Below you will find the latest roadmap for the development of the Star Citizen Persistent Universe. While the bulk of this schedule outlines our tasks and estimates that you can expect to find in the upcoming 3.0.0 patch (as well as some of the tasks that we’ve already completed), we are also including projections for the remainder of the year so you can have some visibility into the upcoming Persistent Universe features and content. These are the very same schedules we update daily and circulate internally on our intra-studio hand-offs with a few exceptions: the individual developer names assigned to the tasks will be omitted (for obvious reasons), we’ll remove the JIRA details, and we’ll modify the technical wording to make it readable for a wider audience.
Below you will find the latest roadmap for the development of the Star Citizen Persistent Universe. While the bulk of this schedule outlines our tasks and estimates that you can expect to find in the upcoming 3.0.0 patch (as well as some of the tasks that we’ve already completed), we are also including projections for the remainder of the year so you can have some visibility into the upcoming Persistent Universe features and content. These are the very same schedules we update daily and circulate internally on our intra-studio hand-offs with a few exceptions: the individual developer names assigned to the tasks will be omitted (for obvious reasons), we’ll remove the JIRA details, and we’ll modify the technical wording to make it readable for a wider audience.
Also note, this schedule does not represent everything CIG is working on, but more the functionality and content we feel comfortable committing to at this time. Outside of the work on Squadron 42, we have a few research projects that, once validated, we would move into production and add to this schedule. Otherwise, when something changes, slips or is completed, you will know.
Also note, this schedule does not represent everything CIG is working on, but more the functionality and content we feel comfortable committing to at this time. Outside of the work on Squadron 42, we have a few research projects that, once validated, we would move into production and add to this schedule. Otherwise, when something changes, slips or is completed, you will know.
What you are seeing here is the result of our scheduling and planning process. We have a high level feature and content set that we want to achieve for Star Citizen and Squadron 42. The first step is to break these features into higher level tasks with which we populate Microsoft Project, JIRA and Shotgun (the three tools we use for project scheduling and tasking). Then, as we approach a task, Production works with the relevant developer(s) to make sure the task is broken up with enough detail to allow completion. Sometimes this means adjusting the initial task estimate, as things tend to come into a clearer focus when coming up on a task, but it almost always means breaking down the big task into a bunch of smaller tasks that have their own individual sub tasks that possibly are distributed to multiple developers.
What you are seeing here is the result of our scheduling and planning process. We have a high level feature and content set that we want to achieve for Star Citizen and Squadron 42. The first step is to break these features into higher level tasks with which we populate Microsoft Project, JIRA and Shotgun (the three tools we use for project scheduling and tasking). Then, as we approach a task, Production works with the relevant developer(s) to make sure the task is broken up with enough detail to allow completion. Sometimes this means adjusting the initial task estimate, as things tend to come into a clearer focus when coming up on a task, but it almost always means breaking down the big task into a bunch of smaller tasks that have their own individual sub tasks that possibly are distributed to multiple developers.
Both tasks and sub-tasks get created in JIRA, linked under an Epic (which is a high level task or feature) and are then pulled into Microsoft Project to manage with granular detail providing us global visibility through Gantt charts and visual timelines. No developer works on a task unless it has been created in JIRA, prioritized and assigned by a lead or a member of the Production Team.
Both tasks and sub-tasks get created in JIRA, linked under an Epic (which is a high level task or feature) and are then pulled into Microsoft Project to manage with granular detail providing us global visibility through Gantt charts and visual timelines. No developer works on a task unless it has been created in JIRA, prioritized and assigned by a lead or a member of the Production Team.
Then as the developers work on the tasks, Production will adjust the schedule and JIRA tickets to reflect the work being done.
Then as the developers work on the tasks, Production will adjust the schedule and JIRA tickets to reflect the work being done.
In the schedule below, you will first find a master schedule that covers the broad departments/disciplines that are being developed. Each department will then have its own dedicated sub-schedule, briefly explaining the various features that are being developed and their current status.
In the schedule below, you will first find a master schedule that covers the broad departments/disciplines that are being developed. Each department will then have its own dedicated sub-schedule, briefly explaining the various features that are being developed and their current status.
