Star Citizen Persistent Universe Features

A special Crossbow from Shroud of the Avatar will be in the SC-PU for those that backed for both games (still valid until April 7th, 2014 http://shroudoftheavatar.com13), there will be other skinned crossbow with the same stats in game.
In-game ship to ship communication will be VoIP with facial capture (web cam required)
The game is predominantly 1st person view mode, with 3rd person vanity view without HUD
Multi-Crew ships
NPC and/or Real player crews
NPC flying formation controls
People that pledged for multiple packages, can use the extra licenses for Extra Character Slots or Customized NPCs. You can have you own crew of The USS Enterprise. Extra character slots will be available for purchase at a later time from the Voyager Store.
C&C tactical combat on larger ships (on ships capable of installing the C&C console.)
You can earn UEE Citizenship by doing relevant missions in SC-PU, or bribe some NPCs to get you one (for those that opted out of SQ42)
Optional Voyager Store Items to enhance your gaming experience
All Voyager Store items can be obtained in game via normal game play.
Users will be able to convert real money to UEC via the Voyager Store.
The game is predominantly PvE
The game is made to be Solo player friendly, you can experience the full game universe alone, without the need to join a large guild (No Guild territorial zones)
Non-consensual PK allowed everywhere, however PK-ing in UEE space can result in penalties to the attacker.
All UEE space are Safe Zones, safe zones works as a density radius, the deeper into the UEE space the more you'll be protected from PKs
Instanced (with attention to friends and targets of interest)
Bi-weekly content (ships, stories, missions) & minor features updates
Players are free to play any role they dream to be, there is no actual job description, character classes, or skill trees. However some missions / ships might require you to first pass a license test, before you are allowed to be granted permission to that special mission, or drive a ginormous ship.
Privateering (not Pirating) with Letter of Marque, in game by the issuing government.
Pirating (Bandits, Outlaws, Robbers) is part of the game since the game was revealed back in Oct 2012 (do not mistake Pirating with Griefing)
Player Influenced (not controlled) economy, the economy will be self regulated by NPCs and naturally occurring production / demands
There is no Crafting, However you can Overclock and Tweak your ships / modules / weapon parts, and then sell it.
Players will be able to earn the right to manage a production node, however player is not able to change what the factory produces, but you can produce a slightly improved (tweaked / overclocked) version of the same parts being produced
Existing in game Large NPC corporations will be targeting you if your business becomes competitive with theirs. (expect visits from hired Pirates / Bounty Hunters)
Jobs are created ad-hoc, NPCs and real players are able to create missions on-demand (kill this guy, delivery of this item to such and such location, need turret gunners, etc.)
3 types of insurances are available in game: Hull Insurance (includes stock weapons & modules), Cargo Insurance, Upgrades Insurance (to cover non factory stock items)
Insurances Companies will replace your insured ship back to the stock factory model with stock factory weapons / modules load-out. (replacement speed affected by availability of ship parts and factories production queue)
There is no zone restriction for Hull insurance, it works everywhere, however Cargo / Upgrade insurances have zone restrictions, it's voided in area marked Danger Zones 5
Ships availability and cost will depend heavily on the resources available and trade routes being free from interference by criminal activities.
You can save the game in the SC-PU and not have your ship attacked by going into the sleeping chamber, except for Capital Ships.
Capital Ships are in-game persistent, when you log off, it will remain in game, make sure to have enough friends or hired guards to protect it while you're away. (Corvettes class ship like the Idris and below can log off, Frigate class ships and above are considered Capital Ships)
Non-Capital Ships are able to go into Hibernation mode (log off), by having your pilot go into the sleeping chambers, you can not log off during battle, you can only enable hibernation mode, when in a safe area.
The happenings (News) in-game will also be featured on the Wingman Hangar shows, as well as the RSI site for an immersive feel to blurry the lines between real life vs. in-game life
Murray Cup Racing (in-game sports events)
Virtual Dog-fighting Arena (it's for both training and in-game prizes competition), your "real" ship won't get damaged; think the Arcade at the Tiger Claw lounge. (current design idea from CR's description is as follow, each team is allowed a set amount of points before the match begins, bigger ships/weapons cost more points, so each team can bring into the arena whichever combination of ships/weapons they want depending on their strategy but you will not be able to exceed the allotted amount of points to claim, it's the equivalent of a weight limit matchmaking system like MWO)
Hidden Asteroid Bases
Players can earn the rights to control space stations
Bengal Carriers must be captured before you can control it, there will only be a few Bengals available in the SC-PU, some will be in active duty to be boarded (for pirates), other will be marooned damaged and abandoned but re-pair-able (for non pirates)
To board or be boarded you need a multi-crew ship
Explorers can find Alien relics, uncharted Jump Points, and other treasures / space phenomenon
Jump Points have fixed entrance, but random exits
Failure to chart a new Jump Point can result in Perma-death or be thrown into unknown space.
On Perma-death you'll be looking at our own funeral through the eyes of your "Next of Kin" your belongings will be transferred to your "Next of Kin" specified during your character creation.
Most deaths does not result in Perma-death, however you'll have your body parts replaced by cybernetic implants to replace your damaged limbs & body parts, you can buy your way into immortality with some hefty price.
Ships & Weapons will be balanced to be equivalent of "rock / paper / scissor"
Bigger Ship does not automatically translates into "I win" players will have to choose the Cons vs. Pros of driving each ship hull type to suit their needs.
Ships & Weapons will have hard point restrictions, weight restrictions, energy restrictions, heat restrictions, CPU restrictions, and Slots restrictions.
There are some hulls that are more adept at some tasks, than others, choose your ship hull wisely depending on the career you want to archive in game.
Mining in 1st person, with the use of prospecting tools and mining stations
Your hangar is your main living space, with option to rent a penthouse apartment on planet side.
There will be landing fees and Hangar fees; many forms of taxes, levies, and fees will be applied in game to keep the economy in check
Ships will age like real cars, while new models are release every year, or every few years depending on the Make & Model
Old ships will become vintage and cost more to maintain due the diminishing replacement parts
You can only steal other player ships by boarding
Stolen ships can change their transceiver ID with a legit ID, at a hefty cost in the black market.
Stolen ships can't be insured by UEE insurance agencies, however there might be some 3rd party Insurances that you can purchase at a coSt

