Inside Star Citizen: Cargo Embargo No Largo | Summer 2020

Transcript — every row opens the video at that moment

1. 00:00:03

   The big achievement that we've done with this location, it's a great new addition for for gameplay. It's just a whole new thing to experience in there with with with I can I just say I'm really happy with the experience. So with Star Citizen and our focus on careers, we wanted to be able to create points of interest for the players to go to. With 3.11, we're taking our next step in realizing this and that is the additions of cargo decks. In the past we've had these big multi-disciplinary kick-offs, but hey, for the for the cargo decks this was this time it was different. This time we had a kick-off, but it was just with the art director and just with that narrative and we were able to focus on a bigger picture. We

2. 00:00:49

   discussed we want these to be port stations. We knew that you know, we could do it very simply if we wanted to with just sort of a console but at the same time we kind of knew that we wanted to create a sort of unique cargo focused experience for the player which would involve the new environment which is where we came up with the idea of having a sort of discrete separate deck. So these are major stations where all the cargo funnels into and then is distributed into other areas from there. Some of the inspirations we've been looking at obviously like we draw heavy inspiration from existing cargo infrastructure in the real worlds and then it's always about sort of adding the Star Citizen sci-fi shine to that. In in a location like the cargo decks,

3. 00:01:40

   audio has a very important role in conveying life, busyness, commotion. You know, we work very very closely with visuals. It's important. Visuals, you know, we were kind of like right there with them. You want to to build off of what you're seeing but in a lot of cases you need to build off of what you can't see, what's unseen. Audio has a very important job to to to make you feel that there's life even when there's none or not much. So with 3.11 we've taken our first step in what our cargo decks will eventually be. The exterior of the space stations we've added cargo storage areas so that's it helps flush out, you know, from a silhouette perspective what the the station is focusing on and doing. If you fly close enough, you should see

4. 00:02:29

   that they're holding up pretty well to those cargo modules and I would say that the cargo modules themselves on the exterior are super fun to fly through and that was on purpose. So the player accesses the cargo deck from an elevator and essentially they come out of an elevator into the cargo space. It's not it's not a super huge space the cargo deck, but it does give you that impression of a really large scale sort of warehouse and and the work going on around you. For us in in audio, we achieve a a sense of life with layers. Especially for cargo location, our

5. 00:03:27

   initiative was to have a really good middle ground there. The big thing we added this time was call-outs these these disembodied voices that that we would put, you know, a verticality give it some a sense of verticality. We put it up above a little bit and and really make the space feel large. So you'll come out of the elevator and you'll enter into a sort of large sort of thoroughfare that we have running through the center of the space and then there'll also be this large warehouse area full of containers and the sort of hustle and bustle going on and the tunnel announcements and things. So that's where the sort of the impression of the main sort of working space of the cargo deck is going to be, but the thing the player is really going to be interested in heading towards is the cargo shop which will be sort of immediately

6. 00:04:15

   visible as you come out of the elevator and going into the cargo shop, the cargo shop itself is another reasonably large shop containing racks of like supplies and the sort of as if as if the supplies in the shop have been taken out of the large containers from the warehouse outside as if they're sort of breaking the contents of the containers down ready for sort of distribution, but the shop also contains functionality for the player to sort of do their cargo related gameplay which will involve like an admin desk for doing sort of cargo trading, but there's also a small supplies shop in the cargo shop that that sort of has that gives the player access to sort of buy more sort of utilitarian or workman-like supplies as well. I think the team did a great job in in

7. 00:05:05

   getting the look and feel right on the cargo decks from the exterior and as well as interior. That's really our first step into it and then as we go on, this allows us to build on the foundation for future patches whether that be regarding missions and their tie into the corporations and you building reputation with them or for basically side ventures if if you're a mercenary or you're you're pirate and you want to go and and attack these these haulers. And then this also allows us to start really working on our guild system and and basically it which will relate to is perks or specific missions or gifts associated with you know, that that career that you've chosen.

