Sure, you could mine some planetary space rocks in Star Citizen the boring way with a handheld mining tool, but wouldn’t you prefer to do it in a mech suit instead? That’s the question being asked by CIG in the latest vehicle highlight video that shows off the Argo ATLS GEO, a mining variant of the cargo loading ATLS mech suit.
The GEO fields a mining laser that can have its power adjusted similarly to regular FPS mining, as well as a large cargo backpack, space for smaller mining tools like tractor beams or mining gadgets, and a set of jump jets that lets the mech leap, hover, and fly short distances across the terrain. It’s scheduled to arrive when alpha 4.1 comes online; that leg of alpha has no release date as of yet but is in its final steps before launch, according to CIG.
Readers might recall that the original ATLS lit a small tinderbox of annoyance among players as the $40 vehicle was capable of hauling cargo crates that normally required two on-foot players by itself, leading players to call it an expensive tractor beam at the time. This new variant doesn’t appear to be causing the same levels of upset, as most people on the official forums seem to be more focused on FFA PvP concerns and reactions on Twitter want a combat mech.
