In the Star Citizen Week in Review for January 26th, 2026, Salty Mike highlights the enjoyable new crafting playtest within the 4.6 PTU patch despite ongoing server issues, alongside various updates including ship reworks, AI improvements, and upcoming events. The report also introduces a new bi-monthly patch schedule, the Salvage Mole ship, and economic adjustments, while expressing cautious optimism about the patch’s impact on gameplay and community engagement.
In this Star Citizen Week in Review for January 26th, 2026, Salty Mike provides an overview of the ongoing 4.6 PTU patch, sharing his experiences and impressions. Despite server issues persisting with little improvement, Mike highlights his first-time crafting experience, which he found surprisingly enjoyable and well-implemented. The crafting playtest featured a fabricator system, material quality affecting outcomes, and manageable refining times, suggesting a solid foundation for this long-anticipated feature. However, he remains cautious about how the game’s insurance and store systems might impact crafting’s future.
The patch notes reveal several updates, including changes to salvage mechanics, mission tweaks, and the introduction of new ships like the L21 Wolf, along with quality-of-life fixes such as automatic key and fuse usage. The salvage system saw some reversion after initial changes proved problematic, and the star map received updates to show ore locations on moons and planets, although it remains somewhat underwhelming due to uniform resource distribution. The Aurora Gold Standard ship received a rework, but some issues like the missing jump drive persist, drawing criticism from Mike.
The monthly report covers various development areas, including AI improvements like the Valakar’s new ability to attack objects, upcoming animation enhancements such as melee and mech enemies, and player swimming. Ship development is progressing with projects like the Gatling railgun, Hammerhead rework, and the Galaxy ship entering pre-production. Core gameplay updates focus on flight model refinements, the command module becoming internally playable, and ongoing work on inventory reworks and ship maintenance features. Economic updates include adjustments to mission rewards and the introduction of NYX social stations aimed at safe trading with economic incentives.
The ISC video update introduces a new bi-monthly patch cadence, aiming to deliver larger patches every two months supplemented by smaller mid-patch content drops to maintain player engagement. The 4.6 patch includes the Alliance Aid event addressing a mold crisis, new rewards like medical armor and ship paints, and improvements such as cockpit light amplification. Upcoming mid-patch content promises new faction-based missions, seasonal events like Coramore and Red Festival, discounts on in-game vehicle purchases, and the debut of the Salvage Mole ship, which many players have eagerly awaited.
Finally, other updates include a sneak peek at the Hermes cargo ship, which appears to have design flaws such as low ceiling height, raising concerns about its practicality. The ongoing “In Case You Missed It” sale continues, offering ship and paint options with little impact on gameplay. Mike concludes with cautious optimism for 4.6, emphasizing concerns about server stability that could hamper the patch’s rollout and player experience. He encourages viewers to subscribe, engage on Twitch, and share their thoughts as the community awaits the update’s live release.