The Roberts Space Industries Website reveals that another "fee fly" period is underway for Star Citizen/Squadron 42, the dual space games being developed thanks to a crowdfunding program that immediately spiraled out of control. As in the past, this offers a select roster of spacecraft to test fly in the alpha to see what 13 years and over $800 million gets you these days. The posts about the free fly are very economical with words, but it sounds like this includes more of the game than previous such sessions:
Take off into the expansive Star Citizen MMO universe for free from now until April 28!
Race through combat zones, salvage ships lost to pirate turf wars, mine distant asteroids, haul vital supplies to every corner of Human space, and so much more in the year 2955.
Unofficial games, patches, and mods.
Content creator videos.
Happy Easter, and happy 4/20! This may seem like an odd juxtaposition, but an occasion that involves getting high and another that involves baskets of candy make a well-suited combination. Also, happy Passover! I failed to mention that when it began, but the eight day holiday ends today, so I'm barely in time for that. MrsBlue and I have plans today unrelated to any of today's celebrations, as we have tickets to a minor league baseball game. We're looking forward to a little fresh air and sunshine, and of course, $12 hot dogs.
Celebratory Round-up
Thanks Ant, Neutronbeam, and Max.Story
- Opinion - How ‘The White Lotus’ Ran Aground - The New York Times (free account required).
Science
- Gamma-ray bursts reveal largest structure in the universe is bigger and closer to Earth than we knew- Space.
- Nasa’s oldest astronaut celebrates 70th birthday with return to Earth - Space - The Guardian.
- Annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks overnight Monday - NBC News.
Media
Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm officially announce Star Wars Zero Company, the turn-based tactics game it first teased earlier this week. Set during the Clone Wars, rather than the XCOM clone wars, this is in development at Bit Reactor in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment, following years of speculation. It's coming in 2026 on PC and consoles, and listings for the Windows edition are now live on the Epic Games Store and Steam. An Official Announce Trailer has a cinematic intro and a first look at gameplay. Here's word:
In Star Wars Zero Company, players will embark on a campaign of tactical operations and investigations across the galaxy. Between missions, they will develop a base of operations and gather intelligence through a network of informants to stay one step ahead of Zero Company’s adversaries. Players will have the freedom to create and customize their own squad of recruited operators while getting to know a cast of newly authored Star Wars characters.Continue here to read the full story.
Hawks’ appearance and combat class can be fully customized, while recruited operatives can be personalized from a range of original Star Wars character classes and species. Tailor squadmates’ appearances, load-outs, and abilities across a wide variety of character archetypes, including Clone Troopers, astromechs and even a Jedi. While in the field, members of Zero Company will forge bonds between them to unlock powerful combat synergies that can turn the tide of battle. With near-endless possibilities and high-stakes encounters that could change the fate of the galaxy, players will need intense preparation, adept strategy, and the right squad to succeed.
A post from Fawkes Team announces the launch of Defiance, a revival of the free-to-play MMOFPS (thanks Dave). This game has a storied history, including a previous revival in 2018 under the title Defiance 2050. It initially launched in 2013 as an ambitious tie-in with a television series of the same name which ran for three seasons on SyFy. The new developer/publisher is enthusiastic about this death-defying project, while admitting to uncertainty: "This is a completely unknown journey for us, reviving a game that was closed years ago is rare in the industry. We’re not sure exactly what to expect, but the response so far has exceeded our expectations. Only time will tell, we’re excited about the future." Word is the new release combines the qualities of the original game with the previous revival. The post says this effort to revitalize the twice-cancelled game is moving forward with appropriate caution:
The game, for its initial phase, will run with a skeleton crew capable of maintaning the service operative, addressing major fires, and slowly work in small scale adjustments using the previously mentioned tools, obviously linked and aligned with the learning curve and response from those tools; while we have a decent understanding of them at this point, we don’t know if something else is hidden under the carpet.
If we reach a minimal financial success allowing us to increase the team’s size, rest assured that our priority number one would be to provide fresh content. We already have some ideas that we would love to share with the community moving forward; from expanding the story line, to completely new Arkfalls or even new map zones.
Operating system edition.
Thanks Console General.
I had a really great time with my friends last night. Thank you so much for your indulgence of my early departure. And I may need to ask for it again. Manhattan is a long round trip for me these days, but the timing was the only issue. My travels went smoothly and we had a blast, so I'm going to press to try and resume our get-togethers, which haven't really properly returned to their pre-pandemic regularity.
Regular Round-up
Thanks Ant, Neutronbeam, and Max.Story
- Jeff "The Dude" Bridges Says He'd Welcome 'The Big Lebowski' Sequel - Deadline. While still abiding.
Science
- Scientists claim they've seen a 'jaw-dropping' new color, but you can only experience it by shooting lasers directly into your eyes - PC Gamer. They call it "black."
- Lichens can survive almost anything, and some might survive Mars - Ars Technica.
- Could taking carbon out of the sea cool down the planet? - BBC.
Media
Follow-up