The video provides an initial report on Star Citizen Alpha 4.3, focusing on significant ship losses due to a faulty persistence system, causing emotional and motivational setbacks for players, alongside new features like hangar spawning and challenges such as elevator-related casualties in the Onox facilities. Despite technical issues, the community adapts with strategies and humor, urging the developers to address persistence problems and improve player experience.
The video is an initial patch report for Star Citizen Alpha 4.3 after about 12 hours of gameplay following its release. The presenter focuses heavily on the “damage and casualty” aspect of the patch rather than typical patch notes. A significant issue highlighted is the massive loss of in-game acquired ships and components experienced by many players, especially within the presenter’s organization. Over 100 ships, including executive hangar ships and rare Wiccolo ships, have been lost due to what is described as a faulty and incompetent LTP (Persistence) system. This loss is emotionally impactful as these ships require extensive time, effort, and teamwork to obtain, and such losses discourage continued play.
The presenter emphasizes that losing ships during patch drops is not the players’ fault but a failure of the game’s alpha state and the persistence system. They argue that while some loss might be expected in an alpha, in-game acquired ships, especially those bought or earned through significant effort, should not disappear without an official wipe announcement. The emotional and motivational damage caused by losing rare ships like the Wiccolo Polaris is profound, and the presenter calls on Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) to either fix the problem, compensate affected players, or reduce the difficulty of obtaining such ships.
A positive new feature in Alpha 4.3 is the return of the hangar spawn, allowing players to log in directly into their hangar at their home location, which has been well received. However, there is a noted bug where logging out after completing a mission at the Onox facility causes players to respawn in the medical bay of that facility instead of their hangar. Additionally, players have encountered widespread refilling issues across the game universe, prompting a hotfix from CIG, though its effectiveness remains uncertain.
The main storyline content introduced in Alpha 4.3 centers on the abandoned ASD labs, known as Onox facilities, scattered across the moons of Stanton. These facilities are identical copies with no variations except for the external environment. Players can only enter these labs via elevators from their ships, which has led to numerous casualties due to elevator physics and desync issues. The presenter recounts a group adventure where many players died falling through or getting stuck in elevators, highlighting that each facility has only one elevator connecting multiple floors, which creates bottlenecks and risks during group exploration.
To mitigate elevator-related casualties, the presenter’s organization implemented a strict elevator usage protocol limiting four people per elevator with designated corner positions and an exit order to prevent accidents. Failure to follow these rules results in a penalty donation to the organization’s bank. This humorous and structured approach underscores the community’s efforts to adapt to the game’s technical flaws while continuing to enjoy new content. The video closes with a playful musical tribute to the perilous elevators and the camaraderie among players facing these challenges together.