09/19/2023 - 12:00 PMWelcome to Loremakers: Community Questions, a series focused on answering your lore quandaries and conundrums. We’ve done a deep dive through the lore Ask The Devs section and selected ten questions to answer about the Star Citizen universe. All questions were edited for context and clarity but you can click on the topic to go directly to the original post and join the conversation. Also, the Narrative team plans to do one installment of Loremakers: Community Questions every quarter with the next entry scheduled for Tuesday, December 12th, so please join the discussion and drop any other questions you might have about the universe in our Ask The Devs forum.




Why Would Second Tevarin War Uniforms Be Welcome at Invictus?
Question: This Week in Star Citizen shows someone wearing a Second Tevarin War uniform at Invictus. As I understand the lore, the UEE is trying to distance itself from its pro-fascist Messer era. So why would people be encouraged to go to something like Invictus in a Second Tevarin War Uniform? It would be like having an ad campaign for the US Space Force with people wearing Civil War era Confederate uniforms. It runs counter to what the UEE is trying to be now, right?

Answer: People do not typically associate Second Tevarin War uniforms with the Messers, and their appearance at events like Invictus would be seen as patriotic instead of controversial. This attitude is in part because Tevarin forces instigated both wars. They're seen as historically justified and necessary from Humanity's perspective, and not wars of aggression pushed on the people by the Messers.

The First and Second Tevarin Wars also predated the outright fascist era of the Messer regime. Ivar Messer first came into prominence during the First Tevarin War, and his son Deacon Messer, considered by many to be the least problematic Messer, ruled during the Second Tevarin War. While the Messer regime would argue that the wars proved that the UEE needed strong leadership, the regime would not shift itself toward outright fascism to consolidate and retain power until after the Tevarin Wars. Another major factor is that the military uniforms worn during the Second Tevarin War would be changed by the Messers. Those uniforms are most synonymous with the iron fist of the Messer regime, and would raise ire if worn to Invictus.




Religious Factions and Warrior Nuns?
Question: Will we see religion and religious figures in-game? Battle hardened warrior nuns. Priests swinging electron maces. Places of worship and religious factions. Maybe a gothic BMM that doubles up as a cathedral?

Personally, I'd like to see cult-like activity around mega-fauna like the giant sand worm, Valakkar, with priests feeding sacrificial victims to it to purify their souls. Hoping that SC will not be soulless.

Answer: Plenty of people will be believers within the universe. As we've previously stated, current religions still exist but will not be a focus of the lore. Instead, Narrative attention will be on religions and cults that have found followers since Humanity’s expansion into space, several of which we’ve already established. They run the gamut from the benevolent Church of the Journey, which teaches people to meditate on the path they're traveling through life, to the fanatical Outsiders (aka Sun's Eye Fellowship) whose aggressive anti-modernity stance lead to them overthrowing corporate interests and ruling Mya (Leir II) since 2812. There will also be smaller sects whose reach and influence will be more localized, like the flare star obsessed Fire Rats gang or those that believe an all-knowing prophet resides in Pyro.

We've also spent time developing the religions practiced by the various alien races. Banu will often have an altar dedicated to Cassa, the Patron of Luck, or Taernin, the Great Traveler. They will also hire a religious souli to do blessings for them, or even adopt a foreign religion they encounter on their travels. Meanwhile, Xi'an follow the Li'tova, which centers around the concept of time and was codified into Xi'an law in 19,668 BCE. The planet R.aip’uāng (Kai’pua III) is a religious commune dedicated to practicing Li'tova and famous for its labyrinthine gardens and sacred temples. Finally, Tevarin followed the war ethos of the Rijora until their defeat in the Second Tevarin War led them to abandon its practice during their cultural purge. The religion has seen a resurgence recently and found new followers among the Tevarin diaspora in Branaugh.




Air on ArcCorp?
Question: I have a question about the production of oxygen on ArcCorp. Since there are no trees or any other kind of vegetation on this planet, how does an oxygen-rich atmosphere occur? Is the oxygen produced artificially?

