I thought I knew how to identify core asteroids...

ithinkiam

ithinkiam
I've been playing Elite for a long time and mining has been one of my favoured pastimes. I really enjoy the core mining feature, but for the life of me I've no idea how to identify them reliably! :(

I thought I had it sussed; find the really bright yellow ones, but no. I've had many bright yellow ones not be cores and more often than not dull or red ones are turning out to be cores.

For example, how are these two core 'roids?

1.
https://imgur.com/a/ni65qEI

2.
https://imgur.com/a/Fa5bWgI

And this one, isn't?
https://imgur.com/a/US19vti

I've tried the 'double wave pulse' technique and black outline shimmer, but it isn't reliable. The only way I can be sure currently is either by firing prospectors around or eye-balling the roids for visible fissures. Any other method is purely random in my book.

Sorry for the ranty nature of the this post, but I'm trying to contribute to the CG and finding it is a real struggle. I normally don't mind spending time, however, for this efficiency is key.

Is there a bulletproof method? I really don't see how some people are able to travel 400m/s and do core roid mining...:S

Edit:

I'm NOT talking about icy rings or void opals. This is specifically for rocky, metal rich rings only.
 
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Lightspeed

Lightspeed
ithinkiam said:
I've been playing Elite for a long time and mining has been one of my favoured pastimes. I really enjoy the core mining feature, but for the life of me I've no idea how to identify them reliably! :(

I thought I had it sussed; find the really bright yellow ones, but no. I've had many bright yellow ones not be cores and more often than not dull or red ones are turning out to be cores.

For example, how are these two core 'roids?

1.
https://imgur.com/a/ni65qEI

2.
https://imgur.com/a/Fa5bWgI

And this one, isn't?
https://imgur.com/a/US19vti

I've tried the 'double wave pulse' technique and black outline shimmer, but it isn't reliable. The only way I can be sure currently is either by firing prospectors around or eye-balling the roids for visible fissures. Any other method is purely random in my book.

Sorry for the ranty nature of the this post, but I'm trying to contribute to the CG and finding it is a real struggle. I normally don't mind spending time, however, for this efficiency is key.

Is there a bulletproof method? I really don't see how some people are able to travel 400m/s and do core roid mining...:S
Click to expand...

I returned to mining last week and my experience has been similar to yours. Found quite a few Void Opals with patience.

Look for the bright asteroids with knobbly bits and lines on that look like they would explode well, but are not too mis-shapen. But yes, sometimes the very bright ones aren't core 'roids at all.
 

ithinkiam

ithinkiam
Lightspeed said:
I returned to mining last week and my experience has been similar to yours. Found quite a few Void Opals with patience.

Look for the bright asteroids with knobbly bits and lines on that look like they would explode well, but are not too mis-shapen. But yes, sometimes the very bright ones aren't core 'roids at all.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but that's only relavent for Void Opals AFAICS. For other minerals the shape of the rock doesn't matter e.g. for the CG which requires Alexandrite, Grandidierite and Benitorite.
 

Lightspeed

Lightspeed
Here's three images I took yesterday .....

spj6nm.jpg

http://[IMG]http://i67.tinypic.com/2jd156c.jpg[/IMG]

http://[IMG]http://i63.tinypic.com/i299bn.jpg[/IMG]
 

Brrokk

Brrokk
I think the identification of core asteroids depends on graphics artefacts which we're not really supposed to see. That's why different people see different "tells": it depends on your graphics hardware. Some see flickery black squares, some see dark crevices, some see green coloration and one person I know sees a shadowy view of the core. I just get the flickery black squares.

Since it's an artefact we're not supposed to be, it's possible that FD will manage to hide it in a future patch. Has your ability to identify core asteroids reduced since the latest patch?
 

Lightspeed

Lightspeed
Brrokk said:
I think the identification of core asteroids depends on graphics artefacts which we're not really supposed to see. That's why different people see different "tells": it depends on your graphics hardware. Some see flickery black squares, some see dark crevices, some see green coloration and one person I know sees a shadowy view of the core. I just get the flickery black squares.

Since it's an artefact we're not supposed to be, it's possible that FD will manage to hide it in a future patch. Has your ability to identify core asteroids reduced since the latest patch?
Click to expand...

