I hope when the mining beams get put in they can be used as weapons (albeit perhaps ineffective ones) against bots and players.

You mean like being able to mine the metal in the ship right out from under them?

That'd be funny, but given that the metal in ship armor is a tad bit denser (okay, more like a whole hell of a lot denser) than raw ore, I doubt it would do enough damage to make a difference.

Maybe it can have a secondary effect of taking out radar for a few seconds.

I mean they should just be capable of dealing damage.

Maybe a tractor beam effect to hold them in place for a few seconds. Or the reverse, maybe it can push them away and throw them of course to confuse em.

Ooh, how about this? What about mining lasers being good for mining, and not having combat effectiveness? That way you'd either have to have a secondary weapon, or get someone to guard you.

lol

:D

Ooo I like that option! ;-) People so quickly forget (or never realize fully) that this is a *multiplayer* game. You're not supposed to always fend for yourself 100%.

In fact, they should have humongous cargo/mining transports with *no* additional weapon slots besides a large slot for the mining attachment. To force people to get escort.

Mining attachment was a small-port thing I think.

"Ooo I like that option! ;-) People so quickly forget (or never realize fully) that this is a *multiplayer* game. You're not supposed to always fend for yourself 100%."

People also quickly forget that some players LIKE playing solo, and that the idea behind this game is to give the player OPTIONS, not force them to always team up to do things effectively.

Well they don't necessarily have to go mining in dangerous sectors either. They could possibly mount one light weapon and a mining gun, and be able to defend themselves against bots and the like, but if they want to save mass and not mount weapons, they'll have to have escort.

im all for this, it would be like the crappy weapons out of 1st person shooters (e.g. the crowbar in halflife). you dont really want to head into battle with them, but they just MIGHT be enough to get out of a sticky situation when you run out of ammo =)

-> Soltis:

Nothing would FORCE the player to team up, it would just be highly beneficial.

The line has to be drawn somewhere between solo and multiplayer. I tend to think that since this is a multiplayer game, things should be weighted on the multiplayer side. Sure you CAN go solo, but you'd be a sitting duck in some situations.

And those players that only like solo and never plan to team up with anyone just shouldn't choose the mining industry. You can become a powerful fighter on your own, you can even trade on your own usually, but maybe mining should be the activity that is perilous to do on your own.

Sure, make the mining laser like the crowbar or knife. Maybe it could even blind whoever's attacking. It won't help much though. If it could make a difference (vs. angry collectors), chances are you could have run away instead. When it wouldn't be effective (vs. angry guardians or assaults), it's obviously best to run away.

We'll probably end up with multi-slot mining ships anyways...