{"data":{"id":17787,"title":"Alpha 3.10 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3.10 Postmortem\nOn August 5, we launched Alpha 3.10 Flight & Fight, which introduced a number of new features and changes, such as location updates to Grim HEX and New Babbage, body dragging, new FPS weapons, player trading, and more. Most notably, Alpha 3.10 introduced major changes to both the ship HUD and flight model. The following is a postmortem offering our high-level thoughts on what went well, what didn\u2019t, and what we learned for next time. We believe that giving insight into our thought process is highly valuable and, as mentioned last time, will continue to provide quarterly patch postmortems. Vehicle Team\nThe Vehicle Pillar consists of five teams, all of which had a field day with Alpha 3.10, releasing no less than seven features, making it one of our most impactful deliveries yet.\nIn summary, the key features the pillar worked on were: Thruster Efficiency Curves & Aerodynamics\n\nTurret & Gunnery Improvements\n\nNew Targeting Methodology\n\nShip HUD Rework\n\nRestricted Area Rework\n\nHigh-Speed Combat\n\nGreycat Industrial ROC & Gathering Beam I\u2019ll go into detail for each of these features (some of which contain multiple smaller elements not shown on the roadmap) and break down what we did, what went well, what didn\u2019t, and how we can improve in the future.\nThruster Efficiency Curves & Aerodynamics\nPlayers who have been with us for a while will remember \u2018Hover Mode\u2019, a concept we trialled back in Alpha 3.6 to try and make ships look and feel more believable in atmospheric flight by pushing them towards \u2018helicopter-style\u2019 handling. Ultimately, we didn\u2019t pursue the idea beyond the initial release due to it causing handling quirks and confusing players when their ships automatically switched control modes.\nThruster Efficiency Curves were designed as an alternative to this by reducing the maximum amount of thruster available based on atmospheric density, in turn reducing the agility of ships the closer to the ground they are. Alongside this, we also introduced aerodynamic surfaces to ships so that they behave more akin to traditional aeroplanes with lifting surfaces.\nCompared to some of the other features in Alpha 3.10, the release of these features was relatively smooth, with time scheduled in to react to any feedback from Evocati and PTU testing. The team pushed out multiple updates and tweaks to ship handling during those periods as bugs were found with specific ship setups.\nThe rollout of this feature required a significant time investment from both the Vehicle Feature Team (VFT) and Vehicle Experience Team (VET) due to the nature of simply having to redo the balance and tuning of the 120+ vehicles currently flyable in the PU alongside those in Squadron 42. So, it was only natural a few slipped into the early Evocati stages with a few issues (looking at you Hornet with your wings on backwards\u2026).\nAs a feature, we\u2019re happy with how the initial release went out and there are minimal plans for the future from the VFT side, with the exception of ongoing flight balance and tweaks to ship handling as needed. The sole remaining item left is to add input-driven control surfaces, such as elevators and ailerons, to add both visual and physical handling changes. The VFX Team is also looking at ways to improve the visuals of thrusters to make it clear they are in use when viewed from a distance. This will prevent ships from appearing in odd-looking positions, even with all the recent changes.\n\nTurret & Gunnery Improvements\nOne of the persistent questions we had during development was, \u201cWhy should I have a player in my turret when it would be more effective for them to bring along a second ship?\u201d With Alpha 3.10, we aimed to answer that once and for all. With a slew of improvements and a heavily rewritten codebase, turrets are now an extremely lethal option when manned and provide a force multiplier for the ship.\nWith a combination of work from the VET and VFT providing a new HUD for turrets, the overall experience has been improved from every measurable angle. The second side to this was leveraging some of the improvements applied to turrets and applying them to fixed weapons, which had fallen significantly behind in usage versus gimbals and auto-gimbals.\nEarly testing showed the promise of the vJoy-based movement method combined with fixed assist. However, this resulted in turrets becoming truly overpowered and we had to dial back some of the settings for the initial release. We hit a few challenges with the variety of turret setups in the game, in particular inverted turrets, which required additional work to make them behave as expected.\n\nRemote turrets, such as the Super Hornet\u2019s second seat, also benefitted from the changes but we found a few other issues regarding the synchronisation of projectiles that we\u2019ll further improve in future patches.\nFixed weapons have once again returned to the top of the pecking order with these changes, showing a significant increase in lethality since Alpha 3.9.\nNew Targeting Methodology\nThe goal for New Targeting Methodology was to simplify the process of selecting targets along with cleaning up the onscreen \u2018clutter\u2019 that had increased over multiple releases. Of all the features that the Vehicle Pillar worked on for Alpha 3.10, this was the one that caused the most problems for a variety of reasons.\nUltimately, we feel the system released in Alpha 3.10.0 (and had minor updates in 3.10.1) provides a better solution to targeting objects. However, the path to that was particularly difficult and intense, with lots of feedback coming in from the Evocati phase that caused us to significantly deviate from the initial plan.\nThe core goal was to move the system back towards how it was in early Wing Commander games, where players could simply target and lock threats with two inputs. This would also allow us to remove the sea of triangles that were becoming a common sight in Star Citizen. Initial prototypes highlighted issues with a lack of situational awareness but, with the benefit of internal foresight alongside repeated exposure to the system, we could see this would be improved by the upcoming changes to 3D vehicle radar displays.\nOther options we trialed during development included essentially splitting the targeting into four separate states: Select \u2013 Target is highlighted but has no gunnery information. Selection is lost when offscreen\n\nMarked \u2013 Target is stored in a list for later selection, regardless of position\n\nLocked \u2013 Target has gunnery information and is not lost when offscreen\n\nPinned \u2013 Target is stored in a list with information and shared with the crew\n\n\nUltimately, we found the Marked state to be an unnecessary step in the initial implementation; while it could be useful down the line with multi-crew roles, it hampered usability in the short-term. The initial push to Evocati went with the other three states but the overwhelming feedback was the prerequisite Selected state was an unnecessary step. So, in further patches, we streamlined the process to essentially automatic selection with the ability to lock and pin.\nAnother contentious issue that came to light during Evocati testing was the removal of the cycle keybinds. As stated, we wanted to try and simplify the selection process via view direction input but, in conjunction with the removal of onscreen markers, players had been using cycle targets as a quick way to get situational awareness. Long-term, we\u2019ll be improving this with better information on the 3D radar display alongside having selected targets show on the Target Status MFD. Those players who want to solely use automatic selection can still do so and those who want manual cycling for everything can find a wealth of bindable options in the control section, so there should be something for everyone.\nThe final piece of the feature was all the visual changes that were implemented to solve the aforementioned sea of triangles and help bring clarity and focus to locked targets. Early blockouts of the feature had a 2D element for distant targets that transitioned to a 3D bracket at mid-distance before finally transitioning to a silhouette shader. During development, we trialled combinations and variations of this including a purely silhouette-based outline that was in early Evocati patches. The feedback was clear that this wasn\u2019t visible, so we returned to 3D geometry and re-implemented the forward direction cone alongside contextual displays, including distance and closing rate. A very late addition was the \u2018known contact\u2019 chevron markers that we were originally trying to avoid in order to reduce visual clutter. Ultimately, we decided they were useful in a fight for situational awareness. Zane Bien came up with a more elegant 3D implementation than the previous 2D triangles that also helped draw the eye to new contacts coming into range, so we were happy with the result.\nIn the future, we\u2019ll improve the visibility of these 3D elements on the HUD by enabling them to use the same dynamic brightness feature we have on the 2D HUD elements to help them be more appropriate to the scenario.\nShip HUD Rework\nThe primary goal of this feature was to replace the flash-based central HUD element in vehicles with our Building Blocks UI, improving on some of the features in the process. Converting the ships was a relatively quick task, although a few slipped through the net despite repeated testing and were cleaned up in subsequent PTU patches. Between this and New Targeting Methodology, there were a lot of tweaks and changes that could be considered as being in one or either of these two features, such as: Improved Autogimbal display \u2013 Now displays the progression of the gimballed weapons to target to give feedback on how \u2018locked\u2019 players are.\n\nNew 3D reticules and pips \u2013 Provides more integrated visuals to other visor elements. Animations provide feedback on the state of weapons, such as \u2018over target\u2019 or \u2018out of range\u2019\n\nVelocity indicator adjustments and thrust meter \u2013 Velocity tape bar is now displayed logarithmically rather than linearly. Thrust meter added to reflect the thrust capacity of the player ship.