Update 3.18 for Star Citizen is shaping up to be one of the biggest updates we've seen for the game so far, and that, of course, means there's a lot of stuff in it. So today, I'm going to give you a very quick rundown of all the new toys and features that we got with this update.
Persistent Entity Streaming aka PES
The headline feature for update 3.18 has to be persistent entity streaming. While, gameplay-wise, it doesn't add anything new, this is a major step forward for the game and it does add some very nice quality of life changes to the game. Items that belong to you, like ships and weapons, can stay on a server even though you may be locked out. But, for now, what it means for you as a player is that you are much more likely to be spawned back in your ship in case you have a disconnect. You would usually wake up in bed. We've all tried it a million times, but now with persistent entity streaming, you are much more likely just to spawn right back in your cockpit, wherever your ship happens to be when you're disconnected.
Salvage
One of the biggest new gameplay features they've added to the game is the new salvage gameplay (hot scraping, hull stripping, depending on who you ask), allowing you to go out and find derelict ships and strip away the surface layers of the hull for some very decent profit. Even though this is the first iteration of this new gameplay loop, it actually seems to be quite fleshed out, almost as much as we see with mining. And to support this new gameplay, we also got a new ship, the Drake Vulture, which is a small, dedicated salvage ship. Of course, for a while now, we have had the Reclaimer in the game, which is a larger, probably four or five-man ship in order to run that effectively. But if you're a solo salvager, then the new Drake Vulture is definitely for you. As always with new ships, you can buy it for money in the store, and it's expected to come into the in-game stores in a future patch as well.
Cargo Grid
In order to manage all that lovely cargo that you're going to collect when you're out salvaging, the new cargo grids have been implemented into the game. This is not just affecting salvage, but all cargo-carrying ships, and that means that the cargo now will have a grid that boxes will stick to. And if you move the boxes around inside your ship with a multi-tool with a tractor beam attachment, the boxes are also going to snap into the grid. This is going to be important, especially when we begin to see the HULL series of ships that have these external platforms. On these platforms, having a working cargo grid is super important for those ships to function as intended.
Multi-tool Salvage Attachment
The multi-tool has also seen some attention and has had a new attachment added to it, the salvage attachment. Meaning you can go and with a handheld tool, scrape the surface of the hull in much the same way as you can with a Drake Vulture. However, you are unlikely to be making a huge amount of credits for this. The intended purpose of this is to go and use it to repair your own ship. So if you've taken damage, you could go and scrape materials or salvage materials off dead ships that you've killed, and then use that material to go and repair your own.
Racing
If the salvage gameplay seems a bit slow-paced for you, don't worry, 3.18 has you covered with some new ship race tracks where you can take your favorite racing ships and test how fast you can get around them. It's implemented as a new faction in the game, and each time you complete a track, you gain points or reputation with this faction. The more reputation you gain, the more tracks you unlock. In the beginning, you'll only have access to a single track next to Lorville. As you gain more standing, you'll get access to more tracks, each offering different challenges for you to conquer. Some of the first tracks might have sharp turns that require a fast and maneuverable ship, while later tracks might focus on hitting high speeds on some straights. They all offer different challenges, so you might have to swap ships between tracks to find the optimal one for the track you're trying to complete.
Soft Death
If combat is more your thing, then there's also some new stuff for you to play around with, as soft death has been added to the game. This means that when you kill another ship, it won't be completely destroyed but will instead be disabled for a period of time. The ship won't be able to move, and the power will be out, making it a floating derelict in space. The people inside will still be alive, giving you as a pirate an opportunity to board the ship, try to get rid of the people inside, and pick up any valuable cargo they may have to sell for profit.
New Prison Gameplay
If you're a pirate, just know that now there's a good chance to make a healthy profit. However, if you are caught, you will likely spend some time in prison, where new prison gameplay has been added. If you head deep into the mines, you may be contacted by people outside the prison who can help you escape if you do something for them. There are shady characters outside the prison who are willing to help you get out, but you must be cautious.
New Rivers
If exploration and sightseeing are more your thing, then a number of new things have been added for you to explore in 3.18. Additional rivers have been added around the Stanton system, so there are now multiple rivers to explore and take beautiful screenshots of.
Sand Caves
Sand caves have also been added to the game, giving you more opportunities to explore massive cave systems on sandy planets.
Regardless of whether you’re into industrial gameplay, combat, exploration, or racing, there are plenty of new things to discover and play with in this new 3.18 update for Star Citizen.
And as always, if you are about to join Star Citizen, use the referral code: STAR-9G4T-S5Y4 when signing up. You will get 5,000 extra credits that you will be able to spend in-game. A nice little startup bonus.
You can also use this link that will open the Star Citizen account creation page and the referral code will automatically be added for you:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/enlist?referral=STAR-9G4T-S5Y4
See you in the Verse!