ArchiveFriday, November 13, 2026

Star Citizen: Alpha 4.10.3 live now, IAE 2956 opens with 200 ships (November 13, 2026)

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Cavalera, the daily brief for Friday 13 November
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Key points

  1. 🔧 Alpha 4.10.3 went Live with zero downtime: new Vanduul InterSec Defense Solutions missions at Nyx, new LBCO Skarnov rifle, and most importantly the opening today of the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2956 at Tobin Expo Center, with over 200 ships and vehicles to try for free.
  2. 🛸 The RSI Galaxy and Anvil Liberator are now truly flyable in the persistent universe for their owners, but the Liberator is triggering a wave of criticism on Spectrum and Reddit: confusion reigns over its hangar pads which may or may not accept RRR service.
  3. ⚔️ The Drake Marauder, revealed yesterday, fuels a balance debate once its specs are known via datamining: seven size 3 weapon hardpoints for a medium fighter reignite the comparison with the F8C on Spectrum.
  4. 🕵️ Datamining reveals the complete spec sheets of all four new IAE ships (Galaxy, Liberator, Marauder, Gatac Hyun) and leaks a hint of a winter event not yet officially announced.
  5. 💰 The verse by the numbers: 230 K$ collected yesterday (total 1.062 B$).

Period: 12/11/2026 05:04 → 13/11/2026 05:04 UTC. Sources: YouTube, Reddit, Spectrum, Patch Notes, emails, Discord

🔧 Patch notes and official CIG announcements

Alpha 4.10.3 goes Live with zero downtime

CIG deployed Alpha 4.10.3 to the Live environment in zero downtime (the launcher now displays VERSION 4.10.3-LIVE.12650677), with no hangar reset or residence location reset: long-term persistence is preserved and starting capital remains fixed at 20,000 aUEC. The full notes detail a patch focused on the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo, a new series of missions, and a brand new weapon.

New missions: InterSec Defense Solutions at Nyx

Vanduul incursions multiply in the Nyx system under pressure from the Shattered Blade gang. InterSec Defense Solutions opens a new series of rank 1 and above contracts to respond, with Vanduul Blade, Glaive, Scythe, Stinger, and the new Mauler destroyer in sight:

  • Shattered Blade Raid (rank 1): clear auxiliary stations occupied by Shattered Blade.
  • Retake Ship (rank 2): reclaim a vessel boarded by Shattered Blade.
  • Vanduul Clan Extermination (rank 4): stand against escalating waves of Vanduul ships, across three difficulty tiers.
  • 3-Way Standoff (rank 4): a three-way standoff, player included, where everyone is a target.
  • a mission whose final enemy remains intentionally kept secret by CIG (rank 4 to 6): fight waves of Vanduul until the arrival of this unidentified threat, across five difficulty tiers.
  • Gather Vanduul Cryopod: recover cryopods from the field, including a variant containing a dead Vanduul, more valuable than the standard model.

Mission rewards take the form of crafting blueprints: the LBCO Skarnov rifle, three sizes of BEHR laser cannons, the Tailwind flight suit, and the heavy armor sets Palatino and Corbel, all in a military-themed tint. The Welcome to Nyx combat music accompanies Vanduul encounters.

New weapon: LBCO Skarnov Rifle

This new fully automatic rifle from Lightning Bolt Co. electrifies its target on impact, with a spread effect to nearby enemies: 27 damage, 375 RPM, 500 projectile velocity, 30-round magazine, 0.25 second aim-in. Its pronounced vertical recoil profile makes it effective against heavily armored targets, at the cost of higher overheat risk in hot environments (and slower heat buildup in cold).

Ships, equipment, and purchases

  • The size 2 radars on the Carrack, Perseus, Starlancer, Starlancer TAC, Hammerhead, and Tiburon upgrade to size 3, with default loadouts updated accordingly: the Perseus bay moved to a console, the Starlancer to engineering.
  • Size 1 and 3 bomb racks are now sold at the Crusader Showroom armory in Orison, in left and right mounting positions.
  • Several already-flyable ships can now be purchased in-game for aUEC for the first time: the Aegis Tiburon and MISC Starlite at New Deal in Lorville, the Drake Ironclad, Drake Pitbull, and MISC Starlite at Teach's Ship Shop on Levski, the Drake Ironclad Assault, Drake Pitbull, and Grey's Market Basher at Rundown Station in Pyro, and the Origin M80 and Gatac Tyilui at Astro Armada on Area18.
  • The Esperia Prowler Utility gains an interaction allowing the cargo bay to open directly from the pilot and copilot consoles, without lowering the rear ramp.
  • Ship HUD holograms now adopt a tint specific to the vehicle's manufacturer.

