Letter from the Chairman: $33 Million!

What a day! Some of you have been with us for over a year now, some of you are just discovering Star Citizen… I am grateful to all of you for what you’re making possible. As I said in the livestream, we’re in this for the long haul: Star Citizen isn’t going to be something you play and discard… we’re building a world you’re going to want to inhabit for years to come.
At $33 million, you unlocked the Anvil Carrack:

• Anvil Carrack – The Anvil Carrack has been the vanguard of every UEE exploration effort in recent years. Featuring reinforced fuel tanks for long-duration flight, a highly advanced jump drive array and a dedicated computer core room that allows it to put the maximum processing power into jump charting operations. Originally a military exclusive, the Carrack is now available for civilian use as a pathfinder spacecraft. Features on-board accommodations to allow for truly self-sufficient flight, including crew medical and repair facilities, and a mapping-oriented sensor suite capable of always charting a route home!

Information Runner handily won the final ship role poll… so I am proud to introduce the latest in Drake Interplanetary’s lineup!

• Drake Herald – Knowledge is power, and one of the most valuable commodities is pure information: the 1s and 0s behind everything from UEC ledgers to Citizenship ratings. Whether it’s colonists struggling to stay in contact with the UEE’s central worlds or criminals trading in illicit data, there will always be a need to securely move data. The Drake Herald, small, armored ship, is designed to fit that need and safely get that information from Point A to Point B. Featuring a powerful central engine (for high speed transit and generating the power needed for effective data encryption/containment), advanced encryption software and an armored computer core, the Herald is unique among personal spacecraft in that it is designed to be easily ‘cleaned’ when in danger of capture. The Herald includes an array of heavy duty internal options for data protection, including redundant power subsystems and EMP shielding, and a high-powered broadcast array for data transmission.

I hope you’ve liked having this additional input into Star Citizen’s development. We’ve enjoyed following the discussions related to the ship choices so much that we’d like to keep this process going! For the next five stretch goals, we’d like to add an additional system to the game… and you’re going to pick the major feature! Remember: the system, like the new ships, is simply symbolic of what’s being added to Star Citizen with the additional money. Each stretch goal system represents additional artists, tools, programmers and new technologies that will make the finished project even better!

— Chris Roberts

Letter from the Chairman: $32 Million!

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t expect to have to write another letter so quickly. Damn you all for being the best, most supportive community in gaming! Hopefully you can forgive me for waiting until after the livestream for this post! The alien ships are a hit; we can’t wait to share more as they come together. Flying a Xi’An scout or a Banu merchantman will be a different experience than their human counterparts, and we’re dedicated to making it worthwhile. At the $32 million level, you’ve unlocked the Aegis Surveyor, a ship dedicated to salvage that also offers some emergent gameplay opportunities:

• Aegis Surveyor – The Surveyor, from noted military contractor Aegis, is an industrial-quality salvage ship. Equipped with a reinforced cargo bay, a long-range jump drive and launch pods for unmanned drones, the Surveyor is an ideal ship for taking advantage of deep space wrecks. Tractor beams, floodlights, scanner options and docking ports round out the tool chest on this capable, utilitarian spacecraft.

The winner of the $34 million ship role poll, in a photo finish, is smuggling! There are two typical paths for smuggling ships: fast, armored ships adapted to run blockades and escape the authorities when necessary and totally innocuous ships that keep their cargo hidden from prying scanners. Several of our existing ships, including the Banu Merchantman, are well-equipped for the former job and so we’ve going for the latter.

• MISC Hull C (Discreet) – Scaling from small “box trucks” to massive supertankers, the MISC range of cargo hulls (A-D) are the standard goods transporter in human space. Extremely configurable, MISC Hulls can be adapted for most any type of transport job: from standard bulk shipping on the patrolled spacelanes to armored cargo hauling on the frontier. While these pre-configured hulls are primarily used for legitimate purposes, the MISC Hull Cs have recently become the favorite for criminals who modify the ship with advanced sensor shadow technology, quick-decompress holds and a variety of hidden compartments without modifying the ship’s body so it will appear to onlookers as standard everyday transports.

