Squadron 42 in Manchester: “It’s insane,” says Commander Fran

After a first hot take on his return from Manchester, we wanted to take our time. Time to let the adrenaline settle, to talk about the trip, the studios, the people he met and, above all, the test the whole community has been waiting on for more than ten years. Commander Fran played along, with no spin and with the kind of honesty that’s rare when someone comes back from a press trip.

Warm-up: setting the scene

Beacon Mag: Fran, thanks for sitting down with us. A few days after getting back, how are you doing?

Commander Fran: First of all, thanks for the interview. Once the excitement and the adrenaline wear off, I have to admit there’s something missing. We were given access to something we’d never had before, at least not in Star Citizen. Even though five hours might sound like a long time, it actually flew by. The days go by and I realize I’m missing something.

When the invitation from CIG landed in your inbox, did you think it was a joke?

Not really. I’ll admit I’ve been in touch with CIG for several years, so I was used to getting emails from them, a little less these days but quite a lot in the past. That said, there wasn’t much information at first, and things became clearer little by little.

For those who don’t know you yet, can you tell us about your journey in the Star Citizen universe?

It’s completely understandable that people don’t know me: some of my content is a few years old, or else I was working behind the scenes, like others.

I discovered Star Citizen in 2018. The technology, the loading times, being able to leave a planet and head into space, or to find yourself already in orbit: all of that felt really exciting. I’m not a passive person by nature. “Just” following something interests me less than taking part in it or creating something around it. It’s always been that way and it’ll never change.

After discovering the game, I wanted to tell stories about it. I tried several formats, including event coverage, interviews and plenty of others. In the end, what I enjoyed most was researching ships, analyzing them and tracing where their concepts came from. That’s how I found a community that looked forward to every new “Focus Ship.” The approach was a bit like being a private detective: it took a lot of digging, but it was fascinating. When you love ships, discovering where the ideas came from and following their path from A to Z is really interesting.

I also got into streaming, with what I’d call moderate success, because it’s a full-time job in its own right, both technically and as a host, and it takes a lot of different skills. We eventually found a good rhythm thanks to a team of panelists from Streamer du dimanche (“The Sunday Streamer”) and some great guests, but again, it was a huge amount of work. We stopped after 50 episodes. I have incredible memories of it.

Then the events (the Bar Citizens) kept getting bigger, and the first edition of Beacon took so much work that I couldn’t keep creating content while also helping organize a convention like that. The first edition brought together about 1,000 people, the second more than 3,000. Creating is still exciting, but it also comes with its share of challenges. We all only have 24 hours in a day, and even though it’s fun to dabble in a bit of everything, nobody can do it all.

What were you expecting from this trip before you left?

Not much. At one point I even wondered why they had invited me, because other people seemed far more deserving and had been following the project more closely, at least at this stage. But a lot of people told me that I was behind one of the biggest community events ever organized anywhere in the world, if not the biggest, and that it made sense for the studio to invite different kinds of profiles, even casual players like me, with a more-than-average skill level.

So it was an honor to take part, even though my health problems nearly cost me this chance. What I dreaded most was not being able to go: it came down to two or three days.

Manchester: the travel diary

First impression when you set foot in Manchester?

It was raining and it was cold. So my first impression was pretty chilly, and the older I get, the less I like airports. ^^

So the clichés about English weather are true?

That was indeed the first thing that came to mind. I think we only got one ray of sunshine, right as we arrived at the airport to fly home. That says it all!

On the other hand, there are plenty of other clichés about England, and especially about Manchester. I’m thinking in particular of the nightlife, with a pretty packed scene. In any case, we were there to be shut away in one studio or another, or to go from bar to bar. So the weather wasn’t really that much of a problem.

Between sessions at CIG, how did you spend your time? Any place you’d recommend?

Above all, I wanted to spend time with the other content creators, both the ones I already knew and the ones I met there. That was a big part of the experience and of the fun. I was lucky enough to share those moments with a group I found exceptional, which made me feel even more immersed and part of a community of passionate players.

Because even though we were invited, we still had to make the effort of traveling there and cover lodging and the costs that came with it. So you clearly had to be motivated, or it had to fit in with your day job. I’m obviously talking about active content creators.

As for places, it’s hard to recommend one in particular: I didn’t see much compared to everything Manchester has to offer, which seems huge. Everything looked good and we ate pretty well. It’s definitely a fun city to party in.

