Thought I'd try my hand at mining. Two questions...

Thanks all, lots of very helpful advice there.
I was aware of abrasion blasters being a thing, but it never occured to me to actually investigate them.
To thank you all for the sage advice I'll give you something to giggle at:

I didn't want my anaconda to be defenceless, and since it has plenty of space for hardpoints and whatnot, I've ended up with the following mappable devices/hardpoints:

1x huge beam laser
2x large beam laser
2x small autocannon/multicannon whatever they're called
1x seismic charge launcher
2x mining lasers
1x prospector limpet controller
1x collector limpet controller
1x comp scanner
1x adv discovery scanner
1x pulse wave scanner
and (I think)
1x detailed surface scanner.

Yes. I have about six fire groups on my bloody ship and I need to get rid of about three of them :ROFLMAO:

I've flown the anaconda non-stop for the last 14 months, I'm used to its size and handling now. Does its size cause problems with the drones?

Also, when I launch a limpet, why does my cargo scoop door cycle closed then open again?

Thanks!
Don't forget to take a refinery!
 
Work you way towards the planet, with the sun behind you. (Don’t mine at night ;) )

Turn on night vision mode. I find it MUCH easier to spot the 'roids with cores that way :)

edit to add Blimey, I just followed your link and read about your little trip. Hat's off to you, sir! That was awesome.

Also, you can tell the autothrottle to do it's thing in the right-hand panel :)
 
Last edited:
Turn on night vision mode. I find it MUCH easier to spot the 'roids with cores that way :)

edit to add Blimey, I just followed your link and read about your little trip. Hat's off to you, sir! That was awesome.

Also, you can tell the autothrottle to do it's thing in the right-hand panel :)

Why thankye :).
 
Several hours later... ;)

Bloody hell, that was an exercise in frustration.
After reading several help guides, I still have many questions borne of frustration. Questions like

"Why are asteroids on the wave scanner brighter when they're far away?"

"Why does every scanned asteroid flash in two different patterns? Which one is significant?" (Some folks are talking about orange and green, some folks are talking about orange and red, some folks are talking about black squiggly lines, it's all very confuzzling!)

and

"Am I crap at this because my colour perception is faulty (which it is) or am I crap at this because I'm new?"

So, I managed to find about one asteroid with a core, per hour of flying. Three asteroids, in three hours in a ring. Clearly I'm doing something very wrong ;).
I investigated pretty much every single asteroid that lit up any colour other than blue and all but three were coreless, like a pinapple being used to serve a pina colada.

When I did find one with a core, I managed to do quite well. I went into an Alexandrite hotspot and came out with a bunch of Alexandrite, Grandidierite, and even some Void Opals (!). I still ended up leaving the belt with a mostly-empty hold though.

Still, I got my feet wet, and managed to blow some rocks up, I'm even getting pretty good at getting the explosive yield in just the right place to split them without atomising them, so there is that.
And at the end? I made a healthy 20,433,523CR. Pitiful for three hours' mining for an experienced miner, but I can see how I might get to like this once I get better at it.

Anyway, some sparkly pics of the new ship :D.

OMwTdlf.jpg


9KS3IFV.jpg


It's a pleasure to fly :).

EDIT: Filthymick was definitely correct on at least two points: I got scanned on my arrival in the ring, and as soon as they found I had an empty hold, they buggered off. Three-hours pirate free, which I'm very glad about. Mining is (at the minute) frustrating enough without being interrupted.

And second, yeah, the anaconda is way too big and unweildy for this particular ice ring. Even flying something as "small" as the krait is like threading a needle in that belt!
 
Last edited:
Several hours later... ;)

Bloody hell, that was an exercise in frustration.
After reading several help guides, I still have many questions borne of frustration. Questions like

"Why are asteroids on the wave scanner brighter when they're far away?"

"Why does every scanned asteroid flash in two different patterns? Which one is significant?" (Some folks are talking about orange and green, some folks are talking about orange and red, some folks are talking about black squiggly lines, it's all very confuzzling!)

and

"Am I crap at this because my colour perception is faulty (which it is) or am I crap at this because I'm new?"

So, I managed to find about one asteroid with a core, per hour of flying. Three asteroids, in three hours in a ring. Clearly I'm doing something very wrong ;).
I investigated pretty much every single asteroid that lit up any colour other than blue and all but three were coreless, like a pinapple being used to serve a pina colada.

