Star Citizen chairman Chris Roberts has posted a blurb outlining a new system called Rental Equipment Credits that is coming to Arena Commander’s 1.1 patch. In a nutshell, REC will enable a form of progression so that backers can test all of the game’s ships without pledging additional money.
Roberts says that REC or something like it has always been the goal for the game’s persistent universe, but until now it has been unavailable in the alpha dogfight module. “One of the design tenets of Star Citizen is that it needs to be a complete experience regardless of what you have purchased,” Roberts says. “Someone buying a starter package needs to have exactly as much potential as someone supporting development by pledging for a new ship or purchasing a new weapon. I do not want to make a game where you feel compelled to spend anything but time to continue playing.”
Roberts then hands the mic to designer Calix Reneau, who outlines the REC mechanic in further detail.
[Source: REC; must be logged in to view. Thanks, Mohoc!]
