Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Mining 2.0 and Why Change Is Needed

I originally had a light-hearted but flippant introduction that I can see now doesn’t sit well with a topic as sensitive as this. As I’ve come to understand there exists a general dichotomy within the mining community. There are those who want to mine AFK and those who want some degree of interactivity. I am a proponent of the latter.

This desire might seem counter-productive. What you don’t know is that I’m an avid multi-boxer miner who has invested considerable effort and resources into setting up the hardware and accounts needed to run large scale mining ops on multiple clients. If mining were to become more interactive I would probably be unable to operate all three accounts simultaneously and my hard work would most likely be made redundant. I am, however, no less devoted to breathing life into this long neglected, pivotal, aspect of Eve.

Why would I willing make this sacrifice? It’s because I know mining as a profession could become so much more fun! I also believe that, in this case, the only thing standing between progress and stagnation is greed. Put down the pitchforks and allow me to explain.

In its current state mining is a minimal input, minimal risk (depending on location), ISK well. With its near “set it and forget it” design mining for legitimate players is practically a bottomless skill book that feeds you ISK instead of skill points. As for the botters, just remove the adverbs and replace them with “is.”

Players who defend the current state of mining rarely defend the profession as its own entity. Quotes like “Mining lets me pvp while I make isk” or “More interactive mining would mean I couldn’t do things around the house while I make isk” are the norm among advocates. What they are essentially saying is that mining is too non-interactive to hold their attention. It’s simply too boring to do on its own.

Players know it’s boring yet still defend it because they’re afraid their cash flow would be negatively affected. They’re making a choice to hold back progression for the sake of their wallets (boy does that sound familiar).

And if they’re not defending their own wallets their defending CCP’s. Changes that make mining interactive, they say, would cause a cataclysmic loss in accounts because all the multi-box miners would become uni-boxers. This is true to some degree but let’s not forget that the usefulness of having multiple accounts active extends far further than AFK mining. Let’s also remember that updating the mining system would give CCP the opportunity to advertise a new shiny. With mining no longer limited to multi-boxers and actually fun newer players interested in industry will find a healthy(lulz) obsession that keeps them playing and paying.

I’ll end the introduction with this. The suggestion that I’ve been hiding with this wall of text isn’t the end all be all solution to the mining problem. If you don’t like it because of the design or you think the concept isn’t fun you’re more than welcome to that opinion and feel free to bring a flame thrower with your comments. But, if you don’t like it because it makes mining more than a just a screen saver, then I implore to you think outside your wallet and consider the future of Eve.

I. What’s Changed?

Everything has changed. EVERYTHING! Well, I suppose not everything. But all of the original functionality of every piece of mining equipment has been redesigned. Every skill, ship, and piece of equipment still exist and are all still very useful. I’ve even added some new ship mods.

Don’t fret though! While this will change how mining works, mining AFK is still possible. These changes only apply to mining barges/ exhumers using strip miner class lasers. Regular mining lasers will still work the same, boring, way that you’re used to.

III. Mystery Roids

Asteroid no longer contain a pure type of ore. They are now a mixed bag of common and rare ores. That isn’t to say that all asteroids contain all types of ore. They don’t. They’ll only contain about 3-5 different kinds one of them always being veldspar. All asteroids are actually made of mostly veldspar with delicious chunks of rarer ore mixed in. To find out exactly what kind of ore an asteroid contains you must scan it with a survey scanner.

For those miners who use battleships with 8 regular mining lasers you’ll pull random amounts of the 3-5 different kinds of ore.

IV. Roids are like onions…

Why is this timer important? Because asteroids have layers! Why are layers important? Because most of the rare ore is at the center! How do we get to the center? Keep reading!

Once you send your drones to produce a stability field you have the option to look at the asteroid from a new perspective. Now introducing: ROID MODE!.

Just what is Roid Mode? Roid Mode is a separate UI window, similar to the PI or scanning windows. This mode gives you a detailed, 3D representation of the asteroid you have your stability field on. By using certain modules you can interact with the asteroids in this window and view additional information about their status.

