Star Citizen Megathread - Fly FREE thru Dec 14th! Link in OP - Games

[URL="http://www.pcgamer.com/cloud-imperium-games-addresses-star-citizen-concerns/"]PC Gamer writes a genuinely fair article about Ben's forum posts.[/URL] Even though half the article is basically pasting Ben's comments, I'm satisfied with this article, and that's a surprise given the big gamejourno sites' usual track records.

speak of the devil [img]http://i.imgur.com/tyqbhBV.png[/img] on the point of the cramped quarters, yeah the ship feels hilariously small on the inside and besides the fancy metallic trim, doesn't feel much more luxurious than the aurora's little interior tube space. fuck, the aurora's little bed loft with a goddamn moon roof is pretty awesome compared to the 3xx's fold-out hallway cot it'd be vastly improved by making the interior space actually useable, even if you end up stacking cargo in the same space and walling it off. To be honest I didn't even know the sides of the hallway were the cargo space, assuming it was just the entrance floor space somehow. it feels like the entrance is wasteful with the double door design and a rather large empty area compared to the rest of the ship. What's it for? It feels like the ship could buckle with that open area and nothing but skin surrounding it. I'd say (if krail's external pods aren't an option), flip it around and minimize the opulence a bit. one door on the side near the cockpit, systems in the middle, cargo along the sides toward the back, and a small hallway running back to access engine junk.

Ditch the double doors. Ingress and egress via the docking port or the cockpit canopy.

I'd love to be back in the game with most people here, but I'm operating on 150GB a month and can't afford to update that much (10MB/s). Waiting for the second or third patch once FPS module comes out before updating. [editline]wait[/editline] Wait, can the updater be scheduled for certain times? I get unlimited downloads (Doesn't count towards monthly limit) from 2-8AM.

[QUOTE=Daemon White;48167227] Wait, can the updater be scheduled for certain times? I get unlimited downloads (Doesn't count towards monthly limit) from 2-8AM.[/QUOTE] I don't think so. Maybe you can start the download, then set your router to throttle internet til a set time? My CISCO router lets me kill internet access except for specific times. I haven't played the game since December because I hate the piece of shit installer/updater so much. Nothing like having to redownload 25 gigs of random shit every patch because they added a fish and changed a texture, then having the updater break and puke up an error at the end of a 7 hour download.

Yeah, nothing for upload times / scheduling, but it does have a speed limit. I'll go put a bug in their ear about that option.

I think theirs a group policy object that can accomplish that task.

[url]https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/271393/not-really-a-game-idea-but-something-for-the-launcher-downloading-scheduler[/url] Posted on the "Game Ideas" forum. Not sure where else it would fit in since it's not a technical issue or anything like that.

