Star Citizen Interview: Dogfights, Carriers And Customisation

Will any of the environments be destructible?

Definitely via shooting them or crashing into some of the smaller asteroids, not the large ones (small moon sized), will see shards coming off. However this will only be in the individual instances so if you destroy an asteroid jump away then back later on it the parts won’t still be floating around.

What is the purpose of the small moon sized asteroids?

They will potentially have tunnels through them and as they are the same size as a moon they are perfect for asteroid bases.

Will you be able to fly into the atmospheres of planets or how will players be stopped from flying into planetary bodies/gas giants?

Like with getting into the cockpit of a fighter a prompt will communicate with the player to see if they want to land. If so it cuts to a cutscene of them landing on the planet. If they don’t and they don’t pull up they could burn up. It will be possible to skim the atmosphere of the planets to capture hydrogen for fuel.

Will there be any form of character progression?

We are aiming for the game to be more about your skill and what you fly. If you earn credits and get a better ship you’ll have progressed but it won’t be stat based for players. The AI will have a level system but that will be for how they work. There will be a reputation based system for players. The AI will respond differently to players with more or less reputation.

How extensive will the character customization be?

Players will be able to choose the sex of their character, they can modify what their face looks like and have some level of choice of what they wear. More clothing options are something that could come later but at launch I’m aiming for some level of customisation but not a crazy amount.

After a battle will the entire ship become junk or can some things be salvaged?

Players will be able to claim and cargo that wasn’t destroyed although I’m not sure about guns or parts of the ship currently.

What happens if you die by losing a dogfight or even a huge battle?

Permanent death is too hardcore, although players feel that there is some kind of loss. In Squadron 42 players will have to load from a previous save point. These will be on all planets. However, the player might not have been to a planet in a while and might lose a lot. For the persistent universe players ships will be destroyed. Starting from nothing would be too much so they will get the basic ship they started with as it is covered via a lifelong insurance; which was gained by pledging. This lifetime insurance will only apply to this ship(s) and will have to be purchased via in-game credits for other ships. Think of it like crashing a car. You don’t think straight away it’s okay I’ll get a new one as you lose any upgrades or cargo you had however you aren’t starting from nothing. This is the sense of lose as the cargo and upgrades will be gone but you’ll get another craft to start your off.

Will there be any kind of crafting system or just basic resources?

You’ll definitely be able to buy and sell goods and I do want to work a level of crafting into the game, however no details have yet been determined.

Will Squadron 42 have a full story or just a set number of individual missions?

Squadron 42 is made of separate missions although there will be a overarching storyline. We are also looking at adding individual missions or small 5 mission story arcs into the persistent universe. They wouldn’t be another full storyline but they would give players side quests to do. We could after launch look towards adding more missions to the universe if it is something players want and will play.

How will players travel between systems and in system?

Between systems there is FTL jumps which must have previously been brought via in game credits, almost like updating you GPS in your car. If the jump hasn’t been made the player must attempt to navigate it themselves, making minor adjustments along the way. If the adjustments aren’t made the player will either crash into something or they will pop up in the middle of empty space. In system there will be no FTL jumps and players will be able to, when not in combat, engage an autopilot that will cutscene them to the location they wanted to be at.

Unfortunately that is all I was able to ask Chris questions but a lot of nice information and hopefully over the next two weeks I’ll be able to get more questions answered.