Thank you for your incredible support; I hope you enjoyed the chance to interact with the team in today’s livestream. And don’t forget to vote: next up is the last phase of the fan ship role selection poll. By the process of elimination, you can expect to be choosing a new ship from Drake Interplanetary, maker of the Cutlass and Caterpillar. Choose wisely!

— Chris Roberts

Letter from the Chairman: $31 Million!

It’s exciting to see sales of the Starfarer tanker push us past another stretch goal. To me, that says that backers understand that Star Citizen is going to be deeper than just a combat game… that we’re going to make unique experiences for all kinds of players, from pirates to refuelers.

Hitting $31 million means you unlock the first of the player-selected role ships, the RSI Orion! Like the Starfarer, the Orion is the kind of ship you probably wouldn’t have flown in Wing Commander… but we intend to make it just as interesting as a fighter or a bomber!

• RSI Orion – Roberts Space Industries’ goal has always been to make the stars available to individual Citizens. Now, with the RSI Orion mining platform, RSI is letting individuals take over a process formerly controlled by megacorporations. The Orion’s features include high-grade turret-mounted tractor beam arrays, durable exterior-accessible ‘saddlebags’ for mineral storage and a cabin designed by the team that brought you the Aurora and Constellation!

The voting is a lot closer now, but it looks like “Explorer” has edged out the crowd to be our next ship!

• Anvil Carrack – The Anvil Carrack has been the vanguard of every UEE exploration effort in recent years. Featuring reinforced fuel tanks for long-duration flight, a highly advanced jump drive array and a dedicated computer core room that allows it to put the maximum processing power into jump charting operations. Originally a military exclusive, the Carrack is now available for civilian use as a pathfinder spacecraft. Features on-board accommodations to allow for truly self-sufficient flight, including crew medical and repair facilities, and a mapping-oriented sensor suite capable of always charting a route home!

You have two more chances to vote for a new ship role! By the process of elimination, you’ll be choosing a ship from either Drake Interplanetary, makers of the Cutlass and the Caterpillar, or MISC, makers of the Freelancer and the Starfarer. Choose wisely!

Thank you for your support. Please join me tomorrow at 11 AM PST for a four-hour anniversary livestream direct from Cloud Imperium headquarters in Santa Monica, California. The team is excited to get another chance to interact with the community, and we’re looking forward to talking about some of the work we’ve done in the past year!

— Chris Roberts

Letter from the Chairman: $30 Million!

Another one bites the dust! Since the bombers made this goal possible, I’m sharing a gallery of Gladiator artwork created to show how the rear-facing turret can be changed with different upgrades. It’s a small reminder of how you’re going to be able to make each hull YOUR ship in Star Citizen.

• Origin 890 JUMP – The rumors are true: Origin Jumpworks has a larger ship in the works! The Origin 890 JUMP is an interstellar super-yacht with exquisite styling and an array of high quality upgrade options. Travel the stars in style with multiple decks, high visibility windows and a small boat bay. Whether you’re outfitting it to explore new worlds or to take a pleasure cruise through Terra, the 890 JUMP is the epitome of luxury, class and refinement!

Salvage handily won the $32 million ‘ship role’ poll, which means that the next ship we hope to be developing for you will be oriented around exploring and recovering derelict starships and other hidden treasures! Here’s the first description:

• Aegis Surveyor – The Surveyor, from noted military contractor Aegis, is an industrial-quality salvage ship. Equipped with a reinforced cargo bay, a long-range jump drive and launch pods for unmanned drones, the Surveyor is an ideal ship for taking advantage of deep space wrecks. Tractor beams, floodlights, scanner options and docking ports round out the tool chest on this capable, utilitarian spacecraft.

Now it’s time to vote for the $33 million stretch goal ship! We have three manufacturers left, so choose wisely. And thank you, truly, for making this all possible. Let’s make sure no one ever forgets that when publishers wouldn’t spend a cent on AAA PC games, real gamers went above and way, way beyond to make Star Citizen happen.

