Forums » Suggestions
Make mining more complex
Right now, mining is all about preparation (prospecting, equipping), knowing when to stop, and knowing what to do afterwards. No skill goes into the actual mining phase, unless you are trying to dodge hive bots without breaking the mining beam connection or something.
One solution I've thought of is to give mining beams a few variables that the player can manipulate in real time, which would impact their effectiveness at mining. For example, frequency and amplitude. Increasing amplitude could increase both the speed of mining and the heat generated, and at different rates, so that if you wanted optimum efficiency you'd have to find the point where you get the most ore per kelvin (and this point would be different for each type of ore). Ores would also have a resonance frequency where they are mined most efficiently, and which would also impact which ore in a multi-ore roid is more likely to be extracted.
Furthermore, the characteristics of an ore should vary with temperature and mass, so that you have to adjust your settings as the roid warms up, and between differently sized roids as well. Different ores should also have differing thermal sensitivities.
While the player should be forced to make adjustments as he mines, the adjustments shouldn't be incredibly time critical. The idea here is to have this be non-twitch, as something that uncoordinated people with laggy connections can do just as effectively as somebody next door to the server. Tweaking the frequency of a beam five seconds after a temperature increase shouldn't really have any big impact vs. tweaking it within half a second of the change.
You could make things a lot more complex by adding different waveforms besides sine waves, more parameters to tweak, more ways to impact a roid than just heat (static charge, for example), having the beams from multiple mining beams combine into a composite waveform so that the phases of the beams are important, have different beams limit how much you can adjust them (e.g. cheap beams might only allow small changes to their parameters while expensive ones allow more variability), etc.
(Of course, I have no idea RP-wise what these beams even are. I've been talking about wave-related variables, but we could go with something completely different - e.g. focus, intensity, particle content, etc.)
The point is to give miners a (non-twitch) way to interact with the mining process in real time, so that an active miner can be more productive than an AFK miner, and so that a miner can develop skill at the actual mining aspect of the career.
One solution I've thought of is to give mining beams a few variables that the player can manipulate in real time, which would impact their effectiveness at mining. For example, frequency and amplitude. Increasing amplitude could increase both the speed of mining and the heat generated, and at different rates, so that if you wanted optimum efficiency you'd have to find the point where you get the most ore per kelvin (and this point would be different for each type of ore). Ores would also have a resonance frequency where they are mined most efficiently, and which would also impact which ore in a multi-ore roid is more likely to be extracted.
Furthermore, the characteristics of an ore should vary with temperature and mass, so that you have to adjust your settings as the roid warms up, and between differently sized roids as well. Different ores should also have differing thermal sensitivities.
While the player should be forced to make adjustments as he mines, the adjustments shouldn't be incredibly time critical. The idea here is to have this be non-twitch, as something that uncoordinated people with laggy connections can do just as effectively as somebody next door to the server. Tweaking the frequency of a beam five seconds after a temperature increase shouldn't really have any big impact vs. tweaking it within half a second of the change.
You could make things a lot more complex by adding different waveforms besides sine waves, more parameters to tweak, more ways to impact a roid than just heat (static charge, for example), having the beams from multiple mining beams combine into a composite waveform so that the phases of the beams are important, have different beams limit how much you can adjust them (e.g. cheap beams might only allow small changes to their parameters while expensive ones allow more variability), etc.
(Of course, I have no idea RP-wise what these beams even are. I've been talking about wave-related variables, but we could go with something completely different - e.g. focus, intensity, particle content, etc.)
The point is to give miners a (non-twitch) way to interact with the mining process in real time, so that an active miner can be more productive than an AFK miner, and so that a miner can develop skill at the actual mining aspect of the career.
So, basically, condemn all mining in bot sectors.
PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE.
PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE.
Somehow I don't like how it would kill mining in bot sectors.
Why couldn't you mine in bot sectors? If you're too busy dodging to manage your beams, you won't mine as efficiently but it will still work.
