) shields constantly regenerate, but have a reduced health pool Size 2 shields work similar to before, but now with more difference between manufacturers. At size 2 there is no damage delay, low regeneration, and a large health pool. Size 3 shields have very large health pools and regeneration rates, with the goal of requiring multiple ships working together to overcome their regen.

• Reworked ship shields so power setting only impacts regen.
• Toned down the shield shader VFX.
• Changed the shield regen delay to be per generator rather than per face.
• Overclocking no longer affects shield allocation rate or hardening.

• Updated the HUD of the Gladius.
• Decreased the hull strength of the Arrow.
• Increased the hull strength of the Reliant.
• Significantly increased the hull strength of the Khartu-Al.
• Removed the ability to change paints on the VMA and Arena Commander vehicle editor as it had applied in unintended situations. The ability to swap paints on the Aurora and the Graycat will be added back at a later date.
• Updated JUST quantum drives for increased durability and more distinction from other classes.
• Further updates to ship weapon audio.

• Updated Prospector main engine with VFX.
• Updated AI Hammerheads to “gunship” type flight behavior.

• Increased the damage output of missiles.
• Updated the cooling for Dragonfly and Nox thrusters to make them more usable.
• New Ship Weapon: MaxOx Neutron Repeaters.

Rapid fire short-mid range weapons found in sizes 1 through 3. Uses “neutron” style damage, which has damage that increases over its range. Available at Centermass.

Universe

• Added automated turrets to GrimHex.
• Complete update of Rest Stop exteriors and shapes, including thematic variations.
• Moved Delamar further away from Crusader and into its own object container.
• Updated commodity pricing to reflect the addition of black markets and stolen goods.
• Updated several locations to now use decoupled lighting for improved visual look.
• Reduced the volume of the combat music and added an option to mute this music event.
• Added the ability for AI pilots to strafe during passes.
• Added Oxypen and MediPen to Lorville Tammany and Sons shop.
• Updated transit system to streamline flow and usage.

Trains are now on loops with multiple trains on each line, which should reduce waiting times across the board. Elevators can now move to any pad/hangar and are no longer specific to one hangar/pad. A selection of available destinations will be available via interaction at the interior elevator button panel.

• Added “average” skill level for AI pilots to increase variation.
• Updated and expanded player carriable items.
• Adding clustering for mineable entities.

Mineable rocks now appear in medium to large clusters rather than single rocks and their locations have been updated to reflect this.

• Lighting pass on exteriors of underground facilities.
• Various visual tweaks around Lorville.
• Increased refinery kiosk pay out to give a slightly higher yield to mined materials.

Missions

• Added illegal style delivery missions for prohibited and stolen goods.

• Re-enabled ECN missions.
• Various improvements to FPS based missions.

FPS

• Added the ability to free look and activate head tracking while holding a weapon.
• Free look in first person now operates as a hold rather than a smart toggle.
• New FPS Weapon: Behring S38 Pistol

This reliable Behring sidearm features a streamlined design and a lightweight polymer frame that helps to minimize recoil. And with the quick fire semi-automatic fire mode, it’s easy to see why the versatile and dependable S38 has become a standard sidearm across the Empire for both citizens and law enforcement officers. Can be purchased at Center Mass and Port Olisar.

• New FPS Weapon: Klaus & Werner Lumin V SMG

A solid and dependable laser submachine gun with a reputation for durability, reliability, and accuracy. Can be purchased at Center Mass and Conscientious Objects.

• Improved the look and feel of the character jump mechanic.
• Updated ragdoll properties to improve look and feel in all situations.
• Polish to smooth out first person turns and crouch turns.

General

• Added a hold to activate option for head tracking (available at the comms menu).
• Added option to select head tracking source and camera selection.
• Translational and roll motion for head tracking has been temporarily removed.
• Unified TrackIR and FOIP head tracking buttons.
• Video and lighting improvements to comms calls.

Major Bug Fixes

• Missiles should now be able to be counter-measured appropriately.
• Lots of bugs fixed with player movement and transitioning between stances
• MFDs should now work properly and with comms calls
• Improvements to the 300 series
• The starmap and splines have been updated to avoid crashing into things
• It looks like they have fixed the fixed weapon bug!
• Fixes to the Party and Join System
• Fixed missing thruster damage VFX for the 300 series.
• Ship controls for the Nox should now animate when strafing.
• IFCS sounds for coupled/cruise should now work for all ships.
• Customized 325a’s should no longer have mismatched cargo holds.
• Strafing should now animate on the Cutlass HOTAS.
• The HUD should now properly update when changing fire-mode on the KSAR Scalpel.
• Players should no longer get stuck inside of ArcCorp rooftops when they go prone.
• Players should now be able to vault or mantle from a crouch.
• Players should no longer be able to force pass out by jumping.
• Loading into Arena Commander as a spectator should no longer cause an infinite load screen.
• The comms MFD should now update properly.
• Added an interaction to the interior of the cargo bay of the 300 series to avoid players getting stuck.
• The Eclipse radar should no longer be reversed.
• Fixed a head-flip and smooth tracking issue when doing fast turns on foot.
• Fix for visual blurring on rotating asteroids.
• The attitude flight HUD should now appear properly when flying at Delamar.
• JUST quantum drives should now have a distinct feel from other types.
• The Reliant series should now be able to store handheld cargo.
• Combat music should no longer seem much louder than others.
• Fixed missing radar on customized ships.
• Fixed weapons should no longer aim toward the target as if gimbaled when in assist mode.
• Turret HUD markers should no longer appear if the player isn’t facing them.
• Increased the health of destructible turrets so they can’t be destroyed with melee attacks.
• Turret movement audio should now play properly.
• Updated spline jumps to avoid impacts with the planetary body.
• Fixed a visual issue with the Valkyrie camo skin.
• Assisted gimbals should no longer wander when no target is locked and the ship is in motion.
• The undersuit should no longer display thruster VFX when not in EVA.
• Using automated landing at rest stops should no longer cause the ship to move away rather than land.
• Ship engine and idle glows should now properly be off when the ship is off.
• Fixed an issue where scan blob contact VFX were played for everyone in the area.
• Ruto’s face should now appear.
• Female characters should now sit in the copilot seat of the Super Hornet correctly.
• Party launch and “join friends” should now work from the main menu.

The Patches Testing Focus is currently:

• Ship combat balance: Ship shields, missile damage, missile counter-measuring
• Flight: Hover mode, acceleration control
• Head tracking
• P-72 Archimedes
• Ship component degradation
• Ship purchasing
• Pip accuracy and ship flight jitter

There are various Known Issues

• You will likely experience some instability and crashes. We are gathering data on the back-end and will be monitoring closely.
• ASOP terminals at Area18 may not function correctly.
• The updated criminality, law system, and VOIP/FOIP updates are only partially implemented, with some missing behavior and needed elements. We will not be describing or taking feedback on this topic just yet.
• Hover mode has some impending changes/updates, we will not be taking feedback on it until those are complete.
• Textures will display across the visor on some helmets.
• Depending on ship, sometimes when attempting to file an insurance claim the timer will either start with a long delay or never start at all.
• Headtracking