This week’s Around The Verse episode peeled back the layers of asteroid mining, which has completed development, as well as the new listener focus effect, and the overall improvements to the AI.

The episode is nearly 11 minutes long so it’s slightly beefier than the last few weeks that came in under ten minutes, but it’s still not quite back to where the old ATV episodes were. Anyway, you can check out the latest episode below.

A good portion of the video focuses on the addition of more rocks for planetary mining, and the completion of asteroid mining. Yes, asteroid mining is finally complete. Players will soon be able to scan asteroid belts and attempt to mine select rocks that can be fractured using the mining laser. The asteroid mining is fairly intuitive, as you’ll need to use the laser to cut through the rock in the green zone of the asteroid. If you attempt to cut through a rock in the red zone then the rock will explode and fly into a bunch of different places, and you’ll have to chase down the pieces as they fly off into different places.

There’s also the new listener focus effect, which is centered around audio focus so that players can hone in on specific effects or NPCs. The dynamic listener focus effect is neat insofar that players that want to eavesdrop on a conversation from a distance can do so; players can also use the focus feature to dampen out other ambient sounds in order to better hear a specific voice, effect, or music coming from a certain location.

One of the most highly anticipated features also managed to get a little bit of the spotlight: the combat AI. Yes, the combat AI is also nearing completion, with search path logic being implemented, along with hit detection during cover and out-of-cover movement. Additionally, idle and patrol paths have also been implemented and improved upon in preparation for the release of alpha 3.3.0.

However, the AI features don’t end there.

CIG is also refining the cinematic presentation of Lorville. They’ve added path-tracking AI that will fly neutral ships around orbit and down onto the planet’s surface where the ship will land, perform a routine and then take off and fly back into space. This is to help give the city a feeling of being a bustling space-stop for all manner of travelers.

You can learn more about the upcoming 3.3.0 release by hitting up the Star Citizen website.