The lore (History) of Star Citizen is extensive. We often forget that but this aspect of the game is under active development, along with all other game systems. It is therefore not uncommon to see developments and changes in the narrative objectives, and wishes can change at any time depending on the ideas of the creators.
Cherie Heidberg, Adam Weiser and Will Weissbaum are gathered around Jared Huckaby this week to discuss progress and especially answer questions from players. Here’s what we took away.
Alien Species
Alien populations are common throughout the UEE. We will have to find in the future more distinctive signs such as signs in alien language, Banu kiosks at the entrance of large cities, etc.
tevarin
The Tevarin are fully integrated into the UEE. Thus, if we do not see today Tevarin in the Stanton system, they are there. Their presence does not, however, transpire as much as in other systems where one will find Tevarin structures. However, we can see Tevarin panels everywhere. The team also points out that there are two distinct parts of the Tevarin language today:
- An original from before the purge.
- A modern one having mixed with the common language of humans.
These differences are a point of contention, by the way, and that will have to live on in the visuals of the ‘Verse. The example cited is as follows: Signs of the original Tevarin may be found vandalized by other Tevarin opposed to the reconstruction of their civilization.
Xi’An
Xi’An shipbuilders are few in number due to the existence of imperial monopolies. Aopoa is the official supplier of combat ships, Gatac of freighters, etc. It is therefore normal to find little competition in this species.
The designers talk about spirituality and religion in the ‘Verse. They will be present and observable. The Xi’An for example practice the “Li’tova” which consists of an exploration of time as a concept. The Xi’An are very long-lived and it is part of their culture to try to understand and experiment with time. This spiritual approach is found in their daily life via “Koa e Ko’ia”, a meditative state aimed at slowing down the perception of time. Thus, Xi’An operas are extremely long.
There is also an endurance race aimed at using this state of meditation to improve performance. If this state is reached and mastered by the pilot, he will be able to do a longer stint and save time.
Spirituality has therefore been studied and will be a component of the Star Citizen universe.
In-game and meta lore
The developers want to make access to in-game lore more attractive and immersive than a simple systematic reference to mobiGlas. Solutions are under consideration.
The “lore-post” published each week are carried by a presenter or a protagonist. Their writing is done from a subjective point of view, which makes them biased. So there is little simple fact-finding in Star Citizen lore.. The latter is actually recomposed through various testimonies and studies transcribed by the fictitious characters, in the same way as History is in our time.
The Galactapedia tries to be as neutral as possible, but remains written by the characters of the game, and not “the designers” in a meta way.
The lore constantly adapts to try to create an acceptable level of content. If a system is described as deserted in the lore, it still needs to make sense in-game, and designers need to find a way to justify the presence of missions or outposts in those places.
Wildlife
Pyro’s crab (see image) has a name: the Whip Crab (whip crab).
They want to create “space vermin” and associated gameplay. You will have to maintain your ship to prevent unwanted species from damaging it, and this all the more depending on the planet visited.
The standard of living and the quality of food are linked to the environment. On the city-planets, it will be very common to find synthetic food. Border systems, on the other hand, offer more space for livestock and crops, and industries are less accessible there, so natural food will be easier to find.