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On July 19, "Star Citizen" released its weekly Friday progress report, which included a new demonstration of the "wormhole displacement" function. Players will be able to use this special wormhole called "jump point" to travel to the new galaxy Pyro.

However, this time, after watching the video, many players were not concerned about "when can we eat the cake this time", but another question: "Why did the star gate disappear?"

New wormhole

"Stargate" refers to the huge artificial ring-shaped device built around the wormhole in the past promotion of "Star Citizen". In the description of the production team, the function of this huge ring-shaped stargate is to "stabilize the wormhole at the center." However, in the latest video, CIG changed its words and said that "the stargate is a naturally stable wormhole and no additional devices are needed."

This explanation obviously cannot convince everyone. Many players took out the setting drawings and demonstration videos that the production team shared with players in the early years, shared their imaginations and expectations about the star gate, and expressed their dissatisfaction with the production team's deletion of the star gate.

The official forums of Star Citizen were quickly flooded with posts asking people to "bring back the Stargate".

One of the reasons why players have such a big reaction to the "missing gate" is that this kind of huge ring-shaped star gate seems to be a "convention" in space games, which makes many players feel familiar.

For example, in the online game Eve Online, which is full of love, hatred, and vengeance, huge star gates are often regarded as important transportation routes, and countless battles of all sizes have been fought near the star gates.

In "X4 Cornerstone", a game that also focuses on space management, there is also an intricate network of star gates. Gathering troops near the star gates or building defensive space stations to "block the gates" is also a common tactic used by X4 players.

Chris Roberts' previous work before Star Citizen, Freelancer, also has a similar setting.

Galaxy on Fire 2 is a childhood memory for countless players and is no exception.

It is no coincidence that most of these games choose to make circular star gates. In most space games, interstellar travel uses the convenient idea of ​​"wormholes", which are high-dimensional tunnels that allow spacecraft to instantly travel from one end of the universe to the other, without having to consider the complex "relativity effects" of superluminal travel. The principle is that it is not that the spacecraft driven by the player exceeds the speed of light, but that the wormhole folds the space between the starting point and the end point.

Conceptual diagram of a wormhole showing that it can fold the space between two coordinates like folding paper

In this theory, the entrance of a wormhole is a sphere or a circular plane, and the "tunnel" in it is also similar to the structure inside a cylinder. In the game setting, the surrounding artificial bodies often play a role in stabilizing the wormhole, similar to the "arch" of the wormhole. In this case, the ring shape does fit the tunnel and wormhole very well in appearance, and it also makes people feel that the structure is strong and easy to maintain, so it has become the first choice for many games.

Another possible source of inspiration is the portal in fantasy themes. Functionally, the two basically play the same role - allowing players to instantly move to a distant destination, and there has always been a saying in science fiction that "too advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Sometimes, in order to rationalize the overly convenient stargate system, the game will also set the stargates in various parts of the universe as mysterious technologies left behind by a powerful and ancient civilization, which is similar to the "super ancient civilization" in fantasy works.

In fact, in Stargate, the earliest work that visualized the concept of "star gate", the ring-shaped star gate was linked to the legend of ancient Egypt, and various hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt also became the key code to open the star gate. Stargate in 1994, as a successful science fiction movie and the pioneer of the series, has also become the object of tribute for many space games.

Of course, the circular appearance is not an absolute Bible. For example, in EVE, various star gates are designed according to the art styles of different factions. The iconic "mass relay" in Mass Effect also follows the design concept of ejection track rather than portal.

For fans of space games, the star gate itself is a symbol similar to a Dyson sphere. Without it, the game will lose its "flavor". From a game design perspective, the star gate can also provide players with many practical benefits.

In space games, the endless deep space can easily make people feel small, lonely and helpless. Although most games will moderately reduce the "scale" of the universe so that players don't have to spend months on "interstellar travel", there are no mountains or rivers in space. How to let players find the direction they want to go instead of losing themselves in the three-dimensional "No Man's Sky" is a headache for many game developers.

At this time, the star gate is a very good guiding target. The huge size and regular shape allow players to spot it from a long distance. Interacting with the star gate, watching the space wonder slowly operate under the player's command, and then passing through it to visit a new galaxy is a very ritualistic part of the space game. The new galaxy may also have more spaceships, cargo and adventures. These real positive and negative feedbacks motivate players to move forward towards it.

