Star Citizen is performing quite well these days.
Star Citizen is performing quite well these days.
Now that my latest setup is fully complete (refer to the build log in the signature), I wanted to assess the performance potential of what appears to be the least refined and slowest game available. I enjoy the title, having played it intermittently for several years. The ideas and playstyle are appealing, and the interactions with friends can be quite entertaining. By this stage, one could even claim it’s merely a "minimum viable product" if developers fix some issues and add more features. Of course, after 11 years of development, it still functions, albeit not optimally. Still, technology has advanced considerably. My previous configuration (Ryzen 3700X with RX 5700-XT) barely managed acceptable frame rates most of the time. I had to adjust settings, tweak the OS, downscale to 2560x1080p, and push through compromises. Even then, the graphics card struggled to maintain 40-45 FPS in combat and hovered around 65-70 FPS during travel. Even with higher settings, my overall frame rate improved by at least half. The new build (Ryzen 7800-X3D paired with RX 7900-XTX) handles the game much better, delivering native 3440x1440p performance at full quality. In open areas I can reach 120-150 FPS, and in cities around 50-60 FPS. Combat remains smooth at about 65-70 FPS, while quantum travel averages 105-115 FPS. The only factor lowering my rate is setting the clouds to maximum, which reduces outdoor performance to 30-35 FPS. I usually settle for medium settings and hit 50-60 FPS in Orison. It seems modern hardware has finally overcome Star Citizen’s earlier struggles thanks to significant power gains. If you’re interested in trying it, keep in mind it’s still quite CPU-intensive at present. Running it with high graphics actually helps by shifting some load to the GPU. However, the CPU bottleneck remains a concern. A solid CPU is essential for the best experience. The game also demands a lot of memory—16GB is typical, but 20-24GB is recommended. It won’t run smoothly on a system with just 16GB RAM; 32GB is ideal. While it might not be GPU-heavy right now, using a very low-tier card isn’t advisable either. I suggest an RTX 3060 12GB or RTX 3060-Ti for optimal results. Lastly, solid-state storage is crucial—using a spinning disk will cause long load times and frequent crashes. A fast SSD is a must. Overall, this build delivers a solid, if not perfect, experience. It’s smooth and responsive enough for most players, though it still has room for improvement. If you’re keen to try, just remember the current state makes it more CPU-focused than GPU-focused.
Provide detailed system specs and consider upgrading your PC components for optimal performance. Also, check if your setup supports the game’s requirements before starting.
Right, I almost forgot one of the coolest things about this game. Because the game is so pretty and getting smoother and smoother, fans of the game create their own advertisements of the game - known as Fan Trailers. Im not sure why its such a big thing in the world of Star Citizen but I do enjoy watching a few really good ones from time to time. These are just players who play the game and really like it, so they take the third person camera, get it into the right spot for beautiful shots, and make a Fan Trailer out of it. All you really need to make your own is a smoothly running game and a joystick for smooth camera panning. Im not really into it enough to try a fan trailer myself, but I do enjoy watching some of the better ones made by the community, Ill leave a few examples here and you can use them to see just how insane this game can really be... This is a brand new one, created just 2 weeks ago, I like it a lot, very good shots, song choice, and overall mood setting. This is another particularly good one that is fairly recent (less than a year old). What makes this one particularly good is the attention to detail - matching the characters' Armor to the ship in every shot, a very nice way to show off armor sets as well as ships. Moving onto older ones (18 months old), this one in my opinion is the best overall because it shows off a lot of game mechanics and keeps the video interesting throughout every second of it. There is also the epic soundtrack, cuts to match the beat of the music, the slow intro that picks up with action as the song ramps up, and more. Everything here is as good as - if not better than - anything CIG has ever produced themselves. A very good fan trailer indeed, the only negative being it is out-dated now and more gameplay loops and mechanics have since been added to the game. Finally, we have one dedicated to literally just sight seeing and thats it. Its quite old (over 2.5 years) but the song choice is exquisite, and the shots are breathtaking - still one of my favorites to this day. I know it says 2022 fan trailer but its not - it was uploaded in December of 2020. Of course, this being such a unique game with a unique community, people take up all sorts of activities within the game. Hard Flying for example - the act of flying very low to the ground with flight assistance turned off, doing stunts with your friends. This is probably the best example out there.
Updated with insights on the Aegis Avenger Titan in the game—this vessel is highly recommended for new players, particularly those seeking a solid starting option. It’s ideal for players who value practicality and are mindful of budget constraints.