Star Citizen Monthly Report: March 2024

Here's a "short" version, read the post for complete info.

AI (Features):

• continued to fix bugs and make improvements to Human combat and other AI behaviors

AI (Tech):

• focused on finalizing and polishing features for Alpha 3.23 alongside optimizations for existing systems
• work on planetary navigation was completed allowing the team to generate navigation mesh over entire planets
• continued to implement new rules and finalized synchronization between the server and clients for boids
• iterated on new ship behaviors with Design, improvements to the aiming-control system for ships and turrets
• load reduction to AI navigation system
• improvements to Apollo tool

Animation:

• team has been working on the “Space Cow”, a medium-sized bird, a predator wolf-like creature, as well as several new vehicles entrance animations

Art (Characters):

• completed a range of branded racing flightsuits
• continued working on outfits for the Headhunters gang
• began exploring specialist armors and worked on handoff sheets

Art (Ships):

• progress on the RSI Zeus (greybox was completed and all functionality has been validated)
• Anvil Legionnaire is whitebox complete
• work on the Resource Network began, 10 ships nearing completion
• update work on a legacy ship continued

Community:

• Community team support for the Overdrive Initiative and Stella Fortuna
• banner design contest for the latter
• spent time helping prepare the RSI Launcher 2.0 for live release
• supported various community events

Core Gameplay:

• Gameplay Features team successfully passed the go/no-go gates for procedural recoil, new scopes, dynamic crosshairs, and reload improvements
• progress on ammo repooling
• preproduction for base building
• added different colored loot screens depending on whether the player is looting an enemy, friendly, or neutral entity
• added a button to go from the inventory to the loot screen and a pop-up window when an item swap can’t be performed
• allowed for separate loot-screen styles between the visor and lens
• conversion of on-screen chat to Building Blocks was completed
• converted more markers to the new system
• unblocked animation content to support weapon customization and two-handed carry to work with the new EVA system
• improvements to how shop items are highlighted when players look at them
• completed buy and rent interactions for physical shopping
• improvements to prone locomotion
• improvements to aiming and targeting for the gunnery system for Master Modes
• temporary solution for ship-hull penetration was added until Maelstrom is ready to support physical ship armor
• optimized the dynamic room atmosphere system and made it network compatible
• more work on cargo elevators and instanced hangars
• updated radar zone queries to use new zone query time splice tech
• work began on ‘signature categories’ (different signature detections based on emitters)
• Arena Commander:
  • improve to multi-crew experience by adding access selection
  • refactored the team-balancing system
  • improved loadout definitions
  • support for the Engineering Experimental Modes and a selection of new maps and modes
  • support for a new system for Gun Rush
• progress on reputation-based hostility
• changes to the trespass behavior
• UI:
  • work continued on the redesigned Contract Manager
  • completed payment validation for beacons
  • made Journal compatible with the new mobiGlas and updated the Home screen
  • support for the legacy Comm-Link and VMS Flash apps
  • visual updates to the Wallet and Assets apps
• provided new data structure to Mission Design so they could start setting up hauling missions
• progress on hangars, including the Instanced Interior Manager
• improvements to the freight elevator and commodity kiosks

Economy:

• continued rebalancing commodities
• mission rewards are being rebalanced according to the difficulty and time required to complete them
• team is involved in the design of reputation and org progression
• starting to balance the time and cost of autoloading freight elevators

Graphics, VFX Programming & Planet Tech:

• bug fixing the various deliverables for Alpha 3.23
• added performance-scaling options to the water simulation
• Vulkan team worked through several performance issues as they moved closer to matching D3D performance
• reworking shaders to reduce the total number of PSOs (shaders) that need compiling when the game starts
• work on Global Illumination continues
• Planet Tech team started work on Planet Tech v5
• VFX team continued with networking support for the fire simulation

In-Game Branding:

• preparations for Invictus Launch Week
• work for cargo containers and additional signage for various locations

Interactables:

• item banks (now called gear storage) were finished
• explosive containers were reworked and now replace static meshes in levels
• fire extinguisher recharge cabinets progressed through greybox
• cargo hover trolleys are being finalized

Lighting:

• worked on instanced hangars, freight elevators, distribution centers and Invictus Launch Week
• supported the upcoming Character Customizer

Locations:

• polishing content for Alpha 4.0
• closed out the upcoming distribution centers
• kicked off preproduction for new mandates officially beginning in Q2
• Landing Zone team finalized art for instanced hangars

Mission Design:

• Mission Feature team was restructured, becoming the Mission Design team
• following feedback on the Overdrive Initiative event, the team is revisiting the standard data heist missions
• progress on the upcoming cargo hauling missions (lawful stores across Stanton will not buy your cargo, got to use a fence if you want to sell them)
• began working on wildlife related missions (Kill ‘X’ Amount, Clear Location, Kill and Collect)
• some older mission modules were refactored
• further testing of Blockade Runner

Narrative:

• revising existing missions like the New Player Experience
• outlining new missions
• discussions with gameplay teams on ‘lorification’ of upcoming systems
• various posts on the website and Galactapedia updates

Online Technology:

• refactoring of social services backend
• work to reduce EAC Anti-Cheat false positives in preparation of enabling sanction enforcement
• finished off long-term persistence work for the Character Customizer

R&D:

• work continued on the temporal render mode
• supported the Gen12/Vulkan work

Tech Design:

• support of preparations for Alpha 3.23 and beyond
• support for hangars and ship flight
• polish work on Master Modes

UI:

• development of the new freight elevator kiosk, commodity kiosk, and item bank
• preparing mandates coming later this year, including the Resource Network and jump points
• added new player-facing UI, new mobiGlas
• new visor and lens improvements
• polished the new shopping UI and Character Customizer

VFX:

• finished work on distribution centers and freight elevators
• completed tasks for several upcoming vehicles
• progress on jump point effect