00:00So, Star Citizen Alpha 4.8 introduced a feature that was desperately needed for a long time,
00:05ever since the Pyro system was introduced and even more so with the Nyx system which
00:10makes us travel even longer distances. In the past, it was rather common for players to run
00:15out of fuel in the middle of nowhere and end up having to be rescued or just logging out out
00:21of
00:21despair. Well, as of this current patch, it doesn't have to be that way anymore as NPCs can now come
00:28and refuel us right where we are. In today's video, I am going to show you how you can get
00:39refueled by
00:40an NPC in-game and as you will see, it's actually surprisingly easy. So, let's say you are in a
00:49Nyx system like I am and you are taking a patrol mission that takes you all over the system,
00:55making you cover huge distances in a fighter like this Origin M80. You are, sooner than later,
01:04going to run out of quantum fuel. In the past, if we were lucky, we could set course for Levski
01:10or our station and hope to be in range so that we would refuel there. If not, it was basically
01:17game over.
01:20But now, instead of worrying on whether you'll make it to the nearest station, you can just press
01:25F1 to turn on your mobiglass and look for contracts and open the beacons tab.
01:32There you can only select one option, as all of the other options were temporarily removed,
01:37and that option is refueling. Transmit that beacon and just a few seconds later,
01:43some NPCs will arrive. A fighter and a staffer, which will be the one who will refuel your ship.
01:53To get refueled, you must first target the staffer and then align yourself with its refueling nozzle.
02:00Press write all plus N to dock. If you are close enough, a docking interface will appear and your
02:07ship will automatically dock to the refueling nozzle. Once the docking procedure is complete,
02:14open your mobiglass again and then go to the landing tabs, as you would normally do to refuel
02:19your ship on the pad or in a hangar. There you will have a specific interface on which you are
02:27going
02:27to see how much you are going to refill your tank. Given the low prices, you should completely fill the
02:35gauge. Once the transfer is complete, you just need to press right alt plus N again and the staffer
02:43will move away and so can you. While this system is undoubtedly convenient for stranded pilots,
02:53it does raise some questions regarding the future of player-oriented refueling services.
03:00Refueling a ship like my Origin M80 from nearly empty to full costs me only a little less than 2000
03:07credits, which is an incredibly low amount. The problem is that actual players flying refueling
03:14ships have operating costs, travel time and opportunity costs that they are going to have to consider.
03:22If an NPC staffer can cross an entire star system and fully refuel a fighter for just a couple
03:29of thousands of credits, how are player refuelers going to compete? Why would someone wait for a
03:36player response, negotiate the price and potentially pay more when an NPC can arrive quickly and do the
03:43job for almost nothing? While I understand that this is a first iteration and that CAG wants to prevent
03:50players from becoming stranded, the current pricing feels so low that it risks undermining an entire
03:56profession before it even has a chance to properly develop and to me it feels like CAG should multiply
04:02these prices by 10 in order to make player-to-player refueling somewhat viable.
04:11Overall, I think that NPC refueling is a fantastic addition to Star Citizen. It solves a genuine problem
04:19that has existed ever since players started venturing into larger and more remote systems and it should
04:25significantly reduce the frustration of becoming stranded for hundreds of millions of kilometers
04:30away from the nearest station. The system is very easy to use and I think that it works surprisingly
04:37well and makes deep space travel much less stressful. That being said, I do believe the balance will need
04:45some attention moving forward. If player professions are going to thrive, NPC services should not be that
04:52cheap so that they completely replace player interaction. Finding the right balance between
04:58convenience and preserving gameplay opportunities for Starfire and Starlight Cruise will be important
05:03as the game continues to iterate. But what do you think? Have you already used the new NPC
05:12refueling service and do you think its current pricing is fair or should CAG increase the cost to make
05:18player-operated refueling more competitive? Let me know in the comment section down below.
05:23If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to leave a like, subscribe for more Star Citizen content
05:28and consider supporting the channel through Patreon or YouTube membership. As always, a huge thank goes
05:34to my Patreons including DrFrobins, Sokart Asisius, Shadowrise, Ducky2Dunker and ZeroCrusher and everybody
05:40else who makes these videos possible. I've been TheEradicator, thank you so much for watching, I'll see you guys in
05:47the next one.
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