First though, I want to review the changes explained at CitizenCon Direct. Instancing will serve as "a first-class tool" to create curated, protected, and scalable gameplay experiences inside the persistent universe. The developers say instancing will complement, not replace, the open-world server-meshed PU. The three pillars of development -- open world, instancing, dynamic content -- introduced at last year's CitizenCon will still be used to develop Star Citizen 1.0.
At this point my surface understanding of CIG's plans for instancing runs out so I turned to Copilot to dive deeper into the CitizenCon transcript. I want to go though each area because I started getting flashbacks to the World of Warcraft PvP server I first played on in 2005. First, what are the developers' goals and motivations for using instancing?
Goals and motivations
- Let designers build content tuned to specific group sizes and difficulty so progression feels meaningful and repeatable.
- Protect curated content from outside interference while preserving the risk of reaching or leaving an instance (getting to/from the instance can still be dangerous).
- Enable both PvE and curated PvP scenarios with the same seamless transitions as the rest of the game.
- Reduce bottlenecks (e.g., mission-giver congestion) by allowing per-party or reserved instances for conversations and missions.
From last year's CitizenCon I was aware of the instanced PvE. What I wasn't aware of was the instanced PvP. While the content was described as "curated PvP", my thoughts went to Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin, two battlegrounds I ran though dozens of times. From my time in EVE and the reaction to Abyssal instances, those who like open world PvP are going to complain. A lot.
Next comes how instancing will work. When I played WoW 20 years ago, one of the advantages the game had over competitors like Everquest II was the lack of visible instance loading screens. Star Citizen's developers plan on doing something similar.
How it will work (technical / UX notes)
- Instancing is presented as an evolution of dynamic meshing and server meshing; transitions will be seamless (no loading screens), like existing instance hangars.
- Entry methods include elevators, gateways, or invisible quantum-jump style transitions.
- Two main instance types:
- Closed/reserved instances for a party or single player (private progression, repeatable story content).
- Open instances with a limited number of slots for public, curated content (e.g., capped cantinas or events).
- Some instances will run on separate servers, leveraging the mesh to scale compute across the network.
Some of what was presented was a little confusing. Instancing is an evolution of server meshing? Unless I'm missing something evolution usually means going beyond what was. So does this mean the instancing shuts down major work on meshing? In the long run not spending resources might prove the smart thing to do to advance the project, but I think some players might have different ideas.
CIG did provide examples of the types of content that would be instanced.
Example use cases announced
- Siege of Orison (reworked): a 15–30 player fire-team experience retooled as an instanced activity to match intended group sizes and avoid interference that previously pushed populations to 100+ and broke the design.
- Municipal Works (Levki): a multi-chapter, repeatable, progression-driven instanced facility deep inside Levki for teams to advance, log off, and resume where they left off.
- Tactical content and spaceship operations will use instancing to enable coordinated ship roles and complex objectives (e.g., assaulting a station with trench runs, internal flying, coordinated FPS boarding, timed Vanduul responses).
I'm not going to lie. The above sounds like standard content one could find in World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV. Well, if FFXIV had open world PvP. Content that, if not for years of watching Star Citizen content, I wouldn't find extraordinary at all. What makes the content a surprise is that the developers are no longer trying to incorporate the content into the game like CCP Games did some of its PvE events like Sansha incursions.
Finally, some points I believe were meant to mollify those disgruntled with the new direction instancing will take the game.
Design constraints and player experience
- Instanced content will still integrate with the overworld: getting in/out can be risky, and open-world elements (enemy responses, external events) can affect instance outcomes.
- Instancing will be flexible: solo teaching instances (new-player onboarding), private party runs, and public limited-capacity instances that feel seamless to join.
- The aim is to preserve the PU’s social and persistent identity while enabling repeatable, balanced, and role-driven gameplay that can’t be safely delivered purely in open PvP spaces
A vast open world with no loading screens and the possibility of PvP. Major instanced PvE invulnerable to interruption. Something that suspiciously sounds like instanced PvP zones. I realize my World of Warcraft experience was 20 years ago but the major outlines definitely sound like the PvP server I initially rolled on to play WoW.
I should add that I only reached level 35 or 36 (vanilla servers only went up to level 50 back then) before re-rolling on a PvE server. Which begs the question. If Star Citizen is going to have multiple shards, will the developers eventually make some of those shards dedicated to PvE? While the PvP crowd may howl in protest, making PvE servers would definitely help the bottom line.
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