\n\n\nDuring the Evocati and PTU phases, we trialled a variety of HUD elements and took onboard feedback specifically around the scale and amount of visual noise, adjusting it until we were happy with the clarity and visual identity. Like the elements for New Targeting, one area we want to improve on in the future is the readability in bright environments. Enabling dynamic brightness on visor\/lens elements will achieve this.\nRestricted Area Rework\nIn retrospect, this was probably the most contentious feature of the patch and one that very nearly made it into Alpha 3.9. However, it was held back due to technical issues with the setup that required more testing. The goal was to provide a more realistic entry method to landing locations (like a real-world ATC system), remove the imposing visual element highlighting the area, and provide simpler mark-up for Art and Design to control it over the previous setup.\nCompared to the previous version, the mark-up is a lot simpler and more flexible. Now, alongside single meshes that often resulted in huge and complex brushes, it can utilise primitive shapes and apply priorities to them to dictate which areas are restricted (or kill zones) and tie them to splines if desired.\nThe addition of navigation splines had problems like other HUD elements with readability in various lighting states. Unlike other aspects, it uses a different shader to control it, which is currently unable to react based on the overall brightness of the screen. We aim to fix this in a future patch as well as \u2018theme\u2019 the geometry to ship manufacturers because, in lore, the projection is from within the ship rather than the landing location. During the initial Evocati release, it was clear that players were using the system in a much more aggressive way than internal testers, often flying right up to the zone first before calling ATC. This resulted in the tunnels being drawn behind them and the icon for landing luring them into kill zones. With the change to brightness, improved hints and screen tips, and the addition of the marker being shown at the entrance to the tunnel, we feel this system is in a much better state though we are not happy with where it currently is in gameplay terms.\nWe\u2019re looking at doing another pass to the system to try and remove some of the heavy-handed restrictions and let players go where they want, instead punishing misbehaviour with the Law System (impounding, fines, crimestats, etc.) rather than with autopiloting and destruction of property.\nHigh Speed Combat\nIt\u2019s a misnomer calling this feature High-Speed Combat, as it\u2019s really all about discouraging combat at high speeds. We completed a lot of preliminary work on this during the Alpha 3.9.0 patch cycle but, due to various factors, held it to go alongside other changes in Alpha 3.10.\nThe goal was to reduce the ability for players to engage in easy dogfights at top speeds via a combination of restrictions that slowly become stronger above Space Combat Manoeuvring (SCM) speeds: Increased missile lock time\n\nDecreased auto gimbal slew rate\n\nRestrictions on firing missiles above certain speeds\n\nDecreased weapon accuracy\n\nDecrease shield strength\n\n\nThrough testing both internally and in the early Evocati phase, we decided that only the first two in the list were suitable for release. The remaining options were not followed through due to a combination of the UI not being able to clearly communicate what was going on and it feeling like arbitrary gameplay limitation. In the future, we plan to impart more restrictions like this by using capacitors on weapons, thrusters, and shields to make players consider which of these three \u2018resources\u2019 they want to use for maximum effect. The power triangle will manage this.\nGreycat Industries ROC & Gathering Beam\nThe premier vehicle of Alpha 3.10 was the Greycat Industrial ROC, our first ground-based mining vehicle. We also planned two features to go alongside it, one of which made the release.\nThe first feature was the Gathering Beam, which on the surface looked like all our existing mining vehicles\u2019 extraction mode. However, it was different in that it physically moved the split chunks of rock rather than playing a particle effect to simulate it. This feature is something we want to ultimately expand into the other mining vehicles as it lays the groundwork for other vehicle tech, such as tractor beams and salvage.\nHaving the Gathering Beam in the first place was the result of something identified in early planning by the Vehicle Tech Team (VTT) \u2013 the actual mineable deposits were physical and couldn\u2019t simply vanish on collection. So, the ROC needed new rocks between the existing hand-mineables and those the larger ships extract. The Art Team diligently made new assets that split into the harvestable assets usually extracted from the smaller hand-mineables rather than simply larger chunks of rock that the Prospector and MOLE utilise.\nThe biggest issue the feature faced was one bug that appeared late in the push for Alpha 3.10.0 live. The rate at which items could be processed (the rocks were transferred to the ship\u2019s physical inventory like food into a spacesuit) was limited due to a fix for another issue, resulting in the ROC only being able to collect around 20% of assets from a rock. This was subsequently fixed for 3.10.1 due to the additional time needed to QA the change.\nThe second feature the ROC was due to launch with was an External Inventory, as it was always planned that the crate on the back would accept rocks from a player\u2019s own inventory, allowing the ROC to behave as an extended backpack. This feature wasn\u2019t quite ready for Alpha 3.10 and will come online in 3.11 instead.\nI hope the above has given you an insight into the development of the features the Vehicle Pillar delivered for Alpha 3.10. We\u2019re excited for lots of our upcoming work to be experienced in future patches.\nJohn Crewe\nVehicle Director\n\nPU Live Gameplay\nCover Usage V1\nWhen we started to develop cover and the way we set-dress environments, it became very clear that we needed more flexibility in the system. Before, cover for AI was limited to 1.25 meters and higher, so how the environment was built had a big impact on how the AI acted and navigated. In most cases, this caused a non-realistic scenario to play out. We didn\u2019t want to always have 1.25-meter objects spread throughout the room, so the AI Team made key adjustments that allowed the markup of cover to be easier to set up, and adjusted the NPCs to use a range of cover from 0.5 to 1.25 and above. However, there are still some minor issues that pop up in specific situations that we are ironing out.\nShotgun AI\nThis was our third weapon-type addition to Combat AI, after assault rifles and pistols. With this addition, we wanted to create some behavioral changes in the way the AI acted towards the player based on what weapon they have. We also overhauled AI interruption mechanics and made it more reactive compared to the previous version. AI also have a better understanding of the combat environment and situation through behavior adjustments. One of the more noticeable additions we made for the shotgun was that the AI will be more aggressive in closing the distance to the player, which we call \u201cpushing.\u201d\nThere were also adjustments made to the AI where sometimes they will be a bit more cautious depending on the weapon and distance to their target. We did a good amount of polishing and updated the animations and behaviors to make them more deadly. And with the coming addition of Forced Reaction on the player, if you are near the Shotgun AI, you will be knocked down and could be put in a compromised situation. As always with the addition of new features, there will need to be another polishing pass on the AI that will allow us to tune the time to kill and behaviors even more.\nTodd Papy\nStar Citizen Live Director\n\nEnvironment Art\nGrimHEX V2\nWe were able to go back to one of the oldest locations in the game and introduce some of the key elements required to make it a fully-fledged landing zone, the biggest being the introduction of hangars, giving the player the ability to request ships of all sizes. Also, as part of this process, we refactored a section of the interior to incorporate future racing and betting events, which includes a generous viewing gallery to the exterior, a makeshift bar and seating area, and most notably the future space for mission-giver Luca Brunt. The team worked through these updates quite quickly and we were happy to bring more usability and flavor to this location. In the future we\u2019d like to see content drops releasing in parallel with specific mission gameplay for a complete experience, but for now, we are laying the foundations for future mission content.\nAeroview Hangars\nWhen we released New Babbage, we were not able to complete the hangars in the new Hi-Tech art style in time. So, rather than sacrificing quality, we decided to release with the existing Utilitarian art style hangars with microTech branding. For this release, we were excited to be able to showcase the new art style hangars, which fit the location much better. Plus, with the Aeroview brand, this is the first time we are seeing this look outside the hangar module and in the PU. Expect more hangar brands coming in the future.\nNew Babbage Shop Additions\nAfter the major releases of New Babbage were completed, there were still some elements that we wanted to include before we moved onto the next location, the biggest being microTech\u2019s flagship store - The Factory Line. The vision for the store was something very sleek and exclusive; something that reflected the campus-vibe seen in other areas of New Babbage. Several elements were stress-tested and resolved, such as large animated Building Block screens, how AI and the player interacted with curved stairs, and how the mobiGlas could be changed as an inventory item.\nRight now, not everything in the shop is interactable to the player. However, we wanted to build the space with all items in mind to give an idea of what will be coming in the future, so expect to see the shopping experience updated as and when products come online. Plus, keep your eyes out for microTech Field Rep mission-givers in this location in the future.\nAlso, we introduced the new novelty items store in the New Babbage spaceport interior. The idea is to have shops that sell items unique to specific locations that players can collect and personalize their own spaces with. For New Babbage, we introduced Pico the Penguin. This is something we want to expand on so expect more elements like this in the future.