******Official Star Citizen / Squadron 42 Thread******

3325 REC in an Aurora LN! worha...... REC Farmer!

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Blah
No update on Prowler, Carrack, BMM, Reclaimer, Endeavour or Crucible.
I just want to explore my ship dammit!

The BMM doesn't even have a finalised concept yet.
It's a lot bigger than they first said (around corvette sized at least) is all we know.

Yeah, none of those will be close to released this year. I've been meaning to build a list of what ships are where for myself, so might as well try and give it a shot now...

Hangar Ready only: Scythe, Khartu-al, multicrew's variants (Cutlass, Conny & Freelancer, Vanguard, Tali base too if you want to be picky).

Actively in development: Starfarer, Reliant, Idris, Javelin, Caterpillar plus UEE ships like Bengal, Pegasus, F8 Lightning etc, and Vanduul ships.

In Limbo: Reclaimer, Orion, Carrack, Hull A-E, Endeavor, Crucible, MM, 890, P72, Herald, Genesis... maybe more ive forgotten?

Next in line: Carrack follows Caterpillar, Herald looked like it could have been done months ago (see Khartu-al for simiar), P72 shouldnt take much effort.
I also suspect the Reclaimer could be started on soon. F42 have finished the Sabre, Vanguard Warden, and Starfarer shortly. That leaves them with Vanguard variants (probably too soon), Starfarer Gemini (same deal), the Hull series (we dont lack cargo ships), Reclaimer (needed for new game mechanics), and possibly UEE & Vanduul ships but i suspect they have teams dealing with them already, without needing the MISC & Aegis designers moving off their dept.
Im not sure what manufacturers other studios are responsible for to draw any conclusions, and i believe variants wont be started for a few months after the base, to get the base issues addressed to reduce ships needing tweaks etc.


The Merchantman is more complex, its a alien ship and its large too, it needs a style guide building for the Banu race. Unfortunately, at the moment its much easier for them to focus on ships they've got style guides built for, things they can copy from other ships (just look at the recent Aegis ships) and its 'just a cargo ship' at the moment, where things like mining, exploration, salvage etc are more a priority so they can implement those features and build upon them till they're happy with it, and theres little sense in building a large cargo ship which has no style guide, when they already have cargo ships and they could use a fair bit of the same time and have the Hull series built covering 5 ships.

It sucks, but unfortunately theres a legit reason why its being held back. I fully expected the Starfarer to be one of the last when i bought it 2yrs ago, although i dont think i was expecting quite so many ships to be added after it, because i felt fuel wasnt a priority its something all ships could have unlimited amounts without it hurting testing, and then do the Starfarer at the end. It wouldnt have surprised me if it'd be where the Caterpillar is if F42 hadnt wanted to use it, we just got lucky and ships like the Freelancer has helped (arguably the Starfarer helped get the Freelancer updated faster too)
 
Yeah, he got MVP on AtV a few weeks back for his mock-up images and the final item and mentioned he'd be selling them eventually. I think the problem with these is that they're not cheap (parts alone) and until we have the game closer to final and know what we need, i'd rather wait and see. Would love to make one though.

VR is another potential issue. :(

It will cost under £100 to build one, so I might do that.
 
Good info Paul, might add the Esperia Glaive to that list as it seems to have been forgotten, we've got the Vanduul one after all which includes neck breaking seat :)

Longbow- not hard to make but hard to make look nice. If you have the equipment or someone locally to make the panel the rest is easy enough. The guy selling them is basically making a little profit and charging for his time + idea. I don't think it's actually that bad a price, although I still think it's too early to know if it'll be any use.

Problem is my CH Pro throttle has enough space for just about anything I want plus I can always use a tablet with Roccat power grid installed. Issue with switches is most, if not all will be momentary only, rather than proper on/off toggles which never feel that good - so this doesn't really add much to the experience.
 
It will cost under £100 to build one, so I might do that.

Yeah, i'd be quite tempted to make a much simpler version. I'd want to figure out what buttons we'll have, what we're likely to use, then see how those buttons pair up with buttons on my HOTAS, and if there are common ones that would be nice being done on a button box.
Things like switching to landing mode, they're never time sensitive and because most HOTAS's are thrown together with a selection of random buttons, switches, dials and whatnot, you might only have 4 buttons on the throttle and other things could be more of a priority (enable hyperdrive mode & select location, flairs, afterburner etc) so some could be moved to a button box to remove a common button off the HOTAS to place a lesser used button which is more time sensitive etc.

That button box is very nice, but its got a lot going on, and i suspect most players wouldnt need all of those, and could live with half as many.

I was sure i read someone saying the Vive & 'Tron mode' would allow for reasonable access to something like this, when i'd mentioned VR being somewhat incompatible, im wondering if it was a different thread i'd read the email to, and translated the info to this. It could well work side by side with that, i always thought the Rift should include dual webcams (one to each eye) to relay IRL data somehow. 1 is certainly better than none though.
 
Good info Paul, might add the Esperia Glaive to that list as it seems to have been forgotten, we've got the Vanduul one after all which includes neck breaking seat :)

Longbow- not hard to make but hard to make look nice. If you have the equipment or someone locally to make the panel the rest is easy enough. The guy selling them is basically making a little profit and charging for his time + idea. I don't think it's actually that bad a price, although I still think it's too early to know if it'll be any use.

Problem is my CH Pro throttle has enough space for just about anything I want plus I can always use a tablet with Roccat power grid installed. Issue with switches is most, if not all will be momentary only, rather than proper on/off toggles which never feel that good - so this doesn't really add much to the experience.