Anything that makes mining more interesting, while simultaneously less effective for AFK miners is a good thing.
I dunno... I mentor a lot of new players on mining and even as simple as it is now a lot of them really just don't get it. You'd think it's very easy to follow the tutorial, or else listen to a vet miner break it down Barney-style, but time and again I meet new players who can't understand how to work a mineral scanner or use a mining beam.
This sort of mining beam might be a cool toy for vet miners at higher levels.
And combat mining is difficult enough without having to monitor beams.
This sort of mining beam might be a cool toy for vet miners at higher levels.
And combat mining is difficult enough without having to monitor beams.
Two modes:
"Basic" mining mode is like we know now, and works well for high conc. of good ores you want
"Advanced" mining mode for if you have only a small percent of good ore like <70%, requires tweaking to maximize the good ore you want.
That way you can still do basic mining in bot sectors and not need to tweak... also note if you are skilled enough you COULD do advanced mining in a bot sector if you can dodge and press a few other buttons to tweak at the same time
...as for what to press for advanced mining, Ill leave that up to you guys
"Basic" mining mode is like we know now, and works well for high conc. of good ores you want
"Advanced" mining mode for if you have only a small percent of good ore like <70%, requires tweaking to maximize the good ore you want.
That way you can still do basic mining in bot sectors and not need to tweak... also note if you are skilled enough you COULD do advanced mining in a bot sector if you can dodge and press a few other buttons to tweak at the same time
...as for what to press for advanced mining, Ill leave that up to you guys
Well, as far as I'm aware the only thing newbies have trouble with is the concept of targeting a roid, especially the tablet users. But then, I've never mentored anybody.
Yeah, this could be something that opens up as you reach higher levels. Free beams could be non-configurable, and then the next beam up could have just a little variability, and as you work your way up to fancier beams you are granted more and more control. That way they learn it a little at a time rather than just being dumped into the deep end.
Yeah, this could be something that opens up as you reach higher levels. Free beams could be non-configurable, and then the next beam up could have just a little variability, and as you work your way up to fancier beams you are granted more and more control. That way they learn it a little at a time rather than just being dumped into the deep end.
I dunno... I mentor a lot of new players on mining and even as simple as it is now a lot of them really just don't get it. You'd think it's very easy to follow the tutorial, or else listen to a vet miner break it down Barney-style, but time and again I meet new players who can't understand how to work a mineral scanner or use a mining beam.
I'm curious as to how these people figured out how to walk and perhaps talk like human beings, let alone utilize a computer. I do agree with Rin, though, to make VO easier for newbs: Yeah, this could be something that opens up as you reach higher levels. Free beams could be non-configurable, and then the next beam up could have just a little variability, and as you work your way up to fancier beams you are granted more and more control. That way they learn it a little at a time rather than just being dumped into the deep end.
An advanced/basic mode is interesting, though I think the basic mode would need to be less efficient than it is now to make advanced really worth it.
I'm curious as to how these people figured out how to walk and perhaps talk like human beings, let alone utilize a computer. I do agree with Rin, though, to make VO easier for newbs: Yeah, this could be something that opens up as you reach higher levels. Free beams could be non-configurable, and then the next beam up could have just a little variability, and as you work your way up to fancier beams you are granted more and more control. That way they learn it a little at a time rather than just being dumped into the deep end.
An advanced/basic mode is interesting, though I think the basic mode would need to be less efficient than it is now to make advanced really worth it.
Short term, mining works. I think there are a lot of things that need sorted out first.
Long term, mining needs a far greater variety. 13 ores , make it 1 for every element. Reseed all roids in space. The whole lot. Tie mining to a real economy. Make ore part of a true station requirement , not an artificially rolled off item .
please ...
Long term, mining needs a far greater variety. 13 ores , make it 1 for every element. Reseed all roids in space. The whole lot. Tie mining to a real economy. Make ore part of a true station requirement , not an artificially rolled off item .
please ...