Today, for its first time in months, Cloud Imperium Games was able to show off new advancements it has made in the development of Star Citizen in front of a live audience at Gamescom 2017.

Some of the highlights included a new “Hailing” system where players can initiate face-to-face conversations with other pilots, a new combat scenario, atmosphere modeling, and improved mission design. It also showed off a new Idris ship, which has fans talking.

From a technical standpoint, the presentation once again demonstrated that Cloud Imperium Games and its founder Chris Roberts are incredibly ambitious. Some of the features shown were not only a cut above what other space sims have tried before, but tread into hundred million dollar AAA release territory. That might not sound too shocking to those who saw Star Citizen complete its round of funding with over $155 million invested, but it’s comforting to know that the money is being used to push the envelope.

Things didn’t necessarily go as planned, though. There were countless bugs present in the demo, much of which is due to Cloud Imperium Games preferring to deliver live demos instead of pre-recorded footage. Although the “live demo” excuse is reasonable, it was sadly reminiscent of my time with the Star Citizen alpha.

As I would learn in my many hours playing the game last year, Star Citizen in its pre-release form sounds much better on paper than in action. The build I tested was wrought with issues, including both gameplay and performance. It was a huge let-down to me personally after reading about what the game aspires to be.

So, next time you hear that Star Citizen hasn’t hit its launch window, know that it’s for the better. This is a game that is trying to do something that no other game has ever done: fully realize the potential of a space sim MMO. Things like this take time, and Star Citizen needs as much time as it can get.

Below you can view some clip highlights from today’s demo.

Ship Explodes, Revealing New Effects

Faceware Technology Demo

Communicating with Another Ship

Drake Dragonfly

Star Citizen‘s website currently lists its anticipated release as late 2017.