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Star Citizen Pre-Alpha: 'Arena Commander' Dogfighting

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G

Geist-

Member
Raticus79 said:
Looks like the devs really liked this external-hologram helmet concept art and will see if it's something they can do: https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/3jh9jt/hologram_helmets_passed_on_to_development_team/
johnson-ting-pirate6-resized-copy.jpg
Click to expand...

That's great news. That picture is so awesome I started using it as my avatar.

Also, here's an interesting article from PCGamesN.
 
R

Raticus79

Seek victory, not fairness
Geist- said:
That's great news. That picture is so awesome I started using it as my avatar.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hope they can pull that off. Great new way to allow player customization with different "faces".

Alternate crop to show a bit more detail:
IElswWI.png
 
D

Dictator93

Member
Zabojnik said:
Damn, CIG Germany have their work cut out for them. They may very well become the most essential studio going forward.
Click to expand...

They are basically creating the PU engine on top of the FP engine, on top of the cinematics, on top of the...

Yeah, they have a lot cut out for them.
 
G

Geist-

Member
Dictator93 said:
They are basically creating the PU engine on top of the FP engine, on top of the cinematics, on top of the...

Yeah, they have a lot cut out for them.
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They're also the smallest studio at 30 staff but on the other hand they have some of the most amazing Cryengine talent as well as the very cool Todd Papy of God of War fame.
 
D

Dictator93

Member
KKRT00 said:
Where is my monthly report CIG?!
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It is usually pretty late on fridays I think. Definitely not a reasonable european hour.

BTW, for some reason the motionblur is completely fucked in the PU module of AC. It only applies to character heads and not bodies, limbs, and other body parts. A chacter can run past you and he is clear as day except his head has motionblur.
 
K

KKRT00

Member
Dictator93 said:
It is usually pretty late on fridays I think. Definitely not a reasonable european hour.

BTW, for some reason the motionblur is completely fucked in the PU module of AC. It only applies to character heads and not bodies, limbs, and other body parts. A chacter can run past you and he is clear as day except his head has motionblur.
Click to expand...
Yeah i know, its like they are writing them to the last minute of a working day :p But i completely understand, no dev like to make documentation :p
I bet that team lead at the end of the month say 'fuck, its a week when i have to write that shitty monthly summary again ;/'

Hmm, i have not focused on that, but ships flying around have OBM for sure.
 
D

Dictator93

Member
KKRT00 said:
Hmm, i have not focused on that, but ships flying around have OBM for sure.
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Yeah they do, I just think all their work with the manequin and rig has lead to motionblur not correctly inheriting velocity from body bones currently... only head ones. LOL
 
Zalusithix

Zalusithix

Member
KKRT00 said:
The site for monthly report is already there, but its locked:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14936-Monthly-Report

To comparison wrong article code:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14937-Monthly-Report

Btw anyone with subscription can confirm that they have access to monthly report earlier?
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That "report" link brings me to a subscriber vault on marine armor development. The correct vault link is https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/engineering/14936-Marine-Armor-Development so the server is taking your malformed address and serving up the best thing it can assume.
 
D

Dame

Member
Teknopathetic said:
"If I buy the Aurora Package, the $45 one, I still need to buy the doghfighting module, yes?"


Yes, alpha slots are now sold out, so you need to pay 5$ *per* alpha module. Dogfighting Module is *one* such module.


Also: No controller maps for CH Products joysticks and seemingly no way to remap joysticks atm (mentioned a few weeks ago, I think). :-/
Click to expand...

It seems like they are nickel & diming customers whom have paid out of their ears for this game. They've split this game up into sections instead of alpha/beta stages, only to continually charge for unfinished products? Am I missing something of which someone can educate me here?
 
G

Geist-

Member
Dame said:
It seems like they are nickel & diming customers whom have paid out of their ears for this game. They've split this game up into sections instead of alpha/beta stages, only to continually charge for unfinished products? Am I missing something of which someone can educate me here?
Click to expand...
I would recommend reading this if you're confused.

The TL;DR is:

  1. They had a limited number of alpha slots in the early days, which gave access to every module and Beta without extra charge.
  2. Once those slots ran out, people still wanted to get into the alpha so to compensate for the increased server requirement they charge $5 per module.
  3. People can still buy the game at the early kickstarter price of $30 which gives the full game plus SQ42, but you have to wait until the game is released.

Also

Monthly Report said:
The environment team has been busy with the map for the Arena Commander 2.0 release for CitizenCon.
Click to expand...

I think AC2.0 is coming sooner than we thought. :)
 
D

Dictator93

Member
Technical detials are awesome in this update. This game is going to be pretty.
1. FOrward plus shading and shadowing
2. Shadow rendering R n D
3. Modern API refactor (DX12 and Vulkan I imagine)
4. Asynchronous bundle loading
5. Micro skin wrinkles and blood flow maps on character faces
6. HDR audio and positional audio
7. New physicalizted ragdolls
8. Multilayer material work for characters
9. Multicrew damage shader and physicalized damage

And those ar ejust the ones I remember. Daaaaaaamn.
 
