Star Citizen Alpha 3.20 EPTU.8576403 Arena Commander Master Modes Limited Playtest

Hello Avocados!

Tonight and Tomorrow we will be running a Master Modes initial test with you all in Arena Commander for a couple short periods!

The new Master Modes flight system encompasses many changes with Flight Tuning, UI, and weapons and will be testable tonight in three preview Arena Commander game modes using an updated Gladius that we will provide. This will be locked to the current loadout that it has.

Audience: ETF Only (Under NDA) PTU CHannel
Build CL: 8576403
Server Region: All Regions
Only Certain Arena Commander game modes will be open in this build. PU closed.

This test build will focus on:

Master Modes: Duel
Master Modes: Free Flight
Master Modes: Vanduul Swarm (new)

Known Issues

AC – Master Mode – Free Flight – Respawn – Players can fail to respawn and attempting to rejoin the same session will result in an infinite load
AC – UI – AC Menus / Frontend – Switching game modes in succession locks players out from controls until they get an “Invalid lobby settings” error
AC – Master Mode: Vanduul Swarm – Swarms can be stacked prior to deploying creating an impossible-to-beat scenario

Test Time #1 July 5th

Arena Commander Master Modes Test: 7pm CDT | 2300 UTC
Length: 1 hour test

Test Time #2 July 6th

Arena Commander Master Modes Test: 12pm CDT | 1700 UTC
Length: 1 hour test

Along with this test we have a couple of feedback threads to discuss Master Modes itself as well as the Game modes.

Master Modes Overall Feedback https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/AVOCADO/forum/84096/thread/3-20-etf-feedback-arena-commander-master-modes

Vanduul Swarm Master Mode Feedback https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/AVOCADO/forum/84096/thread/3-20-etf-feedback-arena-commander-master-modes-van

As always, PVP in Arena Commander is dependent on game mode. Expect to be shot in Duels and Dogfights but do not purposefully attack others in Free Flight and Vanduul Swarm without all parties agreeing.

Further information on master modes

FM changes:

Trichording is not possible anymore, the strongest acceleration axis is forward
Pitch and Yaw cannot be combined anymore
Gladius agility was increased
Boost and regen were adjusted

Master Modes:

Master Modes added (press B to swap) between NAV and SCM
SCM allows high capacitor regen rates, shields and weapons but restricts max speed
Thruster boost / afterburner will temporarily allow you to extend beyond the SCM boundary
NAV allows high speed but no shields and weapons. It also heavily restricts regen rates.
Swapping between master modes in not immediate
Shield face health is stored in a buffer up to a certain ratio when going from SCM to NAV. When going from NAV to SCM that buffer will be quickly pushed back into the faces. The shield face generation from that buffer cannot be interrupted by incoming fire.

Gunnery changes:

New aiming system is enabled
Combined fixed assist was removed.
Fixed assist per gun was added.
Auto gimbal mode: Instead of keeping of keeping the target in a 8 degree cone you only need to keep the target roughly around your aim point and your gimbals will track. When auto gimbals are not tracking they will act like manual gimbals.
Fixed mode: there is one PIP per projectile speed group (you will see one PIP for the KLWEs and one for the GATS).
Manual gimbal mode now also has fixed assist for each gun.
Added option: show precision lines (for fixed and manual gimbal mode)
Added option: Auto gimbal display (focused on average PIP or focused on target with gimbal position indicators)
New target bracket
Drastically increased ballistic ammo
Removed N-1 system: An S3 gimbal will now hold an S3 gun (with penalty)
Custom weapon stats for the Gladius weaponry
Shield layout for the used Gladius is now Front / Back

Targeting changes:

Button changes: R: Closest Hostile, T: Cycle Hostiles in view, 5: Cycle all in view
Auto targeting: If no target is present or if you press LALT+R the closest visible hostile will be targeted. Targets will automatically swap if better targets are in view. Any manual target control will cancel that process.
Added bindings to allow setting the default convergence distance directly from an input axis, however there is no UI for this yet
Added binding to suppress aim assists as long as the button is held. Use it when you feel that aim assist works against you.

Thank you everyone who is able to participate!

-Wakapedia