Any anecdote from the trip you can share?

There are surely plenty, but it’s hard to single one out from the whole experience. If I really have to, the first one that comes to mind is from the studio tour: because of my health, I was allowed to sit in places where the others couldn’t. It made me a little uncomfortable, but I have to admit I couldn’t always stay on my feet for very long.

The second is that nobody expected Mark Hamill himself to show up right in the middle of our test. That actor is a legend for all of us sci-fi fans. Everything was very strict and tightly controlled during his visit, and it was fairly brief, but he still exchanged a few words with our little group. Unfortunately, nothing more: no personal chat, no photos.

Behind the scenes at Cloud Imperium Games

Was this your first visit to CIG’s studios? What struck you?

No, I’d already been lucky enough to be invited with a very small group in 2024, on the sidelines of CitizenCon. What strikes me, and it’s actually what I like most, are the sets, the way the offices are decorated and the attention to detail, both at the reception and on every floor. I found the place pretty quiet, but both times I went, it was apparently on days off for the developers.

So the offices were empty during your visit?

I can confirm: since it was a Saturday, I got to see the floors and the offices. Everything was very tidy, but there were no developers that day.

Life-size ships, scale models, sets… This setting regularly ruffles feathers online. What’s your take?

What stood out to me was mostly the environment the developers work in, and personally, it seems perfectly normal to me. I’ve seen people online crying foul about those ships, sets and models, which they claim are paid for with crowdfunding money. But those people don’t necessarily know where the money used to pay for them actually comes from. It’s easy for bitter or disillusioned people to jump to conclusions, but they’re not necessarily well informed.

I think developers also have the right to a setting that encourages imagination and immersion. The work environment and well-being are very important for productivity. If there’s one thing to take away, it’s that. There are also other sources of revenue besides crowdfunding, earmarked in particular for marketing or other activities. Those who claim otherwise don’t necessarily have all the facts.

Compared with other studios, do these offices stand out? Would you like to work there?

I can’t say I’ve visited a huge number of studios in my life, but I find these offices fairly standard, with a special touch that comes from the setting. If I were a developer, I’d probably want to spend part of my career at a studio like that.

The people

Who did you meet on CIG’s side?

Apart from our group of eleven or twelve guests, we met the leadership, including Chris Roberts, whom we saw several times and whom I had already personally met and interviewed, as well as Sandi Roberts. I also got to chat a bit with Rich Tyler, who, if I understood correctly, runs the Squadron 42 and Star Citizen teams. I found him very friendly and very approachable, despite the enormous responsibility on his shoulders.

On Saturday, they gave us a tour of the studio. On Sunday, we took part in a Q&A session with the heads of the different departments: Dave for the narrative, Allie for the art, the composer Geoff Zanelli, who is exceptional, ship director John Crewe, and many others. All the community managers, each in charge of their own area and region, were also there to look after the 120 or 130 guests. I don’t remember exactly how many of us there were.

A standout memory with the studio teams?

What struck me about the CIG staff who were with us, and about many others, was how eager they were to share their work, even before showing us anything. You could really tell they felt they were at a turning point and that we were going to be blown away by the changes, the new features and the work they’d done. On the whole, they weren’t wrong.

The other conversation that really stayed with me was with Geoff Zanelli. He’s an already renowned composer who works on both video games and film and has written some beautiful scores. He worked with Hans Zimmer on the Pirates of the Caribbean saga, starting with the second movie. I found him so proud, and above all so happy to finally be able to share what he’d done, after all those years when he couldn’t say or show anything. That can’t have been easy.

So you could feel real excitement among the teams?

Yes, absolutely: before the test, during the studio tour, during the roughly 40 to 45 minutes of live gameplay footage they showed us on top of the test, and then during the discussions on the third day. The atmosphere was special. They really wanted to show us how far along Squadron 42 is. It’s past the polish stage: there isn’t much left before it becomes available on Steam.

Who were the other guests? Only well-known figures from the Star Citizen community?

As I read on several social networks, they did invite different kinds of profiles, but all rooted in the Star Citizen community. I didn’t see any creators from outside Star Citizen, even if some had a much bigger following. There were organizers, streamers and maybe a few backers.

