During the Citcon 2023 keynote, Chris Roberts discussed the future of Star Engine and showcased upcoming developments for Star Citizen, including improvements to cloud tech, space creatures, dynamic fire systems, and advanced physics simulations. The keynote highlighted the engine’s capabilities, promising exciting updates and enhancements for players in the near future, with some features already available in patch 3.2.
In the opening keynote of Citcon 2023, Chris Roberts discussed the future of Star Engine and the upcoming developments for Star Citizen. He introduced a teaser video showcasing the complex progress made in the game, including updated Cloud Tech, gas Tech, space cows, space whales, and Tattoo Tech on NPCs. The video offered a glimpse of upcoming features and left viewers wondering if some of the showcased content was near release or still in the distant future.
Following the video, Ben W, CEO of Turbulent, discussed the achievements and challenges of seamlessly streaming assets in an MMO environment. He highlighted the engine’s capabilities in rendering realistic clouds, fog, and weather, stating that all upgrades shown in the video would be available in patch 3.2.
Mike and Ally then presented the dynamic fire system within Star Engine, emphasizing its importance in gameplay. They explained the calculations and simulations that occur in real-time to realistically model fire behavior, including heat, smoke, radiation, and gases. Additionally, they showcased improved water technology, featuring realistic refraction, reflection, and interactions with objects and ships.
The actor feature improvements were also discussed, with advancements made in scope rendering, HDR tuning, and upscaling techniques. They mentioned plans for real-time weather simulation, sun heating surfaces, and wind affecting the environment. The integration of Gen 12 and Vulcan was demonstrated, showcasing the benefits of hardware ray tracing in improving lighting and addressing visibility issues caused by intense sunlight.
Chris then spoke about the physics advancements in Star Engine, including fabric simulation for cloth and hair, destruction propagation, and persistent entity streaming. The latter was showcased in a live demo, demonstrating seamless transitions between zones and the automatic scaling of server capabilities. Chris expressed his pride in the team’s work and their achievements in spooling servers up and down.
Overall, the keynote provided a comprehensive overview of the cutting-edge technologies and developments in Star Engine, promising exciting updates and improvements for players in the next patch and beyond.