I suggested this in another post I think at one point, but I would love to see Mining getting some love right now.
Currently it is too slow in comparison to other things in the game, it has no guage for progression except for making money from what I can tell, and many players try it.. see it as far too mico-managed, and then move on. Admittedly i've only done a bit of it, and won't go back to it as i believe on a time spent to results received basis, it just doesn't give enough reward for that time spent doing it.
Some things I would like to see in mining:
Remote refinery modules:
A module based refinery that you can launch at an asteroid which auto mines the same as the one on your ship except that fragments no longer break off the asteroid, they get mined within the module until either the module is full, or the asteroid has no resources left to mine on it. When a module is finished on an asteroid, perhaps an indicator to the pilot is given, and you can then return to it and scoop it up much the same way as you would a single cargo cannister. Naturally if you leave the area completely or get destroyed then this remote module would destroy its link to your ship. (This prevents people leaving them mining while going off to do other stuff) This would allow the player to manually mine a second asteroid, or deal with a pirate if they are lurking in the area while not losing time at least mining something on an asteroid. This option will double the potential mining rate for a miner and just make it a little more interesting to do.
Marking asteroid as empty/unwanted:
Desparately needed so that you don't waste time approaching asteroids you've already mined or deemed not on your wanted list for resources. A hud update that handles this, so visually you can instantly see an asteroid that perhaps you've NOT checked yet, or those that you have so you can avoid or focus based less on guess work.
Missions to get certain resources:
Have missions on the bulletin board that asks miners to get a certain quantity of resources VIA MINING only that when brought in will then pay an increased amount. This can be another revenue stream for a miner to consider and again brings mining out of its forgotten depths and into the fore of the regular ED game.
Scrap mining:
All those chunks of metal from space battles could also have a function in game, and are recyclable right? How about have this ability for miners too? Scrap metal being scoopable could also be a bit more money again incoming.
Currently it is too slow in comparison to other things in the game, it has no guage for progression except for making money from what I can tell, and many players try it.. see it as far too mico-managed, and then move on. Admittedly i've only done a bit of it, and won't go back to it as i believe on a time spent to results received basis, it just doesn't give enough reward for that time spent doing it.
Some things I would like to see in mining:
Remote refinery modules:
A module based refinery that you can launch at an asteroid which auto mines the same as the one on your ship except that fragments no longer break off the asteroid, they get mined within the module until either the module is full, or the asteroid has no resources left to mine on it. When a module is finished on an asteroid, perhaps an indicator to the pilot is given, and you can then return to it and scoop it up much the same way as you would a single cargo cannister. Naturally if you leave the area completely or get destroyed then this remote module would destroy its link to your ship. (This prevents people leaving them mining while going off to do other stuff) This would allow the player to manually mine a second asteroid, or deal with a pirate if they are lurking in the area while not losing time at least mining something on an asteroid. This option will double the potential mining rate for a miner and just make it a little more interesting to do.
Marking asteroid as empty/unwanted:
Desparately needed so that you don't waste time approaching asteroids you've already mined or deemed not on your wanted list for resources. A hud update that handles this, so visually you can instantly see an asteroid that perhaps you've NOT checked yet, or those that you have so you can avoid or focus based less on guess work.
Missions to get certain resources:
Have missions on the bulletin board that asks miners to get a certain quantity of resources VIA MINING only that when brought in will then pay an increased amount. This can be another revenue stream for a miner to consider and again brings mining out of its forgotten depths and into the fore of the regular ED game.
Scrap mining:
All those chunks of metal from space battles could also have a function in game, and are recyclable right? How about have this ability for miners too? Scrap metal being scoopable could also be a bit more money again incoming.
