Start your Space Citizen Adventure in Star Citizen
What is Space Citizen?
Space Citizen is a common misnomer for Star Citizen, but don’t worry, this is the guide to help you get started with your space-based adventure in Star Citizen!
How to start as a Space Citizen in Star Citizen
There are four steps that you need to take to start your adventure as a Space Citizen in Star Citizen:
- First, sign up for a free Star Citizen account. The game is only available directly from the developers, and you must have an account to access it.
- Second, either purchase a Star Citizen starter pack or join one of the limited Free Fly events throughout the year.
- Third, download and install Star Citizen.
- Finally, play Star Citizen!
What is Star Citizen?
Star Citizen is an epic, futuristic MMO and space simulation game under development by Roberts Space Industries. You can currently play in a single star system, Stanton, filled with planets, moons, and space stations, but Star Citizen will soon have multiple star systems that you can explore. Star Citizen is a sandbox where players can go anywhere and do anything if they prepare and are willing to deal with the consequences of their actions.
There are many ways for players to “earn a living” in the Star Citizen universe. Lawful players can take on dangerous combat missions in the skies and space as well as on the ground to remove criminal threats or they can play as outlaws and steal a living on the edges of society. Players can also pursue more peaceful means to earn credits in Star Citizen. They can courier packages between locations, haul cargo from station to station, salvage the wrecks of destroyed vessels, or prospect asteroid belts and remote regions of planets to mine valuable ores.
Finally, players can use their hard-earned credits to buy new weapons, armor, ships, and eventually, hangars, apartments, and bases around the Star Citizen universe. With the freedom to go anywhere and strike a living, there are countless unique possibilities for Star Citizen players to make the game their own.
Why is Star Citizen not called Space Citizen?
Since the development of Star Citizen started with the original Kickstarter in 2012, the game has been about more than just being a space simulation. The developers spoke of creating a universe where players can “reclaim the stars” and “find your own fortune in the stars, wherever your spaceship takes you”. The name Star Citizen describes the aspirations of the game - to allow players to explore the possibilities across multiple star systems – better than “space citizen”.
Can you be a Space Citizen in Star Citizen?
Space Citizen is not a specific role or gameplay loop that you can play in Star Citizen, but you could play Star Citizen as a Space Citizen by making a living across the planets and moons of a single star system. For example, you can stay at various space stations while taking bounty hunting missions or trade between space stations, cities, and remote outposts on moons. Let’s follow the adventures of a day in the life of an example Space Citizen.
The Space Citizen player logs in and their character wakes up at a Seraphim Station, a Rest & Relax space station in orbit above the planet Crusader in the Stanton system. This Space Citizen has not returned to the home at their starting location in a long time, and they usually stay at the closest space station at the end of their day. The Space Citizen makes their way from the habitation area to the station elevators.
A quick elevator ride takes the Space Citizen to their hangar, and the Space Citizen uses the ship terminal in the hangar to retrieve their MISC Freelancer from storage. The Space Citizen waits for the ship elevator to rise, walks to the ship, opens the ship’s side door, and climbs in to ship’s habitation area. They take stock of their supplies onboard and then move to the flight deck before settling into the pilot seat. The Space Citizen pulls up their mobiGlas and looks for nearby contracts. Crusader Security posted a contract to eliminate a wanted criminal, and the Space Citizen accepts the contract for this easy target.
Seraphim Station traffic control clears the Space Citizen for takeoff, and the hangar doors open to the vacuum of space. Airshields keep the atmosphere of the hangar from escaping but allow the Space Citizen and their Freelancer to pass. The Space Citizen cooly clears the rotating rings of Seraphim Station and spools up the Freelancer’s quantum drive for the short jump to the criminal’s location in the asteroids surrounding the nearby moon, Yela. The quantum drive spools and calibrates, and on the Space Citizen’s command, the Freelancer jumps away into quantum travel.
The Freelancer drops out of quantum travel above Yela. The Space Citizen turns the ship towards the criminal’s last known location and fires their main thrusters to cruise to the spot. As they approach the location, a message comes across the displays in the Freelancer. “I got a surprise for you” the criminal taunts over the comm-link, and the Space Citizen’s Freelancer missile alert starts to chime.
The Space Citizen turns their Freelancer and starts deploying flares. After some rough maneuvers and tense seconds, the inbound missiles lose their lock on the Freelancer and fly harmlessly by it. A couple of seconds later, the criminal and their Drake Cutter also fly by. The Freelancer shudders as the Space Citizen engages the boost and whips the nose of the ship around towards the criminal’s Cutter. Once the Space Citizen’s Freelancer is facing the criminals, the Space Citizen fires the Freelancer’s laser weapons. The shields of the criminal’s Cutter shimmer and flash as they collapse, and the laser rounds from the Space Citizen’s Freelancer burn through the Cutter’s hull, critically damaging the Cutter’s power plant.
Small explosions rip out from the hull of the criminal’s Cutter, and the Space Citizen knows that’s a sign that the criminal’s little ship is disabled. Instead of finishing off the Cutter with a few last rounds of laser fire, the Space Citizen decides to EVA to the Cutter and eliminate the criminal in case the Cutter has valuable cargo onboard.
The Space Citizen maneuvers their Freelancer so that the rear cargo door is facing the criminal’s crippled Cutter. The Space Citizen grabs a P4 from the internal storage, head to the cargo area, and opens the rear door. They float over to the criminal’s Cutter, and aim the P4 as they open the Cutter's rear door. The Space Citizen peers around the corner of the door, and the criminal notices the Space Citizen and draws their weapon as the Space Citizen pulls the trigger of the P4.
A notification on the Space Citizen’s visor confirms that the criminal was eliminated and mission completed. The Space Citizen presses forward, floating through the habitation and flight deck areas to make sure that no one else is on board the Cutter. Once the Space Citizen ensures that the Cutter is clear of criminals, they look at the cargo crates on board the Cutter.
There is no guarantee that a criminal’s ship will have valuable cargo, but today is the Space Citizen’s lucky day. Onboard the criminal’s Cutter are 4 crates of illicit goods that will fetch a high price at the right location. The Space Citizen uses their handheld tractor beam to move the cargo crates from the Cutter to their Freelancer, and then they float back to the Freelancer, close the door, and make their way back to the flight deck.
The Space Citizen pilots their Freelancer to Brio’s Breaker Yard on Daymar, another moon orbiting Crusader, to sell the illicit goods through the yard’s “no questions asked” terminal. After landing the Freelancer on a pad at Brio’s, the Space Citizen unloads the crates of illicit goods into the freight elevator at the pad. They then grab their P4, close the Freelancer’s rear cargo door, and head towards the yard building with the trade terminal.
Criminals are known to ambush others at locations like Brio’s, so the Space Citizen carefully makes their way to the terminal, taking time to make sure no one is waiting to attack around each corner. Fortunately, the Space Citizen is alone and they sell their recovered goods for a very good price. As the Space Citizen makes their way back to their Freelancer, they make plans for one last trade trip for the day. A nearby outpost on Daymar produces distilled spirits, and the Space Citizen recalls that Seraphim Station was buying those to make what passes for a good drink at the station. The Space Citizen climbs back into the Freelancer and prepare it for takeoff. After a few seconds, the engines power up, and the Freelancer rumbles as the Space Citizen launches towards their next adventure!
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Last Updated: 28 April 2024
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