Will Auto-Mine / Retaliation be added?

[🆃🅴🅰🆁🅻🅾🆆]

As of right now if you're mining you'd have to click each asteroid with all mining lasers about every 2min- Are there any plans to add some sort of protocol for automating this process? Perhaps as a Hardware mount point?

Same thing goes when you're attacked- Why would you not automatically retaliate? Seems silly to just sit there...

[Stellar Tactics]

I'm not sure that auto-targeting would be a problem as far as mining goes. There are a few things that would make this OK as far as I'm concerned. First, in any given area, you would run out of asteroids in range eventually. The second is cargo hold size, though that will be less of an issue when refining goes in. That is, you will have the option to auto-refine ore as it enters your ships cargo hold.

Ground-based mining will be one solution for players who do not like manual mining. You will be able to drop drones on planetary resource nodes and return after a period of time when the drones are full to pick them up. Mining itself will be changing in the future and mining perks will add some flexibility in how you mine asteroids. Perhaps auto-targeting as one of the first perk tiers for this skill.

I'll also look into ship prices. I think there are a few areas here where things need to be tuned - though I need to get a few more of the money-making mechanics in the game before I can make adjustments. Money is very easy to come by at higher levels. At lower levels, it takes a good bit of work.

[Tegga21]

Mining lasers should just auto target nearest asteroid (with perk or ship component), you can fly around slowly and auto laser. Making it a toggle auto/manual

[Stellar Tactics]

Added to my list when I do more work on the mining system. I do plan to overhaul mining with a good bit more detail like scanning asteroids for minerals etc. This won't be in the next content patch which is focused on chapter 1 of the game.

[Tegga21]

another request: Have an options for the drones to drop off the ore at a paid storage and if full sell, automatic

[heffay1122]

Sorry to necro this thread, but I am gonna necro this thread. Is this still being planned?

[Tegga21]

lol doubt it

[Stellar Tactics]

Actually, the mining update will be coming between chapter 2 and 3. So, there will be changes with the mining system. I'm just not sure how well auto-mining will work with the new system. We will see.

[Here]

Just allow us to mine whole moons ... player flies up sits there for a few hours .... then boom! Moon cracks {or some effect} and off to the next so I can walk off AFK etc. "I am busy after all" lol.

I kid mostly ... having had to deal with the system as is if I wanted to master Mining ... I flowed with it. But often did find myself wishing for lazier ways ... like the Moon humor above ... would have been perfect. Why even bother with auto-target ... just add things like the D. Ships, but ones that would allow us to chill for a bit.

D. Ships will feel this way at "mining zero" ... taking ~20-30 mins even with a Behemoth and 4 House Legendary Mining lasers {how I began mining on my current file and space in general} ... it becomes mere mins later on. Granted D.ships are not where it is at for real functional resources. They are all Rare Earths mostly ... so not bad if you like money, but bad if you want actual ore to refine.

There is ore there, but a lot less {which makes sense} ... also Rare Earths cannot be refined and will fill you up faster. Due to their limited use in crafting {you will need so few for crafting you care about, but get so many}. Of course no one is using Rare Earths to "grind" out crafting {I hope} ... you may literally need a few hundred of each ... and that is overkill ... as they are only ever needed when you are making something you care about. The few hundred just in case of bad RNG luck ... which is another topic and something the master crafter gets burned to heavy by imo

Anyhow I would be lying if I said point and click for items that vaporize in seconds as you approach 100 Mining is super fun ... worse with a high Weapons skill {perks set accordingly} and the 10% perk from the ship.

Nothing against auto-target as the player still has to move {albeit at the right rate lol ... which will change}. I still feel a better, lazier, solution would just be to give us more dense and/or larger things to mine ... moons and/or certain planets.

Get rid of the drones. The passive income does not make up for the "real time" a player spends chasing them ... then looking for new spots etc. If the player is using them on manual for ore ... they are again wasting time, Albeit a valid playstyle ... I just feel drones are a distraction and have limited use.

They are great if and only if you can time them with a ground mission in the same system. The moment you have to return to pick them up the inefficiencies begin to stack up. A player can spend as long just picking them up and placing them as it takes to complete 2-3 high paying and rewarding ground missions.

But aye ... no new mechanics needed ... just more dense mining objects. I mean this is really about going AFK right?

*** Did forget to mention ... that yes, Drones do also grant passive Mining skill ... so yes it is possible to get into the teens or so in Mining before having your first Mining Laser lol ... but again folly, This passive Mining growth is again not worth their use.... and nowhere near compete with just Mining.

[Oakshield]

"Chasing drones"?

If you mean by that flying to a system where you have deployed drones to pick them up after the nodes are empty, you're not doing things right.

