Sneak peek of the week:
**Unknown new Origin Ship **
Quote: Looks can kill.
Xi’an BC ‘SCL’. Credit to Doiri92 on Twitter for this rough translation.
When we get the full video we will try and add anything missing.
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There will be more non-combat alien ships this year. (GATAC already teased as having two reveals)
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Weapon loadout of Ironclad will be different of the concept alongside more cargo (cargo already revealed before).
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There is no plans on providing replaceable main weapons (like the Idris) for Polaris and Javelin, but it’s not impossible in the future.
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Base building T1 won’t need a specialized ship, also Pioneer won’t be arriving with base building T1.
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Manned turrets would allow AI blade control.
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They are not working at Apollo’s drones, not a priority.
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Players can fix turrets inside their ships, as long as they are not completely destroyed.
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The ship hangar service coming 4.8 won’t allow bigger ships re-arm themselves with their cargo
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Kraken is not modular ship, the Dragonfly bay has been moved downstairs and connect with the cargo hold, there will be a ramp for ground vehicle like Ursa
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Javelin won’t flyable in 2026, but will be flyable with T1 medical bed and cargo hold module.
It also sounds like suit lockers are being worked on with a standardization effort ongoing, refining is a high priority to come online. Galaxy will be similar visual style externally to Perseus but toned down as a civilian ship, and will launch with all 3 modules - BB module not at launch as no BB at launch.
Much more informative breakdown courtesy of @CEO: catgirlevirwithacatforahat - thank you so much!
Ships & Vehicles
- More non-combat focused alien ships this year.
- Ironclads weapon loadout will differ from concept. Will also have a larger cargo hold.
- Kraken is confirmed non-modular. Dragonfly bay was moved downstairs and connects to the cargo hold through a vehicle ramp. Privateer variant releases after the base version.
- Javelin not flyable in 2026. When it does arrive it will include its modularity with a T1 medical and a cargo module.
- No plans to allow swappable main weapons on the Polaris or Javelin (as the Idris has), but it is not ruled out long-term.
- New medium fighter teased (manufacturer unknown)
- Origin heavy fighter m80
- Arrastra has two medical beds of unknown tier
- Odin confirmed as a combat battlecruiser
- No new player-flyable Banu ships planned, but more AI Banu ships can be expected
- Gaps in the ship matrix will be filled so players have manufacture options across all roles
- Suit lockers are actively being worked on. Prototypes already running to retrofit into older ships
- The reworked Idris model from SQ42 will not be brought into the PU until after SQ42 launch.
Flight Model
- A New Flight Experience is in development. Full overhaul covering flight, weapons, bullet speeds and engagement ranges. (NFM)
- Team tested lowering bullet speeds and extending engagement rates for more cinematic, tactical combat where players can dodge fire. It won’t ship as tested but shows their direction
- Light, Medium and Heavy fighters are being reworked to have distinct identities. Ship classes should not be a linear progression, a player can stay in a light fighter their entire career.
- Missile unreliability is largely a network issue. Goal is to slow them down and replace binary countermeasures with manoeuvre based dodging.
- Missiles and torpedoes use a similar flight model as ships do and are affected by atmosphere
- Torpedoes are exclusively for massive targets. Using one on a small fighter should feel wasteful. No stealth torpedos planned.
- The current armour system is a placeholder for Maelstrom, which will replace health pools with physical material simulation. Current armor tuning is groundwork for that.
- Ammo resupply and missile resupply is wanted to be separate, but no timeline
- Apollo drones are not being worked on, not a priority.
Multi-Crew & Capital Ships
- Capital ships will have map tables and holographic radars.
- A Commander role will let players survey the battlefield and push designated targets to all gunners on the ship.
- Ship cross-sections are now detectable via active ping
- Advanced radar ships will be able to pull more detailed info on nearby ships
- Installing matching radars on the same ship will provide a radar buff
- Fleet command UI is something the team wants but no details yet
Gameplay & Careers
- Base Building T1 will not require a specialized ship. The Pioneer will also not be flyable alongside T1s release.
