Star Citizen alpha 3.3 will use your webcam to map facial expressions onto your character

I've heard of VoIP, but now meet FoIP: Face and voice over IP (which should really be FaVoIP, if you ask me). It not only lets you voice your character through your mic, but supposedly also tracks your face via your webcam and projects your facial expressions onto your character's face. FoIP is part of Star Citizen alpha 3.3, which is releasing today to coincide with CitzenCon, the fan convention being held in Austin, Texas.

According to the press release, FoIP was co-developed with Faceware Technologies and "allows players to connect their webcams and control their in-game character’s facial expressions with their own, creating a new level of immersion never before seen in video games. Face and Voice over IP are available to all players in the Star Citizen Persistent Universe."

We'll have to see just how well that works, and if it leads as promised to a new level of immersion or just results in players trying to make goofy faces at each other. Alpha 3.3 also includes, naturally, a bunch of new ships, detailed below and followed by some pictures:

One ‘straight to flyable’ ship – the Anvil Valkyrie, a dropship that allows players to easily deploy ground troops or vehicles across large distances. This ship marks one of the first times Star Citizen players can obtain and fly a ship immediately upon announcement.
The Aegis Hammerhead, a capital support ship with numerous manned turrets for extra firepower when you want to pack a punch with a party.
A complete rework of all four variants of the Consolidated Outland Mustang, giving one of Star Citizen’s iconic ‘starter ships’ distinct versions for light freighting, recon, racing and dogfighting.
The RSI Constellation Phoenix, a luxury touring variant of the popular exploration vehicle, outfitted with such creature comforts as a hot tub and player piano.
Four variants of the Tumbril Cyclone that expand this ground vehicle’s use to anti-aircraft, reconnaissance, racing, and military.
One new gun, the Kastak Arms Karna, a powerful assault rifle with charged shot capabilities for extra firepower.
Two new ship weapons from Hurston Dynamics that give players even more dogfighting firepower.

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.