The Mining discussion thread.

[starjump]

I think that just having high value ores be hard to find is risk/reward enough. No need to make the mining time longer.

Indeed. I wrote though that cheaper ones could come off easier. But my main idea was the random sections of the asteroids. Its a tiny bit boring when you just fly up to a rock and beam it in 1 place and extract all ores the rock has from that 1 place.

 

[Colonel Kenney]

I think the foundation for mining is quite good. Suggestions:

- make mining possible with every asteroid, rock in the galaxy.
- add a scanner upgrade so people can scan asteroids before mining. Now players mine a lot of useless stuff because they don't know the composition.
- add a tractor beam upgrade to auto-scoop the little rocks when you're nearby. Manually scooping gets too tedious.
- the mining effects should be more persistent until after say 10 minutes or when you leave the instance.
- add options to hire a NPC or a player to help you with mining. For example one does the mining, the other scoops valuable resources.

Give this guy a cigar.

Maybe the process of mining will apply an electro magnetic charge to the rock, then the "tractor beam" is nothing more than a giant electromagnet like at a scrap metal shop that pulls it in.

 

[starjump]

Give this guy a cigar.

Maybe the process of mining will apply an electro magnetic charge to the rock, then the "tractor beam" is nothing more than a giant electromagnet like at a scrap metal shop that pulls it in.

Indeed it feels like a bigger ship should be able to mine faster. I tested with the Cobra and 1 mine laser, and it takes it time which im fine with. With a bigger ship though it would be nice if it could be fitted with a way to suck up the ores faster and maybe use dual lasers to burn off the ores fast form the rocks.

 

[diventkna]

I think they should leave the current mining mechanic alone. It should not become a get rich quick scheme. In RW, mining works on lots of rubbish and an occasional hit (think diamond mining - many tons of rock for 1 carat). Mining drones - no. I know driving and dodging to scoop the results of lasering (to laser?) is fiddly but you get good at it and I am by no means an ace pilot. Maybe we should be exploring the galaxy more to find richer pickings.

Just my two 'penorth

 

[Traceracing]

I agree that the overall identification and reclamation process needs some work, but that's why we test... to provide feedback what works / what doesn't and overall "feel"

 

[Dr Wookie]

Been mining for a while and compared to missions/bounties/market trading.. mining is useless for making money, it just takes a too long for such a small reward IMO

Thoughts?

Don't forget that the known systems are likely to have all the best stuff extracted already... We'll have to go further out to make it work. Having said that every p mining run has been profitable... It's just that pretty much anything else gives more profit .

Anyhow, who says the aim of the game is to make the maximum amount of money at all times? It could be a nice hange of pace . Having said that, I'm selling my gear to try something else

 

[LeiHarper]

Give this guy a cigar.

Maybe the process of mining will apply an electro magnetic charge to the rock, then the "tractor beam" is nothing more than a giant electromagnet like at a scrap metal shop that pulls it in.

Heck, why not just let us install a tether in our cargo scoop.

Tether Launcher
200M range
Aim using the same GUI window that the cargo scoop uses. It even has a crosshair already!
Fires a tether with a combination claw/magnetic clamp that grabs an asteroid fragment or cargo canister and begins to reel it into the cargo scoop. Higher grade tethers reel in faster. If the tethering ship turns sharply, the tether disengages. Can be used to completely pull in fragments or canisters slowly, or as an aid for pilots who are moving towards the tethered object by slightly 'guiding' it into the mouth of the cargo scoop to facilitate easier, faster retrieval.

No sci-fi beams required. Low tech, feasible solution.

 

[Philip Coutts]

Woah there soldier! They only introduced mining yesterday so yes I would imagine it does need balancing! This is Beta and it's the first pass so give it time and I'm sure it will change.

 

[geoguy]

First is to divide up random areas on each asteroid that holds random amount ore (random amount of divides as well on each asteroid). This way you have to "probe" the asteroids a bit instead of just aiming on the first best place and hold the trigger until you have all ores that are in the rock. Nicer to have to search probe a bit, and the good feeling of seeing it break off and go "yes! i knew there were more ore on here". It would still hold 1 type of ore like now. Something like this:
?

I like the idea, even more so if it wasn't random.

Here's my ideas, right off the top of the head of a present day ore deposit geologist:

Implement gravimetry scanners, which would detect spatial variations in material density, with denser areas corresponding to higher concentrations in denser minerals, e.g. enrichments in platinum group elements. Asteroid gravimetry scanning isn't science fiction even today, it was done during Japans's Hayabusa sample return mission to 25143 Itokawa, and on present day earth it's a very common exploration method as well.

http://www.google.fi/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F25143_Itokawa&ei=VxhRVN2JCYbQygP3zYDoCA&bvm=bv.78597519,d.bGQ&psig=AFQjCNEEpVh9kAxVIRgb9FzmSVLFLCDvyg&ust=1414687188188941

Likewise, magnetic susceptibility scanners would also reveal compositional variations and as such could be used to determine higher ore grades.

