A UEE Bengal carrier in orbit high above a planet

New-player guide

Star Citizen — No Jargon. No Fluff. Just the game, plain and simple.

Twelve short steps from “should I buy this?” to your first flight. Written by a veteran player for someone who has never seen the game.

Start here: the Day One guideAlready decided? Get the 50,000 UEC sign-up code

The first question

Is Star Citizen worth buying?

The honest short answer from section 01 of the guide. Not a sales pitch.

  • Yes, at the entry price, if you enjoy open-world space sims and can put up with unfinished software. No other game does what it does at its scale.
  • No, if you expect a finished game. It is still an alpha — an early, unfinished test version — and has been since 2012.
Read the full answer Or try it free first
Start Here

Six steps from curious to flying.

The short version of the Day One guide. Each step opens a full section with screenshots and sources.

  1. 1

    Worth it?

    Decide yes or no before you spend anything. Not sure? Play for free during the next Free Fly event first.

    Section 01
  2. 2

    Check your PC

    Check your PC: 16 GB of RAM is the minimum and 32 GB is recommended. You also need an SSD with 150 GB free.

    Section 02
  3. 3

    Buy with the code

    Create your account on robertsspaceindustries.com with referral code STAR-GCQJ-N6NC. That adds 50,000 UEC to a new account.

    Section 03
  4. 4

    Install

    Before you press INSTALL, open the launcher’s Settings and point the Library Folder at an SSD with 150 GB free.

    Section 06
  5. 5

    Hab to hangar

    Lost? Hold F on any kiosk or map board and choose Set Destination. A marker appears on your screen.

    Section 11
  6. 6

    First flight

    In the pilot seat, press Right Alt + R and wait for the screens to load. Then press N to raise the landing gear.

    Section 12

Want every step? See all twelve sections of the Day One guide.

New to the game?

Three questions every new player asks.

Plain English. No 200-page wiki rabbit hole.

Ready to jump in?

Use a referral code. Start with 50,000 UEC free.

Every new account that uses a referral code gets a 50,000 UEC bonus on day one. It’s the difference between buying your first decent armor set on day one and earning it over two evenings. The code below is mine — no extra cost to you.

STAR-GCQJ-N6NC

How to use the referral code & claim your 50,000 UEC

Enlist with my codeNew accounts only. Opens rsi.com in a new tab, code applied.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Every factual claim on this page is checked against official Cloud Imperium Games sources. Dates and figures are verified against the primary RSI blog post or support article linked below — not third-party trackers.

  • In Star Citizen's default keyboard bindings, Flight / Systems Ready is Right Alt + R (not R). Plain R reloads on foot and cycles the sub-target in a ship. U toggles power to all ship systems.

    Source ↗RSI Support ↗

  • Star Citizen crossed $1 billion in total funding raised on May 24, 2026, from over 6.5 million backer accounts.

    RSI Funding Tracker ↗

  • New RSI accounts created with a referral code receive a 50,000 UEC enlistment bonus.

    RSI Referral Program ↗

  • Star Citizen's official minimum system requirements are published in RSI support article 360042417374; site spec listings must mirror that article verbatim.

    RSI Support ↗