Ambitious, mega-crowdfunded space sim Star Citizen is still very much a work in-progress, and its latest alpha update has upped its space street cred considerably with the addition of a true-blue cloud city.
The new Orison landing zone on the gas planet Crusader is now accessible to alpha participants. Inside, you'll find "various new shops and facilities, a garden area, and breathtaking sunset and sunrise views'' according to developer Cloud Imperium. I have to say, Star Citizen sure can put a trailer together. Just look at that garden.
Orison's arrived alongside broader changes in alpha update 3.14, including volumetric cloud tech to go with the cloud city. Meanwhile, space combat has benefited from a retooled interface and improved interactions which allow for "even more realistic" missile behavior, and you'll also be able to more accurately manage your power during dogfights, if only to authentically declare, "Divert all power to shields."
There are a few events in the update, too, like Ninetails Lockdown, which sadly isn't a random episode of Naruto but, intriguingly, is a PvP event tied to the Ninetails pirates. The XenoThreat event has also returned with "numerous improvements based directly on player feedback and input," Cloud Imperium says. Dynamic events in general have also received friendly fire tweaks so you aren't instantly penalized whenever a shot goes off-course in multiplayer.
You can read the full Star Citizen alpha update 3.14 patch notes here.
Star Citizen is still in alpha after what's approaching a decade of crowdfunding and development. Last year, Cloud Imperium founder Chris Roberts affirmed that the game's single-player mode "will be done when it is done."
