Core mining and SSD mining are unique/interesting forms of gameplay that are unfortunately not worth the players time

[Minceyeet]

Elite has two very fun forms of mining that set it apart from other games--Core mining and SSD mining. In the recent past, they were kind of broken in terms of payout.. I'm not arguing that payout should be returned to what they were, but the devs need to look at these areas of mining so that players have a reason to engage with them. Right now laser mining is far and away the better use of your time. Laser mining is very generic and its the same in every similar game. The devs gimped a totally unique aspect of their game when they nerfed SSD mining out of existence. Its baffling to me that they aren't playing to their strengths. They should lean into these aspects of the game that are just flat out better than other games.

Before players come in here to complain about other professions and payouts, this post is about mining. The observations are relative to mining. Please save your complaints/comparisons to other professions for another thread.

 

[Sysmon]

I don't know about being a waste of time. It's a nice break from lasering, SS missiling or pinging off surface deposits with the abrasion blasters. Mining is chill and varied now. And planetary rings are pretty.

S

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Hold on, what's the problem with core mining these days? I've heard of people having issues with finding good spots for it or the hotspots not spawning the right types of cores. I'm assuming those are bugs. As I understand FD's intent, core mining was to be more profitable than laser mining.

As for SSD mining, i never really heard of people doing it except for Tritium mining and that it was the best variant for that. Are you saying SSD mining actually used to be highly profitable as well?

PS: My mining boat is actually set up to do all 3, so in theory, i can drop in somewhere, send out prospectors, do a PWA ping, and get the best of all worlds.

 

[Sysmon]

As for SSD mining, i never really heard of people doing it except for Tritium mining and that it was the best variant for that. Are you saying SSD mining actually used to be highly profitable as well?

PS: My mining boat is actually set up to do all 3, so in theory, i can drop in somewhere, send out prospectors, do a PWA ping, and get the best of all worlds.

SSD is great for stuff like, well, tritium and LTDs that would actually live in sub surface deposits. Still is. I haven't chased double or triple hot spots lately. The hot spots I have been in have had the core deposits mentioned on the tin. Also, my mining boat does everything (horay for the Python) so I switch up the method depending on what I'm facing.

S

 

[Spacerschoice-00]

Having more cores would be ok with me...

 

[Agony_Aunt]

SSD is great for stuff like, well, tritium and LTDs that would actually live in sub surface deposits. Still is. I haven't chased double or triple hot spots lately. The hot spots I have been in have had the core deposits mentioned on the tin. Also, my mining boat does everything (horay for the Python) so I switch up the method depending on what I'm facing.

S

Ah, cool. So it can be worthwhile doing.

 

[Commander Biscuit]

So we've only had a couple of days to test the new mining with a working scanner, but my impression was that a full cargo bay is worth less, but you save so much time skipping over worthless cores because there aren't any, so it should still be fine. In terms of credits per hour, what are we looking at now?

 

[Northpin]

In terms of credits per hour, what are we looking at now?

I tried Core mining post PWS fix in a random hotspot (think it was monazite) - ended up with an average of about 30-40 millions per hour after a 2.5h session
Not say it wasn't nice to crack some cores after an year or so... but for credits it is not worth it.

So you have to find those cores, crack them, then you have to find a station to sell for a decent price- and with the changes to demand that happened this year... well not worth it
Missions pay better. Especially Massacres

Core mining is worthy only if you can sell the minerals at 1.6 millions per ton.
Or when you do it for fun completely disconnected from its credits value.

 

[Sysmon]

Or when you do it for fun completely disconnected from its credits value.

There is an in-between experience between the two extremes of purely-for-fun and purely-for-cr/hr where one actually enjoys oneself while making a tidy profit in the process. These bipolar views of the game and its features are why our discussions of them are of no real help to the game development.

S

 

[iiMStevo]

Elite has two very fun forms of mining that set it apart from other games--Core mining and SSD mining. In the recent past, they were kind of broken in terms of payout.. I'm not arguing that payout should be returned to what they were, but the devs need to look at these areas of mining so that players have a reason to engage with them. Right now laser mining is far and away the better use of your time. Laser mining is very generic and its the same in every similar game. The devs gimped a totally unique aspect of their game when they nerfed SSD mining out of existence. Its baffling to me that they aren't playing to their strengths. They should lean into these aspects of the game that are just flat out better than other games.

Before players come in here to complain about other professions and payouts, this post is about mining. The observations are relative to mining. Please save your complaints/comparisons to other professions for another thread.

The game should be less about flying rock to rock with RNG probing and more about optimal mining.
Every single rock should be crackable, have surface or subsurface deposits, and be laser mined.

Low-efficiency; blow it up, collect what’s there (like 30-60t total of all the resources), move on to the next. Fastest approach.

mid-efficiency; laser mine it, crack the outer layers, blow the inner core. Takes longer, but you get 30-60t for the core, plus 1.5x the core yield (so if core is 30t, you get 45t from your lasers before you blow it. 60t gets you an additional 90t).

high efficiency; abrasion blasters on the surface layer, laser mine the next layer to reveal fissures, sub-surface the fissures to crack the roid. Blow the inner core. Optimal detonations range the core supply from 30t-120t. Multiplier 2.0x yield. Should take the longest time, but yielding anywhere from 90t to 360t on one roid.

