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Ground vehicles: why do they suck?

TL;DRGround vehicle physics were fundamentally changed but are not finished; collisions still feel poor, and the team wants to improve them and give vehicles more purpose through better weapons and systems.

Richard TowlerLead Game Designer, Vehicle Experience Team

Wow, it's very subjective again. So we have obviously made a big change to ground vehicles. We changed the fundamental physics of the ground vehicles. But that still doesn't mean they're finished. They are still subject to the same physics as the rest of the game. And we do know that the general collisions don't feel very good, and we do want to improve that. But we also want to give more purpose to the ground vehicles. And that isn't just the ground vehicle itself. It's the guns or it's the torpedoes on the ground vehicle. So it's about improving those systems as well, so players have more of a reason to choose them, especially as we have more environments in the game that may limit where ships can go but not where ground vehicles can go. And also you may want to use ground vehicles to defend a certain area. So if you've got a Ballista, you can have Ballistas in a protection area. But that isn't just making that ground vehicle physically good. It's the systems on it. It's the torpedoes, and how those kinds of systems generate the gameplay we want.

Mattia MonticelliGame Designer 3

That's why we already tried to bespokely tune the Ballista torpedoes and missiles to fit more into the anti-air role, as well as the Centurion turret, by the way. Now the turret has gimbals as well, so it has more range, it has more ammo, to try to enhance the peculiarities of the anti-air vehicles as well.

Star Citizen Live›Q&A - Vehicle Flight and Balance·
Published on this date.12 Jun 2025