Chris Roberts Demonstrates Star Citizen Alpha 2.0

Chris Roberts showed off Star Citizen’s Alpha 2.0 at CitizenCon in Manchester, which gives players access to a vast universe. It was also announced which Hollywood stars are participating in the single-player part of Squadron 42.

During a more than two-hour presentation, Chris Roberts of Cloud Imperium Games shared more about the development of Star Citizen and showed gameplay footage of Alpha 2.0. In the new version it is possible, among other things, to control a spaceship with multiple crew members and there are 38 playable missions, where the spaceship can also be abandoned for extravehicular activity.

All this takes place in a universe the size of two hundred quadrillion cubic kilometers. The developers promised smooth gameplay in huge areas, without loading screens. The first-person mode, which would initially appear in the spring but was delayed, also makes an appearance in Alpha 2.0.

Roberts also announced that many Hollywood stars are participating in Squadron 42, the single player part of the game. Contributors include Gary Oldman (Batman), Gillian Anderson (X Files) and Mark Hamill (Star Wars). What is special is that the stars are not only used as voice actors, but also take care of the motion capture process.

A release date for Star Citizen Alpha 2.0 has not yet been announced, but the update would be released “soon”, according to Robers. Version 1.3.0 will be released first, an update that includes multi-player multiplayer, functional buggies, improved graphics and new weapons for spaceships.

Star Citizen has been in development since 2012. Chris Roberts, creator of the Wing Commander series, funded the game through crowdfunding. So far, more than 990,000 ‘Star Citizens’ have put money into the game. In total, Roberts has raised nearly $91.5 million at the time of writing.