How to get into Star Citizen right NOW!

[Purestorm]

You, like many others before, have heard, or possibly also seen footage, of the up and coming space sim called Star Citizen.

You have decided that you want to get in the action now, even though the game is not finished. So what can you do right now in Star Citizen? At the time of writing the following is possible :

• A scaled down version of the MMO Persistent Universe (PU) is currently available in the form of the Crusader planetary system and the mining asteroid Delamar. You can visit various space stations and and the surfaces of Crusader's moons and Delamar, perform missions, haul cargo, take part in piracy and more.
• A hanger module where you can walk around the ships you have purchased and go inside of them. NOTE: Not all purchasable ships can be viewed in the hanger module.
• A social module, where you can explore the city of Arc Corp, visit some of the shops and engage with other players exploring the city.
• A dogfighting mode called Arena Commander where you can engage in dogfights with fellow players, fight against NPC fighters or take part in a race! NOTE: Again, not all ships are available to fly in Arena Commander.
• A FPS mode called Star Marine, where you can play with up to 16 players in Deathmatch and Conquest styled game modes, with the maps catering to FPS gameplay in both normal gravity as well as zero G.

If you have not made an RSI account, use the following link! It will grant you 5000 free UEC, which is the in-game currency.


So you want to do all of the above right now? Here's how to get into the game!


Clicking the above image will offer you two different starting packages. Both packages will contain the following:

• A digital copy of the full game
• Beta access to the full game
• A pass to Arena Commander
• The manual
• A single ship (either the Aurora MR or Mustang Alpha)
• 3 months of hull insurance for the ship
• 1000 UEC, the in-game currency
• A hanger to display your ships in the Hanger Module

Please note that as of the 14th of February 2016, the above packages no longer come with a digital copy of Squadron 42, an episodic single player campaign mode. If you wish to include Squadron 42 in your package, after you have selected which ship you would like, there will be the option to add Squadron 42 to your package for around $15.

Please also note that the prices of the packages are subject to change, particularly in Europe as you will also have to pay VAT on top of the base cost.

These pledge packages are also contributing towards the development of Star Citizen. There are more expensive packages that come with additional items as well as different ships, but I would not recommend them to complete newcomers unless you want to spend additional money.

If you want to join BRTD in Star Citizen please do so here:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/orgs/BRTD

I'll try to update this thread as more content is added to the game, and if other options for getting into the game present themselves.

 

[bpostal]

Oooh, single player content as well?
What do you think Pure? Is it worth it?

 

[Purestorm]

The single player campaign certainly sounds interesting, since it's as far as I know the only way to be a part of the UEE Navy, the human's interstellar navy. In the main MMO mode, you're considered a civilian.

My opinion is rather biased, but I say go for it! I certainly will be playing S42. If you would like to know more here's a quote from an interview with a developer of S42:

“Squadron 42 is primarily a single player campaign, with the option for co-op, which focuses on telling a larger story. This will be the first part of the Star Citizen-universe that will be completely developed when we’re releasing in early next year” says Erin Roberts from Foundry 42.

Foundry 42 is the British studio responsible of developing the game, and Roberts was a natural choice as the leader for the project. He’s the brother of the brains behind Star Citizen, Chris Roberts, and the two have earlier worked together on among other things the Wing Commander-series: “Squadron 42 is a spiritual successor to the Wing Commander games, and if you played the classic games you will recognize many elements from it. The game is an introduction to Star Citizen, but playing Squadron 42 is by no means a requirement if you’re only interested in the persistent universe”. st

Main developer Cloud Imperium Games have chosen a modular release for Star Citizen, releasing it in chunks so players can test modules as they are ready, instead of waiting year for a final release. “This way we can continuously get feedback, something that makes it easier and quicker to make changes if necessarily. This means of course longer waiting time from the players first meeting with the game until they get the final product, but we feel this is a better for both us and the other players” says Roberts. Even though Squadron 42 is released as a final product, players will also here have to be patient: “The one player campaign in Squadron 42 is played out in five chapters, with around 15 hours of content in each chapter. Each chapter will be like a game in it self, and when all the chapters are released Squadron 42 will contain over 70 hours of content.”

The story of the single player Roberts doesn't say much about, but we know it is a military campaign where players enlist in the special unit Squadron 42. Together with this unit you travel from star system to star system, doing missions both in space and on the ground. “Squadron 42 isn't directly connected to Star Citizen in the sense that they happen at the same time, but what you do in the single player campaign will have an effect for your character in Star Citizen” he says.

You won’t have to be connected to the Internet to play Squadron 42 and by having the story happen before the story of the Star Citizen they avoid that the players static universe will be in contrast to the persistent universe of Star Citizen. This recently became a problem fro Elite: Dangerous, which recently announced that they are removing their offline-mode.

“We have also included a multiplayer mode which gives the possibility for both coop and PvP. The multiplayer mode is about short, intense mission instead of telling a story. The Background for the choice is because different players make difference choices and focuses on different things. We didn't want the experience to be unbalanced because some only player through the story, and others only play the side missions” says Roberts. “As in the single player campaign,will the multiplayer mission play out both in space and on the ground. A variant we’re working on lets each team move on the outside of their ships, where they can try shooting each other.