Answer: Natural oxygen production does occur on ArcCorp. According to the planet’s description in the Stanton Galactic Guide:

"Almost all of the terrain has been sculpted, zoned and built upon, leaving only its mountain ranges and large bodies of water left for nature."

The version of the planet currently in-game doesn't represent those areas yet, but will hopefully be added in a future patch.

How Human Is a "Regen?"
Question: The BiotiCorp Regen Serum is used as a base material for the bioprinting of bodies. My question is, how human is a regenerated person? I don't mean from a philosophical point of view but rather how well can the serum mimic real blood, bone, and tissue? Will a regenerated person feel the difference?

Answer: From a physiological perspective, regened Humans are 100% Human with real cells, tissues, organs, and so forth. There's no placeholder goo or tech replicating aspects or functions of the body, it's a real body. The serum works with the Ibrahim sphere to regen a Human or alien that's physiologically identical to their imprint, including imperfections and life's wear and tear.

Now, whether a regened person can 'feel the difference' between their previous and regened body is a question that veers into the philosophical, but we have already called out that phantom pain is possible. The regen serum creates the physical aspects of the body, but it's the Ibrahim sphere that captures and transfers a person's memories, personality, and other intangibles. Imprinting creates a link, or 'echo', that can pick up and register traumatic events that occur to the host's body. So someone regening after an accident might feel phantom pain in a leg that was crushed, as the physical pain and psychological fear of that experience will 'echo' to the imprint and impact their regeneration. This mind/body connection was important from a design perspective, so characters would age and face the consequences of their actions. While the psychological aspect of how someone 'feels' after regen aren't represented in the game design, the situation creates some interesting role playing situations for Players and dramatic possibilities within the lore, one of which was already explored in the short story Hazy Days.



How Do Shields Work?
Question: We are told that shields are an energy barrier in Star Citizen. Are there any details about how shields work, strengths, weaknesses, and variations?

Answer: The Narrative team recently did a lot of work reviewing the technological world building of the 'verse over its 930 years of history. Shields were, of course, a big part of this, but any firm decisions on how shields work, and their individual specifications, will depend greatly on Design and what they determine is best for the player experience.

However, the intent is definitely for there to be different types of shields with unique variations between them. The Tevarin, in particular, developed their own impressive shield technology that, at the time, was better than anything Humanity had access to. But a lot of time has passed since Humanity defeated the Tevarin across not one, but two wars, so it stands to reason a lot of those technological advances would've been adopted by the UEE and, eventually, public ship manufacturers.




Chairman’s Club?
Question: What is the Chairman's Club in Star Citizen?

Answer: In-universe, the Chairman's Club is an exclusive concierge service provided to high-end customers of the Central Core Bank. Members get access to luxury lounges, special edition items, and other perks. There is a ranking system within the club that people can climb up to access rewards that are otherwise unattainable. Entry to the club is generally seen as an impressive accomplishment, and attaining the highest rank within the club is a status symbol associated with the UEE's wealthiest people.




Orison's Atmosphere?
Question: Crusader is a gas giant. So where does the breathable atmosphere for Orison come from? What about the temperature regulation? Even assuming Crusader has a somehow oxygen-rich atmosphere, Orison is in the high atmosphere, which would thin the oxygen considerably. The platforms have thrusters to keep them up in the air, do they also have some form of atmosphere generation/temperature regulation?

Answer: There is a non-zero chance that a low-mass gas giant with a naturally-occurring nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, safe air pressure, and comfortable temperatures and gravity in its upper reaches can exist, but based on current theories of planetary formation, it is almost certainly not possible. However! We live in a universe where we have planets with diamond rain and areas of space with giant molecular clouds that taste like raspberry rum. "Space be crazy," to quote Dave Haddock. And space is full of things we haven't yet discovered. So Narrative decided that while we prefer to keep our environments as scientifically accurate as we can, sometimes we bend the rules in favor of creating something fun. Crusader is one of those cases.

