Cloud Imperium Games and Roberts Space Industries released the latest episode for Around The Verse. Majority of the episode covers the scanning tech, which is kind of cool since scanning is a two-fold feature. Players who use long-range scanning send out a ping, which will give away their location, but it also allows miners to find rocks and asteroids that can be mined.
The scanner is also cool because if you’re a bandit who robs ships, you can scan another player’s ship to see how many crew members are on board or whether or not they’re carrying cargo. Alternatively, if you’re a mercenary or a bounty hunter, you might use the scanner to see if someone you’ve been hunting is on the ship.
What’s more is that the scanning isn’t just relegated to ship systems. You’ll also be able to use a personal portable scanner to check for rocks and other deposits while planet-side to mine smaller rocks while you’re on foot.
You can check out the scanning mechanics in the video below.
Additionally, they’ve been working on the recoil system for the first-person shooter aspects of Squadron 42. They’ve also been optimizing the firing to have very dynamic feedback so that during the single-player portion of the game, each of the the weapons feel very weighty and impactful.
The special effects team have also designed gas cloud tech to create spacescape scenarios, such as nebulous, gases, and other visual effects to allow the space sequences to take on a cinematic look while traversing through different systems. This isn’t an isolated effect. The gas cloud tech will also be added to the persistent universe of Star Citizen at a later date, likely after it’s completely finalized and finished for Squadron 42.
The team has also been finalizing some of the destroyed and damaged locations that will be visited throughout the single-player campaign. These features will also be retroactively added (or optimized) for the persistent universe.
Trained and untrained NPC animations and AI module sets are being implemented and optimized for Squadron 42 as well. The trained NPCs behave and move around play-area spaces with elite and precise movements, while untrained NPCs will have a more difficult time navigating the environment and will be less confident and efficient when engaged in a shootout. This is a nice little addition to the game that should make the FPS combat segments feel a lot more fleshed out and immersive, as opposed to being just another corridor-style, run-and-gun, shooting gallery similar to the campaign modes in Call of Duty or Battlefield.
You can keep track of the development progress for Star Citizen and Squadron 42 by visiting the official Roberts Space Industries website.