S

Sarcasm

Member
Wanna back this and everpsace but I am sort like 4 USD. Which I can't get because I don't money in the states yet (will in a couple months).


Do you think the 15% will stay tied to my account for a long time?
 
K

KKRT00

Member
Part of opening cinematic from S42 confirmed for CitizenCon!
Also Procedural Generation R&D seems further that i thought, maybe we will get some sneak peak on CitizenCon for it also.

Damn 10th of October cant come soon enough.

----
Dame said:
It seems like they are nickel & diming customers whom have paid out of their ears for this game. They've split this game up into sections instead of alpha/beta stages, only to continually charge for unfinished products? Am I missing something of which someone can educate me here?
Click to expand...
Its one time cost and for 2 years alpha access for all modules was included in the lowest tier of pledge. Now You can get full Alpha Access + Ship + full game for 55$ or Beta Access + Ship + full game for 43$, they are not nickel & diming customers, especially those who already have a game, because have all of those items and more.
 
D

Daedardus

Member
Dictator93 said:
Technical detials are awesome in this update. This game is going to be pretty.
1. FOrward plus shading and shadowing
2. Shadow rendering R n D
3. Modern API refactor (DX12 and Vulkan I imagine)
4. Asynchronous bundle loading
5. Micro skin wrinkles and blood flow maps on character faces
6. HDR audio and positional audio
7. New physicalizted ragdolls
8. Multilayer material work for characters
9. Multicrew damage shader and physicalized damage

And those ar ejust the ones I remember. Daaaaaaamn.
Click to expand...

But where's the AA? :(
 
S

Sarcasm

Member
KKRT00 said:
----

Its one time cost and for 2 years alpha access for all modules was included in the lowest tier of pledge. Now You can get full Alpha Access + Ship + full game for 55$ or Beta Access + Ship + full game for 43$, they are not nickel & diming customers, especially those who already have a game, because have all of those items and more.
Click to expand...

Wait so the mustang starter isn't all modules + game? It is 38 for me.
 
S

Sarcasm

Member
XPE said:
15% discount do tell :)

So with Area Commander and social module now out and FPS and multi coming soon what's next for SC, is it a further expansion of the existing modules or some new modules.
Click to expand...

Yea short 5 USD =/

With no way of getting 5 USD lol
 
D

Danthrax

Batteries the CRISIS!
XPE said:
15% discount do tell :)

So with Area Commander and social module now out and FPS and multi coming soon what's next for SC, is it a further expansion of the existing modules or some new modules.
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Single-player campaign, Squadron 42, should be next after we get multicrew.

Then they'll work on expanding the planetside stuff so we go from one planet to two to three to...
 
G

Geist-

Member
There was a Q&A at Dragoncon, someone was gracious enough to transcribe it while they were there.

