How quickly can I mine, and what do I need to do it?

[arquebus]

So I did some mining for the first time today. I have a mining cannon and a scoop and I have a piece of equipment that "tractors" boulders and fragments so they don't keep running away from me. But it still takes a while (and I fight with the targeting, but that's probably on me, I'm still not quite grokking how to get the targeting system(s) to do what I want), one fragment at a time.

Is there something I can do (within the context of the game, not in a meta way, I'm not looking for "make billions in 20 minutes!" YouTube video type solutions) to improve my rate of collection or mining? I'm used to games like X4 Foundations where there is a built-in "container magnet" that sucks materials in at range, but it seems that's not a thing in the Elite/Oolite universe. Any tips?

(This question brought to you by spending 1 hour mining and then accidentally clipping the side of the Astromine station I was approaching.)

[Cholmondely]

Try the section on mining in Career Options.

It links to all the mining-related oxp's which I know of.

[arquebus]

Thanks, I really need to dig into the wiki more!

[montana05]

There is one OXP making scooping much easier. I can't remember the name, but I will check my archive for you.

[Nite Owl]

The only additions to be made to the Mining Section of the page that Cholmondely posted a link to would be the CARGO SPOTTER and the VACUUM PUMP.

The Cargo Spotter makes it much easier to spot things at a distance including Splinters. It is a worthwhile piece of equipment to have in any circumstance with uses beyond just mining.

The Vacuum Pump will take any Gold, Platinum, and Gem Stones that you have scooped and consolidate them down to a single cargo pod thereby taking up much less cargo space. As an example: You scoop two Splinters with two kiloograms of Gold in each, you now have two cargo pods containing that Gold with each cargo pod taking up one ton of cargo space, two tons of cargo space in total. The Vacuum Pump will consolidate that Gold down to one cargo pod thereby freeing up one ton of cargo space. Scooped Gold, Platinum, and Gem Stones DO NOT get put into your ship's safe until you dock. The extra crushed cargo pods from the Vacuum Pump's consolidation process will get converted into one ton of Alloys once you have accumulated enough of them. Be advised that the Vacuum Pump OXZ is a bit older and has not been updated to the new naming standards for Gem Stones. It is an easy fix. In the JavaScript file named vacuum_pump.js each occurrence of gemStones needs to be changed to gem_stones.

The general technique for mining would be to get within approximately 0.3 Kiloometers of the target (Asteroid or Boulder), blast it into Splinters with your mining laser, get a target lock on each individual Splinter (one at a time), and scan that Splinter with your Ore Processor. The decision is yours as to which Splinters to scoop and which to blast into nothingness based on what the Ore Processor tells you the Splinter contains. A general rule of thumb is that Alloys are worth scooping but Minerals and Radioactives are not especially if you have limited cargo space. Of course such decisions are up to the individual miner. Yes, mining does take a lot of time and patience, it is not everyone's cup of tea. The only mining still on my plate are the occasional Boulder fields produced by SPACE CROWDS.

[arquebus]

Thanks for the advice! I do have the cargo spotter oxz, but not the vac pump. I'll get on that.

I like the slow, quiet work of mining. So for me the issue isn't "why is it so slow" so much as "is there a goal for me to work towards to make mining marginally more efficient." I'm a very slow player, if there is a highly efficient money-making method, my preferred gameplay is the farthest thing from that. (I've played about 10 hours so far, give or take, and I have less than $5K. I'm *very* slow.)

The trick I'm trying to get a handle on is spotting the splinters and properly targeting them. Still working out how exactly the toggle ident key functions. (Sometimes it works as I expect, sometimes it does its own thing.)

[Cholmondely]

The only additions to be made to the Mining Section of the page that Cholmondely posted a link to would be the CARGO SPOTTER and the VACUUM PUMP.

The Cargo Spotter makes it much easier to spot things at a distance including Splinters. It is a worthwhile piece of equipment to have in any circumstance with uses beyond just mining.

Doesn't Mining IFF Scanner Upgrade do the same?

The Vacuum Pump will take any Gold, Platinum, and Gem Stones that you have scooped and consolidate them down to a single cargo pod thereby taking up much less cargo space. As an example: You scoop two Splinters with two kiloograms of Gold in each, you now have two cargo pods containing that Gold with each cargo pod taking up one ton of cargo space, two tons of cargo space in total. The Vacuum Pump will consolidate that Gold down to one cargo pod thereby freeing up one ton of cargo space. Scooped Gold, Platinum, and Gem Stones DO NOT get put into your ship's safe until you dock. The extra crushed cargo pods from the Vacuum Pump's consolidation process will get converted into one ton of Alloys once you have accumulated enough of them. Be advised that the Vacuum Pump OXZ is a bit older and has not been updated to the new naming standards for Gem Stones. It is an easy fix. In the JavaScript file named vacuum_pump.js each occurrence of gemStones needs to be changed to gem_stones.

I've yet to find this an issue. I've had oodles of these and have yet to find that they take up any cargo space whatever. AppleMacs, maybe?

The general technique for mining would be to get within approximately 0.3 Kiloometers of the target (Asteroid or Boulder), blast it into Splinters with your mining laser, get a target lock on each individual Splinter (one at a time), and scan that Splinter with your Ore Processor. The decision is yours as to which Splinters to scoop and which to blast into nothingness based on what the Ore Processor tells you the Splinter contains. A general rule of thumb is that Alloys are worth scooping but Minerals and Radioactives are not especially if you have limited cargo space. Of course such decisions are up to the individual miner. Yes, mining does take a lot of time and patience, it is not everyone's cup of tea. The only mining still on my plate are the occasional Boulder fields produced by SPACE CROWDS.

Useful! Thank you. Will wikificate most of this in your name!

[Nite Owl]

Doesn't Mining IFF Scanner Upgrade do the same?

The Mining I.F.F. Scanner Upgrade changes the color of the lollipops for Splinters, Boulders, and Asteroids on the I.F.F. Scanner, useful at longer ranges.

The Cargo Spotter puts a visible glow around items as you look at them through the viewing ports of your ship, useful at closer ranges.