The most exciting option is the ability to select exactly where you want your lasers to slice off rock. Being able to select where you mine is important because ore is not distributed equally along the surface. If you want to get the best yield you need to know where all that shiny is hiding. To do that you need to fit one of the new high slot modules on your ship: an Astrogeologic Scanner! This module, when cycled, gives you a snap shot of the current ore distribution and density on the surface of the asteroid.

Now that you know where to focus your strip miners you can target specific areas to mine out the best parts. Don’t worry if you need to mine the far side of an asteroid. The stability field produced your drones have special reflective properties that bounce the laser wherever it need to be. Also, there is no longer a need to wait on those long cycle timers anymore! Strip miner technology has improved to allow for much shorter cycles (roughly 10 seconds). The amount of ore you get is no longer based on module or skills but by the density of the area being mined.

So you’re mining away at that concentrated spot on an asteroid when you notice on your Roid Mode UI that the little bar titled “Layer 1 structure” is slowly dropping after each strip miner cycle. You might also notice that your Astrogeologic Scanner is showing small darken blemishes that seem to increase in size on the once pristine surface of your target asteroid. If you kept mining and thought the blemishes were the result of faulty equipment you might get that asteroid structure bar to reach zero and break into the next, more juicy, layer of the asteroid. A more likely scenario is that the blemishes continue to grow and eventually cause the asteroid to explode in protest of your lasers despite your drone’s stability field.

Those dark blemishes are called fractures. Fractures, if ignored and let grow to a certain size, will start giving off a random chance for the asteroid to explode. The larger they get the higher the chance for an explosion to occur. They have a chance of forming and growing whenever strip miners are actively pulling ore. How do we get rid of them? With a another new high slot module: the Asteroid Repairer! This module, when focused on a fracture and cycled, will fire a super heated beam that will fuse the rock back into a solid state which reduces the size of the fracture. Given enough cycles the fracture will even disappear entirely.

For miners who want to get to the center layers as quickly as possible focusing all of your strip miners on a single point on the asteroid will deplete the layer structure exponentially faster than if the strip miners were spread out along the surface. This technique creates considerable stress on the asteroid which causes fractures to form and expand much quicker than usual.

VI. Want Some Butter On That Role?

Let’s not forget that the good ore is always near the center layers of an asteroid. On top of this, larger asteroids, while containing the rarest ore (and a lot of it), have many more layers than smaller asteroids. This means if you want the highest yield you need to find an asteroid that’s the perfect size for your ability. If you know you can only break through 5 layers of a 20 layer asteroid in the 10 minutes your stability field lasts then find a smaller roid.

Although, if you had a fleet of miners you might be able to tackle those enormous rocks that taunt you as you strip tiny scraps off those modest sized roids. A mining fleet would be able to specialize their roles so that more layers could be stripped away faster and the asteroid would hold together longer. Luckily Mining 2.0 has ample accommodation for organized mining operations.

When a miner sets up his stability field anyone in his fleet has the option of joining him in Roid Mode. Fellow miners can add their drones to the stability field and see where on the asteroid all other strip miners are currently being cycled. Miners in Roid Mode can also ping locations on the asteroid to point out ore or perhaps warn of a fracture.

Pinging is important because Astrogeological Scanner results are not shared between ships. If a mining fleet wants to maximize their yield they will ideally pick one ship to equip an Astrogeological and direct the rest of the miners using pings. This role is best suited for Procurer or Skiff pilots since they receive specific bonuses to Astrogeological Scanners.

Yes, that’s right, each of the three mining barge/ exhumer ships have had their roles redesigned. Procurer/ skiffs are meant to be mining directors. While providing little actual ore extraction they allow the other ships to focus their high slots on the modules they’re designed for. It’s also helpful to have a single pilot devoted to Scanning for fractures as group mining can lead to their formation at alarming rates. These ships also get enhanced resolution on their scans which tell them exactly what kind of ore each area on the asteroid contains instead of a simple density reading. No matter how small your fleet is you’ll usually want at least one of these ships.

