Star Citizen is supposed to receive its Alpha 4.0 update at some point this year, and with it, a completely new star system named Pyro.
Of course, to be able to reach a new star system, players will need a form of hyperspace travel, and in Star Citizen, this is done via jump points.
The jump point leading to Pyro (alongside others) is already built in the current Stanton System, but it’s non-functional. When 4.0 rolls around, it will power up and players will be able to make the jump, pretty much doubling the content available to enjoy.
But how does this jump point work? Design Director Rick Porter and Senior Principal Systems Designer Edward Fuller provided a ton of details in a livestreamed Q&A.
Incidentally, it’s worth mentioning that a portion of the player base already tested the jump point in dedicated sessions, but 4.0 will mark the first time this is open to all backers (and likely everyone else via Free Fly events), and it’ll bring a much-refined experience compared to the tests.
It’s also relevant that the Jump Point between Stanton and Pyro is permanent. There will also be transient Jump Points that will last from a few hours to an undefined time frame, and that players will have to discover, but these won’t come in 4.0.
First of all, while we already knew that players will have to contact ATC and wait to be cleared to use the Jump Point, but now we learn that players who have committed crimes to the point of accruing a Crime Stat level 3 will not be allowed to do so.
This will work both ways. While Pyro is mostly not monitored by the authorities so you’ll be able to kill other players and NPCs without getting a Crime Star in most of the system, you’ll still be able to be charged for a crime in the proximity of the jump point, which is protected by the UEE Navy.
At the moment, the developers are considering ways to clear one’s crime stat in Pyro besides getting arrested and going to jail.
Using a Jump Point consumes Quantum Fuel. The quantity will be fixed depending on the Jump Point and is still being decided. You’ll know how much fuel you need when you attune to the Jump Point and you won’t be able to start the trip unless you have enough fuel to complete it.
Of course, each permanent Jump Point has a space station nearby, so you can refuel there if needed.
If you take enough damage in the jump tunnel that your jump drive overloads (mostly by failing to navigate it correctly), you’ll be thrown out into normal space, but this is not a shortcut as you’ll be lost somewhere at the edge of the system with a damaged ship, assuming you survive the exit.
Navigating a jump tunnel is “a bit of a rollercoaster” but permanent Jump Points will require attention. Players will have to avoid obstacles (which are currently in development and will be implemented in 4.0) and contend with turbulence. Smaller ships will be affected by turbulence to a greater extent than bigger ships, but larger ones will, in turn, have a harder time avoiding obstacles due to less maneuvering space.
The tunnel is procedurally generated and since the Jump Point implemented in 4.0 is a permanent one, it won’t require a “lot of skill” to navigate. Transient ones will get “spicy.”
Jump Drives have different sizes corresponding to the size of ships and will affect how players will be able to handle turbulence, specifically determining the handling of the ship in the jump tunnel to an extent (roll, pitch, speed, etc.). Players will be able to choose which Jump Drive is suitable for the way to play.
Combat will be impossible within the Jump tunnel as requires leaving Nav mode, which turns off the Jump Drive, and in turn, would cause you to be dropped out of the tunnel failing the jump. Hand-held weapons also won’t work, as projectiles don’t have their own jump drive, so they would be dropped out of the tunnel as soon as they leave the volume of a ship.
The reason why players have to pretty much line up to enter the Jump Point is because it’s actually a physicalized entryway that has to be flown into. That being said you don’t actually need to just sit there. After requesting ATC clearance, you can fly anywhere within range of ATC (which is very large) until it’s your turn to jump. You also don’t need to stay in NAV mode until you actually have to enter the jump tunnel.
The area will also be defended by AI turrets. If they don’t prove effective enough, more drastic measures may be taken. Of course, ATC and AI protection won’t be provided at transient Jump Points.
ATC has control of your jump drive, so you won’t be able to attune to the permanent Jump Point at all unless you have clearance. Of course, this is specific to Jump Points in UEE-controlled space. The way this will work in Jump Points controlled by other powers is TBD.
We also heard a tease about “new technologies” that haven’t been shared yet that would affect how players are protected from griefers, but no further details were given.
When you exit a Jump Point there will be a slight positional divergence so that multiple ships won’t come out exactly in the same spot causing collisions. Players in a group will exit close to each other, but there are various possible exit points in a wide area to prevent gate camping.
Players who die during a jump for whatever reason will return to the last point where they have set their respawn. It’s also impossible to tow ships through a jump point. If you want to bring more unmanned ships or vehicles through a jump point, you’ll need to put them in your ship’s hangar or hold.
There is no plan to bring back the massive Jump Gate rings showcased in early concept art, simply because in the lore of Star Citizen Jump Points are natural phenomena and aren’t created or maintained by human technology. That being said, the developers can never say never.
When they are implemented, transient Jump Points will be detected via radar and there will be different models of radar that are more sensitive to their specific signature. They will also possibly have different sizes unlike the one coming in 4.0 which will be large.
The developers mentioned the possibility of transient jump points leading to a global event area and staying open for the duration of the event, and Porter commented “I wouldn’t say we don’t have plans for that.”
You can watch the full video below.
It’s worth mentioning that the content mentioned here won’t come in the next update, which is Alpha 3.24 and is currently being tested ahead of implementation. The plan is to release alpha 4.0 at some point in 2024.
If you’re unfamiliar with Star Citizen, it’s a crowdfunded multiplayer open-universe sandbox space simulator that has been in development for over a decade. It’s directed by Chris Roberts, who created the beloved Wing Commander series.
It has received over $716 million in crowdfunding ($716,371,411 at the moment of this writing) and counts 5,312,266 registered users, albeit many of them aren’t paying customers, as they register accounts to participate in Free Fly events.
A single-player campaign named Squadron 42 is also in development, and it will feature a star-studded cast including Mark Hamill, Henry Cavill, Gary Oldman, Liam Cunningham, Gillian Anderson, and several more well-known actors.
If you’re interested in Star Citizen, learning how to fly certainly can’t hurt. To that end, you can check out our helpful guide on how to get started with flight simulators.
Full disclosure: the author of this article has backed Star Citizen’s crowdfunding campaign.
