New resource extraction mechanics (for mineable patches)

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Yandersen
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New resource extraction mechanics (for mineable patches)

Post by Yandersen »

TL;DR
Suggesting to make mineable resource deposits (like ores) neverending but different in richness.

What ?
Instead of defining individual tiles with resource by the amount of that resource contained within the tile, the patch as the whole may be defined just by a single parameter - by "richness", which is the base resource extraction rate for a particular deposit patch (units per second per tile).
For example, assume we have an iron ore patch with richness 0.1. In that case, an early game electric mining drill placed in a way that it covers all possible 25 tiles of it's footprint will output the following amount of iron ore per second:
{total number of tiles covered} * {deposit's richness} * {drill's mining speed} =
5x5 * 0.1 * 0.5 = 1.25;
Since the result may not be the whole number, the drill's speed is adjusted according to the calculated extraction rate. Therefore in the example above, a single unit of iron ore will be created every {1/1.25} second.
Why ?
There are few advantages this system provides.
At first, resource patches will never deplete (but the viability of development of each individual res patch depends on the size of the patch and it's richness, so some small ones may not worth the effort). Considering that the infinite technologies naturally translate into an infinite resource demand, the proposed system will fit better compared to the current system with depleting ores. The neverending demand with current ore depletion mechanics indirectly limits the game time by hardware capabilities, because it forces a constant world expansion which at some point will cause unplayable level of performance lags and eventual hit of the machine's memory limit.
Second advantage of the resource patches being infinite is that it becomes reasonable to develop permanent infrastructure around those patches that are considered "worthy". Meaning that electric furnaces' smelting will make smelting ores on site a more common practice, since it adds logistic advantage in terms of transportation (ore is 50 per stack, smelted products - 100 per stack) but will not cause an inconvenient smelter array' adjustment once the patch is depleted/degraded over time. Therefore electric furnaces tech can be something more than simply tier-3 furnace - it will change the gameplay deeper.
Further on that line, undepletable patches will not require any attention on their condition and will not force annoying recurring logistic resetups once another patch got depleted. In case of megabases with hundreds of patches being heavily mined it can be hard to notice that another outpost needs to be closed, trains redirected and so on. This does not fit the idea that "Factorio is a game about automation".
The third advantage is that every deposit can easily get a some sort of individuality and purpose with a simple variation of size and richness parameters - small patches with high richness are useful early game as they allow comparably high extraction rate with low investment, while some large patches with low richness may become viable only later on.
The forth advantage of patches being permanent is that it opens room for extension of resource types by introducing new rare resources extending the game variety. Such rare deposits need no duplication on map and can be located in a scripted strategic locations, which adds a new element of strategy when it comes to controlling them.

Koub
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Re: New resource extraction mechanics (for mineable patches)

Post by Koub »

Just so that you know, https://mods.factorio.com/mod/angelsinfiniteores has such infinite ore patches.
However, the devs chose to add infinite productivity research as an alternative (and slightly less op) solution to the "I don't want to spend all my time moving my mining infrastructure".
That's why I'm pretty sure your idea won't happen in vanilla.
Koub - Please consider English is not my native language.

Yandersen
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Re: New resource extraction mechanics (for mineable patches)

Post by Yandersen »

Koub wrote:
Thu Aug 08, 2019 7:20 pm
That's why I'm pretty sure your idea won't happen in vanilla.
Curious, was this argument ever mentioned/considered:
Yandersen wrote:
Thu Aug 08, 2019 6:57 pm
The forth advantage of patches being permanent is that it opens room for extension of resource types by introducing new rare resources extending the game variety. Such rare deposits need no duplication on map and can be located in a scripted strategic locations, which adds a new element of strategy when it comes to controlling them.
The game seem a bit oversimplified and monotonous IMO with everything based on just iron and copper from start to the end. The main reason for that, as I understand, is multiple resource types combined with their depletion rate will geometrically complicate and mess up the game. The infinity mechanic can linearize the complexity in that aspect, as I see it.

pato
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Re: New resource extraction mechanics (for mineable patches)

Post by pato »

just play with max ressource settings where you get a 100 gazillion ore patch. have fun mining that out within 200 hours of gameplay.

Koub
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Re: New resource extraction mechanics (for mineable patches)

Post by Koub »

I'm not part of the dev team, just a forum moderator, so always take what I say with a grain of salt, unless I provide source from the devs.

However, my perception of the situation is that the devs will leave the "add more resource types" to mod realm. First because they have to draw a line at some point, and the current resources is as valid as another to decide so. And second because the game is nearing the end of its development, and such an addition is unlikely at this stage.

Last ressource added, with its own mechanisms was uranium, and it had a multiple purpose (add an alternative to steam & solar, add endgame weaponry, add new interesting mechanisms for mining and refining).
Koub - Please consider English is not my native language.

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