Squadron 42

Single player game
(Redirected from Squadron 42 (video game))
Squadron42-logo.png
Squadron 42
DeveloperCloud Imperium Games / Foundry 42
PublisherRoberts Space Industries
GenreSingle player campaign with First Person Universe
PlatformsMicrosoft Windows
EngineStar Engine (Heavily modified Amazon Lumberyard)
ReleaseTBD

Squadron 42 is a single player game [1] developed by Chris Roberts and his development studio Cloud Imperium Games. It shares the same game lore and game development background; it was sold together with Star Citizen until the game "pledge packages" were split on 2016-02-14.[2]

Development

SQ42 was announced originally in a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 together with Star Citizen. After the implementation of more stretch goals (the last stretch goal was achieved 2014-11-10) the release was subsequently postponed. In several interviews, Roberts revealed parts of the story, partly in detail. After CitizenCon in 2015, a new homepage "Answer the Call" showed the date 2016, including an 'Opening Cinematic' speech of Admiral Bishop.[3] At CitizenCon 2016 Roberts confirmed a delay of the game. Its release date is currently unknown.[4][5]

Answer the Call

Since then, CIG has provided lore very sparsely and avoided giving any fixed release dates. Reporting about the state of the game is continued via Roadmap (introduced in 2020), Newsletter and Monthly Reports. Christmas 2017 CIG released the one-hour-long Vertical Slice Demo, part of an Around the Verse Special.[6][7][8] Short visual teasers were presented in 2018[9] and Christmas 2019, including known locations from Vertical Slice.[10] In 2020, CIG started a YouTube series called 'The Briefing Room', which discussed aspects of Squadron 42, but wasn't continued after one episode.[11][12] In a Letter from the Chairman, Roberts reiterated that 'it is too early to discuss release or finish dates on Squadron 42 and stated 'I am not willing to compromise the development of a game I believe in with all my heart and soul, and I feel it would be a huge disservice to all the team members that have poured so much love and hard work into Squadron 42 if we rushed it out or cut corners to put it in the hands of everyone who is clamoring for it.'[13] Roberts discusssed in a live panel on CitizenCon 2022 that co-developement with the Persistent Universe and Squadron 42 continued, without giving any details.[14] In the same week, a 9-minute-long video allegedly from Squadron 42 appeared on YouTube, including shots from a battle between UEE and Vanduul ships, figures from SQ 42, spaceship interiors, and some (known) locations.

Playing as a character in the army who doesn't choose what he does but does what he is told to is good for storytelling, for a story with a beginning and an end.[15] It will nevertheless have branching storylines.[16]

Squadron 42 was announced as feature complete at Citizencon on October 22nd, 2023.[17]

Features

"Take the role of a rookie UEE Navy combat pilot in a cinematic single-player epic adventure set in the Star Citizen universe.

  • Battle in the stars and face-to-face as you seamlessly transition between dogfighting and ground combat.
  • Serve aboard a massive Navy capital ship as your custom character interacts and builds relationships with a living, breathing crew.
  • Cutting-edge performance capture brings unprecedented emotion and life to some of your favorite actors.
  • Powered by CryEngine, Squadron 42 pushes gaming graphics and fidelity to the next level."
    Squadron 42
  • Squadron 42 will have "have some level of difficulty setting".[18]
  • Squadron 42 will have first-person shooter elements.[19]
  • Character customization.[20][21]
  • Squadron 42 will have planetary landings and possibly procedural generated planets.[22][23]
  • Actions you take can and will affect you when you finally join the PU.[24]

Story

The story will begin during the Events of Vega II in 2945.[25][26] It will detail the story of the player joining and flying with the UEE Navy's celebrated 42nd Squadron.

At some point the player will serve on board the UEES Stanton which is assigned to the 5th Fleet, 87th Battlegroup in the Odin system.[27]

Chapters

Squadron 42 will be divided in 3 chapters. Each Chapter will be the equivalent of a large AAA game campaign. Those three chapters are themselves subdivided into more chapters.[28]

  • Squadron 42 Episode One, which is the Squadron 42 digital download, is to be divided into about 21 chapters or so for a total of about 70 missions, representing roughly 20 hours of gameplay. [28]
  • Squadron 42 Episode Two is entitled Behind Enemy Lines, it was to be made available for free upon release to original and veteran backers who pledged before the $6 million mark but was extended to be made available to everyone who pledged before July 6th 2013. It is the Squadron 42 Mission Disk.[29][30][28]
  • Squadron 42 Episode Three will have to be bought separately.[28]

Cast

The cast of Squadron 42 includes a strong lineup of A-list actors and actresses including

Full Cast & Crew on IMDb (As of 2018-02-19, not complete).

