Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

I was curios if anyone has come out with a practical reduction in maintenance cost to make robo miners/ remote mining more cost effective. I am too new to this game to just make a random guess and would like the advice from this board's veterans on an appropriate reduction figure that will not throw the game off balance.

I have researched past threads on this subject but have not seen any figures mentioned.

Tarkin


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Evacuate? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their Chances!

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

Have you tried making a special hull?

eg. Base Station, with -80% maintenance, but requires 75% spaces devoted to Resource extractors?

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

The best approach in the default configuration of the game is to build bases full of remote miners over the planets you want to mine. Bases have 1/2 the maintenance cost of ships, so you can get a 'profit' much more easily with a base than a ship. Look for planets with moons, btw. ALL unoccupied planets in a sector are mined by the remote miners. So, of you have 3 planets with a total of 250 percent mineral value, you'll get 250 percent return from your miners.

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

Thanks for the response. This is a really helpful community. The best I have ever seen.

What I am really looking to do is reduce the maintenance cost. I like the base idea but ships should also be able to perform this function as I see it.

Also I am not much of a tech wizard when it comes to adding new features such as new hull types. So I am opting for an easier solution.

I will experiment with different cost reductions to see how it effects the game. I just thought someone from the forum may have already researched this method and had a few suggestions.

Thank you

Tarkin

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Evacuate? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their Chances!

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

Now, if you are talking about MODS, then you could do what I did. Give transport hulls a reduced maintenance cost, too. My transports get a -25 percent maintenance adjustment. Then, give remote mining components an extra ability of cargo storage. Just the ability, no capacity (set it to 0). This lets you put remote mining components in transport hulls and they count towards the cargo storage requirement. Put as many as possible in the hull, and as little of anything else as possible (to save maintenanc cost). There ya go. Remote mining SHIPS with less maintenance cost. They can turn a profit, just not as much as a base.

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

Baron,

Would you mind showing me an example of just how to do that and I'll give it a spin.

Thanks

Tarkin

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

Add the Cargo ability to all of your remote mining components, like this:


Name := Robo-Miners I
Description := Robotic machinery which can mine asteroids or empty planets remotely, but this will decrease their value permanently. Only one ship at a time can use remote extraction in a sector.
Pic Num := 243
Tonnage Space Taken := 100
Tonnage Structure := 100
Cost Minerals := 800
Cost Organics := 0
Cost Radioactives := 200
Vehicle Type := Ship\Base\Sat
Supply Amount Used := 100
Restrictions := None
General Group := Remote Mining
Family := 30
Roman Numeral := 1
Custom Group := 0
Number of Tech Req := 1
Tech Area Req 1 := Minerals Extraction
Tech Level Req 1 := 1
Number of Abilities := 2
Ability 1 Type := Remote Resource Generation - Minerals
Ability 1 Descr := Automatically mines 600 minerals from any asteroids or empty planets in the sector each turn.
Ability 1 Val 1 := 600
Ability 1 Val 2 := 0
Ability 2 Type := Cargo Storage
Ability 2 Descr := Can be used in place of cargo capacity in a transport.
Ability 2 Val 1 := 0
Ability 2 Val 2 := 0
Weapon Type := None

Then give your transport hulls a reduced maintenance ability like bases have:

Name := Small Transport
Short Name := Small Transport
Description :=
Code := ST
Bitmap Name := TransportSmall
Vehicle Type := Ship
Tonnage := 300
Cost Minerals := 100
Cost Organics := 0
Cost Radioactives := 0
Engines Per Move := 1
Number of Tech Req := 1
Tech Area Req 1 := Ship Construction
Tech Level Req 1 := 1
Number of Abilities := 1
Ability 1 Type := Modified Maintenance Cost
Ability 1 Descr := Reduced performance requirements allow for 25 percent lower maintenance costs than a warship.
Ability 1 Val 1 := -25
Ability 1 Val 2 := 0
Requirement Must Have Bridge := True
Requirement Can Have Aux Con := True
Requirement Min Life Support := 1
Requirement Min Crew Quarters := 1
Requirement Uses Engines := True
Requirement Max Engines := 5
Requirement Min Engines := 1
Requirement Pct Fighter Bays := 0
Requirement Pct Colony Mods := 0
Requirement Pct Cargo := 50

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

For my mod, I am making 3 hull types specifically intended for remote mining. The small prospector has enough space for bridge, crew, life support, 1 robo-whatever, and 20kT extra (intended for supply storage). The medium has enough room for 2 robos, and the large has room for 3 robos. All three have -75% maintenance. What's to prevent them from being used as warships? They only have 2 engines, they are 75% easier to hit in combat (Slow and bulky...) and weapons fire from them is at -75%. Now honestly, I wish the Requirement X Type system from the vehicle sizes was working as advertised. Then it would just be easy to rig the hull to require x% hull space for remote mining...But until someone can tell me how to make this work, I think this is a great way to make a cost effective vessel for mining, but to discourage its use as a combat vessel...


