Today marks another addition to the alpha build of Star Citizen, and if the game’s previous two vehicle showcases weren’t a big enough clue, alpha 4.1 is mostly about mining. Sort of. It’s actually a blending of mining, ship combat, and FPS gameplay. Just call it Orbital Assault for short.
The primary addition with this patch is the “persistent sandbox activity” known as Align and Mine, which was showcased in this week’s Inside Star Citizen. In summary, players will have to locate derelict mining facilities, power them up to align a comms array to an overhead station, then fly to that station to power up a massive orbital mining laser, then head back down planetside to engage the laser, all the while dealing with the threat of Ninetails enemies, new tiny sand worms, and the potential of other players’ attacks, though these POIs will be in Stanton, so the threat of a crimestat does (mostly) loom.
As for why players would want to go through all of this trouble, it’s for a couple of reasons: to mine materials and then either bring them to a corporation for credits and to help with a problem with reviving stations (for the general populace, not for players), or bring them to a new NPC known as Wikelo, the MMO’s first Banu character, for unique gear and ships.
Of course the new activity isn’t the only thing going for the patch, as it also brings other refinements to things like mining and ship UI, the aforementioned two new vehicles in the form of the ATLS GEO and Drake Golem, a first pass of corpse running mechanics, a new electric rifle weapon, and balance changes for existing ships and weapons. Patch notes are found here.
Also of note: The new alpha build is also marking the start of what CIG calls “patch bundles” to the cash shop, which the studio classes as “limited-time item and cosmetic packs that drop with most content patches” that offer unique goodies. The first such bundle offers a helmet, chest armor, and skins for an assault rifle and the Corsair ship for $30.
