“Today we’ll take a look through the post-mortem of Star Citizen alpha 3.18 and 3.19 from earlier this year. In this piece, CIG explains what works and didn’t work in the recent releases, and how they can improve.”
In this video, the speaker discusses the post-mortem analysis of Star Citizen updates 3.18 and 3.19. These updates included features such as persistent entity streaming, new missions, and the introduction of the vulture ship. The delivery of the persistent entity streaming system was a significant milestone as it rewrote how the game saves state and set the stage for a truly persistent universe. However, the launch of 3.18 faced unexpected challenges, with server overload and long login times that lasted for weeks. The team learned valuable lessons about preserving the integrity of the service and will implement new processes for future updates, such as gradually rolling out new technologies and conducting thorough testing before releasing to the live server.
The video also highlights the successes and challenges faced by specific features introduced in these updates. The addition of rivers and sand caves received positive feedback, although the manual effort required for accurate placement of rivers was underestimated. The prison escape mission at Security Post Kareah was well-received, but there are ongoing efforts to address mission issues and improve the sandbox activity. The implementation of the Drake Vulture and Salvage contracts brought new gameplay loops, but there were challenges such as underestimated workload for salvage and unresolved issues with pod attachment and detachment. Additionally, the mining rebalance was successful in addressing long-standing balance issues, but there were issues with explosive minable rocks and cargo spawning.
The speaker emphasizes the need for continuous improvement and closer collaboration between teams to ensure smoother development and timely resolution of issues. They acknowledge the need for better communication about game features and the importance of listening to player feedback. While some areas still require refinement, the team remains committed to delivering a satisfying gameplay experience and addressing outstanding issues for future updates. The video concludes with a call for greater transparency and more detailed information to be shared in the future for a clearer understanding of the game’s progress.