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Cavalera, the daily brief for Saturday 26 September
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🚀 Star Citizen News: September 26, 2026

Period: September 25, 2026 04:06 → September 26, 2026 04:06 UTC. Sources: YouTube, Reddit, Spectrum, Patch Notes, emails, Discord

TL;DR

🔧 Patch notes and official CIG announcements

Nothing is moving on the LIVE version side: Alpha 4.10.1 (build 12650677) remains alone in production. However, the PTU had a busy day with two distinct builds.

The Tech Preview that made waves: the end of "physics jank"?

On the afternoon of September 25, CIG opened a dedicated TECH-PREVIEW channel to all Backers (build sc-alpha-4.10.2-12702947) for 4 to 6 hours, before closing it at 01:38 UTC last night. The objective: test a new network synchronization mode for free physical entities (cargo boxes, grenades, dropped objects), accompanied by a collision fix meant to reduce trembling, bouncing, and parasitic rotations that have accompanied object placement for years. The scope is deliberately restricted: ships, characters, and attached objects are not subject to this test.

According to Bault-CIG's words, relayed by a Reddit post that directly picks up his explanations: "we are testing network synchronization improvements for rigid bodies, currently limited to free entities like cargo boxes or grenades, and how they are replicated to clients." CIG asked testers to compare Live and Tech Preview side by side and submit their feedback, videos included, in the dedicated feedback thread.

New PTU Evocati build 4.10.2 (12770507)

This new build, reserved for Evocati with a possible Wave 1 shortly after, maintains long-term persistence (LTP) enabled: no wipe planned for now on this test cycle.

News and polish on the event system side: - Event points now distributed by mission type, and unlock progression rebalanced. - Addition of radio voices on patrol and support mission circuits. - Heavily armored enemies encountered during the event now carry the correct equipment and are more resistant than before. - New pass of mixing on FPS weapon audio, as part of the ongoing weapon audio overhaul.

Notable fixes in this build: - (Potential) end of the "Duplicate Login" kick when reconnecting very quickly after a disconnect, which could previously make the player believe a second machine was connected and eject them without explanation. - Heavy Combat Hunter 3 helmets: the beanie and neck guard were no longer applying correctly. - MISC Prospector flipping abnormally when leaving the hangar. - The TH-01 Propulsor mission object incorrectly classified under "Container" rather than "Missions" in the fabricator. - Event contracts unavailable at certain Stanton points. - Missing radio voices on event patrol and support circuits. - Event patrol contracts ending prematurely before all objectives are met. - Incorrect orientation of event shelf attachment points, placing objects at an angle. - Event NPCs frozen at collection and deposit points instead of moving. - Event packages offset in the player's hands when picked up from the rear. - Event progress tracking appearing in the mobiGlas journal before the event is even active. - Mirai Pulse and Pulse LX radar interface inverted, with repositioning of the dashboard holographic UI. - Missing tooltip on the energy configuration MFD, which now displays the name and temperature of the component being hovered over. - Physicalized storage decals transitioning to a lower level of detail too early on multiple vehicles. - Piano on the RSI Constellation Phoenix producing no sound. - Missing holographic skull for FPS players in Arena Commander during the Day of the Vara event. - Event mission shell incorrectly titled, and contract titles/descriptions requesting the wrong merchandise.

TTK/TTD: fourth round of rebalancing, in tech preview for the weekend

Still in the same PTU build, but explicitly outside the official scope of 4.10.2, CIG is testing this weekend a fourth iteration (TP4) of its Time to Kill and Time to Die rebalancing. The team itself acknowledges that the previous iteration, TP3, was "cursed": shields accidentally had twice their intended life (which increased TTK, the exact opposite of the objective), power pip distribution was broken on multiple shields to the point of rendering them inoperable, and a bug made the "overdamage" damage tier skip: ships exploded directly instead of being disabled first, ten times sooner than intended.

