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Star Citizen Pre-Alpha: 'Arena Commander' Dogfighting

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D

Dictator93

Member
kutthoat5150 said:
Mine took a dip as well though a lot of others are saying how performance has improved
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Hrm... it makes me wonder what is up with that.

Also, the distance shadows from buildings drawing in at the distance it is at now...does not look too hott. You can see areas go from light to... alleyway dark as you approach. Hope it is temporary!

But god damn if it does look good with forward rendererd transparencies now
starcitizen_2015_10_1h9uhc.png

starcitizen_2015_10_1gfu5h.png

starcitizen_2015_10_17uuqa.png
 
Z

Zabojnik

Member
When SC eventually releases in 2021, we'll need a separate thread for screenshots.

It's going to be absolutely glorious.

We'll all be on 21:9 monitors by then too.
 
Zalusithix

Zalusithix

Member
mercenar1e said:
when will ships be purchasable with UEC? now that i have 25,000 UEC i have nothing to spend it on.
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My guess is when the game is released and they're no longer selling them for real money. =P You wouldn't be able to buy much of a ship with 25k UEC anyhow. I mean, it's only $25 worth of UEC. That'd get you a Merlin at most if we're going with direct dollar conversions. If you feel the need to blow it before the game, spend it on some weapons/shields, or a Greycat.

Geist- said:
Possibly when the babyPU comes out, probably when the SC enters it's Beta (so 2020).
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Wouldn't make much sense in the test PUs. They'd have to keep track of what UEC you earned in game and what was bought and then refund the bought from the earned whenever they wipe. (And I fully expect many wipes) I expect in game UEC to be a different pool during the alpha/beta period from the UEC obtained from packages etc.
 
S

Sarcasm

Member
So last free weekend I played there was only arena commander.

I log in and I see a ton of ships and dunno what to do! I want to explore the base, anything inside that leads outside while on foot?
 
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tuxfool

Banned
Sarcasm said:
So last free weekend I played there was only arena commander.

I log in and I see a ton of ships and dunno what to do! I want to explore the base, anything inside that leads outside while on foot?
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I dunno if you can explore ArcCorp with the free flight code. There should be a door at the back of the hangar with elevators to ArcCorp, try it and see if it works.
 
D

Dictator93

Member
tuxfool said:
This wasn't in before? I don't remember.
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I actually do not remember if the glass encasing with plants was in that building before...
But regarding the glass ahder. The previous glass shader did support cube maps, but that is about it. No lighting from sun or other lights. So regardless of lighting conditions the glass would basically just show the same cubemap. In addition to now reflecting and being lit by light sources it has a more realistic shading model (some fancy BRDF) so light propgates more realistically across its surface. That and it has some cool side effects... like not having overbearing glass flare in cock pits or it being properly shadowed.
tiled_glass.jpg


That is assuming they tick all the right boxes in the material parameters. Let's hope they tick those boxes...
 
Rephin

Rephin

Member
Question since I got a package full of ships instead of a single ship package like I had before: if I want to upgrade a certain ship in my package (looking at you, Gladius!), can I use one of those handy ship upgrade deals to swap it out for another ship without an issue? I don't want to try it and find out that it didn't work or it nukes the entire package for a single ship, lol.
 
Zalusithix

Zalusithix

Member
Rephin said:
Question since I got a package full of ships instead of a single ship package like I had before: if I want to upgrade a certain ship in my package (looking at you, Gladius!), can I use one of those handy ship upgrade deals to swap it out for another ship without an issue? I don't want to try it and find out that it didn't work or it nukes the entire package for a single ship, lol.
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It should just apply to the single ship in the package that it's applicable to. Any bug like the nuking of the entire package could be resolved by getting in touch with concierge anyhow.

What are you thinking of flipping the Gladius to? It's one of the reasons I bought the armada package, as I didn't already have it, and I knew I was going to get it eventually.
 
S

stewy

Member
What's the word on the single-player campaign? All these ships coming available is great and all, but I honestly tuned out a long time ago.
 
Rephin

Rephin

Member
Zalusithix said:
It should just apply to the single ship in the package that it's applicable to. Any bug like the nuking of the entire package could be resolved by getting in touch with concierge anyhow.

What are you thinking of flipping the Gladius to? It's one of the reasons I bought the armada package, as I didn't already have it, and I knew I was going to get it eventually.
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Probably the Hull-C I burned for the package once it comes back around, or the Carrack I burned, or maybe even an Orion or Reclaimer for GAF Org support. That Armada package already has enough warships, so one less fighter won't be missed by me, lol. :3. The second Sabre I have is also up on the chopping block too, for LTI transfer.
 
