At this point I'm sure everyone knows about Star Citizen, THE crowdfunded game with ambitions larger than the universe its attempting to portray. But if you are like me then the rather extravagant price point of almost all ships kept you from ever giving it a try.
If that's the case I have some great news because with the launch of the recent 2.1.2 update Star Citizen has entered a "Free Fly" weekend which means you can jump in today and experience it all for yourself. Here's what will be available during this portion of the Alpha:
- Star Citizen Alpha 2.1.2 – Also known as Crusader or the “mini-PU,” this is the nucleus of the world we’re building! Featuring multiple space stations and environments, scripted missions, places to explore and more, Alpha 2.1.2 is your first look at a much larger universe!
- Arena Commander – Arena Commander is a ‘game within a game’ that we’ve used to develop our flight mechanics and ship combat balance. Take on human opponents or an AI swarm in single seat fighter.
- Social Module – Interact with other players while you explore our first landing zone, ArcCorp! The Social Module is intended as a starting point for our world building.
Free Fly players will have three ships at their disposal: the Hornet F7C military fighter, the Aurora LN starter and the Mustang Delta Interceptor. While all those names and classifications make about as much sense to me as Vermintide's upcoming Schluesselschloss DLC its still a good thing to know that players will have a decent amount of choice when it comes to picking their ride.
As for whether its worth giving Star Citizen a try during its Alpha I would say that the answer is a definitive yes since its module-based development cycle ensures there is plenty of playable content to check out even though the game is still under heavy, heavy development.
If your interest is sufficiently piqued head over to the registration page and make yourself an account, or if you already have one from the previous Free Fly events then you can simply load up the game and play, hassle free.
This Free Fly event will be up "for the next week" and without any date given this can mean either until this Monday or the next one so I'd suggest you err on the side of caution and get in there as soon as you can.