For this fourth attempt, CIG announces: - Shields brought back to their intended values, which should bring TTK back down. - Ballistic damage reduced by 20% compared to TP3, ballistics judged still too strong despite everything. - An additional 20% nerf to alpha damage of AD4B, AD5B, Deadbolt IV and Deadbolt V, singled out as excessive. - Shield and armor values of large and capital ships tightened toward the intended objective (two-thirds shield, one-third armor and critical pieces). - Energy and ballistic deflection revised, as well as a reduction in the damage modifier applied to AI, judged poorly received by TP3 testers.

The "overdamage" bug, however, is not yet fixed: CIG mentions a reproduction rate of 25 to 50% and still invites testers to continue reporting their observations.

📧 Emails

What CIG sent to its subscribers this week amounts to a weekly update, with its traditional Sneak Peek as closing.

🔭 Sneak Peek of the week

Sneak Peek of the week Sneak Peek from September 25, accompanied by the quote "Turn Wrecks into Riches".

As every Friday, the image carries no official caption, only this enigmatic quote. Players cautiously see in it a reward tool thematically linked to the RSI organization and the Cambio SRT tractor rather than a new ship: nothing is confirmed, and the teaser remains deliberately open to interpretation.

The rest of the weekly letter

Pirate Week 2026 is winding down this weekend: it's the last chance to claim your loot from the clues scattered throughout recent communications, participate in the community Most Wanted contest, and take advantage of event offers (paints, ship packs). The Bar Citizen World Tour continues its tour with a stop this Saturday, September 26, in Porto, Portugal, from 14:00 to 19:00 UTC. Finally, the letter notes that the final of the 3v3 dogfighting tournament organized by the ATMO community, "Fight or Flight 2956", is also taking place this Saturday.

🎬 YouTube Videos

MrKraken anglais EN

Citizen Spooner anglais EN

Cpt Deadwake anglais EN

The Lord Tyler francais FR

GautSlayer francais FR

💬 Spectrum: summary of most discussed topics

The general forum moves at a slower pace today than the previous two days, likely eclipsed by the commotion around the physics Tech Preview. Discussions that break through are more structural than reactive in nature, and no official CIG response was noted on today's threads.

Anticipating PVE before it imposes itself de facto

Plan for PVE now, before reality strikes (74 votes, 165 replies) argues that CIG should put tools and spaces dedicated to non-hostile gameplay in place now, rather than waiting for pressure from PVP-oriented players to make coexistence untenable for other player profiles.

Gifting and buyback: commercial mechanics under scrutiny

In echo to a concern that also crosses Reddit today (see below), Quick question about the gifting changes: seeks to clarify the new pledge gifting rules expected in October, while Buy Back Changes questions an evolution of the ship buyback system.

The rest of the forum in brief

A few more specific threads round out the picture: PU Maintenance Notification System calls for a real alert system before maintenance downtime, and Is there a fix for the lag when using the mobiglas? documents the persistent slowness when opening and closing the mobiGlas, a finding that finds a direct echo on Reddit (see below).

💬 Reddit r/starcitizen (by theme, general sentiment)

The subreddit lives today to the rhythm of the physics Tech Preview: it is by far the topic that dominates the day, between comparative videos, amused captures, and reports of remaining bugs. In the background, some more measured concerns about upcoming changes to commercial rules, and the usual parade of ship showcases.

The physics Tech Preview is a hit

The pinned thread [All Backers] Physicalized Entity Netcode Overhaul Tech-Preview Playtest relays the official test announcement, and 2 builds for today: Tech Preview on physics netcode, All-backers; and 4.10.2 Evo to Wave 1, may include TTK TTD changes recaps today's program. Player feedback is largely enthusiastic: Ok im impressed. ( TECH PREVIEW PHYSICS ), Item Stacking in Tech Preview: and Basketball live vs tech prev show objects that finally stack and behave without parasitic trembling. The tone remains measured, however: Tech Preview Physics - Circular Wobbling looking realistic and Almost there. note that small objects placed on surfaces like trophies sometimes still fall into the traps of Live.

