Ryan (Mac) discusses Star Citizen’s upcoming 4.3 patch updates, including a Monday tech preview for Evocati players to test Vulkan API integration and FPS AI improvements, alongside new ships added to in-game shops and various gameplay, balance, and performance enhancements. He also highlights ongoing development on engineering gameplay, ship dealer systems, and quality of life improvements, promising detailed coverage in his upcoming streams and videos.
In this update, Ryan, also known as Mac, discusses the latest developments in Star Citizen’s 4.3 patch, focusing on three new patch notes and an upcoming tech preview channel set to launch on Monday. The tech preview will allow selected players, specifically the Evocati, to test Vulkan API integration and FPS AI behavior improvements over a four-hour session. This separate build channel enables Cloud Imperium to isolate and refine new technology without impacting the main live game. Ryan hopes this marks progress toward fully implementing Vulkan to replace DirectX 11, potentially delivering significant performance gains depending on individual hardware configurations.
The FPS AI behavior improvements mentioned remain somewhat ambiguous, but they could involve enhancements to NPC combat or social behaviors in landing zones, reflecting ongoing work on AI navigation and combat tactics like bounding overwatches. Ryan expresses keen interest in these changes and plans to explore them further during his upcoming streams, aiming to provide viewers with insights shortly after the tech preview tests. Additionally, he notes that engineering gameplay, which was prepared throughout July, is expected to enter its own tech preview phase soon, promising more exciting developments on that front.
Regarding the three recent 4.3 patch builds, Ryan highlights extensive polish and improvements to the Onyx facility, including art, lighting, audio, visual effects, performance, and music system updates. Several ships have also been added to in-game shops, such as the Drake Gollum, Misque Fortune, Marai Guardian, and Anvil Hornet F7 CS Mark II, making them purchasable with in-game credits. He also mentions a narrative hint about a new ship seller character, speculating this may introduce a secondhand ship dealer system, which many players have requested.
The patches also brought gameplay and balance changes, especially to light fighters like the Esperia Talon, Shrike, Aegis Gladius, Hawk, and Vandal Blade, with adjustments to maneuverability, health pools, and capacitor buffs. Weapon balance was addressed as well, notably with the vault sniper rifle being removed from shops but still available as loot. Performance optimizations and bug fixes were rolled out, including partial fixes for audio client crashes when using ships and improvements to server stability. Notably, ladder updates that had been rolled back were reenabled in the latest build, much to Ryan’s relief.
Ryan concludes by expressing excitement about the ongoing progress in 4.3, emphasizing the quality of life improvements and balancing efforts that prepare the game for upcoming content like the Kruger L21 Wolf light fighter. He also teases an upcoming video focusing on core gameplay pillars such as engineering, inventory UI, crafting, hacking, quantum travel, FPS radar, and transport refactoring. He encourages viewers to subscribe, support the channel through his referral links, and tune in to his live streams on YouTube and Twitch for further coverage of these developments.