r/StarCitizen's Discord news bot published a decent summary:

Q: What is being done to prevent feature/fx regressions?
A: It is being tackled in 3 main ways. Root cause analysis, test plan expansion, and increasing validation tools and methods. Route cause analysis finds the core issue causing problems so it doesn’t come back. Expanding the test plan improves the list of QA tasks so that a better product goes out. Finally, increasing validation tools and methods makes sure that potential issues can be found and stress tested easier.

Q: What’s the holdup with ripping out the rest of scaleform [flash] and finally converting entirely to building blocks?
A: Star Citizen is a majority building blocks now but the comm link app, and vehicle manager are the two big remaining scaleform assets. Both have their replacements currently being worked on.

Q: Why don't we have an option to hold out an object for another player to take directly from our hands?
A: It is technically possible but poses issues with how two players would interact smoothly together, and potential unfair security/theft. It is a design question for down the line.

Q: Is the development of social tools progressing?
A: Social tools are progressing but slower than the team would like. Backend systems are progressing on schedule. However, the big work is implementing player facing things like the new social app, and the massive amount of new ui required. VOIP and FOIP improvements are being worked on each patch incrementally. The new chat widget will also allow you to chat while downed and respawning. Overall social tools are progressing well.

Q:LAMP! What keeps you from implementing LAMP to all ships?
A: LAMP is easy to implement on ships like fighters because their moving canopies are part of the ship’s exterior. That makes applying the submaterial on the inside that makes LAMP work much easier. Ships with static glass, it is very hard to find just the glass in the code to apply LAMP, but a better method is needed that won’t require reworking tons of ships. There are plans for this work, but it needs time in the schedule to get done. They want LAMP on every ship including ground vehicles

Q: Are we still going to be able to bring up ground vehicles in the freight elevator at some point?”
A: Absolutely. First, ground vehicles need their insurance backend working on freight terminals, and to be decoupled from the ASOP so you can just do everything in the one terminal. Freight elevators also need to be fixed up so it’s not just adding another feature onto an unreliable system.

The Anvil Auxilia also made a cameo during this question

Q: Desync issues?
A: The recent physics netcode improvements are a big step towards fixing this. The big desync writeup post, which Jared remarks as being 45 pages long, is nearly done and will explain a lot of issues and their causes. More tech previews for improvements and synchronization like we had for physics are coming. Hopefully more of these improvements will be rolled out.

Q: Why can’t we delete or sell in-game earned ships?
It’s a design question primarily, but is possible tech wise now. 4.8 added a new entitlement system that tracks in-game purchases and things like insurance. The prior system only tracked pledges and other items you had on the RSI website.The tech is ready for future buying and selling systems when they come along.

Q: NPC AI… why are they still behaving like before server meshing?
A: Server performance and issues often still drag down NPC performance. AI behaviors are being improved, but the amount of “budget” given to each AI can be unbalanced, especially in areas like Siege of Orison. AI pathing and planning has been worked on a lot to improve behaviors.Star Citizen only has 3 NPC “roles” at the moment that dictate how they fight, but many more roles are now available to be implemented and change how NPCs fight. A greater variety of AI behavior and archetypes will mean less AI are needed for the same job.

Q: Is there any intention to rework ground vehicles and give them more TLC?
A: Currently ground vehicles use one of three physics rigs. All ground vehicles are going to be updated to the best and most modern rig. Driving is also going to be more gamified and have improved collisions. Planettech V5 enhances terrain physics and surface smoothness which will make even the outdated physics rigs feel better to drive until they’re updated. Ground vehicles will all be brought under one setup and then that setup continuously improved.

Cpt_Foxyloxy up to his usual shenanigans. He loads up the Cyclone AA into his ship since it has an EMP device on it and then successfully uses it on other ships. You have to be a bit closer than 400m, and the damage is minimal. With light fighters (Gladius) it will only do about 25% distortion damage.

Not exactly a viable solution, but definitely interesting to see it used this way.

He then finishes off the video by loading a Sabre Raven into the Ironclad and uses it in the same way. The only issue here is that it shuts down the command module, so you would have to use the other piloting terminal that has no weapon control.

EMP damage stats:

• Cyclone AA:

  • Range: 400m
  • Damage: 1000 distortion

• Sabre Raven:

  • Range: 600m
  • Damage: 5500 distortion

• Scorpius Antares:

  • Range: 1100m
  • Damage: 3300 distortion

Ship commercial for the Mk V... But it's also showing off a lot of the upcoming planet tech v5. Sounds like a new score from Pedro Camacho as well.

cross-posted from @[email protected]: https://mastodon.social/users/ToolsWiki/statuses/117445523243508742

As photos of the cloud imperium games studio in Manchester are being shared showing among others the #Squadron42 mannequins, it's worth mentioning that they were done by Mangostone, who also worked on #StarWars
starcitizen.tools/Mangostone

Official Description:

It’s the Conny, but it’s not… but it is! The Mk IV’s better and the Mk V’s bigger. A next-generation-iteration-combination, with every bit of legacy-inspired spirit reimagined for today. The watchword is 'versatile!'

