“Join us this week as we explore the process behind bringing the first ship from Crusader Industries to life and finish things off with a Sprint Report on progress from around the world.”
In this episode of Inside Star Citizen, the focus is on the ship called Project Mercury. The Mercury is considered a fan favorite ship because of its unique design and versatility. It is designed as a blockade runner and smuggling ship, with features such as cargo hauling, multi-crew gameplay, scanning, and data running. The ship’s exterior has a white, black, and red color scheme, with asymmetry to add visual interest.
The interior of the Mercury is designed to convey a sense of open possibilities. It has a cockpit with retracting seats and physicalized buttons for enhanced gameplay. The visibility from the cockpit is excellent, with a large open canopy providing good views in all directions. The server room, which will become a hub for data running, is a busy area with activities such as changing server racks and retrieving specific data.
The ship also features a rec room for players to gather and plan missions or relax, habitation areas with various stations and access to the maintenance sub-level, and an engineering section for repairs and maintenance. The cargo bay has been increased in size to allow for more cargo, and the ship went through multiple redesigns to accommodate vehicles such as the ursa and cyclone.
The episode also includes a special Thanksgiving thank you to the team behind the scenes who worked on the Mercury, and a brief overview of progress on other aspects of the game. This includes the development of Lagrange point gas clouds, adding color and texture to rest stops, the placement of lighting elements for refinery decks, interior details for space station docking areas, advancements in fire simulation, progress on the Hercules Starlifter ship, and the beginning of the concept phase for the Nova tank.
Overall, the episode provides an insight into the design and features of the Project Mercury ship and highlights the progress being made in various areas of Star Citizen’s development.