There are massive large scale PvE events planned by the Devs

If you really hits rock bottom, you can always take a bank loan to get yourself a ship to start over, or you can work your way up as a crewmen for other players or NPCs
When hiring NPCs you can see their ratings, the more skilled the NPCs the more expensive it'll cost to hire them.
Players can rate each other after being hired for a job, the employee can rate the employer and viceversa. This is the real player equivalent of the NPC reputation system.
SC-PU will launch with a total of 100 core systems, plus all the ones we've unlocked since then, that's approximately 125 systems & counting (plus one hidden system only known to Subscribers at Launch, non subscribers will be able to Learn the coordinates later in game)
If your internet connection gets disconnected accidentally (or by choice) your character and the ship will switch to NPC / AI mode automatically, it'll plot a course to the nearest safe zone and run for it, it'll try to defend itself while escaping, you might or might not arrive in 1 piece, depending on your ship structural integrity. (you can find reference from the "death of a spaceman" comm-link)
There are more NPCs in the universe than there are real players.
Real players can drop-in "mind control" (think Matrix Agent Smith) and assume the role of the NPCs on your friend's ship (but you can not drop-in uninvited); according to Dev description, you'll have to log out of your current game, to then log back in and choose to play as the position of the NPC from your friend's ship. This applies to both hired NPCs and Customized NPCs.
You'll be able to pick your desired starting location in SC-PU, from a small list of star systems to choose from.
Game time is 1:1 ratio 2014 = 2944 (2013 = 2943)
There will be some real life holidays in game, and some new made up in lore holidays.
Guild Hangar and Storage.
Private Guild XMPP chat, web, and forum.
You can vote for your NPC politicians, UEE citizenship required to vote.
No server wipe after Beta, all Beta progress will be kept for game launch {10-4 chairman Ep7}
Zero-G FPS firefight in EVA suits
Vanduul Trading Posts
Cockpit decorations
NPC will gain experience over time, as they successfully complete missions with you.
Jump Points location and size, will depend on the space anomaly location and type. Some Jump Points will be too small for large ships.

