Star Citizen is Incredible Now...

[WallacEngineering]

For years I have played this game with settings optimized for performance, downscaling resolution and doing whatever I can to try and get a smooth experience with mid-tier hardware (Ryzen 3700X and RX 5700-XT)

 

But I have just built a Top-Tier gaming PC with the Ryzen 7800X-3D and RX 7900-XTX and now get over 100 FPS average in space, and 60 FPS average in cities, all at native 3440x1440p resolution on the highest settings, including even the planetary volumetric clouds. My game now looks identical to the videos below, I forgot just how stunning this game can be, all while being smooth and responsive.

 

If you have a current gen CPU (3D Cache really helps the FPS in the game's un-optimized state but Intel 13th Gen offers pretty good performance as well) and current-gen higher tier GPU (RX 7900-XT or 4070-Ti or higher), I would say that NOW is the time to finally give Star Citizen a real chance.

 

Technology has finally advanced to the point that even this insanely demanding game can be run at decent-good frame rates and actually be an enjoyable experience. Its about time, after 6 years playing the game Im actually not frustrated at all with its performance.

 

Also, stability has improved and the game simply runs much better technically - than it did a year ago - the last time I played.

 

Just keep in mind that good performance does NOT mean there aren't bugs and instability... Trust me... They still exist lol

 

And remember, these fan-made trailers are made IN THE GAME BY PLAYERS. There are no special effects, this is simply what the game looks like just using the 3rd person camera mode and a joystick for smooth panning on a top-tier gaming PC (these guys likely had RTX 3090's):

 

 

 

 

[dizmo]

And it only took 3 or 4 years longer than it should have. Fantastic.

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

And it only took 3 or 4 years longer than it should have. Fantastic.

DNF I mean SCF?

(Star Citizen Forever)

[WallacEngineering]

8 hours ago, dizmo said:

And it only took 3 or 4 years longer than it should have. Fantastic.

 

Very true, it took FOREVER LOL.

 

But hey, its here now, and plays well. Plus just look at the visuals, its not surprising. The game was simply ahead of its time. It was VASTLY more demanding than Cyberpunk or Red Dead II like half a decade before those games even existed lol.

 

No wonder the likes of the GTX 1000 series and my old mid-tier AMD hardware couldn't handle the game (well). It ran, but I got like 25 FPS in extremely demanding places like Orison even with volumetric clouds completely disabled and resolution down-scaled to 2560x1080. It ran pretty well in space tho at these settings (70 FPS or so) so I was able to at least play decently.

 

The CPU demand doesn't help. Before I built the 7800X-3D system I threw the 7900-XTX GPU into the Ryzen 3700X system. It definitely improved but Orison ran at 40-45 FPS even with the Volumetric clouds still disabled but at least I was able to scale back up to 3440x1440p.

 

Now that the 7800X-3D is running, settings maxed including volumetric clouds at Orison, Im seeing 55-65 FPS depending on where I look. Thats like 40-50% game performance improvement, WITHOUT upgrading the GPU. Thats how CPU intensive this game really is, and why the 3D Cache REALLY helps. Volumetric clouds hit your system HARD. Turning them on with the 3700X combined with the 7900-XTX would drop my FPS right back down to 25-30, where the 5700-XT was without the clouds.

 

It is VERY important that you have BOTH a modern, powerful CPU AND a modern, powerful GPU in order to play Star Citizen smoothly. Oh, and SSD is required, the game literally doesn't function on a mechanical HDD. The assets won't stream in fast enough on an SSD and ull glitch through the environment and die because the player loaded before the world did. Also, 32GB of RAM is highly recommended. It can play on 16, but a lot of people with 16GB RAM experience crashing here and there and upgrading to 32GB showed big differences for them.

 

8 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

DNF I mean SCF?

(Star Citizen Forever)

 

True, the game may never truly be finished, but with good performance and a huge amount of gameplay loops introduced and a large amount of bugs handled, its enjoyable now.

 

Honestly it feels like almost enough to be a complete game NOW. The only real big issues left that truly hurt your experience big time are 30K server crashes and the fact that some updates to the game wipe certain parts of your progress. Money might be wiped for one update, faction reputation for another, and so-on.

 

If you guys want, I can link videos to good starter ship discussions that make the game affordable (no need to buy stupidly expensive ships, 95% of ships can be earned in game, only special editions of certain ships are excluded).

 

Basically, a really good starter ship with access to the game will cost you about $60-$90 right now, or basically the same as a regular game with or without DLC depending on your preference. So really, its not too bad.

[Radium_Angel]

8 hours ago, WallacEngineering said:

So really, its not too bad.

That's called "damning with faint praise"

and spending that kind of cash on a still buggy game isn't my idea of a good time, but I'm glad to see it's mostly playable (server-side issues notwithstanding) because it's long overdue.

Now they need a mod to be able to hyperjump into No Man's Sky for a truly wild experience. And maybe find the hidden black hole to slip into Spreadsheet..I mean Eve Online 

[WallacEngineering]

2 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

That's called "damning with faint praise"

 

Well a couple years ago I could only really recommended the game to hard-core space sim enthusiasts or supporters of the project. Now I can honestly say I would recommend the game to anyone with a high-end system to play on.

 

Also there are cheaper options than $60, there are $45 game packages but those ships suck pretty bad and its honestly worth the little extra cash to upgrade and avoid a terrible starting experience after every progress wipe.

