CitizenCon 2954: The Future of Crafting and Base Building in Star Citizen
On the occasion of CitizenCon 2954, Star Citizen unveiled its (new) crafting mechanisms, designed to be a profession in its own right in the game universe, capable of fueling its economy and interactions between players.
Star Citizen At CitizenCon 2954, the developers of Star Citizen revealed some interesting details about the game's crafting system, an aspect that is set to redefine the way players interact with the game's universe. is not simply limited to the creation of objects: it is a complex system, enriched by progression mechanisms, customization, and interaction with other players. Overview of the mechanics that were presented by the developer.
Craftsmanship: a profession with progression and personalization
In Star Citizen, crafting becomes a profession. It is a profession in its own right, requiring tools, specific knowledge, and continuous progression. Like any profession, crafting is based on the acquisition of skills, represented in the game by learning blueprints and gradually improving them. But crafting is not limited to the simple manufacture of objects; it also introduces a new customization system, where every decision made during crafting can influence the quality and statistics of the items created.
The importance of blueprints
Blueprints are at the heart of the manufacturing system. Each item or process, whether crafting a weapon or refining materials, requires a specific plan. These blueprints can be acquired in several ways: purchased from stores, obtained as rewards from missions, or even discovered in random drops (loot). Blueprints are not physical objects that you collect in your inventory, but digital data that, once acquired, remains in the player's personal library permanently. .
There is also a system for improving blueprints through research. This feature allows you to enhance a blueprint to create higher quality versions of an object, which requires more advanced materials. Each blueprint can be upgraded by performing specific in-game actions, such as crafting a set number of items or collecting rare resources. This progression allows you to unlock items of niveau higher level (tier), which will offer better performance or specific features according to the needs of players .
The quality of materials: a decisive factor
The developer also mentions the introduction of a concept of material quality in the crafting system. Each material collected in the game world will have varying quality, determined by rules based on the procedural generation of planets and their resources. For example, metal mined in a given area may have a different purity than that found elsewhere, thus influencing the quality of the items made.
The quality of a material will directly affect the statistics of the items that it can create. For example, in weapon manufacturing, high quality aluminum could increase the integrity and reduce the weight of the weapon, while low quality copper could limit the improvement in firing rate. This system allows players to customize the items they craft based on the stats they want to improve, by choosing the appropriate materials.
Players will also face some interesting dilemmas: opting for high-quality materials to maximize performance, or using lower-quality materials, which, while more common, may be more appropriate for certain types of objects or processes less reviews.
Refining: an essential step
Refining is an integral part of the crafting process in Star Citizen. Until now, only mined materials could be refined, but with the introduction of crafting, refining will expand to all raw materials. This process transforms raw resources into refined materials, more valuable and often necessary to create high-quality items.
Refining also follows material quality rules. For example, if you want to produce high quality steel, you will need to use high quality iron ore. The quality of the secondary material (such as coal for steel) will not affect the quality of the final product, but will influence the quantity required and the time required for refining. This adds a strategic dimension, where even low-quality materials can find use in processes where quantity is more important than quality.
The game's refining stations will be converted to accommodate this new system, and players will also have the option to build their own refineries within their bases. The developer thus intends to open up new economic possibilities, with players specializing in refining, providing materials to those focused on manufacturing.
Manufacturing: objects with high added value
Once the materials are refined, the player can begin crafting items. Crafting allows you to create an impressive variety of items, ranging from simple FPS equipment (weapons, armor) to ship components, or even entire ships. The crafting process requires a dedicated crafting machine, and just like with items, these machines themselves can be of different levels, offering greater efficiency or additional features depending on their level.
According to the development team, items crafted through crafting can often surpass in quality those available for purchase from in-game stores. Indeed, items crafted with high-quality materials and advanced blueprints will offer better stats, giving a significant advantage to players who are proficient in crafting. We understand the interest in terms of interactions between players.
The consequences on the gaming economy
Crafting in Star Citizen isn't just about making items for personal use. Players will have the opportunity to market their creations by establishing shops, either through dedicated trading terminals or by arranging physical shops at their bases. This new dynamic will have a huge impact on the in-game economy, as crafted items will have a distinct value, determined by the quality of materials and rarity of blueprints.
The introduction of player-run stores will encourage the emergence of specialist craftsmen, whose reputation will be linked to their ability to produce high-quality items. Additionally, the economy will be based in part on player choices: some will specialize in collecting and selling materials, while others will focus on crafting and selling items.
Conclusion
Star Citizen's crafting system clearly aims to add some depth to the gameplay :the system, based both on blueprints, the quality of materials, then the manufacturing of personalized objects, aims to enrich the game mechanics, but also to fuel the economy and encourage interactions between players. With the ability to create items more powerful than those available in stores, and to establish businesses around these items, crafting is intended to be a significant pillar of the gaming experience in Star Citizen. It remains to be seen how players will handle it. .
