Star Citizen, the ambitious space simulation game by Cloud Imperium Games, has just released its latest Alpha 3.18 update titled Lasting Legacies. This update is a major step forward for the game, bringing in new gameplay features, vehicles, and technology improvements. However, the release has not been without its share of problems.
One of the biggest additions to the game with the 3.18 update is Persistent Entity Streaming. This feature is crucial for creating a fully realized Persistent Universe that evolves with the players that inhabit it. The update also brings in a new gameplay feature called Salvage, which allows players to dismantle crashed haulers or tear apart the losers of battles to make a fortune. The new Drake Vulture vehicle is also added in this update, which is built purely for salvage and is ideal for enterprising pilots looking to make a living breaking wrecks apart.
Another major addition is the Soft Death gameplay feature. If a ship's critical components are destroyed, the ship will remain intact but stranded, leaving its contents and crew hanging in the balance. Soft death is key to the Salvage career, as abandoned vehicles can be ripped apart for serious profit by ships like the Aegis Reclaimer and Drake Vulture.
The update also introduces a new graphics renderer called Gen12 Graphics Renderer, which is a next-gen update to the graphics engine. This initial version renders all transparent geometry but will ultimately deliver vastly improved performance and visual fidelity in coming patches.
While the update brings in many exciting new features, it has also experienced a lot of problems, particularly with login issues. Some players have not been able to login, and support has stated that they will be doing a partial wipe in the 3.18.1 patch. However, the Community manager Captain Zyloh has stated in a reddit thread that they are not planning to do a wipe, conflicting with what support is saying.
“Hi all - adding a few important notes. While a partial wipe is always possible with 3.18.1, if we were to encounter some catastrophic issue, we do not currently expect to wipe. However, in the event that it does appear necessary, I want to assure you that your hard-earned aUEC and reputation would remain intact. The only items that would be affected are the ones obtained through in-game purchases or looting.
Fortunately, I have some good news to share as well. Even though ships purchased in-game would be wiped, our system would still retain the necessary information to allow us to remember them and restore them to you in a future update.
I'd like to reiterate that the execution of a partial wipe is currently not expected. If that ever changes, we will promptly update you to keep you informed.”
-Captain Zyloh, Community Manager, Star Citizen Reddit
The potential of a wipe has caused concern among players, as purchased ships could also be wiped. However, Zyloh has assured players that if a wipe does happen, purchased ships would be restored. The uncertainty around the potential of a wipe has caused frustration among some players.
While the Alpha 3.18 update for Star Citizen brings in many exciting new features and improvements, the the login problems, new feature issues, and potential of a wipe have caused some concern among players. It remains to be seen how Cloud Imperium Games will address these problems despite their team “working around the clock”, but we hope they are able to fix the issues swiftly for the sake of their players.
