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Star Citizen dogfighting module launch planned for April, reveals monthly progress report

Star Citizen dogfighting in April

To keep backers and those hungry for information up to date on Star Citizen, Chris Roberts and Cloud Imperium are kicking off a new monthly production progress report from the different teams working on the increasingly ambitious game. The first one is up now, and reveals that the long awaited dogfighting module – which was pushed back last year –  will be playable very soon. 

“We plan to premiere dogfighting at a special Citizens-only event just prior to PAX East,” Roberts said. “If all goes as planned, the Dogfighting Module itself will launch shortly after PAX and you will finally get your hands on your flight sticks! The team is scurrying to take care of thousands upon thousands of necessary details: variable damage states, HUD detailing, weapons cameras, engine sounds and countless other things that go into creating an immersive space combat experience. At this point, we can now regularly dogfight here in the office.”

Since September, the project has netted another $6 million, which is just a drop on the ocean but still not to be sniffed at. 71 percent of this, Roberts notes, came from new backers. Star Citizen recently passed $39 million in funding, with a procedurally generated universe becoming the next funding goal.

The developer still faces obstacles, Roberts cautions, most notably the server backend. “You may recall that we pushed the release because we did not want to use the standard CryEngine server and net-code. Instead, we decided it would be more efficient to use the system which will form the nucleus of Star Citizen’s persistent servers in the future. We have high hopes that the solution will be ready in time for launch… and that that solution will stand up to the hundreds of thousands of Citizens waiting to battle it out.”

While the creation of a large community has helped Star Citizen, especially when it comes to funding, it’s also created new challenges. “The very success that Star Citizen has had in building such a large community so early in its development is also one of its most challenging – launching the DFM will be akin to launching a major online game,” Roberts said. “Except we aren’t even close to being finished. It’s a high wire act of the most difficult proportions!”