In this video, the creator explores the improved friend and foe system in Star Citizen alpha 4.3.2 by equipping and testing missile Player Defense Cannons (PDCs) on various ships, including the Idris, Polaris, and Aegis Reclaimer, highlighting their effectiveness in combat and the current inability to rearm missiles within the patch. Despite numerous bugs and unstable servers, they demonstrate creative loadouts and successful bounty hunting missions, encouraging viewers to enjoy experimenting with missile PDCs while anticipating future patch improvements.
In this video, the creator shares their mixed experience with the Star Citizen alpha 4.3.2 patch, rating it low due to numerous bugs, broken missions, and unstable servers. Despite these issues, they remain optimistic that upcoming server maintenance will improve the situation. The highlight of the patch for them is the friend and foe (F&F) system, which effectively prevents Player Defense Cannons (PDCs) from firing on party members, a significant improvement over previous patches where friendly fire was common.
The video then demonstrates the F&F system in action using an Idris M equipped with 11 missile PDCs, affectionately called “pepper boys,” each loaded with 16 size one missiles. The creator tests the system by having a party member attack them and shows that the PDCs do not react while they are in the same party. Once the party member leaves, the PDCs recognize them as hostile and engage accordingly, proving the system’s reliability in both the PTU and live environment.
Next, the creator embarks on a challenging bounty hunting mission in Pyro, utilizing the missile PDCs to take down numerous fighters with impressive efficiency. They note the high power of turrets and the importance of managing shield health during combat. The missile PDCs prove highly effective at long range, but the creator suggests a hybrid loadout combining missile and laser PDCs for close-range combat to maximize versatility.
A significant portion of the video focuses on testing the rearmament of missile PDCs, which turns out to be impossible within the current patch, making these weapons one-time use until the ship is reclaimed. The creator then demonstrates how to transfer the missile PDCs between ships, moving them from the Idris to the Polaris, and later equipping the Aegis Reclaimer with a combination of missile and laser PDCs, effectively arming it with 80 size one missiles despite it originally having no missiles.
Finally, the creator showcases the Reclaimer’s combat capabilities with this new loadout, engaging in medium to low-level bounty hunting missions and dogfights. They explain that PDCs are programmed to target small and medium ships only, which explains why larger ships like the 600i are not targeted automatically. The video concludes with the creator expressing their enjoyment of the missile PDCs and encouraging viewers to have fun experimenting with these weapons despite the patch’s overall issues.
