Forums » Suggestions
"As far as a non-beam/non-drone idea? Why not "land" on the roid (get within 10m of the surface and hit activate) and have some attachment on your ship do the mining."
And...
"...attach ore extraction units to the asteroid which extract the ore into cargo modules which are then ejectable from the unit."
Are both variations on the 'teethered drone'. In either case, you have a drone miner which is basically the same as the drone miners (think the collectors) except that they cannot move, so you have to go to them when they are done. In fact, in the first case you can't separate yourself from the drone at all, which just makes it a beam with fancy graphics. All this negates the one advantage 'mining drones' have over 'mining beams' - you can do something else while mining. In terms of gameplay, what the 'tethered drones' do is force you to spend more time minding the mine for exactly the same effect. It wouldn't be long before having to go visit all your drones would be really tedious (even more tedious than beam mining). So why bother when beams are simplier, take less graphics, and generate less lag?
In addition to that a design like, "Extraction stops when it reaches the units capacity, and doesn't start again until you eject the cargo." requires you to communicate with your drones because they don't have a functional default behavior. In the case of a drone which can return to you, the obvious default behavior is to empty the ore into your cargo hold.
And...
"...attach ore extraction units to the asteroid which extract the ore into cargo modules which are then ejectable from the unit."
Are both variations on the 'teethered drone'. In either case, you have a drone miner which is basically the same as the drone miners (think the collectors) except that they cannot move, so you have to go to them when they are done. In fact, in the first case you can't separate yourself from the drone at all, which just makes it a beam with fancy graphics. All this negates the one advantage 'mining drones' have over 'mining beams' - you can do something else while mining. In terms of gameplay, what the 'tethered drones' do is force you to spend more time minding the mine for exactly the same effect. It wouldn't be long before having to go visit all your drones would be really tedious (even more tedious than beam mining). So why bother when beams are simplier, take less graphics, and generate less lag?
In addition to that a design like, "Extraction stops when it reaches the units capacity, and doesn't start again until you eject the cargo." requires you to communicate with your drones because they don't have a functional default behavior. In the case of a drone which can return to you, the obvious default behavior is to empty the ore into your cargo hold.
> Celebrim -- In addition to that a design like, "Extraction stops when it reaches the units capacity, and doesn't start again until you eject the cargo." requires you to communicate with your drones because they don't have a functional default behavior. In the case of a drone which can return to you, the obvious default behavior is to empty the ore into your cargo hold.
Design feature? Some things should be automagical, some should not. When you want to build player interaction you want to make activities hands on. Mining as such... which is why the beam Idea works... Pay players with expansive cargo holds to ship your goods to the destination you prefer while you mine the ore.
I would expect most players would pack it in and take their drones with them. Fixed and attached extractors that are a pain to put on and off would facilitate ppl leaving these things around. Ripe for the pillaging. Thereby creating the necessity to protect your investment.
It could also bring rise to territorial disputes.
Design feature? Some things should be automagical, some should not. When you want to build player interaction you want to make activities hands on. Mining as such... which is why the beam Idea works... Pay players with expansive cargo holds to ship your goods to the destination you prefer while you mine the ore.
I would expect most players would pack it in and take their drones with them. Fixed and attached extractors that are a pain to put on and off would facilitate ppl leaving these things around. Ripe for the pillaging. Thereby creating the necessity to protect your investment.
It could also bring rise to territorial disputes.