In the September Dev Update for Star Citizen, Cloud Imperium Games discussed the progress of ship art, gameplay features, locations, technical updates, and AI development. They focused on bug fixing, stability, and balancing for the upcoming Alpha 3.20 release and revealed plans for new ships, vehicles, and missions at CitizenCon and the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo.
In the September Dev Update for Star Citizen, Cloud Imperium Games provided details on the progress of various aspects of the game’s development. Ship art saw completion of the Tumblestorm Light Assault Tank and work on two new variants of an existing vehicle. An all-new ship progressed through white box with updates to its interior space. New ships and vehicles are expected to be revealed at CitizenCon and the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo.
The development team focused on bug fixing and stability for Alpha 3.20 and beyond, including getting the Hull C ready for release and balancing smaller features for upcoming ship releases. They also made improvements to racing ships’ performance in atmosphere and converted more ground vehicles to a new physics model. Item balancing and improvements to the tractor beam gameplay were also addressed.
The gameplay features team worked on vehicle tractor beam and resource management system features, as well as improvements to existing missions and the development of new ones. They made progress on modularizing the new player experience and initiated work on ship restoration missions. The team also worked on reputation-based missions with the introduction of the Nine Tails gang.
The development of Pyro, a new location, progressed with updates to colonial outposts and the introduction of foliage. The narrative team focused on writing missions for Pyro and improving existing content in Stanton. The lighting team contributed to Pyro’s development and worked on lighting effects for gas clouds. The UI team created fluff screens, and the VFX team continued working on various locations.
In terms of technical updates, the engineering team made progress on water simulation, lighting improvements, and Vulcan integration. Atmospheric and volumetric cloud development also continued. The AI team addressed issues with NPC perception and cover usage, as well as making improvements to AI ammunition usage and animations. The Arena Commander feature team supported Alpha 3.20 and worked on bringing back Theaters of War mode and adding new game modes.
Overall, the development update showcased ongoing progress in ship art, gameplay features, locations, technical improvements, and AI development. The team is working towards future release milestones such as CitizenCon, the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo, and the introduction of new features and missions in Alpha 3.20 and beyond.