Star Citizen and its ‘Into the Depths’ patch free to play for a week

Cloud Imperium wants fans of the still-in-development Star Citizen to check out its progress thus far. So, it’s decided to introduce an interesting new test drive alpha, where players can try the “Into the Depths” patch. This “Free Fly” period, as Cloud Imperium dubs it, allows any player to download the latest patch and play what the game has to offer. The free access begins today and lasts until November 3.

“Players can dive right into spelunking with Alpha 3.7’s new cave system as they mine, gather and accumulate valuable resources, evade the new RSI Mantis’ quantum enforcement device (or team up using mission sharing with friends to take down unsuspecting pirates) and sell resources to rent bigger and better ships with in-game currency,” the company notes in the announcement released today.

How long does Star Citizen’s “Free Fly” last?

The trial for Star Citizen goes from now until this Sunday. The free-to-play section of the game is available for download on this page, providing access to five ships. On top of that, those interested in Starter Packs can invest for $40 USD. This provides access to a starter ship, a game package, three months of ship insurance, and 1,000 in UEC.

Several new features are in the trailer below, including the following:

• Cave environments: This introduces stunning new VFX and lighting, as players delve into these dark and spooky places with their ship.
• FPS mining: With the help of the Greycat Industrial Pyro multi-tool, players can look around for deposits of minerals and more.
• Harvestables: Various locations now have items for harvesting, which can be used or consumed, or even sold as commodities.
• Commodity inventory: A personal system that makes it easier to manage collected items.
• Mission Sharing: This lets players share mission details with others, so they can keep track of rewards together.
• Ship Rentals: Can’t buy a ship? Try renting one out, with five different models on hand.

Check out more details about Star Citizen and Into the Depths on its official page.

Before deciding if Star Citizen is worth the hefty, post-“fly” price, be sure to give our opinion on its lengthy development a read.