When I did find one with a core, I managed to do quite well. I went into an Alexandrite hotspot and came out with a bunch of Alexandrite, Grandidierite, and even some Void Opals (!). I still ended up leaving the belt with a mostly-empty hold though.

Still, I got my feet wet, and managed to blow some rocks up, I'm even getting pretty good at getting the explosive yield in just the right place to split them without atomising them, so there is that.
And at the end? I made a healthy 20,433,523CR. Pitiful for three hours' mining for an experienced miner, but I can see how I might get to like this once I get better at it.

Anyway, some sparkly pics of the new ship :D.

OMwTdlf.jpg


9KS3IFV.jpg


It's a pleasure to fly :).

EDIT: Filthymick was definitely correct on at least two points: I got scanned on my arrival in the ring, and as soon as they found I had an empty hold, they buggered off. Three-hours pirate free, which I'm very glad about. Mining is (at the minute) frustrating enough without being interrupted.

And second, yeah, the anaconda is way too big and unweildy for this particular ice ring. Even flying something as "small" as the krait is like threading a needle in that belt!
Well done for getting out there! Don’t be too beat up about spotting the core asteroids. I feel that graphics settings may have a lot to do with how distinguishable they are from the others. Though once I started mining regularly, I developed an eye for it

that’s really why I prefer LTD. allows one to laser mine until they happen upon a rock with a core.
 
Well done for getting out there! Don’t be too beat up about spotting the core asteroids. I feel that graphics settings may have a lot to do with how distinguishable they are from the others. Though once I started mining regularly, I developed an eye for it

that’s really why I prefer LTD. allows one to laser mine until they happen upon a rock with a core.

Thankie ^_^.
I can't turn my graphics settings up any higher, they won't go any higher than they are already, and I'm playing in 4K :D.

What's LTD though? I like core mining, it's fun, relaxing and keeps me occupied. I just wish I could get the hang of identifiying rocks with core-y hearts.
 
Thankie ^_^.
I can't turn my graphics settings up any higher, they won't go any higher than they are already, and I'm playing in 4K :D.

What's LTD though? I like core mining, it's fun, relaxing and keeps me occupied. I just wish I could get the hang of identifiying rocks with core-y hearts.
Low Temperature Diamonds!!!

I too like mining to unwind after work. It’s nice to do something and not be interrupted with inane questions and nonsense every 5 minutes
 
Oooh, I didn't realise low temperature diamonds were mineable with lasers. I might have to go and get a pair fitted.
Yikes. I never thought I'd say those words out loud! o_O

But yeah, I like mining for the same reason I like exploring. It's relaxing, it helps me calm down and unwind. It's repetitive, methodical, rewarding. It's perfect for me :).
 
Oooh, I didn't realise low temperature diamonds were mineable with lasers. I might have to go and get a pair fitted.
Yikes. I never thought I'd say those words out loud! o_O

But yeah, I like mining for the same reason I like exploring. It's relaxing, it helps me calm down and unwind. It's repetitive, methodical, rewarding. It's perfect for me :).
Spoken like a true miner!
 
With Identifying core roids here's my technique.

0) Find a point of reference and use it to cruise generally in one direction. i.e. drop into the hotspot and cruise towards the planet or hotspot target.

1) Cruise (full speed 4 pips engines) above or below the ring yawing in a sinusoidal flight path just inside the mass lock boundary, pinging the pulse wave scanner as you go ....keep your finger down so it auto repeats (try not to be yawing when the pulse is released) this helps to make the rocks glow better. Look for the REALLY bright ones.

2) Use 'Night Vision' this helps make the core asteroids show up better, depending on your graphic card and settings it can have various affects....on XBox I get a very bright roid, as I get closer with successive pings the roid goes Green / Black with a distinctive Grid pattern.

3) As you get closer of if the colour dulls then it's not a core asteroid ignore it. Beware of reflections of bright asteroids off of non glowing ones.

4) Quickly Identifying Core Roids comes with Experience (identifying the shape - there's only one per rocky/icy ring type), keep at it. You do not have to use Prospector Limpets to positively identify a core roid but you do need to use them to increase the yield and provide targetable fissures. You can Identify fissures visually on the surface (look for the spider webs) - that is the positive indication you've found a core roid.
 