The Retriever/ Mackinaw ships are specialized in fracture repair. They get specific bonuses to Asteroid Repairers along with a bonus to drones that are performing the same task. If your fleet is constantly having to shut off their strip miners because too many fractures are forming then get a few more Retriever/ Mackinaw pilots!

Finally we come to the old workhorses of the ORE ships: Covetors and Hulks. Their role remains very similar in that they get bonuses to strip miners and that having more of these in your fleet will increase your yield. These ships are also the recommended solo mining vessels because they can fit one of each of the three mining laser types.

The Orca has changed too! With the introduction of the ORE tractor beam the Orca has become an insurance policy for miners who like to live on the edge. The ORE tractor beam is the only way to get minerals out of an asteroid before the stability field dissipates. This way, if the asteroid blow up due to mining malpractice, all your hard work isn’t all lost (although you still don’t get to bite into the juicy center of that asteroid). More mining ganglinks exist as well! Need more stability? Get a Stability Field Enhancer! Need more Asteroid repairs? Get a Fracture Nullifier.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Rorqual. This enormous ship comes with an enormous price tag. Mining 2.0 knows this and has given Rorq pilots very good reasons to come out and play in the belts. Besides being able to fit an Ore Tractor Beam, they are able to equip a special module that creates a stability field with an infinite timer. With a Rorq on the field, all mining drones can be devoted to either pulling ore or fixing fractures. Rorquals also have access to a specific kind of capital laser (fired from that huge cannon), that, when aimed at an asteroid, will cause it to explode in manner that’s nothing short of spectacular. Oh, by the way, they’re immune to asteroid explosion damage! Pirates beware…

(Reserved just in case)

The stability field acts as a hard time limit for mining an asteroid. You're always racing against time (unless you have a rorqual on field) to get to the center layers as fast as possible. Once it's on, it's on. When it ends the asteroid breaks apart gently allowing all the mined ore you built up inside it to be looted.

The rate of how quickly a layer is depleted depends on each strip miner cycle. Each layer has a predetermined number of cycles that must be pulled for it to break off to reveal the next layer. This number is the layer structure HP. If strip miners are focused on a single spot (told to mine at the same position at once) the layer HP drops exponentially (2 miners on one spot might take off 3 HP instead of 2).

Fractures are the only real threat a miner has to worry about in terms of explosions. Fractures form and grow according to how many cycles are completed. The more cycles that are complete the quicker fractures form. Focusing beams on a single location will of course cause fractures to form even quicker. If these fractures are not kept in check by asteroid repairer then the asteroid WILL explode.

As for skills. All of them are kept. All of them are useful. They're simply redesigned.

I'm sure we can agree to disagree and I respect your opinion. However, I would like to point out a few things.

This idea, by no means, hinges on asteroid exploding. That part can easily be added or removed according to how CCP feels about it. Allowing fractures to get out of control during mining could just cause the asteroid to pop harmlessly but taking all your ore along with it. I just wanted to get the idea out there. I believe it would add for some very interesting encounters in belts.

As far as multiboxing goes I know where you're coming from. I myself am a multiboxer (multiboxing miner at that) and a part of me would be sad to see this implemented. On the other hand, you mentioning "Some things in life ARE BORING, that's just how life is." strikes true on a simple, fundamental fact.

Eve is a game. Games are a source of entertainment. Entertainment is practically the antonym of boredom.

Mining has survived as a type of screen saver meant to be occasionally poke at by people doing other things in game or even out of game. It is high time that this area of the game be brought up to basic standards of entertainment.

Again, to reiterate, this opinion is mine, not yours. I don't want any of this to sound like your opinion is invalid. I can even understand your concerns with this and perhaps echo some of them. I still firmly believe that mining needs to be more interactive.

This new type of mining would be a lot more involved. It would also be a race against the watch to dig as deep as possible before the asteroid collapsed. I'm certain that it would be leagues better than the current mining system.

+1

I felt the introduction to this suggestion didn't explain enough of the philosophy behind it. I've altered it in the hopes of greater understanding.