Today Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games released a new video about the upcoming space simulator.

The video starts with a look at the upcoming Consolidated Outland Pioneer colony ship, which is basically a spacefaring factory that will let players create outposts on planetary surfaces.

Then we learn about the UEE Land Claim Licenses, that will let players grab land on planets and moons in two sizes, 4 x 4 km for a "Lot Parcel" and 8 x 8 km for an "Estate Parcel." Players that purchase a license will receive a Claim Beacon that will record the location of the stake, which can then be registered at the local UEE Planetary Development office.

Land claim licenses don't give players rights to a specific plot of land, but they'll actually have to explore the universe and find a place that suits their needs, creating an interesting exploration and colonization mechanic.

UEE Land Claim Licenses are currently being sold for $50 and $100 respectively, but like all the ships, purchases at this point in time are entirely optional for the purpose of supporting development. As the persistent universe opens, everyone will be able to purchase the same licenses for in-game credits. Licenses will be purchasable directly from the UEE or from other players.

Those who don't purchase a claim license now won't really be at a disadvantage, as the game will include billions of square kilometers of available land on both planets and moons, so there should be plenty of room for everyone. That being said, there might be rare cases in which players try to stake the same land at the same time, in which case it'll be a "land race" similar to the Wild West, with the first to file the claim at the local UEE Planetary Development office winning the land.

According to the developer, if all of the current registered users purchased an Estate-size Claim License, there would be enough room for them all on half of a single planet of the game.

On top of that, players won't actually need to buy a license if they don't want to. You'll be able to build a base on any unclaimed land, but in that case, your property won't have the protection of the UEE. Interfering with property on claimed land in UEE space will be a criminal offense.

You also won't need a Pioneer to claim land, and you will be able to hire other players to build your base.

On top of this, we also get an update on the Consolidated Outland Mustang, which is one of the cheapest ships available in the game as part of a basic starter pledge. Yep. It's my ship because I'm cheap.

Star Citizen also passed another crowdfunding milestone, having blown past 168 million dollars. it's currently sitting on $168,147,751, with 1,922,550 registered users.

You  can check out the video below, alongside a few images. If you want to see more, you can check out more videos on the Origin 600i and 890 Jump, on the Banu Merchantman and Tumbril Cyclone, on the Aegis Dynamics Hammerhead, one on the Aegis Hawk, another showing the impressive procedural cities technology, one on the latest updates made to quantum travel, one on improvements that are being made on the game’s visuals.

For the sake of full disclosure, keep in mind that the author of this article backed the game a few years ago.