Prices don’t need to be adjusted, mining becomes more fun, and you can do whichever method you have time available for (instead of spending 3 hours trying to fill 500t up)

 

[Sysmon]

The game should be less about flying rock to rock with RNG probing and more about optimal mining.
Every single rock should be crackable, have surface or subsurface deposits, and be laser mined.

Low-efficiency; blow it up, collect what’s there (like 30-60t total of all the resources), move on to the next. Fastest approach.

mid-efficiency; laser mine it, crack the outer layers, blow the inner core. Takes longer, but you get 30-60t for the core, plus 1.5x the core yield (so if core is 30t, you get 45t from your lasers before you blow it. 60t gets you an additional 90t).

high efficiency; abrasion blasters on the surface layer, laser mine the next layer to reveal fissures, sub-surface the fissures to crack the roid. Blow the inner core. Optimal detonations range the core supply from 30t-120t. Multiplier 2.0x yield. Should take the longest time, but yielding anywhere from 90t to 360t on one roid.

Prices don’t need to be adjusted, mining becomes more fun, and you can do whichever method you have time available for (instead of spending 3 hours trying to fill 500t up)

It is to some extent already possible to go through all the tools and then finish a rock of with core mining. Due to the way the different minerals are isolated from each other and the low value of most surface deposits, a good multi-approach rock is a rare find, however. We discussed different ways of having minerals distributed through the rocks early on. However, that may be difficult to implement, as the new mining tools are yet another tacked-on feature to the game rather than a direct improvement to the mining process itself.

Bring on Odyssey and hopefully a rehash of the entire geology of rings, asteroid belts and perhaps even planetary surface mining and how this is interacted with using surveying and mining tools.

S

 

[Commander Biscuit]

I tried Core mining post PWS fix in a random hotspot (think it was monazite) - ended up with an average of about 30-40 millions per hour after a 2.5h session
Not say it wasn't nice to crack some cores after an year or so... but for credits it is not worth it.

So you have to find those cores, crack them, then you have to find a station to sell for a decent price- and with the changes to demand that happened this year... well not worth it
Missions pay better. Especially Massacres

Core mining is worthy only if you can sell the minerals at 1.6 millions per ton.
Or when you do it for fun completely disconnected from its credits value.

30-40m seems fine to me, actually it was around what I could make before the changes since I never abused the overlapping hotspot meta. I'm making about the same, maybe a little less with bounty hunting for the same reason, unwilling to abuse the meta with mission stacking.

For casual players thing have worked out beautifully because now there's choice between the two activities since they both pay around the same. At least if you ignore the cross faction mission stacking. I'd just remove it completely, but I think FD knows there would be apocalyptic levels of moaning on the forums if they tried.

 

[iiMStevo]

It is to some extent already possible to go through all the tools and then finish a rock of with core mining. Due to the way the different minerals are isolated from each other and the low value of most surface deposits, a good multi-approach rock is a rare find, however. We discussed different ways of having minerals distributed through the rocks early on. However, that may be difficult to implement, as the new mining tools are yet another tacked-on feature to the game rather than a direct improvement to the mining process itself.

Bring on Odyssey and hopefully a rehash of the entire geology of rings, asteroid belts and perhaps even planetary surface mining and how this is interacted with using surveying and mining tools.

S

Very wishful thinking I think...
But alas, it is the system of mining I would like to see. Persistently destroying rocks on weekly (or monthly) ticks also creating commodity shortages as well could bring a new dynamic to the market.
There’s a lot of features in elite, the problem is they’re not very well thought out or implemented, so everything seems to leave players always wanting more

 

[GroG79]

Mapped Laser mining in a hazres... A cutter filled with Platinum (and bonus osmium) in 30 minutes.. If you need a new meta

I myself have been enjoying core mining. I put them for sale on my carrier for those that want to make a quick profit. I would like to see more profitable sub surface materials. SSD mining is one of the best mining mini games.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHf4np4S5_Q&feature=youtu.be

Lalande 34968 AB 8 Platinum Map

This is a Platinum mining map for Lalande 34968 AB 8, drop into the Resource Extraction Site at the Platinum Hotspot. As this is a Haz Res, you should expect to be attacked and you need to be capable of managing multiple attackers. All asteroids in the map are roughly 14-20km from the cen...

docs.google.com

 

[Minceyeet]

Mapped Laser mining in a hazres... A cutter filled with Platinum (and bonus osmium) in 30 minutes.. If you need a new meta

I myself have been enjoying core mining. I put them for sale on my carrier for those that want to make a quick profit. I would like to see more profitable sub surface materials. SSD mining is one of the best mining mini games.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHf4np4S5_Q&feature=youtu.be

Lalande 34968 AB 8 Platinum Map

This is a Platinum mining map for Lalande 34968 AB 8, drop into the Resource Extraction Site at the Platinum Hotspot. As this is a Haz Res, you should expect to be attacked and you need to be capable of managing multiple attackers. All asteroids in the map are roughly 14-20km from the cen...

docs.google.com

Yeah most of the replies here focus on Core, saying its fine (its not) and completely ignore SSD--which i agree with, SSD is the most fun. But the point i'm trying to make is the Devs should be pushing players to engage in these more fun playstyles--it's where the game separates itself from the competition.. Players will enjoy the game more if they can do this better gameplay. But as it stands, Laser mining is far more efficient and i don't have infinite time to play the game.

