Star Citizen Glossary
This page contains some of the common words, abbreviations, and acronyms from the Star Citizen community. This list of popular Star Citizen terms will be added to on a regular basis.
How To Use The Star Citizen Glossary
To find a term or word quickly use the on-page search feature built into your browser (For windows users this is generally CTRL+F). This glossary is in alphabetical order.
About the Star Citizen Glossary page
This document is compiled for free and these resources cost money to maintain. This is an unofficial list of common terms and abbreviations used in the Star Citizen community.
0-9
A
AC- Arena Commander
Arena Commander is the virtual flight simulator inside of Star Citizen universe. It is another game mode in Star Citizen.
ADS - Aim Down Sights
Looking down the barrel of an fps weapon or item
AG - Auto Gimbal
Star Citizen's version of auto aim
Alpha
Alpha is the phase of development of Star Citizen when the game is not yet feature complete.
ALT - Altitude
The ship HUD will display ALT for Altitude.
AMA - Ask Me Anything
A general internet term, an opportunity for viewers to ask the person organizing the AMA any questions to be answered.
aUEC- Alpha UEC
The in game currency for the Star Citizen Alpha. Read more about the Star Citizen in-game Economy.
Avocado - Evocati Tester
The select NDA testers from the community are called Evocati - Avocados is a friendly play on the name.
B
Backer
A backer is a person who has spent any amount of cash in fresh funds (not store credit) directly on robertsspaceindustries.com on their account.
BDSSE - Best Damn Space Sim Ever
The term used to state the core objective of Star Citizen - to make the best damn space sim ever without compromising and taking as long as is needed to achieve this vision.
Beta
Beta is the development phase where the game is feature complete.
BMM
The Banu Merchantman - A capital class alien vessel that humans can own.
Buff
Buff refers to when a weapon, ship, vehicle, component or other item, receives an improvement in stats to make it perform better. The opposite of this is termed a Nerf or debuff.
Bug
A general computer science term for an error or flaw in the code making a feature in the game work incorrectly or not at all.
BUK - Battlefield Upgrade Kit
An outdated term used to refer to an upgrade kit that would be available for the Vanguard, allowing the ship to be quickly outfitted for different roles.
Buyback Token
Players who melt their pledges receive a periodic token that allows for the melted item to be purchased again. At the time of writing Buyback Tokens are issued once ever 3 months.
BVR - Beyond Visual Range
This acronym is used to describe combat that takes further than the eye can see.
C
CCU - Cross Chassis Upgrade
During the early phase of development of Star Citizen players can upgrade a ship hull to another for a fee. Read more about CCUs in Star Citizen.
CI / CIG - Cloud Imperium (Games)
The name of the company developing Star Citizen.
CrimeStat
The rating of how much criminal activity the player or NPC has on their active record. Measured between 0 and 5.
Concept Ship / Vehicle
A ship or vehicle that has been sold before it has been made flight ready.
Concierge
Any backer who contributes $1000 or more to directly funding Star Citizen's development is granted Concierge status. Concierge status grants better customer support and special offers not available to non-concierge players and backers.
D
Debuff
When a ship, vehicle, weapon or item has its characteristics lowered to make it perform worse than before. Also called a Nerf.
E
EM - Electromagnetic
When referring to the ship's signature. EM emissions help determine from what distance the ship is detectable on enemy radar.
EPTU - Experimental PTU
An experimental version of Public Test Universe. See PTU definition.
ESP - Enhanced Stick Precision
Related to Star Citizen joystick targeting controls.
EVA - Extra Vehicular Activity
When moving in zero G this is referred to as EVA. Can also be used for activities outside of ships on planets without atmosphere.
Evo / Evocati
Star Citizen's best community testers. These testers are under NDA (non disclosure agreement) when they receive exclusive access to the very earliest versions of Star Citizen patches. The name comes from latin - Evocatus, which was a soldier in the Roman army who had served out his time and obtained an honorable discharge but who had re-enlisted at the request of a consul or other commander.
F
Flight Ready
When a ship or vehicle becomes ready to be tested / is playable. Flight Ready in-game is also used to turn the ship power and engines on.
FM - Flight Model
In Star Citizen, FM refers to the Flight Model. Read more about the Star Citizen Flight Model.
FOIP - Face Over IP
This technology inherits its name from VOIP (Face Over IP) - when the webcam is used to relate expressions, head turns, eye movement and lip motions in the Star Citizen universe.
G
GIB - Give
GIB, a German version of the word give. Used by the Star Citizen community to beg for the great Carrack and other things. Example: GIB Carrack!!!
Gibbening
Refers to a cult-like chant that happens when something is being requested from the community to the developers. For example the Great Carrack Gibbening of 2020.
H
HAB - Habitation Units
In Star Citizen, usually player rooms that can be rented or are assigned temporarily.
