Star Citizen Alpha 2.5 Out Now, Here's What the "Major" Update Adds

Star Citizen continues to grow and evolve.

Developer Cloud Imperium Games announced this week that it launched a "major" new update to the in-development PC game in the form of Alpha 2.5. This update includes "significant changes" to the game's Crusader persistent universe environment, while it also adds the Grim HEX pirate base and three ships. There are also balance tweaks and bug fixes included with the update.

The Grim HEX outlaw base sounds pretty cool. It's where those operating outside the law can meet up and purchase weapons and items, among other things.

"There's plenty to discover at Grim HEX, including a pair of stores: Skutters is a guns and armor shop with a focus on energy weapons, and KC Trending is a new clothing store with unique merchandise, but that's only the beginning. Grim HEX will continue to expand with future patches with the addition of a bar, criminal missions and outlaw racing area," Cloud Imperium said in a blog post.

Additionally, the arrival of the Grim HEX pirate base will have an effect on Star Citizen's faction and reputation system. This is because, with the update applied, players who decide to break the law will now spawn at Grim HEX instead of with everyone else. Additionally, lawbreakers are losing the ability to use Quantum Travel to reach Port Olisar as part of this update.

"Grim HEX is located deep in the Yela asteroid belt, and you'll need to explore the region yourself to locate it. Or, just ask an outlaw… they’re a trustworthy sort!" the developer said.

Alpha 2.5 also adds Star Citizen's first version of its ship landing system that aims to offer a "simple and smooth automated landing system AND gives players the ability to land manually."

In the future, the landing system will be improved and will feature things like docking and the ability to ask and attain landing authorization through in-game communication.

These are just a sampling of the changes for Star Citizen with the Alpha 2.5 update. Be sure to read this in-depth blog post and the full patch notes to get up to speed with everything the update introduces.

For more on Star Citizen, check out GameSpot's interview with creator Chris Roberts about the upcoming 3.0 update. This piece is called, "How Star Citizen Plans to Do Much of What No Man's Sky Doesn't."

Star Citizen is the most successful crowdfunded project of any kind in history. The latest numbers show that people have pitched in more than $122 million to help make the game a reality.