Mystic Worlds

Star Citizen - Nyx Abbreviated Galactic Guide

The Nyx system is next in my journey to create abbreviated Galactic Guides for quick reference. It comes as perfect timing. The recently released preview embedded below, is a fly through of Nyx, the first system to be developed from the ground up using the new modular design process.

ATV 55 discussed progress on the Nyx-Levski landing zone and how it’s being constructed as an outdoor bazaar. Unlike ArcCorp where you visit the interior of buildings to purchase items, Levski will have carts in an open area that’s bustling with activity.    

 

 

NYX SYSTEM

• Corporations: Gold Horizon Facilities (abandoned)
• Imports: None
• Exports: None
• Player Profession Support: Low quality mining, bounty hunting, contraband trading
• Points of Interest: Delamar (planetoid / hidden asteroid base)
• May possess Jump Points to: Unknown
• Criminal Element: Piracy raids are common.

Discovered in 2582, at the height of the newly-formed UEE territorial expansion, Nyx consists of three unremarkable planets circling an F-Type Main Sequence star. Located directly on the border of a dark nebula, visibility and scanner use are limited due to the gases being discharged. The system’s few inhabitants are rather fond of being able to fly under the radar – if you get my meaning.  The system is not known for possessing much of interest as it’s lacking in natural resources.  However, it has gained utility in recent history as a waypoint for haulers flying the Castra-Stanton run. Be forewarned – piracy is common. Travelers are advised not to veer off the standard spacelanes.

Star Citizen Persistent Universe – ArcCorp on Live Servers

CIG made their by the end of August date to release Social Module, what they're calling Persistent Universe version 0.  ArcCorp, the planet from the Stanton system shown off during the GamesCom demonstration is now live for Alpha testing. I only spent a few minutes in the game myself.  My graphic's card low FPS was causing severe motion sickness.  I've ordered an upgrade and am excited to give it another try after I have it installed.

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Star Citizen – Social Module Rolling out to PTU Today

CIG has started sending out invites to participate in pre Live Alpha Server testing of the Social Module, known as the PTU Server.  To protect back-end stability, initial invitation criteria is being based on recent Arena Commander participation (you would actually be bothered to test if given access) and proximity to the data centers. Or so it was loosely mentioned a while back. Whatever the case, these are invites to participate on the TEST server, which isn’t something I ever do.  I’m not that impatient that I need to test the test content. J Kudos to those who do, which makes the version I do get to see, more stable that it may have been otherwise.  Trying out new features once they hit the Alpha server is more than enough for me.

I’m excited to walk around and have a look at a location that will be part of the upcoming persistent universe of Star Citizen!  There won’t be much to see that we didn’t see in the various GamesCom demonstrations but it will be fun to see it for myself. If you're antsy for your invite, you might enjoy a quick read about the Stanton system while you wait. I'm going to do abbreviated versions of the Galactic Guides as they bring systems online.  ArcCorp is part of the Staton system that I covered recently.

The timing is good too as I’ve now found organizations for my primary pursuits – Commercial Pilot, Medical Technician and Deep Space Industry. For now, I’ve aligned myself with two specialty organizations for civilian transportation and search & rescue.  I think there will be a lot to learn – lots of trial and error in the beginning. I think it will be beneficial to be with others who are pursuing the same professions. And I’ve joined a generalist organization that would of course have sectors in science and industry to I can dabble in those areas and let others utilize my industry focused ships while I’m doing the other stuff.

Now with the social module soon at hand, I expect chatter in these organizations to pick-up.  I’m looking forward to socializing with them “in game”. CIG expects to have sent invites out for PTU participation to all users by Friday. Historically, PTU to Live is 2 to 3 weeks if no show-stoppers around found.  We’ll see if I can actually hold out that long. If people seem to be having a ball, I might have to setup my PTU account. I think the process for doing that was simplified with the new launcher.

 

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Quick Post

Star Citizen – Abbreviated Stanton System Overview

In anticipation of the Persistent Universe v0 release, formerly known as the Social Module, I thought I’d do an ABBREVIATED version of the Star Citizen Galactic Guides as system/locations come online. This is as much for me as anyone else, as a way of familiarizing myself with the SC universe.  I expect we’ll see fan developed tools such as the DOTLAN maps site created for EVE Online.  For the full read, visit the official description on the RSI website.

