The video discusses the importance of exploration in Star Citizen, highlighting the current features and missing elements necessary for larger-scale exploration gameplay. It explores the potential of procedural generation to create a vast universe for players to discover, the significance of specialized exploration ships, and the gameplay opportunities that could arise from selling exploration data and interacting with various factions in newly explored systems.
The video discusses the importance of exploration in Star Citizen and how it fits into the game’s economy and gameplay. Exploration in Star Citizen involves discovering new locations, whether they are unmapped jump points, unexplored planets, or hidden areas within known locations. The video explains that while small-scale exploration features like caves, crash sites, and outposts are already present in the game, there are still major features missing before larger-scale exploration can be fully implemented.
One of the key missing features for exploration in Star Citizen is the ability for players to manually navigate through unexplored jump points, which currently requires developer intervention to create new star systems. The video suggests that procedural generation could be a solution to the problem of creating a large quantity of planets and star systems for players to explore. By automating the process of generating new star systems using predefined archetypes, developers could potentially create a vast universe for players to discover.
In terms of tools needed for exploration, the video mentions the importance of scanning modes and tools on exploration ships like the Carrick or the Odyssey. It suggests that different exploration ships could be specialized for various types of exploration tasks, such as mapping new star systems or discovering valuable resources on individual planets. Additionally, the video highlights the significance of data running as a gameplay loop that allows players to monetize the information they gather during exploration.
The video also touches upon the potential gameplay opportunities that could arise from discovering new star systems and selling that information to data brokers or other parties. This could lead to missions related to surveying and exploration, as well as the emergence of new outposts and space stations in newly discovered systems. The dynamic interactions between players, NPCs, Outlaw groups, security forces, and governments in these newly explored systems could create a complex and engaging gameplay experience that goes beyond just exploration.
Overall, the video emphasizes the role of exploration in shaping the larger narrative and gameplay experience of Star Citizen. It raises questions about how developer Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) will address the challenge of creating enough planets for players to explore and whether procedural generation is the best approach. The video concludes by encouraging viewers to share their thoughts on these topics and speculating on the potential future developments in exploration gameplay within the game.