Reverse the Verse: June 3rd, 2016

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I don't think we can confirm either way yet.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Well, the ones that have been sold.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Oh, yeah. The ones that have been sold are the cargo version.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

So anybody who owns a Caterpillar at this moment will get four cargo modules.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Is it four or is it?

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

So that's the question. Let's avoid the number. But say you'll get cargo modules. It is a number of cargo modules. So INN doing your transcript, remember that I said we can't confirm the number.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

For me, it was the ones that dealt with the personal backstory of the person. The thing was you're supposed to write a backstory for your character, and many people did, but some people did not do that. The folks who really put a lot of effort into their background lore, some of them were pretty amusing, and that generally gets my vote.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

We saw a lot of memes, all the old Star Citizen memes. There was space lube in there and space whales and all sorts of stuff that made us chuckle. Some people apparently just see a form on the internet and they start cursing into it for no reason.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

The intention is yes. We haven't done any work on that yet, but right now the current intention is yes.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

We are ready to ship soon. We're working out some last-minute warehousing things. I think they'll probably be ready to ship in the next couple weeks. We had a deadline: if you purchased one of the star maps a couple years ago, we needed to update your address. There is a part in your account where you can confirm an address if you have an item like that that's ready to ship. We did send out an email to all those folks. So if you're one of those people and you didn't confirm your address, just submit a CS ticket and I can help you out. But that is just for the rolled ones. It's not for the folded box maps or anything like that.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Mustang did very well, and we are certainly looking at the next Consolidated Outland ship. As we kind of have a standard for multi-crew now with the Constellation, we're definitely looking at building multi-crew ships from other manufacturers. We have one in the works. It's not the Consolidated Outland one, but instead of looking at new starters, we're looking at that tier of ship. So I expect Silas Koerner, he'll have his Constellation killer at some point.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

I know Silas got his name from your brother. Where did Koerner come from?

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I think I just pulled it from a Wing Commander fan.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I know the base will be on sale. I don't know if we're bringing back the variants at this point.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

It's going to be the Starfarer, the Gemini, the Reliant base.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

And the new gun. We have our part of that all done. The post is ready to go and get published. We just are waiting for the build. But it's one of those things where it's frustrating not to have it out now. We would all love to have it out now. But it's for the best that it's getting this attention, that these bugs are being fixed now. That's the whole point of the process. But darn it, do we ever want it to be done soon.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

If I remember our walkthrough with Calix correctly, the habitat portion is on the main part of the ship, the primary hull. So it's not part of the four or three or two or number-unconfirmed modules that can be swapped out. So, pretty sure the answer to that is no.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Oh, absolutely. Redeemer's a big guy. Redeemer's a multi-crew ship. The Buccaneer's a single-seat fighter.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

That was Jared. That was a temp thing. I put it in there and specifically told Ben we want to replace that with a better joke.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

We have not shipped Jump Point yet. It is still in production.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Had to make some edits to the layout.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

Yes, the layout is being adjusted. As soon as we have a clearer shipping date, we're going to update all of the folks that bought one.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

It shouldn't be too long. David Ladyman has to go through a bunch of stuff.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

So we know we're a bit delayed on that one, but we are working on it.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

That's precisely the point of Alpha UEC. We're going to have plenty of times where it gets wiped. Especially with the PTU stuff, they're going to want to reset quite often.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

The reason we've created Alpha UEC is so we can not touch your regular earned UEC, and so they can wipe it, grant it, increase it, deflate it at will as we're testing different things.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Yeah, I guarantee we'll have points in the future where you log in and you have a kajillion UEC for no reason, and then there'll be other days where you don't have any, and it's all part of the process.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Alpha UEC, don't get attached.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I think we put a little matrix in the 2.3 posts that shows what will happen, the number of other shield generators you'll get depending on what you have right now.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

That's something that Matt and Kirk and Calix and one other, I can't remember his name right now, are all working on, that conversion process for the old components into the new components. So rest assured that there is a plan. They are still developing it.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Well, no, it's actually printed. It's in the 2.2 or 2.3 posts, wherever we premiered the shield thing, there's a thing that says exactly what we're doing.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

It should be fine if you do it after it's been attributed, but not before. So don't buy a Buccaneer and melt it before the sale ends.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

On Sunday, we're going to announce what the winning item is.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

