Greetings Citizens,

It’s exciting to see sales of the Starfarer tanker push us past another stretch goal. To me, that says that backers understand that Star Citizen is going to be deeper than just a combat game… that we’re going to make unique experiences for all kinds of players, from pirates to refuelers.

Hitting $31 million means you unlock the first of the player-selected role ships, the RSI Orion! Like the Starfarer, the Orion is the kind of ship you probably wouldn’t have flown in Wing Commander… but we intend to make it just as interesting as a fighter or a bomber!

RSI Orion – Roberts Space Industries’ goal has always been to make the stars available to individual Citizens. Now, with the RSI Orion mining platform, RSI is letting individuals take over a process formerly controlled by megacorporations. The Orion’s features include high-grade turret-mounted tractor beam arrays, durable exterior-accessible ‘saddlebags’ for mineral storage and a cabin designed by the team that brought you the Aurora and Constellation!

The voting is a lot closer now, but it looks like “Explorer” has edged out the crowd to be our next ship!

Anvil Carrack – The Anvil Carrack has been the vanguard of every UEE exploration effort in recent years. Featuring reinforced fuel tanks for long-duration flight, a highly advanced jump drive array and a dedicated computer core room that allows it to put the maximum processing power into jump charting operations. Originally a military exclusive, the Carrack is now available for civilian use as a pathfinder spacecraft. Features on-board accommodations to allow for truly self-sufficient flight, including crew medical and repair facilities, and a mapping-oriented sensor suite capable of always charting a route home!

You have two more chances to vote for a new ship role! By the process of elimination, you’ll be choosing a ship from either Drake Interplanetary, makers of the Cutlass and the Caterpillar, or MISC, makers of the Freelancer and the Starfarer. Choose wisely!

Thank you for your support. Please join me tomorrow at 11 AM PST for a four-hour anniversary livestream direct from Cloud Imperium headquarters in Santa Monica, California. The team is excited to get another chance to interact with the community, and we’re looking forward to talking about some of the work we’ve done in the past year!

— Chris Roberts