Update:Star Citizen Alpha 2.1.0

Alpha Patch 2.1.0 has been released to live, and is now available for players! This patch provides access to our new flyable Freelancer base, the flyable Vanguard Warden, the hangar-ready Sabre, as well as numerous fixes for the Crusader region.

Some important call-outs:
 * Our original EVA system is remaining active for the time being.
 * After testing and feedback on the PTU, we opted to disable the first iteration of our new physicalized EVA system to allow for more polish and bug fixing.
 * The Vanguard Warden should be available as a flyable loaner to owners of the Harbinger and Sentinel. Flyable loaners do not appear in the hangar.
 * The Vanguard Warden is currently more maneuverable then our intended goal for the ship, and we will be making a further balance pass on it in the near future.
 * Freelancer damage states are not fully implemented and will not be working during the initial 2.1.0 launch.
 * We are aware that the elevator UI will occasionally provide a false-positive “server full” error message when attempting to join an instance, and are continuing to investigate the cause.
 * The doors inside of ArcCorp and Million Mile High Club will occasionally break. As this includes the elevator doors, it can trap occupants inside.

Gameplay

 * Million Mile High Club is now available on live to those with the eligible package. You can access it via the Hangar elevator or the Main Menu -> “Universes” interface.
 * It is also possible for members of your party to go with you into your Million Mile High Club.

Ships

 * The AEGIS Sabre is now hangar-ready!
 * The new MISC Freelancer (base) model is now available for viewing in the Hangar!
 * (It’s also flight-ready in Crusader).

Environment

 * A new lighting pass for Revel and York has begun.
 * Vanguard Warden has received some graphical updates.

User Interface

 * Two new sliders have been added to the audio option menu.
 * “Dynamic Range” and “Ship Computer Speech Volume”.

Ships

 * Fixed an issue where the Vanguard was missing its bathroom door.

Environment

 * Fixed an issue with texture conflicts in the left and right expansion bays of Selfland.
 * Fixed an issue where some untextured items would appear on the reflections inside the VFG Industrial Hangar.
 * Fixed an issue where there was a not-so-faint pink-purple tinge in all of VFG Industrial Hangar.

Technical

 * Fixed an issue where having all Constellation variants in the hangar at once would cause severe streaming issues.

User Interface

 * Fixed an issue where the ladders in the VFG Industrial had no use prompts to descend them.

Gameplay

 * Pilots can no longer exit ships in Arena Commander.
 * Except for Free Flight mode, where pilots and crew can still exit their ships and EVA freely.

Components

 * The Apocalypse Arms (APAR) Revenant, a new size 4 ballistic gatling gun.
 * This weapon is available on the Vanguard Warden by default, or purchased separately on the store.

Ships

 * The AEGIS Vanguard Warden is now flyable in both Arena Commander and Crusader!

Components

 * Ships can now only lock and fire 2 missiles simultaneously.
 * The exception at the moment is the Origin 325a, which can lock 4 missiles due to the WillsOp Targeting computer.
 * We are looking into other ships with similar or identical targeting computers to identify further missile adjustments in the future.

Ships

 * The weapons and turrets on the Retaliator and Cutlass have been adjusted for better overall role balance.

Gameplay

 * Fixed an issue where ship attachments (weapons and components) would not behave correctly when the ship was destroyed.
 * Fixed an issue where the Battle Royale game mode would sometimes not end.
 * Fixed an issue where players could get kicked from Vanduul Swarm for being idle while waiting to respawn.
 * Fixed an issue where ejecting during self-destruct would allow players to bypass the respawn penalty.

Ships

 * Fixed an issue where the self-destruct of a ship would be canceled after ejecting or exiting the pilot chair.
 * Fixed an issue where the P-52 Merlin could not respawn in Race mode.
 * Fixed an issue where multiple ships had broken or incorrect damage states in multiplayer game mode.
 * Fixed an issue where the Vanduul Glaive and Scythe had incorrect top speeds in SCM mode.
 * The Scythe now has a top speed of 195 m/s in SCM mode
 * The Glaive now has a top speed of 205 m/s in SCM mode.

User Interface

 * Fixed an issue where Vanduul ships weapons were not being displayed in the OVR HUD.
 * Fixed an issue where ship holograms were not displaying sections of the ship.