HUD - Heads Up Display
Ships and vehicles display information onto the glass / canopy which can be seen by the player providing information on navigation, systems, speed, altitude, etc...
I
IAE - Intergalactic Aerospace Expo
Held once a year, the IAE is an in game ship and vehicle expo. All dedicated Star Citizens attend this event from far and wide each year before the holiday season.
IC - Issue Council
The Issue Council is where bugs and other issues are reported by the Star Citizen community.
ICC - Imperial Cartography Center
This UEE government agency is best known for their Deep Space Scanning & AstroGraphical Stations that search for jump points, and for the elite Stellar Surveyors unit that assesses newly discovered systems. Further reading (official): https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/16661-Portfolio-Imperial-Cartography-Center
ICU - Intensive Care Unit
For some medical beds, players can set their preferred ICU which is a spawn point if the ship / bed is within range of the player's death.
IFCS - Intelligent Flight Control System
Star Citizen's flight system. Read all about it on the Flight System page.
IK - Inverse Kinematics
Inverse Kinematics is the ability for the player rig to detect and react to the environment. Watch this official video for further reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PryJ3CpHcXQ&t=1198s
IR - Infrared
When referring to the ship's signature. IR emissions help determine from what distance the ship is detectable on enemy radar.
J
JT - Jump Town
A famous drug lab located on Yela moon (Crusader - Stanton) in Star Citizen Alpha. "JT Safe?"
JP - Jump Point
Jump Points in Star Citizen are wormholes that connect neighboring Star Systems with each other. Jump Point is also the name of Star Citizen's subscriber magazine publication.
K
L
Lagrange Point
An area of space between planetary orbits that is devoid of gravity, thus making for an ideal location to place a space station or other point of interest.
Loaner
When a player owns a ship that is not flight-ready they will receive another ship of equivalent function as a loaner. Sometimes loaners are issued also when ships are missing some base functionality so that a player may take part in that activity.
LTI - Lifetime Insurance
A perk received for funding a concept ship / vehicle with fresh funds. Read more about LTI in Star Citizen.
LTI Token
An LTI Token is a purchased ship hull (usually cheap) that is going to be used to upgrade via Cross Chassis Upgrade (CCU) to make a more expensive ship with Lifetime Insurance.
LTP - Long Term Persistence
Star Citizen's database that stores players items, ships, and pretty much everything long term between play sessions.
LZ - Landing Zone
In Star Citizen, landing zones are dedicated places where ships can land.
M
MedPen / MediPen - Medical Pen
A medical syringe used to quickly restore some functionality to damaged players.
Melting
Process by which players can turn their digital packages and items into store credit.
Meta
A term in gaming that refers to the best possible loadout of a player, ship or vehicle.
MIA - Missing In Action
Inherited from the same military term.
MFD - Multi Function Display
Screens on ships and vehicles that can be changed to show different information and even change settings.
MG - MobiGlas
The wrist / forearm mounted augmented reality device in Star Citizen that players use for a wide variety of things.
MT - microTech
MicroTech is a a frozen planet in Stanton System that is home to mobiGlas and other technology.
N
Nerf
When a ship, vehicle, weapon, item or other thing is changed by the development team to make it perform worse than before. The opposite of this (an improvement in stats) is called a Buff.
O
o7 - Salute
This popular text emote icon represents a head with an arm up in the shape of a salute.
OM - Orbital Marker
Orbital markers are stationary navigation points located around a planet's orbit.
OP - Over Powered
When an item, ship or vehicle is too powerful, it is said to be OP.
OP - Original Poster
In Star Citizen forums, the first person to post on the thread or generally who starts the topic is an Original Poster, the content being the Original Post (also OP).
OxyPen - Oxygen Pen
An oxygen syringe that restores some amount of oxygen to the space suit.
P
P2W - Pay To Win
The term means paying to win. For example if one ship costs more than another ship and can never lose to it with player skill making little to no difference, it is said to be Pay 2 Win (P2W)
Padlock (Flight view)
Padlock allows you to keep visual track of your target independent of ship direction. To learn more about it watch Hybrid V Audio's video on Why Padlock is an awesome features you should be using.
PES - Persistent Entity Streaming
Server technology that allows objects in Star Citizen to persist across sessions and servers. Game entities are streamed to the player seamlessly to generate a universe with the appearance of not having loading times. Essentially you can drop an object in a forest on a remote planet and go back and find it weeks later.
PIT - Personal Inner Thought
Star Citizen's interactive personal menu that can be used to do a variety of things from taking off a helmet to carrying out emotes.
Pledge
Items, ships or other, bought from the Pledge Store on RSI. Basically, what a supporter of Star Citizen receives in exchange for funding.
PO - Port Olisar
The first space station to exist in the playable Star Citizen universe.
POI - Point Of Interest
Locations that have things to do, scenic value or easter eggs are commonly referred to as a POI.