 

 

 

And no... Nobody wants Spreadsheet back... At least I hope not... LOL

[WallacEngineering]

@Radium_Angel 

 

If you ask me, the best Bang-For-Buck Starter Ship in Star Citizen is the Aegis Avenger Titan, available in a game package (grants access to the Persistent Universe) for $70 USD.

 

This is because it is a fantastic ship that you can always return to and have a good time with, while also not being super pricey.

 

It has a good amount of firepower, able to solo even more difficult bounty missions once you are used to it (although the very hardest bounties will probably be too much for it, but they can be too much for ships that cost over $100 or even $200 to pledge so whatever).

 

It has a bed that you can use to log out. When you log back in - you will still be aboard the ship.

 

It has an interior you can actually walk through. Although incredibly small, this is a VERY RARE feature for smaller fighters.

 

It has a cargo ramp and can hold quite a few boxes for delivery missions.

 

So overall, the Aegis Avenger Titan is pretty much the most capable and versatile ship under $100, and remember the $70 price includes access to the game. I believe you can pledge the Avenger as a Stand-Alone ship for like $40.

 

The game only requires that you pledge your first ship because you need somewhere to start, hence why they have Stand-Alone Ships separated from Game Packages.

 

Any Pledged ships are returned to you after a progression wipe. So in other words - any item purchased with REAL money instead of inside the game - is PERMANENT.

 

This is the biggest reason you see idiots throwing away thousands on this game. But it is NOT necessary whatsoever.

 

All you are FORCED to buy in order to play is that initial game package that includes your initial ship. That is ALL.

[dizmo]

On 5/19/2023 at 7:53 PM, Radium_Angel said:

DNF I mean SCF?

(Star Citizen Forever)

Hahaha, they'd probably spin that as their plan all along; a persistent wait universe!

On 5/19/2023 at 8:15 PM, WallacEngineering said:

 

Very true, it took FOREVER LOL.

 

But hey, its here now, and plays well. Plus just look at the visuals, its not surprising. The game was simply ahead of its time. It was VASTLY more demanding than Cyberpunk or Red Dead II like half a decade before those games even existed lol.

 

No wonder the likes of the GTX 1000 series and my old mid-tier AMD hardware couldn't handle the game (well). It ran, but I got like 25 FPS in extremely demanding places like Orison even with volumetric clouds completely disabled and resolution down-scaled to 2560x1080. It ran pretty well in space tho at these settings (70 FPS or so) so I was able to at least play decently.

 

The CPU demand doesn't help. Before I built the 7800X-3D system I threw the 7900-XTX GPU into the Ryzen 3700X system. It definitely improved but Orison ran at 40-45 FPS even with the Volumetric clouds still disabled but at least I was able to scale back up to 3440x1440p.

 

Now that the 7800X-3D is running, settings maxed including volumetric clouds at Orison, Im seeing 55-65 FPS depending on where I look. Thats like 40-50% game performance improvement, WITHOUT upgrading the GPU. Thats how CPU intensive this game really is, and why the 3D Cache REALLY helps. Volumetric clouds hit your system HARD. Turning them on with the 3700X combined with the 7900-XTX would drop my FPS right back down to 25-30, where the 5700-XT was without the clouds.

 

It is VERY important that you have BOTH a modern, powerful CPU AND a modern, powerful GPU in order to play Star Citizen smoothly. Oh, and SSD is required, the game literally doesn't function on a mechanical HDD. The assets won't stream in fast enough on an SSD and ull glitch through the environment and die because the player loaded before the world did. Also, 32GB of RAM is highly recommended. It can play on 16, but a lot of people with 16GB RAM experience crashing here and there and upgrading to 32GB showed big differences for them.

Uh, no. It wasn't ahead of it's time. It had massive feature creep, and that's why it's taken this long to come to fruition. Many have voiced that Robert wouldn't be able to release a game without some supervision, as the same issues rose when he was working for other companies.

[WallacEngineering]

4 hours ago, dizmo said:

Hahaha, they'd probably spin that as their plan all along; a persistent wait universe!

Uh, no. It wasn't ahead of it's time. It had massive feature creep, and that's why it's taken this long to come to fruition. Many have voiced that Robert wouldn't be able to release a game without some supervision, as the same issues rose when he was working for other companies.

 

No it was definitely ahead of its time. The game had the vast majority of its stunning visuals years ago when no hardware could really run it yet. Volumetric Clouds are the big thing that came in recently as far as visuals go.

 

As for gameplay features - THATS where the feature creep came in. Roberts is just so damn obsessed with perfection he wants every single knob and switch on every ship interactive and useable like its a Flight Simulator. And he wants this level of detail on everything but not just in a flight simulator - but an entire quadrant of a Galaxy.

 

Roberts wants simulator-level details on all the game-play loops, all the planets, every building, NPCs, so-on and so forth. And thats the biggest issue of it all. You can take this game as something similar to Red Dead Redemption 2 - Roberts wants THAT kind of detail, but on a massive scale of several solar systems with many more mechanics due to space travel and modern technology.

 

The Problem is Red Dead 2 took 8 years to develop because of its stunning level of detail and thats just here on earth, with an area maybe 20 miles long simulated. And Roberts wants to simulate that level of detail in areas so huge I can't even begin to quantify a number of miles, its more like light-years.