The D-Box is linked to the movements and physics of a ship. You can feel the difference between a heavier/slower ship and a faster/agile ship. A bigger missile/weapon will hit harder than smaller ones.

A few of these were set up for the Squadron 42 demo and only a few attendees were able to test it out (Mark Hamill, Morphologis, Chachi, tenpoundfortytwo and two others). They were paired with the Steam Frames for a more complete VR experience.

Chachi explained a little more about the experience: The afterburner will cause the whole rig to shake. Disable IFCS core and the whole thing jolts, and then it feels like you're floating/gliding through space compared to before.

MrKraken shared what he could from his experience with play testing through Squadron 42. It's a 30 min video and packed with info:

0:00 - Intro
1:06 - What hardware was being used?
3:13 - How was the pacing?
4:29 - Did you get any gamebreaking bugs?
5:12 - How much content is there?
5:49 - Accesability and difficulty options
7:28 - Is there a photo mode?
7:53 - Is 3rd person camera in?
8:12 - How was maelstrom
9:08 - First progression blocking bug
9:26 - mobiGlass, Collectibles & Accolades
10:47 - Can you customise your player character?
11:58 - Clothing Cosmetics
13:23 - Vehicle customisation options?
13:48 - FPS Flight and Social aspects
14:19 - How interactive is the UEES Stanton?
15:07 - Are there minigames?
16:44 - How was space flight and combat?
16:59 - How did quantum travel work?
17:41 - How does ship to ship combat feel?
18:26 - How was FPS?
20:19 - NPC reviving teammates
20:57 - Is hacking gameplay in?
21:32 - Charge and drain puzzle solving?
23:18 - The disappointing moment
29:51 - What are your final thoughts about the playtest?

cross-posted from: https://mastodon.social/users/ToolsWiki/statuses/117422398676955136

Did you know that we have a page listing the known #Squadron42 cast? More names will be added as they get confirmed. 🎬 https://starcitizen.tools/Squadron_42/Cast

Katie is showing off some offloading tricks with the new physics update.

A small selection of players and content creators are currently playing through Squadron 42. They have signed an NDA (no recording, no screenshots), but they are allowed to talk about their experiences. Mark Hamill and Chris Roberts are also there with them.

DigThat32 put up a quick 1 min video of him checking in with BoredGamerUK.

Squadron 42 just got its own Steam page and a trailer.

RSI Constellation Mk IV

The constellation Mk IV has been released and there have been updates made to all Constellation ships.

The linked post goes into a lot more detail.

Physics Networking Overhaul

A trust score has been created. More trust has been placed in the client when something is more believable. Corrections from the server are now applied as "velocity nudges" first and "teleportation" is only used as a last resort.

The linked post goes into a lot more detail here.

Shield Resistance

Shield resistance values no longer require the minimum to be lower than the maximum, which means resistances set to a flat value now actually apply rather than being ignored

Vehicle Cleanup

Abandoned vehicles left at Everus Harbor, Seraphim Station, Bajini Point and Port Tressler now expire on their own timer

Experimental VR Updates

::: spoiler Tap for details from the post

New: VR now has its own zoom, which works by narrowing the field of view. This is meant to be a temporary solution for scopes until we have fully physicalized Scopes. It's enabled for:

1. F Interaction Zooming
2. ADS / Precision Targeting in ships
3. FPS weapon scopes

A new Zoom Gameplay Strength option controls how strong the zoom is. Set it lower to reduce the effect, or set it to 0 to turn VR zoom off completely.

Advanced users can use these cvars for a more customized experience:

• r_StereoZoomScopeMin (1.0): scopes at or below this magnification don't zoom.
• r_StereoZoomHeadTrackingRotationScale (1.0): makes the view turn less than your head while zoomed, to reduce discomfort. 0 turns it off.
• r_StereoZoomDisablePositionalTracking (2): limits head movement while zoomed. 0 = normal tracking, 1 = off, 2 = only forward/back.
• r_StereoZoomLockAngle (10): how close (in degrees) your head must point to your aim for the zoom to apply.
• r_StereoZoomLockReleaseScale (1.5): extra margin before the zoom releases, so it doesn't flicker.
• r_StereoZoomScopeAlignDistance (0.04): how close (in meters) your eye must be to the scope's line of sight.
• r_StereoZoomSmoothTime (0.2): how many seconds the zoom takes to ease in and out.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed some UI icons disappearing after their spawn animation.
• Fixed mouse smoothing and acceleration resetting when switching to VR.
• Grounded Look now uses your aim direction for hand mining and similar actions.
• In Freelook (Z), you can now aim the tractor beam with your head. :::

