cloud-imperium
Latest
A virtual server bug is said to be worse than Heartbleed
In case you were napping, Heartbleed struck web servers' OpenSSL security last year, opening up the servers' memory to intruders. There's a new so-called zero-day vulnerability, only this time the researchers who discovered it say it's much worse, impacting millions of datacenter machines. The flaw is called Venom, which stands for Virtualized Environment Neglected Operations Manipulation. What does that mean? With the common practice of putting multiple customers into virtual servers, datacenters are setup to share some key tools, but sensitive information remains separated. Thanks to Venom, though, a hacker can gain access to a datacenters' entire storage network, leaving all of the customers on it vulnerable. As you might expect, the issue resides in an often ignored virtual floppy disk controller, but when it's exploited, it's like opening up a vault of stored info. As ZDNet reports, many modern virtual systems contain the bug -- platforms like Oracle's VirtualBox, KVM and Xen. The good news is Oracle says it already remedied the issue, and will nix it completely in forthcoming update. [Image credit: Marvel via Getty images]
PAX South 2015: Notes from a Star Citizen town hall
Star Citizen is such a big fancy deal that instead of having a panel or booth at PAX South 2015, Cloud Imperium booked a theater down the street and hosted 10 straight hours of forums and chit-chats with backers. That's right: There wasn't enough room in the PAX convention hall to accommodate all the Star Citizening Star Citizens needed to Star Citizen, so they had their own one-day mini-convention dedicated just to their game of choice. One has to respect a development team willing to spend the entire day with its community (for a nominal fee, of course). I'm sure Star Citizens were absolutely amped to pay the same amount of money as a PAX day pass to hang out with CI all day. Unfortunately, I attended only the evening town hall with Chris Roberts, which I would describe as impenetrable to anyone without a license to pilot one of Star Citizen's $350 ships. I did take some notes. I will try to parse them here.
The Daily Grind: What's the most exciting bit of MMO news you've heard lately?
Wednesday's blurb about Star Citizen's release schedule caught me a bit off guard. I guess I lost track of time because the thought of getting to see the game's persistent universe this year took me aback. It makes sense, though, since Star Citizen boasts a big dev team and an even bigger developmental warchest, and they've been going at it in some form or fashion since 2012! So that's a bit of exciting and unexpected MMO news for 2015, at least in my book. What about you, Massively readers? What MMO news has tickled your fancy of late? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Star Citizen's persistent universe alpha scheduled for 2015, launch in 2016
Chris Roberts recently spoke at the BAFTA LA Games Masterclass, and apart from the usual Star Citizen geekery, he had some interesting things to say about the crowdfunded space sim's release timeline. In a nutshell, Cloud Imperium is looking to publish a beta of the game's FPS component as well as a "planetside/social" beta this spring, followed by the debut of multicrew ships in the currently playable Arena Commander module this summer. Fall 2015 will see the first episode of single-player lead-in Squadron 42's campaign released, while backers will get their first taste of the persistent universe alpha before the end of the year. You can watch the BAFTA presentation on Twitch; click forward to the 39-minute mark for Roberts' bit. [Thanks Mohoc!]
Euro Star Citizen fans getting local support, VAT
Are you a Star Citizen fan based in Europe? If so I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that Cloud Imperium is opening a "publishing arm" in the UK and thus will provide local customer support. The bad news is that Euro customers will be subject to the VAT beginning on February 1st. "We wish there were an alternative to charging the tax, but also believe that it is in our best interest to expand Star Citizen's footprint to a part of the world that has proven to be truly passionate about space games," CIG explains on its website.
Star Citizen's Chris Roberts looks back on a year of growth
2014 was a pretty big year for Star Citizen, and not just because the Arena Commander module went from its first release version to 1.0 over the course of the year. A recent letter from project head Chris Roberts states that over 2014 the studio has gone from having 70 employees in one location to 180 employees in four locations across the globe. He also notes the huge increases in funding that the game has seen from both new backers and old. So what's in store for 2015? Big stuff for backers. The first episode of Squadron 42 and the beginnings of the game's persistent universe will be reaching backer hands, along with the first iterations of the FPS module. There's no exact timetable given, but the developers are certainly planning big for the year ahead. Take a look at the full letter for more statistics on the year past and the one just begun. [Thanks to Cardboard for the tip!]
Star Citizen releases Arena Commander 1.0
Pilots, start your engines, for Star Citizen's Arena Commander 1.0 is here! Arena Commander is the next significant milestone for the modularly developed space sim. With AC 1.0, pilots can take their ships out for dogfighting or just to experience flight among the stars. Arena Commander 1.0 also has the effect of growing Star Citizen's feature list. The team's tripled the number of flyable ships with 14 new vessels. Missiles were improved, while the game added a lobby system, a friends list, a ship signature system, a thruster power system, and a lateral g-force system. The team also improved many of the visuals, animations, and audio effects. [Thanks to Chrysillis for the tip!]
