Day One at CitizenCon: Star Citizen Discusses Tools, Gear, Social Features, Squadron 42 & Stick and Rudder

Once again, it’s the time of the year for Star Citizen enthusiasts, both online and offline, to gather and explore what the future of the sci-fi sandbox holds. The game has been in alpha development for a dozen years: yes, welcome to CitizenCon 2024! From the unveils, showcases, pledges, and demos made in Manchester, UK this year, let’s recap everything for you.

Here’s an overview of what went down during the first day of panel discussions.

The day began with a keynote from Chris Roberts, who not only praised the turnout but also gave his assurance for the arrival of the Pyro system by the year’s end. Post 4.0, he promised, the game will exit alpha, becoming available for all. This was followed by the very first panel on the tech driving planetary fusion in Pyro.

Enter New worlds

The opening panel essentially discussed the Genesis tech suite that CIG has created to carry out logically consistent planetary generation, integrate biomes seamlessly, and ultimately provide more destinations for players to explore and finish missions before server meshing. Genesis claims to utilize “data-driven physically-based rules” that can “simulate nature realistically” to create biomes on planetary surfaces.

But generating planets is only a part of the plan. Developers are also focusing on strategic placement of Points Of Interest (POIs), and in this context, the concept of ‘creating clusters’ arises – these clusters echo common themes like mining and incorporate multiple POIs and locations.

In addition to this, Genesis implements new AI behaviors enabling them to recognize dynamic cover, a better global illumination system, improved sound effect buffer, and enhanced cloud generation. This was accompanied by a demo showcasing the visual upgrades.

Embracing A Cloud of Socializations

The subsequent panel highlighted the social aspects of gameplay alongside social systems, aiming to elevate SC “to MMO standards.” However, it was noted that the display was in its initial stages and could not showcase any groundbreaking breakthroughs, especially for regular MMO players. Despite this, what was on display showcased certain MMO-like features being designed specifically for SC.

The list of these features comprises a friends list incorporating block features and party finding features, the capacity to link contracts directly in the chat, and guild UI features such as guild finder, guild calendars, identifying tags, and organization formation features.

The upcoming social updates plan for enhancements to FOIP and VOIP for better performance and stability, and introducing an option for players to register as in-game guides to help newcomers navigate through various activities.

The Armor and Style en Vogue

After a cosplay contest and several breaks, the next panel centered on gear, specifically the incoming specialization system. In essence, clothing and armor have distinctive attributes to help players compile gears suitable for specific activities such as combat, racing, cargo hauling, etc., all under a system named StarWear.

Developers once warned that players will have to toil to find specialized items, either through allying with certain guilds or through exploration. Nonetheless, those willing to make the effort, will be rewarded with a range of combinations of clothing and armor that function together to present a unique look and also offer stat benefits.

The reasons for these stat benefits? Because SC plans to introduce more group content, starting with a massive sand worm boss known as the Valakkar. P

Pyro and Further

This panel looked beyond alpha 4.0, and the Pyro system’s arrival, starting with the introduction of the new system known as Nyx, slated to come after Pyro. The Nyx system features a vast black dust cloud and shares a border with Vanduul space. A close-knit community has set up here on an asteroid between Nyx II and Nyx III: you may have heard of it–Delamar, home to the Levski landing zone.

Levski hosts a zero-G landing point, which benefits players who are handling large cargo hauls by helping them more easily move cargo into freight elevators and drop-off points. In addition to this, Levski offers typical locations like cargo services, refinement centres, and local areas for gameplay content.

Besides gameplay areas, the panel also highlighted new zones being developed for existing locations within the game, such as districts for landing zones. In Area 18, there is a Municipal Works sandbox zone linked to multi-level mission areas known as The Depths.

Lastly, the panel introduced the fourth star system, Castra, which is primarily a concept at the moment, accompanied by art previews of planned locations, one of which is a planet named Bullseye and an overview of the Sherman landing zone.

Squadron 42 – The Showstopper

Chris Roberts brought day one to a close by providing a stage presentation of Squadron 42’s prologue, playing it live – a first for the game in any functional state. We saw tutorials and combat against a Vanduul fleet from various angles, with plenty of cinematic dazzle, despite experiencing a couple of software crashes.

The presentation ended with an announcement confirming the 2026 release of the single-player game. The game’s official website reflects this, but unfortunately the release date is as far as it goes, as no other information is provided, other than the option to sign up for updates and pre-order details via a mailing list.