Balancing

  • Salvage recovery capacity increases significantly: the Reclaimer goes from 240 to 448 SCU, the Argo MOTH from 64 to 240 SCU, the Vulture from 13 to 16 SCU, the MISC Fortune from 13 to 14 SCU, and the RSI Salvation from 6 to 8 SCU. The disintegration field of all five craft is enlarged, with looser alignment tolerance.
  • Vanduul AI carry more ammunition and regenerate it faster, making them significantly more aggressive. The Mauler's weapons have become considerably more lethal, balanced by reduced health to rebalance its increased firepower.
  • High Risk Target bounty contracts now grant 4,000 reputation points to the Bounty Hunters Guild instead of 2,000, repositioning them correctly between Medium Risk and Very Hard contracts.
  • The minimum arming distance of size 5 and 7 torpedoes is raised to 700 meters.

Fixes and stability

The patch closes 129 tickets, including several exploits, focusing on ASOP terminals and hangars, cargo and contracts, freight elevators, and vehicle interface. 36 of these fixes come directly from the Issue Council, and a concentrated pass on fleet management loop handling yielded 14 fixes specific to hangars and ASOP operation.

The Galaxy and Liberator, now truly flyable

After their announced arrival in the previous edition, the RSI Galaxy and Anvil Liberator are now spawnableble in the persistent universe for players who own them, which immediately opened the floodgates to an influx of first impressions on Spectrum and Reddit (see below).

The Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2956 opens its doors today

The expo returns this year to the Tobin Expo Center in New Babbage, accessible by Metroloop from the interstellar spaceport. A main hall serves four guild halls (Academy of Sciences, Mercenaries Guild, United Resources Workers, Interstellar Transport Guild), each showcasing ships used by its members with an information booth per craft. The expo's rental kiosks provide free access to over 200 ships and ground vehicles: a different group of manufacturers is featured each day, and everything already presented remains available, so the accessible fleet grows as the event progresses.

📧 Emails

What CIG sent to its subscribers: an alert calling for mobilization against Vanduul incursions in the Nyx system, detailing the new InterSec Defense Solutions contracts (see the Patch notes section above for full content), coupled with a reminder of the countdown to the opening of the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2956 today.

🎬 YouTube Videos

Cpt_Foxyloxy anglais EN

MrKraken anglais EN

  • 4.10.3 Patch Breakdown | Star Citizen
    Analysis of Alpha 4.10.3 content, informed by testing throughout the PTU cycle, covering both what appears in official notes and what was omitted.

Evenlease anglais EN

The Lord Tyler francais FR

Elguapoe anglais EN

Enderprize anglais EN

💬 Spectrum: synthesis of most-discussed topics

The forum remains electric, and still without any official response on the merits. The Liberator, barely made flyable, concentrates much of the anger around its RRR service whose scope remains unclear, while the Galaxy continues to divide between amazement and overpowered accusations. The Marauder, now dated by datamining, adds a third front to the weapon balancing question.

The Liberator's RRR, a communication knot

Liberator completely DOA opens with 76 votes and 59 replies: its author deems the ship dead-on-arrival as long as confusion persists over which pads can trigger repair, rearm, and refuel services. Would like some clarification on the Liberator RRR and Liberator RRR demand a clear answer, and CIG: Please confirm if RRR on Liberator is limited to the under-deck pads only. totals 63 replies with none from the studio. A report circulates that CIG indicated during a community stream that RRR is not planned on the ship's top or exterior pads (see the Reddit section): this is hearsay at this stage, never confirmed by an official Spectrum message. In contrast, Liberator - very nice work! gathers 38 largely positive replies on the craft's execution, and more targeted threads like Ships are losing collision when you land them on the Liberator., Liberator's tractor beam? and The Liberator doesn't like the Starlight at all! flag more specific compatibility and functionality issues.