Item Stacking in Tech Preview Item Stacking in Tech Preview, posted 09/25.

A developer details behind the scenes server meshing and Planet Tech v5

In a different register, Benoit on Server Meshing locations & planet zones, Planet Tech v5, Starchitect, and Cargo Autoloading [Evo chat] relays explanations held by Bault-CIG in Evocati exchanges: changes linked to Starchitect come with a deeper overhaul of the engine's zone system, which now allows zones to coexist at planetary locations with server meshing, a point previously blocked by the fact that a player could only be in one zone at a time (either the location zone or the planetary zone).

Gifting and buyback rules worry before October

[PSA] Last chance to secure giftable LTI tokens alerts about a rule change announced for October 2026: a pledge intended to be gifted must now be marked as a gift at the moment of purchase itself, which pushes some players to repurchase or buy now lifetime insurance tokens (LTI) transferable under current rules, in direct echo to the Spectrum thread on the same subject (see above).

Bugs and daily friction points

Griefers on station external cargo elevators describes a cargo mission sabotaged by two players taking advantage of the lack of protection mechanism on external freight elevators in armistice zones, and Is there a fix for the lag when using the mobiglas? repeats, almost word for word, the same complaint as on Spectrum about the slowness of opening the mobiGlas and typing in the star map.

Curiosities, community tools, and ship showcases

Quantum travel mechanics & drive performance metrics on the wiki signals a community contribution to the wiki that reconstructs, from data extracted in-game, the distance and time curves of quantum travel for each engine, with the ambition to offer more refined estimates than the existing Erkul tool. On a lighter note, Animus vs Boomtube compares with surprise the paltry damage of the Animus missile launcher against Boomtube cannon fire, and Has anybody tested yet how well SC runs on the Steam Frame? inquires about the game's performance on Valve's new standalone headset. On the showcase side, [8600x3600] RSI Zeus Mk II ES with Frontier Fighters Paint and Carrack glaze each share a polished shot of their ship, the latter also discussing the actual cargo capacity of the Carrack once garage and roof storage are factored in.

8600x3600 RSI Zeus Mk II ES with Frontier Fighters Paint RSI Zeus Mk II ES with Frontier Fighters paint, posted 09/25.

💬 Discord: what's circulating on the servers

The overall atmosphere follows that of Reddit and YouTube: it is the video demonstration of the (partial) end of "physics jank" that makes the rounds of community servers, taken up with enthusiasm and a touch of irony ("Bault just pressed the stop physics jank button"). In parallel, datamining-dedicated channels are already buzzing with the first hypotheses about a possible companion ship for the Constellation Mk V, before any official confirmation (see the Leaks & Datamining section).

🕵️ Leaks & Datamining

Unofficial content from community datamining: subject to change, never confirmed by CIG.

Today's datamining focuses on the Constellation Mk V lineup recently teased by CIG. Character strings found in the game files designate a platform named "Constellation Mk5 Andromeda Display" (alongside a "Constellation Mk4 Andromeda Gold Standard Display"), as well as a "Skylark Display": enough to fuel the hypothesis of a small companion ship, snub or shuttle, associated with the future Mk V. These elements, combined with the presence of the ongoing IASI event, fuel speculation about a possible release grouped with 4.10.2, without any official date or confirmation existing at this stage.

Constellation Mk5 Andromeda Display Character strings associated with the Constellation Mk5 Andromeda platform and the Skylark, noted on 09/25.

A second image, commented simply with "Mk5 Constellation bigger, check", seems to confirm that the new model displays larger dimensions than existing Constellation models.

Mk5 Constellation bigger, check Size comparison evoked by dataminers around the Constellation Mk V, on 09/25.

Additionally, the first decryptions of the Tech Preview netcode show that most of the current event missions (with the exception of "Northrock Eliminate X" and one of the IASI delivery missions) now distribute their points on the global ranking without distributing them on sub-category rankings, a technical detail spotted in the event files rather than in official communication.

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