Why are prospector limpets still a thing?
I've enjoyed mining in this game from the very first rock carving expedition I went on. Granted, I got a bit frustrated with the refinery bugs at the time (this was many years ago), but I just imagined I was going back to my refinery and kicking it a few times as it jammed up. I was thrilled when refineries started working correctly, and I'm thrilled now seeing all these new additions that make mining far more engaging. My main issue with the system has always been the prospector limpet. I've seen several threads about limpet controllers in general, and while I'd love to see a short range tractor module replace collector limpets, I have no major beef with them. But the prospector limpet seems pointless from top to bottom. It adds nothing of substance to the game, imo. It is a tedious requirement (basically) that doesn't need to be the way it is. This has always been evident, but has become even more obvious with the new additions to the game.
We have a new detailed surface scanner that fires unlimited ammo probes at celestial bodies from high orbit. These never ending pools of probes are capable of returning detailed data on planetary composition, life, etc.
We have a new Pulse Wave Analyzer capable of pinging an asteroid field out to a 24km radius, returning data on mineral density.
We have wake scanners, kill warrant scanners, manifest scanners, xeno scanners.
So why must we still fire a single use 1 ton prospector limpet in order to ascertain the material composition of a rock that is a few hundred meters away from our face? Furthermore, what possible level of depth or immersion does this process add to the game?
So instead of just complaining, I've come up with a few potential options to address the issue:
1. Replace the prospector limpet controller with a prospecting module more in line with the detailed surface scanner. A no-ammo probe-firing asteroid scanner. Or have the detailed surface scanner serve a double function, acting as a prospector scanner while in normal space. If the surface scanner is capable of doing this task on a planetary scale from high orbit, why couldn't it also do the exact same task on a much smaller rock right in front of you? It also fits right into the whole concept of the surface scanner. Mineral surveying seems to be the primary purpose of the surface scanner. I could be wrong about that, but that's what it seems like.
2. Eliminate the PLC and add a utility slot scanner that is designed solely for prospecting asteroids. I personally like this option because I don't see a lot of use out of the utility slots while mining. Which is a shame, really, since they're utility slots... and this seems very much like a utility function. That, and we have every other type of short-range scanner option in the utility slot. Why wouldn't there be an asteroid scanner? this also seems like a good option because people seem to not like the idea of just getting rid of a module, or rolling multiple module roles into a single module. They seem to feel that it somehow eliminates the need for specialized ship builds. And they might be right. But this way, you still need to use up an outfitting slot.
3. Add a tight beam scan mode to the Pulse Wave Analyzer. Focus that asteroid field pinging omni-directional pulse into a tighter directional arc for single asteroid DETAILED scans, then switch back to wide angle for the lower detail sweep.
4. Add an experimental effect to the Sensor's engineering options. Or an actual blueprint even. Either would work, and the sensor engineering options could use some love.
5. Just add asteroid targeting, and have asteroid scans function like any other targeted scan. Target the rock, then wait for your sensors to fully scan the target.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter. For whatever they're worth. I just don't see why we're firing economy car sized limpets at rocks to tell us what's in the rocks. Surely, any data collection hardware that can be quickly fitted into a limpet could also be incorporated into a system within the ship.
I've enjoyed mining in this game from the very first rock carving expedition I went on. Granted, I got a bit frustrated with the refinery bugs at the time (this was many years ago), but I just imagined I was going back to my refinery and kicking it a few times as it jammed up. I was thrilled when refineries started working correctly, and I'm thrilled now seeing all these new additions that make mining far more engaging. My main issue with the system has always been the prospector limpet. I've seen several threads about limpet controllers in general, and while I'd love to see a short range tractor module replace collector limpets, I have no major beef with them. But the prospector limpet seems pointless from top to bottom. It adds nothing of substance to the game, imo. It is a tedious requirement (basically) that doesn't need to be the way it is. This has always been evident, but has become even more obvious with the new additions to the game.
We have a new detailed surface scanner that fires unlimited ammo probes at celestial bodies from high orbit. These never ending pools of probes are capable of returning detailed data on planetary composition, life, etc.
We have a new Pulse Wave Analyzer capable of pinging an asteroid field out to a 24km radius, returning data on mineral density.
We have wake scanners, kill warrant scanners, manifest scanners, xeno scanners.
So why must we still fire a single use 1 ton prospector limpet in order to ascertain the material composition of a rock that is a few hundred meters away from our face? Furthermore, what possible level of depth or immersion does this process add to the game?
So instead of just complaining, I've come up with a few potential options to address the issue:
1. Replace the prospector limpet controller with a prospecting module more in line with the detailed surface scanner. A no-ammo probe-firing asteroid scanner. Or have the detailed surface scanner serve a double function, acting as a prospector scanner while in normal space. If the surface scanner is capable of doing this task on a planetary scale from high orbit, why couldn't it also do the exact same task on a much smaller rock right in front of you? It also fits right into the whole concept of the surface scanner. Mineral surveying seems to be the primary purpose of the surface scanner. I could be wrong about that, but that's what it seems like.
2. Eliminate the PLC and add a utility slot scanner that is designed solely for prospecting asteroids. I personally like this option because I don't see a lot of use out of the utility slots while mining. Which is a shame, really, since they're utility slots... and this seems very much like a utility function. That, and we have every other type of short-range scanner option in the utility slot. Why wouldn't there be an asteroid scanner? this also seems like a good option because people seem to not like the idea of just getting rid of a module, or rolling multiple module roles into a single module. They seem to feel that it somehow eliminates the need for specialized ship builds. And they might be right. But this way, you still need to use up an outfitting slot.
3. Add a tight beam scan mode to the Pulse Wave Analyzer. Focus that asteroid field pinging omni-directional pulse into a tighter directional arc for single asteroid DETAILED scans, then switch back to wide angle for the lower detail sweep.
4. Add an experimental effect to the Sensor's engineering options. Or an actual blueprint even. Either would work, and the sensor engineering options could use some love.
5. Just add asteroid targeting, and have asteroid scans function like any other targeted scan. Target the rock, then wait for your sensors to fully scan the target.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter. For whatever they're worth. I just don't see why we're firing economy car sized limpets at rocks to tell us what's in the rocks. Surely, any data collection hardware that can be quickly fitted into a limpet could also be incorporated into a system within the ship.