[Dragonar]

Originally Posted by Scorch

For instance, should asteroids still overheat or should they have small veins that get mined out that you have to search the surface for and that respawn over time. However it ends up, it will have to be cool because mining is the heart of the Jumpgate economy, and will play an even bigger role in Jumpgate Evolution.

What would be wrong with having asteroids that actually pop if they are depleted? Or to have asteroids that aren't actually completely immobile? Arguably both these things are terribly unrealistic, not to say bad for immersion.

I feel that mining should be a challenge; being a prospector is something that every Quantar would love to be. A random chance of finding a massive belt full of precious metal or something and exploiting it with your squad would be very exciting. Flying around trying to find a bunch of asteroids that aren't 'blue' isn't (so much ).

[vorlon31]

An AI server eh? 1) sounds very interesting 2) its not errm going to be called errm sky net is it?

[Ikeprof]

Though for some, mining isn't really that fun, some of the most enjoyable times in another game came from group mining activities, wherein a set of small/nimble mining ships would pillage a roid field while a large freighter stood by to receive the ore that they mined. The mining ships themselves had limited capacity and would eject the ore for pickup by the main freighter. In the meantime, the combat folks would maintain watch to fend off pirates, enemy npc ships etc. A couple of the combat folk would escort the laden freighter home while it's counterpart was on the return trip empty and ready for another load.

I would never dream of taking mining away from the solo miner, but reaping the benefits of scale should be possible also. Allow rare/needed minerals to spawn in safe factional space, but limit their total yield or extraction rate to something less than can be found in the wild frontier lands of unregulated space.

I like the idea of veins of ore that you would have to maintain an actual trace of your beams upon. Perhaps a mechanic where activating the laser would result in it latching on to a vein where upon you would have to maneuver your ship such to keep the vein in front of you and your laser. As the heat from the laser increases on the surface of the roid, it congeals with slag which will only flake off after the roid cools a bit.

I'm not really a miner at heart (until I am so sick of getting my butt handed to me in combat that I need to find something else to do), but with the proper visuals and a game mechanic that forces me to interact to perform the act of mining, it sounds like it could be made into something just this side of fun

[dailatron]

IMO I think mining needs a drastic overhaul if its going to be vital to the economy and a major source of income. I would really like to see targetable roids but only available for mining ships.

Also I think it would be a good idea to have turretable mining points so you could sit near a roid belt (hopefuly we will have belts of numerous roids rather than one or two scattered about) and go to turret mode to target the roid and mine like that.

Great idea about the slag build up. I was thinking rather than have it cool down again that you have to shoot the slag off with your normal guns, just as a way to stop/hinder AFK mining.

Oh also please have the roids poppable that way in a drunken stupor (Al) people wont be sitting there saying Ive been mining for hours and getting nothing.

[dailatron]

Echo.

[vorlon31]

Oh yes, roid belts. Id always imagined a huge planet, surrounded by a dense ring of roids, large, small and tiny with an almost 24/7 mining operation in progress harvesting the resources for the greater good. Ship after ship (both ai and players) running back and forth to the belt relaying the ore to the orbital factory facility that was in turn a hub of other activity, a constant traffic flow of haulers flying in and out to take the ore's refined substances to where they were needed through out the galaxy.

Breath taking just to sit and watch, a mini ecosystem of ships, ai, roids and station.

Dazzling and yet so fragile... The factory facility over worked and prone to breakdown. Repair drones are in constant need, something that the Hauler's bring in for a little profit when they come for the ores produce. And the miners are vulnerable, Conflux swarms have long made this sector a target, meandering their way across the galaxy towards it, decimating the mining populace if they aren't stopped in their tracks elsewhere by the galaxies Flux Rangers.

Pirates prey on the haulers too on their way too and from, so factional (whichever faction is in control of that sector at the time) patrol/escort missions are needed and the military (ai +players) take up the challenge of keeping the space lanes open and lawful.

Sweet as pie.

or the other version;

Ahh Roid belts...

Ringing the lifeless planet beneath, the great belt stretched on in a great swathe of innumerable roids. Long ago, the planet had a moon but its orbit decayed, sending the great satellite crashing down. The formidable event a millennia in the making, its after effects destined to last an eternity.

Hot planetary chunks had been thrown into space by the impact as the planets surface ignited, convulsed, shook and tore, searing all trace of planetary life from existence with the moons demise.

Now, Rocks, large, small and tiny formed a sea of ore that floated in a no-man's-land caught between the planets gravitational attraction and held off by its magnetic fields. And while the planet beneath lay lifeless still, the great asteroid belt teamed with life.

Throughout the orbiting ring of rock and unconcerned by their violent birth, miners moved from roid to roid harvesting the valuable resources before fully laden, returning to the orbiting factory facility that bought their ore and reworked it into its elemental commodities. The facility in turn was a hub of trade, merchants and haulers from distant sectors came to take the commodities and use them for the greater good of all and profit.

An ecosystem of roid, ship, station and hauler, a dazzling dream of economic teamwork in action... But so fragile...

The facility is overworked and prone to break down, repair crews and drones are a constant scene flitting in and out of its structures, repairing systems and hull from the outside as they go. But the repair beams don't last, and the drones are short lived. Haulers coming for profit keep the station in constant supply of beams and drones, when they can. When the great Conflux swarms don't interfere. For years the Conflux swarms have targeted this sector as a point of attack, meandering their way across the galaxy sector by sector to come create havoc and wreak destruction on the mining community. It doesn't happen often, normally the galaxies fluxers intercept the swarms, keep them away and destroy them long before they near, but sometimes the swarms overwhelm and get through, halting the mining, the trade and the repairs...

Pirates too haunt the space lanes near to the sector and whatever faction happens to control that sector at the time, operates missions for its militaries to patrol and escort, to keep the trade lanes open and free of menace.

[dailatron]

Wish Id said all that. Its so amazing, I want to cry.

[Ikeprof]

Darn near erotic in fact.

[Raz]

The reward and meaning of mining needs to definitely be increased.

However, one thing I would not change is how the mining was actually done. Increasing the mining rate based on speed was awesome, and provided a great excuse to practice circling a target.

Also, as you mined you got heavier, forcing you to constantly adjust. I think the ability to either stop-mine or do advanced maneuvers to get it quite a bit faster advances the 'player skill is the win' theme of Jumpgate.

The big problem is that the only way people learned this was by being told. The game didn't tell you!

The real issue is getting the new game to teach people properly.

WoW didn't succeed because of quests. It succeeded because anytime people needed to know something or learn anything, it told you exactly what you needed to know. It's a game where information is easy to organize. (Also, the game engine is rock solid)

[vorlon31]

Originally Posted by dailatron

Wish Id said all that. Its so amazing, I want to cry.

Originally Posted by Ikeprof

Darn near erotic in fact.

[Wild_Bill]

I bow in admiration at vorlon31's eloquence. I want to play THAT game. I hope it turns out to be Jumpgate Evolution.

Raz also has a very good point.

[Karash]

Mining should be more than just pointing at a rock and engaging a laser.

There should be rewards to players who explore for the best ore (AI wont), There should be rewards to players that work as a team (miners and haulers from the mine site), There should be rewards to players that escort and attack mining operations.

I would really like to see a bunch of carebears all working together like little ants providing for the greater good (and getting filthy rich)...mining IMO should not be a solo event. I guess it could be, but not to get maximum rewards from it.