After more than ten years and $670 million in community funding (making this title the biggest budget in the industry…), Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) is finally nearing the finish line with Star Citizen.
The project has grown so large that it had to be split in two over time, so we have the persistent-world MMO and a single-player spiritual Wing Commander sequel, Squadron 42, starring Gillian Anderson, Gary Oldman and Mark Hamill. The latter’s features were completed last year, and Roberts says they’re coming into Star Citizen at an accelerating pace, which has also reached a major technological milestone. A player named MrTrash was the first to travel through wormholes between star systems. According to Roberts, this is a crucial step towards the MMO’s version 1.0.
The technology, known as server meshing, allows players to move seamlessly between servers. Up to 350 people have been on one server at a time, a record, according to Roberts. With the Squadron 42 features complete, the team has reorganized to push Star Citizen over the finish line, but since we’re talking about an MMO, this is NOT the end of development. According to Roberts, 1.0 means that the features and content represent a “commercial” state: it accommodates new players, has a stable state, and has refined gameplay and content to keep the audience engaged. In other words, it is no longer in alpha or early access.
According to Benoit Beausejour, CIG’s CTO, the studio is now on its way to the server mesh in Star Citizen Alpha 4.0, which will mark a new beginning for the game’s architecture. According to Rich Tyrer, the game’s senior director, we can expect major content updates every quarter, with changes to game systems that have not been touched in a long time (insurance, economy…) and new features and content, as well as quality of life features. Roberts moved from Los Angeles to Austin to be closer in time zone to Manchester, Frankfurt, and Montreal, where the game is made. (Two of those areas are in Europe, which is still 5-6 hours ahead…) As a result, the Los Angeles studio has been downsized, and the staff there has been asked to move primarily to the Manchester studio. Todd Papy, the permanent universe director, has been let go (he was living in the UK but returned to the US), and Roberts says that position can’t be far from the main team in Manchester for most of the year.
“I will miss the sunny skies and beaches of Los Angeles, but Star Citizen and Squadron 42 come first. The journey is longer and harder than I anticipated 11 ½ years ago, but the destination is so much more exciting and fulfilling. I never in my wildest dreams expected to have the opportunity to build something of the scale and ambition of Star Citizen, so I feel incredibly blessed by all of your support, and I am determined to finish strong,” said Roberts.
Squadron 42 was originally scheduled for release in 2014 and then 2016, but now neither it nor Star Citizen has a release date…
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