• Have you able to select a mode on the magnet computer that gives a static bonus to chances to get a certain ore and penalties for others (esp. rare ores), giving you less ore overall but more of the sort you want (basically reducing the RNG's effect at the cost of giving you less ore overall).
  
• Come up with a mechanic based around some sort of parameter(s) that you can set on the mining magnet that affect the asteroid generation. These parameters could be simple, ranging from just unlabelled "types" that work as the static one above and are up to the miner to work out based on trial and error, or to full on multiple-value generation. Obviously the point here is to have the variables randomly assigned at round start, in much the same way as door wires are randomised. It gives them something to try to work out that is rewarding if they manage it as they can bring in pretty much whatever they want after they've cracked the code.
  
• Alternatively, as a simpler option, allow you to configure the actual mining magnet components by removing them, interfacing with it with a multitool to cycle between several modes which adjust the weightings (I am fully aware that most of the names don't really make sense in how they work, but space science):
  
  • "Ferromagnetic": increased yield of mauxite and bohrum, but less crystal
    
  • "Resonant": increased yield of molitz and more gems/higher value gems, but less metal
    
  • "Electromagnetic": increased yield of conductive materials (pharosium, gold, clarentine), but less char and less crystal
    
  • "Radioattractive": marginally increased yield of cerenkite and plasmastone, but reduced yield of everything else
    
  • "Carbonous": increased yield of char and also rockworms, less metal
    
  • "Anomalous": increased chance of pulling in debris and increased crate/artifact yield, reduced yield of all ores
    
  • Probably some others, words are hard
    

• Make mining less RNG-based (so they can target their mining based on requests from other departments)
  
• Do it in a way that doesn't massively change the general approach, to reduce coding effort
  

(10-07-2016, 12:38 AM)ferriswheel1 Wrote: In general, I'd like to see more weird, crazy-dangerous stuff being dredged up by the mining magnet. Maybe using the cooldown override too much could pull in dangerous creatures, like a fleet of syndicate drones or an asteroid full of zombies? Either way, the ideas here are very good, the RNG part of mining can be very frustrating.

(10-06-2016, 10:09 PM)Mordent Wrote:

• Come up with a mechanic based around some sort of parameter(s) that you can set on the mining magnet that affect the asteroid generation. These parameters could be simple, ranging from just unlabelled "types" that work as the static one above and are up to the miner to work out based on trial and error, or to full on multiple-value generation. Obviously the point here is to have the variables randomly assigned at round start, in much the same way as door wires are randomised. It gives them something to try to work out that is rewarding if they manage it as they can bring in pretty much whatever they want after they've cracked the code.