Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games showed off the game's underlying StarEngine technology with a new video of 24 and a half minutes. Boldly titled 'The Future of Gaming, ' the flyover video demonstrates the impressive visuals powered by the StarEngine. It all becomes even more remarkable when considering that it renders an open galaxy game that should host over a hundred star systems (when the final game is complete, according to the developer's original goal) in a completely seamless capacity.

　　In fact, the footage opens with the following disclaimer: 'Everything you are about to see has been captured in engine as one continuous shot without loading screens. Distance between planets has been compressed for the sake of brevity.' Here's a list of the noteworthy StarEngine features highlighted in the video.

　　Solar System-size game spaces64-bit large world coordinates engineFully explorable planets without loading screens or barriersPhysically based atmospheres with multiple light scatteringSeamless transition from space to ground (and vice-versa)Planet surface generation on client and server at different levels of detailsObject container streaming allows for expansive exteriors with interiorsLocations populated densely with characters and playersPhysicalized frozen oceanReal-time transit systems across city districtsFully interactable and explorable multi-crew spaceshipsReal-time biome generationSubterranean locationsMineral extraction and resource simulationGround fog fully integrated into the atmosphereSunlight shafts into the atmosphereRivers driving terrain modification and object distributionDense environment procedural generation based on rulesetsTerrain tessellation and hardware displacementDynamic planetary winds driving physics simulationDynamic ecosystem generation for flora and faunaGeneration and rendering of volumetric clouds at planetary scaleReal-time large scale asteroid belt generation and renderingReal day/night cycle based on planet rotationVolumetric clouds on a gas giant scaleMultiscale volumetric space scapingFully explorable space stations streaming on demandMelanin driven skin shader with blemish, freckles, and tattoo layersSun shaft occlusion on a planetary scaleDynamic fire simulation based on voxel gridsVolumetric shadows from clouds cast into the atmosphereWater simulation on decalsStreaming hierarchical object container technology for outposts and POIsPhysically based advanced water effectsPhysically based destructionReal-time water interaction effectsReal-time cloth simulationDynamic sweat and tears

　　Star Citizen began development with the CryEngine, later 'switching' to Amazon's Lumberyard Engine. However, the Lumberyard engine itself was based on the CryEngine, essentially making the transition more nominal than factual.

　　Recently, the StarEngine was updated to support High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays, though the feature is still experimental. On the other hand, there's no native support for upscalers yet.

　　While there's still no release date in sight for Star Citizen, the single player campaign Squadron 42 received a major update last month. CIG now considers the game feature-complete, with the polishing phase coming up next. Of course, there's no telling how long that will last.

　　This story-driven mode will feature an ensemble cast of Hollywood actors, including Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, Eleanor Tomlinson, Rhona Mitra, Henry Cavill, and Ben Mendelsohn.