— Chris Roberts

$29 Million! Squadron 42!

You’ve picked up a lot of bombers… and used them to blow another stretch goal out of the water! This time I want to offer a special thank you on behalf of the Foundry 42 team. The latest stretch goal unlocked additional funding for the Squadron 42 single–player experience. In honor of that, we’ve put together a special Inside CIG behind-the-scenes video introducing the team making the game!

• Enhanced Mission Design for Squadron 42 – The team at Foundry 42 has big plans for Squadron 42, and we’re going to provide extra funding to make it a true spiritual successor to Wing Commander! Squadron 42 can go above and beyond anything you’ve seen before. From opening with an epic battle instead of a training patrol to missions that seamlessly combine boarding and space combat, we aim to put you right into the action! Additional funding will let the team realize this, with enhanced mission design and more resources and animations to enhance fidelity.

Last time we asked you to vote on a role for the next ship we build, and the resounding answer was that Citizens want to have a mining ship. We’re happy to oblige, but I’ll go ahead and warn you that mining in Star Citizen is going to be a lot more immersive than what you’ve seen before; you won’t be clicking on an asteroid until you’ve collected metal!

• RSI Orion – Roberts Space Industries’ goal has always been to make the stars available to individual Citizens. Now, with the RSI Orion mining platform, RSI is letting individuals take over a process formerly controlled by megacorporations. The Orion’s features include high-grade turret-mounted tractor beam arrays, durable exterior-accessible ‘saddlebags’ for mineral storage and a cabin designed by the team that brought you the Aurora and Constellation!

Now it’s time for you to pick the $32 million stretch goal ship. We’ve removed the winner and the lowest-performing option from the last poll. What will it be now? A massive cargo hauler, a speedy information runner, a dedicated salvage ship? The choice is in your hands!

Remember that each stretch goal represents a broad array of improvements to Star Citizen: more staff, better equipment, more variety in the finished universe. The ships you choose are just a sample of what each million dollars lets us add to the game!

— Chris Roberts

Wingman's Hangar Episode 47

Letter from the Chairman: $28 Million!

Star Citizen backers have a need for speed! Sales of the Origin M50 and 350R have pushed us over the $28 million mark! At $28 million, you unlocked an entirely new starter ship, which we believe is going to significantly improve the Star Citizen experience:

New Starter Ship – The team at Consolidated Outland has decided to take Roberts Space Industries head on in 2944 by premiering the Mustang personal spacecraft. We will use these additional resources to create another ship company and starter ship for Star Citizen. The new ship will be offered for sale alongside the Aurora, so players have a choice between two options to begin the game!

We’re excited to get to work on the Mustang. As the next step in the process, the design team will turn the broad concept into a detailed set of specifications. Then those will go to one of our world-class concept artists for the first visuals. We’ll share that process with you as it happens!

For our next several stretch goals, we’re going to try something different. We are constantly asked where the additional money goes. Surely new mocap hardware or a new starship design doesn’t cost a million dollars. The answer is that the stretch goals are an example: one big thing we will be doing with some of the money. Every additional million means that we’re hiring additional artists and programmers, equipping the team with better development tools and increasing the size of the talented outsource groups being trusted with aspects of Star Citizen’s development. It means more actors and time for mocap studios, more reference for designers, greater variety in game characters, more options in clothing and armor and a large array of ship items and weapons.

Every dollar improves the project. That isn’t as sexy as spending large amounts of money on impressive, headline-grabbing stretch goals… but it means a significantly better game in the end. So, for the next several stretch goals, we’re going to leave you with the knowledge that the money goes to improving all aspects of Star Citizen’s development. Instead of specifying some new development goal, we’re going to add a new ship to the game as a reward.

The design team has imagined a new set of Star Citizen ships, one from each of our big manufacturers. Each ship will have a new role to play in the Star Citizen universe, and unlocking these stretch goals will make it possible to go ahead and start building them. Since the M50 and 350R got us to this point, we’re starting with the Origin Jumpworks design. After that, it’s going to be up to you: the $31 million stretch goal ship will be decided by the poll below!