Over the many Star Citizen events and trips I’ve taken part in, I have to admit I already knew, closely or from afar, nearly three quarters of the people there. Americans, Brits or people from other European countries, I had crossed paths with almost all of them somewhere. Many had also come to one edition of Beacon or another. Over the years, being in touch with the community and other players means that, in the best cases, you end up thinking of each other as friends, even as family. You follow the development over the long haul, and people end up sharing much more than the game itself.

Did you get to talk with Chris Roberts? What did you tell him?

I had already met him several times. Since there were a lot of people, I wasn’t really planning to go say hi, to leave room for the others. But at one point, the buzz died down a little. So I simply went over to thank him for “holding the line,” as they say, and we made a bit of small talk.

Any questions I might have come up with were probably the ones he gets asked all the time and that must end up weighing on him: whether it will definitely launch, the timeline, the cost, the reasons for the delays. All of that is too complex in a development like this one. Other than congratulating him, I didn’t want to bother him. Instead, I had a fairly long chat with Sandi, and that’s probably the one conversation I’d rather keep to myself.

The test: keyboard and mouse in hand

Before we talk about the game, what were you allowed to share?

They were pretty accommodating and told us we could talk about everything we saw or heard. So there were very few restrictions. We couldn’t show anything that wasn’t authorized, but given the organization and the security measures, that would have been hard anyway. The music we heard can’t be shared either for now. Finally, everything in our information pack was covered by the non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

What were the conditions like for the test?

We were set for five hours and we were very comfortably set up. The computers were beasts, as many people already know: 64 GB of RAM and an RTX 5090. Actually, I’d love to know the brand of the chair I was sitting in, because I usually can’t last long in that kind of chair. This time, the hours just flew by.

We had a space to stretch our legs, grab a drink or have a bite to eat. And yet, like the others, I had no desire whatsoever to let go of my keyboard and mouse: I tested for the full five hours, nonstop. We just took a break in the middle of the session for a photo. And what a photo! 😉

How did the first few minutes go?

At first, I saw that it started with the prologue, and my first reaction was: “Oh no, I want to see something else!” In the end, I found the whole thing pretty smooth. Some sequences had been shortened and, above all, it looked much better than the video they showed us in 2024, which was already very impressive.

I found it all pretty user-friendly. I’m not the best tester, and even less the best Star Citizen player, especially after these last two years when my activity has been different. I’d sum up my impression like this: the game is accessible, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. My first impression was really, really positive. You still had to read a few instructions, and then the game quickly takes you by the hand.

Of the three difficulty levels available, I picked Rookie, to get further into the story while enjoying the experience. But I definitely won’t play the whole game on Rookie.

So, what’s your overall impression?

We’ve heard it before, even if not everyone likes the phrase: “this game won’t be for everyone.” It’s true. I especially love games that blend cinematic staging and storytelling before dropping you into the action. The cutscenes bring so much breathtaking visual content and storytelling that you can’t help but get drawn into the story, and when you take back the controls, you really buy into it.

I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much, and I was even afraid of being disappointed, because our only common reference point is Star Citizen, which has been taking a beating from critics for months. But I can tell you one thing after these five hours of testing: it’s insane. And I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so.

I have very few complaints: it’s one “wow” after another. There are no loading screens between scenes, and there will be a ton of things to do. Some people might want to speedrun the game, but they’ll probably want to start over a second time and take it slow, because the environment is so rich. I think you’ll be able to finish it in about forty hours, or spend a hundred hours or more in it.

On paper, the cast is a dream. And on screen?

The cast is magnificent, and we all know who’s in it. The actors’ performances are spectacular. I felt it a little less with the Vanduul: it’s harder to sense an actor like Andy Serkis behind those characters, and we didn’t really get any close-ups of the villain.

Our French-speaking group was blown away by the performance of an actor we glimpsed in a video on Saturday. I didn’t know him, but he was stunningly convincing. No spoilers, but he plays a very particular role. Not for the faint of heart!

Of course, as Rich Tyler told us, we only saw a drop in the ocean: there will be a huge amount to discover once we get our hands on the game.

And the combat?

I’m no ace at space combat: I died more times than I care to admit. Still, I thought it was very well done, and much easier than in Star Citizen, luckily for me, or I probably would never have gotten past that part. We didn’t get a real on-foot combat phase, apart from inside ships like the Javelin or the Idris.