The better (=expensive) scanners could then just be faster or possess higher spatial resolutions.
I could probably come up with more, but I think I just wanna play the game now.

 

[Viajero]

I presume the key in mining is to find the best asteroids and the best seams in them in the first place, and not just going mining willy nilly.

For that we still need the mining exploration probes.

 

[Kambalo]

Question about mining

Are there going to be pre-determined areas for mining or once the roids are gone you must find a new system to mine, are the roids re=appearing after a while in the same spot or in other areas of the same system?

 

[geoguy]

Sorry, incorrect link, here it is again:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25143_Itokawa#mediaviewer/File:Schematic_view_of_asteroid_%2825143%29_Itokawa.jpg

 

[Dr Wookie]

My suggestion is why not allow multiple refineries? If I want to sacrifice 2 internal slots to them then it is at the expense of something else. It makes the ship outfitting more flexible and means if you really want to get kitted out for mining then you can do it. You would just end up with the combined total of hoppers.

Not necessary . I have a 6 bin refinery, and that's probably overkill. Each asteroid only seems to have 1-3 types of resources so you are better off draining one asteroid til you fill up the bars then moving on .

Also, 2 class 2 mining lasers blast a lot faster than 1 class 1 !

Having said that I'm going to sell my mining gear for now and try out something else. I do like it, but I can only fit so much in my little cobra

 

[Genophix]

Do they disappear or just stop producing ore? The ones I mined today just stopped producing but didn't disappear. I was also wondering how long it takes for new ones to appear (or do they just start being usable again)?

 

[Serpentstar]

There is a very simple reason for lasers. It is called inertia. If you try to shoot it of with kinetics, your chunks are going to go flying. If you try to use a drill, again, you will get a hole but no way to collect the ore. A vacuum will not work in a vacuum.

Using a laser to slice off a chunk of rock and then having something to crush it down to get to the minerals is logically an effective method.

Having to chase the chunks though... That is what semi-autonomous robots are programmed for and if we don't have those 3000 years from now, then technology has advanced impossibly lop sided.

Then again, we can yank a 400 ton vessel from frameshift at 60+ Ls but cannot use an energy field to pull a cargo canister from 200 meters.

 

[Sargon]

[*]Why lasers? Burning rock with lasers and calling it mining never made much sense to me

Perhaps because you don't manufacture lasers for drilling like this company that used to offer its products way back in 2014.
http://www.mining-technology.com/contractors/exploration/laser-services/

Granted back in 2014, due to power restrictions, lasers were mostly used for alignment. Since then, with the advent of much more powerful energy sources, lasers have evolved to replace the drill-bits that would wear down and generate dispersal of mined matter.

 

[Cristari]

My Input on Mining:

1) Ore Scanner is needed.
2) If everyone starts with a Cobra MIII and some money then It's fine but starting with a Sidewinder and a few Credits you are not going to make money fast. Without money in the bank Mining is not going to be a good starting profession.
3) Ore needs to be ejected further from the Asteroid there are a few pant changes I've had trying to scoop ore bouncing off a rotating asteroids.
4) Cargo Scoops need to be more than just a open flap on the ship. A few different types would be great, I.E. Harpoon and chain, tractor beam, teleport, w/e

I found mining to be relatively easy and managed to get almost 70k+ for 10t of Ore in 1hr and if you fit a fuel scoop a trip to the sun means no need to buy fuel it's just pure profit.

FYI: Cobra MIII with Fuel Scoop, 3 bay refinery, 2 small Mining lasers. I plan on getting a further 10 Cargo into my Cobra, a larger Refinery and swap over to the medium Mining lasers. I'd Be interested to see how a Dropship or an Asp can be fitted out for mining.

Mining, Dull (but not too dull) & relatively profitable.

 

[Half Giant]

It might be an edge case but I would use it. I've only been out once and I would of still been throwing stuff away if I'd of had 7 hoppers rather than the 5 I do have. It would be necessary in order to not be discarding ores. Each asteroid might have 1 to 3 types but I have seen over 7 types, in total, in the one system I trawled through.

 

[Genophix]

I missed games like this, specifically tasks like this. Duel monitors, one with ED and one with Netflix, I see many happy night mining ahead, the more boring the better

 

[Kambalo]

With the need of an ever expanding civilization mining has to become a profitable business and improvements in the way mining is conducted needs to evolve and the output and efficiency must increase.