CAVEATS
CAVEATS
But also, we would like to establish some ground rules before proceeding:
But also, we would like to establish some ground rules before proceeding:
I.Quality will always be our number one goal. We set out on this journey by looking at the gaming landscape and asking: can we do better? We continue to ask that question about everything we do. As a result, we will ALWAYS extend timelines or re-do features and content if we do not feel they are up to our standards. The freedom to fight for a new level of quality in game development is what crowd funding has allowed us, and we will continue to fight to make sure Star Citizen is the best possible game it can be.
I.Quality will always be our number one goal. We set out on this journey by looking at the gaming landscape and asking: can we do better? We continue to ask that question about everything we do. As a result, we will ALWAYS extend timelines or re-do features and content if we do not feel they are up to our standards. The freedom to fight for a new level of quality in game development is what crowd funding has allowed us, and we will continue to fight to make sure Star Citizen is the best possible game it can be.
II.The estimates we provide are just that: estimates. They are based on our knowledge and experience, but there are many aspects of game development that are impossible to predict because they literally cover uncharted territory. You will see the same estimates we use in our internal planning, but it is important to understand that in many cases (especially with groundbreaking engineering tasks) these estimates are often subject to change due to unforeseen complexity in implementing features.
II.The estimates we provide are just that: estimates. They are based on our knowledge and experience, but there are many aspects of game development that are impossible to predict because they literally cover uncharted territory. You will see the same estimates we use in our internal planning, but it is important to understand that in many cases (especially with groundbreaking engineering tasks) these estimates are often subject to change due to unforeseen complexity in implementing features.
III.The time expected for bug fixing and polishing is also very hard to estimate, increasingly so in online and multiplayer situations. The complexity and the difficulty in testing at a large scale make it harder to reproduce and isolate bugs in order to fix them. We base our estimates, again, on our experience, but we also know that it’s possible for a single bug to cause a delay of days or weeks when a hundred others might be fixed instantly.
III.The time expected for bug fixing and polishing is also very hard to estimate, increasingly so in online and multiplayer situations. The complexity and the difficulty in testing at a large scale make it harder to reproduce and isolate bugs in order to fix them. We base our estimates, again, on our experience, but we also know that it’s possible for a single bug to cause a delay of days or weeks when a hundred others might be fixed instantly.
IV.Internal schedules, the ones you will now be privy to, tend to have aggressive dates to help the team focus and scope their tasks, especially in the case of tech development. Every team, even a team blessed with the kind of support and freedom you have allowed us, needs target dates in order to focus and deliver their work.
IV.Internal schedules, the ones you will now be privy to, tend to have aggressive dates to help the team focus and scope their tasks, especially in the case of tech development. Every team, even a team blessed with the kind of support and freedom you have allowed us, needs target dates in order to focus and deliver their work.
V.This schedule doesn’t cover everything being worked on across Cloud Imperium Games, but is meant to highlight our aims for the remainder of the year on the Persistent Universe.
V.This schedule doesn’t cover everything being worked on across Cloud Imperium Games, but is meant to highlight our aims for the remainder of the year on the Persistent Universe.
VI.This schedule doesn’t include every audio, vfx, tech art, etc. task. Those are detailed in our departmental sub-schedules.
VI.This schedule doesn’t include every audio, vfx, tech art, etc. task. Those are detailed in our departmental sub-schedules.
VII.Although technology is shared between the two games, this does not reflect the Squadron 42 schedule. That will be released at a future date.
VII.Although technology is shared between the two games, this does not reflect the Squadron 42 schedule. That will be released at a future date.
VIII.These aim dates are determined based on our current staff. Additional hiring will potentially allow us to bring in some dates below.
VIII.These aim dates are determined based on our current staff. Additional hiring will potentially allow us to bring in some dates below.
WELCOME TO THE PROCESS
WELCOME TO THE PROCESS
The community has always been integral to Star Citizen, so we will be updating this page weekly to keep you informed about our development. We hope that this page will not only help explain our latest status, but also provide some explanations in the event that updates are delayed.
The community has always been integral to Star Citizen, so we will be updating this page weekly to keep you informed about our development. We hope that this page will not only help explain our latest status, but also provide some explanations in the event that updates are delayed.
