Since I wrote about the problematic launch of Star Citizen's Alpha 3.18, I figured I should close the books on the subject and cover the end of that episode. Last night (or early this morning depending on your time zone), Cloud Imperium Games deployed patch Alpha 3.18.1. If the status board is any indication, with much better results.
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| The status of Star Citizen as of 1300 UTC on 13 April 2023 |
As stated before by CIG, Alpha 3.18.1 comes with a server wipe as will the following patch Alpha 3.18.2. With the launch of Alpha 3.18.1, CIG plans a free-fly event. The details were left by a developer on the Star Citizen forums, along with an update.
The much-awaited release of Alpha 3.18.1 is set to launch later today. While we know that this incremental update is not a silver bullet, we expect that it will bring solutions to some of the ongoing issues some of you have been facing. The team has implemented a tremendous number of fixes in the last few weeks, and we believe that the infrastructure is now ready to go through heavy testing with all of you.
If you're one of the ones who has said "This is the worst Star Citizen has ever been"...then hold our beer, as we plan to launch a Free Fly event starting Thursday, April 13 through April 20. Jokes aside (I just wanted to be the first one to make the meme), launching a Free Fly event is a beneficial move for us, as it allows us to test the game's infrastructure with a larger number of players. More players mean more data, which helps us identify and fix problems more quickly.
This is particularly important as we continue to improve the game, and we want to make sure it can handle the increased traffic that comes with a rapidly-expanding playerbase. We also need to ensure that the game can handle peak-traffic moments, such as the Invictus Launch Week Free Fly we'll host in late May. Separately, we want to give everyone a chance to experience the latest gameplay additions in Alpha 3.18, such as the new locations, new race tracks, and more. Regardless of any previous issues, we hope the Free Fly will provide an opportunity for people to explore and enjoy everything Star Citizen has to offer, thanks to the latest fixes in 3.18.1.
Naturally, as has been the case since 3.18.0 launched, things have been very fluid for us, meaning there is a chance this planned Free Fly may see a last-minute cancellation. We've conducted days of automated load testing to simulate peak traffic on our login service, and our login and entitlement fixes have held up to that volume. However, in the event that we experience catastrophic issues upon rolling out 3.18.1 to the live servers, we may need to pivot away from the planned Free Fly and instead focus all our efforts on addressing and resolving the issue at hand. In any case, our top priority is to keep you all informed, and we will provide updates as soon as we have new information to share.
Most importantly, we'd like to thank all of you for your support and understanding during the recent turbulence we have experienced. We believe that these moments, alongside the positive ones, define the journey we are on together. See you in the 'verse!
Now back to business issues. The $2.2 million in sales recorded by CIG in the first 12 days of April is far behind the pace of sales in April 2022. A year ago, CIG recorded $7.7 million in sales. A free fly event should help CIG financially try to maintain pace with last year's record $113 million in sales. The server wipe may also help, although with one performed just a month ago, the whales may still be full digesting last month's meal.
With the deployment of 3.18.1 I should return to just covering the project's financial state. I do have to admit that, as Star Citizen is financially the biggest sci-fi MMO on the market, I may wind up comparing Star Citizen to CCP Games' Project Awakening in future posts. But as for now, Star Citizen seems back on track and playable again.
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