The next stage of Star Citizen’s alpha test, update 3.6, is live and running on the game’s Public Test Universe for wave 1 backers, giving subbers and Concierge-level players the opportunity to help shape the development of the new patch along with the Evocati who were already in there. For the current test, the developers are asking players to focus on ship combat balance, the reworked flight system, ship purchasing and component degradation, and “pip accuracy and ship flight jitter.”
The patch notes for the update are as-yet incomplete; as usual, they’re “updated iteratively” as new features are added in. As it stands, the current test version includes the new hover mode, which — as the name implies — allows players’ ships to hover in place when they’re close to a planet’s surface, as well as visible ship weapon degradation. The update also completely reworks “Rest Stop exteriors and shapes, including thematic variations” and streamlines the on-planet transit systems to reduce the amount of time players spend waiting for trains and maximize the amount of time they spend doing cool space things. Do note that the new law system still isn’t fully implemented, so you might want to hold out if you’re waiting to test that one.
Oh, and both the test and live versions of the game now have a new, unified launcher, so that’s nice, too. For the full details on the PTU patch and testing information, be sure to check out the patch notes over on the game’s official site.