Elite: Dangerous scores a HUD color mod and grats from Chris Roberts
The stage was set for a truly epic battle of words with the launch of Elite: Dangerous. In one corner, David Braben and Elite, a project that's launched and offers a space sandbox experience with the controversy of a removed offline mode. In the other corner, Chris Roberts and Star Citizen, another space sandbox that hasn't actually launched but hasn't managed to irritate its fans yet. The intense rivalry between these two developers is... well... it's nonexistent, actually, as Roberts recently released a letter congratulating Braben and his team on the launch and wishing them the best of luck. Roberts states in the letter that he's happy to see more games like Elite: Dangerous on the market; he says everyone benefits from having the game on the market, especially since his game and Braben's game both feeling distinct from one another. He also states that he's looking forward to playing the game himself during his time over the holidays. And thus the battle of words never happened because the rivalry doesn't actually exist. Hint, hint. In other Elite: Dangerous news, an intrepid modder has released a tool to help players change their UI HUD colors. How cool is that? [Thanks to Oliver, Cardboard, and Carson for the tips!]
Get a closer look at Star Citizen's Gladiator bomber
So just what is the Gladiator, Star Citizen's newest ship, and why might it have some players salivating? Recently, the team posted additional information and technical specs on this carrier-based bomber for all those interested to check out. According to the description, "The Gladiator is the UEE Navy's premiere carrier-based torpedo-plane and space-to-ground dive bomber. Operating with Hornet escort fighters, Gladiators have seen service with great success in battles across known space. Rugged to a fault, the Gladiator is the most capable bomber chassis ever designed." Star Citizen is selling the Gladiator as a not currently flyable pledge ship for $165, or or you can pay $180 for the ship and an extras package. It will be available for pre-purchase only through December 22nd, although it will eventually be in the full game upon release. [Thanks to Cardboard for the tip!]
Star Citizen's latest patch adds another ship, drunk effects
Star Citizen's latest patch is now live. Actually, it's Arena Commander's latest patch, where Arena Commander is the dogfighting and ship pornography simulator that allows players to explore various craft as Cloud Imperium developers get them "hangar-ready." AC version 0.9.2.2 adds the Anvil Gladiator to the mix, along with a drunk effect for your hangar's liquor cabinet. CIG encourages you to "please drink responsibly."
Star Citizen's Hornet available to all backers this week
I'm a Star Citizen backer, but I didn't pledge enough to pilot the Anvil Hornet prior to launch. Thanks to Cloud Imperium, though, I'll be flying it in Arena Commander anyway, at least for the next week. The Hornet has been unlocked for all backers, according to a posting on the game's website. "The Hornet is the civilian version of the F7A Hornet flown off of the elite Bengal carrier vanguard of the UEE Navy," CIG explains. "It may not be the prettiest ship but it is the go-to short range fighter due to Anvil's sturdy design and ability to take as much punishment as it can dish out." In other SC news, Chris Roberts published another Letter from the Chairman last night which includes tidbits on multicrew ships, modular ship design, and exterior customization options.
Star Citizen's November report is long, informative
Welcome back, Star Citizen fans, curious onlookers, and trolls of all shapes and sizes. It's that time of the month where Cloud Imperium publishes an absurdly huge wall-of-text detailing exactly what it's doing with its crowdfunding windfall and provides some fairly unique insight into the making of a triple-A online game. But, eh, why bother reading all that when you can just skip to the comments and call it vaporware? On your marks, get set, go! [Thanks for the tip, Cardboard.]
Star Citizen opens up a $350 ship for sale
Do you want to go out exploring with Star Citizen once it's actually possible to do so? It's one of the stated goals of the game, after all. If so, perhaps you'd like to do that exploration inside of the newly revealed Anvil Carrack, a ship that is available for purchase now for the not-at-all low price of $350. And you can't use it in any of the game's current modules once you do purchase it. According to the official page, the Carrack is being offered as a concept sale, which means that it is currently unavailable for use in any modules. It comes with lifetime insurance once purchased as well as decorative items for the player's hangar, although there's no ETA on when the ship will actually be available for use within the hangar. The ship is available for purchase until December 8th if you want to drop another $350 on the ongoing development of Star Citizen. [Thanks to Cardboard for the tip!]
Star Citizen eclipses $63 million, adds pets
Cloud Imperium has a lot to be thankful for, including the fact that Star Citizen surpassed the $62 and $63 million crowdfunding plateaus during Thanksgiving week. Chris Roberts has published a new celebratory letter in which he outlines the latest stretch goals (the Genesis-class Starliner at $62 million and the Reliant at $63 million). The upcoming $64 million goal should please pet lovers. "From Jones the cat in Alien to the Battlestar Galactica's Daggit, pets have a place onboard starships," Roberts writes, "and we want to give you that option in Star Citizen." What about $65 million? "We have a major feature we're investigating as an option. Suffice it to say, we've heard a lot of your feedback about modular ships and we want to expand our plan for how to do them," Roberts teases.
