Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games resumed its Inside Star Citizen video series with the first release of 2023 showing some rather spiffy features coming down the line.
The video focuses on goodies coming with version Alpha 3.19, which will be the update coming after the next (3.18 is coming soon and is expected to be the largest since 3.0 in 2017).
First of all, we take a look at the crashed derelicts that will be scattered through the planets in both the Stanton System and the upcoming Pyro system, offering players further landmarks to visit and explore.
The second part of the video is perhaps even more impressive, showcasing the rework of Lorville, the first "landing zone" created for the game that is being radically changed. Interestingly, it'll come earlier than originally planned, which is rare for Star Citizen.
Even more interesting is the fact that it paves the way for the implementation of interiors (which we'll hear more about in a couple of weeks) and includes lots of trenches and tunnels to fly in, which is a radical departure from the original layout full of barriers that tended to disrupt or even kill pilots who weren't extremely careful and conservative with how close they got to buildings.
You can check out the video below.
In the meanwhile, the crowdfunding cavalcade powering Star Citizen's development continues unimpeded, with the game having received a whopping $546 million ($546,539,356 to be precise) from backers.
The number of registered users is now at 4,384,428, albeit not all of them are paying since many register accounts to access the popular free fly events that provide a chance to test the game without pledging any money. According to the latest information from creative director Chris Roberts himself in October 2022, 1.7 million players are actually paying customers.
Star Citizen just came out of its best year ever in terms of crowdfunding, with $113 million pledged in 2022, a 31% increase over 2021. The tally has been consistently increasing year-on-year since 2018.
Full disclosure: the author of this post has backed Star Citizen all the way back when its crowdfunding was first launched in September 2012 (on day one, as a matter of fact). If you think you've waited a long time for this game's release, I've likely waited longer.