[IMG]https://robertsspaceindustries.com/media/eqvhktno5r542r/post_section_header/Flair_july.jpg[/IMG] [URL="https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14827-July-Subscriber-Flair"]This month's subscriber flair is a chunk of a Scythe from the Vanduul carrier that was recovered intact[/URL] (the first, since Vanduul prefer to self-destruct over capture) that enabled the lore to support the Scythe sale. It bobs and rotates in its case. The Ellis IX space rock case was also updated to the new model. As usual, if anyone wants one, I'll proxy-buy it for you and gift it to you for the exact cost ($5). [t]https://i.imgur.com/T6DC37d.jpg[/t] [t]https://i.imgur.com/yn8S0H7.jpg[/t] [URL="https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14829-Star-Marine-Status-Update"]This week's Star Marine update is live.[/URL] There is a poll for a few different kinds of rifle sight (and the sights will be modular equipment for various weapons eventually). [QUOTE]An Internal playtest using a new version of the launcher across all of our studios. The new launcher successfully patched itself and the game client, and did it about 3 times faster than older launcher. The internal playtest was also our first run through on the freshly-developed Generic Instance Manager (see Chris Roberts’ [URL="https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14803-Letter-From-The-Chairman"]latest letter[/URL] for details on this tech.)[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]The complete juke/start/stop set for the Run animation is complete as of today. We are still seeing a slight pop in some quick transitions but it is a significant improvement![/QUOTE] [QUOTE]We have re-integrated a crosshair reticle into the HUD. This is not a traditional eye’s front cross hair, it is more like a visible laser “red dot” aim system that points where your muzzle is pointing. In previous builds, we had disabled this because of weapon animation issues and because QA was using the crosshair exclusively to hip fire their weapons while on the move. We made the decision to bring it back thanks to improvements to the weapons animations. We will deal with the run & gun gameplay using other designer-tunable methods. John Crewe at Foundry 42 has several knobs and dials he can use to tune these values until they feel right to us. Then when we get it into your hands we’ll listen for your feedback and be able to respond.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]The VFX and Tech Art teams did a performance pass on the Gold Horizon level last week that informed a bunch of optimization work that we were able to integrate this week. [URL="https://player.vimeo.com/video/133192308"][del]Below[/del]here you can find a video[/URL] that showcases some VFX in the level that look great and are much less costly to client performance.[/QUOTE] FPS's blockers: [QUOTE]Melee attacks aren’t working/animating.There are a couple of animations using the weapons that we need to clean up and properly randomize so players aren’t doing the same attack all the time. It’s a last ditch attack, though, I don’t recommend it. Hopefully you can put a little distance between you and your enemy with these attacks. Sorry, [B]Disco Rambo[/B], no combat knife one shot kills just yet. Ongoing weapon recoil issues: we need to get animation, tools, and code support in a place where designers can effectively tune recoil values; timing, muzzle rise, drift, etc without having to change animation assets. There are still a number of locomotion animations still need to be cleaned up and integrated. - Starts/Stops/Jukes for Crouch movement - Crouch Locomotion and Idle pass - Weapon Select and deselect broken in Standing for all weapons - Weapon Select and deselect broken in Crouch for all weapons - Weapon Select and deselect broken in Prone for all weapons - Hurt/injured Animation Locomotion - From healthy to Injured State Animations - ADS to Lowered, ADS to Idle, Idle to ADS, Lowered to ADS - Jump for Stocked, Pistol- from Standing - Jump for Stocked, Pistol- from Crouch - New Grenade Throw animation and implementation for Stocked and Pistol in Stand - New Grenade Throw animation and implementation for Stocked and Pistol in Crouch Bugs relating to Hit Reactions. Our first person and third animations, being synced, may cause gameplay related issues with getting it. Correcting this will require some additional R&D and tuning to feel good. We are seeing some inconsistencies in the way characters are dying and how they ragdoll.[/QUOTE] [URL="http://massivelyop.com/2015/07/10/the-soapbox-star-citizen-is-still-worth-the-wait/"]MassivelyOP published an op-ed about SC[/URL]; TL;DR "calm down, it's worth waiting for" [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr8x6lrWP8I"]RtV[/URL] happened while I was asleep and I haven't watched it yet, but [URL="http://imperialnews.network/2015/07/reverse-verse-episode-54-notes/"]here's how it went according to INN[/URL]. - 1.1.5 to PTU [B]hopefully[/B] next week but, as usual, no promises - Too early to get specific about the 300i redesign, shouldn't change the shape too much, mostly about getting all the internals in and happy, and also bringing the model current to all of the advances in tech since the early days when it was built, "in dire need of a review". - The Crucible repair ship is in concept, it probably won't be the next ship we see, but it's not [I]that[/I] far off - There will be a panel at San Diego Comic Con, with CR, David Haddock, Sandi, Ben, and Disco Lando up front; no livestream (SDCC said so), no big presentation or demo, just Q&A and to meet the team - Next year might see another The Next Great Starship (for people who weren't around for TNGS v1, that's where the Redeemer came from); TNGS should go much better now that the ship pipeline is in play - In a reversal of what we have been hearing for months, Foundry 42 now needs the Xi'An Scout, so it's coming "sooner" :dance: - The P-52 Merlin should make for a good racing ship. The Archimedes (the Phoenix's version of the Merlin) is one of the next things on the to-do, and they want it to be more than just a Merlin recolour - The Merlin will be sold separately and is the cheapest ship; [B]it will not have a Quantum Drive or a Jump drive[/B]. Standalone Merlins will not sell with LTI. All Connie (except Taurus, no snubship there) owners will get a Merlin, Phoenix owners' being a loaner until the Archimedes is finished, and 890J/Carrack/Idris owners will get a loaner Merlin for their associated snubships. - Merlin will be flyable in 1.1.5 but will not show in your hangar yet; technical issue that needs to be resolved - Merlin is competitive with the M50 in racing, the community team is requesting Merlin racing footage from QA - Gamescom will "probably" see the HOTAS announcement everyone's been waiting for. Tons of paperwork involved, Sandi's pushing to get a prototype - Hair tech in progress, since everyone's bald right now; Sandi's character was bald during her mocap. - On Squadron 42's control balance, per INN: "Significantly final… but final for SQ42. Controller balance in the sense people usually think of it doesn’t matter when there’s not another player. Likely not final controller model for PU, will probably change after SQ42 to some extent. Will be final enough to allow people with mouse/joystick/HOTAS/etc to play SQ42 campaign." - "Hours" away from finishing the interiors of the Vanguard and then it's onto the variants - The new pathless "I have X ship and I want Y ship" CCU system is "very close" and is being tested heavily; as usual, always have to upgrade upwards in cost, not down (excluding lateral swaps and the few weirdos as usual) - Connie redesign will be ready for AC 2.0 - "Terrapin not expected to go on sale or be made at all." (RIP) - 1842 Genesis Starliners sold, holy shit - "Endeavor is hard core Sci-Fi… very much like a classic Sci-Fi ship." - "The big component changes are not in 1.1.5. Component changes are a giant sweeping set of updates to pretty much everything they have setup" - Mark Skelton walks into the stream and shares a hazy thought for old times' sake: If one synchronized swimmer dies, do they all have to die? - Retaliator is "most certain" for being ready for AC2.0 of the larger ships - Reclaimer will be ready when salvage is ready for AC, not priority - The rooms system is "just part of the game now" - Large World is coming along great and more news should be coming soon