The fights, not to say the headaches, with the Vanduul are very realistic: you’re genuinely scared when they show up!

Everything is smoother than anything I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been playing video games for more than forty years. Younger generations don’t realize how lucky they are to have access to games this beautiful and immersive. When I think back to the games of thirty or forty years ago, I tell myself that imagination did a big part of the work.

On the technical side, graphics and bugs?

Nothing to complain about on the graphics: we were running native 4K, the screen was excellent and the result was gorgeous. I don’t know if I’ll get that kind of quality at home.

There were a few bugs, especially during some ship explosions, which will probably be fixed. Once, Mark Hamill’s face took half a second to load its textures properly, but it was barely noticeable, and I’m really nitpicking here. Other than that, I didn’t notice anything in particular: the game more than holds up. I think they have a blockbuster on their hands. If the communication and the marketing campaign are good, and if you like this kind of game, it could be a worldwide hit.

Your favorite moment during those five hours?

I had several “wow” moments, like the orbital battle over Vega II. But the one I enjoyed most, and it might sound a little silly, was at the hospital, after Admiral Bishop found me in my pod.

I wake up in a gel suit designed to rebuild my body, which is almost entirely burned. The reconstruction takes time, and while I’m gradually coming to, the TV is running news flashes on a loop. I watched several of them; I don’t know how many there were in total. I also spent a long time looking at the planet MacArthur through the window. I regret not being able to take a picture; I even made a little sketch in my notebook, the view was that beautiful.

The hospital is next to a shipyard, or spaceyard, I’m not sure which term to use, where a Retribution is under construction. It’s a beautiful planet: the weather was nice, the wind was blowing through the palm trees, and from my window I could see the water, structures, buildings and bridges. It was gorgeous. I could have stayed there for hours.

(Editor’s note: it took a trip all the way to MacArthur for Commander Fran to finally see some sunshine on this trip.)

And what did you like less?

Two things bothered me a little: the Vanduul braids, which sometimes moved strangely, and the Quantum visual effect, which could be improved. I wouldn’t call it ugly, but I didn’t immediately understand that I had to avoid those little white balls. There may still be a few tweaks to make.

And maybe a third thing, a much more personal one: in a somewhat “puzzle-like” mission aboard a huge alien ship, there’s a fairly complex sequence of actions to complete. I think it’s going to take me a while; I’ll need to be patient. To avoid spoilers, I’d rather not say more.

As a Star Citizen player, do you recognize the DNA of the persistent universe?

We didn’t see enough to say that we fully recognize the DNA of the persistent universe. We recognize its codes and its overall design, especially that of the current planets, but Squadron 42 is absolutely not Star Citizen: it’s a complete single-player game, as we all know.

For Squadron 42, I’d say we’re close to perfection, at 95%, whereas I wouldn’t give Star Citizen more than 30 or 40% today. Maybe that’s a bit of a harsh judgment, but it reflects the gap between what exists right now and what they manage to do in Squadron 42. Everything that bothers me in Star Citizen is absent from Squadron 42. It’s as simple as that!

The release and the state of the game

Be honest: was the game ready to ship?

Personally, I find it hard to be too tough, because I loved the experience, even when some things didn’t work, which I don’t really care much about. I was so pleasantly surprised that it’s hard for me to be very critical.

Of course, the game wasn’t ready to ship right away, and what we saw can still be improved by the developers. A December or January release might have been possible, but in my opinion, there are still a few months to go. I’d rather they work on the final details. Let’s avoid a Cyberpunk-style launch, rushed out a bit under last-minute pressure. Honestly, we’re starting to nitpick over details, and if that’s where we are, it means the game is close to perfection.

Any news on the release date?

No more information than what we already know: the second quarter of 2027. That’s where things stand. Personally, you can tell we’re almost there; it really is the home stretch. A specific date may be announced at some point.

To give the game more visibility, I can only encourage you to go to Steam, follow the game and add it to your wishlist, even if you bought it years ago.

What improvements still need to be made?

As I said, there are still a few small details to iron out. A few micro-stutters during battles can pull you out of the immersion; it would be nice if they were fixed. That said, it was hard to notice much more, because everything moves very fast: the sequences follow one another at a crazy pace. I don’t really have any other improvements to suggest.

Did this test change how you see the development?

Yes. It even made me want to go back to Star Citizen, which I haven’t done yet. Everyone tells me that urge is likely to fade very quickly if I launch SC.

