Star Citizen, Roberts Space Industries - Chris Roberts' life support and retirement fund [2012-]

There are some new flight sticks on the market I have not seen before.

Gladiator Mk.II: https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=vkb-sim-gladiator
Video about the device:


Good quality for $100 but not many buttons.


VPC WarBRD DELTA Flightstick (not yet available): https://virpil-controls.eu/vpc-warbrd-delta-flightstick.html
VPC MongoosT-50CM Flightstick: https://virpil-controls.eu/vpc-mongoost-50cm-flightstick.html[
Page for more accessories: https://virpil-controls.eu/

The last one could have a better quality than the Warthog joystick.

The VPC WarBRD DELTA Flightstick seems to be made for space simulations but ist a bit cheaper in quality in comparison to the MongoosT-50CM Flightstick:


I think I will buy two VPC MongoosT-50CM Flightsticks or one with adapter for a Z-axis at some point

I never thought about that before but now when you say it...

 

Looks ideal for me. I'm just not that serious to dump $300+ into a flight stick.

 

Another alternative is the Thrustmaster T.16000M Joystick for around $60. Worse build quality but more keys and also precise. I don't think there's much more good stuff in this price-conscious area left.

Gladiator Mk.II vs. Thrustmaster T16000.

 

Are there any sticks with force feedback these days, or is this an essentially dead chapter in PC gaming...?

I once had the 2nd generation microsoft FF joystick; it still used plastic gears for its mechanics unfortunately, but it was still an improvement over the orginal stick. Unfortunately the electronics in it died long ago and it had the equivalent of a stroke I'd say, slamming the stick with max force (which was considerable!) into the top-right (or left, can't remember) corner and wouldn't budge from there... Had to toss it, sadly.

Next I got one of those Saitek flightstick/throttle things which recently were re-launched (with a slightly different color scheme.) First stick a bunch of LEDs burned out on, the other stick (which I got on warranty replacement) lasted for years, then died too. Feh! Now all I have is an xbone gamepad which I never use...

 

I have a T16000. The buttons are a bit sloppy, but the stick itself is good. They do a throttle to pair with it as well these days that looks pretty solid.

Thought SC was better played with a mouse+keyboard though.

 

I have dual T1.6000s and yea the game is better with mouse and keyboard which is the sadest thing about this space sim

 

I'm not a joystick expert either but I only saw force feedback on gaming wheels.

I rarely hear good things about Saitek and its probably advantageous for CIG that nothing became of the Star Citizen Seitek-Hotas

No its not. Most of the good pilots using joystick etc. The mouse has the advantage by using gimbal weapons but they are much weaker.I can't get along with the mouse at the moment and want to switch back to Joystick.

Since 3.0, the flight model and hover mode no longer work correctly. They're working on that:
https://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/SC/forum/50259/thread/gravlev-q-a

 

Mouse and keyboard has been better in this game since dog fighting first released. Trust me I have played every patch for this. THe flight model needs to be completely redone.

 

No it does not. If one does not like 6 DoF fights it does not mean it should be redone.

Ist broken since 3.0.https://robertsspaceindustries.com/...59/thread/why-do-allthe-ships-wobble-in-space

Zyrain@jpritchett_cig (in the comments) is the flight modell programmer.

---

Good timelapse:

 

Monthly Studio Report: April 2018: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/16551-Monthly-Studio-Report-April-2018


Someone in this forum has a Genisis Srarliner if I remember correctly. Crusader Industries is the manufacturer and he now also has another spaceship (Hercules) and therefore the Genisis Starliner is no longer the only spaceship of this manufacturer. Some may be surprised that new spaceships are still announced but CIG probably needs a permanent cashflow and if Squadron 42 sells very well they might announce fewer spaceships?

Hercules:


This is a transport ship for tanks, MOABs etc.

Yes and you are right when looking at some the artwork. Star Citizen will also have battle tanks (maybe they are also needed for Squadron 42 who knows).

 

Maybe they need tanks now so they can sell them.

