The video provides a detailed examination of the new external freight elevators in Star Citizen Alpha 4.4 PTU, highlighting their presence across multiple systems and their current functionality issues, including bugs with cargo snapping and limited elevator access. Despite these challenges, the feature shows promise for improving cargo handling, with the host anticipating fixes and further updates in future patches.
The video provides an in-depth look at the new external freight elevators introduced in Star Citizen Alpha 4.4 PTU, focusing on their functionality and presence across various space stations in the Stanton, Pyro, and Nyx systems. The host begins by exploring Everest Harbor in Stanton, identifying the location of the freight elevators around cargo decks and testing their usability. While the elevators are visually present and accessible, a significant bug prevents players from entering the station from the outside via the elevator, limiting its functionality. Additionally, the host tests the use of tractor beams around the elevator and confirms that weapons cannot be drawn in these areas, which is a positive security measure.
Further testing reveals issues with cargo handling on the elevators. Although autoloading commodities like ICU boxes is possible, the freight elevator’s shallow depth causes problems when loading multiple cargo items, especially when they are not properly snapped to the grid. The inability to snap cargo correctly leads to floating or stuck items, which blocks the elevator doors from closing properly. This snapping bug is consistent across other stations like Bini Point and Pyro’s Checkmate Station, where cargo cannot be snapped onto the elevators, rendering the feature ineffective for missions and trading.
The host surveys multiple stations beyond Stanton, including several in the Lagrange and Pyro systems, noting that while main stations generally have external freight elevators, smaller or specialized stations often do not. For example, Lagrange stations primarily lack these elevators, whereas Pyro’s major stations such as Checkmate, Orbituary, and Ruin Station do have them. However, gateways in both Stanton and Pyro systems currently lack external freight elevators, which may be intentional or slated for future updates.
A notable observation is that the freight elevators in Stanton appear to be one-way due to bugs, whereas those in Pyro allow movement both inside and outside. However, all elevators share the critical issue of cargo snapping bugs, which prevent proper cargo manipulation and trap items inside the elevator shafts. The host demonstrates how certain cargo, like the Argo Atlas, can fall through the elevator entirely, highlighting a severe flaw that could impact gameplay and logistics.
In conclusion, while the introduction of external freight elevators in Star Citizen 4.4 PTU is a significant and promising feature for cargo handling across multiple systems, it is currently hampered by several bugs, particularly related to cargo snapping and elevator access. The host emphasizes that these issues are likely to be addressed in future patches and encourages viewers to stay tuned for further updates and tests in the ongoing series. Overall, the video offers a comprehensive early look at this new mechanic, showcasing both its potential and current limitations.