i would like a harpoon then...... you know for hunting those running rocks in space.
What happened to mining?
- Thread starter vermu
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i would like a harpoon then...... you know for hunting those running rocks in space.
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The maneuvering is actually the most fun part of mining for me. If you use your back thrusters after each scooping, it is possible to scoop multiple fragments one after the other quite nicely. The noise of fragments hitting your hull and hence drifting away is annoying, but avoiding this unwanted collision satisfying in compensation.
Mining is infact quite relaxing.
It doesn't pay, however. In a not-pristine/metallic ring, I made more money by killing the pirates harassing me while mining. And even in a pristine metallic RES, asteroids with palladium or platinum were rare. Sure, I've got fragments with 30% silver quite regularly, but trading in a Type 7 does make me so much more money in so much less time, it is ridiculous.
Maybe mining is only worthwhile in earlier game stages I have passed already.
Mining is infact quite relaxing.
It doesn't pay, however. In a not-pristine/metallic ring, I made more money by killing the pirates harassing me while mining. And even in a pristine metallic RES, asteroids with palladium or platinum were rare. Sure, I've got fragments with 30% silver quite regularly, but trading in a Type 7 does make me so much more money in so much less time, it is ridiculous.
Maybe mining is only worthwhile in earlier game stages I have passed already.
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Mining in "the game we must not mention" was a relaxing pastime and fairly lucrative. If you don't want to use tractor beams or drones then there's an easy choice. Don't use them, but as things stand both the income and the entertainment value of mining is far too low for the vast majority of players. It's a game mechanic aimed at a very small number of players at the moment. Hardly surprising it doesn't get much attention from the devs. They're not going to put lots of effort into improving something for a few dozen players when the same effort can improve things for thousands in another area.
I don't care about scanners. (Just as lazy as beams/drones imo) I'd be quite happy to test multiple asteroids to find the lucrative ones, but picking the bits up a fraction of a ton at a time? Thanks, but no thanks.
Did anybody contribute to Yembo by mining the belts there? I'd be interested to hear how many tons they delivered and how many hours they spent to do it. My guess would be not many and too many.
I don't care about scanners. (Just as lazy as beams/drones imo) I'd be quite happy to test multiple asteroids to find the lucrative ones, but picking the bits up a fraction of a ton at a time? Thanks, but no thanks.
Did anybody contribute to Yembo by mining the belts there? I'd be interested to hear how many tons they delivered and how many hours they spent to do it. My guess would be not many and too many.
One thing that bugs me about the modern cargo scoop is that it can only scoop one object at a time. The '84 scoop would scoop multiple objects at once. If I've done the clever thing of lining up my fragments perfectly, I should be able to suck them all up in one move. That would at least make mining a bit more tolerable and profitable on a per hour basis.
Yes, quite a few things are technologically backwards compared to Elite and Frontier.
Well I rather enjoy mining as it is too. I know a lot find it boring but I find combat boring, mining is rather fun and dodging asteroids is pretty enjoyable. I'd also hate to see it being dumbed down and tractor beams added just because some don't have the patience to do it. I dislike combat as-is but I certainly don't moan and them to change it for me.
I agree. Frontier have clearly stated there will be no "magic" tech such as tractor beams, antigravity etc. Even the shield cell has been nerfed to prevent it acting too much like an instant health potion. For collecting chunks while mining some sort of drone has been hinted at. My thought was a grapple aimed and fired by the pilot, which would add a bit more skill and interest to the operation.
If tractor beams are considered too science fictiony, or harpoons too fiddly also, then perhaps this as an alternative idea?
A surface mining and refinery module, which you can shoot at an asteroid, which then attaches, and self mines for you until it either depletes the last remaining resource in the asteroid, or until it is full. Once ready you can recall it and scoop it up much like a cargo cannister and its contents then added to your cargo with any partial %'ages added to your ships refinery. Have it so you only carry 1 of these modules, perhaps then also allow you to manually mine a 2nd asteroid, or even go just find your next asteroid, and return to your module on the other asteroid when you get a warning indication that is is ready for return.
This would enable miners to pretty much double their efforts for mining, would mean they can deal with pirates while mining module is busy, meaning they also get money from the fighting without losing time in resource extraction too. So all in all bringing mining closer to being what they would like it to be as a profession.
A surface mining and refinery module, which you can shoot at an asteroid, which then attaches, and self mines for you until it either depletes the last remaining resource in the asteroid, or until it is full. Once ready you can recall it and scoop it up much like a cargo cannister and its contents then added to your cargo with any partial %'ages added to your ships refinery. Have it so you only carry 1 of these modules, perhaps then also allow you to manually mine a 2nd asteroid, or even go just find your next asteroid, and return to your module on the other asteroid when you get a warning indication that is is ready for return.
This would enable miners to pretty much double their efforts for mining, would mean they can deal with pirates while mining module is busy, meaning they also get money from the fighting without losing time in resource extraction too. So all in all bringing mining closer to being what they would like it to be as a profession.
Magic tech ? Heck, it's 3301 AD in the game, and the older titles had it, decades earlier !