Origin 890 JUMP – The rumors are true: Origin Jumpworks has a larger ship in the works! The Origin 890 JUMP is an interstellar super-yacht with exquisite styling and an array of high quality upgrade options. Travel the stars in style with multiple decks, high visibility windows and a small boat bay. Whether you’re outfitting it to explore new worlds or to take a pleasure cruise through Terra, the 890 JUMP is the epitome of luxury, class and refinement!

I hope you enjoy hearing about these new ships and getting to have a say in what content we are adding to Star Citizen’s with your support!

As always, thank you for your continued enthusiasm and belief. Together we’re making something special!

Visit the link to vote in the poll for a future ship!

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm ... 28-Million

Wingman's Hangar Episode 46

Letter from the Chairman: $27 Million!

First the Xi’an and now the Banu – Star Citizen’s backers are making it possible to greatly expand the user experience! Here’s the stretch goal you unlocked at $27 million:

• Banu Merchantman Unlocked – Banu traders are renowed for their merchant prowess, traveling the spacelanes and trading with everyone from humans to the Vanduul! Their sturdy, dedicated trading ships are prized beyond all other transports, sometimes passing from generation to generation of Banu. At $23 million we dedicated additional resources to making Xi’An spacecraft a unique experience. At $27 million, we will expand that same thinking to the Banu! Starting with the merchant ship, the design team will expand Banu technology to offer players a completely different way of experiencing their universe.

We’re eager to get to work building out the Banu spaceflight systems… watch this space to learn how we’re going to make it a distinct experience from flying a human-designed ship. And since we hit this goal before November 26th, the Banu merchantman will be one of the ships available during the sale (you heard it here first!)

Now that we’ve reached $27 million, the Banu merchant ship will be sent to top concept artists for further development. In the meantime, I’d like to share with you some of the art that has resulted from the previous Xi’An stretch goal: the first concept painting of a Xi’An capital ship!

We’re going to devote the $29 million stretch goal to more resources for the single player game, Squadron 42. With Erin Roberts and the other veterans at Foundry 42 hard at work on the game, you can trust that it’s going to be great. Now we’d like to give them some extra resources to work with!

• Enhanced Mission Design for Squadron 42 – The team at Foundry 42 has big plans for Squadron 42, and we’re going to provide extra funding to make it a true spiritual successor to Wing Commander! Squadron 42 can go above and beyond anything you’ve seen before. From opening with an epic battle instead of a training patrol to missions that seamlessly combine boarding and space combat, we aim to put you right into the action! Additional funding will let the team realize this, with enhanced mission design and more resources and animations to enhance fidelity.

Big publishers haven’t been willing to invest this kind of money to improve PC games in a long time… we’re going to prove it’s worth it. That wouldn’t be possible without your support; thank you to all backers for helping make this game possible.

— Chris Roberts

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Revealed!

A portal into Warcraft history has ripped open, and the fifth World of Warcraft expansion has been revealed! Warlords of Draenor sends players to the savage world of Draenor—home of the mighty orcs and haven of the mystic draenei—to fight against and alongside legends from Warcraft’s brutal past.

Amid Draenor’s untamed jungles and battle-scarred plains, a merciless new Iron Horde has been forged from the mighty orc clans of old. To save their own world from impending invasion, Azeroth’s heroes will need to explore the far reaches of this unforgiving land, achieving new heights of power on their way to the new level cap of 100. To establish a foothold on Draenor, players will construct, command, and expand their own Garrison, a customizable base of operations and refuge for the followers you recruit to your desperate cause. Warlords of Draenor also empowers players to instantly boost one character to level 90, making it so anyone can join the battle for Draenor alongside their friends.

For more information, check out the official press release, and visit the new Warlords of Draenor website for screenshots, details about the new features, concept art, the announcement trailer, a sneak peek at updated player character models, and more.