Star Citizen: Squadron 42 breaks into Steam's top 200 wishlists (October 23, 2026)

Period: 22/10/2026 04:04 → 23/10/2026 04:04 UTC. Sources: YouTube, Reddit, Spectrum, Patch Notes, emails, Discord

TL;DR

• 🛠️ Still no new LIVE patch: Alpha 4.10.2 remains the active version, while CIG continues behind the scenes with Evocati testing on Genesis and Starchitect technologies (details at end of edition, in Leaks & Datamining).
• 🚀 Constellation Mk V Centaurus continues to divide: a new scathing Spectrum thread ("No desire to buy the Centaurus at all") adds to criticism already raised on Reddit regarding its allegedly excessive fuel consumption.
• 🎖️ Squadron 42 hits a symbolic milestone on Steam: the wishlist reportedly breaks the top 200 according to community tracking, as a new Vanduul image appears on the game's page.
• 💬 Spectrum is ablaze over core gameplay: two major threads, one on the perceived poverty of non-combat gameplay loops (148 votes), the other on player retention for exploration after twelve years of waiting (97 votes).
• 💰 The verse in numbers: $351,287 collected yesterday (total $1.057B).

🔧 Patch notes and official CIG announcements

No new patch tonight: the LIVE version remains Alpha 4.10.2, HOTFIX channel still closed since stabilization on October 17.

Behind the scenes, CIG continues Evocati testing on Genesis and Starchitect technologies (intra-planetary server meshing, new site types on Nyx I): this work remains covered by a confidentiality agreement specific to the test program and therefore receives no public announcement at this stage. Some elements have nevertheless leaked via dataminers, detailed in the Leaks & Datamining section below.

🎬 YouTube Videos

CIG EN

• Upcoming Astrological Events IRL | Star Citizen : official short format that lists real astronomical events to observe through year-end, inviting players to look up at the sky.

The Lord Tyler FR

• Le Trésor Disgracieux ! - Star Citizen #starcitizenfr #1jour1vaisseau #starcitizen : new episode of the daily #1jour1vaisseau format, dedicated to a ship presented from the angle of an unflattering treasure, with no additional details in the description.

SC Haulers EN

• Star Citizen Mining Modules Explained | What They Actually Do
  Guide that breaks down how mining modules actually work (resistance, instability) and shows, with examples, how their statistics translate concretely to a rock being mined.
• Star Citizen 10.4.2 Quantanium Mining Adventure
  Quantanium mining session filmed on build 10.4.2, with no additional details in the description.

Evenlease EN

• The elevator betrayed him #starcitizen #gaming #robertspaceindustries #fails #shorts #sniper : short clip of an in-game fail where a temperamental elevator ruins a sniper ambush.

💬 Spectrum: synthesis of most discussed topics

The general forum takes on a more introspective turn today than the previous day: beyond the usual complaints about paints and the Centaurus, two substantive threads question the real richness of gameplay and the patience of the oldest players. As in previous days, no -CIG responses were found across all threads of the day.

The void of non-combat loops, a growing unease

Why are all non-combat gameloops so shallow and boring? is by far the most followed thread of the day with 148 votes and 89 replies: its author criticizes civilian trades (mining, salvage, hauling, exploration) for too often boiling down to repetitive back-and-forths without depth of decision-making. A direct echo is found in Missions telling stories, player in a living universe, which calls for contracts more anchored in narrative arc rather than simple interchangeable objectives. More pragmatic, How do you best protect stuff from loss between patches? gathers player tips to limit inventory loss from patch to patch, a sign that persistence remains a topic of permanent vigilance.

Loyalty and patience: the case of exploration players

How to keep explorer backers happy after 12 years racks up 97 votes and 56 replies on a fundamental question: how can CIG continue to satisfy contributors who bet on long-term exploration gameplay, when this gameplay loop remains one of the least developed at this stage.

