In this Star Citizen Week in Review, Salty Mike highlights a slow week with minimal official updates and expresses frustration with the current mining mechanics, criticizing the excessive scanning and rarity of quality ore that hinder enjoyable gameplay. He proposes redesigning mining to focus on skill and efficiency, with larger resource-rich asteroids, improved ship balance, and streamlined mechanics to make mining a more engaging and rewarding experience.
In this Star Citizen Week in Review for June 1st, 2026, Salty Mike notes that it was a particularly slow week in terms of official game updates, with no new patches, PTU releases, or major events. The only official update was a hotfix, and there was no monthly report or roadmap update as none were scheduled. Salty Mike expresses some disappointment with the current state of patch 4.8, mentioning that he is not enjoying the game as much as he expected. He also highlights a few community and developer posts, including ongoing issues with the Ironclad ship and a persistent 60K error preventing some players from logging in.
With official news sparse, Salty Mike shifts focus to a topic he feels strongly about: mining in Star Citizen. He explains that mining has become a central gameplay loop for him, especially with crafting now more integrated into the game. However, he finds the current mining experience frustrating due to pacing issues, excessive scanning requirements, and the rarity of high-quality ore. The process involves scanning rocks repeatedly over long distances, which takes up most of the playtime, leaving very little actual mining. He argues that this scanning-heavy approach is not fun and detracts from the core appeal of mining.
Salty Mike contrasts Star Citizen’s mining with other games like Star Miner and Eve Online, where mining feels more streamlined and engaging. In those games, players spend less time scanning and more time actively mining, with large asteroids containing multiple materials that can be targeted directly. He suggests that Star Citizen should adopt similar mechanics, such as visually revealing materials on rocks and allowing players to target specific sections, thus making mining more efficient and enjoyable. He also criticizes the current ship and cargo balance, explaining that limited cargo capacity is no longer a meaningful constraint due to the rarity of good ore.
He proposes a reimagining of mining that retains the unique skill-based mini-game and challenge of staying in the green zone but reduces the tedious scanning cycles. He envisions larger rocks with abundant materials that require multiple trips to haul, encouraging logistics and teamwork. Mining ships could be balanced by cargo capacity and laser efficiency rather than arbitrary size restrictions, allowing for meaningful progression and differentiation between ships like the Prospector, Golem, Mole, and Orion. Better lasers could improve mining speed or efficiency but come with trade-offs to maintain challenge and skill.
In conclusion, Salty Mike calls for a shift in Star Citizen’s mining design to focus on efficiency and skill rather than luck and RNG. He wants mining to be a rewarding and engaging gameplay loop where players can consistently gather valuable resources without excessive downtime. He hopes the developers will consider these ideas to improve the experience and make mining a more central and enjoyable part of the game. He invites viewers to share their thoughts and looks forward to more updates in the coming weeks.