Star Citizen aims to redefine avatar death, combat realism
Remember way back in February of 2013 when Chris Roberts posted his Death of a Spaceman concept? It was a high-level look at how character death would function in Star Citizen, and it broke from gaming industry norms by aiming for an immersive system with strategy and consequences rather than the typical run-and-gun and die-and-respawn mechanics common to MMOs, FPSs, and most other games. This week Roberts and company have released another extensive design doc called Healing Your Spacemen, which greatly expands the original concept. "In the end, the team decided to run counter to the standard FPS mechanics of regenerating health and instantly respawning on death to make every fight a calculated decision that can have ramifications that impact your character and place in the 'Verse," Cloud Imperium says. Character health involves a limb-based system featuring four levels of health for each limb, and the system deliberately avoids "the current trend of hiding behind cover for blood to clear off your screen and jumping back in the fight ready for more." The post also explains how characters may be dragged to safety and how the spaceflight portion of the game will include "a robust rescue system" that complements the character death and damage mechanics. Read all about it via the official site links below! [Thanks Cardboard!]
CIG kicks off Star Citizen Meet the Devs video series
Cloud Imperium has kicked off a new video series called Meet the CIG Devs. Episode one focuses on production coordinator Darian Vorlick, who is profiled via a question-and-answer vignette that's long on personal info but relatively short on game-specific stuff. Still, it might be worth watching if you're curious about the personalities behind the curtain on the largest crowdfunded project of all time. Click past the cut to view Episode 1.
The Daily Grind: Should EVE Online add manual flight controls?
On Friday, developer CCP Games stunned us with the news that EVE Online will be adding manual flight controls in December's Rhea update. Gamers have been asking for twitch controls since EVE launched in 2003, but the idea has always been shot down as infeasible because it would put the server under extremely heavy load. CCP mentioned its interest in twitch controls during Fanfest 2013, and I speculated on a possible server-friendly implementation in an EVE Evolved article shortly after, but the fact that the feature is about to be released still comes as a huge surprise. The new controls will be optional and quite limited. Ships will be able to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise and pitch their ships up vertically up and down, but we won't be able to do loops or rolls like in a dogfighting game. Developers also want to add joystick support soon, but so far there are no plans to add manually targeted ship weapons. Many players are excited for the new controls, and some of them are already asking for further features like the ability to lock the camera behind their ships for a more hands-on flight experience. The announcement has prompted debate in the EVE Online community, and not everyone is convinced it's a good idea. Some have complained that twitch controls don't suit EVE as the ships are supposed to be massive starships with full crews rather than single-pilot fighter craft. There's also some cynicism over whether the feature is only being worked on now due to the growing popularity of Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous. EVE could be positioning itself as a viable alternative for any players who are disappointed with the new space games, a strategy that has worked in the past to help it absorb players from games like Earth & Beyond and Star Wars Galaxies. What do you think? Should EVE add manual flight controls, and is this an attempt to appeal to the mass market? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Star Citizen's crowdfunding total tops $61 million
What's better than $60 million in crowdfunding support? $61 million, of course, and that's what space sim sandbox Star Citizen's sitting at today. Cloud Imperium boss Chris Roberts has penned his usual Letter from the Chairman in response to another million-dollar milestone. This particular milestone unlocked the Espera Prowler, which Roberts says will be interesting to watch during the build process since it's an alien design that will be retrofitted for human use. The letter also features a poll that allows backers to choose Star Citizen's third starter ship.
Star Citizen's Roberts on job boards, affecting AI, and more
Got a few minutes for a Star Citizen update? Good, because this week's 10 for the Chairman is available for viewing. If you're new to 10FtC, it's a video sitdown with Chris Roberts where he fields subscriber questions and does his best to answer them. Roberts talks about everything from in-game job boards (both NPC- and player-run) to capturing capital ships to the effects of player action on Star Citizen's AI. Click past the cut to watch the full episode!
Star Citizen passes $60M in fundraising, becoming 'single, coherent vision'
Star Citizen appears to be unstoppable, with the in-development space sim passing the $60,000,000 crowdfunding mark this past weekend. The $60M barrier unlocked the Aegis Bulldog fighter stretch goal. Moving forward, Chris Roberts revealed the next few milestone goals: the Espera Prowler boarding ship ($61M) and the Genesis-class Starliner ($62M). "I think I speak for everyone on the team when we say it really feels like Star Citizen is starting to go from a series of modules to a single, coherent vision," Roberts said before teasing "a few more surprises" before the year is out.