In X4: Cornerstone, the ring-shaped star gate can be seen from a long distance.

On the other hand, in order to better fit the concept of "door" in players' intuitive cognition,These star gates are usually located at the edge of the galaxy, serving as the "gate" leading to the outside of the galaxy.Therefore, reaching a star gate often means reaching the border of a galaxy, and the relative position of the star gate can help players outline the structure of the galaxy in their minds.

In addition to wormholes maintained by artificial stargates, there are also hidden "wild" wormholes in some space games. These wormholes play a similar role to stargates, but they often represent danger, unknown and uncontrolled, making them the favorites of pirates and smugglers. There are also games that allow wormholes to randomly open mysterious areas similar to "dungeons" for brave adventurers to explore. The existence of such wild wormholes also highlights the stable and controlled sense of security provided by artificial stargates.

In EVE, the wild-looking wormhole represents unknown uncertainty.

For example, in Free Lancer, in the later stages of the game, players can visit a series of fringe galaxies named "Omega". These galaxies are basically connected only by wild "jump holes". There are also crises such as high radiation that can damage the hull, explosive gas nebulae that are like minefields, and pirate factions armed to the teeth waiting for players, making people feel like walking on thin ice. When players survive one test after another and see the man-made "jump gate" again, they can't help but breathe a sigh of relief, glad that they have returned to the safe "civilized zone".

So, why did Star Citizen abandon the Stargate?

Naturally, many players could not accept CIG's abandonment of the mature idea of ​​star gates, especially since Star Citizen itself had even shown a real-life demonstration of a spaceship passing through a star gate at its own exhibition. It looked like the thing had already been completed, and deleting it would be a waste.

However, considering that demonstrations are often just preset ideal environments and are still some distance away from actual implementation, and that every function of "Star Citizen" is often accompanied by bugs of varying sizes, putting the huge and cool star gate in the video into the game may not be as easy as imagined.

For example, in the test server a few months ago, when players entered the jump point, not only could they not see the star gate, but even the wormhole special effects were displayed as a gray model. Some tests also saw a serious bug in which the entire server crashed after a player entered the wormhole.

In addition, the development of new galaxies in Star Citizen has been seriously behind schedule. After Star Citizen launched the online multiplayer mode, players have been playing in the only "Stanton" galaxy. According to the plan, the second galaxy "Pyro" was originally scheduled to be launched in version 4.0 around 2020, but it was delayed again and again due to various "server technical reasons". A few years have passed, and the version number of the game has risen from 3.9 to 3.24, but it has never reached the critical "4.0".

Recently, CIG's marketing methods have also made some people worried. For example, the "strongest" fighter "F8C Lightning", which was once exclusively for players who spent more than $10,000, has been sold several times at the price of $300 in the past year; the out-of-print linked fighter "Saber Raven", which was originally only available in exchange for the purchase of Intel solid-state drives, was simply modified in appearance and paint and then sold under the name of "Saber Firebird"; and the "Bumblebee" fighter, which was a reward in the early stage of crowdfunding, was "retired" a few months ago and replaced by the "Bumblebee MK2" fighter with a higher price and stronger values.

The Bumblebee, which debuted in the first crowdfunding video of Star Citizen in 2012, never made it to the official launch of the game.

Many Star Citizen players admit that game development itself is a money-burning job, and even if the money is not good, as long as it can produce results, they are still happy to support CIG. Among them, the most coveted by many crowdfunders is the "Pyro" galaxy that has been promoted by CIG for several years.

In this case, if CIG fails to implement the new star system, even Star Citizen players, who are known for their patience and loyalty, may not be able to wait forever. In this case, giving up the production and polishing of star gates and focusing on more practical things becomes a very cost-effective choice.

For space game enthusiasts, exploring the sea of ​​stars in the game has always been an important pleasure. Entering the star gate with trepidation and welcoming an unknown new galaxy is also an unforgettable experience for many players.

Even if the star gate itself no longer exists, Star Citizen players' yearning for adventures in new galaxies will not disappear. Compared to the magnificent gate, players are more concerned about what kind of wonderful things are behind the gate.