TheEngineer1676 said:
Going to update this post as I can but signal's very spotty - stay tuned!
5:29: walking around arc corp, showing off the lighting effects on a spinning M50. Starting now
5:30: mostly Q&A, one reveal at the end
  • 1stQ: how to convince DC (Dragon Con) to have a AC tournament here? "Yes, we'd love to do it if DC allows it."
  • 2: sata ball coming out? "Legally different than ender's game. Not out in first edition of SM, redoing zero g"
  • 3: was the original SQ42 story expanded due to more $ and developers or still the same? "Story was loosely sketched out at kickstarter, didn't finalize until 6 mo. after. Hard to say without specifics and spoilers. Sort of expanded scope but same story"
  • 4: any plans to go back and revisit EWAR ships (hornet tracker) now that sentinel is out? "Yes, definitely enabling and updating tracker, herald is a different role so not quite. Herald is actively going into game, one of the next ones to go in. Hacking will be done a bit differently, design doc soon"
  • 5: planet side outside of cities? New fish for fishtank? Go underwater and catch fish? "Sandi wants more fish" - Ben. "More environmental work on nyx. Outside city work is coming - water, desert planets, etc."
  • 6: performance taking a hit lately. DX12 improvements? "CR hasn't met a computer he can't slow to a crawl" - Ben. "Lots of optimization coming, see it soon"
  • 7: plans for new xi'an ships, lore? "Yes." Dave haddock - diving into each civilization more now. One new xi'an ship in development (alluded to SQ42), no more info.
  • 8: 2-3 year or 5-7 year development timeline? Should it have expanded due to the scale? Ben - a lot coming out in the next year. No date but it should be a lot better in the next year. More rapid expansion now that groundwork is done.
  • 9: what's beyond SQ42? Big stories coming based on what happens in the verse? (Single player content) Dave H - story of SQ42 is already pretty big, hope is they'll always be developing new single player stuff in addition to the always expanding PU. Ben - there is a story beyond SQ42 (?).
  • 10: can parts go between companies (modularity)? Ben - yes, but not full interchangeable like Lego. Some are universal (guns are much better than ship parts), some aren't. Tali has two bays, medium bomber might have one and could take Tali bays.
  • 11: severed head in cubby blast store? "Behavior thing - fit with the owner's weirdo nature"
  • 12: ETA on mining concept/trials? Ben - no, but it's coming. Gamescom demo showed multicrew working. Mining design doc is done.
  • 13: can you play as a female in SQ42 and will the campaign change? Dave H - yes you can play, won't deviate story.
  • 14: TrackIR - any plan to improve implementation? (Broken helmet movement) Ben - will be fixed, not until combat is done because every change in AC can break it again.
  • 15: Junkyard ships? Dave H: have to build the stuff first and then we can look at it. Ben - no star trek style kitbashing.
  • 16: tools for content creators to promote their stuff on the community hub? Ben - hub starting rolling out in next few days. Machinima, mod tools coming too.
  • 17: "I want to destroy a planet. Can I?" Dave H - "we'd be out of planets real fast" so no.
  • 18: API support? Ben - can't go into it, no engineers here to help elaborate. Plan is to have a robust API, orgs 2.0 in development.
  • 19: HOTAS vs MKB - closing the gap? Ben - ongoing process to balance, they know it's a concern. CR's objective is to make a tradeoff - want to give fixed weapons enough of an advantage that they will have the upper hand.
  • Giving out Connie pins as a "Constellation prize" - from an audience member. -_-
  • 20: something about racing. Concepts beyond Murray cup are still just lore.
  • 21: any more purchasable Vanduul ships? Ben - looking at the light fighter, want to save as a supply for SQ42.
  • 22: any details about pirating and smuggling coming out? Yes, no timing though.
  • 23: possible to split $ automatically among multicrew? Yes, would sign contracts with percentages before departing.
  • 24: any way to gain renegade/pirate reputation before PU? No, you'll actually have to do it.
  • 25: writers considered a children's book as a different way to share the lore? Dave H: sharing the human interest stories is part of the news reports, want to show it's a living breathing place. Maybe on the book.
  • MISC endeavor - inspired by the ships from silent running, 2001. Showing evolution now. Sept 1 version had a bit of a look of Hermes (The Martian trailers) detachable front section for taking to dangerous areas, rear section is not controllable independently. Front would be big enough to hold a cutlass ambulance or two. That's all for now.
  • 26: is leading targets going to be modified? Very difficult right now. Ben - yes, expect a bunch of changes to ship speed and everything AC.
  • (Thumbs starting to fall off)
  • 27: SC novels? Sandi/Dave L - been approached, would love to do it, not priority right now. CR has said from the beginning yes.
  • 28: how will multicrew work on long-duration missions? Ben - when you log out you become an NPC for continuity. Testing in the near future.
  • 29: will the endeavor be sold as a base model and then you buy the modules you want? Ben - yes, want it to be more like the Tali where you buy the base and then the modules you want, "like a pizza". Go back and do the Connie? Maybe - some ships sold as modular, some ships sold as base-up designs. Space diapers confirmed for all the CS tickets about ships without bathrooms.
  • 30: voice comms inlaid? Ben - yes, CIG's own.
  • 31: Retaliator trailer? Ben - can't give a date, Dave H has written the trailer but cinematic guys have been doing SQ42 cutscenes.
  • 32: exploring derelict ships, big enough to spend an hour exploring as one player? Yes, idris, Bengal, etc.
  • 33: missed it, something about empire report being testing for news breaks in bars, etc.
  • 34: have to fly home to change ships - yes. Can't just jump out.
  • 35: SQ42 story butterfly effects of on rails? Permadeath? Dave H - guided but not completely locked down. Truly branching stories lead to missed content, have to dilute stories so it makes sense if you do that. Permadeath isn't super intense in SQ42 - won't stop you from playing.
  • 36: news on HOTAS? Sandi - talking to Saitek about how go be open on development. Have timeline for KB, basic HOTAS, full set based on X65 ad soon as saitek agrees to dates.
  • 37: "softer" sci-fi a la mass effect? Dave H - no psiotics
  • 38: non human races as your character? Yes, potentially before your game starts. Something about different languages?
  • 39: multiple missions to retrieve ships, salvage, etc - yes.
  • 40: rules of engagement? (No attacking ships in port, etc) Still in development.
  • 41: current order of module release? Ben - not final, but: arc corp and AC in a few weeks, then SM, then multi-crew
DONE. Thanks all! My thumbs are dead now.
Click to expand...

