The recently-released Star Citizen Alpha 3.3 is starting to really show the potential of the game not only as a space simulator but as an interesting sandbox experience.
While there certainly are still plenty of glitches to iron out, systems to implement, and content to add, the ongoing 2018 Anniversary Free Flight event is allowing fans and skeptics alike to try all the ships, and freely explore the massive planet Hurston, several moons, and a star system full of intriguing secrets.
Even more interestingly, the game’s technology and physics leave room for some rather amazing feats like what you’ll see below, courtesy of YouTube user Tyler Palmer.
We see two players hanging out at extremely high altitude, where you can basically “park” ships in the sky thanks to their thrusters. One of them left his ship, mistakenly believing that he was already in space. Unfortunately, he wasn’t, and gravity is a ruthless mistress. He started dropping through the atmosphere like a rock, plummeting towards the surface of Hurston in a terrifying (or hilarious, depending on the point of view) free fall.
At this point, many would have just watched, pointed, and laughed, waiting to hear the “splat.” Yut the other pilot promptly turned around his MISC Freelancer to pursue the falling comrade. After several failed approach attempts, he finally managed to position himself so that the falling dude could open the aft cargo door and slide into the safety of the hold.
If this is a good example of what Star Citizen will let us do going forward, we might really be in for a treat.
You can watch the video below (be warned of the occasional “S-word”). If you want to see more, you can also enjoy our article about the Anvil Aerospace Arrow, Star Citizen’s latest ship.
For the sake of full disclosure, the author of this article is one of the backers of the game, since the very beginning.