Last update : Aug 18th, 2017
Last update : Aug 18th, 2017
3.0.0 OVERVIEW
3.0.0 OVERVIEW
BUG PROGRESS
BUG PROGRESS
We are still working hard on getting 3.0 ready for release. Our current approach is to reach an acceptable quality level by fixing the issues we’ve identified as mandatory (we call them ‘Must Fix’), as noted in the list below. Although our numbers look similar to last week’s at first glance, this high level view hides a massive amount of activity below the surface. The team have actually tackled many important issues (more than 25 blockers have been cleared this week) that allow QA to progress beyond those blockers, to test deeper into the game, which often means they find new bugs that we couldn’t discover before. We’re still moving closer and closer to release and, as you can see from the new Burndown chart, it’s really a case of a few steps forward and then one step back. This process is very common during the push to a major release, as any seasoned game developer would attest.
This week, we have been busy at Gamescom in Cologne, showing one of the moons from 3.0 on the show floor to our fans and the press. The feedback has been great, as attendees have gotten their first chance to try out our planetary tech, which everyone will soon be playing once we release to Evocati , PTU and ultimately our public servers. In the meantime, our development teams have been back at home focusing on making that happen soon! Their focus has been to lower the ‘must-fix’ issues for 3.0 and this week they’ve been successful, lowering the total number of those issues from 77 to 67. That’s good news as we move ever closer to rolling out Alpha 3.0 to everyone.
This week we have also moved the code onto its own 3.0 branch. “Branching” is when we copy the code from our main repository, where all the developers send their fixes and implementations at any time, to a separate “branch” and start looking more closely at what is changing, to make sure that any activity happening is absolutely necessary for our target build. While there are benefits to having all our developers working on the same codebase during production, so that features and new systems are applied simultaneously across the board, the isolation granted from branching allows us to focus on close in on a stable release. This is why we’ve moved our efforts to the 3.0 branch this week, a positive step in getting 3.0 in your hands.
Bringing so many improvements together takes time to adjust and balance, so some features are still adapting their schedules to achieve the desired quality. We hope this transparency allows people to get a better understanding of how this process works and helps you see our progress towards a release. You may also want to consult this week’s ATV Burndown Report for more information on our development progress.
REMAINING MUST FIX ISSUES FOR EVOCATI:
REMAINING MUST FIX ISSUES FOR EVOCATI:
What you see below is a numerical representation of issues the team are focusing on to close-out (Burndown) to get to an Evocati release candidate. Below, you will find a chart which shows the number of issues that were resolved, against the number of issues that were created so you can see the progress of work we’re doing on a week-by-week basis.
What you see below is a numerical representation of issues the team are focusing on to close-out (Burndown) to get to an Evocati release candidate, so you can see the progress of work we’re doing on a week-by-week basis.
BUGS FIXED IN THE LAST WEEK
BUGS FIXED IN THE LAST WEEK
(Please note: This is an overview of fixes made this week and not a complete list.)
(Please note: This is an overview of fixes made this week and not a complete list.)
Crashes
Crashes
Fixed a crash in CEntitySystem::DumpEntity
Fixed a crash in CEffect_Particle::LoadEffectData
Fixed a crash in CSCItemSeat::OnEjectionInteraction
Fixed a crash in CZone::RemoveObject
Fixed a crash in CProceduralClipPosAdjust::Update
Fixed a crash in CTX::TaskDomain::RemoveRunnable
Fixed a crash in CSCActorActionHandlerComponent::OnComponentUpdate
Fixed a crash in CSCActorResultStateLadder::Exit
Fixed a crash in CZoneSystem::MoveToZoneData_Impl
Fixed a crash in CFrontendController::RequestOpenFE
Fixed a crash in CImageUtil::GetBilinearFilteredAt
Fixed a crash in CGame::Update
Fixed a crash in CSCActorResultStateLadder::Update
Fixed a crash in CSCItemQuantumDrive::DisengageAutoPilot
Fixed a crash in CSeatAccessAction::Exit
UI
UI
Fixed an issue where the mobiGlas was displaying a placeholder texture.