Centaurus still under the gun

No desire to buy the Centaurus at all shows upfront 47 votes and especially 86 replies: an assumed rejection of RSI's latest multi-role, continuing criticism already noted on Reddit regarding its fuel consumption. Ore quality does not make sense, use purity instead strays from the ship topic to propose replacing ore quality mechanics with a more readable notion of purity, cumulating 20 votes. On personalization, Remaining Constellation campaign paints arriving before end of RSI event or IAE? wonders about the availability of the last Constellation paints before IAE, Electric and Shocking Blue liveries for the Connie Mk IV and Aurora Mk I... requests two new liveries, Paint wear and tear happens too fast and we could use a way to fix it. bemoans overly rapid paint wear (59 votes), and Did the High-End Couch get removed? wonders about the disappearance of a habitat furnishing.

Ships, IAE and small expectations

Snub industrial ships pleads for the arrival of small embarked industrial craft, while Nova tonk discusses the capabilities of the Nova armored vehicle. Eclipse Bomb Racks available during IAE? wonders about the availability of the stealth bomber's bomb racks during the expo, and 2027 Feature Dev Delivery questions, with no official answer, the delivery timeline for features planned for next year. In a lighter register, there any more treasure-hunter Vara surprises? goes in search of other hidden secrets in the ongoing Halloween event.

Technical and administrative friction

Timeout gathers 53 votes around disconnections and session timeout delays deemed too frequent. External elevators Despawning Cargo reports cargo loss via external elevators, Cargo Hauling Opportunity with Ling Hauling' bad luck? complains of stingy random mission draws, and Twitch Issue... reports a technical issue related to streaming. Finally, Get it together, please expresses, without further detail, a general weariness shared by 28 voters.

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

The subreddit keeps a tone today shared between fevered anticipation of IAE, small daily victories and a hint of impatience on lingering issues, desync front and center. The Constellation Mk V Centaurus and ships in general remain a common thread, echoing direct debates of the day on Spectrum.

IAE approaches, and speculation accelerates

Starfarer melt or keep? illustrates the classic dilemma as the expo nears: keep your tanker or convert it to store credit, betting on a hypothetical rework. Liberator and fabs are expected, but we might get this too in IAE speculates on possible wider availability of the Raptor vehicle, usually reserved for referrals.

Liberator and fabs are expected, but we might get this too in IAE (23/10).

Constellation MK5 future variants extends the reflection by imagining future Mk V variants beyond the already-released Centaurus.

Constellation MK5 future variants (23/10).

A more technical analysis thread, RSI Galaxy Hitbox Analysis: Leaked 120m Greybox Explains the New Hangar and Cargo Metrics, relies on leaked grayboxing files to estimate the Galaxy's actual cargo hold size and which ships it could accommodate: community analysis, to be taken as a working hypothesis rather than confirmed data from CIG.

Bugs, fixes and a desync issue that drags on

Initial Battaglia mission bug is confirmed, past QA, and handed off to developers for a fix reports, according to its author, that a blocking bug in the Battaglia chain intro mission passed QA and is now in developers' hands. Vanduul Tech Smuggler Warehouse Entrance Elevator Fix shares a workaround to unlock a smuggler warehouse entrance elevator, by using an empty code disk and quantum jump. Was surprised by the new(?) sound design and visual praises an unexpected sound and visual improvement, while noting that docking bay doors remain temperamental.

More substantial, The desync post by Benoit will have to wait a little longer again translates an exchange from the francophone community where a player describes increasing latency and enemy NPCs adopting erratic micro-teleportation behavior, wondering about a genuine improvement in the situation. The title references a detailed status update on desynchronization, long-awaited but repeatedly postponed: a community expectation, not an announcement.

The desync post by Benoit will have to wait a little longer again (23/10).

Ships, fleet and pledge store

Why is the Polaris easy to buy compared to the Idris? wonders about the near-permanent availability of the Polaris in the store when the Idris sells out in seconds, a question that echoes the Idris kit issue already raised on Spectrum in previous days. Does the Idris M and P share the same stats? compares the two variants of the cruiser in detail via a third-party performance simulation tool. On the suggestions front, LittleBird Variant of the Mirai Fury imagines a troop transport version of the small Fury fighter, and The Argo MPUV serie's advocates for a refresh of the MPUV utility line, deemed underexploited despite its owners' attachment. Guardian MX with Black Magic paint if curious simply shows the render of this paint on the Guardian MX fighter.

