Horizons So... mining belts/rings can give minerals and planets seem to dry up?

[Tikigod]

So with 2.1, Frontier decided to quietly add in the little change that mining asteroid belts and rings are now a solid source of materials for use in Synthesis and Engineer modifications.

At the same time all planetary bodies now broadcast a state in the system map letting you know the conditions of its resource reserves just like you see in asteroid belts and rings which suggests that planets can now get over farmed and the likelihood of nodes on those planets containing higher tier elements decreases as it drops into being 'depleted', forcing players to find new planets with fresh reserves... which could go so way into explaining why so many on the forums are complaining about the impossibility of finding elements like Arsenic when trying to farm the overly advertised locations that have probably been farmed to death by this point.

So this got me thinking.... has these two changes actually opened up the doors to a very real activity that previously didn't really exist? That of explorers actually bringing along a range of prospecting equipment and setting out into deepspace to find newer and fresher sources of materials not yet tapped by the never ending farming hordes that fill the bubble? Is this perhaps what Frontier had quietly intended to happen? For the bubble to eventually get dried up of 'good odds to find xxxx' in popular regions of space, to act as an incentive for players to branch out and start actually migrating to further out for new untapped territories if they wish to stand a good chance of finding materials?




Example of the new resource reserves information in the system map suggesting planets can now dry up:

Mining for materials in asteroid belts with decent reserves, using prospector limpets to find out what asteroids serve as a good source of materials:

So far my experiences with mining belts for materials is that the rate of obtaining very common and common materials from mining is several magnitudes faster than that of planet surface hunting. However the rate of obtaining rare and very rare materials seems to be drastically reduced, though I've only been able to sample a couple of rings/belts with 'Major reserves'. So perhaps pristine sites greatly boost the chance of finding higher grade materials.

 

[777Driver]

You could have every player in this game collecting on a single planet and they would be nowhere near depleting its resources. The label is highly likely to be static just like planetary rings, the state has nothing to do with player activity.

 

[Tikigod]

You could have every player in this game collecting on a single planet and they would be nowhere near depleting its resources. The label is highly likely to be static just like planetary rings, the state has nothing to do with player activity.

The reason I'm leaning toward it being something players can deplete is because that's exactly what they're doing with Barnacles.

The more people farm a particular site for barnacles the less intact ones will be present when you visit that area, and those that are intact will have a significantly decreased chance of containing meta-alloys until they've been left to be allowed to regrow and 'bud'. So once people find a popular site for Barnacles to farm meta-alloys and all flood to that tourist attraction for easy pickings, it will dry up and the need to find new sources starts again to allow old sites to regrow.

If they're doing something like that with Barnacles and Meta-alloys to encourage people to explore and find more sources, I'm very much open to the real possibility that they'd take that exact same approach with materials.

 

[777Driver]

The reason I'm leaning toward it being something players can deplete is because that's exactly what they're doing with Barnacles.

The more people farm a particular site for barnacles the less intact ones will be present when you visit that area, and those that are in intact will have a significantly decreased chance of containing meta-alloys until they've been left to be allowed to regrow. So once people find a popular site for Barnacles to farm meta-alloys and all flood to that tourist attraction for easy pickings, it will dry up and the need to find new sources starts again to allow old sites to regrow.

If they're doing something like that with Barnacles and Meta-alloys to encourage people to explore and find more sources, I'm very much open to the real possibility that they'd take that exact same approach with materials.

Select 30/40 barnacles sites is one thing. An entire planet full of resources is another, there are millions of planets inside the bubble, billions of tons of resources in extraction sites. These planets are 1:1 scale, the surface area is huge even on the smallest potato shaped moons.

Just letting you know how it works in game, the labels are static, it would be rediculous if our player base could deplete reserves on a planet/ring system, even if everyone in game was a full time miner or scouting planets.

It has come up in the past many times, many argue that we shouldn't be seeing so many depleted reserves inside the bubble. It's just down to gameplay reasons, forces us to hunt for valuable planets/extraction sites. Once you are outside the bubble everything is pristine.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Select 30/40 barnacles sites is one thing. An entire planet full of resources is another, there are millions of planets inside the bubble, billions of tons of resources in extraction sites. These planets are 1:1 scale, the surface area is huge even on the smallest potato shaped moons.

Just letting you know how it works in game, the labels are static, it would be rediculous if our player base could deplete reserves on a planet/ring system, even if everyone in game was a full time miner or scouting planets.

It has come up in the past many times, many argue that we shouldn't be seeing so many depleted reserves inside the bubble. It's just down to gameplay reasons, forces us to hunt for valuable planets/extraction sites. Once you are outside the bubble everything is pristine.

But it's not just us mining out there. Some sort of gradual depletion might occur in heavily populated areas. Maybe. One day. Ore not.

 

[Muffet]

Depleting a whole planet with a couple thousand players? we didn't do it here on earth with millions across the decades lol

 

[ilo]

Depleting a whole planet with a couple thousand players? we didn't do it here on earth with millions across the decades lol

hold on.. we have been adapting to the resources, but some of our main mining materials are starting to be rare on earth, or very hard and localised to find. Not talking about carbon of course. Even petrol is something scarce now, and not that we are all humans gathering it..

so.. some minerals sure we might never run out of, but others..

 

[Muffet]

hold on.. we have been adapting to the resources, but some of our main mining materials are starting to be rare on earth, or very hard and localised to find. Not talking about carbon of course. Even petrol is something scarce now, and not that we are all humans gathering it..

so.. some minerals sure we might never run out of, but others..

Yes, in the course of years and years of the entire population since bronze age utilizing the resources.
A couple thousand JUST STARTING to do so is a way, way different beast.

 

[ilo]

Yes, in the course of years and years of the entire population since bronze age utilizing the resources.
A couple thousand JUST STARTING to do so is a way, way different beast.

sure, a couple of thousand, ignoring what NPC used to build all those stations and systems and surviving for more then 1k years, exporting stuff.. yes, I get your point.