After 11 years and more than $750 million, we’ve finally reached Star Citizen 4.0. Cloud Imperium’s gigantic space MMO and spiritual relative to the likes of No Man’s Sky, Eve Online, Elite Dangerous, and Starfield is now bigger, literally, than ever before. The lawless new Pyro system is online and ready to explore, and, to bring us closer to the dream of the Star Citizen persistent universe, server meshing now allows 500 players to fly, fight, and scavenge for cosmic treasure all in the same world. This isn’t quite the full release of 4.0, however – Cloud Imperium says it still wants to make some further improvements to the new alpha.
Since the first playable modules of Star Citizen arrived back in 2013, the space MMO has been gradually working towards a grand vision: a gigantic universe, comprising different solar systems, that all players can access and experience simultaneously. 4.0 is the next step towards that finished version of the game.
Primarily, it introduces Pyro, a separate system from the existing Stanton, which players can access via preset ‘jump points.’ Jumping to Pyro presents a challenge in and of itself – without proper preparations and ship defenses, your craft might break up during the journey, or the other side of the intergalactic portal could spit you out lightyears away from your destination. And even when you get to Pyro, you need to be on your guard.
The new system represents a kind of Wild West frontier. Pyro Amalgamated, the megacorporation which once plundered and controlled the eponymous zone, has long since picked up sticks and vanished. In its wake, dozens of abandoned dig sites, space stations, and installations remain to be explored and scavenged. But in the far reaches of Pyro, there is no law. You’re off the leash and weapons free – it’s every pilot for themselves. Across six new planets, six new moons, and a range of asteroid bases, expect bandits, raiders, and loot-hungry opposition players aplenty.
Speaking of which, Star Citizen 4.0 also heralds the arrival of server meshing. Previously, each Star Citizen server could hold a maximum of 100 players. That number has jumped considerably to 500. We’ve not arrived in the persistent universe yet, but we’re getting closer.
While Star Citizen 4.0 is available to try right now, alpha 3.24.3 is still available, too – when you log in, you can select which build you want to access via the launcher. “Alpha 3.24.3 will remain available so people can play the missions and engage in game loops that are still being refactored in 4.0,” Cloud Imperium says. “By running both builds on the live environment, we can take steps to ensure that your progress will carry over. Our goal is for anything you do and earn in the 4.0 Preview to persist without any further wipes.”
Star Citizen recently hit a new funding watermark, having earned more than $750 million in contributions since its inception. A new look at the long-awaited Squadron 42 single-player campaign was also recently shared.
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