Interesting developments in mining

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Very interesting narrative in the latest Inside SC episode:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gibGORnVi8


The head of mine play loop building stated about the push toward multi-crew and group play, that with increasing the difficulty for solo players beyond that they could achieve alone it also walled them off and kept them out of that level of play, which at the core of it isn't fun - so they have created some 'gadgets' which are modifiers for those rocks a solo player would otherwise be capped off from being able to access.

The risk is the modifiers have to be attached to the rock directly and the solo player is even more vulnerable than they already are, which is a lot.

I must admit, after so many years of Multi-Crew and Group play being pushed for, it is refreshing that a solo player is being presented with some options to access that level of game play, even if they are difficult or there is an in game cost to access that option :)

 

[CosmicTrader]

As a casual Prospector miner, I approve of this.

 

[Lorddarthvik]

As a player that could only rent and thus not modify his prospector at all, I really like the sound of this!

Last couple of patches I tried mining with that rented tub, I couldn't Crack anything. Spent ages just trying and never succeeding despite following the Test mining guide to the letter, and doin everything correctly. It will be nice to finnaly partake in this game loop!

 

[Bambooza]

Very interesting narrative in the latest Inside SC episode:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gibGORnVi8


The head of mine play loop building stated about the push toward multi-crew and group play, that with increasing the difficulty for solo players beyond that they could achieve alone it also walled them off and kept them out of that level of play, which at the core of it isn't fun - so they have created some 'gadgets' which are modifiers for those rocks a solo player would otherwise be capped off from being able to access.

The risk is the modifiers have to be attached to the rock directly and the solo player is even more vulnerable than they already are, which is a lot.

I must admit, after so many years of Multi-Crew and Group play being pushed for, it is refreshing that a solo player is being presented with some options to access that level of game play, even if they are difficult or there is an in game cost to access that option :)

It is great. At first, I thought they were one-time-use explosives to fracture the rock into smaller chunks for processing but I have to admit I like the idea of them being amplifiers. Makes me wonder if we will see they're helping the Mole take on even larger rocks and have new loops where one of the arm crew members first puts on the device before getting to work.

 

[Vavrik]

As a player that could only rent and thus not modify his prospector at all, I really like the sound of this!

Last couple of patches I tried mining with that rented tub, I couldn't Crack anything. Spent ages just trying and never succeeding despite following the Test mining guide to the letter, and doin everything correctly. It will be nice to finnaly partake in this game loop!

You can mine successfully with a unmodified, entry level mining laser, but it will seriously restrict what you can crack. Without an attachment on your mining laser it's more difficult, but after you've got the hang of it, it's better and you can earn enough for new mining equipment. This is going to help a LOT, and it sounds like they made it interesting.

Advice though, if you're in a prospector, make sure there are other friendly players nearby so you can all take turns watching approaching ships. Also develop the habit of looking at the radar display even if you're mining in the prospector. I do this eye rotation every say 5 seconds to make sure nobody is approaching. Mining display, radar display, front screen out the window. You don't need to spent more than a quarter second looking at the radar, but you need to look.

 

[Sky Captain]

Online games have had advancing solo-mining game play available for years. If CIG cannot figure that out, shame on them. So some solo-friendly news like this is welcomed.

I get the push for group game play, especially for combat. But is that really why people log on to mine?

I mine or craft or gather or whatever when I want to chill from group play. I suspect its the same for many. Will group game playing mining really be something a majority want to do?

 

[Bambooza]

Advice though, if you're in a prospector, make sure there are other friendly players nearby so you can all take turns watching approaching ships. Also develop the habit of looking at the radar display even if you're mining in the prospector. I do this eye rotation every say 5 seconds to make sure nobody is approaching. Mining display, radar display, front screen out the window. You don't need to spent more than a quarter second looking at the radar, but you need to look.

And this is why I have an Orion. Figured mining with @Black Sunder in a large operation we will have others focused on security and I can focus on emptying my stein that I stole from @Montoya's Hangar.

 

[Vavrik]

Online games have had advancing solo-mining game play available for years. If CIG cannot figure that out, shame on them. So some solo-friendly news like this is welcomed.

