There is no doubt that Alpha 3.24.2 has been the worst Star Citizen patch since the Alpha 3.18 disaster. While the new patch didn’t add much content, it was released with loads of server issues, up to a point that even the Replication Layer was disabled at some point and we went straight back to the 30K era.
After CitizenCon 2954, CIG launched a series of server-side hotfixes to fix the problems, but there are still some game-breaking issues in the PU that affect salvaging as well as mining. Hopefully, we don’t have to wait all the way until IAE 2954 to get these issues fixed.
According to CIG, a new Alpha 3.24.2a update will be rolled out to the Live servers this week to address all the problems caused since CitizenCon 2954. This patch will also deliver the first phases of Save Stanton, the new dynamic event coming to Star Citizen.
Apparently, Save Stanton will also be similar to the Overdrive Initiative event, with each phase tasking places with a variety of PvE tasks to complete. The initial phase in Save Stanton will have players reclaiming cargo from an abandoned ship after killing the patrol units lurking around it.
In order to test Alpha 3.24.2a, CIG halted the testing on Alpha 3.24.3 on PTU servers temporarily over the weekend. When Alpha 3.24.2a launches onto the live servers, it is expected that we get a new build for Alpha 3.24.3 on the PTU channel.
Based on the latest roadmap update, both Starlancer MAX and RSI Polaris are expected to be flyable with Alpha 3.24.3, and we will likely get to see them in the PTU channel before November 22, when IAE 2954 kicks off.
Alpha 3.24.3 will likely be the final patch before Alpha 4.0, which is still in the Evocati testing and is expected to be released in December 2024, as promised by CIG.
Unfortunately, Alpha 4.0 will not feature the Engineering gameplay as well as the Life Support component for the ships. For the most part, this patch will only deliver Pyro and the first phase of server meshing.