Zalusithix

Zalusithix

Member
Rephin said:
Probably the Hull-C I burned for the package once it comes back around, or the Carrack I burned, or maybe even an Orion or Reclaimer for GAF Org support. That Armada package already has enough warships, so one less fighter won't be missed by me, lol. :3. The second Sabre I have is also up on the chopping block too, for LTI transfer.
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Ah, I melted my separate Sabre (along with every other ship that'd end up as a duplicate) and retained my Carrack. I'll never melt my Carrack. Had to sacrifice the Hull C, Orion, M50, 350R, Cutlass Red, Mustang Delta and Khartu-Al though. The pack does indeed have a lot of combat oriented ships and I lost a chunk of my fleet's versatility in picking it up. I don't regret it though; the functionality of the Idris can't be duplicated with other ships. That and I'm sure the other ships sure will be back on sale at some point, but who knows if the Idris will be up again in a package cheaper than $5000.
 
Rephin

Rephin

Member
Zalusithix said:
Ah, I melted my separate Sabre (along with every other ship that'd end up as a duplicate) and retained my Carrack. I'll never melt my Carrack. Had to sacrifice the Hull C, Orion, M50, 350R, Cutlass Red, Mustang Delta and Khartu-Al though. The pack does indeed have a lot of combat oriented ships and I lost a chunk of my fleet's versatility in picking it up. I don't regret it though; the functionality of the Idris can't be duplicated with other ships. That and I'm sure the other ships sure will be back on sale at some point, but who knows if the Idris will be up again in a package cheaper than $5000.
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I hear you. I wanted an Idris but I didn't see myself spending 5k for one. Then the Armada package came, and almost half the ships in there were already in my account, with LTI, and I couldn't help myself. I'd like to get more non-combat oriented ships back eventually, so burning some of the ships I'm not crazy for in my package will go a long way towards getting that diversity back. Right now the Gladius is on the top of the chopping block, and I can also see myself dropping the Starfarer Gemini as well since my friend (who is trying to join GAF and the Org but has not been Junior'd in like, 5 months :/) already has a Gemini from the original sale and would be in a better position for support.
 
Zalusithix

Zalusithix

Member
Rephin said:
I hear you. I wanted an Idris but I didn't see myself spending 5k for one. Then the Armada package came, and almost half the ships in there were already in my account, with LTI, and I couldn't help myself. I'd like to get more non-combat oriented ships back eventually, so burning some of the ships I'm not crazy for in my package will go a long way towards getting that diversity back. Right now the Gladius is on the top of the chopping block, and I can also see myself dropping the Starfarer Gemini as well since my friend (who is trying to join GAF and the Org but has not been Junior'd in like, 5 months :/) already has a Gemini from the original sale and would be in a better position for support.
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The spare Sabre would probably be the prime candidate for the Hull C as the prices are extremely similar. The Gemini will have to go towards an Orion or Reclaimer unless they start allowing downgrades on hulls.

As for your friend, if he's still not allowed approved for GAF by the time the PU goes live in some form, I'm pretty sure we can let him in regardless. Not my call to make on that though.
 
R

Raticus79

Seek victory, not fairness
Zalusithix said:
The spare Sabre would probably be the prime candidate for the Hull C as the prices are extremely similar. The Gemini will have to go towards an Orion or Reclaimer unless they start allowing downgrades on hulls.

As for your friend, if he's still not allowed approved for GAF by the time the PU goes live in some form, I'm pretty sure we can let him in regardless. Not my call to make on that though.
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I'm thinking of just tracking that with the ranks. The 0 stars (Lurker) are the ones I didn't associate to a GAF name on the sheet yet (or just didn't check yet).
 
Zalusithix

Zalusithix

Member
Raticus79 said:
I'm thinking of just tracking that with the ranks. The 0 stars (Lurker) are the ones I didn't associate to a GAF name on the sheet yet (or just didn't check yet).
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Seems like a good use of the 0 star rank. It'll be interesting to see how many of those old members that haven't been active enough to fill in the roster data will even be around when the PU goes live. I imagine a fair number of them are base package backers that have just stopped paying attention to the game all together.
 
Zalusithix

Zalusithix

Member
Rephin said:
He applied. Do you want me to give him the org database sheet or should I manage his part for him?
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He's accepted. It really doesn't matter if he manages it himself or if you do it on his behalf.

