“Star Citizen,” is currently being developed by Chris Robert’s company Cloud Imperium Games and, its European equal, Foundry 42.

“Star Citizen” started out as an over-the-top, ambitious project that many believed would not be completed.

However, after pushing back a few release dates and a constant stream of updates, Roberts Space Industries, the publishing company of “Star Citizen,” released the public test universe (PTU) Nov. 24 .

The PTU is an awesome, exciting step toward the full release of “Star Citizen” and marks the beginning of the end. The PTU was given out to specially selected players that have a good grasp of the game’s mechanics and technicalities. These players, by giving information on bugs and issues the game still has, will help developers fix what is still wrong with it.

Since the good people working on “Star Citizen” released the PTU, I decided it was high time for me to tell everyone what I like about the game, the people funding/working on it and the companies involved that are contributing to an MMO like no other.

The game itself and what it will become

“Star Citizen,” as it stands right now, is okay at best.

It is pretty, but there is not much to it besides a few missions you can do in the Crusader Station system.

I have the most fun pretending to be a security guard at Kareah Outpost. I challenge all non-law-abiding citizens to try to break in. I usually end up dead a few minutes after that, but I have a great deal of fun up until that point.

The area we, the public, can explore and play on is incredibly small compared to how the final galaxy will look. There will be many different solar systems with even more stations, planets and things to do.

Squadron 42

The only real bit of information from the single-player campaign, that I know for certain, is that the cinematic cut scenes will be awesome and full of life. My one example of this is Admiral Bishop’s speech to the senate about going to war against the Vanduul. I have gone into detail about this cinematic in previous articles.

I know for a fact that graphics alone do not make a game fun to play in any regard. However, I am excited to join my comrades of Squadron 42 to battle the Vanduul threat across the galaxy. I am also extremely interested in what will happen during the conflict and what will be done to hold my attention. It is only a matter of time.

The developers

The people working on “Star Citizen” have been noticeably putting a lot of time and energy into the game.

“Star Citizen” looks and sounds great because tiny details have been woven into the fabric of the universe, being placed with care for when and where they show up.

The gameplay thus far is fun, and once the fully released game is out, there will be more to do.

Becoming a pirate, explorer, scientist, cargo hauler, mugger, mercenary, security detail or even a religious cult are all within your power as you delve into the depths of space.

On the countless worlds that will be in the many star systems, they will even be animals implemented and appearing as the game gets more fleshed out after it is released.

Weekly updates

“Star Citizen” is a crowdfunded game and the developers have done an outstanding job of staying in touch with and informing the community of the happenings around the verse.

Weekly, they have told players exactly what was going on, what they would be working on next, how they are improving “Star Citizen” and what future updates and features are for the game.

Aloof deadlines

The people behind “Star Citizen” haven’t, even now after the PTU was launched, ever given an actual set-in-stone date for when their game will be completed and released.

To me, this says that Cloud Imperium Games, Foundry 42 and Chris Roberts himself do not want to be limited by time constraints. They will release the game when it is, by their standards, ready.

Not having a deadline is a minor item that I like about “Star Citizen” and it speaks volumes about the sort of quality that will be coming out.

Ship designs

Space ships that are already released or planned for a later date are realistic. Not just in graphics (they are pretty), but in function. Every component in each ship has a purpose for being there.

Depending on what company or faction created the ship, there is a unique art style, but all the ships remain practical.

Physics

The developers of “Star Citizen” have done a magnificent job (at least to me) of incorporating space physics into the game.

Bumping into your ship while going to repair a satellite array could have you coming back to empty space where your ship used to be. You may even be unlucky enough to find that it is a few kilometers away from where you “parked” it.

Developers have even gone so far as to have a blackout mechanic that activates when the Gs of gravity are pressing on you while doing maneuvers that the human body cannot handle. Try naming a game that has that as a feature.