“We’re on the Road to Invictus with an episode dedicated to Vehicle Experience Improvements coming to Alpha 3.14 and beyond. It’s Capacitors, Operator Modes and Missile Reworks, oh my!”
In this episode of Inside Star Citizen, the focus is on enhancing combat dynamics and giving players more options to modify the outcome of battles. The introduction of capacitors allows players to allocate extra energy to different ship subsystems, such as increasing thrust or redirecting energy to shields. This introduces more strategic decision-making during combat and aims to create a more dynamic and exciting combat experience. The team is emphasizing the need to make these modifications feel organic and not gamey.
The current combat experience feels linear, with limited decisions made during combat. The goal is to shift the focus from solely getting your gun on the opponent to considering maneuvering, defensive strategies, and making more exciting decisions. The capacitor gameplay provides short bursts of intense gameplay by providing players with a pool of extra energy that they can allocate to different ship systems. This adds a layer of resource management and forces players to think ahead and strategically employ their limited resources.
The team is currently fine-tuning the gameplay for the four main fighter categories and working on balancing the weapons within those categories. They want to maintain the performance window where players feel they are pushing the limits of themselves and their ships, without limiting the ships to the point where they feel constrained. However, this is a complex undertaking that requires extensive testing and balancing.
Another aspect discussed is the concept of operator modes, which give each seat in a ship a specific purpose or task. These modes, such as quantum drive scanning and mining, allow different crew members to have control over specific ship functions. The team is looking to expand and refine multi-crew gameplay by allowing different seats to access different operating modes, giving more freedom for cooperation and specialization.
The upcoming operator mode being worked on is missile operator mode. This mode aims to give players quick access to missiles in combat, with the ability to pre-select and fire volleys of missiles. Alongside the development of the operator mode, the team has also reworked missiles themselves, implementing a new IFCS2 system. Missiles now have fuel and go through different flight phases, adding more realism and complexity to missile combat.
Overall, the team is striving to create a more dynamic and engaging combat experience with the introduction of capacitors and the expansion of operator modes. They are committed to continuous improvement and are eager to gather feedback from the community to further refine and balance these new features.