Surface and subsurface need a balance pass.

[Medusil]

Everyone's so distracted by core mining they're forgetting the other two mining deposits that were added (which are currently dead on arrival):
Surface and subsurface deposits.

If I want to mine trash for missions, I can already do that more efficiently by ignoring the pulse wave scanner and rapidly lasering random asteroids, plus saving out on hardpoints to boot.
These gameplay elements need a balance pass regarding payout, or just give them a different niche entirely, like gathering engineering materials.

I feel like a mining ship/player should be rewarded for not throwing two deposit (gameplay) types into the proverbial garbage bin.
I actually like using the spinning drills, they're a fun mechanic, but currently I can't objectively justify spending any time at all to do this.

I was watching the dev stream with the art designer for the mining stuff and it saddens me to see 2 out of 3 of the new mining deposits are just dead on arrival.
So much love and effort gone to waste... for now.
Hopefully this is already being looked at, since plenty of feedback was given during the beta.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Everyone's so distracted by core mining they're forgetting the other two mining deposits that were added (which are currently dead on arrival):
Surface and subsurface deposits.

If I want to mine trash for missions, I can already do that more efficiently by ignoring the pulse wave scanner and rapidly lasering random asteroids, plus saving out on hardpoints to boot.
These gameplay elements need a balance pass regarding payout, or just give them a different niche entirely, like gathering engineering materials.

I feel like a mining ship/player should be rewarded for not throwing two deposit (gameplay) types into the proverbial garbage bin.

I was watching the dev stream with the art designer for the mining stuff and it saddens me to see 2 out of 3 of the new mining tools just dead on arrival.
So much love and effort gone to waste... for now.
Hopefully this is already being looked at, since plenty of feedback was given during the beta.

Surface Abrasion is half of core mining, i.e. if you're just flying around with a surface abrasion gun or whatever it's called, you're wasting your time.

Subsurface extraction breaks up the monotony of laser mining. But could use a slightly higher yield pass.

I don't have a problem with them. Sometimes you just have to enjoy mechanics for being something fun to do without the gold rush.

 

[Medusil]

Surface Abrasion is half of core mining, i.e. if you're just flying around with a surface abrasion gun or whatever it's called, you're wasting your time.

Subsurface extraction breaks up the monotony of laser mining. But could use a slightly higher yield pass.

I don't have a problem with them. Sometimes you just have to enjoy mechanics for being something fun to do without the gold rush.

If surface abrasion is only for core mining, why put them on the surface of asteroids too in the first place.

If it breaks up the monotony or you don't have a problem with it, that's subjective. What's objective is game balance, and balancing these features is what i'm talking about.
If I like the drill launcher and like taking screenshots of it, i can have an enjoyable time but that still doesn't mean it's a balanced feature.

Currently going after these deposits hurts your income over time relative to just laser mining or core mining.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

If surface abrasion is only for core mining, why put them on the surface of asteroids too in the first place.

If it breaks up the monotony or you don't have a problem with it, that's subjective. What's objective is game balance, and balancing these features is what i'm talking about.
If I like the drill launcher and like taking screenshots of it, i can have an enjoyable time but that still doesn't mean it's a balanced feature.

Currently going after these deposits hurts your income over time relative to just laser mining or core mining.

I already said that drilling could use slightly higher yields. As for why there are surface deposits on non-cracked asteroids? I dunno, just don't shoot them if they aren't worth the effort. Why even have asteroids with less than anything but painite at all?

To reiterate. I think subsurface mining could do with higher yields. Surface mining is fine, as it's most useful when used in conjunction with core mining.

 

[Medusil]

Or an even more elegant way of solving this; add a subsurface deposit or two on the inside of motherload asteroids, containing the new materials.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Or an even more elegant way of solving this; add a subsurface deposit or two on the inside of motherload asteroids, containing the new materials.

Eh... I think cracking them is enough. I think some more valuable subsurface deposits on uncracked asteroids would be OK.

However, if I did have to drill on an already cracked asteroid, then the yield would have to be damn well worth it.

We're not on different pages, I just think we haven't hit a good spot for both of us yet.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

After a full Mining Session, I'm basically ready to lose all additional Equipment again.

