Today the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2954 has started in Star Citizen, and the growing game by Cloud Imperium Games is free to play for the event’s duration.
If you want to try the game and make your own opinion about it, or simply enjoy the current build (alpha 2.24.3) and all the ships and vehicles that are currently playable, all you have to do is to create an account on the official site and download the game.
The game will remain free to play until the end of the event on December 5.
Incidentally, it’s advisable to start in New Babbage, as you’ll just have to get out of your room and take the subway to get to the event.
The first day of IAE 2954 is dedicated to manufacturers Crusader and Tumbril and coincides with the launch of the Intrepid, a new starter ship by Crusader.
Funnily, as you can see below, the Intrepid pretty much has the vibe of a rich kid’s first car paid for by their parents, which is hilariously self-aware.
We also get another video in which the developers talk about the transition from Time to Kill to Time to Disable with the coming of physicalized damage.
Perhaps the most exciting news comes from the Q&A at the end, in which we hear that the Carrack is finally getting reworked for Alpha 4.0, including the promised Blast Shields and Cargo Doors. We even get a glimpse of the features in action.
Last, but not least, this year’s show comes with a small event of its own titled IAE Academy 2954. You can complete three of the five tasks listed below to get some prizes.
Here are the tasks:
- Play the Tutorial
- Visit IAE
- Complete the “Tracker Training Permit Certification” mission
- Complete the “Opportunity for Independent Cargo Hauler” mission
- Mine and sell ore (either with a ship or a hand tool)
Completion will be tracked on this page and the prizes include the following.
- IAE 2954 In-Game Event Shirt (White)
- Combat Career kit:
- ORC-mkX Singularity Armor Set
- Stoneskin Undersuit
- P4-AR “Nightstalker” Rifle
- Gemini L86 Pistol
If you’re unfamiliar with Star Citizen, it’s a crowdfunded project directed by Chris Roberts of Wing Commander fame. It’s a multiplayer sandbox space simulator exclusive for PC.
The game has just passed $749 million in crowdfunding ($740,098,042 at the moment of this writing) and counts 5,406,753 registered users. Of course, many of them aren’t paying customers, as they register accounts to enjoy Free Fly Events like the one that just started.
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.
The game will also have a single-player campaign titled Squadron 42, 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.
