Start mining activity improvement

[bionicsheep]

Whenever I think of being poor in space I think of a bunch of people jammed in a tiny ship, hopping from planet to planet in look of work. I think the first activity where you mine rocks in the starter zone is too nice, and it doesn't encourage teamwork and exploring.

My suggestion:

Have scheduled ships that you can hop on board that will take off and fly to the asteroid belt. Once there it allows you to jetpack around the nearby rocks, mining for resources that you bring to the ship. Eventually a siren will signal to return and the transport will take you back to the space station and pay you for what you mined.

This will improve the experience for a number of reasons:
1. more immersive.
2. encourage socialization between players on ship (they can help one another out)
3. open people to leaving the station
4. get players to use terminals and screens to learn schedules and explore the station for transport.
5. less lonely than chopping rocks alone on a platform

 

[XenoCow]

This isn't a bad idea! However, I think that this sounds like something that could be run by players exclusively.

Players with mining ships could hire new players to hop on and go for a mining ride. Then after they return, pay the people for their time or a cut of the earnings. Sounds like it could be profitable for everyone involved.

This way, players who like to spend more time alone, or only have a few minutes to spare on the game at a time, can still earn credits at the normal minning jobs.

 

[bionicsheep]

This isn't a bad idea! However, I think that this sounds like something that could be run by players exclusively.

Players with mining ships could hire new players to hop on and go for a mining ride. Then after they return, pay the people for their time or a cut of the earnings. Sounds like it could be profitable for everyone involved.

This way, players who like to spend more time alone, or only have a few minutes to spare on the game at a time, can still earn credits at the normal minning jobs.

certainly sounds nice, I would still prefer having the npc way of doing it because it could serve more of a tutorial and would always be available. Players could still choose to undercut the npc transport and offer more of a share of the mined resources

 

[XenoCow]

I would still prefer having the npc way of doing it because it could serve more of a tutorial and would always be available. Players could still choose to undercut the npc transport and offer more of a share of the mined resources

Maybe the amount of credits earned from the more active mining could be made to yield around the same credit earning rate as the job would. Then, the player run version would still be able to compete because ore prices are already higher when players go out and mine them in the belt.

 

[Amos.37]

Personally, I think that belt mining needs to be more lucrative.
Currently, in the station mining job, I can earn about half a mil in credits in an hour.
I struggle to make that much mining out in the belt and hauling in back to sell in an hour (Using the Hauler).
Add the cost of fuel, batteries and such, and the station mining job is simply a much faster way of earning credits.
I'm happy with the income from the station mining job, but I'd like ores to be worth more when you sell them so that mining out in the belt is actually worth the time it takes to fly out and back again.

 

[Joshua]

Sounds like a good potentially separate Job, however the one they have at the station should stay. The one at the station is similar to a refinery while the mining in space is general mining. stuff getting returned still needs to be broken down when you think about it.

 

[MoonSet416]

Honestly this sounds like what player factions will do especially at the start of the game. Mining ops to get new players a head start.

But ye the normal mining job should always be there as a backup.

 

[champloo]

I would add a procedure for generating chunks with a denser number of asteroids and/or larger asteroids. Then there is a sense in your idea.

 

[Mr.Silver]

I don't know how to explain my perspective here, so I shall observe

 

[Meetbolio]

Personally, I think that belt mining needs to be more lucrative.
Currently, in the station mining job, I can earn about half a mil in credits in an hour.
I struggle to make that much mining out in the belt and hauling in back to sell in an hour (Using the Hauler).
Add the cost of fuel, batteries and such, and the station mining job is simply a much faster way of earning credits.
I'm happy with the income from the station mining job, but I'd like ores to be worth more when you sell them so that mining out in the belt is actually worth the time it takes to fly out and back again.

[cough] [cough] Made 10 mil in a hauler in a single 2 hour run... So it's definitely doable, just over a longer period of time.

 

[Jasperagus]

Maybe later on, maybe in early access people might try to establish a space station closer to the belt. Also group mining with a hauler doesn't make sense because of how much it can carry and how far you should go to get stuff.

 

[CalenLoki]

but I'd like ores to be worth more when you sell them so that mining out in the belt is actually worth the time it takes to fly out and back again.

It can't be done.
Increasing the selling price of ores increase the price of refined materials, then components, and then ships.
So in the end it'll take the same amount of time to earn money for ship, just the numbers will appear higher.
It's all interconnected.

Only way to increase belt mining income is decreasing the time it takes to bring x amount of ore back. So either devs making nearby asteroids more dense, or players making more efficient ships (faster, bigger, ect.). Or just build station closer to the dense belt.