"On this week’s episode of Around The Verse, Chris Roberts and Sandi Gardiner get an inside look at our new community platform, Spectrum. They also show a sneak peek of the Anvil Hurricane concept fighter ship, so watch til the end for that "
In this episode of “Around the Verse,” Sandi Gardiner and Chris Roberts congratulate the team on the successful release of Alpha 2.6.1, which included balance changes, regional servers, and the single player mega map. They also discuss the launch of Spectrum, Star Citizen’s new communication platform, which allows players to chat with devs and fellow players and includes improved forums. The production schedule has also been updated to show how estimated delivery dates align with actual deliveries for each patch. They also tease the upcoming concept sale for the Anvil Hurricane fighter.
The Los Angeles studio update features the work of the Technical Content team, who are working on the new damage system, physics-driven destructible behavior, facial idles for pilots, and a tool for marking up zones on character meshes to hide and show different areas when equipping clothing and armor. The Tech Design team is working on prototypes for the interaction system and item properties, as well as the setup of various ship reworks. The Engineering team is focused on instance properties, object container streaming, radar features, and lighting states. The Character team is progressing with the development of new outfits, including the deck crew outfit, explorer spacesuit, and heavy armor class for Marines and Outlaws.
The segment on Spectrum takes us behind the scenes with Turbulent, the web development partner for Star Citizen. They discuss the challenges of creating a communication platform that reduces friction between players and allows for immersive roleplaying. They explain the decision to use React as the framework for Spectrum and discuss the roadblocks they faced, such as developing a presence system to handle multiple connections and integrating with the game. They highlight the community engagement during the testing phase and mention future plans for Spectrum, including a mobile app and additional features like voice communication.
In conclusion, Sandi and Chris express their gratitude to the Star Citizen community for their support and discuss the future potential of Spectrum in enhancing player connections and bringing more functionality to the game. They invite viewers to join the Star Citizen Happy Hour stream, where Character Art Director Josh Herman will create a new creature concept live on air. The episode ends with an exclusive preview of the Anvil Hurricane, which will be available for concept sale.