\nNew Planetary Heightmaps\nAs part of the planet tech improvements we were able to increase the resolution of the heightmaps used on the planets and moons. Previously, this was simply increasing the resolution of the original maps. By re-authoring the heightmaps in the new resolution, we were able to utilize each pixel more effectively, creating more detail and data for us to take advantage of. As part of the process we needed to re-drop all ground locations currently in-game; this was everything from landing zones to derelicts. This is the first step in a multi-stage initiative to implement planet tech features as they come online. Expect more exciting improvements soon.\nNew Minables\nWith the release of the ROC mining vehicle, we created a new size of minable for it to use. Essentially, we took the functionality of the FPS-scale minable item and increased the size to the requirement of the vehicle. Also, with the Quantainium ship minable item, we wanted to create a new shader that improved the readability to look more dangerous and volatile, reflecting the properties of this material.\nIan Leyland\nStar Citizen Art Director\n\nActor Feature Team\nBody Dragging\nBody Dragging is an important systemic addition to the game as it\u2019s one of those features that underpins so many future core gameplay loops, including dragging a captured bounty to your ship, moving a dead body out of an AI patrol path, and even the heroic moment of you dragging a fallen teammate out of the line of fire.\nAt its foundation, the feature allows you to move dead or unconscious bodies around the play space. While this may sound simple, the implementation is fairly complex. We didn\u2019t want Body Dragging to feel constricted and we endeavoured to make sure that when you\u2019re dragging a body, the controls and actions of the character remain the same, so you can still look around and walk in the direction that you are looking and the body will follow you.\nThis meant we had to use a hybrid-driven ragdoll solution to allow the body to react to other objects in the world while still being constrained to the left hand. This also meant that we could leave the right hand free so you can use one-handed objects, like pistols, or interact with the game world. Some of you may be wondering why we added Body Dragging before the above gameplay loops. The answer is we wanted to get it live and into your hands so we could get feedback from a live environment. This means we can address any issues, like the body disconnecting too often (which we have analytics on), before the really fun stuff goes live.\nThe team is happy with the first implementation of Body Dragging, but that doesn\u2019t mean we are finished working on it. We still want to improve several aspects, including the stickiness of the body attaching to your hand and the overall visuals, as the entire animation set was hand-keyed instead of using motion capture due to the pandemic lockdown.\nElectron Damage\nElectron Damage is the first of many exotic damage types we want to add to the \u2018verse, and we went live with the Lightning Bolt Co. Aztkav sniper rifle and Yubarev pistol. This damage type is a mixture of electrical, distortion, and stun damage. Electrical damage by itself is self-explanatory \u2013 it causes damage. Distortion and stun though are more about disabling their targets using non-lethal damage, with distortion affecting machines and stun affecting organics. The split of damage is not 1:1:1 across the three types and can be tweaked to provide different end results.\nThe two weapons we shipped electron damage with are specifically lethal weapons and have unique cooperative gameplay. The Aztkav is a high-powered, bolt-action sniper rifle that releases a huge electrical discharge that can jump to nearby enemies, giving snipers their first area-of-effect weapon in the game. Both the Aztkav and Yubarev also leave their targets electrically charged for a small period, which allows players to follow up with a second shot to cause a small area-of-effect detonation.\nWe were excited to see the new weapons go live, but this is just the beginning for the electron damage type, with future additions already being worked on for non-lethal gameplay.\nRichard Tyrer\nCore Gameplay Director\n\n\nSee you in the \u2018Verse!\nAs we mentioned in the last postmortem, you can continue to expect similar postmortems on Alpha 3.11 and additional future patches as we invite you to hear from our directors on the successes, challenges, and learnings in the aftermath of each update. This is one of our initiatives to provide a more transparent look into our open development process.","de_DE":"Alpha 3.10 Postmortem\nAm 5. August starteten wir Alpha 3.10 Flight & Fight, mit dem wir eine Reihe von neuen Features und \u00c4nderungen einf\u00fchrten, wie z.B. Standort-Updates f\u00fcr Grim HEX und New Babbage, Body-Dragging, neue FPS-Waffen, Spielerhandel und mehr. Am bemerkenswertesten ist, dass Alpha 3.10 gro\u00dfe \u00c4nderungen sowohl am Schiffs HUD als auch am Flugmodell eingef\u00fchrt hat. Im Folgenden findet ihr eine Obduktion, die unsere hochstufigen Gedanken dar\u00fcber enth\u00e4lt, was gut gelaufen ist, was nicht gut gelaufen ist und was wir f\u00fcr das n\u00e4chste Mal gelernt haben. Wir glauben, dass es sehr wertvoll ist, Einblick in unseren Denkprozess zu geben und werden, wie beim letzten Mal erw\u00e4hnt, weiterhin viertelj\u00e4hrliche Patch-Postmortems zur Verf\u00fcgung stellen.\n\n\nFahrzeug-Team\nDie Fahrzeug-S\u00e4ule besteht aus f\u00fcnf Teams, die alle einen Feldtag mit Alpha 3.10 hatten und nicht weniger als sieben Features ver\u00f6ffentlicht haben, was es zu einer unserer bisher wirkungsvollsten Lieferungen macht.\nZusammengefasst waren die wichtigsten Features, an denen die S\u00e4ule gearbeitet hat:\nEffizienzkurven der Schubd\u00fcsen & Aerodynamik Turm & Verbesserungen an der Schusswaffe Neue Zielmethodik Schiffs-HUD-\u00dcberarbeitung \u00dcberarbeitung des Sperrgebiets Hochgeschwindigkeitskampf\nGreycat Industrielles ROC & Sammelleuchte\n\n\nIch werde f\u00fcr jedes dieser Features (von denen einige mehrere kleinere Elemente enthalten, die nicht auf der Roadmap zu sehen sind) ins Detail gehen und aufschl\u00fcsseln, was wir gemacht haben, was gut gelaufen ist, was nicht, und wie wir uns in Zukunft verbessern k\u00f6nnen.\nTriebwerkseffizienz-Kurven & Aerodynamik\nSpieler, die schon eine Weile bei uns sind, werden sich an den 'Hover Mode' erinnern, ein Konzept, das wir bereits in Alpha 3.6 ausprobiert haben, um zu versuchen, Schiffe im atmosph\u00e4rischen Flug glaubw\u00fcrdiger aussehen zu lassen, indem wir sie zu einem 'Helikopter-\u00e4hnlichen' Handling dr\u00e4ngen. Letztendlich verfolgten wir die Idee nicht \u00fcber die anf\u00e4ngliche Ver\u00f6ffentlichung hinaus, da sie zu Handhabungsfehlern f\u00fchrte und die Spieler verwirrte, wenn ihre Schiffe automatisch den Steuermodus wechselten.\nThruster-Effizienz-Kurven wurden als Alternative dazu entworfen, indem die maximale Menge an verf\u00fcgbaren Triebwerken basierend auf der atmosph\u00e4rischen Dichte reduziert wurde, was wiederum die Agilit\u00e4t der Schiffe reduziert, je n\u00e4her sie dem Boden sind. Daneben haben wir auch aerodynamische Oberfl\u00e4chen in die Schiffe eingef\u00fchrt, so dass sie sich eher wie traditionelle Flugzeuge mit Auftriebsfl\u00e4chen verhalten.\nVerglichen mit einigen der anderen Features in Alpha 3.10 verlief die Ver\u00f6ffentlichung dieser Features relativ reibungslos, wobei Zeit eingeplant wurde, um auf jegliches Feedback von Evocati und PTU-Tests zu reagieren. Das Team hat w\u00e4hrend dieser Zeit mehrere Updates und Optimierungen an der Schiffsf\u00fchrung vorgenommen, da Fehler bei bestimmten Schiffskonfigurationen gefunden wurden.\nDie Einf\u00fchrung dieses Features erforderte sowohl vom Vehicle Feature Team (VFT) als auch vom Vehicle Experience Team (VET) einen erheblichen Zeitaufwand, da die \u00fcber 120 Fahrzeuge, die derzeit in der PU fliegen k\u00f6nnen, zusammen mit denen der Staffel 42 einfach neu ausbalanciert und abgestimmt werden mussten. So war es nur nat\u00fcrlich, dass ein paar in die fr\u00fchen Evocati-Stadien mit ein paar Problemen gerutscht sind (wenn man dich Hornet mit den Fl\u00fcgeln nach hinten schaut...).\nAls Feature sind wir zufrieden damit, wie die anf\u00e4ngliche Ver\u00f6ffentlichung verlaufen ist und es gibt minimale Pl\u00e4ne f\u00fcr die Zukunft von Seiten der VFT, mit Ausnahme der fortlaufenden Flugbalance und Anpassungen der Schiffsabfertigung nach Bedarf. Das Einzige, was noch \u00fcbrig bleibt, ist das Hinzuf\u00fcgen von input-getriebenen Steuerfl\u00e4chen, wie H\u00f6hen- und Querruder, um sowohl visuelle als auch physische Handhabungs\u00e4nderungen hinzuzuf\u00fcgen. Das VFX-Team sucht auch nach M\u00f6glichkeiten, die Optik der Triebwerke zu verbessern, um aus der Entfernung deutlich zu machen, dass sie benutzt werden, wenn man sie aus der Entfernung betrachtet. Dies wird verhindern, dass Schiffe in seltsam aussehenden Positionen erscheinen, selbst mit all den letzten \u00c4nderungen.\nVerbesserungen an Gesch\u00fctzturm und Gesch\u00fctz\nEine der hartn\u00e4ckigen Fragen, die wir w\u00e4hrend der Entwicklung hatten, war: \"Warum sollte ich einen Spieler in meinem Gesch\u00fctzturm haben, wenn es f\u00fcr sie effektiver w\u00e4re, ein zweites Schiff mitzunehmen? Mit Alpha 3.10 wollten wir diese Frage ein f\u00fcr allemal beantworten. Mit einer Reihe von Verbesserungen und einer stark umgeschriebenen Codebasis sind Gesch\u00fctzt\u00fcrme jetzt eine extrem t\u00f6dliche Option, wenn sie bemannt sind, und bieten einen Kraft-Multiplikator f\u00fcr das Schiff.\nMit einer Kombination aus der Arbeit des VET und der VFT, die ein neues HUD f\u00fcr T\u00fcrme bereitstellen, wurde das Gesamterlebnis aus jedem messbaren Blickwinkel verbessert. Die zweite Seite davon war, einige der Verbesserungen, die bei den Gesch\u00fctzt\u00fcrmen angewandt wurden, zu nutzen und sie auf feststehende Waffen anzuwenden, die im Vergleich zu Kardan und Autokardan deutlich in der Nutzung zur\u00fcckgefallen waren.