Having read all the photographic 'guides' I am sure you are right ... it depends on our graphics and screens.
 

ithinkiam

ithinkiam
Brrokk said:
I think the identification of core asteroids depends on graphics artefacts which we're not really supposed to see. That's why different people see different "tells": it depends on your graphics hardware. Some see flickery black squares, some see dark crevices, some see green coloration and one person I know sees a shadowy view of the core. I just get the flickery black squares.
Click to expand...

That's a good point. I've got a 1060 3GB running at 1680x1050 and ultra settings.

Since it's an artefact we're not supposed to be, it's possible that FD will manage to hide it in a future patch. Has your ability to identify core asteroids reduced since the latest patch?
Click to expand...

I can't be sure but it's possible, yes.
 

Rhonda

Rhonda
Brrokk said:
I think the identification of core asteroids depends on graphics artefacts which we're not really supposed to see. That's why different people see different "tells": it depends on your graphics hardware. Some see flickery black squares, some see dark crevices, some see green coloration and one person I know sees a shadowy view of the core. I just get the flickery black squares.
Click to expand...

Additional to this, the ambient light has a huge impact on the display of PWA-scans too. The bright ones you are looking for might look realy bright when you fly towards the sun (the asteroid's dark side facing you) and can look like common roids when flying with the sun in your back (asteroid's bright side facing you). This along with other minor inconsistencies make the PWA kind of a broken tool.
 

WeComeInPeace

WeComeInPeace
I'm mining opals, and I also thought I was getting pretty good at finding cores. The asteroid needs to have fissures and I normally go for the rough shaped bright ones, preferably more red than yellow. The ones with spikes looking kind of pineapple like are normally a winner unless the core contains something else than opals (I'm getting picky).

Today was different. The first hotspot I found was almost empty, so I jumped to another system. Same same. Then I started going for bright ones with more round shapes and spiky ones that wasn't very bright and bingo! I had a few "what?" moments.

Maybe the server generating the asteroids has been changed the last couple of days? Or maybe it's more luck than I thought.

A few tricks:

Go for planets away from the star and turn on Night Vision. That helps a lot because you can see the fissures once you get close enough.

If the ring is bright, go towards the star. That makes the asteroids darker, making it easier to spot the cores and the shapes.

Don't believe the shape you see from a distance. At least with my graphics settings they can look too round (hard) from a distance.

Bring as many limpets as you can. I bring 170/192. Once you start firing prospectors you'll quickly get cargo space, and otherwise you can jettison a few limpets. You don't loose anything with a full cargo. The limpets just line up waiting until they expire, and even then a new limpet will take over.

Try to go for pure hotspots that doesn't overlap with the crappy ones. If you can find overlapping hotspots with the stuff you're mining, definitely go for those. They are juicy!

Happy mining!

(On average I can make 100-150 million CR per trip, depending on my lack of patience)

Edit: Ronda beat me to it ;)

2. edit: Also bring a good strong shield. Then you can use your ships to remove debris, once the core is cracked. It also means that you can go closer to the asteroid while firing seismic charges, without having to worry about your retreat. Once the countdown starts you can reverse thrust and if you hit something you won't get hurt.

move rock.jpg
 
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thistle

T
ithinkiam said:
Pop quiz! Is this a core asteroid (the lower of the two glowing ones) and why?
Click to expand...
I suspect you're going to say one was and one wasn't?

In my experience, you could get two asteroids with the same shape and glow characteristics, and one will have fissures visible and one won't (thanks to rng) and there will be no other way to tell.

Which seems fine to me, I dont use a prospector unless I can see the fissures first.
 

WeComeInPeace

WeComeInPeace
A final trick: If you underdose the seismic charges and the detonation fails, just fire a small seismic charge into one of the remaining fissures (Preferably a strong one). That way I've still been able to gather ~20 opals even though the indicator thingy (top right) goes red in the second attempt.
 

rhiz

rhiz
Lightspeed said:
Having read all the photographic 'guides' I am sure you are right ... it depends on our graphics and screens.
Click to expand...

I usually go by the shape of the asset - if it's bright yellow/orange and looks like a walnut or a piece of popcorn, more often than not it's a core.
 
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