Common Features in SQ42 & SC-PU

DirectX 11 requirement

64 bit Windows requirement
Single Player offline play
Single Player online play
Co-Op online play
Instanced Multiplayer Online (I.M.O.) this game is not a MMO (in a traditional MMO everyone is on one single instance)
The game is being released in small chunks "Modules" (Hangar, Dogfight, Social, Planet Side, more to be announced)
Cinematic style story-line, with player controlled outcomes.
No cut scenes or loading screens (except for death)
Ultra HD cinematic texture quality (requires high-end PC to get that level of details, optionally 4K monitors)
Expansion Packs
SQ42 missions successes affects the timed events in the SC-PU.
Your reputation to NPCs will determine what sort of info / items you can access, it'll also affect your relationship with the NPCs; they'll even take a bullet for you if you get onto their good side, or grant you discounts if you go to some hidden NPCs, that otherwise you wouldn't have access to.
The game will be peripheral agnostic, it'll work with any hardware your OS is able to recognize.
Immersive game play
No check points / save locations until your missions is over (just like in back in the Wing Commander days)
Character creation will begin as choosing your character gender by going into male or female washroom, and choosing your appearance on the mirror.
Multi-core CPU / GPU support, it'll actually be using all your PC power to improve the game experience unlike other games.
3 type of shields have been revealed; Kinetic Shield, Energy Shield, and Ramming Shield
Some larger ships can re-load missiles on mid flight
Boarding actions, and Ground FPS (first person shooter) actions.
There will be a One time free Handle name change, any subsequent change will cost $10 (or more, need to re-read comm-link to confirm the price)
The Reputation system will work similar to Privateer / Freelancer
The game will use actual physics, however there's an artificial capped top speed, to keep WW2 style dogfight possible.
Pinpoint damage system, you'll be able to target specific components to damage / disable a ship without destroying the ship
Tablet Companion App for iOS and Android OS (no confirmation for Windows mobile or Blackberries), It's actually 2 separate Apps; one will let you use the Smart-phones / Tablets as additional in-game VDU inputs, while the other App will let you check your sales, create missions, buy stuff, chat with your SC friends, manage your guild, keep up with the latest in-game news, and more.
AMX-1 Repair Bot (inspired by R2D2), it'll help you fix and repair your ship, and yes you'll need to take it with you, if you want to have repairs done out in space. (OB / VB will get it free, new members that joined after can purchase it from NPC shops.) the AMX-1 droid can be upgraded to perform additional functions like hacking a computer to open a hatch.
Yes, we can keep battle trophies from enemies you have captured / killed, however you might not get to choose which part or item you get as the trophy. (Devs have not revealed enough details to determine that yet)
Detailed energy management during combat, to divert power to weapons, or thrusters, or shields, even specific section of the shield.

Squadron 42 Features

Friends can join you as wingmans when playing SQ42 in online mode.

Your SQ42 reputation and money will carry over to the SC-PU
You can earn your SC-PU UEE Citizenship by completing SQ42
You can opt out of SQ42 and go straight into the SC-PU
If you joined SQ42 but drops out midway, the UEE military will put a Bounty on your head, you officially becomes a renegade (criminal)
SQ42 will have a total of 50 missions for Launch
The first SQ42 mission disk "Behind Enemy Lines" will be available as a DLC (free to all backers who has the "Original and Veteran Backers Reward" in your "MY HANGAR" page)
Star Citizen Persistent Universe Post Launch Planned Features

Playable Alien Race as a future expansion pack
Ability to rent a store front in a space station to run your retail business (limited availability, on some space stations)
You can lend ship to friends, thus you'll probably be able to rent ships
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Star Citizen Persistent Universe Post Launch CIG's Would Try to Add Features

Note: some of these features might not make it into the game, as it's something CIG would like to do, but might not be able to due to technical limitations.
- Manual atmospheric flight (no more roller coaster rides for launch / landing) {mentioned again in 10-4 chairman Ep7}
- Explore the full planet (not just the landing sites) {mentioned again in 10-4 chairman Ep7}
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Known in-game secrets leaked by the Devs

Earth will get sacked by the Vanduuls
The sacked event trigger will depend on the SQ42 completions; the Vanduul invasion will get pushed back the more people that completes SQ42.
Earth & Terra (UEE) will at some point enter into a civil war (possibly the next major event after the Vanduuls)
There will be many similarities to the fall of the Roman Empire, SC is based on the fall of the Roman Empire
There will be equivalent of a 787 like ships that players can buy in game to run a commercial "Cruise Liner" service, from planets to planets / system to system {mentioned again in 10-4 chairman Ep7}
NPCs will begin System Colonization after a new Jump Point discovery is reported to the UEE. (provided there are suitable places to set up shop in the new system)
Enemy alien species: Vanduul, Tevarin
Main roles alien species: Banu, Xi'an,
Secondary roles alien species, Tevarin, Kr'Thak,