Star Citizen development continues to progress. The latest development is that the PC space game's Alpha 2.4 update is now available, developer Cloud Imperium has announced.

This is described as a "major update" for Star Citizen's persistent universe. Among other things, it introduces the first version of in-game persistence and shopping, while it also adds "major changes" to how the game controls. Additionally, the update makes tweaks to the in-game ships (one example is the Starfarer is now available to fly with), while it also fixes bugs and makes a number of balance changes.

Overall, this is the "biggest and most important" update to Star Citizen since Alpha 2.0, which came out in December 2015. The Star Citizen website has many more details on the update, including information about the new ships.

The Starfarer, for example, starts at $300, while a Gemini version of it goes for $340. "These massive tankers have multiple decks and crew support for seven people, making it our largest flyable ship in-game so far," Cloud Imperium said.

In terms of Star Citizen's new in-game persistence, the update unlocks new backend functionality that changes the game so that what you do in one session will carry over to the next. This includes things like hostility level, the items you buy, and Alpha UEC balance, among other things.

"Adding persistence is a huge milestone and a crucial addition to the game that will affect nearly every aspect of Star Citizen, and this is only the beginning," Cloud Imperium said. "A ton of backend work was completed in order to make this possible and we are looking forward to the updates to come as we continue to expand and flesh out this core foundation of the game."

For lots, lots more on Star Citizen Alpha 2.4, be sure to read the full blog post, while you follow the links below to learn more.

Star Citizen is the most successful crowdfunded project of any kind in history. By the latest count, the game has raised more than $115 million.