As promised earlier this weektoday Cloud Imperium Games finally released the last major update for Star Citizen, Alpha 3.18.
The update was determined to be the largest ever released for an evolving space game since version 3.0 in December 2017. It includes many new features like the first iteration of rescue gameplay, an overhaul of the cargo system, more rivers, sand caves and much more.
We’re also getting relevant new technology, including Persistent Entity Streaming, which will allow objects to remain in the universe regardless of the players who placed them, abandoned them, or simply lost them.
This is a very unique and definitely innovative technology for online gaming and it will be interesting to see how it affects A star citizengame environment. Essentially, if you drop a cup of coffee or leave your ship somewhere in the greater Stanton system, someone visiting the same place will find what you left behind. This is especially interesting when combined with rescue.
This major update took longer to implement than many of its predecessors, but it’s finally here. You can read a summary of the main beats below, with full patch notes available here.
- Constant streaming of essences – Technology: Persistence throughout the universe
- Dawn of Salvage – Gameplay: Hull Scraping
- Drake Vulture – Vehicle: A specialized rescue vessel
- Soft Death – Gameplay: immobility of the car
- RSI Scorpius Antares – Vehicle: EMP equipped heavy fighter
- Refactoring of the cargo system – function: redesign of the cargo mechanic
- Gen12 Graphics Renderer – Technology: An update to the next generation graphics engine
- Natural wonders – locations: sand caves and rivers
- Secrets of Daymar – Location: 600i and Mercury settlement
- Kareah Reactivation – Location: Kareah Post Security Space Station Upgrade
- All New Missions – Gameplay: New missions in Orison and Klescher
- High Speed Thrills – Locations: new racetracks
We also get a couple of update trailers focusing on the update as a whole, Drake Vulture and RSI Scorpius.
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At this time, A star citizenThe growing crowdfunding campaign continues to grow, and the game has just been released 553 million dollars ($553,001,907 at the time of writing) raised by sponsors.
The number of registered users has also recently surpassed 4.4 million and now stands at 4,433,923, although not all of them are paying, as many register accounts to access the popular free events, which offer a chance to try out the game without making a deposit. According to the latest information shared by creative director Chris Roberts himself in October 2022, 1.7 million players are actually paying customers. Of course, this number was a few months ago, so it may be higher now.
A star citizen The best year ever for crowdfunding has just come to a close, with 2022 pledging a whopping $113 million, a 31% increase over 2021. Since 2018, this indicator has been steadily increasing from year to year.
Full disclosure: The author of this post supported Star Citizen back when its crowdfunding first launched in September 2012.