\nErste Tests zeigten das Versprechen der vJoy-basierten Bewegungsmethode in Kombination mit fixen Assists. Dies f\u00fchrte jedoch dazu, dass die Gesch\u00fctzt\u00fcrme wirklich \u00fcberw\u00e4ltigt wurden und wir mussten einige der Einstellungen f\u00fcr die erste Version zur\u00fccknehmen. Bei der Vielfalt der Gesch\u00fctzturmeinstellungen im Spiel, insbesondere bei umgekehrten Gesch\u00fctzt\u00fcrmen, hatten wir einige Herausforderungen zu meistern, die zus\u00e4tzliche Arbeit erforderten, damit sie sich wie erwartet verhalten.\n\nFerngesch\u00fctzt\u00fcrme, wie der zweite Sitz der Superhornisse, profitierten ebenfalls von den \u00c4nderungen, aber wir fanden noch ein paar andere Probleme bez\u00fcglich der Synchronisierung der Geschosse, die wir in zuk\u00fcnftigen Patches weiter verbessern werden.\nReparierte Waffen sind mit diesen \u00c4nderungen wieder an die Spitze der Hackordnung zur\u00fcckgekehrt und zeigen einen deutlichen Anstieg der Letalit\u00e4t seit Alpha 3.9.\nNeue Zielmethodik\nDas Ziel der neuen Zielauswahlmethodik war es, den Prozess der Zielauswahl zu vereinfachen und gleichzeitig das 'Durcheinander' auf dem Bildschirm zu bereinigen, das sich \u00fcber mehrere Ver\u00f6ffentlichungen hinweg vergr\u00f6\u00dfert hatte. Von allen Features, an denen die Fahrzeugs\u00e4ule f\u00fcr Alpha 3.10 gearbeitet hat, war dies dasjenige, das aus verschiedenen Gr\u00fcnden die meisten Probleme verursachte.\n\nLetztendlich sind wir der Meinung, dass das System, das in Alpha 3.10.0 ver\u00f6ffentlicht wurde (und kleinere Updates in 3.10.1 hatte), eine bessere L\u00f6sung f\u00fcr das Zielen auf Objekte bietet. Allerdings war der Weg dorthin besonders schwierig und intensiv, mit vielen R\u00fcckmeldungen aus der Evocati-Phase, die dazu f\u00fchrten, dass wir erheblich vom urspr\u00fcnglichen Plan abgewichen sind.\n\nDas Kernziel war es, das System wieder so zu gestalten, wie es in den fr\u00fchen Wing Commander Spielen war, wo die Spieler Bedrohungen einfach mit zwei Eingaben anvisieren und blockieren konnten. Dies w\u00fcrde es uns auch erm\u00f6glichen, das Meer von Dreiecken zu entfernen, das in Star Citizen zu einem allt\u00e4glichen Anblick wurde. Die ersten Prototypen wiesen auf Probleme mit mangelndem Situationsbewusstsein hin, aber mit dem Vorteil der internen Voraussicht neben dem wiederholten Kontakt mit dem System konnten wir sehen, dass dies durch die bevorstehenden \u00c4nderungen an 3D-Fahrzeugradaranzeigen verbessert werden w\u00fcrde.\n\nAndere Optionen, die wir w\u00e4hrend der Entwicklung ausprobierten, beinhalteten im Wesentlichen die Aufteilung des Targeting in vier verschiedene Zust\u00e4nde:\nAusw\u00e4hlen - Ziel ist markiert, hat aber keine Informationen \u00fcber Schie\u00dfereien. Auswahl geht verloren, wenn au\u00dferhalb des Bildschirms Markiert - Ziel wird in einer Liste f\u00fcr eine sp\u00e4tere Auswahl gespeichert, unabh\u00e4ngig von der Position Gesperrt - Ziel hat Schusswaffeninformationen und geht nicht verloren, wenn au\u00dferhalb des Bildschirms Angeheftet - Ziel wird in einer Liste mit Informationen gespeichert und mit der Crew geteilt\nLetztendlich fanden wir, dass der Markierte Zustand ein unn\u00f6tiger Schritt in der anf\u00e4nglichen Implementierung war; w\u00e4hrend er auf der ganzen Linie bei Multi-Crew-Rollen n\u00fctzlich sein k\u00f6nnte, behinderte er kurzfristig die Nutzbarkeit. Der anf\u00e4ngliche Ansto\u00df zu Evocati ging mit den anderen drei Zust\u00e4nden, aber das \u00fcberw\u00e4ltigende Feedback war die Voraussetzung daf\u00fcr, dass der Markierte Zustand ein unn\u00f6tiger Schritt war. Also haben wir in weiteren Patches den Prozess auf eine im Wesentlichen automatische Auswahl mit der M\u00f6glichkeit, zu sperren und zu fixieren, rationalisiert.\nEin weiteres strittiges Thema, das w\u00e4hrend der Evocati-Tests ans Licht kam, war die Entfernung der Cycle-Schl\u00fcsselbunde. Wie bereits erw\u00e4hnt, wollten wir versuchen, den Auswahlprozess durch die Eingabe der Blickrichtung zu vereinfachen, aber in Verbindung mit der Entfernung der Markierungen auf dem Bildschirm hatten die Spieler Cycle-Ziele als schnellen Weg benutzt, um ein Situationsbewusstsein zu erlangen. Langfristig werden wir dies mit besseren Informationen auf dem 3D-Radar-Display verbessern und gleichzeitig ausgew\u00e4hlte Ziele auf dem Zielstatus-MFD anzeigen lassen. Diejenigen Spieler, die ausschlie\u00dflich die automatische Auswahl verwenden wollen, k\u00f6nnen dies immer noch tun, und diejenigen, die f\u00fcr alles manuelles Radfahren wollen, finden eine F\u00fclle von verbindbaren Optionen im Kontrollabschnitt, so dass f\u00fcr jeden etwas dabei sein sollte.\n\nDer letzte Teil des Features bestand aus all den visuellen \u00c4nderungen, die implementiert wurden, um das oben erw\u00e4hnte Meer aus Dreiecken zu l\u00f6sen und Klarheit und Fokus auf gesperrte Ziele zu bringen. Fr\u00fche Blockierungen des Features hatten ein 2D-Element f\u00fcr weit entfernte Ziele, das in eine 3D-Klammer in der Mitte der Distanz \u00fcberging, bevor es schlie\u00dflich in einen Silhouetten-Shader \u00fcberging. W\u00e4hrend der Entwicklung testeten wir Kombinationen und Variationen davon, einschlie\u00dflich eines rein silhouettenbasierten Umrisses, der in den fr\u00fchen Evocati-Patches enthalten war. Das Feedback war klar, dass dies nicht sichtbar war, also kehrten wir zur 3D-Geometrie zur\u00fcck und implementierten den Kegel f\u00fcr die Vorw\u00e4rtsrichtung neben kontextuellen Anzeigen, einschlie\u00dflich Entfernung und Schlie\u00dfgeschwindigkeit, neu. Eine sehr sp\u00e4te Erg\u00e4nzung waren die 'known contact'-Chevron-Markierungen, die wir urspr\u00fcnglich vermeiden wollten, um visuelles Durcheinander zu reduzieren. Letztendlich entschieden wir, dass sie in einem Kampf um Situationsbewusstsein n\u00fctzlich sind. Zane Bien hat sich eine elegantere 3D-Implementierung als die vorherigen 2D-Dreiecke ausgedacht, die auch dazu beigetragen hat, den Blick auf neue Kontakte zu lenken, die in Reichweite kommen, also waren wir mit dem Ergebnis zufrieden.\nIn Zukunft werden wir die Sichtbarkeit dieser 3D-Elemente auf dem HUD verbessern, indem wir es ihnen erm\u00f6glichen, die gleiche dynamische Helligkeitsfunktion wie bei den 2D-HUD-Elementen zu nutzen, um sie besser auf das Szenario abzustimmen.\nSchiff-HUDD-\u00dcberarbeitung\nDas prim\u00e4re Ziel dieses Features war es, das flashbasierte zentrale HUD-Element in Fahrzeugen durch unser Building Blocks UI zu ersetzen und dabei einige der Features zu verbessern. Die Konvertierung der Schiffe war eine relativ schnelle Aufgabe, obwohl einige wenige trotz wiederholter Tests durch das Netz schl\u00fcpften und in nachfolgenden PTU-Patches aufger\u00e4umt wurden. Zwischen dieser und der New Targeting Methodology gab es eine Menge Optimierungen und \u00c4nderungen, die man als in einem oder einem dieser beiden Features betrachtet, wie zum Beispiel\nVerbesserte Autogimbal-Anzeige - Zeigt jetzt den Verlauf der kardanisch aufgeh\u00e4ngten Waffen zum Ziel an, um R\u00fcckmeldung dar\u00fcber zu geben, wie 'gesperrt' die Spieler sind. Neue 3D-Netze und -Pips - Bietet mehr integrierte Grafiken f\u00fcr andere Visierelemente. Animationen geben R\u00fcckmeldung \u00fcber den Zustand der Waffen, wie z.B. '\u00fcber Ziel' oder 'au\u00dfer Reichweite' Geschwindigkeitsanzeiger-Einstellungen und Schubmesser - Geschwindigkeitsbandleiste wird jetzt logarithmisch statt linear angezeigt. Schubanzeige hinzugef\u00fcgt, um die Schubkapazit\u00e4t des Spielerschiffes wiederzugeben.\nW\u00e4hrend der Evocati- und PTU-Phasen haben wir verschiedene HUD-Elemente ausprobiert und das Feedback an Bord speziell um den Umfang und die Menge des visuellen Rauschens herum aufgenommen und angepasst, bis wir mit der Klarheit und der visuellen Identit\u00e4t zufrieden waren. Wie die Elemente f\u00fcr New Targeting wollen wir in Zukunft auch die Lesbarkeit in hellen Umgebungen verbessern. Die Aktivierung der dynamischen Helligkeit auf Visier-\/Linsenelementen wird dies erreichen.\n\u00dcberarbeitung des eingeschr\u00e4nkten Bereichs\nR\u00fcckblickend gesehen war dies wahrscheinlich das umstrittenste Feature des Patches und eines, das es beinahe in Alpha 3.9 geschafft h\u00e4tte. Allerdings wurde es wegen technischer Probleme mit dem Setup zur\u00fcckgehalten, die weitere Tests erforderten. Das Ziel war es, eine realistischere Einstiegsmethode zu den Landepl\u00e4tzen zu bieten (wie ein ATC-System in der realen Welt), das imposante visuelle Element, das die Gegend hervorhebt, zu entfernen und einen einfacheren Mark-Up f\u00fcr Art und Design zu bieten, um es \u00fcber das vorherige Setup zu steuern.\nIm Vergleich zur Vorg\u00e4ngerversion ist die Markierung viel einfacher und flexibler. Neben einzelnen Maschen, die oft zu riesigen und komplexen Pinseln f\u00fchrten, kann es jetzt primitive Formen verwenden und Priorit\u00e4ten auf sie anwenden, um festzulegen, welche Bereiche eingeschr\u00e4nkt sind (oder Zonen t\u00f6ten), und sie auf Wunsch an Splines binden.\nDas Hinzuf\u00fcgen von Navigationssplines hatte wie andere HUD-Elemente Probleme mit der Lesbarkeit in verschiedenen Beleuchtungszust\u00e4nden. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Aspekten wird es mit einem anderen Shader gesteuert, der derzeit nicht in der Lage ist, auf die Gesamthelligkeit des Bildschirms zu reagieren. Wir beabsichtigen, dies in einem zuk\u00fcnftigen Patch zu beheben und die Geometrie den Schiffsherstellern zu 'thematisieren', da in der \u00dcberlieferung die Projektion vom Schiffsinneren und nicht vom Landeplatz aus erfolgt. W\u00e4hrend der ersten Evocati-Ver\u00f6ffentlichung war es klar, dass die Spieler das System viel aggressiver als die internen Tester nutzten und oft zuerst bis in die Zone flogen, bevor sie ATC anriefen. Dies f\u00fchrte dazu, dass die Tunnel hinter ihnen eingezeichnet wurden und das Symbol f\u00fcr die Landung sie in Kill-Zonen lockte. Mit der \u00c4nderung der Helligkeit, verbesserten Hinweisen und Bildschirmtipps und dem Hinzuf\u00fcgen der Markierung, die am Tunneleingang angezeigt wird, sind wir der Meinung, dass dieses System in einem viel besseren Zustand ist, auch wenn wir mit dem derzeitigen Zustand in Bezug auf das Gameplay nicht zufrieden sind.\nWir \u00fcberlegen, einen weiteren Pass an das System zu machen, um zu versuchen, einige der schwerf\u00e4lligen Beschr\u00e4nkungen aufzuheben und die Spieler dorthin gehen zu lassen, wo sie wollen, und stattdessen Fehlverhalten mit dem Rechtssystem zu bestrafen (Beschlagnahmung, Geldstrafen, Straftaten, etc.) anstatt mit Autopiloten und Zerst\u00f6rung von Eigentum.