TL mining

AidenPryde · Post by **AidenPryde** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 06:44

Is it possible to say set up a TL ship to be a mining fleets home base?

I mean having several TS class ships run around the asteroid field mining, dump their stuff in the TL and then have another TS ship sell it automatically?

I'm trying to set up a trade empire and don't have the patience to mind all this stuff myself. Its why I like sector and universal traders

XenophobicPanda · Post by **XenophobicPanda** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 06:50

First of all, which game is this? If It's X3:TC I can't tell you for sure but I'd be leaning towards no. You can't dock TS class ships inside of a TL, at least not in vanilla TC, so I don't believe you would be able to set it as their homebase. It is a cool idea though, a mobile strip mining unit.

AidenPryde · Post by **AidenPryde** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 06:56

Yeah X3: TC. Anyone know of a way to do it?

XenophobicPanda · Post by **XenophobicPanda** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 07:01

There might be a script that allows you to dock TS's inside of a TL but I don't know for sure. I think that'd be your best bet though.

silenced · Post by **silenced** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 07:01

You could, in theory, use the Teladi Falcon Hauler, the only M3 that got XL Cargo, and of couse that one can dock the TL. But it cannot mount the Mining Laser.

simo98 · Post by **simo98** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 07:04

I think you could probably do it with an ore mine/trading station/PHQ, but since TSs cant dock at a TL, i dont think it would be possible.

it would be a cool idea anyway

JoeVN09 · Post by **JoeVN09** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 07:23

Even though the Falcon Hauler can't mount the mining laser, it CAN mount heavy missiles. a Hornet I believe is sufficient to break up full-sized asteroids, smaller ones can be split with ordinary lasers.

No idea how you'd automate this, though.

Bothersome · Post by **Bothersome** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 07:30

Well you can dock a TS on a...

Spoiler

Show

Aran.

But I have not found a way to get the mining ship to unload onto the home base ship. It wants to sell the ore/silicon instead.

Egosoft really needs to take a good look at the mobile mining aspect of TC. It still needs a lot of work.

The best way (and quickest) is to manually fly an Atmospheric Lifter at about 15 m/s. It is so huge that it just about picks it all up on the first pass. You will need to bring an M3 (6 can dock on the AL (I think)) to carry hornets for breaking the map asteroids.

Makes great for nividium collecting.

AidenPryde · Post by **AidenPryde** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 07:30

What about a mobile mining base ship?

arcana75 · Post by **arcana75** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 07:36

Once a non-station roid is broken up to its collectable components, a TL can collect rocks using the Collect Rocks vanilla command to collect the minerals. This works.

The vanilla script Mine Minerals also breaks up non-station roids and collects the minerals. But apparently it's either broken or really slow.

Miners can't work with TLs as if the TL is the mining base and the miners workers. To do that u need scripts, specifically the Prospector script which allows miners to send mined minerals to its homebase, in this case the TL. Docking isn't necessary I believe but I've never tested the homebase delivery to TL part of the script.

AidenPryde · Post by **AidenPryde** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 07:50

Has anyone tested that part of the script? If so where can I get it?

XenophobicPanda · Post by **XenophobicPanda** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 07:57

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=226336

AidenPryde · Post by **AidenPryde** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 08:15

Okay great I think I'll give that a try at some point. Though I do have a general question about asteroids. That script says that the prospector can break up large asteroids (the ones that stations can be placed on). Now my question is this.

Is it more profitable for the prospector to do it or to place a mining station on it?

Also, what happens when you mine all the asteroids?

KiwiNZ · Post by **KiwiNZ** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 11:16

In my last game, I just set a TS to mine and pick up and had a TL follow it. Every now and again I would then check the TS and transfer the ore via transporter device. Even though it isn't automated, this approach used to be quite low maintenance.

Post by **Alan Phipps** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 11:45

Hey chaps, the mobile mining script in vanilla X3 TC works automatically and really effectively since patch 2.0 !

Just make sure your base TL (any TL!) has a transporter device, set your miners' homebase to the TL, and send them off mining the mineral you want. It will collect ore, silicon or ice, but not nividium.

The miners will find and break down any rocks of the type specified that are smaller than sector map asteroids and when full they will automatically return to the TL and unload into it by transporter. The only slightly disappointing thing is that they won't go out mining again until you command them to - I can't find any repeat function like with the 'sell ware' command. (Would really like one though!)

Collect rocks command also works with the main 3 minerals only but is half the speed of mining and only collects fully broken rocks. The scan debris command you get with explorer software will tell you what minerals are present in the debris field in quantity (including nividium), but it has 2 issues. It can't tell you where each type is, and the yields quoted are always way too low compared with what you actually get out of the debris.

Mobile mining is also great for feeding the hub plot and for clearing rock-cluttered sectors. I can't enthuse enough about it!

arcana75 · Post by **arcana75** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 13:02

AidenPryde wrote:Okay great I think I'll give that a try at some point. Though I do have a general question about asteroids. That script says that the prospector can break up large asteroids (the ones that stations can be placed on). Now my question is this.

Is it more profitable for the prospector to do it or to place a mining station on it?

Also, what happens when you mine all the asteroids?

A mine is forever, a mined roid is finite. U do the math

And destroyed station-class asteroids respawn. But the script will only break station-class roids after leveling up abit.

I mine station-class roids for 2 reasons: sector cleanup and nvidium.

4d · Post by 4d » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 13:47

Nvidium needs to be added to the list, and the script needs to be improved to repeat.

I got the Mobile Mining Base-Ship, named it "Nostromo" but as of yet have very little use for it.

klingens · Post by **klingens** » Mon, 1. Jun 09, 15:12

I mine station-class roids for 2 reasons: sector cleanup and nvidium.

Why cleanup when they respawn anyways?[/quote]

Post by **Nanook** » Tue, 2. Jun 09, 01:15

Alan Phipps wrote:Hey chaps, the mobile mining script in vanilla X3 TC works automatically and really effectively since patch 2.0 !....

I agree. One thing, though, for those of you who wanted to use Falcon Haulers. They don't work. The current mining system requires the Mobile Drilling System in a turret, and the Falcon Hauler can't mount them. So you're stuck with TS's and transporter devices.

Otherwise, the system seems to work great. I now have 3 Albtross TL's set up in different sectors, each with 4 Caiman Miners to do the rock work. In just a few hours, the miners can fill an Albatross. It makes collecting ore for THAT plot mission much less painful.

Post by **Alan Phipps** » Tue, 2. Jun 09, 12:02

Nanook, you only need the MDS if you want to remote-bust sector asteroids. None of my Caravel mobile miners have MDS. If the Falcon Hauler can fit an ore collector and any damage laser then it can mobile-mine a debris field to its heart's content.

Edit: Related idea! I have never seen or had damage to OOS mobile-miners that others have reported in other threads, but then I never fit MDS to pop sector asteroids OOS. Do you think it may be the use of MDS and full-size asteroid-busting that occasions OOS miner damage? Will explore in other thread.