This could be taken two ways and they're polar opposites: "Endeavor is hard core Sci-Fi… very much like a classic Sci-Fi ship."

[QUOTE=Mbbird;48176920]This could be taken two ways and they're polar opposites: "Endeavor is hard core Sci-Fi… very much like a classic Sci-Fi ship."[/QUOTE] "Endeavor looks “cool”, clearly a research ship" That doesn't really clarify much; I still haven't watched the stream so I'm directly quoting INN there and don't know anything more yet. We'll see the Endeavour soon enough, I'm sure. We're only four months away from another anniversary sale, remember, and last time around the Javelin and Carrack both went up for concept on the tail end of it.

Goddamnit RSI, when I finally have cash you make the ships I want unavailable for purchase. [editline]11th July 2015[/editline] Like, what's the point of filling the store with ships and then restricting me from throwing money at them?

[QUOTE=Viper123_SWE;48176956]Goddamnit RSI, when I finally have cash you make the ships I want unavailable for purchase. [editline]11th July 2015[/editline] Like, what's the point of filling the store with ships and then restricting me from throwing money at them?[/QUOTE] What ships are you talking about, exactly?

That certainty of the Tali for 2.0 is certainly exciting. Can't wait for december to roll around

[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;48177118]What ships are you talking about, exactly?[/QUOTE] Cutlass Blue, Carrack, Herald and the Vanguard.

Well, you should have a chance at the Herald and Blue soon, at least. I imagine the Blue will go on sale when the variants are flyable, or the anniversary event in 4 months, whichever is first. Herald is going to be hangar-ready soon since it's needed for SQ42. The next few months are going to be exciting. I bet thousands of people are going to back to get into Star Marine when the fps first rolls out on PTU for low Citizen numbers, thinking they'll get instant access (they'll get it when the rollout catches up to the end of the list, of course). Calling it.

