The CitizenCon 2024 panel highlighted the significance of crafting and base building in the game, emphasizing player agency through the collection of unique materials, blueprints, and a quality grading system for items. It also discussed the mechanics of base construction, including land claiming, resource management, and the customization of functional spaces, encouraging players to engage deeply with these systems to enhance their gameplay experience.
The CitizenCon 2024 panel focused on crafting and base building within the game, emphasizing the importance of player agency in making the universe their own. Crafting is portrayed as a central mechanic that allows players to create, upgrade, and personalize their experiences. Players will need to gather parts and tools to craft various items, with unique materials obtainable through hand-collected mining or vehicle mining, adding diversity to the resource acquisition process.
Blueprints are a critical component of crafting and refining, serving as the foundation for all crafting activities. They can be obtained through various means, such as purchasing, looting, or discovering them in the game world. The panel introduced a quality grading system for materials, meaning that higher-quality items can only be crafted with superior materials. The stats of crafted items, such as durability and accuracy, will be influenced by the quality of materials used, and items can be upgraded through a tiered system.
Vehicles will also have an upgrade path, with five levels of enhancement available. The panel highlighted that crafting a ship from scratch will take longer than upgrading a stolen one, and higher-tier components will yield better performance. The crafting loop consists of acquiring blueprints, researching for better versions, and refining raw materials to produce higher-quality outputs, all facilitated by crafting machines of varying sizes and capabilities.
Base building is intricately tied to crafting, requiring players to claim land and utilize survey drones to facilitate construction. Buildings will consume resources over time, and players must manage power supply and maintenance to keep their bases operational. The mechanics of building are familiar to fans of the genre, with the ability to create various functional spaces within a base, such as workshops or living areas, while also allowing for customization and security measures against intruders.
The panel concluded by showcasing the potential for expansive base layouts across planetary surfaces and the implications of location on gameplay, such as potential taxation for protection in controlled areas. The session aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the crafting and base building systems, encouraging players to engage with these mechanics to enhance their overall gaming experience.