The MMO Star Citizen has announced that it will not include an important feature with Patch 4.0. Instead, they plan to introduce the crucial “Engineering” feature later. They are concerned about the stability of the milestone patch. The announcement has sparked a divisive debate in the community.
This is the announcement at Star Citizen: In the official forum (via spectrum), it was announced on the evening of October 30 that CIG is removing various features originally planned for Patch 4.0 and postponing them. However, some other features planned for Alpha 4.0 are being prioritized and will be included in Alpha 3.4.2.
The most significant feature that will not make it into Alpha 4.0 is the “Engineering Gameplay“: This was intended to make the ships feel more alive and give players the sense that they are doing real work on such a spaceship, allowing them to repair individual components, extinguish fires, and perform similar tasks usually handled by Scotty or Geordi LaForge.
CIG justifies the change by stating that they are concerned about the stability of 4.0 and want to ensure that the update launches smoothly. CIG acknowledges that they know people will be disappointed but promises to deliver the features as quickly as possible.
Players are disappointed: two systems, but too little to do
This is the “negative way” to view the announcement:
A post that has garnered much agreement summarizes the disappointment of the fans: “So 4.0 is no longer a patch, but just brings server meshing and the second new zone Pyro.”
Another user adds: “Wow, that now means we have two systems where we can be bored.”
A third user quips: “I hate new gameplay. I just want more empty space and a few basic missions, that’s what I like the most!”
The disappointment is that promised gameplay features are being removed from the patch, features that players were looking forward to because they would fill the game with content.
This is the positive way to see it: The positive perspective is: Yes, this is a difficult decision, but ultimately everything must subordinate to server meshing. That’s “life.”
Others say: It’s okay to postpone things for now. The main thing is that 500 people can shoot at each other at the same time. They want to see blood.
In the end, 4.0 was always about the new system and server meshing. That’s what 4.0 is really about.
How does the dispute manifest? It’s not as if both opinions coexist peacefully, rather the two camps are clashing.
Optimists contend that critics are terribly negative and always see the worst possible outcome. Game development is hard, and things get postponed. That’s just how it is.
Another person argues: If you complain so much, you should just stop and find a game that doesn’t bore you. In response, others point out that if he is so easy-going, he could pick up a penny and enjoy it for the next 20 years.
Others also express their disappointment that 4.0 was announced so grandly at events and is now so dramatically reduced.
This is CIG’s response to the criticism: The developer states: With Patch 4.0, two significant milestones in development are coming, and they want to focus as much as possible on stability.
They are also looking forward to the now-canceled changes, which were working well internally, but they believe it is wiser to hold off for now and see how the two major features perform. Update 4.0 is a “big leap forward.”
Recently, several aspects of Star Citizen have been postponed. Also, a feature that many were counting on will be missing from Release Patch 1.0, which is still a long way off for players: The favorite feature of wealthy players will not be in Star Citizen at release, even though it was promised
