At a fan convention, Star Citizen showcased an impressive model of a city that could have come straight out of the current movie Blade Runner 2049.
The fourth CitizenCon is taking place this weekend in Frankfurt. On Friday, there was an impressive keynote by mastermind Chris Roberts in the form of a one-hour presentation.
The highlight was probably the backdrop of a city that could be from Blade Runner 2049. ArcCorporation is a metropolis that stretches across a planet. A kind of trading hub like Coruscant – clearly inspired by the look of the current film starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.
From Mine Sweeper to Blade Runner
The developers demonstrate with the city what the core of Star Citizen’s development is about. They create powerful tools and work on hyper-intelligent design: combined, both are meant to help fill a massive world with meaningful content in order to meet the project’s high ambitions.
In the presentation, you can see how the city is conceived. It looks like a mix of Sim City and Minesweeper, but the result is an impressive industrial city as a backdrop.
Applause during the keynote was for the idea that this city can be flown through as well as viewed from a space station. The core idea of bringing the various elements of the game together is what makes Star Citizen so fascinating. Impressive modules that are pieced together into a gigantic universe.
However, it is not planned for players to stroll through the showcased city – while it is envisioned that players can land at several locations in the city and interact with NPCs or other players, the city is primarily intended as a backdrop.
Ambitious Project – Still Without Release Date
So far, 163 million US dollars have been raised. The latest ship sale is tied to an Intel SSD hard drive. Anyone who purchases the Intel Optane SSD 900P will receive an exclusive ship in Star Citizen.
CIG is essentially developing two major games in parallel, neither of which currently has a release date.
- First, there’s Squadron 42, a single-player adventure with an epic story, rooted in the tradition of Wing Commander. Squadron 42 is expected to be a major topic in a livestream by the end of the year.
- And the MMO-like space simulation Star Citizen, which aims to create a persistent multiplayer universe where anything is possible. Here, one is on the verge of a level that can even be considered Early Access.