What we can take away from it is that the studio, the developers and the department heads put in a tremendous amount of work to get to the result we tested in real time. In the end, that was the promise Chris Roberts made to us. Whether it was worth so many years of development, and at what cost, is hard to say. I’d like to see other people run a studio this size and face as many technical challenges, sometimes with up to five different offices around the world.

So I’m confident about Squadron 42’s release, but I can’t really speak to Star Citizen: it’s not the same thing. Some of the multiplayer issues may never be solved, but I don’t know. Who am I to judge? I don’t know the technical details that prevent, or allow, Squadron 42’s advances from being carried over to Star Citizen.

A message for the skeptics?

There are skeptics who still believe, and angry skeptics who will never believe again. In my opinion, that second group is often made up of people who were poorly informed or who don’t really keep up anymore. Nothing is perfect, and we know the studio’s flaws. But if Squadron 42’s skeptics decide to give the game a try, I’m convinced many of them won’t be skeptics anymore afterward. The game clearly delivers on its promises. I wasn’t expecting that.

Fourteen years of development. What would you say to the backers who have been waiting since day one?

The question of time inevitably comes up: more than ten years, fourteen even. People say the studio is working on two games, and that’s true, they’re two different games. Yet Squadron 42 was launched from the start as a project in its own right; in fact, it was the original crowdfunding promise.

A lot has happened over time: some people drifted away from the project before coming back, others never came back, and some never gave up. I take my hat off to them, especially after stretches when everyone had good reasons to stop believing. Working out of sight also comes with risks: you can fear the game isn’t making progress, especially when there’s very little information for two years. And then, all of a sudden, there’s an explosion of news and information that’s really worth it.

The lightning round

Squadron 42 in one word?

Probably a nomination at The Game Awards 2027! If only for its music.

(The editors note that this is more than one word. We’ll let it slide.)

Your favorite ship?

I can’t decide. The Idris was spectacularly realistic and beautiful. But I think it’s the huge Xi’an ship that blew me away the most, with its design and its truly non-human look.

Crucial question: did you try the fish and chips?

No, not because I don’t like it, but I’m steering clear of greasy food at the moment. We mostly went for Italian or burgers. That said, I’ll never turn my back on my roots: Liège-style meatballs (boulets à la liégeoise) with fries, salad and mayonnaise are still the real deal! Long live Liège and its waffles! ^^

Your verdict on these three days? A score out of 10?

Over those three days, they certainly didn’t short-change us: the welcome lived up to expectations, and so did the content. My only regret is that more people couldn’t see what we saw. I gathered that other profiles, including people from the mainstream press, would also be invited at some point. I understand it’s impossible to bring in 100,000 people to test Squadron 42 on sixty or so PCs. So I can only look forward to its release, so that everyone can get their hands on it.

My overall score for these three days: 9.5/10. I couldn’t do everything I wanted because of my recent health problems, but I’m not factoring them into this score.

And if CIG called you back tomorrow?

If you tell me I can go back and play Squadron 42 for two days nonstop, I think I’m already in the car, headed for the airport!

A final word for the Beacon community

Commander, we’ll give you the last word.

First of all, thanks to the faithful who keep the Beacon spirit alive despite this transition toward something that will look more like a news outlet, at least at first. It’s hard to know what the future holds. Who knows, maybe other adventures!

I hope the whole Beacon community keeps sharing moments together, because it’s the player community, the conversations and the meetups that enrich our relationship with the game. There have been ups and downs, both in following the development and within the community itself. But this community is still here.

After the Q&A session, an American creator took the floor to point out that all those years spent following the project and sharing his experience with people he didn’t know at first had created some very special moments. For many, the members of this community have become friends, and some now think of each other as family.

A studio is still a commercial business, with revenue targets to hit, profits to make and a lot of people to pay. But I sincerely believe Chris Roberts is passionate and that, despite the difficulties of development, he has stayed true to his vision. Of course, he doesn’t make the game on his own: success or failure also depends on the work of many people in every department.

Personally, my motivation to stay active and creative in the community is still strong, even though there have been ups and downs. There are plenty of challenges, and you can’t do everything in life. I hope big events will keep being organized in the future.

Thank you!

Interview by JakeCook for Beacon Mag.
Follow Commander Fran on X: Commander-Fran