Mining oriented signature sites AKA: "Undocumented Ore Deposits"

[Serylda_Skor]

first of all, this isnt a mining rework proposition. all the current ways of working for the current modules and all is still the same.

Concept:

UODs or Undocumented Ore Deposits are a type of signature site that have to be scanned with probes. they represent mining sites that were either abandoned and forgotten by the empires or by even older civilizations, are the base of criminal faction mining ops, rogue/sleeper drone harvesting outposts or an undiscovered asteroid/ice/gas site that contains new sources of ore that havent been discovered or are so recently discovered that their composition and mineral density is still not well understood even with the best survey scanners.

The Gameplay:

invented as the mining counterpart to a Combat/DED or Data/Relic site, and partially inspired by the Sleeper ore sites in Wormhole Space. these sites arent meant to be a bigger version or juicier version of the ore anomalies, instead, they add a sort of prospection adventure.

the mechanics would vary depending on the site. sometimes you may need a relic/data analyzer to open a can with the loot. sometimes you will have to fight your way against a swarm of enemies or destroy a structure in order to obtain the reward.

while some of the known ores (including those of moon mining) will be present in these sites, the real profit would come from the unknown resources found there which can range from gases to ores or even alloys. these resources could be sold directly at stations in a manner similar to blue loot, or processed/used in reactions to create an even rarer component of a higher value.

the components obtained from these resources would be subject to randomness much like the loot from relic/data sites. you would either sell the thing as it is or play the russian roulette during refining/reaction to see if you can get something more profitable. in case that you could be left empty handed, the resources would yield an amount of minerals to somehow compensate the whole mess.

dont forget, the rats that spawn at the sites may also give bounties and salvage to obtain. so there would be an extra profit from doing that extra work. also, the sites that require analyzers may also contain a bit of loot like raw minerals in quantities that could be transported in a proper vessel or some relic/data stuff (but nothing compare to the real sites).

in some cases these sites may give an expedition too.

Which players this content is oriented:

it can be both for alpha and omega players. the content is designed to be avaliable for most players. everyone starts in this game with some skills in resource extraction and processing (unless you extracted them). it doesnt require you to be a L337 miner with the full mining setup, you can still participate with the most basic mining knowledge, but the resource aspect of the rewards may require that you decided either in selling raw or making use of reprocessing skills to get extra profit from it.

which ships can participate for this:

one thing to take in account of these new sites is that they arent meant to be the typical mining op. combat is expected and more so having a more or less agile vessel that can move around in case ■■■■ hits the fan.

if you are a hardcore miner, the biggest mining vessel ship that could be used would be a Porpoise (and even then, im not sure how it would fare in combat). Venture and its T2 version along with the Procurer/Skiff could be possible and a much better alternative.

remember, these sites arent meant to be high yield sitting places where you sit hourse on end to fill the hold. you enter, do the site, get the rare stuff and move on, the amount of ore mined from the site in general is equal to only a few cycles of a mining laser/strip miner or mining drone flight.

for those that dont want to risk a mining ship or just fly something else. a vessel capable of carrying a probe and a single mining laser along with analyzers while being still combat and travel capable is the only requirement.

the sites arent meant to be your top of the line anomalies or sites with several rats and faction spawns (or perhaps there could be a chance for one) shooting at you but you still need to do some combat, and in some cases the loot would be inside the rat.

TL:DR:

this concept is basically a type of miner oriented signature site that requires a more active approach instead of AFK sitting in a belt or anom. with a mix of light combat and exploration components. the rewards include stuff like salvage, typical mission loot and some relic/data stuff along with small amounts of ore/minerals but the real cash comes from resources that can be sold directly to NPCs/players or reprocessed/reacted to get an rng based reward.

thanks for watching. while this may not be the answer to all ends regarding mining, it gives an alternative for those who dont feel too enticed by the regular mining gameplay or the content that CCP has provided so far.

