Last week in Star Citizen featured the launch of Alpha 4.2 with new content like the Stormbreaker sandbox, environmental hazards, ship and weapon updates, and over 190 bug fixes, alongside the release of the 4.2.1 event and subsequent PTU testing. Additionally, backend optimizations, narrative-driven events, and roadmap updates highlighted Cloud Imperium Games’ ongoing efforts to enhance gameplay, stability, and community engagement.
Last week in Star Citizen was packed with significant updates and events that enhanced the overall player experience. The week began with the official “This Week in Star Citizen” post on Monday, June 16th, which outlined the upcoming schedule, including a roadmap update and roundup scheduled for Wednesday. The community was also reminded to check their inboxes on Friday for the RSI weekly newsletter, which would recap the week’s highlights and provide a preview of future developments.
On Tuesday, June 17th, the second release candidate for Star Citizen Alpha 4.2.2 was published on the PTU. This update brought important adjustments, such as halving the radar cross-section of the Esperia Prowler series, impacting its radar visibility and scan resistance. Additionally, several optimizations were made to backend server performance, ASD locations, floating objects, and environmental level of detail, resulting in improved overall stability and smoother gameplay.
Wednesday, June 18th, saw a surprise preliminary build for version 4.2.1 released to Evocati testers. This build introduced a new narrative-driven event focused on a crisis involving failing imprinting technology, which challenges the idea of citizen immortality. The event featured a competition between four corporations, with players participating in various missions like resource gathering and convoy defense, provided their criminal status was below a certain threshold. The roadmap was also updated, marking all 4.2 features as committed and adding new elements for 4.2.1 and 4.2.1.2, including space escort missions and a fully automatic laser pistol, while delaying medium utility armor to Alpha 4.3.
Thursday, June 19th, marked the long-awaited release of Alpha 4.2, introducing a variety of new content and features. Notable additions included the Stormbreaker persistence sandbox activity, a new radiation environmental hazard, updates to the Wikilo Emporium, new player hairstyles, irradiated copions, and variants for the Argo Atlas vehicle. Gameplay enhancements included scanning and targeting UI updates, shield regeneration tweaks, balance changes for several ship series, the introduction of flight turbulence, and new weapons like the vault prism shotgun. Over 190 bugs from the previous version were fixed, significantly improving quality of life in the persistent universe.
Finally, on Friday, June 20th, Alpha 4.2.1 was released to the first wave of PTU testers, adding even more gameplay content. Rare collector weapons were reintroduced as loot, and new mechanics such as throwable carriable objects upon character damage were implemented. Polish work continued on the Lazarus Research Facility, enhancing its performance and artistic direction. This steady stream of updates reflects Cloud Imperium Games’ commitment to improving Star Citizen’s playability and stability. The video concluded with a reminder about a giveaway contest and a call for community engagement and support.