The December 16, 2024 update for Star Citizen Alpha 4.0 ePTU introduced server capacity increases and various gameplay optimizations, but the patch is still experiencing significant stability issues, making it unsuitable for a live release. Despite ongoing anticipation for a major milestone in the game’s development, players should prepare for potential difficulties if 4.0 goes live during the holiday season.
On December 16, 2024, a new update for Star Citizen Alpha 4.0 ePTU was released, featuring a mesh configuration of 46500. The update includes four servers in Stanton, six in Pyro, and a total player cap of 500, although reports indicated that testing during the weekend saw player counts rise to 600 or 700. This higher server capacity testing was reportedly successful, leading to enjoyable gameplay experiences over the weekend. Additionally, the Lumala 2954 event is ongoing, allowing players to claim daily gifts from December 12 to December 22.
The video discusses the current state of the patch and whether it could be considered a live candidate for 4.0. While some players speculated that the ePTU patch might be a live candidate, the presenter found no official confirmation from CIG. However, there is a sense of anticipation that the official release of Star Citizen Alpha 4.0 is imminent, with CIG hinting at a significant milestone approaching in the game’s development.
The gameplay updates in the patch include changes to mission structures, such as capping hauling missions at a maximum of 10 boxes and removing certain display elements to reduce confusion. Additionally, there were optimizations for streaming performance and entity cleanup to improve overall game stability. Notably, the cleanup of dropped medical gowns in Pyro was highlighted as a quality-of-life improvement, addressing clutter in medical centers.
Despite these updates, the presenter experienced numerous server errors during gameplay, suggesting that the patch is not yet stable enough to be considered a live candidate. Issues with mission markers not appearing and bugs related to targeting enemy ships were also reported. The presenter attempted various missions, including Bounty Hunter and mercenary tasks, but encountered significant obstacles, including mission failures and server crashes.
In conclusion, the current state of the 4.0 ePTU patch is deemed unsatisfactory for a live release. The presenter expressed hope that improvements would come over time but recommended that players prepare for potential difficulties if 4.0 goes live during the holiday season. They suggested finding alternative games to play in case Star Citizen becomes unplayable upon release, emphasizing the challenging nature of the game’s environment, especially in Pyro.