- time required per Asteroid increased by a Factor of multiples
- Fragment Bonus only a fraction of conventional Mining
- Surface Deposits sometimes seem bugged (10 direct hits and they don't release a fragment)
- SubSurface Deposits require way too much time (and Ship maneuvering) to release a few fragments
- Seismic Charge is fun to place... but again takes alot of time for questionable benefits, especially in a Hotspot where the 2nd next best Asteroid can yield 10+ tons within less than a Minute

And seeing my Mining Anaconda
- lose a Utility
- lose an Internal (mandatory DSS to get pre-discovered hotspots displayed again after returning)
- lose 3 Hardpoints
- have to manage 3 new Fire Groups

...don't know. Leaves it nearly undefended (don't like that at all). All for a minimal Bonus that ends up being fun but also a very inefficient use of time.

-----------
What I'd like to see :
- removal or reduction of Hardpoint Inflation (why not limit it to a single new Abrasion, Subsurface, Seismic - 3 functions, one Tool)
- Class 3 Mining Lasers (need those more than ever) to replace 2x C2 Mining Lasers and save a precious Hardpoint
- Two Pulse Wave Scanner settings : A) seek Asteroid Anomalies (Surface & SubSurface Deposits and fissues) working as it does right now and B) seek Primary ores (set upto ~3 desired ores and have it highlight presence of these; brigher = higher yield)

- >100% Fragments, replacing the current 40-80% extra Fragments gained from the new methods
-> Surface Deposit : 100-200% (1-2 tons in one fragment)
-> SubSurface Despit : 200-300% (2-3 tons in one fragment)
-> Seismic Core Mining : 300-400% fragments (upto 4 tons in one fragment)

IMHO then things would work out far better.

Other than that, my trip into a Painite Hotspot yielded very good results from conventional Mining - working just nicely.

 

[Medusil]

Well cracking an asteroid with the abrasion blaster currently gives around 12T of high value material.
I'd be up for outfitting the drill it it could mean an extra 2.5 T out of that same asteroid (core).

 

[Deleted member 115407]

After a full Mining Session, I'm basically ready to lose all additional Equipment again.

- time required per Asteroid increased by a Factor of multiples
- Fragment Bonus only a fraction of conventional Mining
- Surface Deposits sometimes seem bugged (10 direct hits and they don't release a fragment)
- SubSurface Deposits require way too much time (and Ship maneuvering) to release a few fragments
- Seismic Charge is fun to place... but again takes alot of time for questionable benefits, especially in a Hotspot where the 2nd next best Asteroid can yield 10+ tons within less than a Minute

And seeing my Mining Anaconda
- lose a Utility
- lose an Internal (mandatory DSS to get pre-discovered hotspots displayed again after returning)
- lose 3 Hardpoints
- have to manage 3 new Fire Groups

...don't know. Leaves it nearly undefended (don't like that at all). All for a minimal Bonus that ends up being fun but also a very inefficient use of time.

You can't make the same money surface mining that you can core mining, provided you are mining the right asteroids.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Well cracking an asteroid with the abrasion blaster currently gives around 12T of high value material.
I'd be up for outfitting the drill it it could mean an extra 2.5 T out of that same asteroid (core).

And it would give the drill more use. I can see it.

 

[Medusil]

You can make the same money with the lasers, but only with mapped painite in a wing.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

You can't make the same money surface mining that you can core mining, provided you are mining the right asteroids.

I tried, and I made far more via conventional strip Mining than Core Mining.
Attainable yields from multiple benchmarked Painite Cores faded into insignificance simply due to the time needed and the surprisingly low results (total tonnage gained from it).

Maybe freak coincidence and bad luck - but after this trip I was rather disappointed by Core Mining in that Painite Hotspot.
Moving to the next Painite Asteroid was far quicker and effectively more profitable than slowly cracking up Painite Cores.

Surface and SubSurface Mining ended up being just a waste of time. Too much effort for single 40-80% fragments due to time needed, so I eventually just left these alone.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

I tried, and I made far more via conventional strip Mining than Core Mining.
Attainable yields from multiple benchmarked Painite Cores faded into insignificance simply due to the time needed and the surprisingly low results (total tonnage gained from it).

