StarCitizen:Squadron 42 Vertical Slice

Template:InfoboxNeue The Squadron 42 Vertical Slice, Vertical Slice or simply VS - was a recorded demo for StarCitizen:Squadron 42 shown during the StarCitizen:Holiday Special 2017, showcasing a one-hour "vertical slice" of the game's content/story/features. The demo was initially intended for StarCitizen:CitizenCon 2016 but could not be completed to a satisfactory state in time for the event.<ref>Squadron 42: Pre-Alpha WIP Gameplay - Vertical Slice</ref>

Highlights

The demo showcases a segment of Squadron 42 around 1/3rd of the way through the storyTemplate:Fact, with a mix of game-play styles and environments. Most of the demo takes place from the player's perspective, however some scenes switch out to a cinematic camera to highlight elements of mo-capped acting or to give a cinematic experience.

Crew Interaction

The demo begins with a cinematic shot of the StarCitizen:UEES Stanton arriving near StarCitizen:Archon Base. The player wakes up onboard the Stanton sometime after the events of StarCitizen:The Morrow Tour and the StarCitizen:Holiday Special Teaser. Walking around, the player interacts with several members of the crew including Captain StarCitizen:Noah White, StarCitizen:Lars Neuer of the Security Team, and Chief Mechanic StarCitizen:Cara Webster. The StarCitizen:Render to Texture technology is utilized in the Briefing Room for live 3d video calls as well as military maps. It is also used later for ship-to-ship comms.

Spaceflight

After selecting a loadout from the Armory, the Player and "Old Man" StarCitizen:Steve Colton depart on a mission into StarCitizen:The Coil to rescue a missing StarCitizen:Starfarer. This segment of the demo shows off procedural tech for nebulae and dust clouds. Upon reaching The Coil itself, we see lightning effects bolting between the two sides of the opening, creating very cinematic lighting.

EVA

Later in the demo, the player must EVA to examine the wreck of StarCitizen:Advocacy Agent SAIC StarCitizen:Rebecca Trejo's StarCitizen:Avenger Titan in the orbit of StarCitizen:Gainey. This environment shows off a lot of procedural scattering of orbital debris.

Atmospheric Flight

Descending to the planet, there is a break in the action to let StarCitizen:Geoff Zanelli's soundtrack break through the sound design. The location features orbital debris raining down and burning up in the atmosphere. The destination - a rusting Chemline facility, is a sprawling complex showing off advancements in the procedural cityscape tech shown off earlier in 2017 in the StarCitizen:Procedural Cities Demo.

Puzzle, Stealth and FPS

After landing, there is a gameplay segment involving a fairly light puzzle with the objective of turning on power to the elevator and resuming progress. Approaching the StarCitizen:OMC's location, the player cuts through a grill using the StarCitizen:Pyro RYT Multi-Tool, then moves the grill out of the way using the StarCitizen:Interaction System. Within the facility, numerous stealth takedowns are used by the player, and later there is full-on StarCitizen:FPS gunplay, concluding with finding and rescuing the captured Agent Trejo.

Gameplay Video

Gameplay With Director's Commentary

References