But if you think about what we are doing, we actually allow for a LOT more variation and nuance in flight and combat than a simplified Wing Commander/X-Wing style flight model. Like learning to drive a car really well…it requires some learning. You have to anticipate where you want to be and plan for it.

Does this mean I think the system is perfect?

No!

New Features/Fixes

Arena Commander
Arena commander menu now accessible through options menu
Proper score awarded when an enemy is destroyed in Vanduul Swarm
All ballistic weapons now use ammo boxes
Frozen effect no longer appears for everyone after ejecting
Command pp_rebindKeys layout_joystick_spacesim now properly works
HOTAS X55 Joystick is diplayed under controller options menu
Run no longer toggled off when user interacts with something
Cockpit and ship should now despawn after ejecting
All ship controls now have smoother animations
X-box right joystick can now be inverted
Countermeasures should now be more effective
Hornet chaingun audio should no longer cut out
No longer stuck unable to respawn if chat open while killed
Spawn warping audio no longer heard by everyone in the match
Broadsword when equipped now has ammo and properly overheats
Ship debris can no longer pass through cockpit
Improvments to zero-g movement
Various performance improvements
Various server and client crash fixes
Switched spawn points so that players respawn next to their own bases in CTC
Match end after reaching over 100 points.
Helmet Animations
Various matchmaking tweaks (public matches were requesting private ones)
Reduced texture sizes on the 300i
Implement new win mechanic into Team Deathmatch. Fixed up next kill wins mode, audio and HUD alerts.
Item Balancing
Shield energy reallocation does not lose energy but realloc existing energy
Loading screen remains on screen after the level has loaded
Pausing the game as DFM loads from hangar sticks on a black screen
Added directional indication for shield impacts not in view (similar to an older verison of the shield) for gameplay feedback.
ReExported LandingGear_deploy animation
Player is able to enter ship while he is also able to ?press X to respawn?. Ship now correctly rez?s out when landed after ejection.
Improved lighting but for real this time
If a Vanduul becomes sufficiently damaged they disappear from the map and their name in-game becomes ?undefined?. Need to be destroyed to progress. Added missing return to fix.
Allow custom user CFGs to be specified in cmd line.
When one player ejects from their ship, the frozen visor FX may appear on all player?s screens.
After destroying another player their body will float in space in a t-pose.
MP Fix ? Player is now hidden following a vehicle destruction death as in SP.
Hangar
Buggy can now drive properly in the Business Hangar
Turrets no longer mountable on missile racks hardpoints
Third person camera no longer rotates using Q and E
Replace me ball no longer present under Hornet Trainer
Improvements to Trainer Hornet rear landing gear geometry
No longer able to place 325a engine on other ships
Hornet Ghost engine no longer able to be equipped on other ships
Resolved issue of no ammo when chaingun removed and added back to ship
Fix for third person camera rotating when pressing Q or E when not in zero-g
Created basic mapping for Logitech G940. Fixed up a number of asserts it caused in the Joystick device handler.
The Logitech G940 completely changes if you install the correct drivers. Updated the mappings to work with those drivers rather than the default windows ones.
AC menu can be navigated using a gamepad
Known Issues:

HUD target indicator arrows can be missing
Graphical issues can occur while using SLI/Crossfire
It can be possible to sometimes load into a black screen when choosing an Arena Commander match
Hornet gatling guns take heat damage when not being fired
Hornet gatling gun ammo temporarily shown as missile racks in the Holo-Table

Ricoxg: So the Crusader games were fantastic, but as a story-telling medium they're also pretty different from Star Citizen. How will your experience there translate to Star Citizen?

Tony: I've always been attracted to games that presented the player with a large, detailed world in which they could forge their own unique path. I like that freedom - that total escapism that comes from not only stepping into a fantasy world, but having it present you with enough detail and choice that you can really lose yourself in it. I spent my first ten years in the gaming business focused exclusively on how best to build those types of complex worlds, and I think that experience is going to directly translate to Star Citizen.

Ricoxg: Are there any unique qualities of the Crusader games that you think people would be surprised to find benefiting Star Citizen?

Tony: I think of it the other way around. In 1995 Origin published the official guide to Crusader, and in it I talked a bit about what I'd want in any sequels. More than anything else, I wanted to allow for the exploration of space and the addition of other players for both cooperative and competitive reasons. I thought that merging Crusader's intricate level of detail with a much more open-ended universe would result in an awesome game. So, when Chris Roberts was explaining to me earlier this year what he was looking to do with Star Citizen, I perked up quite a bit as I started to realize the ambition of the vision. He was basically taking some of the fundamental ideas that I had always found attractive and turning the dial up to eleven. It's part of the reason why I gave up my freedom and decided to return to professional game development, which is something that a year ago I'd have said would never happen. Chris is aiming to try and finally deliver that all-immersive universal simulator of a game that so many hard-core gamers have always wanted, but which no one has ever been crazy enough to attempt. It hasn't escaped my notice that a game like Crusader - with all that I'd once hoped to do with it - would slot right into a little corner of the Star Citizen universe.

Ricoxg: You've obviously worked on a number of games across multiple genres, what would you say is a fundamental component of making a game fun, and how are you going to work to make sure we see that in SC?

Tony: Balance is absolutely crucial to a good game. It sounds simple, but in reality it's often extremely difficult to get right. In Star Citizen, getting the balance right will mean a lot more than just making sure that the ships and weaponry have the appropriate counterbalancing strengths and weaknesses. One of my primary goals in helping to build out the persistent universe will be ensuring that there's a lot of content for a wide assortment of play styles. In order to make the player really feel like it's a living, breathing universe in which they they've got total freedom, they've got to be able to play the game as they want - pirate, bounty hunter, merchant, explorer, spy. Each of those occupations and many more need to be fully supported - need to be given enough interesting and challenging things to do to really keep them engaged. That's a significant challenge as it implies a huge amount of content and a lot of very different play mechanics coming into contact with one another. It's too early to say how exactly this will be accomplished, but there will be an algorithmic element to many of the mission archetypes that will provide for lots of very unique situations.

Ricoxg: So what design philosophies or standards do you bring to the team that you think will most impact the persistent world of SC? In other words, when we play, what is it about the game that we'll see and say, "Ah. Tony Zurovec was working on this?"

Tony: Star Citizen's canvas is already so broad and ambitious that I think most of my influence will be felt in more subtle ways - more on the execution side of the Persistent Universe rather than the fundamental design. I'm sure bits and pieces of me will poke through around the edges here and there, but my primary focus is going to be making sure that we have the right tools and processes and mindset in place to effectively execute the most critical aspects of the established vision within a reasonable time frame. It's going to be very difficult because the game covers so many disparate areas, but that diversity is also one of the features that I find most appealing.

Ricoxg: Story is a REALLY hard thing to do well in an MMO. Can you talk a little about what "story" means to you with respect to SC and how you expect to enable that experience for players in the game?

Tony: Star Citizen will feature plenty of story-driven missions that will allow players to gradually progress through elaborately designed scenarios in the pursuit of long-term strategic objectives. The main focus, though, will be in providing you with the means to be the “hero” of your own particular story, whatever that may be. The idea is that the narrative isn't set in stone. To this end, Star Citizen will adapt to your play-style in ways both subtle and dramatic. Choose the role of a sinner or a saint, and the game will respond to you as such in a number of different ways. In essence, you'll choose the broad strokes of your character's life, and the game will help you fill in the details.