Galaxy: between adoration and overpowered accusations

Galaxy is so OP - WHAT IS CIG DOING?????? gathers 88 votes and 90 replies to denounce a deemed severe imbalance, while Very disapointed by the galaxy, overall takes the opposite stance finding the ship disappointing. The satisfied camp is no less active: Very happy with the change to the Galaxy's weapons for the pilot! Can we ask for the same for the rest of the ships? and ALL ships should have pilot controlled weapons like Galaxy. would like to see this treatment generalized. On a more measured note, The Galaxy interior feels like a more homey Polaris and Galaxy - First Flight Impressions deliver hands-on feedback, while a poll asks the community about possible Galaxy availability as a loaner vehicle for the Endeavour.

The Marauder, now dated, reignites the balancing debate

CIG, please help me understand why we couldn't have the F8A instead of the F8C when a medium fighter Drake ship gets 7 x S3's is the most active thread of the day with 164 votes and 184 replies. Its author relies on datamined figures, unconfirmed by CIG (see the Leaks section), crediting the Marauder with seven size 3 weapon hardpoints, to fault the studio for downgrading the F8C versus the F8A while also arming a Drake medium fighter as heavily. Will the F8C be reviewed during the next weapons review (scheduled ship balancing)? continues the question without obtaining further answer.

Other topics

Remote Hangar Door Control via ATC (ALT+N) - Especially for the RSI Galaxy is the day's most-voted thread (130 votes), a quality-of-life proposal also relayed on Reddit (see below). Alright CIG, what's the play with the 600i?... and When will the ships in game get some love? express broader weariness at the multiplication of new content at the expense of existing ships, and Why does CIG hate group play? as well as Seriously, whats the point of doing those long group missions if the rewards just get deleted anyway? criticize reward losses after long group missions. A note of self-deprecation also travels the forum: Most of the drama on this website is from people who refuse to read the FAQs invites relativizing some of the day's controversies.

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

Mood oscillates between fascination with new ships and frustration over the Liberator, with usual community creativity in the background. The subreddit largely echoes Spectrum's controversies while adding its share of anecdotes and personal screenshots.

The Liberator makes its entrance, for better and worse

Galaxy and Liberator now flyable in PU for people who own them opens discussion of the two ships' actual availability. The Liberator immediately draws praise for its interior layout: The Liberator has the sexiest 'bridge' in the game hands down. and Liberator does have a window out to pads! commend the cockpit quality and the view over landing pads.

The bridge of the Anvil Liberator, judged by a player as the most successful in the game The Anvil Liberator's bridge, posted 11/12.

On the practical side, M80 FITS INSIDE LIBERATOR. Its a little tight, A few FEET of clearance, but IT FITS. I was able to close the door. confirms the small ground fighter M80 fits just barely in the hold. But the tone hardens with Liberator RRR Workaround: Touching the interior of the ship is enough to get it working., which documents a workaround method to trigger RRR service, and especially CIG Confirmed on Citizen Spooners Stream that RRR is not intended on top/exterior pads of Liberator. Decently irritating., an unconfirmed report that CIG specified on stream that only certain interior pads receive RRR. They already changed their statement on RRR for Liberator Pads, Internal pads only have RRR, not the external pads. Odd choice. mentions a change in messaging between two versions of patch notes, without any official source to settle the matter at this stage. Finally, The fact that Liberator was changed from a Light Carrier to a Drop Ship is absolutely unacceptable. is outraged by a ship category change (from light carrier to drop ship), noted between a presentation image dated November 10 and the implementation on November 13.

The Gatac Hyun sparks curiosity

Gatac Hyun relays the render of the new xi'an hybrid mining and salvage ship, whose release is expected November 21.

The Gatac Hyun, new xi'an hybrid mining and salvage ship expected November 21 The Gatac Hyun, whose asymmetrical design intrigues the community (11/12).

Around the Galaxy and verse life

RSI Galaxy, My Best Guess at the Upper Deck Floor Plan (Plus a Theory About All That Empty Space) proposes a reconstruction of the upper deck floorplan from official videos, and Waited so long for this... expresses, with a touch of humor, the wait of an owner who doesn't yet have their modules. On a more critical note, I can't be the only one who's disappoint in the dumbing down and lack of Sim-Mechanics. regrets a lack of depth compared to Elite Dangerous, and What do you think of a "one-time self-resurrection" feature for SC? proposes a mechanic to limit death frustration far from aid. New Babbage as a home this patch wavers on choosing a residence during the IAE, and its the year 2026 and we still have no way to easily report blatant racism directly ingame or block problematic users. points out a gap in in-game moderation tools.