Also, here's the first look at the Endeavour:

g1lgFW1.jpg


It's goddamn beautiful. It's really straining against my self-imposed rule of no ships bigger/more expensive than my Phoenix. Also, a lot of people think that ring is a gravity ring, but considering the SC universe has perfected artificial gravity I think it's actually a particle accelerator. Fits the science purpose perfectly.
 
Z

Zabojnik

Member
At some point, a couple of years back, around the time when CIG and AMD were really into each other, Chris was complaining a lot about the draw calls limitation of DX11 and the (then) current graphics cards. I'd like to hear what he has to say about it now, with DX12 on the horizon.
 
D

Dictator93

Member
Daedardus said:
What version are they even at now?
Click to expand...

They just integrated 3.7. But it is not clear if that is 3.7 as per the public Cryengine build, or 3.7 as a private build. I have read elsewhere that Cryengine public build numbers are ahead of those that are given to devs. For example, 3.7 may be 3.8.2 in the public line.
Zabojnik said:
At some point, a couple of years back, around the time when CIG and AMD were really into each other, Chris was complaining a lot about the draw calls limitation of DX11 and the (then) current graphics cards. I'd like to hear what he has to say about it now, with DX12 on the horizon.
Click to expand...

In the monthly report the german studio wrote about deleting unused old rendering code to prepare the transition to new APIs.
 
D

Dubbedinenglish

Banned
19: HOTAS vs MKB - closing the gap? Ben - ongoing process to balance, they know it's a concern. CR's objective is to make a tradeoff - want to give fixed weapons enough of an advantage that they will have the upper hand.
Click to expand...

Jesus, it literally is trying to tighten a bolt with a hammer.
 
P

Pomerlaw

Member
19: HOTAS vs MKB - closing the gap? Ben - ongoing process to balance, they know it's a concern. CR's objective is to make a tradeoff - want to give fixed weapons enough of an advantage that they will have the upper hand.
Click to expand...

Wut!? More powerful maybe?
 
M

Machina

Banned
I'm very happy to see since they showed off the boarding demo and the Social Module got released that SC seems to be finally breaking into the mainstream gaming consciousness. Average PC Gamer Joe is paying attention now.
 
K

KKRT00

Member
Machina said:
I'm very happy to see since they showed off the boarding demo and the Social Module got released that SC seems to be finally breaking into the mainstream gaming consciousness. Average PC Gamer Joe is paying attention now.
Click to expand...

It will explode after CitizenCon i imagine. We will finally get somehow polished footage similar to AAA games, so general public will be able to compare it to other games on the market.
 
D

Danthrax

Batteries the CRISIS!
Dictator93 said:
Well, I guess Illfonic really did "drop the ball".
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yeeeeeah, that's what I got out of that, too. Illfonic worked for months on zero-G combat, and now Illfonic is dropped from the project and apparently zero-G is being completely reworked? Mistake confirmed



Machina said:
I'm very happy to see since they showed off the boarding demo and the Social Module got released that SC seems to be finally breaking into the mainstream gaming consciousness. Average PC Gamer Joe is paying attention now.
Click to expand...

Show the most beautiful space combat sim ever made, no one cares

Show some first-person shooting and a little open-world exploration and suddenly everyone's losing their minds
 
Z

Zabojnik

Member
Danthrax said:
yeeeeeah, that's what I got out of that, too. Illfonic worked for months on zero-G combat, and now Illfonic is dropped from the project and apparently zero-G is being completely reworked? Mistake confirmed
Click to expand...

Is it though? Did they say that or are you going just by what Ben said at DragonCon?

I'm not defending Illfonic, but I'd think that zero-G combat (zero-G *anything*, really) is probably one of the hardest, if not the hardest thing to nail, seeing all the systems involved. It might just need (a lot) more work.
 
T

Teknopathetic

Member
"I'm not defending Illfonic, but I'd think that zero-G combat (zero-G *anything*, really) is probably one of the hardest,"

A company that had only done tech demos managed to pretty much nail Zero-G FPS combat with their first game release.
 
Z

Zabojnik

Member
Teknopathetic said:
"I'm not defending Illfonic, but I'd think that zero-G combat (zero-G *anything*, really) is probably one of the hardest,"

A company that had only done tech demos managed to pretty much nail Zero-G FPS combat with their first game release.
Click to expand...

Including unified first and third person camera and fairly advanced stuff like grabby hands?

What was that game again, I really need to check it out.

EDIT: Shattered Horizon, got it.
 
D

Dictator93

Member
Zabojnik said:
Including unified first and third person camera and fairly advanced stuff like grabby hands?

What was that game again, I really need to check it out.
Click to expand...

Shattered Horizon
edit: EDIT!

To be fair though, the grabby hands push pull system in SC (for the moments when you do not have thusters and what not), in addition to a cover system does make it more complex in terms of locomotion in comparison to SH.
 
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