Best option:

- Fly to a system; (to start / end a mission)
- Scan planets for nodes
- While doing that, look for faction stations as well;

- If there's a faction station, land and pick up a new mission.
- Depoy drones along the scanned planet to harvest ores.
- Do the mission in this system, then return to the one the agent who gave you the mission is in and turn the mission in.
If there are drones deployed, collect them the moment you enter or depart the system.
- Jump to the system with the new mission and check the planets there.
From that point on, it's simply repeating this; as you will be able to collect the drones the moment you enter the system. Being it either flying there in FTL or do the quick transfer with the beacons.
With the beacon is even easier, as you don't have to fly multiple minutes in FTL. Just watch your screen for a couple of seconds for the system to load. :)


Thorin :)

[Here]

Originally posted by Oakshield:

"Chasing drones"?

If you mean by that flying to a system where you have deployed drones to pick them up after the nodes are empty, you're not doing things right.

Best option:

- Fly to a system; (to start / end a mission)
- Scan planets for nodes
- While doing that, look for faction stations as well;

- If there's a faction station, land and pick up a new mission.
- Depoy drones along the scanned planet to harvest ores.
- Do the mission in this system, then return to the one the agent who gave you the mission is in and turn the mission in.
If there are drones deployed, collect them the moment you enter or depart the system.
- Jump to the system with the new mission and check the planets there.
From that point on, it's simply repeating this; as you will be able to collect the drones the moment you enter the system. Being it either flying there in FTL or do the quick transfer with the beacons.
With the beacon is even easier, as you don't have to fly multiple minutes in FTL. Just watch your screen for a couple of seconds for the system to load. :)


Thorin :)

Not sure if this was directed at me or not lol. But as a player that was playing when drones were added ... goofed with them. They even led to me making a now fixed "Galaxy Fold" discovery in the bottom row {<0,0> to <0,99>} ... so I can thank them for that lol.

In all probability I stopped using them before you started playing the game.

Long story short ... I, personally, did not need a lesson on their use. I have likely used them more efficiently than yourself. My point was ... even at their maximal, the real time used to concentrate on them is best used elsewhere,

Certainly there are efficient uses ... some you listed. It will be an illusion you create for yourself where you think you are doing many things at once ... once set up {which cost time}. Until the illusion cracks and {for many players} you have to ho out and get the Drones lol.

But aye ...even while manually mining in a tricked out ship ... with 20 drones humming ... you will not notice the drones, Certainly better than the zero of course lol.

Let us not forget the time when money does not matter and your have mining to 100. If by that time you ever need ore again... you did it wrong lol. And the kicker is ... money already meant nothing before you even started mining lol ... at least this is one possible outcome. I suppose some mine to make money ... or smuggle etc ... to each their own.

By the way ... not hating on Drones. If used intelligently, then they can be a supplement with less distraction. But even finding this "efficiency" can be its own time sink ... again reinforcing them being ignored for all but the "Trader" or player that never wants to land ... but that is me.

[zuehli_2003]

Long time ago I suggested in a thread, that drones should be upgradeable in some way. I still think this would be great and this could make them valuable again. However, we'll see what will happen when Don changes the mining and economic systems.

[Here]

Originally posted by zuehli_2003:

Long time ago I suggested in a thread, that drones should be upgradeable in some way. I still think this would be great and this could make them valuable again. However, we'll see what will happen when Don changes the mining and economic systems.

Totally. One huge upgrade would be to allow Drones to translocate back to the ship ... no matter where you are. While "hokey" I have gotten ahead of myself and left a system before retrieving the Drones lol ... but got them on the "other side". So we know it can be done.

I get the "feeling" of going and getting them might bring ... but we do have translocation tech in the same universe ... I would say something clever about them being entangled with your ship already, but one could swap their ship while Drones are deployed lol. But anyways we can suspend that.

I would give all new player 20 free Drones {so as to faster discover not to use them lol ... jk} ... so they can begin deploying them, I was never against players earning more earlier as everything that matters has to be earned ... that and I do care about other playstyles than my own.

Drones can round out a cool "Trader" style. I may be wrong, but my way of doing thing is talked about less than the Trade Net lol. Maybe I was spoiled by a "fold in the galaxy" ... hard to compete with placing 20 Drones in duplicate systems {so "cherry picking" was possible}. Even with this level of efficiency I wish I had the time back ... but then remind myself of what i got to discover.

Drones could contribute more to mining as well. I have not done this in a bit, but can speak from experience. On a previous file {even using my "Fold" discovery} ... mining went from 1-20 {just Drones}in the time it took to "raise" a crew ... "raise" as in train several mercs and the main. Granted Mining itself works better than ever.

I get why Drones contribute so little ... same as why Repairing the Hull contributes so little To the Repair skill. Both need work/love. If I want to be a Mining beast and tear through a AF while 20 Drones are out ... I should feel it. If anything make a synergy if you have to ... to reward "Traders".