Drones coming for powerplay

I'm not sure I understand the concept of non-reusable drones. If I have a little gadget that flies around, picks up stuff and drops it into my hatch, why would it be ''consumed''?
But then, when I hear about these drones, I'm thinking of something like the one-tonne limpet devices we have right now. Maybe these ''drones'' are tiny (as in, maybe the size of an apple or something) and cheap robots that are designed to be mass-produced and get ''burnt out'' after a while. If so, though, there should not be any limitation on how many drones we are allowed to bring (or the limitation would be very high, like maybe 50 drones per tonne of cargo space).

If we're actually talking about large drones like the cargo limpets, then I think it's pretty ridicilous to have them be consumed. All it is, is a little flying robot that grabs an item and puts it in my cargo scoop. I would pay 200 000 Credits for a reusable canister fetcher, that's the price of 6 Sidewinders. Why can't I get that?
I don't like when game mechanics are designed in ways that don't make sense because ''gameplay''. In most cases, I find that, in the end, it would have been better for the ''gameplay'' if things made sense from the start instead.
Still, I don't want to sound too critical. We haven't seen anything about how this system will work in practice, so I hope I don't come off as too dismissive.
 
But what next? Trading drones? Pirating drones? Exploring drones?
If this sounds ridiculous to you, why not? Where is the justification?
There are tedious aspects in any of the current professions!
So why not just creating a big button that does all activities for you while you finally can do something else, like some outdoor activities?
Yeah true, gaming must be soo boring...

I totally agree and there are great opportunities here for efficiency and reductions in workload while increasing earnings.

Seems to me that automation is needed in all aspects of the game. For example, it would be great to have an automated trader that I could program to run a trade route while I was AFK. Even if it was only a few tons, over time it would add up. Especially if I had several of them. Likewise exploring would go a lot faster if I could sit at a junction and send drones into set areal branches or send drones to rapidly detail scan a system. Imagine that you drop into an RES and send drones to gather up the credits. With enough even low level drones you could overwhelm and then collect any bounty. One could really make efficient use of time to get credits a lot faster. Likewise a Fonda would not be much different from a fully drones T7. This would also significantly reduce the need to pilot ships since we would just have to sit in one place and let automation take over.

While logical to me, this is not a future that I look forward to.
 
You say "probe" and I immediately think "Imperial Probe Droid"

Arakyd_Viper.jpg
 
Here's a question
.
Can I use my drones to steal someone elses Fragments?
.
Are they then stolen?

Ooooh I like this train of thought! I will certainly be putting lasers on my mining vessel to shoo away anyone trying to steal my fragments :)
 
I got really bored of Mining from the time it first came out if they had fully automated Mining ship with drones I could get on with the things I enjoy doing in game while making a little money on the side - although there is a chance an NPC could blow up my automated ship or ships I would be ok with that
 
Mining bumfight!!!!

I see two routes with the "usage". Either they are "refuelable" but run out after a trip (kind of mining torpedo) and the cost is to have to refuel your supply occasionally or its a 1 shot ammo that destroys itself on impact with the part and homing back.

You can't have this being unlimited as afk farming would be rife
 
I totally agree and there are great opportunities here for efficiency and reductions in workload while increasing earnings.

Seems to me that automation is needed in all aspects of the game. For example, it would be great to have an automated trader that I could program to run a trade route while I was AFK. Even if it was only a few tons, over time it would add up. Especially if I had several of them. Likewise exploring would go a lot faster if I could sit at a junction and send drones into set areal branches or send drones to rapidly detail scan a system. Imagine that you drop into an RES and send drones to gather up the credits. With enough even low level drones you could overwhelm and then collect any bounty. One could really make efficient use of time to get credits a lot faster. Likewise a Fonda would not be much different from a fully drones T7. This would also significantly reduce the need to pilot ships since we would just have to sit in one place and let automation take over.

While logical to me, this is not a future that I look forward to.

Why do you keep coming out with this rubbish? No one is talking about automating mining! All that drones will do is speed up the recovery of the fragments. They are not going to do the mining so please read before you go off on another tangent.

Loon
 
I got really bored of Mining from the time it first came out if they had fully automated Mining ship with drones I could get on with the things I enjoy doing in game while making a little money on the side - although there is a chance an NPC could blow up my automated ship or ships I would be ok with that

I'd like to salute your total lack of any punctation in that sentence. Hoorah!
 
Yay, as a pirate, I love the idea of scooping drones. This solves half of the equation to make piracy profitable. All we need now is, a buff to limpets. That way we can steal enough to make drones worth it.
 
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More logic fails. In an age of FTL spaceships, a thousand years in the future, engineers are apparently incapable of designing reusable drones? Does the design team ever actually stop and look at how things work in real life before they implement new gameplay? The hundreds of small logic fails present in ED seriously diminishes the little immersion that's left.
 
More logic fails. In an age of FTL spaceships, a thousand years in the future, engineers are apparently incapable of designing reusable drones? Does the design team ever actually stop and look at how things work in real life before they implement new gameplay? The hundreds of small logic fails present in ED seriously diminishes the little immersion that's left.

Honestly who cares about reusable drones, I'd rather have cheap, disposable drones by the truck load, than a few, more expensive, reusable ones, that if they break you have to dock to resupply.
 

Javert

Volunteer Moderator
As mentioned in the update there is an area collect mode - release the drone and it will collect what it can within a a given radius for its lifetime.

Michael

Hi Michael,

Is the area collect mode meant for collecting multiple fragments less than 1T that will fill up the 1T space that the drone took up (i.e. for mining), or will it collect multiple 1 t canisters?

Also, can you launch multiple drones at the same time and if so is there a limit?

thanks for any answers
 
A monofilament nanofiber cable with harpoon tip makes more sense.

See floating mineral chunk, fire harpoon into it and haul in the goodies. Make it a mini-game like cargo scooping.

You could have an ammo count for the harpoon tips to make sure it didn't get out of hand.
 
I would just like to be able to scoop at about 100 km/h instead of about <20.

I can slam them into the windscreen just fine at almost any speed but they never seem to line up with that dinky little scoop.
 
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