Squadron 42 Soundtrack

Squadron 42's soundtrack, composed by Geoff Zanelli, is not yet available, however some tracks have been publicly shared.[31]

Named Tracks by Zanelli

  • Bishop Speech
  • Cutlass Tango
  • Old Man Teaser

Trivia

  • The name is a nod to the working title for Wing Commander.[32]
  • Mark Hammill will be on the poster.[33]
  • The Squadron 42 story was loosely sketched out at kickstarter, and didn't finalize until 6 months after.[34]

See also

References

  1. 10 For the Chairman: Episode 67 from 2015-09-21; Transcript by SCQA
  2. Package Split Information. Transmission - Comm-Link
  3. Squadron 42: Bishop Senate Speech (2015-10-10), acc. 2022-10-22
  4. YouTube - Citizen Con 2016 Presentation - Timecode 1h7m
  5. Squadron42 - Answer the Call
  6. Squadron 42: Around the Verse - Holiday Special 2017 (2017-12-25), acc. 2022-10-22
  7. Squadron 42: Pre-Alpha WIP Gameplay - Vertical Slice w/ Director's Commentary (2017-12-23), acc. 2022-10-22
  8. Squadron 42: Pre-Alpha WIP Gameplay - Vertical Slice (2017-12-23), acc. 2022-10-22
  9. Squadron 42 Cinematic Teaser (2018-10-11), acc. 2022-10-22
  10. Squadron 42: 2019 Visual Teaser (2019-12-25), acc. 2022-10-22
  11. Squadron 42: The Briefing Room - Episode 1 (2020-10-10), acc. 2022-10-22
  12. SQ42 Update & The Briefing Room Introduction (2020-10-10), acc. 2022-10-22
  13. Letter from the Chairman (2020-12-23). Transmission - Comm-Link. Retrieved 2022-10-22
  14. CitizenCon 2952 (via Twitch VOD, the panel starts at 03:33:05 ), acc. 2022-10-08
  15. Shroud of the Avatar Live Dev Cam, Richard Garriott, YouTube, 7 Apr 2013
  16. Wingman's Hangar ep011 March 8, 2013, Star Citizen, YouTube
  17. Squadron 42 I Held the Line. Transmission - Comm-Link. Retrieved 2023-10-22
  18. 10 For the Chairman Episode 62 from 2015-08-03; Transcript by SCQA.
  19. 10 for the Producers: Episode 13 from 2015-11-23; Transcript by SCQA.
  20. 10 for the Chairman: Episode 76 from 2016-02-01; Transcript by SCQA.
  21. 10 for the Developers: Episode 10 from 2016-05-16; Transcript by SCQA.
  22. Star Citizen: 10 for the Chairman - Episode 85 from 2016-07-20; Transcript by SCQA
  23. 10 for the Developers: Episode 13 from 2016-07-06; Transcript by SCQA.
  24. David Ladyman, "Foundry 42". Jump Point. Vol. 02 no. 01. pp.27–36. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  25. RSInotext.svg DevPost stating Squadron 42 start time.
  26. 10 for the Chairman: Episode 79 from 2016-03-14; Transcript by SCQA.
  27. Squadron 42: The Morrow Tour (LIVE Version) (Squadron 42: Preview) from 2015-10-10. Accessed 2016-11-05.
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 10 for the Chairman: Episode 59 (2015.04.06), Star Citizen, YouTube, 7 april 2015
  29. A New Record & 300i Clarifications. Transmission - Comm-Link. Retrieved 2013-05-24
  30. At six million you’ll launch the game with 100 systems, a full orchestral score and a free copy of the first Squadron 42 mission disk, Behind Enemy Lines.. Transmission - Comm-Link. Retrieved 2012-09-19
  31. Geoff Zanelli's Website
  32. SGJ Podcast #04: Chris. Freaking. Roberts. Space Game Junkie, 03/12/2013
  33. The Game Awards 2015, The Game Awards 2015, It's Mark Hamill facebook fan page, 4 december 2015
  34. Dragon Con 2015 Q&A, fan report, reddit, 2015
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