To celebrate Robert's Space Industries' annual Invictus Launch Week, described as “the annual celebration of the United Empire of Earth’s Navy and armed forces and those working hard to support them,” Star Citizen will be free to download and play, with an accompanying three-day “Free Fly” event allowing players to take vehicles for a spin. The event is going on now, from May 17th at 9:00 a.m. PDT until May 29th at 5:00 p.m.
In regards to lore, the event, basically like a Fleet Week, touts the UEEN’s might through its massive fleet. To give players a taste of this, the Free Fly event will take place the last three days of Launch Week, allowing players to test 87 of Star Citizen’s military ships. If you want to give any of these a spin, now’s your chance, as many ships can’t be bought with in-game currency.
Players will also get special close-ups of major vessels. For instance, there’ll be tours of the Aegis Idris-M Frigate, which was the star of the Idris War Game mission flown by Star Citizen’s developers. Plus, the RSI Polaris Soar will be doing fly-bys throughout the system to show off during Launch Week.
For those just starting, the accompanying release encourages new players to create their characters into Area18, where the events are taking place. This area is especially encouraged given its new player experience was updated in 3.19, about a year ago. And if you have an interested friend, players who have their referral codes used will get an extra 5,000 aUEC.
More information on Launch week, including a schedule of Launch Week’s models on display, is available on the official site.