[Serylda_Skor]

here’s an example of a high sec entry lvl site (1.0-0.8 sec):

player uses a Venture fitted with shield tank and damage control. T1 drones for combat along with AB for movement, a pair of turrets of their choosing and a probe scanner.

the scanned anomaly is a "Unregistered Gas Complex", the player doesnt know what to expect but since its a gas related UOD the most usual is that it contains a silo or requires the player to huff the gas.

in this case the signature leads to a single pocket containing some high sec gas clouds along with a group of low clas rogue drones that are huffing the gas ande are storing and processing it in a small hive.

the player kills the drones thus securing the pocket. since the wrecks of these drones dont usually leave much salvage, the player opts to focus on the hive which leaves a container after exploding.

the containers has a few amounts of an undiscovered drone alloy that can be sold at station for 100,000 isk per unit (price us just an example) or processed. since our player is carrying a mobile depot, it also swaps to gas harvesting and huffs the gas clouds for an extra base cash.

after packing and returning to HQ the player tries to reprocess the alloys. in this case RNG is generous and the alloys are refined into a single undiscovered polymer that can be sold to NPC stations for 3 million isk the unit.

[Count_Szadek]

So in a way, a Cosmic Signature version of Resource Wars/Mining Missions?

[Your_Ex-Girlfriend]

I’d like to point out that CCP removed mining signatures several years ago.

I highly doubt they’re going to be bringing them back.

[Krysenth]

The Ore Anomalies are exactly what you’re asking for.

[Max_Deveron]

uhm data/relic sites for the xtra stuff you want added to ore anoms.

and ore anoms used to be called “gravimetric sites” that had to be scanned down…dont think CCP is going to go backwards on that.

[Serylda_Skor]

i know that. Gravimetric sites were basically removed and replaced with anomalies.

however, the idea here isnt to bring the old mining signatures back. its to give a different type of mining related content.

as for the question.

Resource Wars are based on a timer and still depend in mining large amounts of ore then store them in a hauler. not counting the high difficulty rats that spawn, its basically a team based minigame. and the rewards come in the form of a LP store which for the most part is looked down because its not profitable enough (apparently).

Mining Missions are just regular mining except that you arent keeping the ore, instead you are being paid to harvest it and deliver it to an agent. nothing more nothing less, still the same thing, and on top of that you need to get a larger mining vessel to do the highest lvl ones.

Ore Anomalies are just a bunch of minable resource with some rats added. that’s it, i’ve seen those and its just the same as mining in an ore belt.

the UODs i propose is not about passing half an our filling an ore hold while watching netflix. its a fast paced activity where you dont know what to expect and have to adapt to the different play of the site.

you wouldnt use a mining barge for these, in fact for some cases you wouldnt even use a dedicated mining ship, rather, a repurposed combat ship (probably with a mobile depot for convenience).

the mechanics of the site are more in line with an expedition or a relic/data site. you enter the site, depending on what the site spawns you have to either mine directly, get the stuff from the wrecks of the rats, destroy a structure or hack a container.

the material isnt raw ore either, but you can still finde some of that in the pocket along with a few other stuff just for flavor. the material then is sold like with blue loot or reprocessed to get something else along some minerals.

i dont see how that can be equal to those other activities.

[Slayer_Liberator]

@Serylda_Skor

you wouldnt use a mining barge for these, in fact for some cases you wouldnt even use a dedicated mining ship, rather, a repurposed combat ship (probably with a mobile depot for convenience).

What about the Skiff?

[Serylda_Skor]

What about the Skiff?

Procurer, Skiff and Porpoise are the exceptions to the rule. mostly because of the drone boat capabilities (the Porpoise isnt tanky tho).

i mentioned that in the OP. the comment above should have been more specific and say that nor the Retriever/Mackinaw nor the Covetor/Hulk would be proper ships for this type of content. the Orca and the Rorqual could represent some kind of high lvl sites the same way people do carrier ratting or something, but i was actually trying to focus on subcap gameplay.