Make mining less boring. Add monsters to mining asteroid

[michellebaren]

 

As the subject says.

 

Shaft Miner is one of the most boring jobs in the game due to it being on the mining asteroid most of the time. While up there you're usually out of the loop of all the action going on the Space Station and are left doing nothing more than drilling at ores.

 

Recently during some down time of Paradise I tried out TG Station again and ended up as a Shaft Miner. Their mining asteroid was very similar to the one on Paradise but there was one very big key difference: they had actual dangers on the mining asteroid for the miner to worry about. Dangers in the form of "wildlife/monsters":

 

http://www.ss13.eu/wiki/index.php/Shaft_Miner#The_Wildlife

 

Could wildlife/monsters be added to Paradise's mining asteroid too to liven things up for the Shaft Miner job? Give them something to worry about while up there..

 

* Note: Not meaning to advertise another server here. I Just liked that one feature of theirs.

 

[Habalabam]

 

Mining is lot of work for low yield. It's also somewhat weird that you are basically clearing out the entire area (at least fundamentally changing the landscape) during the course of a single shift. The whole area seems pristine (with a lot of investment in infrastructure) and you are clearing out the entire thing very fast without using a fracture of that infrastructure. I'd wish that ores had more yield and you worked through it at a much slower pace.

I would want to survey more and then set up an emitter or something to get to certain ores (because the rock in between had no use anyway, or it could be turned to glass'ish ore). Then start moving produce.

Wildlife would be cool.

To have slightly conflicting interests with xeno arch/bio because we may destroy research opportunities would be cool. Xeno a/b could tape off places of scientific value and it would basically RP out (hopefully not in a complete Avatar war).

As it is now, the message "we've uncovered diamonds" means very little.

 

[Streaky Haddock]

I do not want monsters in mining, dying alone ignored and irretrievable on the asteroid is not fun.

[michellebaren]

 

Not fun is mining ores all shift and missing out on what's going on at the station. Mining is WAY too peaceful. If it had monsters that you could kill for extra materials it'd definitely liven the job up.

 

With it as is I really can't see how anyone could find the job fun.

 

[Habalabam]

I don't think it needs to be high danger or even challenging, just some dynamics. My objection with indigenous wildlife would be how it completely alters the lore of what kind of site this is or the context as to what kind of asteroid would sustain anything but microbial life. Alien wildlife would be a big deal.

[Fj45]

 

Having a few lil bots to help mine or collect ore would cool. Maybe even a tweaked mulebot for fast transport and pushing ores into one large pile.

 

Also, what about adding mining drones? They would help give any miners some company, provide ore during longer shifts (When the other miners have gone SSD, died or buggerd off to space.) and reduce the maint drone spam.

 

[Streaky Haddock]

More drone variety would be wonderful. I'd play a mining drone. Give even fewer shits than maint drones.

[Innocent Fire]

 

While I agree that mining can be boring, monsters are NOT the way to liven it up. Dying out in space is pretty much the worst possible case, since NO one is going to go get your body. Plus the fact that the suit sensors don't work properly on the asteroid, no one is even going to find you if they were looking for you.

 

And if you run into something serious, you need to wait even LONGER for backup, like security to come help you. Getting trapped in the mining station is hell when you got mimics trying to rip your legs off. And if you get injured while fighting these things? That's even MORE time wasted in surgery. How is any of that fun for you? Fighting AI isn't even fun, it's usually unbalanced and frustrating. Plus the fact that miners don't have access to ANY weapons other than some tools and a drill. Yeah, really good for monster hunting.

 

There just needs to be more stuff to do while mining, and mining needs to be a little faster. We have to rely too much on robotics and research to even mine properly and if we don't get a ripley within the first twenty minutes of the shift, we're out there for HOURS mining mediocre amounts of ore for no pay off.

 

When we do bring robotics and research the materials they need, they go all greedy with it and make stupid shit for themselves like bags of holding and weapons, and some super powerful mechs, while I'm out there drilling with one of the worst possible digging items in the game(excluding the excavation tools.).

 

I find myself, the miner (As I often play when I play on the station.) to be mining all shift just to barely get my ripley 5 minutes before the shuttle is called. It's just not fun when you have to wait so long for your upgrades.

 

[tl;dr] Monsters blow, dying sucks, not the way to go.

 

[suggestion] Miners should get a foreman, or something similar, and their own robotics lab, where the foreman can create tools and upgrades for their miners to properly bring the station their much needed resources. This would also free up robotics so they can work on borgs and such for the station and would create a new job, since there's always like 99 damn useless assistants.

 

That way mining is faster, more rewarding, and more fun.

 

This could also be something that's unlocked through Karma, and I would -love- to do it. Miners get shit on, even at the end of the round where they show the specs of how the round went. The 'ore mined' is always at 0, no matter how many huge crates of ore I bring in. It's depressing, but it's one of the jobs I enjoy doing, personally. It's chill, and relaxing, and it's good to get away from the chaos that is this station on the daily.