 

[Minceyeet]

There is an in-between experience between the two extremes of purely-for-fun and purely-for-cr/hr where one actually enjoys oneself while making a tidy profit in the process. These bipolar views of the game and its features are why our discussions of them are of no real help to the game development.

S

Its really not that complicated. As far as help to the game developers? Its absolutely to their benefit to lean into the aspects of mining that are more engaging, and better than mining in other games. Laser mining is nearly the same in every game, and its elite most profitable, by a large margin. Core and SSD mining are totally unique and a lot more fun to engage with. SSD mining is one of the most fun things to do in the game but no one does it now. Your argument "do it cuz it fun" is a cop out and it misses the point--also i dont have infinite time to play the game, choices have to be made and efficiency is important. I keep saying the devs should lean into it because by highlighting the excellent gameplay (core mining and SSD mining) over the brain dead generic gameplay (laser mining) your player base will be happier and play more. 'Our discussions' dont need to be any more complicated than that. Its pretty simple concept tbh.

 

[Minceyeet]

As for SSD mining, i never really heard of people doing it except for Tritium mining and that it was the best variant for that. Are you saying SSD mining actually used to be highly profitable as well?

SSD mining was insanely profitable a several months ago, even without the exploits that people will claim were the reason for its profitability.

 

[Sysmon]

Its really not that complicated. As far as help to the game developers? Its absolutely to their benefit to lean into the aspects of mining that are more engaging, and better than mining in other games. Laser mining is nearly the same in every game, and its elite most profitable, by a large margin. Core and SSD mining are totally unique and a lot more fun to engage with. SSD mining is one of the most fun things to do in the game but no one does it now. Your argument "do it cuz it fun" is a cop out and it misses the point--also i dont have infinite time to play the game, choices have to be made and efficiency is important. I keep saying the devs should lean into because by highlighting the excellent gameplay (core mining and SSD mining) over the brain dead generic gameplay (laser mining) your player base will be happier and play more. 'Our discussions' dont need to be any more complicated than that. Its pretty simple concept tbh.

Why is it a cop-out? Shouldn't a game be fun?

Laser mining used to be the only thing we could do, and not very profitable. Then other tools were added and laser mining fell to the side as the other methods were much more profitable. Now through numerous more or less successful balance passes, laser mining can be very profitable. However, as you somewhat sideways imply, laser mining is still rather simplistic. If you take that statement to other aspects of the game without looking at the underlying mechanics, that would make shooting other things also rather simplistic. Are you saying then that combat is dumb? (go away, Socrates, nobody invited you. Oh, it's Christmas. OK, have another hemlock toddy then).

The issue with laser mining is not its simplicity. In fact, that's the beauty of it. The issue is the simplicity of the underlying mechanics governing mineral and metal distribution and how we find them. Mining could be made much more engaging by adding a lot more intelligence and complexity to how minerals are distributed and specifically how economic deposits are distributed and found. The tools themselves should be simple, and more especially should not need twitch-game play to use. I can forgive the SSD drill missile mechanics - that's almost like sitting on a rig (but not really). However, the core mining mechanics are dumb if impressive, as if J.J. Abrams thought them up: C'mon who would ever start a detonating timer when placing the first charge? I haven't made that mistake since high school...

S

 

[Minceyeet]

There’s a lot of features in elite, the problem is they’re not very well thought out or implemented, so everything seems to leave players always wanting more

This, omg, this. Bumping SSD and Core to even just be closer to laser is all they need to do. Seems simple. I just dont understand why they would go out of their way to make these aspects of the game undesirable to do.

 

[BL1P]

Hold on, what's the problem with core mining these days? I've heard of people having issues with finding good spots for it or the hotspots not spawning the right types of cores. I'm assuming those are bugs. As I understand FD's intent, core mining was to be more profitable than laser mining.

As for SSD mining, i never really heard of people doing it except for Tritium mining and that it was the best variant for that. Are you saying SSD mining actually used to be highly profitable as well?

PS: My mining boat is actually set up to do all 3, so in theory, i can drop in somewhere, send out prospectors, do a PWA ping, and get the best of all worlds.

From the admittedly small amount of tests I have done since the PWA fix. I feel that laser mined platinum, is the best Cr per hour in mining overall atm.
Cores would be good if we had a filter or engineering that made it so the PWA scan only showed core rocks or showed only SSD rocks.
Also if the PWA was a toggle or you at least didn't need to constantly hold it down for the lines and shading to show.
Alas we dont so its still not as good credits per hour as laser.

Still good for a bit of fun if your already rich though