Rock Rats: Is the 3 - 2 - 1 rule still a thing in Beta?

[GregMalcolm]

Up till now the 3-2-1 run has been a constant (described here). That is, 1 very rare, 2 rares and 3 Commons materials per planet.

Well with Engineers the materials are now divided between 5 grades instead of 4. So I decided to re-propect a planet. I haven't been successful in getting a full survey out of out of it yet but I notice I'm finding Cadmium which wasn't present pre beta.

Here's what is what the full 3-2-1 survey looked like in 2.0:

http://edmaterializer.com/surveys/Ceeckia KE-E d13-0/AB 2/5032/

And this is what I'm finding in 2.1 Beta:

http://qa.edmaterializer.com/surveys/Ceeckia KE-E D13-0/AB 2/4981

So... if anyone decides to test Prospecting in beta I'd love to have your test data. If you would be as kind as to log it in Materializers test database I'd be much obliged

It is:
http://qa.edmaterializer.com/

Or if you don't want to do that, just send me a link to wherever you're logging it.

Please stick with the other one for non beta prospecting:

http://edmaterializer.com/

Thankies!

---
PS: Following Michael's lead on building out the material grades. Here's what I know so far:

--------------------------------------------------------------------
The 2.1 beta layout of materials:
.
Grade 1 = Fe, Ni, P, S, C
Grade 2 = Ge, V, Cr , ??, ??
Grade 3 = As, Nb, Se, W, Zr
Grade 4 = Cd, Hg, Mo, Sn, Y
Grade 5 = Sb, Po, Tc, Ru, ??

 

[CDR Michael Darkmoor]

I am finding it very different as well. Started with Iron and chromium.... and then just keep getting it in every rock for about 30 minutes.
then Niobium comes around.... and start getting Iron, Chromium and Niobium.... for 30 minutes.
--
Re-instance.... Now nickel shows up... and after a time (nearly 30 minutes) Zirconium... I am not going to spend 4 hours surveying a planet (Ok... I might... but nearly no one else will.... this is not a good change!)
--
The initial ratios: Fe + Cr versus Nb is about 2 (of each) to 1 Nb
(putting into Materializer as well)
-------------------- Nb + Ni versus Zr is also about 2 to 1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The 2.1 beta layout of materials:
.
Grade 1 = Fe, Ni, P, S, (C?)
Grade 2 = Ge, V, Cr , ??, ??
Grade 3 = As, Nb, Se, W, Zr
Grade 4 = Cd, Hg, Mo, Sn, Y
Grade 5 = Sb, Po, Tc, ??, ??
...
C, Zn, Mn, Ru, & Te are the ones I do not have in inventory but I would suspect that they would fall in line with the ??.... Zn and Mn at level 2 and Ru/Te at level 5 more to come~!!
---
I am thinking that with 5 levels now... the 3-2-1 is no longer in effect.... Got no idea at the moment what has taken it's place
---
Materials only last 3 minutes after shooting the rock... They leave the shot rock behind.
They also disappear from contacts once over 50 meters away, but will come back as long as you return to the area within the 3 minute window.

 

[GregMalcolm]

I think Carbon is indeed a Grade 1. Also Ruthenium is a Grade 5. I'll maintain a copy of the table you started in the original post.

 

[Drownerfood]

I am finding it very different as well. Started with Iron and chromium.... and then just keep getting it in every rock for about 30 minutes.
then Niobium comes around.... and start getting Iron, Chromium and Niobium.... for 30 minutes.
--
Re-instance.... Now nickel shows up... and after a time (nearly 30 minutes) Zirconium... I am not going to spend 4 hours surveying a planet (Ok... I might... but nearly no one else will.... this is not a good change!)
--
The initial ratios: Fe + Cr versus Nb is about 2 (of each) to 1 Nb
(putting into Materializer as well)
-------------------- Nb + Ni versus Zr is also about 2 to 1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I am thinking that with 5 levels now... the 3-2-1 is no longer in effect.... Got no idea at the moment what has taken it's place
---
Materials only last 3 minutes after shooting the rock... They leave the shot rock behind.
They also disappear from contacts once over 50 meters away, but will come back as long as you return to the area within the 3 minute window.

