The video critiques the Graycat Rock DS in Star Citizen, highlighting its impractical size, exposed passenger seat, and unengaging gameplay that leaves one player largely inactive during mining. Ultimately, the Rock DS is viewed as a design misstep that fails to enhance multiplayer mining and complicates logistics, making it an often overlooked and unpopular vehicle.
The video discusses some of the less successful vehicles in Star Citizen, focusing particularly on the Graycat Rock and its dual-seated variant, the Rock DS. Initially, the Graycat Rock was designed as a mining vehicle that players would carry around in their ships and deploy when they detected minable resources. While the process involved multiple steps and was somewhat cumbersome, many players enjoyed the gameplay loop of rock mining as it was originally implemented.
However, the solo nature of vehicle mining led to the idea of creating a two-seater version to allow players to mine together. This concept was pitched as a way to add multiplayer functionality with minimal development effort. The result was the Rock DS, which essentially added a sidecar seat to the original Rock, allowing a second player to participate in the mining process. Despite this, the implementation had several issues that affected its appeal.
One major drawback of the Rock DS is its size and transport requirements. Unlike the original Rock, which could fit inside smaller ships like the Cuy or Nomad, the dual-seat version requires a larger vehicle such as the Ursa to carry it around. Additionally, the passenger seat is completely exposed to environmental hazards, forcing players to frequently return to the main ship to avoid damage from extreme conditions like heat or cold.
Gameplay-wise, the Rock DS is criticized for being unengaging. The driver’s role is minimal, mostly just maneuvering the vehicle a short distance from the ship and then waiting while the passenger does all the mining work. This results in one player being largely inactive during the mining process, which detracts from the cooperative experience that the dual-seat design was supposed to enhance.
Overall, the Rock DS is seen as a design misstep or a “blooper” in vehicle development within Star Citizen. While it might have niche uses, such as parents playing with children in-game, it fails to deliver compelling multiplayer gameplay and complicates logistics with its larger size and exposed passenger seat. The video suggests that the Rock DS is an example of a vehicle that hasn’t quite worked out as intended and is often overlooked or dismissed by the community.