Sarcasm said:
So when does the pricing update to reflect the change?
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Did they ever claim it was going to lower the prices? As far as I can tell the prices remain the same for the packages, but people that bought in before will get UEC back as a "thank you" for making it possible. Meanwhile people that pledge after never have to worry about getting additional passes down the line.
 
S

Sarcasm

Member
Zalusithix said:
He's accepted. It really doesn't matter if he manages it himself or if you do it on his behalf.



Did they ever claim it was going to lower the prices? As far as I can tell the prices remain the same for the packages, but people that bought in before will get UEC back as a "thank you" for making it possible. Meanwhile people that pledge after never have to worry about getting additional passes down the line.
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Not cheaper, but maybe streamline a few things.
 
nightmare-slain

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
can someone link me to a package that will give me access to the game right now and continued access through the alpha/beta/final release? i don't care what ship it is, although preferable private transport (not multi crew), as long as it's within the £35-55 price range (not sure what that is in dollars).

I know it's in alpha and it's to help pledges but damn it's confusing. I don't know what's what. they don't explain exactly what you have access to. some say i can play the arena today. some say i can start playing beta.
 
T

tuxfool

Banned
blly155 said:
can someone link me to a package that will give me access to the game right now and continued access through the alpha/beta/final release? i don't care what ship it is, although preferable private transport (not multi crew), as long as it's within the £35-55 price range (not sure what that is in dollars).
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Here you go:
~
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pledge/Packages/Mustang-Alpha-AC-Starter

There is another ship and you can change between them. But I recommend you start with this.
 
D

Danthrax

Batteries the CRISIS!
blly155 said:
can someone link me to a package that will give me access to the game right now and continued access through the alpha/beta/final release? i don't care what ship it is, although preferable private transport (not multi crew), as long as it's within the £35-55 price range (not sure what that is in dollars).

I know it's in alpha and it's to help pledges but damn it's confusing. I don't know what's what. they don't explain exactly what you have access to. some say i can play the arena today. some say i can start playing beta.
Click to expand...

One of their big announcements recently was that everyone gets alpha access now, regardless of package. And I think every package comes with beta access, so that's not a concern, either. Basically, pick a ship you like and get it. You'll be able to download what's available in the game immediately and get updates for free for life.

To help you out a little further, though, it sounds like you want an Aurora, which is the starter ship that can haul a small amount of cargo. Its package is here: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pledge/Packages/Aurora-MR-AC-Starter I have no idea how much it costs in pounds. It shows as US$45 for me.
 
Zalusithix

Zalusithix

Member
blly155 said:
can someone link me to a package that will give me access to the game right now and continued access through the alpha/beta/final release? i don't care what ship it is, although preferable private transport (not multi crew), as long as it's within the £35-55 price range (not sure what that is in dollars).

I know it's in alpha and it's to help pledges but damn it's confusing. I don't know what's what. they don't explain exactly what you have access to. some say i can play the arena today. some say i can start playing beta.
Click to expand...

Well, any package should give you access to AC and beyond now. They're simplifying it that much. Only stand alone ships wont give access to the game itself. That said, there's not much in the lines of private small transports. The Reliant is the ship best suited that that description, but it's not available currently. The next best in that price range that's currently available is probably the Aurora CL. It's the cargo variant of the Aurora line.

Also worth mentioning that Arena Commander is a combat sim with a side of racing. A cargo ship isn't going to be the most fun in either of those situations. You might be better served by something more combat oriented and upgrade it to a cargo ship when the PU hits.
 
R

Raticus79

Seek victory, not fairness
Got my Steam controller and I'm working on configuring it for Star Citizen now.

I'm running into some pretty rough usability issues with the initial configuration (reminds me of the Rift DK2). In order to use it with Star Citizen, the executable (not the launcher) needs to be added as a non-Steam game and it has to be launched from Big Picture mode.

I'm starting the launcher myself to log in and get it to patch, then starting my Steam shortcut after minimizing the launcher.

At the moment the Big Picture overlay is only drawn every other frame. I'm hoping that's just an issue with running on a 4k/60 while a 1440p/144 secondary monitor is connected. Will see if a reboot with both set to 60 FPS fixes it.

Edit: nope, still flickering. Also can't get into space flight - I'm guessing it doesn't like the way I'm launching it. Will see if I can get things working here.
 
I

Iced_Eagle

Member
Dictator93 said:
Also, them being back at the starting point regarding movement animation and code makes me think illfonic just had no fucking clue what they were doing.
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Well, the fact that the FPS movement basically ties into everything including Squadron 42 makes it pretty key. Was pretty bizarre they were letting Illfonic own that key system, but I imagine it came down to resourcing.

