Star Citizen 4.5 Patch Notes | Major Features

Star Citizen Alpha 4.5.0 is now LIVE as of yesterday, December 17, 2025. This update, titled “Dawn of Engineering,” introduces the long-awaited engineering gameplay loop, experimental VR support, and significant ship balancing.

Major Features

• Engineering v1 (The Headline Feature):

  • In-Flight Repair: You can now monitor, repair, and replace ship components while in flight.

  • Component Physicalization: Components (Power Plants, Coolers, Shield Gens) now exist physically inside ship maintenance hatches.

  • Critical Failures: Power plants reaching 0% health can now trigger a self-destruct countdown. You must repair it immediately or eject.

  • Repair Material: New RMC Canisters (Cambio SRT) are required for the Multi-Tool to repair internal components.

• Experimental VR Support:

  • Native support for VR headsets is now available (Enable in Graphics Settings).

  • Includes auto-centering for FPS aiming and decoupled aiming for gimbals.

• Physicalized Helmets:

  • Helmets are now fully physical objects in the world. You can place them on shelves or tables; they no longer appear as generic boxes when dropped.

Also Read : When Will ML Season S38 Reset | Reset Details

Ship & Vehicle Balance

• Racing Variants:

  • Racing ships have received a tuning pass to differentiate them from combat models:

    • +25% Boost Capacity (for longer burns).

    • +20% EM Emissions (harder to stealth).

    • +5s Master Mode Spool-up (slower to escape).

• Snub Fighters & Interceptors:

  • All snub class ships now take +10% damage from all sources to reduce their dominance in the current meta.

• Weapon Nerfs:

  • Pulverizer: Damage reduced (31 → 27), aim time increased.

  • Custodian SMG: Reworked spread pattern (nerfed at range).

QoL & Tech

• External Freight Elevators: Now available at all space stations, not just major landing zones.

• Graphics Overhaul: The settings menu has been redesigned with a new VRAM Usage Bar to help you optimize performance.

• Loot Refresh: Loot tables across the PU have been updated; empty salvage canisters have been removed from the pool.

Known Issues

• Retaliator Fires: Fire propagation on the Retaliator can sometimes spread to unreachable areas, making it impossible to extinguish.

• Hangar Spawning: Large ships may occasionally spawn in hangars that are too small for them (causing collision damage on spawn).