While reading the full Galactic Guide write ups it became obvious that in addition to lore, the guides are providing hints about where players can find certain industries, supplies and jobs related to the planned player professions.  While I dropped most of the lore for these abbreviated reads, I did include details related to industry and possible player profession support aka where to find certain jobs.

STANTON SYSTEM

• Corporations: MicroTech, ArcCorp, Crusader and Hurston
• Imports: Hydrogen, Manpower, Ore & Weapons
• Exports: Antimatter, Electronics, Engines, Explosives, Mining Equipment & Starship components
• Player Profession Support: Weapons, electronics and ship components, cargo transport contracts, mining contracts, wholesale antimatter
• Jump Points to: Terra, Magnus, Pyro
• Special Points of Interest: Wally's Bar on ArcCorp contains NPCs that provide work orders & missions.

 

Stanton III ArcCorp - first Stanton zone to be released

Star Citizen - Banu Merchantman

I take a keen interest in the areas of Star Citizen that are offering unique game play mechanics, especially professions I haven’t experienced in other MMOs.  Anyone who has followed my blog over the years knows that if there’s an opportunity to setup a business of sorts, I will always give it a try.  I enjoy the idea of playing out an entrepreneur in MMOs and it goes well with my love of crafting.

The Banu Merchantman was introduced into SC as a result of the $27 million stretch goal.  The lore explains that the Banu are renowned merchants who travel space trading with all species.  They have no ill will toward any race if there’s money to be made. They even trade with the Vanduul.  Over the years, the Banu perfected their technology to develop the much prized Merchantman.

Early concept image of Banu Merchantman

The Merchantman isn’t just a ship, it’s a way of life. It’s sturdy and fast considering its size, and is capable of landing or docking with orbital structures. Think of the Merchantman as a traveling bazar where visitors can browse cargo and purchase items while on board.   The Merchantman is so valued among the Banu, it’s often passed down from generation to generation.

Quick Post

I've been out of town for work.  The preparation before hand limited my leisure time and will continue to do so for the next few weeks, as I study for another industry certification.  Before leaving town I took a half day off so that I could watch the Star Citizen GamesCom demonstration live.  What I saw simply blew me away. I've always felt comfortable with my level of monetary investment or I wouldn't have done it.  But it was amazing to SEE the progress they've made that we have been reading about in the weekly updates and various videocasts.

The only downside is that seeing how far the tech has come in-house, really makes the current iteration of AC look old hat.  I now WANT the Social Module and AC 2.0 which will contain multi-crew ships more fervently than before.  Oh well, such is life.  I actually don't have time to play for the next few weeks so would likely be crazy jealous if they'd dropped the features right after GC anyway.

Lots of exciting stuff to look forward!

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Quick update on what’s going on with Star Citizen. Mostly, we’re all hanging on every word trying to guess what the big reveals might be at GamesCom.  I will unfortunately be out of town for work and unable to watch the live stream. I’ll have to wait for it to be posted on YouTube.

Jump Points

My understanding of Jump Points gained more clarity as a result of a question answered on the last 10 for the Chairman with Chris Roberts. Jump Points are the mechanism by which ships in Star Citizen will be able to traverse systems. We’ve always known that unlike using a Stargate mechanic that insta-warps you to another system, JPs must be navigated manually your the first attempt.  Negotiating JPs require decent flying skills.  They will be challenging enough that you can damage or even lose your ship in the process.

The new information was that even after you’ve successfully navigated a JP, which stores the coordinates for future use, JPs will shift over time, rendering former navigation coordinates useless. JPs are more akin to wormholes. They’re not static man-made structures. Their internal structure changes over time, requiring you to manually navigate them again to update your coordinates.  Additionally, some JPs are so volatile that they can’t be mapped at all, and will always require manual flight.

Unlike most fantasy MMOs, SC won’t have any instant travel options.  In that regard it’s like EVE Online. You must physically travel everywhere you want to go.  And now we know a few more details about the JP mechanic we’ll be using to travel from one system into another. It’s also worth noting that only some of the JPs will be exposed / known by players at release.  Like EVE wormholes, it’s on us to find the others in order to reach those systems which will be the work of players who’ve purchased exploration ships.

Unofficial video of how Jump Points will work – video is from CIG but the audio was added by a fan