\nHochgeschwindigkeits-Kampf\nEs ist eine falsche Bezeichnung f\u00fcr dieses Feature High-Speed Combat, da es wirklich nur darum geht, den Kampf bei hohen Geschwindigkeiten zu entmutigen. Wir haben w\u00e4hrend des Alpha 3.9.0-Patch-Zyklus eine Menge Vorarbeit daf\u00fcr geleistet, aber aufgrund verschiedener Faktoren haben wir es neben anderen \u00c4nderungen in Alpha 3.10 beibehalten.\nDas Ziel war es, die F\u00e4higkeit der Spieler, leichte Hundek\u00e4mpfe bei H\u00f6chstgeschwindigkeit zu f\u00fchren, durch eine Kombination von Einschr\u00e4nkungen zu reduzieren, die langsam st\u00e4rker werden als die Geschwindigkeit bei Raumkampfman\u00f6vern (SCM):\nErh\u00f6hte Raketenarretierungszeit Verringerte automatische Kardanantriebsdrehzahl Beschr\u00e4nkungen f\u00fcr das Abfeuern von Raketen ab bestimmten Geschwindigkeiten Verringerte Waffengenauigkeit Verringerte Schildst\u00e4rke\nDurch interne Tests und in der fr\u00fchen Evocati-Phase haben wir entschieden, dass nur die ersten beiden in der Liste f\u00fcr die Ver\u00f6ffentlichung geeignet sind. Die restlichen Optionen wurden nicht weiterverfolgt, da die UI nicht in der Lage war, klar zu kommunizieren, was vor sich ging und es sich wie eine willk\u00fcrliche Einschr\u00e4nkung des Gameplays anf\u00fchlte. F\u00fcr die Zukunft planen wir, weitere Einschr\u00e4nkungen wie diese durch den Einsatz von Kondensatoren an Waffen, Triebwerken und Schilden zu erreichen, um die Spieler dazu zu bringen, sich zu \u00fcberlegen, welche dieser drei 'Ressourcen' sie f\u00fcr einen maximalen Effekt nutzen wollen. Das Machtdreieck wird dies bewerkstelligen.\nGreycat Industries ROC & Sammelleuchte\nDas erste Fahrzeug von Alpha 3.10 war das Greycat Industrial ROC, unser erstes bodengebundenes Minenfahrzeug. Wir planten auch zwei Features, die es begleiten sollten, von denen eines die Ver\u00f6ffentlichung erm\u00f6glichte.\nDas erste Feature war der Gathering Beam, der an der Oberfl\u00e4che wie der Extraktionsmodus all unserer existierenden Minenfahrzeuge aussah. Der Unterschied bestand jedoch darin, dass er die gespaltenen Gesteinsbrocken physisch bewegte, anstatt einen Partikeleffekt zu spielen, um ihn zu simulieren. Dieses Feature ist etwas, das wir letztendlich auf die anderen Bergbaufahrzeuge ausweiten wollen, da es die Grundlage f\u00fcr andere Fahrzeugtechnologien wie Traktorstrahlen und Bergung bildet.\nDen Sammelstrahl \u00fcberhaupt erst zu haben, war das Ergebnis einer fr\u00fchen Planung des Vehicle Tech Teams (VTT) - die tats\u00e4chlich abbaubaren Vorkommen waren physisch und konnten beim Einsammeln nicht einfach verschwinden. Also brauchte das ROC neue Felsen zwischen den vorhandenen Handminen und denen, die die gr\u00f6\u00dferen Schiffe f\u00f6rdern. Das Kunst-Team stellte flei\u00dfig neue Vorkommen her, die sich in die erntbaren Vorkommen aufteilten, die normalerweise aus den kleineren Handminen gewonnen werden, und nicht einfach gr\u00f6\u00dfere Gesteinsbrocken, die der Sch\u00fcrfer und die MOLE verwenden.\nDas gr\u00f6\u00dfte Problem, mit dem sich das Feature konfrontiert sah, war ein Fehler, der erst sp\u00e4t im Vorsto\u00df f\u00fcr Alpha 3.10.0 live auftauchte. Die Geschwindigkeit, mit der Gegenst\u00e4nde verarbeitet werden konnten (die Felsen wurden in das physische Inventar des Schiffes \u00fcbertragen, so wie Nahrung in einen Raumanzug), war aufgrund eines Fixes f\u00fcr einen anderen Fehler begrenzt, was dazu f\u00fchrte, dass die ROC nur etwa 20% der Verm\u00f6genswerte von einem Felsen einsammeln konnte. Dies wurde sp\u00e4ter f\u00fcr 3.10.1 behoben, da die QA f\u00fcr die \u00c4nderung mehr Zeit ben\u00f6tigte.\nDas zweite Feature, mit dem das ROC auf den Markt kommen sollte, war ein Externes Inventar, da es immer geplant war, dass die Kiste auf dem R\u00fccken Steine aus dem eigenen Inventar des Spielers aufnehmen sollte, so dass sich das ROC wie ein erweiterter Rucksack verhalten konnte. Dieses Feature war noch nicht ganz fertig f\u00fcr Alpha 3.10 und wird stattdessen in 3.11 online kommen.\nIch hoffe, das Obige hat euch einen Einblick in die Entwicklung der Features gegeben, die die Fahrzeugs\u00e4ule f\u00fcr Alpha 3.10 geliefert hat. Wir sind gespannt darauf, dass viele unserer kommenden Arbeiten in zuk\u00fcnftigen Patches zu erleben sein werden.\nJohn Crewe\nFahrzeug-Direktor\n\nPU Live-Gameplay\nCover-Verwendung V1\nAls wir anfingen, Cover und die Art und Weise, wie wir Umgebungen einrichten, zu entwickeln, wurde sehr deutlich, dass wir mehr Flexibilit\u00e4t im System brauchten. Fr\u00fcher war die Deckung f\u00fcr KI auf 1,25 Meter und h\u00f6her begrenzt, also hatte die Art und Weise, wie die Umgebung gebaut wurde, einen gro\u00dfen Einfluss darauf, wie die KI agierte und navigierte. In den meisten F\u00e4llen f\u00fchrte dies dazu, dass ein nicht realistisches Szenario durchgespielt wurde. Wir wollten nicht immer 1,25-Meter-Objekte im Raum verteilt haben, also nahm das KI-Team wichtige Anpassungen vor, die es erm\u00f6glichten, die Deckungsmarkierung einfacher einzurichten, und stellte die NSCs so ein, dass sie einen Deckungsbereich von 0,5 bis 1,25 und h\u00f6her nutzten. Es gibt jedoch immer noch einige kleinere Probleme, die in bestimmten Situationen auftauchen, die wir gerade ausb\u00fcgeln.\nSchrotflinten-KI\nDies war nach Sturmgewehren und Pistolen unsere dritte waffenartige Erg\u00e4nzung zur Kampf-KI. Mit diesem Zusatz wollten wir einige Verhaltens\u00e4nderungen in der Art und Weise, wie sich die KI dem Spieler gegen\u00fcber verh\u00e4lt, je nachdem, welche Waffe er hat, bewirken. Au\u00dferdem haben wir die KI-Unterbrechungsmechanik \u00fcberarbeitet und sie im Vergleich zur vorherigen Version reaktiver gemacht. Au\u00dferdem haben die KI durch Verhaltensanpassungen ein besseres Verst\u00e4ndnis der Kampfumgebung und -situation. Eine der auff\u00e4lligeren Erg\u00e4nzungen, die wir f\u00fcr die Schrotflinte gemacht haben, war, dass die KI beim Schlie\u00dfen der Distanz zum Spieler aggressiver sein wird, was wir \"pushen\" nennen.\nEs wurden auch Anpassungen an der KI vorgenommen, wo sie manchmal etwas vorsichtiger sein wird, je nach Waffe und Entfernung zum Ziel. Wir haben ein gutes St\u00fcck poliert und die Animationen und Verhaltensweisen aktualisiert, um sie t\u00f6dlicher zu machen. Und mit dem kommenden Zusatz von Erzwungene Reaktion auf den Spieler, wenn ihr in der N\u00e4he der Schrotflinten-KI seid, werdet ihr niedergeschlagen und k\u00f6nntet in eine kompromittierte Situation gebracht werden. Wie immer mit dem Hinzuf\u00fcgen von neuen Features, wird es einen weiteren Polierdurchgang an der KI geben m\u00fcssen, der es uns erlaubt, die Zeit zum T\u00f6ten und das Verhalten noch mehr abzustimmen.\nTodd Papy\nStar Citizen Live Regisseur\n\nUmwelt Kunst\nGrimHEX V2\nWir konnten zu einem der \u00e4ltesten Orte im Spiel zur\u00fcckkehren und einige der Schl\u00fcsselelemente einf\u00fchren, die n\u00f6tig sind, um ihn zu einer vollwertigen Landezone zu machen. Das gr\u00f6\u00dfte ist die Einf\u00fchrung von Hangars, die dem Spieler die M\u00f6glichkeit geben, Schiffe aller Gr\u00f6\u00dfen anzufordern. Als Teil dieses Prozesses haben wir auch einen Teil des Innenraums umgestaltet, um zuk\u00fcnftige Renn- und Wettveranstaltungen aufzunehmen. Dazu geh\u00f6ren eine gro\u00dfz\u00fcgige Aussichtsgalerie nach au\u00dfen, eine behelfsm\u00e4\u00dfige Bar und ein Sitzbereich und vor allem der zuk\u00fcnftige Raum f\u00fcr den Missionsgeber Luca Brunt. Das Team arbeitete diese Updates recht schnell durch und wir waren froh, mehr Benutzerfreundlichkeit und Geschmack in diesen Ort zu bringen. In Zukunft w\u00fcrden wir gerne sehen, dass die Inhaltsverluste parallel zum spezifischen Missions-Gameplay ver\u00f6ffentlicht werden, um ein komplettes Erlebnis zu erm\u00f6glichen, aber f\u00fcr den Moment legen wir die Grundlagen f\u00fcr zuk\u00fcnftige Missionsinhalte.\nAeroview-Hangars\nAls wir New Babbage ver\u00f6ffentlichten, waren wir nicht in der Lage, die Hangars im neuen Hi-Tech-Kunststil rechtzeitig fertigzustellen. Anstatt also Qualit\u00e4tseinbu\u00dfen in Kauf zu nehmen, haben wir uns entschieden, die bestehenden Hangars im Utilitaristischen Kunststil mit MicroTech-Branding zu ver\u00f6ffentlichen. F\u00fcr diese Ver\u00f6ffentlichung freuten wir uns, die neuen Hangars im Kunststil pr\u00e4sentieren zu k\u00f6nnen, die viel besser zur Location passen. Au\u00dferdem sehen wir mit der Marke Aeroview zum ersten Mal diesen Look au\u00dferhalb des Hangarmoduls und in der PU. Erwartet in Zukunft noch mehr Hangarmarken.\nNeue Babbage Shop Erg\u00e4nzungen\nNachdem die Hauptver\u00f6ffentlichungen von New Babbage fertiggestellt waren, gab es immer noch einige Elemente, die wir noch einbauen wollten, bevor wir an den n\u00e4chsten Schauplatz zogen. Das gr\u00f6\u00dfte war der Flagship Store von MicroTech - The Factory Line. Die Vision f\u00fcr den Store war etwas sehr Schlichtes und Exklusives; etwas, das die Campus-Vibe widerspiegelt, die man in anderen Gegenden von New Babbage sieht. Mehrere Elemente wurden unter Stress getestet und aufgel\u00f6st, wie z.B. gro\u00dfe animierte Building Block Bildschirme, wie KI und der Spieler mit geschwungenen Treppen interagieren und wie das mobiGlas als Inventargegenstand ver\u00e4ndert werden konnte.\nIm Moment ist nicht alles im Laden f\u00fcr den Spieler interagierbar. Wir wollten den Raum jedoch mit allen Gegenst\u00e4nden im Hinterkopf bauen, um eine Vorstellung davon zu vermitteln, was in Zukunft kommen wird. Erwartet also, dass das Einkaufserlebnis aktualisiert wird, sobald die Produkte online gehen. Au\u00dferdem solltet ihr in Zukunft nach MicroTech Field Rep-Missionsgebern an diesem Ort Ausschau halten.\nAu\u00dferdem haben wir den neuen Laden f\u00fcr Neuheiten im Inneren des New Babbage-Raumflughafens er\u00f6ffnet. Die Idee dahinter ist, L\u00e4den zu haben, die an bestimmten Orten einzigartige Gegenst\u00e4nde verkaufen, die Spieler sammeln und mit denen sie ihre eigenen R\u00e4ume personalisieren k\u00f6nnen. F\u00fcr New Babbage haben wir Pico den Pinguin eingef\u00fchrt. Das ist etwas, das wir weiter ausbauen wollen, also erwartet in Zukunft mehr Elemente wie dieses.