Characters and Items

• The Heavy Combat Hunter 3 armor set arrives with its full range of tints

• Three camouflage variants have been added to the RRS armor line

• Nine new eyebrow options have been added to character customisation

• Wikelo is now trading recipes for the Gemini LMG and Grey Combat Armour, with a new mission to go with the LMG

• An RSI Constellation Mk II promotional display and an RSI branded two handed crate have been added as props

Bug Fixes & Technical Updates

For a comprehensive up to date list of Known issues and Workarounds, please check out our Knowledge Base here!

Alpha 4.10.2 closes 71 issues since 4.10.1 went live, including multiple exploits. These focus on long standing ship and item problems, vehicles going unresponsive coming out of quantum, contracts reporting themselves unavailable the moment you accepted them, landing gear and decals rendering badly across several hulls, armor and helmet sets with wrong names, missing parts or no storage, and vehicles coming out of a hangar tilted or with their engines already running. 13 of those came to us directly through the Issue Council, and each one carries a link to the original report.

They include very specific details on a number of bugs. Too many to list in here. See the original post for details.

CIG has announced that unclaimed codes for these two ships have expired and can no longer be claimed.

A theory posed by one content creator (Camural) is that this is due to the recent breach that CIG had where a list of codes like these could have been obtained by the hacker.

Edit - link to official Support Article: https://support.robertsspaceindustries.com/hc/en-us/articles/42678242845591-Deprecation-of-Hardware-Promotional-Codes

VR Scope issues have been greatly improved in the PTU after Chachi had a discussion with Silvan-CIG. The crosshair now accurately lines up with where a weapon is pointing.

When zoomed in with a scope, looking anywhere near the scope will automatically zoom your vision in. When looking away from the scope your vision will automatically return to normal.

Video description:

In this first episode, join us for updates on Mission System 2.0, Maelstrom, the new flight model, engineering gameplay, AI blades, suit lockers, medical respawning, and more. Find out what’s changing, what’s coming, and how we’re building toward the future of the ’verse.

[00:00] - Introduction
[00:38] - New Flight Model
[03:38] - Missions 2.0
[09:45] - Engineering
[14:05] - AI Blades
[14:55] - Storage for armors in ships
[18:33] - Maelstrom
[21:09] - Medical respawn and medical screen rework
[23:15] - Recurring issues with operations and sandbox activities
[28:08] - Why is there no storage for players in Siege of Orison
[32:56] - Logging back at the same location you logged out

ItsJoJo explain's Nyx 1 using some videos from CitizenCon to help explain.

A 45 sec video by Thoya showing off some epic camera work in a dogfight between a gladius and a hornet.

The video was originally created for and shown at CitizenCon 2025. Thoya has recently uploaded it to his channel.

A 5 min video with MrKraken reviewing the Tech Preview showing off some fixes/advances to physics in Star Citizen.

Post by Wakapedia-CIG. Most comments are against the change where NPC ships now have a modifier making damage more effective against them.

::: spoiler Tap for full post content

Alpha Patch 4.10.2 has been released and is now available to test on the PTU environment! Patch should now show: VERSION 4.10.2-PTU.12770507

• Audience: Wave 1

• Server Info: PTU Channel - US Only

• Long Term Persistence: Enabled

Testing/Feedback Focus

• Stability, Bugfixes, LTP between PTU releases

• New Event missions in Stanton

• TTK TTD Ship Balance (This is a TECH-PREVIEW within the normal PTU build for the weekend. This is not intended for 4.10.2 but will be a good way to test it!)

Features & Updates

New In-System Event

More balance and polish for the event. Event points are now split across mission types, and mission unlock progression has been rebalanced. Voice comms added across the patrol and support mission flows. Heavy armored enemies encountered during the event now have the correct armament and are appropriately tougher to bring down.

Weapon Audio

Continued mix pass across FPS weapon audio as part of the ongoing weapons audio refactor

Bug Fixes & Technical

Added new login stability updates. Players should no longer be incorrectly kicked with a "Duplicate Login" error when their client silently reconnects after a dropped connection. Previously a reconnect within a fraction of a second could be mistaken for a second machine and boot the player out of an active game session. This would make it look like you were kicked back to the main menu without explanation.