On creativity and community life, I hope this is allowed. I play a game called Dressmaker. Husband plays a lot of SC so I made a Star Citizen Inspired dress hijacks a dress-up game to pay homage to Star Citizen, and Ladies and gents, the BMM lives celebrates the Banu Merchantman. Finally, Remote Hangar Door Control via ATC (ALT+N) - Especially for the RSI Galaxy relays the same Spectrum thread mentioned above, a fine example of a topic that crosses both platforms the same day.

🕵️ Leaks & Datamining

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

Complete spec sheets for the four IAE ships

Datamining of the PTU 4.10.3 build reveals the full specifications of the four new features highlighted for the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2956:

  • RSI Galaxy (modular, 6 crew): 5,435 tons, 148,700 cumulative structure points, two size 3 generators and coolers, two size 3 shields, one size 3 radar and one size 3 quantum drive. Armament: 6 size 5 cannons and 32 size 2 missiles, for cumulative 7,364 DPS. Base cargo module holds 64 SCU.
  • Anvil Liberator (transport, 2 crew): 4,151 tons, 275,000 structure points, one size 3 generator, two size 3 coolers and two size 3 shields, one size 2 radar and one size 3 quantum drive. Armament: 2 size 5 cannons, 4 size 3 cannons, 8 size 3 missiles, and 2 size 2 PDC turrets, for cumulative 4,637 DPS. Cargo capacity listed at 400 SCU.
  • Drake Marauder (medium fighter, 1 crew): 76 tons, 7,100 structure points, two size 1 generators and coolers, two size 1 shields, one size 1 radar and one size 1 quantum drive. Armament: 7 size 3 cannons and 4 size 1 missiles, for cumulative 3,819 DPS, directly fueling the balancing debate underway on Spectrum (see above).
  • Gatac Hyun (hybrid mining and salvage, 1 crew): 744 tons, 71,764 structure points, one size 2 generator and two size 2 coolers, two size 2 shields, one size 2 radar and one size 2 quantum drive. Equipment: 4 size 3 cannons, two size 2 salvage heads and one size 1 mining laser, plus 8 size 2 missiles, for cumulative 2,050 DPS and 32 SCU cargo.

These figures, which remain unconfirmed datamined data from CIG, could still evolve before the ships' actual release.

A hint of a winter event not yet officially announced

The game files contain two livery sets for the Anvil Hurricane, Argo RAFT, Banu Defender, and RSI Aurora Mk2, respectively named "IceBreak" and "Deck the Hull," both tied to an event called Luminalia. The presence of two competing names for the same event suggests it is not yet finalized and has received no official announcement.

Expo Best in Show and cosmetics

The Best in Show 2956 would be reserved for the Drake Corsair, Drake Ironclad Assault (usable on both variants), Origin M80, and RSI Perseus. Several cosmetic items marked as promotional were also spotted: an Arlington "Everglade" rifle, a Bobcat university vest at Cousin Crow's, a "Neonwave" bundle pairing a hologram and glasses, and accessories for Wally's Bar.

Drake Marauder liveries spotted in game files Drake Marauder liveries (Splendor, Aquamarine, Bloodlet, Hardstrike) found in the files.

Liveries have also been found for the Galaxy, Liberator, and Gatac Hyun, as well as a new "Liberty" livery for the Wolf.

Updated expo floor plan, and already a teaser for next year

The exposition floor plan was altered at the last minute: the MFC and Auxilia were removed, replaced respectively by the MDC and Centurion.

Updated floor plan of the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2956 The revised expo floor plan, with the MDC and Centurion replacing the MFC and Auxilia.

More surprising, a teaser banner for the IAE 2957, next year's edition, has already been spotted in game files, well before the current edition closes.

Discovery videos

Several filmed tours of the new ships circulate in leak halls: a Galaxy tour, a showcase of its cargo and medical modules, a Liberator tour, a Gatac Hyun tour, and a Drake Marauder tour.