Home Gaming Star Citizen is looking at a smaller and more efficient system for patches

Star Citizen is looking at a smaller and more efficient system for patches

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Star-Citizen-patch

Star Citizen, a video game which draws in comments from an entire community of people who are desperately begging for you to make use of their referral codes on any story about the game, is still in development. And most likely will be, for many months to come as this is one hell of an ambitious space-sim combat game that I truly hope does deliver.

Until then however, you’re going to need to keep your eyes peeled on various modules or the slow tick of crowdfunding which just never seems to stop having money thrown at it. That being said, development of Star Citizen has been surprisingly open, with creator Chris Roberts regularly engaging in ask-me-anything videos, called “Ten for the Chairman”.

This week, Roberts answered questions about making future patches smaller and more efficient. “Work has started on a patching system that will only download exactly the files you need,” Roberts said.

Currently you download an entire archive in one go, this future system will only download files that have changed and are needed from a central online data depository.

Other questions included ship-docking technology, authentic space vacuum sounds and in-game farming. Here’s a transcript of his answers copied and pasted below because dammit it’s Friday, via INN:

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Are NPCs going to be generated randomly based environment and parameters in an area?

They will be generated based off of the universe simulation which calculates using both player and NPC actions.

How important is positioning relative to an opponent’s in Star Citizen’s flight model, and is it affected by 6DOF?

Positioning is always important in Star Citizen which implements pilot skill and ship characteristics.

Can we expect to see ship-to-ship docking technology sooner than later?

Docking technology is not that difficult to implement from a technical standpoint. Resources have been allocated to higher priority items, but docking technology is on the list.

Can we have an authentic audio option for space? I.E. No sound in vacuum.

 Short term no. Longer term maybe, there’s other distant goals with more priority.

Within restraints of technology, how will personally owned NPCs be used for fleets?

The hard figures and rules are still in development, but it will provide support without compromising game balance or performance.

What will in game farming achieve? Can I farm animals?

You can add bio-domes to the Endeavour to farm crops you may not normally be able to farm on planets. Either due to low gravity or being a specific distance from the system’s sun. Livestock may be added in the long term but it will likely only be vegetation based farming for the immediate future.

Are you seeking guidance from people in the field when it comes to designing planets and procedural tech?

They consult with people at UCLA when they have an idea in mind about a certain kind of planet and consult about where it would be most fitting to go , then they add in factors like in game lore and gameplay before deciding on a planet’s location.

There will be a small amount of things like an ‘ice planet’ and a ‘jungle planet’ mixed with a combination of real life science.

Has CIG had a chance to look at Vulkan since its release? Will it be supported alongside DirectX 12?

It has been looked at, and both API’s are under review no final decision has been made.

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In more Star Citizen news, Alpha 2.2 is out right now, while the crowdfunding pot is currently filled with $109.8 million worth of pledges. Almost enough cash to fund that Pacific Rim sequel that I’m after.

Last Updated: March 11, 2016

11 Comments

  1. Ottokie vs the forces of Evil

    March 11, 2016 at 09:11

    If there ever was a myth in gaming, I would put this up as top ranked mythical game.

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      March 11, 2016 at 09:27

      Ash P BP is the greatest myth. ;P

      Reply

    • Kromas untamed

      March 11, 2016 at 09:47

      This is less of a myth. The game as it stands is exceptional with no equal. The pvp is a bit harsh though as some mofo will camp the one station that everyone goes to and just blow up your ship. Then it become a waiting game for someone else to land and you to steal their ship. Could do with the ability to keep shield powered while the ship is grounded.

      Reply

      • Paul

        April 6, 2016 at 04:34

        True, they keep saying it’s not going to be released and yet we keep getting new contents for it, can’t help but think it’s some console gamers coming up with this myth of it never being released and it being a scam, they must be praying it doesn’t see the light of day because it could end up being one of the biggest games ever made, not bad for a PC exclusive.

        Reply

  2. Alien Emperor Trevor

    March 11, 2016 at 09:20

    I’m glad about the patching news. One of the reasons I haven’t even bothered trying any of the new modules is because I don’t want to regularly download gigs worth of updates.

    Reply

  3. Sageville

    March 11, 2016 at 09:37

    I see journalists have stopped asking for release dates….

    Reply

  4. UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

    March 11, 2016 at 11:01

    One BIG reason I want the game to be on Steam is actually for the update system etc… The P2P thing they use atm is pretty shit.

    Reply

    • Paul

      April 6, 2016 at 04:36

      It wouldn’t surprise me when it goes into beta if it goes on Steam with early access, it would bring in a ton more money and a lot of advertisement.

      Reply

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