I get the push for group game play, especially for combat. But is that really why people log on to mine?

I mine or craft or gather or whatever when I want to chill from group play. I suspect its the same for many. Will group game playing mining really be something a majority want to do?

Mining has been working for years, since 3.2 at least, and using the Prospector. All that is happening is they're making the process a little more fun and adding another element of risk.

 

[Harkonan]

*Looks at all our miners and their continued toys in disgust and total jealousy*

 

[Lorddarthvik]

Mining has been working for years, since 3.2 at least, and using the Prospector. All that is happening is they're making the process a little more fun and adding another element of risk.

Throughout the last patch of 2020 and all of 2021 I rented prospectors over a dozen times and could barely get anything done, with rocks being bugged, or rather, unbreakable.
As it said in the vid rocks were, when not outright bugged, tuned for group mining making it hard for solo mining with bog standard gear. As I rented my prospector I couldn't upgrade it obviously. It was hard to come across more then a few kinda worthless rocks / hour that I could mine, and it just wasn't worth the effort at all. So yeah, about time they realized this and did something interesting to solve the issue. I'm glad we are getting a gamepley item to solve this instead of just outright nerfing rocks. But as @Sky Captain said, I'm one of those ppl who do mining when I don't want to do anything more involving, stuff that would require paying more attention so I appreciate this effort. I hope I'll be able to mine away and watch something on a second screen while doing so and still make progress.

 

[Vavrik]

Throughout the last patch of 2020 and all of 2021 I rented prospectors over a dozen times and could barely get anything done, with rocks being bugged, or rather, unbreakable.
As it said in the vid rocks were, when not outright bugged, tuned for group mining making it hard for solo mining with bog standard r. As I rented my prospector I couldn't upgrade it obviously. It was hard to come across more then a few kinda worthless rocks / hour that I could mine, and it just wasn't worth the effort at all. So yeah, about time they realized this and did something interesting to solve the issue. I'm glad we are getting a gamepley item to solve this instead of just outright nerfing rocks. But as @Sky CapFain said, I'm one of those ppl who do mining when I don't want to do anything more involving, stuff that would require paying more attention so I appreciate this effort. I hope I'll be able to mine away and watch something on a second screen while doing so and still make progress.

Well, the only part of SC right now that seems to meet the criteria you described is quantum travel. As you're dragged out of quantum by a "pirate" you'll at least get a notice. Mining is not exactly a spectator sport even right now. The most warning you'll get if you're not looking at the radar will be that you blow up. With the new gameplay, it's going to be even less of one. I switch between mining and occasional trade runs, and in 3.15 I was earning between 100K and 500K aUEC/hour in the Prospector, using the default mining laser. The only thing I do is get a mining laser attachment to make it more efficient. The type depends on what I'm looking for. Trade gives me between 5k and 25K per hour, with the highest I've ever earned in a trade run being around 50K. That doesn't happen often. Combat is a lost cause for me right now. But your mileage may vary. I do not in any circumstance mine around the moons of Crusader without an accompanying player in another ship. That gives us both a half a chance to save the other if there's a pilot out for target practice.

 

[Cugino83]

Very interesting narrative in the latest Inside SC episode:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gibGORnVi8


The head of mine play loop building stated about the push toward multi-crew and group play, that with increasing the difficulty for solo players beyond that they could achieve alone it also walled them off and kept them out of that level of play, which at the core of it isn't fun - so they have created some 'gadgets' which are modifiers for those rocks a solo player would otherwise be capped off from being able to access.

The risk is the modifiers have to be attached to the rock directly and the solo player is even more vulnerable than they already are, which is a lot.

I must admit, after so many years of Multi-Crew and Group play being pushed for, it is refreshing that a solo player is being presented with some options to access that level of game play, even if they are difficult or there is an in game cost to access that option :)

I like the idea of placing minable helper, it also provide some collaboration work for an eventual "spotter ship" after a good mining spot has been found.
For the risk... well that depend on the location and on the experience of the miner: more accreditated area are sure more risky and if you don't pay attention to your radar you can ending up in the wrong place, but even Stanton is a big place, if you ditch the crowdy places you'rea still preatty fine.