- Manned turrets will not support AI blades
- Damaged turrets can be repaired from the inside of the ship, as long as they are not destroyed.
- Ship Hangar service in 4.8 will not allow larger ships to rearm using their own cargo. (Potentially in the future)
- Auto cargo loading at major ports is still planned
- Crafting / Upgrading ships will provide performance gains only. No visual or hardpoint changes.
- Drones are a major component of the base building loop. Once the underlying tech is complete, drone rooms on existing ships will become functional. Drones will operate automonously with player instructions.
- Ground physics currently react too harshly to terrain. Ground Vehicles are essential for basebuilding and combined arms.
- L and XL hangars will not get additional pads for now. Modular hangars are a long-term plan.
- Temporary jump points are planned for 1.0 and could lead to brand new locations.
- Stellar Storms confirmed (CMEs, Solar Flares…)
- Underwater exploration is planned but not in the near future.
Regarding Tiburon, JC was presented with this AI image, and remarked ‘there will not be so many turrets, and the turrets will not get smaller beam weapons’.
It is not clear yet how the main beam will be controlled, one rumour from BC suggests it will be pilot controlled. All subject to change
Some additional missed information due to length of the post
Gameplay & Careers (cont.)
- Economy-focused updates are coming in the next few months.
- Food buffs possibly within a year.
- Food and Medical fabricators are planned.
- Research gameplay is something the team wants but has not had the time for.
- LLM-based NPCs are being explored. Not soon.
Tech
- Dynamic Server Meshing is expected to resolve a portion of current instability. This years issues are largely attributed to frequent small patches
- Features are now being rolled out in smaller increments. Too many changes with Engineering made feedback impossible to parse.
- Many combat and vehicle features were build for SQ42 first. Porting to the PU is significantly more complex due to its open-MMO nature.
- Gamepad support needs a full rework including UI for the PU. SQ42 improvements will be ported to the PU
Questions CIG refused to answer
- More ships coming off limited-sale.
- Constellation Series MK6.
- The Origin ship teased by the sound team in an SCL. (Now known to be the M80 Heavy Fighter)
- Kruger S65
Corrections from above:
It is Vanduul ships, not Banu, that have no new planned player ships.
Also, it is the Kraken which has 2 medbeds - not Arrastra.
This post will be updated if more comes in.
PDCs were spotted on the recent pictures of the Kraken under development.
None were advertised on the ship’s concept but some are visible as you can see in the screens bellow.
DRAKE PITBULL Preview (from twitter)
Other shows make you wait for reveals. We do things differently.
Here’s the Drake Pitbull exclusive dispatch before DefenseCon 2956.
Pitbull dimensions derived from the shown CF-227 repeaters on the ship
Length: 6m
Width: 3.9m
Height: 3m
This Week in Star Citizen:
TUESDAY, MAY 5
- May Subscriber Comm-Link
- May Subscriber Newsletter
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6
- Roadmap Update and Roadmap Roundup
- Org Spotlight Comm-Link
- April PU Monthly Report
THURSDAY, MAY 7
- Inside Star Citizen - Patch Report: Alpha 4.8
FRIDAY, MAY 8
- Star Citizen Vehicles & Gameplay Q&A
- RSI Weekly Newsletter
SATURDAY, MAY 9
- Bar Citizen - Seoul, Korea
- Bar Citizen - Paris, France
May 2026 Subscriber Promotions
In-game flairs:
- Centurion subs: R6 Pro Yaeger Aviator Glasses
- Imperator subs: P8-AR “Dominion Camo” Rifle
- Subscriber-Exclusive Store: Top Gunner’s Kit
Ships of the Month:
- Centurion ship: Drake Dragonfly Black
- Imperator ships: Drake Cutlass Black & Drake Dragonfly Black
Roadmap Roundup - May 6, 2026
Release View
Alpha 4.8
The following cards have been set to Committed: Item Recovery: Vehicle Loadouts, FPS Weapons Art Refactor, UltiFlex “Novia” Crossbow, Flight Suit “Tailwind”, Transport System, New Hairstyles (4.8.0), Kastak Arms - Plasma Grenade, Tactical Strike Groups, QV Extraction Stations, Aegis Hammerhead - Gold Standard, Vehicle Command Module, Flight Suits G-Force Resistance, Refueling Improvements.
