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We've got FPS radar and scanning. How is this going? What can you tell us about this?

TL;DRFPS radar and scanning extends the ship system, using sound-based signatures plus scanning, with a risk-reward ping that reveals the user's own position and is not meant as a wall hack.

Richard TyrerSquadron 42 FPS Game Director and Core Gameplay Pillar Director

So radar and scanning is... so we were the team that worked on the ship radar and scanning. So the ship radar and scanning, alongside the Vehicle Tech Team, who delivered that core system. Essentially we were the design arbiters around it. And if you notice, a lot of the things under the hood are what we changed. So how the signatures work in terms of you being able to hide in the shadow of larger signatures and so on and so forth. So FPS is the extension. And this is why we did it, because we didn't want to create two systems that people have to learn that are totally different. We wanted a seamless experience of you doing a ping or doing a scan, getting out of your cockpit, and you still have that information and you can then continue to use it. So FPS radar and scanning is the realization of that mechanic, that you can ping out, detect contacts. The biggest thing about FPS radar and scanning compared to the ships' version is that we still use EM and IR signatures, but it uses dB, so sound, instead of cross-section. So in space, they use cross-section for line of sight. On the FPS, it uses sound, so it has the three signatures. We also have, you can scan, so you can scan ships, you can scan people and find all their information, whether it's a bounty target and so on and so forth. We're developing and working with the UI Feature Team to create the actual radar. So essentially the mini map, we'll have them in. And the one thing I would say about FPS radar and scanning is that it's not intended to just be an I-win button wall hack where you just... So when you do a ping, all of your signatures are going to flare. And if somebody else gets pinged, they know that you've been pinged, and they know where you are. So you've got to use it in a kind of way of, okay, I'm going to use it here, but to give myself a quick overview of what's there, if I think it's harmful, and then I'm going to retreat. Or if I'm on my own and I know there's five guys in that room, maybe you don't want to do that. So it's going to be a risk-reward of whether you pull that trigger. I don't think people are just going to be going around pinging everywhere because of the nature. You're giving away your location as well as receiving theirs. So there's going to be some nuance with that, but that gives you the highlights, should we say.

Star Citizen Live›Get Rich or Die Tyrer·
Published on this date.3 Sep 2021