On a low grav planet I've had fragments fly 30m or more, so I liked that they would show up on sensors from far away! I don't like them decaying that fast, either. Over all, with the shot rock being left behind, etc. it sounds glitchy. Hope it gets worked into something more sensible.

 

[Nexolek]

I should have some time this weekend to get some full surveys done of previously surveyed worlds. I'll report back with results! This could be interesting

 

[CDR Michael Darkmoor]

I should have some time this weekend to get some full surveys done of previously surveyed worlds. I'll report back with results! This could be interesting

---
For us maybe... The rest of the galaxy... perhaps not.
.
The one and only thing that made Rock Ratting fun for the general public (aside from the social aspects) was the fact that there was an END!
You knew when you were done with a survey.
It took some time... but usually 15-30 minutes (Yes... sometimes longer for that LAST material you KNEW was out there somewhere)
The discovery of the 3-2-1 rule made that into a mini-game that everyone could play and feel satisfaction in completing.
---
If Michael Brooks' statement about not changing how the current materials are distributed or what materials have already been found is still valid... ? (need the quote if someone has it handy)... Then the changes are an experiment... and THAT is OK. Because it can lead to improvements in the way the Prospecting and Scientific mini-games are portrayed as well as how they play out.
---
It cries out for input from those groups.
---
- The decay is actually one of the improvements I would recommend as the screens do tend to get cluttered with the stuff we do not pick up. Three minutes does seem to be a reasonable time frame to take stock of what is there and move on.
.
- Like-wise, the 50m clutter reduction... though it might be better at about 100m.
---
.
If we are moving toward a 5-level material meta, there still needs to be a way to determine when a planetary survey is complete... especially if the distributions have become less linear. (Marlon found 6 materials on the planet he did, while I found only 5 on the Metal Rich I prospected for 3 hours... ok... I'm daft/touched...what have you... I get it )
.
- In the 2.1 Beta game the "grades" are based on rarity (Very Common, Common, Element?, Rare, Very Rare)... if a Detailed Surface Scanner could provide those "Distribution Percentages" on the System Map in place of (or in addition to) the unused "Ice %, Rock%, Metal%", the Prospecting mini-game would still provide all the information required to KNOW when you are done with a survey. Even 1%, on a very rare tells us that it is there! (even though we might not find the darn thing during the entire life expectancy of your average O-type star!)
.
- There is also the fact that current 1969 era technology can scan places like Earth's Moon from space and determine distribution of elements over the entire surface.
What would the current placeholder, Planetary Surface Map, look like if we could see the approximate distributions of just the 5 levels of materials (and how they overlap one another)? .... Not "What" they are, mind you... just where someone might have a better chance of finding that level of material...
.
- If it doesn't surprise... it becomes a grind. So the chances of finding that Rare or Very Rare material in "this" particular part of the planet aren't very good... they should still never be Zero! (that is... unless it REALLY is zero and shows us that somewhere. Example: Very common - 77.3%, Common - 10.4%, Element? - 7.2%, Rare - 5.1%, Very Rare - 0%)
.
- We have over 1200 surveys that have been completed... That is a hell of a lot of player driven content... Take it away at your Risk!
- Meaning... we have already found the materials on these 1200+ planets... changing them now makes all of that effort worthless.
Adding to them... on the other hand... makes more game!
If things must change... That is OK... but work what we've already done into the mix!
---
Ok... that is my two-bits. If anyone else has more...please add your thoughts!

 

[Eisen]

If the distribiution has changed I think many of the Rock-Rats would feel betrayed. Betrayed of hundreds of hours of game-time spent on creating the galactic highway. Betrayed because Michael Brookes said otherwise in a lifestream while Distant Worlds was still running. I was the one who asked him.
I will check for the mats on a planet we just prospected two days ago. If it has changed I will raise a bug-report.

 

[CDR Michael Darkmoor]

Thanks, Eisen. I Agree Completely!
.
Can you post a reference to Michael's statement?
And if you do happen to make a bug report (which may not be necessary... unless these changes go live), please reference this thread.

 

[GregMalcolm]

I registered the issue on the Beta discussion board:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=247448