• Potential Fix: Heavy Combat Hunter 3 helmet variants not applying the snoopy cap or necksock when equipped

• Potential Fix: MISC Prospector tilting when retrieved from a hangar

• Potential Fix: Crafting fabricator filtering the TH-01 Propulsor mission item under "Container" rather than "Missions"

• Potential Fix: Event contracts not being available at certain locations around Stanton

• Potential Fix: No voice comms playing throughout the event patrol and support mission flows

• Potential Fix: Event patrol contracts completing prematurely before all objectives were reached

• Potential Fix: Event shelf tag points facing the wrong direction, causing items to be placed incorrectly

• Potential Fix: Event NPCs at pickup and dropoff locations standing static instead of moving around the platform

• Potential Fix: Event delivery boxes offsetting in the player's hands when picked up from the rear

• Potential Fix: Event progress tracker appearing in the mobiGlas Journal before the event was active

• Potential Fix: Mirai Pulse and Pulse LX radar UI displaying inverted, with holographic dashboard UI positions adjusted

• Potential Fix: Power Config MFD showing no tooltip when hovering over component icons; the tooltip now displays the component name and temperature

• Potential Fix: Physicalized storage decals transitioning to a lower LOD too early across multiple vehicles

• Potential Fix: RSI Constellation Phoenix piano not playing audio

• Potential Fix: Arena Commander Kill Collector FPS players missing the holographic skull head during the Day of the Vara event

• Potential Fix: Event salvage contract title containing a typo, and contract titles and descriptions requesting the wrong commodity

TTK Balancing Update Tech-Preivew

For this weekend's PTU build we are folding in the TTK balancing updates! This is just a test for the weekend and is not intended to arrive with 4.10.2 but this will be a great testbed for this!

It’s time for TP4, we hope this time it will go well and also dearest apologies to everyone who participated in TP3, it was cursed. TP3 had multiple serious issues

• Due to in issue in implementation, all shields had double their intended health values. This lead to an increased TTK - absolutely opposite to our goal. Props go out to the one player who noticed and commented under our post. There was also a slight issue in communication, we stated that in TP3 our goal is to “Increase TTK for PVP”, thereby we meant to increase it compared to TP2, NOT compared to live.

• An error in data entry caused multiple shields to have crazy amounts of power pips causing them to not function in game.

• We encountered a new bug that causes ships skip their over damage health pool. This means that instead of being disabled first, ships explode right away - 10 times earlier than they are supposed to. This made ships explode right after their shield is gone.

These issues were addressed mostly in the feedback we received for TP3. Other takeaways were however

• Ballistics are still too strong

• Even though ships have double the intended shield health, the TTK for large ships decreased.

• Power pip assignment cannot be a mean of balancing ballistics at the moment as with current engineering functionality, players tend to max out their shields anyways

• The AI Modifier is largely disliked - we have noted this, we are already discussing it

So for TP4 our main objective is to deliver a fixed and refined version of TP3

• Shields have been adjusted to intended values, this should bring the TTK down again

• Ballistic DMG has been decreased by 20% compared to TP3

• AD4B, AD5B, Deadbold IV and Deadbolds V Aplha DMG has been provisionally nerfed by an additional 20% as their they have been called out as OP and impacted feedback

• We looked closer into shield and health values of large and capital ships and adjusting their values generally they increased to match them closer to the 2/3 shield, 1/3 Armor and critical parts goal.

• Energy and Ballistic Deflection has been adjusted.

• AI Modifier has been decreased.

Unfortunately we were not able to fix the over damage bug yet. We currently have a 25-50% reproduction rate. However we still think that intel will be useful. Please keep that in mind during testing.

Overall compared to live we have the following changes - most of them could already be found in TP3

• Shield Health +17%- +70%

• Armor Health -20% - +100%

• Alpha Damage +145% for Energy, +116% for Ballistics

• Armor Deflection for Energy increased by +80%, for Ballistics +64%

Adjustment of Shield Resistance

• 40-50% For Ballistic Damage depending on shield health and power pip assignment

• 35-45% For Energy Damage depending on shield health and power pip assignment

Adjustment of Shield Absorption

• 0-80% For Ballistic Damage depending on shield health

Slap Down Time increased by

• +100% for when the shield is damaged - same as TP2

• +70% for when the shield is broken

Other Updates

• Shield Regeneration adjusted according to Health increase. Resulting in slower recharge than Live.

• AI modifier added for PVE. AI ships take +20% Damage.

Thanks again for bearing with us on this journey, and we wish you a good time during testing.

Let us know what you think!

:::

Thanks to the hard work of some other players we have the full code to claim a free challenge coin reward to our accounts.

Claim your coins here:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/en/comm-link/transmission/21285-Pirate-Week-2026

The code:
7-AQ42-0829-4567-15-RDFE4587-324-L6

Kudos to redditor u/-Mercurial_Me- for keeping his comment up to date with information as new hints were revealed.