But you should really give them credit. CIG wants a pretty crazy FPS movement and animation system that is not really seen in any other games that I'm aware of. I think Illfonic did well, but they definitely weren't able to take it all the way to what CR wanted.
 
D

Dictator93

Member
tuxfool said:
I think it is less that they didn't have a clue, but that they simply didn't measure up to whatever goals CIG wanted out of them. One has to admit that the design for Star Marine is a bit out there.
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Iced_Eagle said:
Well, the fact that the FPS movement basically ties into everything including Squadron 42 makes it pretty key. Was pretty bizarre they were letting Illfonic own that key system, but I imagine it came down to resourcing.

But you should really give them credit. CIG wants a pretty crazy FPS movement and animation system that is not really seen in any other games that I'm aware of. I think Illfonic did well, but they definitely weren't able to take it all the way to what CR wanted.
Click to expand...
You guys point out some good stuff. I guess they wer ejust in over their heads for such a core engineering and functionality task.

And plus since CR wants it, it has to be really indepth and detailed.
 
M

MrBig

Member
Raticus79 said:
Got my Steam controller and I'm working on configuring it for Star Citizen now.

I'm running into some pretty rough usability issues with the initial configuration (reminds me of the Rift DK2). In order to use it with Star Citizen, the executable (not the launcher) needs to be added as a non-Steam game and it has to be launched from Big Picture mode.

I'm starting the launcher myself to log in and get it to patch, then starting my Steam shortcut after minimizing the launcher.

At the moment the Big Picture overlay is only drawn every other frame. I'm hoping that's just an issue with running on a 4k/60 while a 1440p/144 secondary monitor is connected. Will see if a reboot with both set to 60 FPS fixes it.
Click to expand...

I found it best to run BPM in windowed mode, so that I could shove it onto another monitor. Add " -windowed" to the shortcut target for steam and launch it through that shortcut. Games should not have to be launched through BPM to enable their profile, just from the steam client at all has worked for me.
 
G

GearDraxon

Member
Dictator93 said:
You guys point out some good stuff. I guess they wer ejust in over their heads for such a core engineering and functionality task.

And plus since CR wants it, it has to be really indepth and detailed.
Click to expand...

When the behind-the-scenes, no-punches-pulled book of Star Citizen is written, I will be skipping right to the FPS chapter.
 
M

mercenar1e

Member
Iced_Eagle said:
Well, the fact that the FPS movement basically ties into everything including Squadron 42 makes it pretty key. Was pretty bizarre they were letting Illfonic own that key system, but I imagine it came down to resourcing.

But you should really give them credit. CIG wants a pretty crazy FPS movement and animation system that is not really seen in any other games that I'm aware of. I think Illfonic did well, but they definitely weren't able to take it all the way to what CR wanted.
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When I heard CR vision for Star Marine I had a feeling problems would come up. The closest comparable game is ARMA and it took the developers years and over several games to get right. It's not a lack of funds that prevented a faster implementation either.

I don't know why they chose illFonic. They should have kept it in house and hired some of the guys over at RealTime Immersive

Geoff Keighley get to work on the final hours of star citizen lol

Mainly the network and multiplayer issues are holding us back on a functionality side.
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i thought they had this problem fixed months ago? seems like a re occurring problem.
 
G

Geist-

Member
mercenar1e said:
i thought they had this problem fixed months ago? seems like a re occurring problem.
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It will be a problem right up until launch, all online games have the same problem. Networking is by far the hardest part of game development and no matter how good you get it, it can always be better. And considering what CIG wants to do, it will always be a blocker, even after release, because they will always want to get more players into a single instance.
 
R

Raticus79

Seek victory, not fairness
MrBig said:
I found it best to run BPM in windowed mode, so that I could shove it onto another monitor. Add " -windowed" to the shortcut target for steam and launch it through that shortcut. Games should not have to be launched through BPM to enable their profile, just from the steam client at all has worked for me.
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Yup, that's a bit better. I have to have big picture mode running to get access to the in-game controller configuration, but at least it can be minimized now. It does use the config from regular steam mode once it's set.

I had to set that Steam shortcut to run as admin (matching the launcher) or it crashed every time I tried to get in space.

Currently trying out relative mode fixed guns with low friction trackball mode. Wish it had a "very low" friction mode. Maybe there's a way to do that with manual controller profile file editing. It's fantastic for whipping around asteroids but I'm landing about 1/100 shots right now, lol. Need to find the right balance for acceleration settings.
 
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