Star Citizen alpha 3.0 will go out to backers in a matter of weeks, and a recent article from Germany’s PC Games has caused some confusion amongst prospective players. Will player counts be the same or different when the new content arrives?
Honestly, due to inconsistencies in source and translation, we’re not entirely sure. From the native language source, there are two completely contradictory statements:
“Developer Cloud Imperium Games wants to expand the capacities step by step, but alpha 3.0 still has to cooperate with the minimum number of players: 24 participants can travel together through the universe.”
While that wording seems to suggest alpha 3.0 will be shackled by the current 24-player limit, it’s followed up by this:
"For the time being, however, a maximum of 24 players can compete in Star Citizen - there will probably be no change to this number until the hotly anticipated alpha 3.0."
The article translation later implies some sort of increase once 3.0 arrives. So, with both statements in mind, the true intent of Cloud Imperium Games isn’t found here. For a game shrouded in so much mystery already, stories like this one only serve to frustrate players who have been hungry for concrete details over many years of development.
If it’s any consolation, however, we’ve done some digging of our own into the source material. It would appear the controversial PC Games story isn’t the primary source for details but rather a secondary report based on a paywalled article from the reputable GameStar magazine. If we look at fan translations of that story from earlier in the week, the general consensus seems to be that 3.0 won’t offer any increase in player counts whatsoever. In other words, it would appear the claims from PC Games’ first assertion are correct. In terms of deciphering the second quote, it’s possible the sentence meant to tease player count adjustments following the launch of 3.0 as opposed to a release-day perk.
That news may be disappointing for some fans who were hoping for major netcode improvements with the launch of 3.0, but, given recent episodes of Around The Verse , it would appear that CIG still has lots of work to do to get its multiplayer environment up to peak performance. With the arrival of new features comes countless new variables for clients to track. While it may stink that Star Citizen’s instance counts have remained stagnant for over a year, that minor setback could mean better overall performance once 3.0 finally gets here. It’s also worth noting that, with party grouping features set to arrive closer to fall, the game’s online offering will continually improve.
Star Citizen is in alpha for its Kickstarter backers on PC. Alpha 3.0 is expected to go public around the time of Gamescom in August.
What are your thoughts on player counts in Star Citizen 3.0? Are you disappointed by the lack of change? Tell us in the comments section!