What about the Carrack and Vanguard? Wait untill they're hangar-ready?

You missed out on the Vanguard's concept sale back in March; it's got a ways to go, although you [I]may[/I] have a crack at them in the anni sale, who knows. As for the Carrack, if we're [I]lucky[/I] it'll be hangar-ready by the anniversary sale, seeing as it doesn't seem to be a SQ42 priority or anything. It's a larger ship, so those take more time to detail and finish, so it's understandable. Unless they come up for sale during the anni sale, you have no choice but to wait until they're hangar-ready. :v: I mean, you [B]could[/B] buy them on the grey market but honestly you'll be paying such a ridiculous premium for LTI, when it's not going to be that big of a deal, that you might as well wait for an official sale--which is going to be no sooner than either anniversary sale 4 months from now or hangar-readiness [I]whenever that comes[/I], which'll be >4mo for the Vanguard at least. You're not missing out on anything by not having any of those ships right now since none of them are even hangar-ready yet.

Alright, thanks.

The Carrack is definitely being worked on, directly or indirectly, because Tony Z has been putting some time into fleshing out the science profession, and that's the Carrack's primary purpose. [URL="https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/comment/5291154/#Comment_5291154"]Lisa Ohanian (aka Ship Shape) says,[/URL] "we've got 3 artists on the Constellation right now and are just wrapping up the greybox. Personally I would guess this would be one of the Legitimately Soon(tm) ships." Derky Sharts hasn't milked himself dry yet; [URL="https://i.imgur.com/gJx2PMO.png"]he tried to take his latest conspiracy theory essay to SA[/URL] and they just reposted his Facebook posts he said he'd sue over if anyone reposted. Fucked right off and then [URL="https://archive.is/4foZx"]tried to contact Lowtax[/URL] to get them deleted. [sp]The delicious irony is that, after spending pages complaining about SC being late and claiming he'd have his conspiracy shitheory up by Friday; it's late.[/sp] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/3fOSVLw.png[/IMG] SA, you're doing God's work. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/qlohVbV.png[/IMG] And the narcissistic fucker tiptoes the line on defamation and reveals his endgame: He wants to sabotage CIG by forcing them to submit to discovery and blow a lot of backer money fighting a legal battle against his FTC-complaining proxy soldiers. And for anyone that doesn't have it, this is what a Golden Ticket looks like in-game: [t]http://i.imgur.com/EIUqB0l.png[/t]

Uh okay I'm very confused I bought the game and launched it and it just drops me into some hangar? What do I do now? Is there a tutorial or something? Is this supposed to happen? [t]http://i.imgur.com/yH52hFG.png[/t]

[QUOTE=Coyoteze;48188184]Uh okay I'm very confused I bought the game and launched it and it just drops me into some hangar? What do I do now? Is there a tutorial or something? Is this supposed to happen? [t]http://i.imgur.com/yH52hFG.png[/t][/QUOTE] There's a console-like orb thing that enters you into Arena Commander (Or enter it from the pause menu) where you can fly around freely, race, or fight AI in whatever ship you have available. [editline]12th July 2015[/editline] Also, I don't think that white space is supposed to be there.

[QUOTE=Daemon White;48188259]There's a console-like orb thing that enters you into Arena Commander (Or enter it from the pause menu) where you can fly around freely, race, or fight AI in whatever ship you have available. [editline]12th July 2015[/editline] Also, I don't think that white space is supposed to be there.[/QUOTE] I'm trying to get my Thrustmaster Hotas X setup working but I have no idea what button it assigns to what, I'm so confused And there's a million different buttons on the keyboard it has assigned as well, how am I supposed to remember all this shit