Verse life, small joys and humor

Didn't know you could get NPC crewmates tells how two hostile NPCs, left unsupervised near an open ramp, ended up settling in as impromptu crew aboard a Cutlass Red. One heck of an evenings loot and So relaxing... when the Geo actually WANTS to pick up the gems it broke each celebrate a good loot and mining session assisted by robot. More anecdotal, I don't feel so good makes fun of a mishap against the Vanduul, Making good use out of the Connie MKV's cupholder. humorously diverts the new Constellation's cup holder, and It's been a long journey to get here... simply shares a gameplay scene without explanatory text. Finally, Really having run with AC for the event. rejoices in the temporary Arena Commander mode currently active for the Halloween event, while regretting the lack of a true permanent Theatres of War mode.

🎖️ Squadron 42

Squadron 42: Whishlists Top 200 Reached and still 14 in activity reports, according to community tracking of Steam wishlist rankings, that the campaign reportedly crossed the symbolic top 200 threshold while continuing to progress 14 places: a measure not officially confirmed by CIG, but based on publicly available Steam data.

Squadron 42: Whishlists Top 200 Reached and still 14 in activity (23/10).

In parallel, New Vanduul image on Squadron 42 Steam page (swapped out for other Vanduul image) notes that one of the Vanduul illustrations displayed on the game's Steam page appears to have been replaced with another, with no official communication about this change.

New Vanduul image on Squadron 42 Steam page (23/10).

On Spectrum, debates started in previous days on the expected writing quality versus the star-studded cast, and on the opportunity for full multilingual voiceover, continue to build momentum without any -CIG response having been made to date.

🕵️ Leaks & Datamining

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

Discussions around the ongoing Evocati test on Genesis and Starchitect technologies have let several elements slip:

• Ship changes spotted: the AEGIS Vanguard would see its SW16BR2 "Sawbuck" repeater replaced by a SW16BR3 "Shredder", with enlarged turret hardpoints (size 2 to 3) to fit. The Sentinel variant would similarly receive a Suckerpunch-XL cannon replacing the Suckerpunch-L, again with enlarged hardpoints. The Anvil Carrack as well as the Starlancer MAX and TAC would see their size 2 Surveyor radar replaced by a size 3 Surveyor-Max, and the RSI Perseus would move from a size 2 Epier radar to a size 3 Resolu.
• New unnamed weapons: two series of unreleased weapons were spotted in testing, including an S-38 pistol, an Arclight pistol, a Vendetta heavy machine gun, an FS-9 LMG, P4-AR and P8-AR assault rifles, a P6-LR sniper rifle, an Arlington rifle, a Novian crossbow, a BR-2 shotgun, a P8-SC SMG, a Gallant rifle, a Lumin V SMG and a Demeco LMG.

New unnamed weapons spotted in Evocati test.

• Unreleased area: an updated municipal work entrance was also photographed.

Updated Municipal Work Entrance, spotted in Evocati test.

On the pure datamining side, several cosmetic and gameplay novelties were catalogued:

• A new "Skarnov" rifle, designed by fictional manufacturer Lightning Bolt Co., which discharges electron arcs capable of forming an arc between two conductive targets. Four finishes were spotted: Sparkplug (metallic yellow), Relay (gray), Ferrite (matte black) and Raider Camo (green and brown).
• A "Raider Camo" bundle grouping heavy Corbel and Palatino armor, a Tailwind flight suit, the Skarnov rifle and several ship cannons (M3A, M4A, M5A) in the same finish.
• Additions to the already-existing "Epoque" cosmetic bundle: a C54 SMG and a Chiron backpack to match.
• Other minor cosmetic items: Yaeger aviator sunglasses in "Neonwave" edition, a Bobcat Varsity jacket and a Wally's Bar t-shirt.
• New InterSec missions pitting players against the Vanduul and Shattered Blade faction simultaneously, in zone clearance contracts, fleet interception, hijacked ship boarding and biological sample recovery.
• Two new vehicle classes in preparation: fabrication and light carrier-capable, as well as a new temporary event dubbed "Vanduul Incursion".

As a reminder, all these elements come from still-unstable internal tests and may evolve, or even disappear, before any public release.