Devs, think on this please

[Aashenfox]

It must be annoying when you complete a combat mission and don't have space for a commodity reward?

At a guess, the current system is intended to provide "balance" by separating quality and capacity.
Basically, you could fly a CM3 with a single limpet controller and spend hours collecting stuff as long as you have enough cargo space for limpets.
Conversely, you can fly an Annie stacked with collectors and not be able to spend much time collecting stuff if you haven't got room for limpets.

As with many other things, it's all about balancing and compromises.

Course, a "tractor beam" could certainly work in the same way that the game manages to work with guns and lasers.
If it wasn't balanced properly, nobody would consider using a projectile weapon 'cos it'd always be preferable to use a laser which doesn't need ammo.
As it is, lasers aren't as powerful and they come with a penalty so the system works, mostly.
A tractor beam could use more power and only be capable of targeting one item at once, or whatever.
That way, miners would probably still prefer to use limpets but other people might want to fit a small tractor beam for those "just in case" situations.

Nope, one is not obliged to collect cargo rewards from any other type of mission except passengers, they are simply lost to the ether on hand-in as 'excess cargo'.

I don't see how it needs compromise, tbh, it's just a pain one's backside at the moment and should be better. I see it very simplistically. Don't like it, make it better. This is not so significant to the mechanics of the game as to warrant analysis ad infinitum, so I say FD should just do it. I think there should be an SC autopilot too, for those who want it.

On this particular subject, I feel that the recent change to engineering necessitates a more efficient way of picking up more materials, or at least a more fun way. I'm happy for it to be a dumfire grappling magnet that takes some skill to use, but it needs to be faster (if used with requisite skill) than manually scooping.

And it absolutely must NOT use any main slots.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

I don't get bothered about limpets getting module space, I meant in the start of the post that actually limpets take too long to scoop the cargo. On an old game I played (freelancer) I hit B and the beams get all cargo at once in a limited distance. That affects directly the pirating role . The thing that makes pirating not sooo profitable is the time taken to do the role process(specially getting the cargo).

Obviously it's frontiers game but a press X to magic recover all surrounding loot does not sound like something for elite to me. I see your point about piracy esp when ships blow their load over many km.... But perhaps medium ships could potentially drop loot in 5t bundles and large ships in 10t bundles (which we can then scoop, limpet or grapple depending on what FD wanted

 

[fuub]

Obviously it's frontiers game but a press X to magic recover all surrounding loot does not sound like something for elite to me. I see your point about piracy esp when ships blow their load over many km.... But perhaps medium ships could potentially drop loot in 5t bundles and large ships in 10t bundles (which we can then scoop, limpet or grapple depending on what FD wanted

Mad Mike its because of ppl like you this game is the most boring experience ever.