 

[Eldrin-Kanthos]

I would play mining again if they added the foreman. It could be a karma job that also works the smelter in addition to making the upgrades. That means the miners would have a bit more spare time as well. This would make it fun to mine again.

[Smudgyglasses]

 

I do not want monsters in mining, dying alone ignored and irretrievable on the asteroid is not fun.

 

This. Doctors have enough shit to go through just getting to the mining dock to retrieve bodies, not even I would go to the mining asteroid to search aimlessly for a corpse.

 

[Fathuran]

 

[suggestion] Miners should get a foreman, or something similar, and their own robotics lab, where the foreman can create tools and upgrades for their miners to properly bring the station their much needed resources. This would also free up robotics so they can work on borgs and such for the station and would create a new job, since there's always like 99 damn useless assistants.

 

 

I would play mining again if they added the foreman. It could be a karma job that also works the smelter in addition to making the upgrades. That means the miners would have a bit more spare time as well. This would make it fun to mine again.

 

A foreman would be cool, especially since it's been hinted at by the administration that a full station revamp is in the works to better deal with the peak populations and create more openings for each job. No doubt the mining asteroid will be affected by this, so an expanded research and mining center would be awesome. A foreman role that can organize the larger amount of miners and perhaps answers to the Quartermaster or Head of Personnel can probably help with organization.

 

As for the topic itself, I can't say I support the idea of monstars on the asteroid. It makes things exciting on paper, but logistically it would hamper productivity of a job that already takes a long time to get moving and bear results. As one who plays medical most of the time, I can tell you that you won't be cloned or even recovered 90% of the time. You can also rest assured that security is more than likely not going to send off an officer or two to deal with the threats on the asteroid except for the occasional round where things are actually going smoothly.

 

[Fj45]

I would love to see somewhere around the station embedded in a meteor. It would allow miners to do their job and take some part in the round. Also, a construction area around the station would be awesome for engineering.

Edited June 14, 2014 by Guest

[Blackmage199]

 

I would love to see somewhere around the station be embedded in a meteor. It would allow miners to do their job and take some part in the round. Also, a construction area around the station would be awesome for engineering.

You know... Having a station in a meteor is kinda badass. It (Could) allow XenoArchs and miners to be more active in the station, and what not.

 

[matt81093]

 

The foreman idea sounds interesting. Sadly if it was a karma job, I'd have to debate which one I'm going to get next. But that's karma, right?

 

Possible a robotics fabricator that would be specialized for the miners? Only building their tools, and what-not? With access to building the mech suits. Not sure about circuit access or not. Curious how it would be set up and played out. But I think they should run the miners instead of the head of cargo. When they are around at least. If it's a Karma job. And have then report directly to the HoP. Just my opinion though. Could be a co-boss with the cargo head.

 

Just my thoughts on it so far as an idea.

 

[Fj45]

There is a custom station completely sticking out of a meteor, rest of it isn't great though.

[Streaky Haddock]

why would the foreman have to be a karma job

[Innocent Fire]

I didn't say it had to be a karma job, I said it could be. And because if they added what I suggested to the foreman, (the ability to make tools/upgrades) then you wouldn't want some random narb to in charge of mining.

[MarkvA]

Bumping this. How would the current community feel about this?

[Spacemanspark]

 

Here's how /tg/ mining works:

You walk in the asteroid, shooting through the rock, when you come across a pathway. Upon further exploration, you can see it's FILLED with ore. Completely filled. You begin mining.

Then you get killed ten seconds later by a Goliath, hivemind, and basilisk. Game over, no more round for you.

I'm fine with everything EXCEPT the monsters, when it comes to /tg/ mining.

 

[Streaky Haddock]

THere needs to be more hazards in mining, but no monsters.

[Earthdivine]

 

Here's how /tg/ mining works:

You walk in the asteroid, shooting through the rock, when you come across a pathway. Upon further exploration, you can see it's FILLED with ore. Completely filled. You begin mining.

Then you get killed ten seconds later by a Goliath, hivemind, and basilisk. Game over, no more round for you.

I'm fine with everything EXCEPT the monsters, when it comes to /tg/ mining.

Having unleashed the horrors of mining monsters and messing with them directly, the only one that is a threat is the Goliath, which even TG says to stay away from.

 

Eliminating the monsters removes the entirety of TG mining anywas, since the monsters drops are used for mining gear.

 

Also how can you say no to the Gold Grub, that things adorable and useful.

 

[Plotron]

 

Maybe some pockets of gas that would make you fall over?

 

Goldgrub sounds fine.

 

[Spacemanspark]

 

Gold grub? Sure.

Monsters tend to be near each other in the asteroid. There's always that chance that you'll find a bunch of them in a group, or happen to bump into another one while fighting one.

 

[Mrs Dobbins]

 

I do not want monsters in mining, dying alone ignored and irretrievable on the asteroid is not fun.

Take a GPS. Then hopefully telescience can bring you back

 

[Spacemanspark]

Thats a fairly small chance.