8. 00:05:54

   Um so I hope you everybody sees this as as such an important milestone as as I do in our journey on on on building out these decks and and really flushing out the universe. These new cargo decks that set the stage for a multitude of improvements and additions to industrial occupations in Star Citizen's future are just one of the many new groundwork inclusions or feature iterations coming online in the upcoming Alpha 3.11. And as ISC takes its hiatus at the end of this quarter, we're going to take one more look at some of the things coming our way in the patch report. Let's get to it. In addition to the cargo decks we just learned about, there are a number of location-based improvements coming to the entirety of the Stanton system with

9. 00:06:41

   the repainting of all existing planets and moons using our updated library of geology assets, updated ground textures, and improved tessellation and displacement of scattered objects across their surfaces. Now it may seem like a small touch, but these continuing improvements are a hallmark of Star Citizen's dedication towards iteration and the continuing evolution of its content and features. You'll also be able to travel to those updated locations in the new 100 series of spacecraft from Origin. Whether that's the model of efficiency 100i with its dedication to style and comfort and fuel performance to match, the heart of the warrior 125a with its souped-up weapons package that shows you don't have to sacrifice elegance for firepower, or the life of the party 135c with a deceptively increased cargo

10. 00:07:32

    capacity that shows you've got more on the inside than others might expect. Arriving a little later but still in the Alpha 3.11 branch is the Mercury Star Runner designed to raise the bar on speed and efficiency while remaining a stalwart of reliability. This data running, cargo hauling, something about smuggling ship is scheduled to make its debut in the Star Citizen Persistent Universe in a subsequent 3.11 X patch and is poised to become a system-wide favorite if it isn't already. The front providing an improved reliability overall and several quality of life improvements. More importantly, this conversion creates a modular and

11. 00:08:20

    sustainable platform that sets the stage for future iteration and improvement to come. In addition to the Behring BR-2 ballistic shotgun that looks to reward more precision-oriented players with improved effectiveness at greater distances, Alpha 3.11 is also seeing Star Citizen's first grenade launcher in the GP-33. And it remains to be seen if this will become a weapon that kills as many of its wielders as it does its targets. And as does my unskillful hands. We've also got three new iterations from the actor feature team aimed at providing a more compelling and more visceral player experience. Like force reactions V2 where new twitches and knockdowns from direct and indirect forces will impact the player in new and exciting ways while the sustained forces

12. 00:09:09

    from ship movement now transfer to the occupants within with leans and if you're not careful, potentially devastating knockdowns of their own. There's also the refactoring of our new throw and item handling system that provides an augmented reality visualization to help players hit their targets, streamlines the switch between overhand and underhand tosses, and adds a carriable state to useables like grenades and med pens. Let's not forget the new building blocks grid interface for player inventory that separates the storage between backpack, chest, and pants and the ability to transfer between them while adding new functionality that allows players to access inventories external to the player like the one at the back of the Great Cat Rock and more in the future. There's also new improvements to the

13. 00:09:59

    prison system coming online in Alpha 3.11. Now, we hope you don't have to go, but just in case you do, the new commissary vending machines will allow players to buy things like food, water, O2, medpens, and more to help with your stay. While additional options for those who maybe want to leave a bit earlier have been added that, well, we're not going to spoil here. Additionally, there are a wealth of improvements to the law system and the upcoming removal of green zones around space stations that are simply too numerous in detail to go into here. So, be sure you check out the dedicated post on Spectrum for all the relevant details. So, what do we learn this quarter? Well, we learn that brands can be used to help refine gameplay balance decisions. That the Greycat ROC, the Speria Talon, and 100 series bring new functionality and style to planet-side and spacefaring

14. 00:10:49

    activities alike. That gameplay story is dedicated to keeping players inside the action whenever possible. That having gas is a good thing when it comes to space skating. And that when the contents are under pressure, explosions can be used to tell a story. That rebuilding the front end today means improvements and new functionality for players tomorrow. That game dev is an ever-evolving process with continuing iterations to throw, force reactions, inventory, weapons, and more. And that cargo decks are the next major step in a journey that will bring with it a robust and rewarding gameplay experience to those of a more industrial persuasion. And that's not even counting all the sprint reports. For Inside Star Citizen, I'm Jared Huckaby. We'll see you next month.