Mining

I'm going to guess drills to start, mining lasers later on, mining vehicles after that, and finally, as above mentioned, mining mech suits with drills, lasers, and hey, why not missiles too.

 

Sounds about right

 

Orbital cannon is the best cannon!

 

Ah yes, a pick made out of specialized nano-alloy, hollowed out with a liquid mercury core to enhance your swing. Always sharp, never breaks, and hits monsters for maximum pick damage... Seriously though, one of the big rules about writing science fiction I've read is that "If it looks like a rabbit and acts like a rabbit, simply calling it a Mirelop does not make it an alien creature," same general rule seems to apply for more visual mediums like video games... if it looks like a mining pick, built like a mining pick, and functions like a mining pick, then it's a mining pick.

But as for Austin's comment, realistically speaking muscle-powered tools will not go away in the future. They will certainly fall by the wayside as power supplies become more convenient, but by the same logic... why do hardware stores today still carry hand saws, hammers, crank drills, and the like? Because there are places where it is inconvenient to run an extension cord and batteries take time to recharge. Murphy's law also dictates that a power pack will die on you when it's most inconvenient. Granted, this is a video game so the laws of reality might not apply. But still, if you start on an abandoned space station with only the clothes on your back then your starting tools might end up being hammered out of scrap metal.

Finally... personally I see us starting with the jackhammer thingy seen in some of the screen shots and moving up to bigger jackhammer thingies with sharper/better drill bits. Beyond that, no clue. Personally though I would like to see the mining "tech tree" be a little more diverse then what we've seen in Terraria and Minecraft. At first you start with your jackhammer drill and developing better versions of it, but as you reach certain levels, the tools you can use start to branch out. You still have your drill and can research improved versions of it, but you can also develop portable mining lasers that drill faster but drain your energy bar and mining vehicles that are great for tunneling and large-scale stripmining yet require a significant investment of materials and research time. Basically I want to see someone adopt a sort of Power Miners/Rock Raiders vibe to mid and late game mining gear, awe-inspiring mechanized mining machines turned loose on a barren planet rich in minerals...

 

thank you for the feedback i agree with... well all of it

 

Hire these guys:

 

thats like end game mining rite there

 

Make robots. Robots dig things. They bring stuff back. Why should you get your hands dirty?

 

I think it will be like in Terraria.

 

lol ya thats probably something that you can get in higher levels of gameplay

 

Or you could start with a tiny, really inefficient robot that you have to protect while a bunch of enemies charge for it.

 

Ehhhhh, I'll take the DIY approach to be honest. If you have to protect the robots, then you aren't exploring the planet. If you aren't exploring, you might be missing out on other treasures hidden on the planet.

 

That's only the first robot. After awhile, they would be strong enough to protect themselves.

 

Errr, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense unless that's the only option (and from what we've seen so far, that's probably unlikely.) If Quarry Bot is designed to mine an assigned area while you go off exploring, players will only have to lose him once to aggressive wildlife for the mechanic to get annoying real fast. If it follows you around like the dog from Fable... sorry, but unless they improve significantly from the NPC AI in Terraria I don't see it being anywhere as practical as forcing the player to dig the minerals himself.

 

A light-pick. Shoom.

Most likely a drill, then a laser cutter, and probably a mining vehicle.

 

I will mine with this!

 

I have that lego kit.

And I would be alright with a simple mining mech.

 

I was young at the time. The only set I had from that time was hover-something-or-other with the the lego girl scientist.

 

I would like mine drones you send out to do your dirty work. they can possibly be destroyd or even abducted by other races/players with out the right protection.

 

mining with ... DEATHSTAR!!!!!!!