[QUOTE=Coyoteze;48188184]Uh okay I'm very confused I bought the game and launched it and it just drops me into some hangar? What do I do now? Is there a tutorial or something? Is this supposed to happen? [t]http://i.imgur.com/yH52hFG.png[/t][/QUOTE] This is your hangar, your "house" once the full game's going. Right now it's just the default place you load into and can look around. That huge white square is definitely wrong; the latest patch broke some shit with LoDs in the hangars. The R&Y (luxury) hangar has a bunch of geometry that goes missing when you're not close enough to it. As Daemon said, you can get into the actual flying shit by hitting esc and clicking "Arena Commander" (the dogfighting module), or you can walk up to and use the Sim Pod (which is roughly behind you in that screenshot). It looks like this: [t]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9ScmrNIIAAwfyA.jpg:large[/t] Once you're in the AC menu, you're presented with Spectrum match (online multiplayer), Drone Sim (offline SP; has all of the online gamemodes that are not PVP), and the tutorial. I recommend the tutorial first, but you can also do what all of us did before the tutorial: Go into drone sim free flight and just get some practice in. Learning how to fly is not the easiest thing, and there's a definite learning curve, but we'll be more than happy to help you with any questions you have. In fact, in maybe 2-3 hours, is anyone interested in doing some free-flight fuckabout? This means you, Coyoteze (after you've had a chance to fly alone first, if you want). :smile: [QUOTE=Coyoteze;48188323]I'm trying to get my Thrustmaster Hotas X setup working but I have no idea what button it assigns to what, I'm so confused And there's a million different buttons on the keyboard it has assigned as well, how am I supposed to remember all this shit[/QUOTE] I don't have a HOTAS myself so I don't have personal expertise with what you're dealing with (aside from the control map being overwhelming to look at, that's totally understandable), but joystick mapping with SC at the moment can be a total bitch until you get it right. Just ask Why485. [URL="https://github.com/SCToolsfactory/SCJMapper-V2/releases/tag/v2.13beta"]You may want to try this to get your joystick inputs mapped [/URL]without fucking around with SC, and it'll generate your keybindings for you and you'll be able to import them into the game. [URL="https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/110454/guide-actionmap-and-controller-mapping/p1"]More instructions are here[/URL], although I can't vouch for how up to date the OP is for what's happening [I]now[/I]. Someone else in the thread will be much better at answering this than me. I do, however, know that you are going to be able to import your bindings, as well as export a copy of them so that you can throw them back in whenever they're reset (typically by a patch). Don't worry about [U]all[/U] of the keybindings. At the base level, flying with K+M, you only need WASD (pitch/yaw), QE (roll), RF (vertical up/down translation), C and V (target closest enemy and target ship your HUD is centered on), shift (boost, makes the flight computer throw everything it has to accomplish maneuvers), spacebar (Newtonian spacebrake), and capslock (coupled/decoupled mode). Sure, that sounds like a lot, but the in-game tutorial will guide you through the basics. Targeting functions aside, those should map reasonably well to HOTAS. Also, not to start the conversation about fuckhead over again, but our cousins over at SA did what they do best. [video=youtube;4BV7rc9CJvc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BV7rc9CJvc[/video]

[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;48188355]Learning how to fly is not the easiest thing, and there's a definite learning curve[/QUOTE] And see I have a bit of a problem with that because I play games to have [I]fun[/I], not to spend hours learning how the game works. I like being able to jump in and just within a very short time span figure out how everything works. Bonus points if the game works with whatever controllers I set out to use. And by "jump in" I don't mean what this game does with literally just throwing you into the game with absolutely no direction. It's like it assumes you know everything from the get go. "Elite: Dangerous" is brilliant because not only are the vanilla controls totally plug-and-play with the TS Hotas X, but there aren't thirty thousand different buttons that do twenty million things. Hyperbole aside, if the key mapping menu makes me go "What the fuck is this" or "How do I even do that" even once, then it goes from being a game to being a chore. And I'd prefer not doing chores before I can have fun. I'll pick this up again tomorrow when I'm not cranky from being tired, but right now this just isn't fun for me.

