Factorio Forums

One of the more annoying parts of the game is imo adding new resource patches. While I find most of the work of adding a resource patch enjoyable, like expanding the train network, fighting biters, building defences etc. the really annoying part is building all those miners and connecting them correctly to the train station.
Of course one can use a huge blueprint, but it is still tedious and annoying work, that just repeats itself, without bringing anything new or enjoyable to the game after you've done it a few times.

My suggestion to this:

A new miner structure, which is much bigger than the existing miners.
So a player has to place only one or two of those bigger miners to cover an entire ore patch, instead of the arrays of electric miners.

• It would additionally to its bigger size have a bigger radius around itself, as it would work underground.
• It would have multiple output rows, instead of the single one of existing miners, which it would serve equally (if they're connected). So the player can build multiple belt lines directly from this single structure.
• It would be a separate mid- or late-game research to unlock, so it is completely optional to use and even to research.
• It would extract ore faster than the original miners since it also covers more ground, making its output similar to the output if you would just cover the ore patch with the original miners.
• I suggest to make it a bit slower if you compare it's output to the output of the original miners on the same surface. Or it could use a huge amount of energy compared to the original miners approach.
  Just to give the player a reason to use the old approach with the multiple electric miners, if a player prefers that approach. So it's a real decision whether to use this simpler approach, over the original approach.

Your poll is titled

"Would you like to be able to add new resource patches with one big miner?"

but it seems like what you mean is

"Would you like to have one big miner (instead of many smaller miners) for late-game resource patches?"

I think there are some mods that do this already. For example:

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/OmegaDrill

There are also alternatives to miners, such as:

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/Nougat_Mining

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/Mining_Drones

same size bigger radius, no. ocd me would just clump them together, nothing change.
what i want is bigger size, like Omega Drill

edit: seems like i misunderstood the title: not mining radius, but miner's radius (i.e. size) ._.

Kyralessa wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:30 am Your poll is titled

"Would you like to be able to add new resource patches with one big miner?"

but it seems like what you mean is

"Would you like to have one big miner (instead of many smaller miners) for late-game resource patches?"

Thank you, I edited the poll. It happened, because there's a character limit for the question and I had to rephrase it. Apparently didn't do that very well.

Kyralessa wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:30 am I think there are some mods that do this already. For example:

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/OmegaDrill

There are also alternatives to miners, such as:

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/Nougat_Mining

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/Mining_Drones

Thank you for those links! Yes I mean something like an Omega Drill (just with direct output to belt(s) like vanilla miners). I just think it is something that should definitely be in the vanilla game. For one, I prefer playing vanilla, and secondly I just don't know anyone who has fun, setting up miners over and over again.

I don't like the idea that much. Today, by using the toolset we already have, setting up an outpost is just a few clicks.
The only reason I would want a bigger mining drill would be for the looks, with such a monstruosity But I insist, it's just for the awesomeness.

If you filter by mining, you can find several other options:

https://mods.factorio.com/tag/mining

As well as a few humongous mining drills, apparently you can also go the other extreme if you want.

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/tinyminingdrill

Sufficient mining productivity research would seem to me to make this redundant. Once you get to the point where 2 or 3 mines per side will fill a blue belt, the mining radius wouldn't really make much difference.

I don’t like ideas, that are just make things bigger. That is a way into making a game boring.

Instead I would like to have a completely different method to clean the resources. I think to Klonans mining Drones mod. Or bucket wheel excavators https://mods.factorio.com/mod/BigDrills - some single entity, really big and able to clean a whole field. It must be interesting to look at.

i like the idea that humongous miners comes with other logistic challenge to overcome.

look at turrets:
tier 1: gun, require items (magazines)
tier 2: laser, require power
tier 3: flamethrower, require fluids, has minimum range.

miners:
tier 1: burner, require items (fuel)
tier 2: electric, require power
tier 3: ???

some ideas:
1. require some kind of fluid. eg: lubricant. for uranium, both lub and acid are needed.
2. has minimum range. it makes sense that Bucket Wheel Excavators cannot mine its own feet. might be annoying after awhile.
3. produce byproduct that need to be process. eg: big ore clump, that needs to be broken down into ores. ore clump should have small stack size so transporting via train is inefficient compare to ore.

current mods just make BIGGER miners.

There is a mod or two that has you mining clumps, that then get processed into some quantity of ore each. That’s not new.

What I think you are overlooking though, is that the 3x3 miner with a 5x5 area is just the right size to squeeze in a power pole and two provider chests between 3 miners, and have that be tiled all over the resource patch. Its also just the right size to pair two of them up on the side of a cargo wagon (along with 2 on the other side of the train) for direct loading of a train, when Mining Productivity tech gets high enough for that to be worthwhile; there’s even room for the power poles between cargo wagons.

Larger miners would remove this and introduce their own quirks, but not really provide anything really new and exciting. An 11x11 miner, what could you do with it to get the stuff out but a lone provider, or belt? Its a lot less interesting, IMO.

astroshak wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:47 am There is a mod or two that has you mining clumps, that then get processed into some quantity of ore each. That’s not new.

i would like to check out the mod. however, if its part of some big overhaul mods then im not interested.

as for "interesting part" you are right 3x3 can be interesting for someone. looking at the poll i would say half find mining interesting, half find them boring.

also i believe anything can be interesting for someone, including 15x15 miners. different people have different taste makes the world more interesting.