So when i first tried mining , i immediately thought it was quite possibly the worst designed mechanic in the game by a wide margin.
But after some time with it , i quickly realized that the amount of money you can make is impressive , but the way it is now , its just a little bit over the "too tedious" line. Im a believer that there should still be a "pain in the ass" feel to mining , but right now it just doesnt make sense.
But its not to do with the economics , but the mining mechanics themselves.
here are some ideas that i think can help the experience without making it free money for everybody.
1. The refinery "bin" system is beyond stupid. Let us use our cargo hold for raw ore , and when we are ready to refine stuff let us place the ore in the refinery bins. This will make "mining" and "refining" two different activities. Where a miner can blast away at all the different asteriods he wants , and scoop them up without having to constantly vent unwanted ores to fit in new stacks (which is in my opinion the single worst and most part of mining). To balance this , increase the time for the actual refining (instead of seconds , maybe 30+ seconds to minutes?). The higher level refineries will still have extra bins that let you refine multiple types of ore at the same time without waiting for the first to finish. They might also have quicker refine times. Also you can balance this by making refining a very power intensive activity that you can only do if you are in a safe area where you have to turn stuff off.
2. Let the ship lights shine brighter/farther. The asteroid fields are dark most of the time , and when on the night side its almost impossible to work. Maybe let us buy "utility lighting" or something that sucks up lots of power.
3. special "mining" sensors you can buy that highlight on your heads up display ALL of the floating minerals in camera view , instead of just the one directly in the center of the screen. This will make scooping just a little bit easier. But you still have to use the scoop camera to get the minerals.
But after some time with it , i quickly realized that the amount of money you can make is impressive , but the way it is now , its just a little bit over the "too tedious" line. Im a believer that there should still be a "pain in the ass" feel to mining , but right now it just doesnt make sense.
But its not to do with the economics , but the mining mechanics themselves.
here are some ideas that i think can help the experience without making it free money for everybody.
1. The refinery "bin" system is beyond stupid. Let us use our cargo hold for raw ore , and when we are ready to refine stuff let us place the ore in the refinery bins. This will make "mining" and "refining" two different activities. Where a miner can blast away at all the different asteriods he wants , and scoop them up without having to constantly vent unwanted ores to fit in new stacks (which is in my opinion the single worst and most part of mining). To balance this , increase the time for the actual refining (instead of seconds , maybe 30+ seconds to minutes?). The higher level refineries will still have extra bins that let you refine multiple types of ore at the same time without waiting for the first to finish. They might also have quicker refine times. Also you can balance this by making refining a very power intensive activity that you can only do if you are in a safe area where you have to turn stuff off.
2. Let the ship lights shine brighter/farther. The asteroid fields are dark most of the time , and when on the night side its almost impossible to work. Maybe let us buy "utility lighting" or something that sucks up lots of power.
3. special "mining" sensors you can buy that highlight on your heads up display ALL of the floating minerals in camera view , instead of just the one directly in the center of the screen. This will make scooping just a little bit easier. But you still have to use the scoop camera to get the minerals.
