The implementation of Alpha 4.0 has always been seen as a relevant milestone for Star Citizen, and it has taken a long time. Yet, it’s almost here.
Many have been wondering if Cloud Imperium Games would keep the promise of releasing the massive update within 2024, and since it’s in advanced testing on the PTU, it appears that the finishing line is getting close.
Today Cloud Imperium Games released a new video that showcases what we can expect from the update starting with (static) server meshing, an important underlying technology that will greatly increase the number of players per server and hopefully improve performance at the same time.
Of course, we can’t talk about Alpha 4.0 without mentioning the first jump point that will allow players to travel between the existing Stanton system and the brand-new Pyro system, which will bring many more explorable planets, moons, and space stations basically doubling the game’s playground.
Within Pyro, we’ll also find the Contested Zones, which are PvPvE areas where players can face challenging ground battles for loot.
The game’s fauna will also be expanded alongside new missions, new factions, new cave types, and the new Mirai Guardian heavy fighter.
We’re also getting a big overhaul of the FOIP feature (Face Over IP) that will likely grace the internet with a whole slew of new memes.
If the name Star Citizen doesn’t ring a bell, it’s a crowdfunded project directed by Chris Roberts of Wing Commander fame. It’s a multiplayer sandbox space simulator that will release exclusively for PC.
The crowdfunding total has recently passed $765 million ($765,506,704 at the moment of this writing) and the game has 5,462,933 registered users. Of course, many of them aren’t paying customers, as they register accounts to enjoy Free Fly Events like the one that ended last week.
A few weeks ago, we also got to see plenty of features and tech coming to the game, on top of the overall vision for version 1.0, which will be the full release of the game, albeit it doesn’t yet have a date.
A single-player campaign titled Squadron 42 is also in development, starring an exceptional cast of famous actors including Mark Hamill, Henry Cavill, Gary Oldman, Liam Cunningham, Gillian Anderson, and more. Recently we saw plenty of gameplay and learned that it’ll release in 2026.
Since the project has been in development for over a decade, you can also see how Squadron 42 evolved since its first reveals.
Full disclosure: the author of this article has backed Star Citizen’s crowdfunding campaign.
