Cits and Civs, Captains and Commanders, you’re tuned to episode 521 of Guard Frequency — the best damn space game podcast ever! This episode was recorded on Friday, May 30 and released for streaming and download on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at GuardFrequency.com
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This Week’s Schedule
- Flight Deck
- Elite Dangerous
- Star Citizen
- Dune: Awakening
- Helldivers 2
- Hunternet Starfighter
- Guard Frequency Exiles, where there’s space adventure around here somewhere.
- Feedback Loop
Links & The Like
Elite: Dangerous
Elite Dangerous spent almost half of this month’s Frontier Unlocked stream talking about the new Vanguard update due out QUOTE this summer END QUOTE. It’s chock full of the things we wished were released with the original Squadrons feature back in 2018. Things like a squadron bank, squadron bonuses, and squadron carriers. And there’s even a few goodies we weren’t looking for, like squadron decals, expanded squadron ranks, and squadron loaners. There’s so much squadron-y goodness, we could almost skip over the latest financial news from FDev. But Tony’s writing the show notes, so we’re absolutely squadron-screwed on that. Also, it looks like maybe there might be some tiny problems with Powerplay 2.0, with unknown actors undermining the undermining system. And finally, FDev’s really getting into the new style of Community Goals, with fun and participation beating out FOMO and scarcity. I don’t know, people, it almost seems like they want folks to play their game.
Star Citizen
Star Citizen released Early Access Pre-Alpha Release Candidate Prototype Experimental Test Build 4.2 PTU 9819310 to all backers on the PTU server. The Epic Month of May is coming to a close. With the Idris now in-game, and hundreds, perhaps thousands of new Idris owners now $2,000 out-of-pocket, CIG raised an epic $24.2 million according to the funding tracker. So that should last them until November this year, using 2023’s cash burn rate. Erin Roberts went to China and confirmed the instanced raid zones, more refactors, and – wait for it – an in-game radio feature for playing music. And to celebrate the release of Dune: Awakening, the legally-distinct and totally non-copyright infringing “Not-A-Sandworm” is now available to murder in the PTU.
Dune: Awakening
To celebrate the release of Star Citizen’s Early Access Pre-Alpha Release Candidate Prototype Experimental Test Build 4.2 PTU 9819310, Dune Awakening will begin its early access period this Thursday, June 5. Tony and Geoff are already plotting desert-wide domination. Then on June 10, everyone else can log in and see how they spent their weekend.
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 just ran one of the most insane campaigns in their brief history, with the Illuminate faction invading Super Earth and killing the president! The maps and mechanics were challenging and fun, and while Tony never actually shit his pants as the devs promised, there were a number of sphincter-clenching moments. It almost made him give Arrowhead games another $10. Almost.
Hunternet Starfighter
And Hunternet Starfighter Developer Fernando hopped into our discord to answer a couple of questions we raised a few weeks ago. 1) Hunternet runs and plays on potato-level machines and 2) Hunternet’s atmospheric flight is in Jupiter’s atmosphere, so it’s kinda insane.
Community Questions
- What do you think about the squadron carriers in Elite? Is this a useful guild asset or just another credit sink?
- Tell us what you named YOUR Idris. Oh wait, you don’t have one? How unfortunate for you. Well, what WOULD you name your Idris if you had one?
Patreon Backing
We love bringing you this show each week, but would also love your support? If you enjoy listening and want to contribute to us being the Best Damn Space Sim Podcast Ever, then go to our Patreon page and look at all of the rewards and loot you would be eligible to receive.
Join Us In Game!
- Click here to go to our Star Citizen Organization page and apply today!
- Check out the callsigns we use personally in each game
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