Maybe freak coincidence and bad luck - but after this trip I was rather disappointed by Core Mining in that Painite Hotspot.
Moving to the next Painite Asteroid was far quicker and effectively more profitable than slowly cracking up Painite Cores.

I made 27M in 2 hours earlier. That was mining Alexandrite and some other exotic.

Am, going to do some normal metallic mining with opportunistic core mining in a bit, and will give you a benchmark.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

I made 27M in 2 hours earlier. That was mining Alexandrite and some other exotic.

Am, going to do some normal metallic mining with opportunistic core mining in a bit, and will give you a benchmark.

Haven't tried the exotic ones yet, so I have no comparison Data on these.
In the single Hotspot of these I visited I didn't find a trace of the indicated hotspot Ore. That's the reason I transitioned into the Painite Hotspot, which worked like a charm.

I plan to revisit that place though, since it has over a dozen sweet Hotspots on a single Gas Giant

 

[Medusil]

I tried, and I made far more via conventional strip Mining than Core Mining.
Attainable yields from multiple benchmarked Painite Cores faded into insignificance simply due to the time needed and the surprisingly low results (total tonnage gained from it).

Maybe freak coincidence and bad luck - but after this trip I was rather disappointed by Core Mining in that Painite Hotspot.
Moving to the next Painite Asteroid was far quicker and effectively more profitable than slowly cracking up Painite Cores.

Surface and SubSurface Mining ended up being just a waste of time. Too much effort for single 40-80% fragments due to time needed, so I eventually just left these alone.

Actually, painite cores are best not to use as a benchmark. Try mining in an alexandrite hotspot. A single core will give you the same amount of tons, but 270k per ton. That should be twice the value of painite for you.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Haven't tried the exotic ones yet, so I have no comparison Data on these.
In the single Hotspot of these I visited I didn't find a trace of the indicated hotspot Ore. That's the reason I transitioned into the Painite Hotspot, which worked like a charm.

I plan to revisit that place though, since it has over a dozen sweet Hotspots on a single Gas Giant

I know man - they are all over the place if you know how to look.

I'll give you a good honest update after I do the mining run I spoke about.

 

[Medusil]

I made 27M in 2 hours earlier. That was mining Alexandrite and some other exotic.

Am, going to do some normal metallic mining with opportunistic core mining in a bit, and will give you a benchmark.

How will you be selecting rocks? Pulse wave first, or randomly mine and hope for some new features?
I've already done the latter, but the chance of finding new features without the scanner is very slim. I didn't bump into any after an hour of looking for 3P.

I concluded that lasers were pretty damn incompatible with core mining. Interested to see your experience

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Actually, painite cores are best not to use as a benchmark. Try mining in an alexandrite hotspot. A single core will give you the same amount of tons, but 270k per ton. That should be twice the value of painite for you.

And the trick to mining those exotics is to just be patient. Pick a flight path, fly in that line, and prospect everything that glows orange until you detect a core. If you don't get the "core detected" text, don't bother cracking the roid.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

Oki, sounds good.

I won't stop until I've found me some of the new Ores myself

But before that, I'll give the FSS a longer run.

PS.
Blowing Asteroids up just for the sake of the visuals is a good reason to carry Seismic Charges alone

 

[Deleted member 115407]

How will you be selecting rocks? Pulse wave first, or randomly mine and hope for some new features?
I've already done the latter, but the chance of finding new features without the scanner is very slim. I didn't bump into any after an hour of looking for 3P.

Yeah, go to a hot spot, pick a line of travel, and pulse wave as you go. Prospect anything that glows orange, until you find roids with the "core detected" orange text on the target description panel.

P.S. The hotspots are huge - millions of meters across, so if you drop into the center of one, you virtually can't fly out of range in realspace. My math may be off on that, but by the end of my run, I was hundreds of kilometers away from central point.

Probably what helped me bypass non-motherlode asteroids was that I was mining a rocky ring, so everything else that showed up was literally crap. Even on non-core, crackable rocks, and I wasn't tempted to mine anything but valuable cores.