It’ll probably never stop sounding silly when alpha MMOs make a bit to-do about their patches, but it’s gonna keep on happening, and today Star Citizen enters the stage with the release of alpha 3.9 to backers. Cloud Imperium has clearly been busy during quarantine as it it rolled out a whole press release and video announcement.
“With today’s launch of the Star Citizen — Alpha 3.9: Locked Up & Loaded update, players can look forward to more expanded experiences and deeper immersion based on community input and feedback. Highlights include the introduction of the Klescher Prison system, new criminal and bounty missions, a brand-new landing zone, the Esperia Prowler ship, all-new unified friends list, streamlined weapon attachment UI, and quality of life improvements.”
Click to expand complete list of features in the patch.
• Klescher Automated Prison: Actions have consequences. Players incapacitated by security forces or bounty hunters will now find themselves serving hard time in prison. Pay off your debt to society by doing manual labor, or make plans for a daring escape.
• New Babbage Landing Zone: This brand-new landing zone and trading hub is now open for business! Located on microTech and home to the company’s flagship store, New Babbage features an extensive transit system with lines connecting all major hubs. Open spaces are enclosed by protective domes, shielding citizens from the planet’s freezing climate while offering spectacular views of frozen lakes and azure skies.
• New Mission – The Price of Freedom: In an all-new mission, some unlucky outlaws have been captured and are catching a ride on a prison transport. Players have been hired to board the ship, fight their way past security, wake these unfortunate individuals from cryosleep, and if possible, eliminate the turncoat who got them captured in the first place.
• New Ship – Esperia Prowler: The Prowler is a near-perfect recreation of the infamous dropship that battled UEE forces throughout the Tevarin Wars. Elegant, advanced, and effective, it embodies the unique Tevarin approach to warfare and organic vehicle design. The Prowler is the first Tevarin-derived ship ever offered on the Human market. Find out more about the Esperia Prowler here.
• New Player Status System: Player immersion reaches new levels, as blizzards and snowstorms are now more than just a visual effect. “Weather locomotion” now provides wind force resistance to player characters and ships in the atmosphere. In addition to monitoring temperature, the new player status system also measures hunger and thirst. Eat and hydrate to stave off starvation and thirst while taking advantage of specially designed suits to maintain an ideal body temperature in harsh environments.
• New Weapon Attachment UI Feature: Ground combat sees major improvements as players can now make adjustments to weapon attachments on the fly without having to navigate through inventory menu systems. Make quick changes to scopes and attachments on the go and stay in the action.
Chris Roberts calls the update “part of [CIG’s] continued commitment to deliver notable updates on a consistent basis that greatly improve the overall experience in Star Citizen.” If you’re bringing a fellow social-distancing friend to play with you for this leg of the alpha, make sure you take advantage of the temporary referral bonus to snag a pair of Greycat PTV buggies.
Our resident Star Citizen expert Chris Neal discussed the current state of the game (and what’s gone missing from the latest roadmap) on this week’s Massively OP Podcast. The new videos and new screenshots are below.
