Operation: Feed the Avatars of Star Citizen will be underway with update 3.9, which will introduce, among other things, some light survival mechanics. It was those mechanics that were the focus of a recent AMA on the game’s forums, where the devs fielded several questions about the system.
The questions were pretty varied, from what specific items are used to stave off hunger and thirst to how armor sets will protect against heat and cold. The devs have once more stated their intention of making the need to eat and drink as unobtrusive as possible, with adverse effects being gradual and dying from hunger or thirst taking several real-life hours; the timing is still being adjusted in testing. As for storing food and drink, sealed items will be in your character’s personal inventory and will persist so long as they remain unopened. Additionally, players will be able to help others out who are suffering from adverse effects of hunger and thirst by dropping a food item for someone to pick up.
The devs have confirmed that all armor sets will retroactively include protection from heat and cold and that tooltips will inform players of these values, but the more extreme climates like microTech will require specialized suits that are coming in update 3.9 as well. The vacuum of space, however, will have no temperature, so leaving your ship will not require you to put on a specialized suit. You’ll still want your helmet on, though.
Though a number of the questions were asked on a semi-repeated basis, the AMA is still worth a quick once-over if you’re interested in making sure your Star Citizen survives from day to day. Personally, I’m going to pack all of the burritos into my suit.