Thanks all, lots of very helpful advice there.
I was aware of abrasion blasters being a thing, but it never occured to me to actually investigate them.
To thank you all for the sage advice I'll give you something to giggle at:

I didn't want my anaconda to be defenceless, and since it has plenty of space for hardpoints and whatnot, I've ended up with the following mappable devices/hardpoints:

1x huge beam laser
2x large beam laser
2x small autocannon/multicannon whatever they're called
1x seismic charge launcher
2x mining lasers
1x prospector limpet controller
1x collector limpet controller
1x comp scanner
1x adv discovery scanner
1x pulse wave scanner
and (I think)
1x detailed surface scanner.

Yes. I have about six fire groups on my bloody ship and I need to get rid of about three of them :ROFLMAO:

I've flown the anaconda non-stop for the last 14 months, I'm used to its size and handling now. Does its size cause problems with the drones?

Also, when I launch a limpet, why does my cargo scoop door cycle closed then open again?

Thanks!
I guess you've probably noticed, but for deep core mining you really need an Abrasion Blaster as well - the big 'fragments' tend to have surface deposits on the inside that can be blasted loose. If you're dealing with Void Opals that's a few extra million for one small hardpoint...
 
I like core mining, it's fun, relaxing and keeps me occupied. I just wish I could get the hang of identifiying rocks with core-y hearts.

It is fun, isn't it? The explosions are very satisfying.

As to identifying the core 'roids, for me the key is that they show a clear pattern of black lines that are thick and distinctive from a distance. That's pretty much irrespective of how bright they glow.

Oh, and that they are the right shape. For LTDs it's the popcorn shaped ones. Or knobbly turd shaped, whichever descriptor you prefer :)

Spotting them does get easier with practice, the post above about cruising - fast - above the belt is spot on.

If you do find it being a bit frustrating, you could always refit your Anaconda for normal mining. I timed myself out of curiosity last night - 1 hour 42 minutes from undock to credits-in-the-account, 198 tons of Low temp diamonds, 222 million credits.

I'd mine even if the profits were crap just because I enjoy it, but it is nice to still get a big payout at the end :)

On an (almost) unrelated note, are there any benefits to mining in a wing?
 
snip....

On an (almost) unrelated note, are there any benefits to mining in a wing?

Only if you enjoy company I've not noticed yields from core asteroids to be better in a wing, two people searching means you can cover more area quickly and having someone to chat to makes the time pass more quickly.
 
The best advice I can give is to outfit a ship for mining, and leave it outfitted for mining. It's much easier than switching modules around and trying to remember everything you need in all the right places, and will save you time and any potential issues.
 
Took the ship out for another run today, managed to make a decent haul. 66 tons of Alexandrite, 16 tons of Grandidierite and 13 tons of Void Opals.

Of course I ended up selling the whole lot for very slightly above market rate because I went over the the system I sold in yesterday, and the outpost said "Oh, you can get a better price at this planetary base", the base said "Oh, you can get a better price at this coriolis starport" and the coriolis said "Try that other coriolis across the system".

The other coriolis across the system offered me more or less the same prices the other three had, so I got in a huff and just sold the whole lot to get it off my hands.
Still, my ship has earned about a third of its (150m approx) cost back and I'm rapidly learning to identify which rocks are which. I'm even getting pretty awesome at applying just enough explosives to crack them open without smashing things up in the process.

It's pretty fun, this mining lark. I think I'm gonna do some more when I get back from my visit to town.

2PfSVaQ.jpg


Xu3hEu0.jpg
 
Well, you've inspired me to go home and fit out a Krait for core mining again. Will be nice to have both options, so I can pick depending on what mood I'm in :)
 
Turn on night vision mode. I find it MUCH easier to spot the 'roids with cores that way :)

edit to add Blimey, I just followed your link and read about your little trip. Hat's off to you, sir! That was awesome.

Also, you can tell the autothrottle to do it's thing in the right-hand panel :)
It’s not to spot the cores, it’s more of a navigational marker. its easier to see the planet since side your are mining list lit up by the sun, and you can see the shadows on your ships cockpit if you are heading sunwards.
But it’s for an older version of the game, prior to limpets. When I struggled to get my adder and fought to get my cobra. I looked forward to mining :) ahhh little naive me....
 
Back
Top Bottom