Fixed an issue where setting the throttle power to 0 did not have an effect on the power to other systems.
Fixed an issue where the main menu UI was missing.
Fixed an issue where there was no representation of the ship’s Hydrogen fuel level.
Fixed an issue where the character visor displayed placeholder textures.
Fixed an issue where opening the Starmap via mobiGlas would cause mobiGlas to close
Fixed an issue where activating the mobiGlas while prone would make the character unresponsive.
Fixed an issue where the “Landing Gear Deployed” HUD message was not displayed.
Fixed an issue where Quantum Travel markers would always be present for the player.
Quantum Travel
Quantum Travel
Fixed an issue where the Covalex Shipping Hub could not be reached via Quantum Travel.
Fixed an issue where exiting the pilot seat after quantum travelling caused the player to teleport back to their starting point.
Fixed an issue where some asteroid Nav Points were not set as Quantum Travel destinations.
Fixed an issue where players would exit Quantum Travel, but not be facing their destination.
Stanton
Stanton
Fixed various issues where the AI ships that were needed for missions were not properly spawning.
Fixed an issue where players would spawn at Levski upon loading Star Marine.
Fixed an issue where a shop was missing from Levski.
Fixed an issue where some cargo crates on the surface of Daymar appeared as semi-transparent.
Fixed an issue where an AI ship in an escort mission would not move, preventing mission completion.
Fixed an issue where shopkeeper animations did not match up with their props/surroundings.
Fixed an issue where the rotation of the moons caused intense motion blur.
Fixed an issue where the shop counters were missing in Casaba and Live Fire.
Fixed various placeholder texture problems around Levski.
Fixed an issue where players were able to use the shopping “Try On” feature with ship components.
Fixed an issue where item interaction would break if the Player entered Interaction and attempted to pick up the item while moving,
Fixed an issue where players would spawn into the EZ Hab bed too far forwards.
Fixed an issue where players would be left on a black screen if they respawned while another player connects.
Fixed Vis-area issues inside derelict ships.
Fixed an issue where players were able to draw and fire their weapons inside the Grim HEX green zone.
Fixed texture issues on the screens in the central room of Kareah.
Fixed an issue where some shopkeeper AI did not have animations.
Fixed an issue where some clothing would not appear on NPC’s.
Fixed an issue where dead players would not ragdoll properly.
Arena Commander
Arena Commander
Fixed an issue where AI ship and pilot spawns were delayed.
Fixed an issue where players were unable to start a match due to players not being registered as “ready.”
Fixed an issue where player ships would not respawn.
Star Marine
Star Marine
Fixed an issue where the character could get stuck on a ladder and continually take damage until they died.
Fixed an issue where some players would spawn in and be invisible.
Fixed an issue where ladders would trap characters in an eternal climbing animation.
Fixed an issue where the character would momentarily pose as if holding a weapon after jumping.
Fixed an issue where running while holstering/unholstering weapons would cause them to disappear.
Vehicles
Vehicles
Fixed an issue where all interaction points in the Buccaneer were missing.
Fixed an issue where the player character would see other characters in incorrect positions when they were seated in the back of the Ursa rover.
Fixed an issue where the ship HUDs could become detatched.
Fixed an issue where the landing gear deployment animation of the Aurora would repeat.
Fixed an issue where the pilot would be offset from the seat of the Dragonfly.
Fixed an issue where the landing gear of the Sabre was missing collision.
Fixed an issue where Aurora debris could get stuck when detatching and cause extended damage vfx and audio.
Game Code
Fixed an issue where ship weapons would remain in place after ship destruction.
Fixed an issue where the character could be thrown around in when in the Ursa rover and take damage.
Fixed an issue where Mission-related AI ships wouldn’t stop moving after its engines were destroyed.
Fixed an issue where the collision of the Cutlass did not match the ship.
Fixed an issue where interaction objects were not correctly highlighted.
Fixed misaligned UI and MFD screens in the Ursa rover.
Fixed an issue where the ESP mode was not functioning.
Fixed an issue where the interior doors of the Vanguard would not open.
Audio
Fixed an issue where one of the Constellation turrets would not move.
Fixed an issue where Eckhart’s voice was too loud.