New Wikelo Ships Offerings (4.8.0)
This card’s image has been updated.
Throughout the month, the team kept a close eye on community sentiment across Spectrum, social media, and in-person events, tracking player feedback and flagging key themes for the relevant development and production teams. This kind of ongoing loop between the community and development staff is a core part of how the team operates and April was no exception.
As always, the team kept up their regular cadence of This Week in Star Citizen and bi-weekly Roadmap updates.
Core Gameplay
In April, Core Gameplay supported various initiatives and focused on bug fixing for Alpha 4.8.
Core Gameplay also worked on the last details of Ship Hangar Services T0, preparing it to go live in Alpha 4.8. A list of bugs from the inventory rework was compiled from QA and the players, with the devs working to fix as many of the most critical ones as possible.
For Refueling, iterations were made to refine the gameplay experience, mechanics, and overall flow, with the main goal of streamlining the feature. For that, Core Gameplay supported Mission Design in the delivery of new missions. Lastly, tasks for an NPC refueling beacon are underway, allowing players who get stranded to call for help.
Work on vehicle component crafting made progress, exposing a variety of new stats to the Design team to modify as part of the crafting flow.
StarWear progressed well, too, with the team preparing for an internal demonstration showcasing the ability to customize characters using a variety of clothing and armor pieces.
Mission Design
April saw the Mission team design fundamental changes to the contract system. The first that players will see is a limit on how many contracts they can have active at one time. While the first implementation will help fix exploits, it will not be the final or full version, which will be talked about in more detail at a later date.
The team also polished the Defend Location ship mission, balancing it ahead of its release, and further progressed with refueling missions. The FPS versions of Defend Location, where players have a variety of competing objectives to complete in the harder difficulties, received feedback and are currently being polished.
Tactical Strike Groups is also being finalized to ensure it’s working as intended and is fun to play.
“We are very excited for you to play this!” Mission Team
Narrative
Narrative began April by wrapping up content for Alpha 4.8. This involved handling several large-scale content drops, including Tactical Strike Groups, mission text and content for the Refueling missions, and introducing several new factions to support the new gameplay.
The writers worked closely with the Mission teams to generate scripts for April’s capture session to pick up content for a familiar face.
Development continued on the Starchitect tool to incorporate narrative needs into the projection of outposts and characters to ensure assets are created in line with planet lore. In an effort to get ahead, there were also initial conversations about initiatives later in the year to try to anticipate what kind of content could be captured sooner rather than later.
Progress continued on other DefenseCon ships. The MISC Starlite passed its LOD0 review and had multiple playtests alongside revisions to its gameplay loop, ensuring it’s fit for purpose ahead of its final gate review.
The Drake Pitbull has its final review scheduled for early May, with the team moving on to bugfixing, while further team members moved on to the **Origin M80 **to prepare it for its LOD0 and final gate reviews in early May.
An unannounced ship passed its LOD0 review and is due to have its final review in early May. QA began testing, Ships fixed assorted minor issues, and downstream teams finalized some of the bespoke VFX and SFX for the ship.
Beyond DefenseCon ships, the Gatac Railen moved toward its greybox review, with the team making sure all areas of the ship are brought to the same high standard. A second unannounced ship continued through whitebox with more devs joining the project to help block out the interior.
Another unannounced ship passed its whitebox review, with Ships working alongside Mocap to build out and make amendments to the in-game asset to suit the custom enter and exit animations.
In North America, the Ships team continued to move an unannounced vehicle toward its greybox gate review in early May.