Orison does utilize some technology to keep things comfortable for everyone. Things stay pretty temperate so climate control isn't an issue, but there are artificial gravity plates in the platforms. The plants you encounter around Orison were engineered by Crusader Industries to help keep the local air clean and oxygen rich. We've discussed the possibility of specialized machines that create breathable air in a small localized area, but that idea is tentative at the moment.

ATMs?
Question: Why are there ATMs in R&R stations and around ArcCorp if the universe uses digital currency?

Answer: As part of the UEE's switch to a purely digital currency, a faction in the Senate wanted to enshrine a right to fiscal privacy through guaranteeing an option to use physicalized credit-chits. Most people in the Empire prefer not to use them as they are inconvenient, only hold a set amount, and are much riskier to carry since any funds on them are gone if the chit is lost or stolen.

And while the chits are popular among criminal elements, they are not the only ones that use them. People wanting to make surprise purchases, folks living on the frontier with chancy comm connections, and tech-averse citizens all prefer to use physical currency. The ATMs serve as a way for people to move credits from their accounts on to a chit. Transferring funds off of a chit is easier as most mobiGlas have that ability. Design has been discussing various options for how to incorporate the chits into the game, and the hope is that they will eventually be something players can find around the 'verse.




Civilian Pilot License Training?
Question: It was previously mentioned that the majority of the UEE population does not own a ship. I would imagine that the majority of pilots in the 'verse who own personal ships are probably Citizens who learned how to fly ships whilst serving in the UEE Navy, and received the appropriate pilot training along the way. But what about the ordinary civilians who are using their ships for jobs like cargo hauling? Are there different "classes" of ships that a pilot's license will allow them to fly, based on the amount of training they have received?

In addition to all the extra nuances of flying a ship compared to say driving a car even many so-called "starter" ships such as the Aurora are capable of pulling upwards of 7 Gs in the game - which, while not quite as much as a fighter or a racer, is still quite a lot (roller coasters, by comparison, usually top out at around 4 Gs), so I would imagine that an aspiring civilian pilot would probably have to undergo a similar physical fitness regimen, centrifuge training, etc. as a military fighter pilot just to obtain a license to fly their own ship. And probably even more so if the pilot in question is training to be a racer or a data runner, as the Herald is actually the fastest current ship in the game!

Answer: The Narrative team has discussed that the Traffic Safety Board (part of the Department of Transportation and Navigation) would issue certifications for pilots to legally be allowed to operate spaceships.There are different classes of certifications for various vessels depending on their size and capabilities. In recent years, thanks to how advanced sim-pods have become, much of the training and certification process can now be done virtually. And with the popularity of flight-sims like Arena Commander, there are numerous pilots across the 'verse who are accredited to fly without ever having physically flown a ship.

How this might be represented in-game is still being discussed with Design and the final decision is still pending. So, it may be that players will have to be certified before being allowed to legally operate vehicles, or possibly that there will be an assumption that they have been certified well before they even started playing.




Why Are Star Citizen's Aliens So Un-Alien?
Question: I've been looking at the available images for the alien species in the Star Citizen universe, and it immediately struck me that they're all 'humans in rubber suits'. They all have two legs with the same joints as humans, just slightly different stances and bone lengths. They all have two arms... with the same joints. They all have heads with primate-like faces... a high forehead, a pair of eyes above a nose and a mouth.

Why is this? Why do all these species need to be humanoid? Is it so that they can be performed by humans in motion capture suits? To make them more relatable to the players? Or is it just a lack of imagination?

As someone who has made a hobby of designing realistic, biologically plausible but truly alien aliens, it is rather jarring to see such un-alien 'aliens'.

Answer: It was a conscious choice for a couple reasons. It was so we could potentially capture actors playing the roles, but also one of the original goals was to ultimately allow players to potentially play as aliens so it would save us from having to create completely unique animation sets and allow for our ships to accommodate them with minimal modifications as well as letting humans fly their ships. It would be considerably more difficult if the aliens each had really exotic physiology. That said, our hope is that the fauna that players will encounter in the ’verse will be very diverse in their physiology.