\nNeue planetarische H\u00f6henkarten\nAls Teil der Verbesserungen der Planetentechnologie waren wir in der Lage, die Aufl\u00f6sung der auf den Planeten und Monden verwendeten H\u00f6henkarten zu erh\u00f6hen. Zuvor war dies lediglich eine Erh\u00f6hung der Aufl\u00f6sung der Originalkarten. Indem wir die H\u00f6henkarten in der neuen Aufl\u00f6sung neu erstellt haben, waren wir in der Lage, jeden einzelnen Pixel effektiver zu nutzen und mehr Details und Daten zu erzeugen, die wir ausnutzen konnten. Als Teil des Prozesses mussten wir alle Orte am Boden, die sich derzeit im Spiel befinden, neu festlegen; das betraf alles, von Landezonen bis hin zu Wracks. Dies ist der erste Schritt in einer mehrstufigen Initiative, um die technischen Features der Planeten zu implementieren, sobald sie online sind. Erwartet bald weitere aufregende Verbesserungen.\nNeue Minables\nMit dem Erscheinen des ROC-Minenfahrzeugs haben wir eine neue Gr\u00f6\u00dfe von Minenfahrzeugen geschaffen, die es benutzen kann. Im Wesentlichen haben wir die Funktionalit\u00e4t des FPS-gro\u00dfen Minengegenstandes \u00fcbernommen und die Gr\u00f6\u00dfe an die Anforderungen des Fahrzeugs angepasst. Au\u00dferdem wollten wir mit dem abbaubaren Gegenstand des Quantainium-Schiffs einen neuen Shader erstellen, der die Lesbarkeit verbessert, um gef\u00e4hrlicher und fl\u00fcchtiger auszusehen und die Eigenschaften dieses Materials widerzuspiegeln.\nIan Leyland\nStar-B\u00fcrger Art Director\n\nSchauspieler-Feature-Team\nK\u00f6rper-Dragging\nBody Dragging ist eine wichtige systemische Erg\u00e4nzung des Spiels, da es eines der Features ist, die so viele zuk\u00fcnftige Kernspielschleifen untermauern, darunter das Ziehen eines erbeuteten Kopfgeldes auf dein Schiff, das Bewegen einer Leiche aus dem Weg einer KI-Patrouille und sogar der heroische Moment, in dem du einen gefallenen Teamkollegen aus der Schusslinie ziehst.\nIn der Grundausstattung erlaubt dir das Feature, tote oder bewusstlose K\u00f6rper durch den Spielraum zu bewegen. Das mag einfach klingen, aber die Implementierung ist ziemlich komplex. Wir wollten nicht, dass sich das Body-Dragging eingeengt f\u00fchlt, und wir haben uns bem\u00fcht, sicherzustellen, dass die Steuerung und die Aktionen des Charakters gleich bleiben, wenn ihr einen K\u00f6rper schleppt, so dass ihr euch immer noch umschauen und in die Richtung laufen k\u00f6nnt, in die ihr schaut, und der K\u00f6rper wird euch folgen.\nDas bedeutete, dass wir eine hybridgesteuerte Ragdoll-L\u00f6sung verwenden mussten, damit der K\u00f6rper auf andere Objekte in der Welt reagieren kann, w\u00e4hrend er immer noch an die linke Hand gebunden ist. Das bedeutete auch, dass wir die rechte Hand frei lassen konnten, so dass man einh\u00e4ndig Gegenst\u00e4nde wie Pistolen benutzen oder mit der Spielwelt interagieren konnte. Einige von euch werden sich vielleicht fragen, warum wir Body Dragging vor den obigen Gameplay-Loops hinzugef\u00fcgt haben. Die Antwort ist, dass wir es live und in eure H\u00e4nde bekommen wollten, damit wir Feedback aus einer Live-Umgebung bekommen k\u00f6nnen. Das bedeutet, dass wir alle Probleme, wie z.B. dass der K\u00f6rper zu oft die Verbindung abbricht (wor\u00fcber wir Analysen haben), angehen k\u00f6nnen, bevor das wirklich lustige Zeug live geht.\nDas Team ist mit der ersten Implementierung von Body Dragging zufrieden, aber das bedeutet nicht, dass wir mit der Arbeit daran fertig sind. Wir wollen noch einige Aspekte verbessern, unter anderem die Klebrigkeit des K\u00f6rpers, der an der Hand klebt, und das gesamte visuelle Erscheinungsbild, da das gesamte Animationsset aufgrund des Pandemie-Lockdowns von Hand eingegeben wurde, anstatt Motion Capture zu verwenden.\nElektronen-Schaden\nElektronenschaden ist der erste von vielen exotischen Schadenstypen, die wir dem 'Vers' hinzuf\u00fcgen wollen, und wir sind mit der Lightning Bolt Co. live gegangen. Aztkav-Scharfsch\u00fctzengewehr und Yubarev-Pistole. Dieser Schadenstyp ist eine Mischung aus elektrischem, Verzerrungs- und Bet\u00e4ubungsschaden. Elektrischer Schaden an sich ist selbsterkl\u00e4rend - er verursacht Schaden. Bei Verzerrung und Bet\u00e4ubung geht es jedoch eher darum, ihre Ziele mit nicht-t\u00f6dlichem Schaden zu deaktivieren, wobei Verzerrung auf Maschinen und Bet\u00e4ubung auf organische Stoffe wirkt. Die Aufteilung des Schadens ist nicht 1:1:1 auf die drei Arten und kann so angepasst werden, dass unterschiedliche Endergebnisse erzielt werden.\nDie beiden Waffen, mit denen wir den Elektronenschaden ausgeliefert haben, sind speziell t\u00f6dliche Waffen und haben ein einzigartiges kooperatives Gameplay. Das Aztkav ist ein hochleistungsf\u00e4higes Scharfsch\u00fctzengewehr, das eine riesige elektrische Entladung freisetzt, die auf nahegelegene Feinde \u00fcberspringen kann, wodurch Scharfsch\u00fctzen ihre erste Wirkungsbereich-Waffe im Spiel erhalten. Sowohl die Aztkav als auch die Yubarev hinterlassen ihre Ziele f\u00fcr eine kurze Zeit elektrisch geladen, was es Spielern erm\u00f6glicht, einen zweiten Schuss abzugeben, um eine kleine Wirkungsbereich-Detonation zu verursachen.\nWir waren gespannt darauf, die neuen Waffen live zu sehen, aber das ist erst der Anfang f\u00fcr die Art des Elektronenschadens, an zuk\u00fcnftigen Erweiterungen f\u00fcr nicht-t\u00f6dliches Gameplay wird bereits gearbeitet.\nRichard Tyrer\nHaupt-Gameplay-Regisseur\n\n\nWir sehen uns im 'Vers'!\nWie wir bereits im letzten Postmortem erw\u00e4hnt haben, k\u00f6nnt ihr weiterhin \u00e4hnliche Postmortems auf Alpha 3.11 und zus\u00e4tzliche zuk\u00fcnftige Patches erwarten, da wir euch einladen, von unseren Direktoren \u00fcber die Erfolge, Herausforderungen und Erkenntnisse nach jedem Update zu h\u00f6ren. Dies ist eine unserer Initiativen, um einen transparenteren Einblick in unseren offenen Entwicklungsprozess zu geben.","zh_CN":"Alpha 3.10 Postmortem\nOn August 5, we launched Alpha 3.10 Flight & Fight, which introduced a number of new features and changes, such as location updates to Grim HEX and New Babbage, body dragging, new FPS weapons, player trading, and more. Most notably, Alpha 3.10 introduced major changes to both the ship HUD and flight model. The following is a postmortem offering our high-level thoughts on what went well, what didn\u2019t, and what we learned for next time. We believe that giving insight into our thought process is highly valuable and, as mentioned last time, will continue to provide quarterly patch postmortems. Vehicle Team\nThe Vehicle Pillar consists of five teams, all of which had a field day with Alpha 3.10, releasing no less than seven features, making it one of our most impactful deliveries yet.\nIn summary, the key features the pillar worked on were: Thruster Efficiency Curves & Aerodynamics\n\nTurret & Gunnery Improvements\n\nNew Targeting Methodology\n\nShip HUD Rework\n\nRestricted Area Rework\n\nHigh-Speed Combat\n\nGreycat Industrial ROC & Gathering Beam I\u2019ll go into detail for each of these features (some of which contain multiple smaller elements not shown on the roadmap) and break down what we did, what went well, what didn\u2019t, and how we can improve in the future.\nThruster Efficiency Curves & Aerodynamics\nPlayers who have been with us for a while will remember \u2018Hover Mode\u2019, a concept we trialled back in Alpha 3.6 to try and make ships look and feel more believable in atmospheric flight by pushing them towards \u2018helicopter-style\u2019 handling. Ultimately, we didn\u2019t pursue the idea beyond the initial release due to it causing handling quirks and confusing players when their ships automatically switched control modes.\nThruster Efficiency Curves were designed as an alternative to this by reducing the maximum amount of thruster available based on atmospheric density, in turn reducing the agility of ships the closer to the ground they are. Alongside this, we also introduced aerodynamic surfaces to ships so that they behave more akin to traditional aeroplanes with lifting surfaces.\nCompared to some of the other features in Alpha 3.10, the release of these features was relatively smooth, with time scheduled in to react to any feedback from Evocati and PTU testing. The team pushed out multiple updates and tweaks to ship handling during those periods as bugs were found with specific ship setups.\nThe rollout of this feature required a significant time investment from both the Vehicle Feature Team (VFT) and Vehicle Experience Team (VET) due to the nature of simply having to redo the balance and tuning of the 120+ vehicles currently flyable in the PU alongside those in Squadron 42. So, it was only natural a few slipped into the early Evocati stages with a few issues (looking at you Hornet with your wings on backwards\u2026).\nAs a feature, we\u2019re happy with how the initial release went out and there are minimal plans for the future from the VFT side, with the exception of ongoing flight balance and tweaks to ship handling as needed. The sole remaining item left is to add input-driven control surfaces, such as elevators and ailerons, to add both visual and physical handling changes. The VFX Team is also looking at ways to improve the visuals of thrusters to make it clear they are in use when viewed from a distance. This will prevent ships from appearing in odd-looking positions, even with all the recent changes.\n\nTurret & Gunnery Improvements\nOne of the persistent questions we had during development was, \u201cWhy should I have a player in my turret when it would be more effective for them to bring along a second ship?\u201d With Alpha 3.10, we aimed to answer that once and for all. With a slew of improvements and a heavily rewritten codebase, turrets are now an extremely lethal option when manned and provide a force multiplier for the ship.\nWith a combination of work from the VET and VFT providing a new HUD for turrets, the overall experience has been improved from every measurable angle. The second side to this was leveraging some of the improvements applied to turrets and applying them to fixed weapons, which had fallen significantly behind in usage versus gimbals and auto-gimbals.\nEarly testing showed the promise of the vJoy-based movement method combined with fixed assist. However, this resulted in turrets becoming truly overpowered and we had to dial back some of the settings for the initial release. We hit a few challenges with the variety of turret setups in the game, in particular inverted turrets, which required additional work to make them behave as expected.\n\nRemote turrets, such as the Super Hornet\u2019s second seat, also benefitted from the changes but we found a few other issues regarding the synchronisation of projectiles that we\u2019ll further improve in future patches.\nFixed weapons have once again returned to the top of the pecking order with these changes, showing a significant increase in lethality since Alpha 3.9.