And it's 50-50 right now because we've had two days of each.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Yeah, two days of each. Towards the end of business Sunday, we'll know. We'll have an idea what it is. And we will attribute the item X to that item on Monday, according to Mr. Benjamin Fardell. So on Monday you will see the item appear on the website when you look at your virtual hangar, and you will have access to it in game if you bought it later this week. It requires another platform backend thing by Felix and he can't push that until Thursday of next week.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

I don't know the answer.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Can't talk about the Caterpillar yet.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Oh, yeah, we're still working on it.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Yes. Well, that's part of what we're clearing. We want to share the winning entries with you, and we have to get permission.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

They are in production right now. And I'd say probably ready to ship in three to four weeks.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Yes! We have one we're talking about right now. I can't give any details yet, though.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

There's all sorts of different reasons for things we do. Caterpillar is because we have gotten to that stage of the ships. We just built the Starfarer, so that prototyped all the technology we need for ships that are that size. We just finished the Drake style guide and component kit parts for building ships. We're doing the Herald right now. We built the [unclear] and all the Drake ships at once. So you'll tend to see ships bunch up like that. Sometimes there are Squadron 42-specific needs that we can't call out directly. But usually ships happen for a reason. We're also not too far from cargo. And one of the things we're going to need for cargo is ships to fly around.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Like with most things, there's more than one reason for anything worth doing.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I can't promise 2.4 live, but it's definitely an issue that's been bugged.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Yes, it has been reported. I saw them talking about that.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

That's a good example of something that's probably not a blocker preventing 2.4 from launching, but it will be fixed. In fact, maybe I should point this out. I should talk about this a little because I've seen it a bunch come up lately. People are like, why are you releasing patches with X, Y, and Z things still broken? It'll be some spawn point that's not working or some ship function, some weapon that doesn't attach right. That's because those aren't what we categorize as a blocker. We're not ignoring them. They're all in the to-fix list and they will get attention as folks become available, as that system is being worked on. But they don't prevent the game from being played. Before we can go live, we want to get to a point where we say, okay, you can actually play the game in a reasonable way.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

It's on the plate. We're just waiting. We want Chris to do it.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

And he's in Europe right now. But when he gets back, I'm sure he will do the Willy Wonka thing. Yeah, it's Chris's baby.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

He should be the one to show it off.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

That is one of the bugs we're working on. In fact, I think it's one of the specific blockers, the spawn issue.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Other than saying it's a bug that we're aware of, I can't explain why it's happening.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Figuring out why it's happening is actually one of the things our folks are doing right now.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Mark was filling in for another developer who was in an accident and they were out for a couple days. He was filling in specifically for 2.4 stuff. We figured we wouldn't waste his time with our community stuff while he was focusing on that.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

I don't want to say it's going to be next week. Let's let him do his work and we will get it as soon as he can spare the time for us.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Yeah, we always want to avoid stepping on the dev team's toes while they're working on stuff like this. But Bugsmashers will return.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

There are. We have some Squadron 42 hoodies that we are currently working on.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Can we tell them what color they are?

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

Sure. They are like an olive, grayish military green.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Working on it. Lots of check-ins in Shotgun this week about the female models, and one of our concept outsourcers, Rob McKinnon, he's been in the studio this week working on it live right here with everybody else.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I've seen a lot of clothes for them too.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

So it is in process.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Although I do know that one thing they try to avoid with these alpha versions is too much player choice, which sounds not intuitive, but the reality is, and we talk about this specifically with sliders, if you have a slider that has 10 different points for view or whatever resolution or anything like that, then a QA person has to test every single situation five times or 10 times because there's these 10 different options. One thing you tend to see in game development, proper game development, where we are special crazy game development, but in proper game development, the options come much later in the process, because the systems are perfected by then and you know exactly what you're breaking when you add something to it.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

So it's not to say that it's not coming. It's just at this point in development, we do try to keep as much of it simple.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

My understanding is that yes, that's an immersion breaker, just to see a bunch of item port dots all the time. We see dots everywhere all the time. Again, it goes back to the features thing. Right now we're trying to get them to work. Then we can work on turning them on and off.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

That's part of the new overall UI stuff that Zane's working on, the new, I can't remember what the word is for the title concept. So you're replacing the use button with kind of like an inner monologue type thing that highlights options in the world around you. So they're working on that right now. I've seen some look dev coming along. But it's not a new way to enter the Avenger from the side. We've had that. You've been able to enter the Avenger from the side in previous builds, and the ladders were broken for a while and now the ladders are getting fixed. The Avenger has a ladder that pops out of the side. It wasn't popping out for a while. It was there at the beginning when it first came in, and then they redid the Avenger and it broke, and now it's back.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

No, I don't think that's what I meant if I said that.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Why don't you tell them what you meant regardless?