Gameplay

 * The Covalex Shipping hub now has a mission associated with it, seeking a Private Investigator.
 * The mission should provides different paths and endings based on what data the character locates during the mission.

Ships

 * The MISC Freelancer (base) is now flyable in Crusader!

Environment

 * Added an “aim” pose for characters that are prone.

User Interface

 * Both the Hangar Elevator and the Main Menu “Universes” UI now allows users to select instances (either best available or instances with friends/contacts) after they have selected the location.

Gameplay

 * mobiGlas animations have been streamlined to make the process of accessing missions faster.

Character

 * Crouch animations and related locomotion have received some tweaks.
 * The animations for “Idle to Movement” and “Movement to Idle” while holding a pistol have been tweaked.
 * Some minor changes to how stop, starts, footsteps and running are animated.
 * Run/walk animations have received tweaks.

Technical

 * Several performance improvements for Crusader have been made.
 * The Port Olisar ship selector console has received some performance improvements.

Gameplay

 * Fixed an issue where weapons were not brought back up after mobiGlas had been toggled off.
 * Fixed an issue where aim-down-sight did not persist when transitioning to and from prone.
 * Fixed an issue where QT could not be activated once a character had passed the “edge of universe boundary”.
 * Fixed an issue where players could get back into a ship after ejecting, despite the canopy having been destroyed.
 * Fixed an issue where pilots would not receive a collision warning for certain objects and stations in Crusader.
 * Fixed an issue where ships that had self-on or near landing pads would not despawn and thus render the landing pad useless.
 * Fixed an issue where it was possible to get the Port Olisar airlocks stuck in a permanent cycle state.
 * Fixed an issue where ships could self-destruct in the Armistice zone.
 * Fixed an issue where it was possible to black out even with G-SAFE enabled, without using boost.
 * Fixed an issue where ship weapons would remain non-functional after having been repaired.
 * Fixed one major cause of ships spawning with missing collision.
 * This was effecting a variety of ships, and we will be monitoring closely to see if new causes are revealed.

Character

 * Fixed an issue where activating aim down sight would not correctly override sprint when the player had a weapon out.

Ship

 * Fixed an issue where the landing gear for the Retaliator Bomber was missing collision.
 * Fixed an issue where the Vanduul Scythe cockpit would shoot forward when the ship is destroyed.
 * Fixed an issue where interacting with the Constellation Andromeda side airlocks would catapult players out into space.

Environment

 * Fixed a typo on the construction sign for the ArcCorp Galleria, so it now correctly lists “2946” as the completion date.
 * Fixed an issue with railing collision in various areas of ArcCorp.
 * Fixed an issue where audio elements from the ship-terminals at Port Olisar would abruptly cut off as a character interacted with it.
 * Fixed an issue where the scroll bar in the Contacts List (“F11”) was very difficult to see.
 * Fixed an issue where the Dumper’s Depot robotic arm audio was playing across all of ArcCorp.

Equipment

 * Fixed an issue where weapons would pop into place during select/deselect animations rather than happening smoothly.
 * Fixed an issue where the “Use” prompt for pick-ups (such as guns) would show up through walls.
 * Fixed an issue with the P4-AR Ballistic Rifle, where it added a camera jerk when shifting fire modes.

Technical

 * Fixed an issue where motion blur would be much more drastic on faster machines.
 * Fixed several server-side crashes.
 * Fixed a number of client crashes.
 * Fixed several causes of Error 7 when attempting to access Crusader.
 * Fixed some of the server and performance issues that were occurring when there were many AI ships active simultaneously.
 * Fixed an issue where joining instances via the “Contacts In Instance” function was frequently timing out.
 * Fixed a performance issue related to AI deaths in Crusader.
 * Fixed a frame rate drop that would occur for all connected clients in Crusader, when a player died in combat.
 * The Constellation Andromeda has received some optimizations to improve client performance in and around the ship.

User Interface

 * Fixed an issue where “Contacts in Instance” was very difficult to read on the Elevator terminal UI.
 * Fixed an issue where the party list would disappear for the leader when there are more than 2 members of the party.
 * Fixed an issue where “Contacts In Instance” wouldn’t appear on the Hangar Elevator until the user had entered and exited an instance.
 * Fixed an issue where the text entry field for contacts had to be cleared by clicking “X” each time.
 * Fixed an issue where kicking someone from a party or disbanding the party would not update the contacts window until it had been closed and reopened.