\nNew Targeting Methodology\nThe goal for New Targeting Methodology was to simplify the process of selecting targets along with cleaning up the onscreen \u2018clutter\u2019 that had increased over multiple releases. Of all the features that the Vehicle Pillar worked on for Alpha 3.10, this was the one that caused the most problems for a variety of reasons.\nUltimately, we feel the system released in Alpha 3.10.0 (and had minor updates in 3.10.1) provides a better solution to targeting objects. However, the path to that was particularly difficult and intense, with lots of feedback coming in from the Evocati phase that caused us to significantly deviate from the initial plan.\nThe core goal was to move the system back towards how it was in early Wing Commander games, where players could simply target and lock threats with two inputs. This would also allow us to remove the sea of triangles that were becoming a common sight in Star Citizen. Initial prototypes highlighted issues with a lack of situational awareness but, with the benefit of internal foresight alongside repeated exposure to the system, we could see this would be improved by the upcoming changes to 3D vehicle radar displays.\nOther options we trialed during development included essentially splitting the targeting into four separate states: Select \u2013 Target is highlighted but has no gunnery information. Selection is lost when offscreen\n\nMarked \u2013 Target is stored in a list for later selection, regardless of position\n\nLocked \u2013 Target has gunnery information and is not lost when offscreen\n\nPinned \u2013 Target is stored in a list with information and shared with the crew\n\n\nUltimately, we found the Marked state to be an unnecessary step in the initial implementation; while it could be useful down the line with multi-crew roles, it hampered usability in the short-term. The initial push to Evocati went with the other three states but the overwhelming feedback was the prerequisite Selected state was an unnecessary step. So, in further patches, we streamlined the process to essentially automatic selection with the ability to lock and pin.\nAnother contentious issue that came to light during Evocati testing was the removal of the cycle keybinds. As stated, we wanted to try and simplify the selection process via view direction input but, in conjunction with the removal of onscreen markers, players had been using cycle targets as a quick way to get situational awareness. Long-term, we\u2019ll be improving this with better information on the 3D radar display alongside having selected targets show on the Target Status MFD. Those players who want to solely use automatic selection can still do so and those who want manual cycling for everything can find a wealth of bindable options in the control section, so there should be something for everyone.\nThe final piece of the feature was all the visual changes that were implemented to solve the aforementioned sea of triangles and help bring clarity and focus to locked targets. Early blockouts of the feature had a 2D element for distant targets that transitioned to a 3D bracket at mid-distance before finally transitioning to a silhouette shader. During development, we trialled combinations and variations of this including a purely silhouette-based outline that was in early Evocati patches. The feedback was clear that this wasn\u2019t visible, so we returned to 3D geometry and re-implemented the forward direction cone alongside contextual displays, including distance and closing rate. A very late addition was the \u2018known contact\u2019 chevron markers that we were originally trying to avoid in order to reduce visual clutter. Ultimately, we decided they were useful in a fight for situational awareness. Zane Bien came up with a more elegant 3D implementation than the previous 2D triangles that also helped draw the eye to new contacts coming into range, so we were happy with the result.\nIn the future, we\u2019ll improve the visibility of these 3D elements on the HUD by enabling them to use the same dynamic brightness feature we have on the 2D HUD elements to help them be more appropriate to the scenario.\nShip HUD Rework\nThe primary goal of this feature was to replace the flash-based central HUD element in vehicles with our Building Blocks UI, improving on some of the features in the process. Converting the ships was a relatively quick task, although a few slipped through the net despite repeated testing and were cleaned up in subsequent PTU patches. Between this and New Targeting Methodology, there were a lot of tweaks and changes that could be considered as being in one or either of these two features, such as: Improved Autogimbal display \u2013 Now displays the progression of the gimballed weapons to target to give feedback on how \u2018locked\u2019 players are.\n\nNew 3D reticules and pips \u2013 Provides more integrated visuals to other visor elements. Animations provide feedback on the state of weapons, such as \u2018over target\u2019 or \u2018out of range\u2019\n\nVelocity indicator adjustments and thrust meter \u2013 Velocity tape bar is now displayed logarithmically rather than linearly. Thrust meter added to reflect the thrust capacity of the player ship.\n\n\nDuring the Evocati and PTU phases, we trialled a variety of HUD elements and took onboard feedback specifically around the scale and amount of visual noise, adjusting it until we were happy with the clarity and visual identity. Like the elements for New Targeting, one area we want to improve on in the future is the readability in bright environments. Enabling dynamic brightness on visor\/lens elements will achieve this.\nRestricted Area Rework\nIn retrospect, this was probably the most contentious feature of the patch and one that very nearly made it into Alpha 3.9. However, it was held back due to technical issues with the setup that required more testing. The goal was to provide a more realistic entry method to landing locations (like a real-world ATC system), remove the imposing visual element highlighting the area, and provide simpler mark-up for Art and Design to control it over the previous setup.\nCompared to the previous version, the mark-up is a lot simpler and more flexible. Now, alongside single meshes that often resulted in huge and complex brushes, it can utilise primitive shapes and apply priorities to them to dictate which areas are restricted (or kill zones) and tie them to splines if desired.\nThe addition of navigation splines had problems like other HUD elements with readability in various lighting states. Unlike other aspects, it uses a different shader to control it, which is currently unable to react based on the overall brightness of the screen. We aim to fix this in a future patch as well as \u2018theme\u2019 the geometry to ship manufacturers because, in lore, the projection is from within the ship rather than the landing location. During the initial Evocati release, it was clear that players were using the system in a much more aggressive way than internal testers, often flying right up to the zone first before calling ATC. This resulted in the tunnels being drawn behind them and the icon for landing luring them into kill zones. With the change to brightness, improved hints and screen tips, and the addition of the marker being shown at the entrance to the tunnel, we feel this system is in a much better state though we are not happy with where it currently is in gameplay terms.\nWe\u2019re looking at doing another pass to the system to try and remove some of the heavy-handed restrictions and let players go where they want, instead punishing misbehaviour with the Law System (impounding, fines, crimestats, etc.) rather than with autopiloting and destruction of property.\nHigh Speed Combat\nIt\u2019s a misnomer calling this feature High-Speed Combat, as it\u2019s really all about discouraging combat at high speeds. We completed a lot of preliminary work on this during the Alpha 3.9.0 patch cycle but, due to various factors, held it to go alongside other changes in Alpha 3.10.\nThe goal was to reduce the ability for players to engage in easy dogfights at top speeds via a combination of restrictions that slowly become stronger above Space Combat Manoeuvring (SCM) speeds: Increased missile lock time\n\nDecreased auto gimbal slew rate\n\nRestrictions on firing missiles above certain speeds\n\nDecreased weapon accuracy\n\nDecrease shield strength\n\n\nThrough testing both internally and in the early Evocati phase, we decided that only the first two in the list were suitable for release. The remaining options were not followed through due to a combination of the UI not being able to clearly communicate what was going on and it feeling like arbitrary gameplay limitation. In the future, we plan to impart more restrictions like this by using capacitors on weapons, thrusters, and shields to make players consider which of these three \u2018resources\u2019 they want to use for maximum effect. The power triangle will manage this.\nGreycat Industries ROC & Gathering Beam\nThe premier vehicle of Alpha 3.10 was the Greycat Industrial ROC, our first ground-based mining vehicle. We also planned two features to go alongside it, one of which made the release.\nThe first feature was the Gathering Beam, which on the surface looked like all our existing mining vehicles\u2019 extraction mode. However, it was different in that it physically moved the split chunks of rock rather than playing a particle effect to simulate it. This feature is something we want to ultimately expand into the other mining vehicles as it lays the groundwork for other vehicle tech, such as tractor beams and salvage.\nHaving the Gathering Beam in the first place was the result of something identified in early planning by the Vehicle Tech Team (VTT) \u2013 the actual mineable deposits were physical and couldn\u2019t simply vanish on collection. So, the ROC needed new rocks between the existing hand-mineables and those the larger ships extract. The Art Team diligently made new assets that split into the harvestable assets usually extracted from the smaller hand-mineables rather than simply larger chunks of rock that the Prospector and MOLE utilise.