Section 01
Is Star Citizen worth buying?
Star Citizen is in alpha and has been since 2012. It is ambitious, beautiful, and sometimes broken. This section covers what you actually get for the entry price today, what you don’t, and the questions worth asking yourself before you pledge.
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System specs and hardware
Star Citizen is a demanding PC game. This section lists the official minimum and recommended specs, what you actually want for a smooth experience, and the hardware traps to avoid (low RAM, slow drives, outdated GPUs).
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How to actually buy the game
You buy through robertsspaceindustries.com — not Steam, not the Epic store, not anywhere else. This section walks through creating an account, applying a referral code for the 50,000 UEC bonus, and finishing checkout.
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Pledge vs purchase — what’s the difference?
Star Citizen is crowdfunded, so the community calls buying a game package a pledge rather than a purchase. Functionally it’s the same — money moves, you get a ship and access — but the wording matters when you read forum posts.
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Which starter package should you buy?
The cheapest packages start around $45 and include a small ship plus access to Star Citizen. This section compares the common starter ships (Aurora MR, Mustang Alpha) and explains which is the best fit for a first-time player.
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Installing the game
After you’ve pledged, you download a small installer from robertsspaceindustries.com that pulls down the actual launcher. This section covers the install paths, disk space requirements (90+ GB), and the firewall prompts you’ll see along the way.
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Using the RSI launcher
The RSI launcher is what you open every time you want to play. This section explains the difference between the Live build, the PTU build, and the EPTU build — and how to switch between them.
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Launching the game for the first time
Click Launch, wait through the load screens, and you’ll land in your character’s personal hab room — a tiny in-game apartment in one of four major cities. This section explains which character options matter on day one and which can be deferred.
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Key binds you need to know
Star Citizen has hundreds of key binds. You only need about a dozen on day one: open mobiGlas, open inventory, interact, sprint, summon ship, flight controls. This section lists them and points to where the full binding map lives in the options menu.
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Your first day in the ‘Verse
What does day one actually look like? You wake up in your hab room. You walk outside. You see other players. You panic, briefly. This section is a calm, ordered list of the first ten things to do — and what to ignore until later.
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Getting from your hab to the hangar
Your hab is in a city. Your ship is in a hangar at the spaceport. The hangar is reached by tram, train, or shuttle depending on the city. This section walks the route in each of the four major cities so you’re never lost on day one.
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Your first flight
Power on. Strap in. Lift the landing gear. Burn for orbit. This section covers the take-off sequence, basic flight controls, and how not to crash into the hangar door on the way out.
Read the full guideReady to jump in?
All twelve guides are live. Not sure about a term you ran into? The glossary covers the jargon you’ll meet across the ‘Verse — plain English, no gatekeeping.