You [I]did[/I] buy into a space sim. The game has a learning curve, and it's also not finished - you may need to adjust your expectations. Elite, for all its faults, was polished up for a retail launch and was largely successful in tightening itself up for gameplay and handling; Star Citizen is in pre-alpha. The joystick configuration situation is bullshit right now, from everything that I've been able to tell, but it's not in a final state any more than the rest of the game. You don't need "hours" to learn how the game works, but you didn't buy an arcade shooter, you bought into an immersive space sim that's still in heavy development. Aside from the joystick situation, I'd be happy to personally teach you how to control the game and fly. The keypad map is overwhelming but it's actually not as terrible as it all looks once you spend a little bit of time at it. Again, not [I]hours[/I] of time.

[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;48188850]You [I]did[/I] buy into a space sim. The game has a learning curve, and it's also not finished - you may need to adjust your expectations. Elite, for all its faults, was polished up for a retail launch and was largely successful in tightening itself up for gameplay and handling; Star Citizen is in pre-alpha. The joystick configuration situation is bullshit right now, from everything that I've been able to tell, but it's not in a final state any more than the rest of the game. You don't need "hours" to learn how the game works, but you didn't buy an arcade shooter, you bought into an immersive space sim that's still in heavy development. Aside from the joystick situation, I'd be happy to personally teach you how to control the game and fly. The keypad map is overwhelming but it's actually not as terrible as it all looks once you spend a little bit of time at it. Again, not [I]hours[/I] of time.[/QUOTE] An alpha shouldn't have a price-tag of 37 dollars. 15 dollars, maybe. But I'd expect something a bit more polished for the price. I did get the 50-dollar one simply because apparently 37-dollar doesn't come with the actual alpha/beta. Which is, uh, weird. I get the whole "Pledge" ordeal, but it's still steep for something that isn't fully functional and won't be for what looks like another year. Regardless, while I didn't expect an arcade shooter I did expect something that didn't have this lack of user-friendliness. It took me an hour to navigate the menu and finally get something that resembled an "okay" joystick setup, and that includes trial and error in the tutorial. That's not fun. And you can call it an immersive space sim if you want to, but to me immersion does not equal frustration. I appreciate your offer, but no thanks. The problem is that you or anyone at all would need to "teach" me the controls. I'm done with school, I'm done with teachers. I don't want to sit down and have to "learn" the controls. That's what I mean with it feeling like a chore. It should be quick and easy and after a few minutes of looking I should be ready to go. Any issues I have should be easily fixed in the menu. This isn't the case here, by extension I don't find it fun.

The Aurora ES package is the cheapest tier to buy in for the final game, for people who just want the final product for the lowest price (approximately half the retail price) and don't care about playing during development. The final game will cost $60, and Kickstarter backers were promised that their pledge costs would be [U]the[/U] cheapest offered, and the Kickstarter started at $20 (not counting the token "you contributed and get a thank you but no ship" tiers at like $5)--it cannot go lower than that or else they'll piss off a few hundred thousand people. You bought an alpha and then expected it not to be an alpha. I don't really know what to say to you except that, with a bit of patience, you'll get over this hump. I can't force you to have that patience, but we've all been through basically the exact same thing as you and once you come to grips with the very basics, most everything else falls into place. I sympathize and agree with you on the current joystick situation specifically, though -- it is [I]far[/I] from ideal.

The ship does have an auto-land and take off function. But yeah... it's a sim. Things aren't going to be as easy as Warthunder's normal or arcade mode (Never tried it's sim mode). In it's current state, it allows you time to free fly and get used to your ship without penalty. Learn how to fly around, auto land and take off, get through all the controls, etc. It's a bit to take in but I didn't find it too hard to get into at all (Different for everyone).

Or asked here if you weren't sure the game was for you. If somebody doesn't already know what they're getting into, I wouldn't really recommend somebody buying into Star Citizen. Not yet anyway. There isn't really a game, and what little there is, is super buggy and janky. Also saying the game is hard because "it's a sim" is a bit disingenuous. From the player's perspective, Star Citizen isn't really that much more complicated than Elite. However, Elite is extremely polished and user friendly, [I]especially[/I] in the new player experience department. Star Citizen is hard to get into because it does fuck all to help get you started, and even what's there for the people who have been playing since day one is unintuitive and very clunky.