There’s been no expense spared with Star Citizen – that much we knew already. Every little detail is being poured over, and that’s why it’s taking much longer to be finished than initially expected. As the pledges increase, so too does the scope.
Play our list of the best space games while you wait.
For Squadron 42, the now separate single-player portion of Star Citizen, Cloud Imperium are even going to the trouble of creating fully fleshed-out alien languages.
Both the Vanduul and the Xi’An alien races will have a bespoke language, with the actors having to vocalise these guttural rasps as they deliver their otherworldly lines.
The languages themselves were created by Britton Watkins, a xenolinguistics specialist who’s worked on movies such as Star Trek: Into Darkness.
It’s a really in-depth process, as you can see in the video embedded above. Take the Vanduul, for example: not only do they communicate vocally, but they also signal tone with bioluminescence, thanks to glowing flesh spots under their skin.
Being a warrior race, this is how they issue commands silently, but it’s also a way of reading their intent. It’s fascinating stuff.