Star Citizen's first Alpha 5.0 PTU is live: Guild Halls, mission boards and a Nyx I polish pass

The first true Alpha 5.0 PTU is here. Wakapedia-CIG posted the Wave 1 patch notes for build 13119881 on Spectrum, and the opener says it plain: “Welcome to the first 5.0 PTU!” That lands one day after CIG renamed Alpha 4.11 to Alpha 5.0 for Genesis. The notes say Tech Previews already brought location archetypes, Intraplanetary Server Meshing and the Procedural Generation Tracker to Nyx I. “With this build we move into PTU proper.” Testing was listed for Wave 1 overnight until 2 PM Central / 20:00 UTC Friday. As always on PTU, anything here can change before LIVE.

Guild Halls and mission boards on Nyx I

The headline for players is simple. Guild halls have arrived on Nyx I, giving each guild a physical presence on the planet where contracts can be picked up from mission boards. CIG also gave the wider location kit an art and lighting pass, and rebalanced loot across settlements after director feedback. Mission board and notice board backdrops are in, and the guild hall interiors got a wall, color and tint pass so logos actually have room to breathe.

Nyx I environment and weather polish

The notes say the focus this time is the planet itself. Nyx I got a substantial environment pass covering biomes, flora placement, weather and lighting. Flora rules were tightened so plants stop spawning on ground types they do not belong on, and near and far colors were reconciled so a forest reads the same whether you are standing in it or flying over it. Rock shading now supports parallax occlusion mapping, and wheeled collision on rocky assets was reviewed for drivability.

Weather got a real rewrite too. Atmospheric lighting now responds to actual cloud cover rather than cloud type, so overcast skies scatter light the way a thick layer should. Rain, lightning and the day-night temperature range follow that same coverage logic, and snow effects were retuned for Nyx I’s elevations.

More contracts on the boards

Contract work continues guild by guild. Covalex contracts are enabled with a first pass on reward balance, campsite contracts are in (including the Hockrow missing person campsite), and missing person mission hooks were restored. Ship graveyard mission locations were added around Nyx I. CIG also lists fixes for generation and spawning problems that blocked contracts in the last preview.

PPR take: I have been waiting for this one. The rename to 5.0 was CIG saying Genesis is a big deal, and now we finally get to walk it in PTU instead of arguing about a graphic. Guild Halls with mission boards on the planet itself is exactly the kind of loop that keeps me logged in past one mission, and a Nyx I pass that cares about biomes, lighting and real cloud cover is the part of Genesis I can feel from the cockpit. I am not inventing a LIVE date or a wipe call from this build. It is Wave 1 PTU. Numbers and features can move. But putting Guild Halls, Contract Boards and a real planet polish in the FIRST 5.0 PTU is CIG cooking how they want, and I am here for it. Let them cook. 🚀