Mining

Shop contents are chosen so every game loop is accessible, tied to narrative and location context, and sometimes just for fun, with narrative team input on what fits each place.

The speakers say this is the purpose of the Hathor mineral work and that more NPC and in-universe tie-ins will come, but it depends on development resources and tools becoming available.

The developers say bases can be used however players choose, from small mining outposts to trading hubs, with likely links into most gameplay, and even players without bases benefit by using other players' facilities.

Most machines hold output in an internal buffer or can fill boxes, and boxes are mag-locked under the base's usual permissions so others can't take them, while some machines can send output directly to storage such as a hangar.

Underground deposits will respawn, but very unlikely on a plot you already extracted, so players are meant to move on to new locations, and the economy will need careful balancing of resource sources and sinks.

Mining will be split into bespoke rocks per resource and separate FPS, ground vehicle and ship deposits, while salvage will yield ship construction materials that can be separated, though that approach is still being decided.

There's no single answer: some smaller ships are stepping stones and some careers move to locations, but the aim is soft gating that encourages a preferred progression rather than hard-blocking players.

Todd Papy sees cargo and mining as compressed loops whose pay should reflect danger, and wants a split mining/hauling loop once cargo works, with tuning to follow.

Cargo and things like Prospector bags become individual entities that can be detached, stolen or moved between ships, and anything you can get access to, such as by sneaking aboard, can be taken.

Gas clouds are planned to become danger zones with distortion and electrical hazards, to hold smaller clouds in open space and later jump points, and they are cold atmosphere affecting actor temperature.

The Fair Chance Act protects planets with developing species from interference, and LaSalle argues it is applied too broadly and should be modernized to allow resource extraction where life is not sentient.

Radar detects signatures within a range, ping multiplies that range and shows vague blobs, and scanning reads details of a targeted entity; scanners are not tied to the hull and will be swappable components.

On-foot mining is an option they're looking into, but asteroid mining and then salvaging come first, and the FPS mining mechanics are still undecided.

They want to add remote hacking and have several designs, but it needs time to prototype and pick one; it should be balanced and a logic puzzle, not a quick-time event.

Outposts are made of interconnected modules, including habitation for respawn, armory, refining, hydroponics, storage and medical, and the owner can grant access to anyone they choose.

Tony Zurovec says he is most looking forward to the breadth of features and player choice, paired with consequences such as security and reputation systems pushing back on player actions.

Roberts doesn't expect players to work jobs like station security at big NPC mining stations soon, but says players could take contracts or missions from large NPC organizations, with career paths a long-term idea.

Roberts is unsure an asteroid anchor is needed since ships stay put in space, says it wouldn't be technically hard but wasn't considered for the first mining iteration, and notes enhanced key-locks.

Only the Reclaimer is purpose-built for salvage so far, the Caterpillar and Crucible can do light salvage, and more salvage ship concepts are being looked at, with more to come later.

Yes, smaller mining and reclaiming equipment and a smaller dedicated miner are in longer-term plans, though the ships are not designed yet and timing depends on priorities.

Players will refine raw materials themselves, and at some point players or organisations will likely be able to own later nodes in the chain, as part of wanting players to be able to focus on economic play.

Mineable resources are planned to be mostly finite, with new systems supplying fresh material and regeneration used only if everything gets mined out too quickly, and the economy is meant to be balanced via simulation.