'Star Citizen' updates, news: Alpha update 3.0 bringing in many new features

A promotional photo for upcoming game "Star Citizen"Facebook/RobertsSpaceIndustries

The ever-developing massively multiplayer online (MMO) game "Star Citizen" finally gets its third big update, the Alpha Patch 3.0. While the game seems to be far from finished, patch 3.0 already brings in a lot of new additions to the upcoming complete game.

The highlight of the 3.0 update is the additions to the game's Persistent Universe (PU), which is the online multiplayer mode. With 3.0., players can now play the mode in new locations, specifically three huge moons. Both first-person shooting and aerial combat can be done on these moons.

The sizes of these moons are also no joke. An emphasis on "huge" may even be an understatement. The moons are named Yela, Daymar, and Cellin. They all have different sizes, but it does not really matter as the smallest moon will more than the area of the world of "The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim," according to Polygon.

The great thing about these moons is that players can fly across them without having to go through loading screens and such. There is also a hub area on a new asteroid called Delamar. It will be like the the typical abandoned area where there are still non-player characters (NPCs) and even missions to be completed.

Patch 3.0 also adds a lot of visual improvements and player interactions at the docking area. There are a lot of updates to mention, but players can check the full patch notes on their website.

For those who have not heard of "Star Citizen" yet, the game has been started on a Kickstarter campaign back in 2012 and is developed by Cloud Imperium Games and Roberts Space Industries. Alpha patch 3.0 already seems big enough, yet the game is still unfinished. Players can expect the game to be undeniably massive, seemingly making other MMOs quite small.

There is also a single-player mode for the game sold separately called "Squadron 42." Both that single-player game and "Star Citizen" have no official release date yet, and it might not be announced any time soon.