 

[UnicornSteak]

I´m thinking about buying a ship. Just a small one.
What can I already get from the game? Hangar, Racing and a little bit flying?

 

[ChipMHazard]

Racing and deathmatch.

 

[Irathi]

Have to say that my first impression was kind of mixed. I know this is a pre-alpha release so not much is to be expected.

• At first the graphic settings that is set automatically was "way" off, with my GTX 760 I had to lower it from very high down to medium to get a stable good framerate.

• Movement in the game seems very real-life like and thus it is also something that needs to get used to.

• I loved the hangar, walking around the ship, entering it, looking around - but then I was kind of disapointed when I tried to get my character to lay down in the bed, I expected to be able to look around, see through the windows and interact with panels/buttons. But it was nothing, just a cinematic lay down that had to be canceled to get out again. - not a big thing though and they will probably improve this

• The flying, oh my god that took some time getting used to. At first it felt very sluggish/strange and almost made me feel sick, but I was very impressed by it eventually. Good aim, timing your shots, using the visual clues correctly, managing your craft while in combat really has a high reward. = high skill = high reward. I love it, absolutely love it now.

• Learning to fly wasn't really that difficult either, I took 10 min in freeflight mode with no enemies just to get a basic feel for it, then I tried versus drones. First attempt I made it to the third wave, but was taken out by "Little King", second attempt I nailed the son of a bitch and made it to wave 5. A total flight time of about 1.5 hours I think. It made me go from rookie barely able to dodge rocks to actually feel confident about my flying, but I still have a long way to go with managing the ship systems.

• And I have to learn to blink my eyes more, because arenacommander is intense!

For anyone considering to buy this game at the current Pre-Alpha stage I'd say; do it if you like space fights / dogfighting, don't do it if what you really want to play is exploration, trading, character progress = EVE Online. Because the game isn't there just yet, but it will be and it will be good.

I predict this game to be the best space game ever made if they can just get it finished

 

[Irathi]

Also one thing, the install says it needs 20 Gb or so, but during the installation you will need 30-35 gb free harddrive - might be nice to know for those of you with smaller SSD's (like me). The finished product is 21-22 Gb.

I had 26 Gb free when the download started and it took several attempts of cleaning disk / freeing up space before the install would finish due to not enough disk space.. After deleting even mumble I remembered I had PS2 Test server installed........mofo

 

[UnicornSteak]

Is it possible to activate AA? Graphics look good, but the damn stairs...

 

[Purestorm]

You can use Nvidia's DSR to run SC at a higher res and then downsample it. Your FPS will go down considerably though.

 

[UnicornSteak]

wtf, I was logging in on the weekend and my starting pack ship was gone.
Instead there were 3 new ships in the hangar (dunno which types). Was that some kind of event?

 

[Purestorm]

Did you forget to put your own ship in the hanger?

Because if you do not have any of your ships in the hanger, any ships that are available to fly for free will be there instead.

 

[UnicornSteak]

hm, no. My Aurora is in the hangar.

 

[Gun Pow]

Woo Chris Roberts confirmed Squadron 42 act 1 will be out May 2015 (EDIT: mistake its out summer 15 ) our first 10 HOURS! of single player game confirmed in 10 for the chairman

5 parts wow we will be earning our Citizenship

 

[welph]

Woo Chris Roberts confirmed Squadron 42 act 1 will be out May 2015 our first 10 HOURS! of single player game confirmed in 10 for the chairman

5 parts wow we will be earning our Citizenship

Must have missed that part. Got a timeline mark for it?

 

[Purestorm]

May?! That's a damn sight earlier than I expected. I honestly thought it would be September at the earliest.

EDIT: Are you sure he said it was going to be totally finished in May, since I only heard him talk about the performance and motion capture shooting for S42.

 

[Purestorm]

I edited the original post since there is now a Fly Now page which offers two ideal starter packages.
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/fly-now

 

[Wanderingigor]

I edited the original post since there is now a Fly Now page which offers two ideal starter packages.
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/fly-now

WHAT when did this come up! I just bought the Mustang alpha pack like this afternoon wich didnt have an arena pass so i bought it seperatly, sure its only 5 bucks more but still.

 

[Gun Pow]

WHAT when did this come up! I just bought the Mustang alpha pack like this afternoon wich didnt have an arena pass so i bought it seperatly, sure its only 5 bucks more but still.

yeah that's new awesome Its probably to try sell more mustangs.

Also my mistake think squadron 42 is out this summer D:

 

[PallaDiLardo]

Sorry guys but for me this game sound extremely expensive. I'll wait for the release to see if they'll improve the price. No way that I am gonna spend that kind of money in a game that I am not sure if I am gonna like, because it is kind of track driver simulator in the space.

And I was one that LOVED years ago Frontiers

 

[Irathi]

Sorry guys but for me this game sound extremely expensive. I'll wait for the release to see if they'll improve the price. No way that I am gonna spend that kind of money in a game that I am not sure if I am gonna like, because it is kind of track driver simulator in the space.

And I was one that LOVED years ago Frontiers

What are you on about? - It cost like 30 USD for the complete game, no subscription, one time sum, and play for life. That's about as cheap as games come.