PTT - Push To Talk
For VOIP communications, when a button must be pressed in order for the player's voice comms to work.
PTU - Public Test Universe
A test version of the Persistent Universe. New patches will almost always go to PTU before they go live to the PU. The PTU, when active, runs in parallel with the PU. PTU is also referred to as Test Universe.
PU - Persistent Universe
The actual universe where Star Citizen takes place. The word Persistent is used because player actions have long term consequences. PU is also referred to as Live.
PVE - Player Versus Environment
Refers to combat between human players and artificial intelligence enemies in the game.
PVP - Player Versus Player
Refers to combat between human players.
Q
QD - Quantum Drive
Quantum drives in Star Citizen are devices that allow ships to move at fractions of the speed of light to allow for fast travel in a system.
QED - Quantum Enforcement Device
A device that is capable of quantum snaring and quantum dampening. These devices interfere with ships abilities to quantum travel.
QF - Quantum Fuel
Quantum Fuel is used in Star Citizen to travel at a fraction of the speed of light. Generally 0.1c to 0.2c.
QOL - Quality Of Life
Refers to features or bug fixes that help with the general playability of the game. I.e. improving the quality of life when playing the game.
QT - Quantum Travel
The traveling of players within systems using Quantum Drives. Usually ships in quantum travel move at between 0.1 and 0.2 the speed of light.
R
R&R - Rest & Recovery
R&R Stations are space stations where players can rest & recover. Usually offering services such as ship refueling, shops and habs.
REC - Rental Equipment Credits
The currency used inside the Star Citizen simulator. Used to rent virtual equipment inside Star Citizen's simulation within the universe.
RSI - Roberts Space Industries
Both the name of an in-game ship manufacturer as well as the name of the Website (robertsspaceindustries.com) that is home to Star Citizen. From Chris Roberts.
S
S42 / SQ42 - Squadron 42
Squadron 42 is the single player game of Star Citizen.
Salt
In the Star Citizen community, this term applies to a feeling of anger or frustration. An angry backer is a salty backer.
SC - Star Citizen
SCU - Standard Cargo Unit
The universal measure of cargo storage and transport measurement. Read more about SCU and Cargo (Official).
SDF - Signed Distance Field
A Signed Distance Field is a data structure that for each point in a given space records how far the closest important thing is. Usually, a signed distance field only records one important thing, usually the distance to the outside of an object. Further reading: https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/cqvs8n/can_someone_explain_what_a_signed_distance_field
SHI - Standard Hull Insurance
Designating insurance that is not Lifetime Insurance.
SM - Star Marine
Star Marine is the first person combat simulation inside the Star Citizen universe. It is another game mode in Star Citizen.
SOCS / SSOCS - Server Side Object Container Streaming
A technology used to create a seamless universe without loading screens. Specifically, the Server side of OCS.
SPK - Security Post Kareah
An iconic location in Star Citizen alpha where players can fight NPCs and hack away their CrimeStat.
Store Credit
Real money purchases for vehicles, items and game packages and be melted into Store Credit at the value paid for the item before taxes. Store credit can be used for many things including upgrading the hull of a ship.
Subscriber
People who contribute via monthly payments to community content are called subscribers. Subscriber receive various perks monthly. All subscriber funds go towards community events. Subscriber funds do not contribute towards the development of Star Citizen.
T
Tonk - Tank
A play on the word Tank. Introduced with the Nova Tonk 🙂
TOW - Theaters of War
A combined arms game mode in the Star Citizen simulator.
TTK - Time To Kill
The time it takes (in hits or time) to kill a ship, vehicle or player. Something with a high TTK is referred to as a bullet-sponge.
TTD - Time To Disable
The time it takes (in hits or time) to disable a ship, vehicle or player.
T-Vel - Terminal Velocity
The terminal velocity that the ship can move through atmosphere. This can be slightly exceeded by using afterburner.
U
UEC - United Earth Credits
UEC is the game currency in the Star Citizen universe.
UEE - United Earth Empire
The current government in Star Citizen.
UI - User Interface
Any interface in the game or otherwise that users interact with.
UGF - Under Ground Facility
Star Citizen has many underground locations such as bunkers, data centers and prisons.
V
'Verse - Universe
The friendly and shorter version of Universe.
VIP - Very Important Person
Much as in real life, in the Star Citizen universe there will be VIPs that require transport and other services.
VTOL - Vertical Takeoff AND Landing
Some ships in Star Citizen have special VTOL engines that allow for better and more efficient atmospheric take offs and landings.
W
Warbond
Warbond pledges are considered those where fresh funds are used to fund Star Citizen. Fresh funds are worth more than store credit which implies administration costs and skewed stats due to abandonment of the original pledge.
Whale
Whales are backers who have spent large sums of money funding Star Citizen.