The Mining discussion thread.
ciger
Banned
Ah right thanks, still vey atmospheric watching other ships actually `do` things and the graphic effects were lovely (I filmed it) with dust and little rock chips flying off the asteroid, the cobra fired into the same spot for a couple of minuted then manouvered to a slightly different spot and fired up the laser again. Really cool
yeah it is pretty common to see NPCs mining asteroids at mining extraction sites. very cool indeed.
You know what the best thing about those mining lasers are? If you get it timed right and fly through them, the mining ship gets a warrant for attacking you, and you can then kill them and earn the warrant
Michael Brookes has suggested that mining won't be in till Gamma.
I've seen a few anacondas zapping asteroids at the resource extraction sites, they appear to be a pleasant blue colour. Not for us yet sadly, I'd be very pleasantly surprised if it's in Beta 2.
Currently the only resources extractable from resource extraction sites are the bounties from ne'er-do-wells.
It's where I spend most of my gaming time at the moment. Last night I saw (both NPCs) an Anaconda and Cobra slugging it out, the Cobra had an 1850C bounty on him so I positioned myself and let the Anaconda soften him up then I sniped in and nicked the bounty
Who says bounty hunters have no morals?
Currently the only resources extractable from resource extraction sites are the bounties from ne'er-do-wells.
It's where I spend most of my gaming time at the moment. Last night I saw (both NPCs) an Anaconda and Cobra slugging it out, the Cobra had an 1850C bounty on him so I positioned myself and let the Anaconda soften him up then I sniped in and nicked the bounty
Who says bounty hunters have no morals?
Last night I saw (both NPCs) an Anaconda and Cobra slugging it out, the Cobra had an 1850C bounty on him so I positioned myself and let the Anaconda soften him up then I sniped in and nicked the bounty
Who says bounty hunters have no morals?
I've done similar things myself (only against NPCs) and it's a lot of fun, imagining the howls of frustration from the anaconda pilot and the abuse he must be hurling at you while you do it haha
You know what the best thing about those mining lasers are? If you get it timed right and fly through them, the mining ship gets a warrant for attacking you, and you can then kill them and earn the warrant
Mining miners.
Source?
I cant see that somehow ... A major feature of the game not coming till basically release? (which is what Gamma is in essence)
It will need testing, there is no way it wont be till Gamma, might not be Beta 2 fair enough, but Gamma, no way.
I wouldn't say mining is a major feature, it's a mini game at best, so pushing it back to gamma makes sense when there are other things that need to take the forefront such as the mission system, exploration, etc.
You wouldnt say its a major feature? Tell that to the people who want to be miners.
It may well be a minigame of sorts, but its no less significant than trading or bulletin board missions.
The point being that regardless of whether anyone thinks its a major feature or not, quite a lot of other systems hang off the ability to mine, including stuff we already have (i.e. ships, trading, commondiites etc)
Yes there are other priorities, but for mining to be in v1.0 it wont be Gamma, that will be way to late to test all of the impacts it will have on the game.
In the Spectrum Elite the mining lasers made a decent weapon as they did decent damage but didn't drain much energy. I suspect we'll get a more balanced mining laser in Elite Dangerous. But it would be a nice nod to the past if there were a range available and one worked like the mining laser I fondly remember.
Miners are going to be sitting ducks for pirates. It'll be interesting to see how that works out since the pirates could just mine for themselves. But pirating might be quicker and people might enjoy stealing.
Miners are going to be sitting ducks for pirates. It'll be interesting to see how that works out since the pirates could just mine for themselves. But pirating might be quicker and people might enjoy stealing.
That's your opinion, but however you look at it things like bulletin missions are quite obviously a very important game mechanic.
Mining, on the other hand, is a comparatively smaller feature and is likely to have a comparatively smaller player base using it. It is also worth pointing out that mining is completly reliant on Trading, since you have to "Trade" the resources you mine.
However, it is not true that anything in-game is reliant on player mining since NPC mining already supplies the commodities market with the resources.
Don't get me wrong here, I want mining too, it probably make up at least 50% of my play time in Elite. But if you look at it objectively it is clear that there are more important systems that need to be implemented first - exploration being one (something I have absolutely no interest in, I might add).
Exploration will tie in quite heavily with mining I suspect - the use of scanners to find things. Things like rich deposits of materials to mine
It may be possible to be a miner using purchased prospecting data only, or relying on sheer luck, but I suspect the wealthy miners will be the ones who can sniff out their own claims.
I wonder will the physical act of mining involve an skill at all?
For example, would you have to carefull follow the seams of minerals/ metals in the asteroid or is it a point and click type thing?
I'm not sure what would be better.
For example, would you have to carefull follow the seams of minerals/ metals in the asteroid or is it a point and click type thing?
I'm not sure what would be better.
I do not like the current 'mining with laser' mechanic in the game. It looks gamey and unrealistic. How is the ore transported to the cargo hold? By handwavium magic?
I'd rather have the option to set loose a few mining drones, in an asteroid field for example, who do the work for me and who gather the ore and put it into containers for transport. I would have to scan the area to get info on the type of ore it contained and then I would order the drone's what type of ore to gather. I would perhaps leave the area and do some trading and bounty hunting and return to my drones to pick up the filled ore containers.
I'd rather have the option to set loose a few mining drones, in an asteroid field for example, who do the work for me and who gather the ore and put it into containers for transport. I would have to scan the area to get info on the type of ore it contained and then I would order the drone's what type of ore to gather. I would perhaps leave the area and do some trading and bounty hunting and return to my drones to pick up the filled ore containers.
Take a look in the sticky thread of the latest twitch.
There is a transcription of it on the last pages.
With mirrors obviously
I suppose you could argue that there is some sort of feedback from the beam that transports material back to the ship. Or possibly an integrated tractor beam :S
What would your solution be? Landing on the asteroid perhaps? having to physically leave the ship to set up equipment would be cool.
Mining Design
You will separate flecks off the asteroid that will then need to be scooped. There will also be mining drones and at some point auto mining machines. What the NPCs are doing at the moment is just a place holder. I think the whole things sounds great.
You will separate flecks off the asteroid that will then need to be scooped. There will also be mining drones and at some point auto mining machines. What the NPCs are doing at the moment is just a place holder. I think the whole things sounds great.
With mirrors obviously
I suppose you could argue that there is some sort of feedback from the beam that transports material back to the ship. Or possibly an integrated tractor beam :S
What would your solution be? Landing on the asteroid perhaps? having to physically leave the ship to set up equipment would be cool.
I already offered a viable mechanic.
The player scans an area for materials he wants.
He has a few expensive mining drones on board, which he then can tell what they should prioritize while gathering the ore. The drones do the mining and will put the ore in transport containers. The presence of the player is not required during the mining phase itself. He will need to return to the mining site to fetch the filled containers and transport them to sell them.
This could be one of the methods, but I think it is the most viable, especially in deep space or hostile planetary environments, moons etc.
This method would not require the player to mine every tonne of ore by hand. This would become boring and tiresome very soon.
Also the mechanic of scanning an area for useful ore could be an interesting and even exiting mechanic, because who knows what you might find when searching for worthwhile ores. There could be gems, gold etc. The scanning process would be the most exiting and interesting for the player, not the mining itself. That is where the drones come in.