Overview

In this episode of Star Citizen Live, Jared Huckaby hosts Chad McKinney, Senior Lead Gameplay Engineer at Cloud Imperium Games (CIG), to discuss the development challenges and updates surrounding the cargo and hangar systems. The conversation covers the technical and design challenges faced during the implementation of the new systems in Alpha 3.20 and the ongoing improvements to manual and automatic cargo loading, hangar customization, and more.

Key Points with Timecodes:

Introduction

Watch this section: 00:00 (53 seconds)
Jared Huckaby introduces the episode of Star Citizen Live: Cargo and Hangers with Chad McKinney. This episode is dedicated to discussing the cargo mechanics and hangars in Star Citizen, offering insights into development challenges and answering player questions.

Challenges with Cargo and Hangers Release

Watch this section: 00:53 (4 minutes 37 seconds)
Chad McKinney explains the difficulties faced during the release of the cargo and hangars features. Problems with systems like Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Transit led to delays, as these older systems couldn’t handle the new features well, requiring more time and fixes.

ATC and Transit System Complexities

Watch this section: 05:30 (2 minutes 15 seconds)
McKinney elaborates on the technical complexities of the ATC and Transit systems. He discusses how the systems struggled under public testing, creating bugs that were difficult to reproduce internally, which further delayed the release.

Mission System and Delivery Hookups

Watch this section: 07:45 (2 minutes 20 seconds)
The discussion covers issues with the new mission system, especially how it connects to the freight elevators. Chad explains the integration of missions with the warehouse system and how certain bugs and inconsistencies impacted mission flow.

Design and Implementation Trade-offs

Watch this section: 10:05 (2 minutes 55 seconds)
Chad shares how the team made difficult trade-offs in their design decisions to avoid further delays. Rather than rewriting entire systems, smaller changes were made to meet the Alpha 3.20 release window, though future refactoring is planned for long-term stability.

Item Drawer and Freight Elevator Kiosk

Watch this section: 13:00 (3 minutes 15 seconds)
The team initially experimented with using the freight elevator kiosk UI for item management but ultimately reverted to the personal inventory UI due to player feedback. However, improvements such as search and filtering functions are planned to enhance usability.

Customization and Expansion of Personal Hangers

Watch this section: 16:15 (3 minutes 50 seconds)
Rick Porter and Ian Leland discuss plans for personal hanger customization, allowing players to add modules like garages and repair areas. Players will also have more freedom to expand and customize their hangers.

Loading and Unloading in Hangers

Watch this section: 20:05 (2 minutes 10 seconds)
The team confirms that hangers will be customizable, including the option to reposition freight elevators to better suit player needs, improving the convenience of cargo handling.

Future of Cargo Gameplay and Hangers

Watch this section: 22:15 (4 minutes 15 seconds)
Chad talks about the future of cargo gameplay, particularly for larger ships like the Hull series. Manual loading may involve multiple players using tractor beams, and automated loading will be refined with the help of NPCs or drones.

Hover Trolleys and Other Tools

Watch this section: 26:30 (4 minutes 45 seconds)
Hover trolleys are still under development and will return once the physics issues are resolved. The team is also exploring new tools to help players manage cargo boxes more efficiently.

Customization of Cargo Boxes

Watch this section: 31:15 (3 minutes)
The team is working on allowing players to name their cargo boxes, which will help with organization and make manual loading easier and more efficient.

Conclusion and Future Updates

Watch this section: 34:15 (2 minutes)
Jared wraps up the episode by thanking the community for their support and discussing upcoming events like CitizenCon. The team plans to continue improving cargo and hangar systems with future updates.

Key People and Organizations Mentioned:

• Jared Huckaby (Host): Star Citizen Live Host.
• Chad McKinney: Senior Lead Gameplay Engineer at Cloud Imperium Games.
• Rick Porter and Ian Leland: Developers providing insights on hangar design and customization.
• Cloud Imperium Games: Developers of Star Citizen.

Tell Us Your Thoughts:

What are your thoughts on the future of cargo gameplay and hangers in Star Citizen? Do you agree with the development decisions made so far, or would you like to see different improvements? Share your feedback, suggestions, or questions in the comments and join the discussion!