Star Citizen Monthly Report: September 2025

With Alpha 4.3.1: Virtue's Descent live and another thrilling update this month, the Star Citizen universe has never been more packed with adventure. This is the September 2025 monthly report—covering what the teams across CIG have been cooking up, from backend tech and AI improvements to new missions, ships, and community events.

Team Updates

AI Content

• Tested updates to landing-zone NPCs with QA to stress test setups.
• Shopkeepers now interact more with customers, using behavior adapted from med-station regen gameplay.
• Proposal underway for better use of guards in landing-zone archetypes.
• Continued setup of comms-call characters for missions.
• Began building new mission-provider behaviors to support face-to-face interactions.

AI (Features)

• AIWeaponComponent now remains in sync with weapon statuses for improved coordination.
• NPCs can systematically target vehicles in combat.
• ‘Rocketeer’ behavior improved; NPCs switch between rocket launcher and pistol intelligently.
• Visual adjustments improved cover usage; multiple asserts fixed.
• Introduced default Buddy AI behaviors for following and proximity during combat.
• Finalized ‘TPS Covers Along Path’ based on feedback.
• Ongoing ammo-looting updates prevent NPCs with ammo from swapping prematurely to a pistol.
• Yormandi creature now uses different fire modes in attacks; perception false positives fixed.
• Test-cell variants added for rapid iteration of reactions and animation flows.

AI (Tech)

• Simplified NPC elevator usage setup.
• Focus on 3D navigation and NPC ship flight.
• Improved flight-path finder and 3D collision avoidance using voxel-grid; unified with ground pathfinding.
• Added parallel jobs for path search and refinement; introduced ‘hard turns’ and quicker ‘nose on target’ behavior.
• AI perception code updated: fixed knowledge escalation between fields of view.
• Introduced direct perception to simulate knowledge over distance (e.g. comms conversation interruptions).
• Improved assignment queuing in builder tool, reducing crashes from geom editing.
• AI sequence system updates enforce validation and proper execution contexts.
• Critical flow mode updated: errors reported but recoverable with fallback instead of stalling.
• Ongoing StarScript improvements and Subsumption data error reduction.

AI (Game Intelligence Development Team)

• Focused on the next milestone for Mission System 2.0; work breakdown and planning ongoing.
• Fixed bugs and performance issues.
• Worked on new StarScript features suggested by designers.

Animation

• Worked on new creature and a ‘boss’ fight.
• Supported development of a new mission giver.
• Facial animation progressed with performances captured in August, including characters for multiple future releases and a returning ATC voice.
• Planned upcoming mocap shoot with Narrative and Mo-cap teams for October.

Art (Characters)

• Finalized new armors and a new gang.
• Continued polishing the Yormandi creature.
• Concept Art team iterated on new armors.

Art (Ships)

• RSI Aurora: progressed through LOD0 and Final; improvements to component bays, bed access, dashboard, entrance, VTOL setup, and underside cargo access.
• Aegis Hammerhead: implemented corridor kit improvements from Idris release; improved component bays and relay accessibility.
• The Paladin: entered LOD0 phase; quad turret adjusted for flight/landed states; downstream teams started work.
• MISC Hull B: well into whitebox; interior implemented; exterior mesh adjusted for gate requirements.
• Drake Ironclad & Ironclad Assault (with updated Command Module): approaching combined whitebox gate review.
• Four unannounced vehicles: one near LOD0 review; one past LOD0 gate to final; third (a variant) in greybox and LOD0 work; fourth passed greybox, LOD0 due October.
• RSI Apollo: North American teams finalized fixes for release; optimizations after PTU feedback.
• RSI Perseus: passed LOD0; now in final touches; downstream teams engaged.
• Drake Kraken: whitebox phase started; preproduction improved navigation, flow, and interactions.
• Two more unannounced: one into greybox, one entered whitebox.

Community

• Ship Showdown finale: RSI Polaris crowned; all players to receive in-game Polaris holographic banner at IAE. Top four (Polaris, Anvil Asgard, Anvil Gladiator, RSI Zeus MK II ES) will get Best in Show paints and posters.
• Race for Stanton: Hurston Dynamics won with 337,131,104 SCU; followed by microTech, Crusader, ArcCorp.
• Pirate Week: included Pirate Flag Design Contest, Treasure Hunt, and org spotlights in TWISC.
• Alpha 4.3.1 support: published catch-all post, updated Onyx Facilities FAQ, released RSI Apollo Q&A; tracked sentiment.
• Continued evergreen comms: TWISC, Roadmap Updates, Monthly Reports, community Q&A (Comms-Dive #3) covering ship lights and UI improvements.
• Bar Citizen World Tour stops: Lisbon and Rome.
• CitizenCon Direct 2955 preparations: working with organizers on Watch Parties across NA/EU; CIG members attending.

Core Gameplay

• Medical gameplay: added bespoke take/place animations; reworked respawn clearing in vehicles.
• Medical screen bug fixes; validation improvements.
• Reimplemented tiered medical bed spawn ranges for Server Meshing; designers can now control healing costs; UI updated with extra data.
• Engineering: iterated on playtest feedback; hardened feature.
• Vehicle Command Module: prototype and tech design complete; debug tooling revealed docking flow issues, now being fixed.
• Flight: AI now uses Control Surfaces in-atmosphere; annunciators no longer need dashboards; improved flight model prepared for focus testing.
• Inventory rework: implemented equipment slots; added paperdoll UI + search; exposed proximity looting rules.

Economy

• Explored longer-lasting effects of player commodity trading impact.
• Adjusted offers/demand and profits across locations.
• Increased drop rates of rare items.
• Redesigned cargo manifests in spawned ships to avoid undermining missions.

Mission Design

• Finalized last ASD facility mission; began looking to year-end content.
• Phased out old factions; reorganized active ones.
• Reviewed bounty missions; added comms notifications for mission providers.
• Worked with Engineering to fix spawn closet issues; improved mission-generation systems.

Narrative

• Created scripts for new dynamic conversations, Covalex mission rep, vendors, and customers.
• Generated mission text and lore discoverables for upcoming events.
• Collaborated with Environment Art and Branding on signage and environmental storytelling for new levels.
• Planned narrative initiatives for next year based on lessons learned from recent releases.

Online Technology

• Live Tools: updated error reporting pipeline; panic migration moved to Laravel; panic webapp can configure stream settings; symbolizer rewritten to be event-driven.
• New Bootstrap-config webapp in development.
• Hex: began implementing audit-log UI; concept work on Hex 4.0 continued.
• Online Services: ongoing work on item recovery and blueprint service; bugfixing and support.

R&D

• Focused exclusively on performance analysis and optimizing engine/game code.

VFX

• For Alpha 4.3.2: completed ASD location and final event work.
• RSI Apollo Triage and Medivac received VFX passes.
• Yormandi creature and related locations in production.
• VFX passes began for vehicles due later in the year.
• Pre-production started for upcoming locations and missions.

Source: RSI Monthly Report