In the video, Daniel Raymond discusses the challenges of base building and sharding in Star Citizen, highlighting the complications that arise from the “Vegas Shard rule” and the need for a unified system for managing bases across different shards. He proposes the “Highlander rule” to allow players to maintain bases on multiple shards while addressing security levels and expresses concern that the organization shield contest favors larger groups over strategic gameplay.
In the video, Daniel Raymond, the voice behind Ray’s Guide, discusses the challenges of base building and sharding in the game Star Citizen, particularly in light of the recent CitizenCon presentation. He highlights the lack of support for large organizations to collaborate on building efficient, functional, and defensible bases. While he previously focused on the human aspects of base building, he now shifts to the technical issues related to sharding, which were hinted at by Todd Papy a year ago but remain unaddressed.
Raymond explains the concept of sharding and its implications for gameplay, particularly the “Vegas Shard rule,” where items stored in personal hangars travel with players between shards, but items left on the ground do not. This creates complications for base building, as bases are left in the wild but contain personal storage that players expect to access across different shards. He raises concerns about whether players can see their bases when they switch shards and how resource extraction would work across multiple shards.
To address these issues, Raymond proposes the “Highlander rule,” where a base can only be active on one shard at a time, while other bases remain in a “mothballed” state. This allows players to maintain a presence on multiple shards while ensuring that only one base can be actively used for resource extraction and construction. He suggests that this system would require a global land claim, meaning that a claim on one shard would apply across all shards, thereby simplifying the management of bases.
Raymond also delves into how this system could work across different security levels in the game, such as high, medium, and low-security systems. He introduces the concept of “wildcatting” for mid-security systems, where players can build bases without land claims, but at greater risk. In null-security systems, he anticipates that all development would be considered wildcatting, with no protections or claims available, making long-term base establishment challenging.
Finally, Raymond expresses skepticism about the organization shield contest presented at CitizenCon, which he feels favors larger organizations that can maintain a constant presence in a location. He believes this mechanic could push players towards larger groups solely based on size rather than strategy or teamwork. He concludes the video with updates on giveaways and encourages viewers to engage with his content, emphasizing the importance of player collaboration in navigating the complexities of base building and sharding in Star Citizen.