Now it has finally worked: The first players can get their hands on Star Citizen 3.0. The space epic reaches the Early Access state – at least for a chosen few.
Star Citizen 3.0 – this is the patch fans have been waiting for months. It has been announced multiple times and has been postponed several times.
3.0 is the patch that finally brings the individual modules of Star Citizen into a larger whole. It is the patch from which Star Citizen resembles what creator Chris Roberts promised backers: the transition from small to large is now seamless – the universe becomes persistent.
But of course, development continues even now: The game is still far from release. 3.0 is officially still part of the alpha of Star Citizen.
Currently, the patch is playable for the “Evocati”, the chosen ones who can test new builds of Star Citizen before anyone else. When Star Citizen 3.0 will be available to all backers is still unknown, it is said to “hopefully happen very soon.”
There have been ongoing discussions about 3.0. For months, everything has revolved around the patch in Star Citizen. At Gamescom, it was said that 3.0 should be released in September, but this was later corrected to October. Fans kept a close eye on the list of “bugs that need to be fixed before we let the Evocati in” – now it is finally time.
Open development leads to frequent delays
Star Citizen is considered an incredibly ambitious project that ultimately aims to provide a thoughtful sci-fi world alongside the real one.
The project is being developed with “crowdfunding” money – players are essentially fronting. Backers have already invested 160 million US dollars in Star Citizen.
There are always controversies surrounding Star Citizen. The most popular accusation: the project is suffering from a “feature creep”, being too overambitious to ever release. Doubters criticize the numerous delays and postponements. Fans point to the massive dimensions of the project.
As a crowdfunding game, Star Citizen relies on an “open development” model, allowing players to constantly observe the developers and discuss the visions of the game, even though it is still far from completion. In Star Citizen, internal timelines are shared with players – these are more susceptible to change than the schedules of studios in a closed development, where only dates that can be reliably met are announced.
3.0 – is now essentially the “Early Access” of Star Citizen
3.0 is considered by Star Citizen, according to Roberts, now as a version that would represent an “Early Access” build in another development system. So from now on, Star Citizen is at the same point as other games that allow non-developers to play for the first time.
More about Star Citizen 3.0:
Star Citizen: Trailer 3.0 – This is what it’s like to land on the moon
