The video critiques Star Citizen’s space station layouts for excessive empty spaces and poorly placed services that hinder navigation and player engagement, contrasting this with the more efficient design of Pyro stations. It proposes more compact, functional station designs with better service placement and integrated missions to enhance player experience without sacrificing atmosphere.
In this video, the creator discusses the design and layout of space stations in Star Citizen, highlighting significant issues with their current structure. While attempting to complete the resource drive event, they noticed excessive empty traversal spaces within the stations and illogical placement of services. For example, the pizza stand at Saraphim Station is inconveniently located, forcing players to move between different decks to get food. Similarly, at Mike L2, the main deck shop neither sells food nor is easily accessible from the hangar elevators, compelling players to run through long, empty corridors to reach various locations.
The video points out that navigating Saraphim Station is particularly cumbersome, requiring multiple turns just to get from the HAB lobby to the hangar elevators. Additionally, the lack of consistent layout and signage across stations in the Stanton system makes orientation difficult for players. In contrast, Pyro stations have a more uniform design with clear markings, making them easier to navigate. The creator acknowledges that some players might appreciate the current design for its atmosphere, but questions the necessity of so much empty space and the impractical placement of essential services like habs and clinics.
Addressing potential performance reasons behind the design, the creator argues that eliminating empty hallways could actually improve game performance by reducing the number of entities the game needs to track and stream. They speculate that the developers, CAG, might have intended to build large station interiors first and fill them with content later. However, this plan fell short as many areas, such as cargo decks and food courts, remain underutilized or neglected. The modular construction of stations should allow for more tailored designs that evolve as new features are added, but this has not been effectively implemented.
To improve the station layouts, the creator proposes merging the main deck with hangars, habs, and the gallery deck to create a more compact and functional space. They suggest placing core services like the admin office, clinic, and shops between the two main entry points—the hangar elevators and the habs. This could involve splitting the deck into a service area near the elevators and a shopping area with food and habs, connected by a short hallway or observation space. This design would maintain some separation for specialized decks but reduce unnecessary travel and encourage player interaction with station amenities.
Finally, the video touches on the idea that station layouts might be designed to slow players down, but emphasizes that slowing players should not come at the cost of engagement or atmosphere. Instead, stations should offer points of interest that naturally draw players in and encourage exploration. The creator also notes that Pyro stations successfully keep players engaged with small, simple missions entirely within the station, such as delivery and combat tasks. They suggest that similar missions, including delivery and repair, could be introduced in Stanton to enhance player experience. The video concludes by inviting viewers to share their thoughts and ideas on improving space station design in Star Citizen.