Stick a fork in Robo-Miners, they're done!

Baron Munchausen · #1 August 10th, 2001, 11:38 PM

I've never seen this "one component" effect, but I'm still using Beta 1.40 rather than patch 1.41 -- I hope this is just a mistake on your part and not a real change. Currently I can get pretty good return on a Battlestation filled with Robominers. Especially if you place it over a planet with moons. It's definitely a good way to supplement your resources. If this has been cut back to just one component it'll be useless as you've said. Are you sure it's not one VEHICLE? Have you noticed this with satellites maybe? He's been trying to restrict it to one satellite in a group for some time now but couldn't quite get it to work right.

I think the best use for these other than increasing their output so they can be useful to everyone would be to make them a racial tech for a "space native" race as we've discussed in these forums before. If it become possible to generate research and intel with components, and for population to grow in a "habitat" component, you could have races that are UNABLE to live on planets (they could be whiffs of gas that can't handle strong gravity, for example). They would have to use remote mining to get their resources and build huge stations to house their operations. Obviously, they should have a racial ability to build larger stations very early in the game and ultimately have special stations larger than anything else in the game. They should also have the ablity to remote mine better than any standard race.

Edit:

Even better, how about using the "vestigial" properties of asteroids? People have noticed how they still have facility capacity. What if these 'space native' races could colonize asteroids but not planets? You could have some interesting late game conflicts when Stellar Manipulations are held by several races and one major race wants to bLast all the planets into asteroids so it can colonize them while the rest want to convert all asteroids into planet so THEY can colonize those...

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 10 August 2001).]

Menschenfresser · #2 August 10th, 2001, 11:59 PM

ok. This ought to clear this up. I did a short test on an asteroid of medium size with the following stats:

143% mineral content
90% Organic content
127% radio content

First mined with a Lt. Cruiser having the following components:

Bridge, Life, Crew
Max Engines
One of each of the three miners at level one.

These are the results:
Mined 858 minerals, 540 organics, and 762 radioactives.
Maint. Cost on this ship was: 854 minerals, 29 organics, and 136 radioactives.

Then put another Lt. Cruiser on the same asteroid w/ three mineral miners (level one)

Mined 2574 minerals with a maintanence of 1004 minerals.

Gain of 1570...

Menschenfresser · #3 August 11th, 2001, 12:54 AM

I am currently playing a TDM-mopack game in an extra large galaxy with 20 empires. I just modded the mineral miners to mine 1000, 1500, and 2000 minerals respectively.

Comment: If the mining ability is raised high enough for remote miners, then it won't be necessary to build facilities on any planet. This is a bit risky, but very interesting gameplay...and might be worthy of those looking for a challenging role-playing empire to tackle: one that can only mine remotely...for enviromental reasons let us say.

Question: Has anybody actually seen the AI use remote miners? I can't remember seeing one.

geoschmo · #4 August 11th, 2001, 04:56 AM

Ok, I stand corrected on the multiple robo comps per ships thing. I can say for sure that more than one sattelite per sector will not work. I tested that myself. I assumed it was a component limit and not a vehicle limit, but I was incorrect. Thanks for the info.

Geoschmo

Menschenfresser · #5 August 11th, 2001, 05:49 AM

I took my own advice and decided to start a new game where I role-play an empire that does not want the planetary destructive effect of mining. I started with 3 planets and have nearly gotten rid of all of my mineral miners...all of my minerals coming from the modded remote miners.

Really I just wanted to let you all in on a little secret...resources collected by remote mining aren't counted towards one's score. I am in Last place because it says I have no mineral facilities, and only mine 200 minerals per turn.

Any reason for this?

Dracus · #6 August 11th, 2001, 03:23 PM

I don't think the AI has any design for remote miners in their scripts. If you add the design, they will build the ship but I am not sure if they know how to use it.

Baron Munchausen · #7 August 11th, 2001, 10:21 PM

There is not only not a miner-equipped base or ship in the AI design files, there is no AI recognized design TYPE for this role. You'd have to give the ship a type other than "miner" and the AI would try to use it as that type. MM will have to add something to the AI before it can use remote mining. Same problem as 'Repair' ships and
'Resupply' ships that we want to get included into fleets.

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 11 August 2001).]