Fixed an issue where there was no ambient noise at the Garage location in Levski.
Fixed an issue where the mini elevator in the Constellation Aquila had no audio.
Fixed an overly loud area ambiance that occurred inside a wrecked ship.
Misc
Misc
Fixed an issue where landed ships would despawn immediately after exiting the ship.
Fixed an issue where the particles emitted from the Scourge Railgun were blocky.
Fixed an issue where exiting Star Marine and joining a Crusader instance would cause the character to spawn as a ball.
Fixed an issue where the character’s arm was being held too high when viewing the mobiGlas while in a pilot seat.
Fixed an issue where every player in the Stanton map would hear Eckhart speak and see the subtitles when he speaks to a player.
Fixed an issue where the shell effects from gatling guns would become attached to and follow the ship.
Fixed an issue where buying an item in the shop would play audio for requesting a new ship.
USER EXPERIENCE POLISH PASS (ON-GOING):
USER EXPERIENCE POLISH PASS (ON-GOING):
Improvement of Our Overall Framerate
Improvement of Our Overall Framerate
We have decided to spend time increasing performance on the client and server side.
We have decided to spend time increasing performance on the client and server side.
Player Count & General Stability
Player Count & General Stability
Currently, performance and stability drop sharply once the active players in a server reach 12-15 players.
Currently, performance and stability drop sharply once the active players in a server reach 12-15 players.
Cockpit Experience
The Cockpit Experience sprint team is focused on improving the overall player experience in the cockpit through adjustments to cockpit geo, character placement, g-force/hit reactions, VFX, Audio, UI, and code support for things like camera shaking and hooking into ship health systems to display proper damage.
Space Landscaping
Space Landscaping
We are working on some extra Graphics code for the GPU particle system to support the creation of new VFX to implement space dust at points around Stanton. This will continue to be iterated on to create some more elaborate assets.
We are working on some extra Graphics code for the GPU particle system to support the creation of new VFX to implement space dust at points around Stanton. This will continue to be iterated on to create some more elaborate assets.
Basic Ship Security
Basic Ship Security
With the gameplay we’re adding in to 3.0.0, we’re conscious that there may be some other players that would love to kill you and take your ship. To help prevent this, we wanted to implement some basic security that will allow you to lock the ship, so only you have the ability to pass freely through its doors. Part of this work includes adding destruction for external ship doors to allow for the other half: basic breaching / boarding.
With the gameplay we’re adding in to 3.0.0, we’re conscious that there may be some other players that would love to kill you and take your ship. To help prevent this, we wanted to implement some basic security that will allow you to lock the ship, so only you have the ability to pass freely through its doors. Part of this work includes adding destruction for external ship doors to allow for the other half: basic breaching / boarding.
Rotating and Orbiting Planets
Rotating and Orbiting Planets
We are very keen to make the Stanton map feel more organic as a real environment and having the planets rotate and orbit will really help with this.
We are very keen to make the Stanton map feel more organic as a real environment and having the planets rotate and orbit will really help with this.
This will also introduce a proper day/night cycle when you’re on a planet surface which in turn opens up further gameplay possibilities.
This will also introduce a proper day/night cycle when you’re on a planet surface which in turn opens up further gameplay possibilities.
Player Interaction System – User Experience Improvements
Player Interaction System – User Experience Improvements
We want to give players the ability to more intuitively interact with items and objects within the game, but also find ways to indicate to the player what type of interaction they would be performing (pick up, start conversation, push button, etc).
We want to give players the ability to more intuitively interact with items and objects within the game, but also find ways to indicate to the player what type of interaction they would be performing (pick up, start conversation, push button, etc).
Race Tracks on Planets
Race Tracks on Planets
To give our planetary environments extra points of interest, and also an excuse to drive ground-based vehicles around at high speed, we thought the best way to do this was to build some rudimentary race tracks on the planets that would have been previously used by the research teams as a way to blow off steam and have fun.
To give our planetary environments extra points of interest, and also an excuse to drive ground-based vehicles around at high speed, we thought the best way to do this was to build some rudimentary race tracks on the planets that would have been previously used by the research teams as a way to blow off steam and have fun.