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I don't remember what the question was, though.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

My understanding is it's supposed to be more like augmented reality.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

No, they won't.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

It's a pirate raider.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

It's intended to raid convoys. You take out the Hull or some other cargo ship, you load up the stuff you want and you get out.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

You might also want to check ATV from last week, where Matt Sherman talks about all the ships in the Drake line and their specific role. So he talks a bit about how he envisions the Cutlass to perform and what its role should be. So, ATV, last week.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

There'll be more customization down the road.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Another great example of keeping it simple right now while we're implementing features.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

And we're doing some customization for the body, and then we'll do the armor after that. We're getting there.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

That's generally determined by game support and what their needs are.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Yeah, we don't do the PTU to advertise or anything like that. The minute they say we need another group of people, we will let them in. They seem to be pretty happy with what they have right now. So if they make the request, we'll make it happen.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

No, no update yet. Still waiting for a tech designer.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

We've talked about it, but there's so much information that it goes in every different direction.

Sandi Gardiner · Vice President of Marketing

We are in the prototype stage, and I've just emailed to see if we can try and get some kind of image for it, because I know everybody's hankering to see it. So as soon as I know, I will let everybody else know that it is happening.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

They do have the prototype now that they're evaluating.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Yes. We have to make sure everybody knows that, but we will make it happen.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

No, we'll talk about it next week.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

I know it's a when question, but it's coming up.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I don't think there is an RSI ship in the works right now. Well, the Polaris.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Polaris, yeah, the Polaris. That's definitely not between an Aurora and a Constellation.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I mean, we will certainly have more RSI ships in the future, but for now, I know the Aurora is getting another look and we're going to do the variants of the Constellation, but nothing you guys don't know about already.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Potentially. I know we will look at it, see about the other seat down the line, but it won't be anything that happens anytime soon.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

No ship in the game is 100%. They're all going to see revisions and upgrades down the line.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

It is much larger now. I would say it changed between initial imagination, where it was just kind of an evil Freelancer, and then the first drawings we did with Jim. Because it's been this Starfarer-sized ship ever since then, at least. So not a massive change since you've seen it.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Working on it.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Carrack's going into active dev shortly, and we're going to follow it as it...

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

We're trying to get in on the ground floor and show you as much as we can, because we know how much Carrack love there is out there.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Absolutely. Oh, yes. Hundreds of them. Many new landing zones.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

It's going to be a little bit of time before the Reclaimer, but we are looking at bringing back the Caterpillar in the not too distant future.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

No, we're looking into options right now, but it has not happened.

Sandi Gardiner · Vice President of Marketing

That is a mind-boggling experience that I'm right in the middle of right now. Well, to all the countries that we ship to.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

I think it's more involved than people realize.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Yes.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Yes, we can confirm that.

Alexis Lesnick · Subscription Manager

We can almost always assure that that will happen. It's our anniversary.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

That aforementioned new use system.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Yeah, the new flow from Zane.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Wish I could remember what he was calling it. There's a name for this new type of system. I can't remember what it's called right now.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

No. I said in that question I'm not going to elaborate. When it happens, you'll know.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

You mean the items that collect the poster and the model and the gun? Is that what he means?

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

I think he means, can you buy multiple Buccaneers and get multiple of the prize gun? If you have five Buccaneers, we'll give you five of the guns. One per ship. Please buy five Buccaneers.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

It's not an either-or thing. They're starting to do some work on variants now.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

We're just putting out the Gemini in 2.4.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Yeah, Gemini just hit, and then we'll be looking at the Aurora and the 300 later this year. I think at least one of the Constellations, too.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

These are AKG P120s that we bought at Guitar Center.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

Yeah, we've been talking about that.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Stay tuned.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

Probably be like two year or something. Whatever we do for the special events.

Jared Huckaby · Host, Community Manager

It's been on sale more than once, though. We bring it back for the anniversary sales, and in the anniversary sales it always has, depending on what the anniversary is.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

We'll do whatever the highest non-LTI one is for this, which I think is three years.

Ben Lesnick · Director of Community Engagement, Online Strategy, and Spaceships

There's not that we're ready to share.