Boy, are there going to be some red faces if Star Citizen turns out to not be very good. In a post on the game’s website yesterday, creator Chris Roberts revealed that the game has made the frankly ridiculous sum of over $42 million from crowdfunding since it was announced back in 2012.
”$42 million in crowd funding! I can’t think of a better symbolic victory than reaching that number in crowd funding,” wrote Roberts in the post. ”The ‘meaning of life, the universe and everything’ is now the amount pledged to let us build a new universe!” He’s joking there. It will be at least another three months before developers Cloud Imperium make enough money to build their own universe.
To mark the passing of that $42 million target, Roberts also announced some new additions that will make it into the final release.
Updated Observist Guide – Additional funding from the $42 million level will go to expanding the website area of the Galactapedia: expect to see holographic ships, items and navigation interface in 3D! Imagine admiring your ships or planning your loadouts right here at the RSI website.
Explorer-class mobiGlas Rig – Every player who backed before we hit $42 million will start the game with their own, visually distinctive mobiGlas “ExoGlas” rig which can be used to access the Observist at any time. I’ve charged the mobiGlas team with a very difficult task: creating a realistic interface that will help keep your affairs in order in an expansive galaxy. It’s almost like building our own in fiction operating system for an imagined future, and it’s very different task than building spaceships. This backer-exclusive mobiGlas kit will come pre-loaded with additional galactic information that new players would ordinarily need to explore or barter to fill out; it’s our way of honoring the information you’ve collected about the Star Citizen universe through the RSI site and community over the past year!
Gladius – The Squadron 42 team will develop an additional fighter for the game, the Aegis Dynamics Gladius-class light fighter. The Gladius will be the first fighter built entirely from concept to CryEngine in the UK! Here’s the official description: The Aegis Gladius is the UEE’s reigning light short-range patrol fighter. A single-seat ship with no room for expansion, the Gladius is fast, maneuverable and capable of punching far above its weight. The main advantage to the design is simplicity: cheap to produce, easy to repair and outfit and quick to train new pilots on. The Gladius is an aging design nearing the end of its life-cycle, although iterative updates have kept it the most nimble fighter in the active fleet.
Towel – And of course, everyone who backs before we hit $42 million will also receive a towel for their hangar. Don’t explore the galaxy without it!
Cloud Imperium are apparently back at work after their PAX East visit (the video of which you can see below), busy ”getting the dogfighting module ready for its full release”. Oh, and they’re polling the community for what should be their next stretch goal reward for the $45 million mark.