Thanks. I thought the Glaive was flyable, but the Scythe wasnt, because currently the AI & CIG are cheating by giving the ship an invisible counterbalance so it flies correctly. The Glaive being symmetrical means it doesnt have the issues that asymmetrical ships have (hence the Herald losing its Asym look).

I think i'd just use one of the project boxes they sell at Maplins for the casing, they do some alright plastic ones and metal, but i doubt they'll look as nice. It depends what you're looking for - the same result from a budget build, or the same look & result but removing the profit as you can do it yourself. I know someone with access to an industrial CNC machine, so i could at least ensure the holes are in the right place, and not all over the show like a few ive seen :D It'd also be an excuse to have fun making something to throw at it, its a big toy :D To buy a suitable box, and machine a replacement lid with detailing could be decent. I'd still be stuck with getting it anodized, as my X55 clamp plates cost about £20 to make (paid more in shipping the aluminium!) and i was quoted £70+VAT which got laughed at, i just want a £20 off-books special with their next proper order. I know plenty of these shops do them, i guess not by email where theres a digital papertrail :D

Im going to assume Maplin isnt a competitor (anything PC related they have is 10x more expensive than OCUK!)
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/aluminium-box-11-lf12n
£5.00, 102x64x51mm. Okay, its bland, but its a fiver :D
 
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So, I've been playing elite since beta, which I really enjoy, and I've been put off of this by its extended development and purchasing of ships with real cash.

Can anyone allay my concerns? Should I buy this? Is there any hint of full release?
 
A hint? The year starts 20__ :D

It just is what it is, its never going to happen overnight and i wouldnt be surprised if its not in a 'beta' phase till the mid-end of next year.

Squadron 42 is end of the year, probably spring next year.
PU is being built, but because its going down the route of building everything then calling it 'done' rather than just doing 1 part and calling it done, then adding the next part and saying its done for $xx etc its never going to be released at the same rate. Theres nothing wrong with Elites route, its just a completely different philosophy. The funds, depth, team size, goals for 'launch', roles, first-person universe & hundreds of fully modelled ships etc. Space is really the only thing they share.
 
Longbow- not hard to make but hard to make look nice. If you have the equipment or someone locally to make the panel the rest is easy enough. The guy selling them is basically making a little profit and charging for his time + idea. I don't think it's actually that bad a price, although I still think it's too early to know if it'll be any use.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/general-purpose-enclosures/8681048/

http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=67&products_id=180

Then another £20 in switches from ebay.

I'll definitely wait, as others have said, no point building something now when the controls aren't finalised.
 
A hint? The year starts 20__ :D

It just is what it is, its never going to happen overnight and i wouldnt be surprised if its not in a 'beta' phase till the mid-end of next year.

Squadron 42 is end of the year, probably spring next year.
PU is being built, but because its going down the route of building everything then calling it 'done' rather than just doing 1 part and calling it done, then adding the next part and saying its done for $xx etc its never going to be released at the same rate. Theres nothing wrong with Elites route, its just a completely different philosophy. The funds, depth, team size, goals for 'launch', roles, first-person universe & hundreds of fully modelled ships etc. Space is really the only thing they share.

Thanks. And the game being split, would you say you really need both parts? I think I might need to watch some gameplay videos as I haven't really given this much attention
 
Thanks. And the game being split, would you say you really need both parts? I think I might need to watch some gameplay videos as I haven't really given this much attention

I think only you can really answer that - do you mainly play single player or multiplayer games?

If you buy a game package with one, the "other" part is only $15, so you could just wait for more information / reviews / demos before parting with the cash
 
Thanks. And the game being split, would you say you really need both parts? I think I might need to watch some gameplay videos as I haven't really given this much attention

As Andy says, you wont need both parts, but its likely you'll want both just because SQ42 will be a pretty good indication of what SC will be. It's a traditional SP campaign, with flexibility and cause and effect, crew with a decent back story if you chose to interact with them etc. SC will be far more open being more like a traditional MMO & open world, where SQ42 is likely to have the big (scripted) epic encounters and SC has the surprise element and largely in the hands of the players storyline.

If you're only interested in the campaign then it'll be the first proper 'finished' release, if you're only interested in the multiplayer then the campaign is a good taster to compliment what bits we do have.
We'll see a lot more of SQ42 towards the end of the year, with possibly decent snippets in August (Gamescom), Oct (CitCon) and maybe even in April (PAX East) but i doubt it - hopefully the update on the planetary landing & procedural generation types which there are mumblings of CR and ER being really impressed even after what we saw originally.
 
Its going to be a while before this goes to Live, many many bugs....

Constantly crashing.
Lots of missing textures.
Sound Bugs
getting in and out of Sabre you get Rag Dolled
Black Voids behind doors

Possibly more, i haven't been able to spend more than a few minutes in it yet.




 
People seem to be enjoying the bounty system, and the party grouping before joining a server seems like a decent idea, could do with adding queueing to make it pretty much perfect until they have a proper 1-universe, multi-instance solution.

What are your thoughts on the Sabre so far, Humbug? Im torn on the reflections, i actually rather like them on the Gladius, and to a degree on the Sabre, but they need to be far less noticeable. Most of the footage ive seen of the Sabre has been in the AC map (the blueish one) and theres been times when there have been small asteroid rocks against a dark background, and you've got silly bright blue reflections in your view, and you cant see these low-contrast objects and it seems terrible.

Gladius example:
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Love the effect, but feel like it needs to be reduced, because it seems like most people hate it and want it gone, and i'd feel more inclined to agree if it was this or nothing, but i'd rather it was reduced to the point where you could tell when it was happening but not impact you at all. Somewhere between 10-50% of where its at currently (hard to know without seeing it).
 
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