 

Oh man do not give them ideas
But you raise a very good point, all this effort for model representation-mechanics accuracy for ships should apply to vehicles and especially tanks otherwise it is a mixed narrative about the realism of their universe and models and potentially brings compromises that are not meant to be there and stand out compared to the work relating to SC and ship-space mechanics.
That is the problem of project scope creep and why I feel all ground based aspects should be expansion based development after SC launches as a final game; for launch this should had been pretty limited where one can get out of their ship on a planet and maybe just multiple trading/quest/research landing zones per planet until then.

IMO it is starting to get a bit silly what they keep adding to the base game that is still to launch as a final retail version.

 

Would only play it for the graphics, hope it launches sometime, perhaps in the near future.

 

They need to stop selling new ships and get this game done

 

I don't think they could do one without the other?

 

Nice video showing some moon Environments but this will be important for better asset blending:
"Environmental Blending Shader
A shader that allows smoother blending of dirt, ice, and sand onto objects."

Current Roadmap: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/roadmap/board/1-Star-Citizen
So far 2018 looks promising.

Trashville
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/...ce/DE_Update_April_2018_Environment_Trash.jpg

Lorville could look like

Spoiler

Vegas

from Bladerunner 2049
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/media/l602kcoc6mcqfr/source/DE_Update_April_2018_Level_Design.png

 

I believe they asked for 500k during kickstarter , we are at what 180m …. it they can't actually finish the game right now they are in deep shit . Perhaps they should stop making new ships and get older ships in the game so people will want to buy them since they are flyable.

 

Or at least a fun functional persistent economy...

 

I think there is a basic economy at the moment where prices are changing but I am not sure since I am not trading this much.


Flight physics was thematised on this weeks Calling all Devs - See part from John Pritchett: Senior Physics Engineer

Guest: Jonny Jacevivius: Senior Systems Designer
•Extension of Item/Ship 2.0 => Weapon 2.0. Weapon coding is less bespoke and more standardized.
•New system should allow more unique effects and unique fire-modes without needing custom code (ie, designers can make unique mechanics rather than having to kidnap a coder).
•Setup should "future-proof" setup.
•No ETA, should be on the roadmap eventually
Guest: Cherie Heiberg: Archivist
•Will there be in-game ways to see lore, like museums? Possibly? She'd like to add such things but nothing's nailed down yet. Galactipedia will be integrated in-game and accessible from your mobi-glass.
Guest: Chad McKinney: Lead Gameplay Engineer
•Will quantum travel be blocked in asteroid fields (or by other objects)? Currently, it is not and that's mostly due to optimization reasons (raycasting is a bitch). They want to fix it, but there are higher priorities right now.
Guest: John Pritchett: Senior Physics Engineer
•Are hoverbikes broken is this how they're supposed to work? Yeah, super broken. Didn't get a lot of testing before 3.0 release. Aim is to be fixed by 3.2 release (some fixes before then, probably) but it depends on if any more complications pop up. The main issue is that the gravlev version of the IFCS isn't as smart as they'd like and has a lot of unique issues that the normal flight system doesn't have.
•Still working atmospheric model. Right now, atmosphere just acts as a modifier on thrust. Eventually, will actually act as a force to slow you down.
•Ships with VTOL thrusters are specifically to counteract gravity. Ships without it can still fly in atmosphere but they have to expend more of their maneuvering thrust power just staying airborne (which can cause overheating and overall less maneuverability).
•Maneuvering thrusters are going to have two types of thrust: Sustained which is lower over long burns and impulse for short bursts.
•"IFCS is basically drunk." There were so many changes that they didn't have time to properly fix it. He's made a fix, but he's still testing it. Also, ESP doesn't really work either because of the IFCS problems.
•"Yes, posting feedback in spectrum actually does help. Please keep doing so."
•Gravlev is working in the test environment but has issues under high server load situations. Last thing he needs to fix before fixes can be released.

Source of summary:



Fan video about Yela

 

They have no incentive to freeze the scope and deliver a game when they can keep on chasing faeries financed by ship sales.
As long as money keeps coming in the release will always = today + 1 year.
And if they fail to release a game when the money stop flowing, well it means that they were never going to release a game in the first place.