\nThe biggest issue the feature faced was one bug that appeared late in the push for Alpha 3.10.0 live. The rate at which items could be processed (the rocks were transferred to the ship\u2019s physical inventory like food into a spacesuit) was limited due to a fix for another issue, resulting in the ROC only being able to collect around 20% of assets from a rock. This was subsequently fixed for 3.10.1 due to the additional time needed to QA the change.\nThe second feature the ROC was due to launch with was an External Inventory, as it was always planned that the crate on the back would accept rocks from a player\u2019s own inventory, allowing the ROC to behave as an extended backpack. This feature wasn\u2019t quite ready for Alpha 3.10 and will come online in 3.11 instead.\nI hope the above has given you an insight into the development of the features the Vehicle Pillar delivered for Alpha 3.10. We\u2019re excited for lots of our upcoming work to be experienced in future patches.\nJohn Crewe\nVehicle Director\n\nPU Live Gameplay\nCover Usage V1\nWhen we started to develop cover and the way we set-dress environments, it became very clear that we needed more flexibility in the system. Before, cover for AI was limited to 1.25 meters and higher, so how the environment was built had a big impact on how the AI acted and navigated. In most cases, this caused a non-realistic scenario to play out. We didn\u2019t want to always have 1.25-meter objects spread throughout the room, so the AI Team made key adjustments that allowed the markup of cover to be easier to set up, and adjusted the NPCs to use a range of cover from 0.5 to 1.25 and above. However, there are still some minor issues that pop up in specific situations that we are ironing out.\nShotgun AI\nThis was our third weapon-type addition to Combat AI, after assault rifles and pistols. With this addition, we wanted to create some behavioral changes in the way the AI acted towards the player based on what weapon they have. We also overhauled AI interruption mechanics and made it more reactive compared to the previous version. AI also have a better understanding of the combat environment and situation through behavior adjustments. One of the more noticeable additions we made for the shotgun was that the AI will be more aggressive in closing the distance to the player, which we call \u201cpushing.\u201d\nThere were also adjustments made to the AI where sometimes they will be a bit more cautious depending on the weapon and distance to their target. We did a good amount of polishing and updated the animations and behaviors to make them more deadly. And with the coming addition of Forced Reaction on the player, if you are near the Shotgun AI, you will be knocked down and could be put in a compromised situation. As always with the addition of new features, there will need to be another polishing pass on the AI that will allow us to tune the time to kill and behaviors even more.\nTodd Papy\nStar Citizen Live Director\n\nEnvironment Art\nGrimHEX V2\nWe were able to go back to one of the oldest locations in the game and introduce some of the key elements required to make it a fully-fledged landing zone, the biggest being the introduction of hangars, giving the player the ability to request ships of all sizes. Also, as part of this process, we refactored a section of the interior to incorporate future racing and betting events, which includes a generous viewing gallery to the exterior, a makeshift bar and seating area, and most notably the future space for mission-giver Luca Brunt. The team worked through these updates quite quickly and we were happy to bring more usability and flavor to this location. In the future we\u2019d like to see content drops releasing in parallel with specific mission gameplay for a complete experience, but for now, we are laying the foundations for future mission content.\nAeroview Hangars\nWhen we released New Babbage, we were not able to complete the hangars in the new Hi-Tech art style in time. So, rather than sacrificing quality, we decided to release with the existing Utilitarian art style hangars with microTech branding. For this release, we were excited to be able to showcase the new art style hangars, which fit the location much better. Plus, with the Aeroview brand, this is the first time we are seeing this look outside the hangar module and in the PU. Expect more hangar brands coming in the future.\nNew Babbage Shop Additions\nAfter the major releases of New Babbage were completed, there were still some elements that we wanted to include before we moved onto the next location, the biggest being microTech\u2019s flagship store - The Factory Line. The vision for the store was something very sleek and exclusive; something that reflected the campus-vibe seen in other areas of New Babbage. Several elements were stress-tested and resolved, such as large animated Building Block screens, how AI and the player interacted with curved stairs, and how the mobiGlas could be changed as an inventory item.\nRight now, not everything in the shop is interactable to the player. However, we wanted to build the space with all items in mind to give an idea of what will be coming in the future, so expect to see the shopping experience updated as and when products come online. Plus, keep your eyes out for microTech Field Rep mission-givers in this location in the future.\nAlso, we introduced the new novelty items store in the New Babbage spaceport interior. The idea is to have shops that sell items unique to specific locations that players can collect and personalize their own spaces with. For New Babbage, we introduced Pico the Penguin. This is something we want to expand on so expect more elements like this in the future.\nNew Planetary Heightmaps\nAs part of the planet tech improvements we were able to increase the resolution of the heightmaps used on the planets and moons. Previously, this was simply increasing the resolution of the original maps. By re-authoring the heightmaps in the new resolution, we were able to utilize each pixel more effectively, creating more detail and data for us to take advantage of. As part of the process we needed to re-drop all ground locations currently in-game; this was everything from landing zones to derelicts. This is the first step in a multi-stage initiative to implement planet tech features as they come online. Expect more exciting improvements soon.\nNew Minables\nWith the release of the ROC mining vehicle, we created a new size of minable for it to use. Essentially, we took the functionality of the FPS-scale minable item and increased the size to the requirement of the vehicle. Also, with the Quantainium ship minable item, we wanted to create a new shader that improved the readability to look more dangerous and volatile, reflecting the properties of this material.\nIan Leyland\nStar Citizen Art Director\n\nActor Feature Team\nBody Dragging\nBody Dragging is an important systemic addition to the game as it\u2019s one of those features that underpins so many future core gameplay loops, including dragging a captured bounty to your ship, moving a dead body out of an AI patrol path, and even the heroic moment of you dragging a fallen teammate out of the line of fire.\nAt its foundation, the feature allows you to move dead or unconscious bodies around the play space. While this may sound simple, the implementation is fairly complex. We didn\u2019t want Body Dragging to feel constricted and we endeavoured to make sure that when you\u2019re dragging a body, the controls and actions of the character remain the same, so you can still look around and walk in the direction that you are looking and the body will follow you.\nThis meant we had to use a hybrid-driven ragdoll solution to allow the body to react to other objects in the world while still being constrained to the left hand. This also meant that we could leave the right hand free so you can use one-handed objects, like pistols, or interact with the game world. Some of you may be wondering why we added Body Dragging before the above gameplay loops. The answer is we wanted to get it live and into your hands so we could get feedback from a live environment. This means we can address any issues, like the body disconnecting too often (which we have analytics on), before the really fun stuff goes live.\nThe team is happy with the first implementation of Body Dragging, but that doesn\u2019t mean we are finished working on it. We still want to improve several aspects, including the stickiness of the body attaching to your hand and the overall visuals, as the entire animation set was hand-keyed instead of using motion capture due to the pandemic lockdown.\nElectron Damage\nElectron Damage is the first of many exotic damage types we want to add to the \u2018verse, and we went live with the Lightning Bolt Co. Aztkav sniper rifle and Yubarev pistol. This damage type is a mixture of electrical, distortion, and stun damage. Electrical damage by itself is self-explanatory \u2013 it causes damage. Distortion and stun though are more about disabling their targets using non-lethal damage, with distortion affecting machines and stun affecting organics. The split of damage is not 1:1:1 across the three types and can be tweaked to provide different end results.\nThe two weapons we shipped electron damage with are specifically lethal weapons and have unique cooperative gameplay. The Aztkav is a high-powered, bolt-action sniper rifle that releases a huge electrical discharge that can jump to nearby enemies, giving snipers their first area-of-effect weapon in the game. Both the Aztkav and Yubarev also leave their targets electrically charged for a small period, which allows players to follow up with a second shot to cause a small area-of-effect detonation.\nWe were excited to see the new weapons go live, but this is just the beginning for the electron damage type, with future additions already being worked on for non-lethal gameplay.\nRichard Tyrer\nCore Gameplay Director\n\n\nSee you in the \u2018Verse!\nAs we mentioned in the last postmortem, you can continue to expect similar postmortems on Alpha 3.11 and additional future patches as we invite you to hear from our directors on the successes, challenges, and learnings in the aftermath of each update. This is one of our initiatives to provide a more transparent look into our open development process."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":75,"created_at":"2020-09-22T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"5 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-04-29 01:29:22","valid_relations":["images","links","translations"],"prev_id":17786,"next_id":17788}}