Nomad wrote:Don't reduce the maximum speed of loaded ships, instead of that reduce the acceleration (and negative acceleration ! ).
I totally agree.
Loved this update though. Personally I was totally fine with the box ships, but hot damn, these new ships are looking boss. Can't wait to see further progress.
Everything else in the update had me excited from the moment I saw it.
Couple thoughts:
Prospector Drones - I think it would be cool if, rather than firing a bunch of drones at a single surface, if the drones struck the surface and began to scan the object. It might take a few seconds as the symbol about the surface expands until the scan is complete. Once the scan is complete you could then see a holographic overlay of the object (asteroid/whatever) showing the variation of density within the object. So, for example, blobs of semi-translucent light blue on the asteroid overlay would indicate blobs of high ore, while almost completely transparent darker blues would indicate less dense rock. Once the scan was complete, the overall composition of the object would be shown (70% rock, 30% vitrium, for example). It would also be cool if you could develop more advanced prospectors through research. These advanced prospectors might scan quicker, fire further, and perhaps even scan multiple nearby asteroids. You might even develop a starburst like prospector which sends out little prospectors in all directions when it de-clusters, scanning an entire region of space.
Miner Drones - Personally I'm not entirely sold on the current mining mechanic, so heres an idea. Perhaps miner drones (little driller drones) could be sent down to the dense areas of the rock to begin digging in a spot. They wouldn't fire away like the prospectors but instead have to be sent down to a surface from up close. They would extract ore and begin to fill their stockpiles far more slowly than the beam demonstrated, but would not be able to move from the surface. You would then have to return to the Miner drones to collect their stash. They would give you some kind of message to let you know they are A) 100% full, or B) unable to find any more ore in the current location.
This would allow you to move about a cluster of asteroids scanning and planting miners, then sweep back through collecting the deposits.
Further research on Miners would allow them to, on their own, move about a surface as the different locations on said surface are fully exploited.
Further on from this, you could research a form of Miller Craft (for lack of a better title) which would lurk a region of space until nearby miner bots are full, and gather their goods. Once the miller is full, it might let you know. As you further research, the miller might be able to return to the nearest hub to sell the goods for you. You might even be able to research so that the Miller can collect Miners for you, and re-deposit them on other nearby scanned asteroids not yet mined. Finally you might be able to research the ability for your Miller to start sending out Prospectors of its own.
This would allow a sense of growing scale to your operation, but would never allow you to simple go idle, racking up money, because, although a Miller might seek out resources independently, they might be prone to getting lost in bad parts of space (less ore dense), so you would have to continually manage your growing fleet of Millers (Ok, its a terrible name, I know) to make sure they aren't waisting time (and fuel) wandering through nothingness. Millers could even start to cost you money if start moving too far into 'worthless' regions. Perhaps even the ability to bring up statistics relating to productivity of individual Millers, as well as the fleet as a whole, could become part of the meta game.
Defence would also be an important research area as you develop your mining fleet, as big ass Millers with heavy loads, returning to get your payday, would be targets for pirates. Early warning systems for encroaching ships and rudimentary weaponry might be an avenue of research, so that your stockpiles aren't simply going missing.
Just a few ideas, hopefully some of them worth your time. Keep up the good work