WOO-HOO! It appears that this particular post has granted me my promotion! After long wondering how many Posts it would take me...I've made Corporal!

Codo


[This message has been edited by Codo (edited 10 March 2001).]

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

Baron,

Thank you for taking the time to work this out for me. However as I knew once I started messing with my data files I would screw something up. I followed your directions and when I tried to give it a test run I came up with multiple data file errors based upon the changes I made. I am sure I missed something or did something wrong. I think I will sit back and wait for a mod that might accomplish this. But I thank you for your efforts.

Codo,

I am glad I can help in your promotion:-) I think your mod idea sounds very interesting and look forward to you finishing it!

Thank you

Tarkin

[This message has been edited by Tarkin (edited 10 March 2001).]

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

I usually wait untill I have a base ship and load it up with miners. This is the ship that will maximize output vs maintenance. I have found that I can even mine asteriods with this ship and still make a profit.

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

Or you could put your remote miners in satellites, no maintenance only income. You need to research large satellites though, otherwise there isn't space enough to fit a remote miner.



[This message has been edited by janpet (edited 10 March 2001).]

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

Last I tested this, you only get the resources from ONE satellite in a group over a planet doing this. You'll still decrease the % value of the planet by 1 each turn, which seems like a waste to me since you'll be getting very little out of it. Just colonize the planet and value improve it instead.

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

I never tried to mine planets, I was thinking of mining asteroids when I suggested using satellites. IMHO they make a useful addition, they are cheap to manufacture and there is no great loss if the opponents destroy them.

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

The most common error is with the numbers on the ability entries. Also, simple extra lines. The parser cannot deal with more than ONE blank line! http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...s/rolleyes.gif So, go over your files and make sure the number of abilities has been set properly for each component (or hull type) and that the numbers for each ability line agree with themselves.

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by janpet:
I never tried to mine planets, I was thinking of mining asteroids when I suggested using satellites. IMHO they make a useful addition, they are cheap to manufacture and there is no great loss if the opponents destroy them.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just think it's a hassle since you get so little out of it. I tend not to research the individual resource tech trees anyway, going for monoliths instead, so my remote mining is even less effective. As far as asteroids are concerned, I'd rather make a planet out of it than mine it, since I'm researching stellar manip early anyway.

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

Well, one thing to remember is that some people play with 'Only Colonize your own Planet Type' That means, there are a lot of planets out there that are tough to use for anything. Except mining... (Or maybe, blow 'em up into asteroids, and keep re-making 'em until they come up something useful...)

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

One mod I'd like to see for remote mining is a technology I call "remote pillaging" designed to be used against enemy occupied worlds. Your people/machines land on the contested world and begin strip mining in earnest, a sure way to tick somebody off, and also a sure way to weaken an enemy empire.Returns would be small, destruction high, these are after all quick slash and burn missions to the surface. ::Evil Grin::

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

How about using the damage type "only planet value", make a massive component, and have it destroyed on use.

If OPV dosen't exist, get MM to add it.
I believe it was in SE3, so it should be here too.

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

I thought about that, but it seemed like more fun if i could actually gain something while ticking off my erstwhile opponent. lol. Maybe I'm just frugal but if i'm not getting anything out of the deal destroying good real estate just seems like a waste, i'd rather just take it over myself. But if I can destroy it quick and dirty and get something out of the deal . . . well then I'm tempted to loot and plunder! lol

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

If you know you won't be able to hold the planet (deep in enemy territory, say). Why not bLast it to 0% with value damage weapons, then drop troops, capture and scrap everything for big plunder, pick up the troops and move on!

Re: Robo miners/Remote Mining maintenance Reduction
 

I did a quick search of the Components and Settings files; there's no mention of any weapon that can damage planet value. There's not even an ability listed for damaging only planet value. The only components that reduce a planet's value are the remote miners/farmers/extractors, and there's no setting to specify how much they reduce a planet's value.

BTW - obviously, there's an intelligence operation that reduces planet value, but I don't think an Intel Project ability can be transferred to a component...