Reuse the cancelled resources for science

[Szkeptik]

Since resource mining was shelved indefinately, it feels like a big waste of work to let all the resource maps the devs have already showed us go to waste. If you remember the screenshots form around 0.19, there were over a dozen resources scattered on planets. I thought, what if instead of mining these, they would become individual sources of science. We will have budgets and contracts coming up in future builds, and I think it would be a great way to enhance the science system and at the same time allow for lots of contract opportunities if these resources would become different sources of science.

So you might get a contract to find and recover a sample of Blutonium.

First you would have to send scanning probes out to find deposits on planets.

These wouldn't tell you exactly what it is, only that there is a deposit of something in a certain area. You'd actually have to land and analyse samples in a lab to understand what it exactly is. So you might get lucky and get blutonium on the first try, but it might be something else. We'll need an automatic lab for this, so you wouldn't need to send manned missions every time, automatic rovers could scoop up and analyse it.

Then if you confirm that it's really what you were contracted to recover, the contract would also state what purity of the material they want. An automatic lab couldn't tell you the purity, so you would have to send a manned mission with a more advanced lab to figure that out. Now purity would vary inside the resource zone, so your team would have to sample many different areas and analyse the samples in the lab to determine what the purity of the material is at that spot. The purity would change along a gradient, so if you keep sampling the area, you could reliably close in on the higher purity zone -which of course wouldn't necessarily be in the center of the resource zone-. Once you find a sample pure enough, you'd have to transport it back to get the contract.

You'd get little to no science for this, since you were working on a contract and the findings are not yours, but you could also go out and find sources of the different materials for yourself and do science on them. The higher gradient you find, the more science you can get from analysing it.

Rethinking and prioritizing science points:

I think we could make the "general" science points we have now less effectual at unlocking techs, and instead redesign the science advancement system by science "types", that could be tied to the type of materials you do science on. To stay with our Blutonium example, if you wanted to unlock nuclear techs like the NERVA or nuclear generator, you'd need to collect blutonium science points for that. Maybe you could also use regular science points to unlock it, but you'd need several times as many of those than blutonium points. This way you could prioritize science and not just any mission to anywhere would yield more or less the same amount of science.

On spacestations:

Since spacestations are currently not very useful, I thought this idea could be extended to give stations some love:

The more advanced contracts could ask you to combine two or more samples of different materials. Since not every material can be found on every planet, you would often have to ferry a resource from one planet to the other. Instead of landing a sample you found on Dres on Duna to combine it with something else you found there, you could have a lab in orbit around Duna, and only take the Dres sample there, and take the Duna sample to orbit as well to do the experiment, and then you could fly the result back to Kerbin with a lot less fuel.

Alternatively: Contracts could ask for different research environments, sometimes demanding a zero gravity experiment with the material, which of course could only be done in orbit.

Different Laboratory Types:

There could be different level laboratories, each more expensive and heavier than the last. The more advanced lab module would require more electricity and staff as well, and give you more details about the material being studied. Contracts could ask for certain details that only a larger lab could mesure.

Tweakable labs:

Since tweakables were added you could designate on construction what experiments a lab can do. I'm sure the devs could come up with many funny experiment types. In small labs you could only designate one type of experiment, larger ones could have 3 types, even larger ones 5 types etc. So you could have a lab in orbit but get a contract for an experiment that your lab can't do. You would now have to build and launch a second lab module for your station that is capable of doing the desired experiment. This would give a point to docking and modular stationbuilding.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Szkeptik

[Atoning Unifex]

So you are suggesting resource discovery but without the mining grind associated with it? Sounds like a good idea to me. Doesn't have to just provide science though, could provide a regular income instead/as well?

[Hashbrown66]

That would be cool; I agree that there needs to be more little things you can do to get science (or in the future, money). Also it gives probes and EVA's more functionality. I support!

[Szkeptik]

Thanks for the feedback! I added some extra ideas on spacestations to the OP.

[Atoning Unifex]

On combining materials - this could become a medthod of discovering new alloys, for example. I like it.

And yes I totally agree that there should be a number of different grades of lab that provide different capabilities. Hopefully this will make it to the game!

[Jair Crawford]

This sounds like a great idea.

[Szkeptik]

The current biome based system could also stay in as a means of starting up your science flow, but you could only easily unlock the first few tech nodes that way. For other tech nodes, there should be a requirement for certain types of science points that you get form a certain type of material.

So you are suggesting resource discovery but without the mining grind associated with it?

Pretty much yes. I actually agree with the devs that having over a dozen different materials that you have to mine just to get the parts you need would turn this game into a mining simulator. At the same time, I think the game really needs an aspect of discovery. A way you could explore planets and find useful things other than the biomes, which are usually obvious from just looking at the planet from orbit. Even though in real life every space rock is a useful source of knowledge, there are bound to be special rocks as well, that could expand science much more than just any surface sample.

Ps. I think at least one mineable resource should be included, that lets you make fuel. Having to refuel everything from Kerbin is about as grindy as mining a dozen different resources for parts.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Szkeptik

[bgraves]

R-Resources were shelved?

That was pretty much the only thing that I thought would enrich my long-term replayability experience.

Darn. Pretty mad about that.

OT, I like this suggestion.

[TimMartland]

Resources are not shelved, they are postponed. This is about the 20th time I have had to explain this

[Szkeptik]

Resources are not shelved, they are postponed. This is about the 20th time I have had to explain this

Actually I'm pretty sure that on KerbalCon the devs stated that the resource system would not be implemented, at least not in the way we've seen in screenshots a few versions back.

[crazyewok]

Actually I'm pretty sure that on KerbalCon the devs stated that the resource system would not be implemented, at least not in the way we've seen in screenshots a few versions back.

I just want to know why they did it?

Most on here (including me ) seem to want resources? It only seems to be a whiny minority that wanted it shelved so why listen to the whiny minority?

I want resources back!

[Szkeptik]

I just want to know why they did it?

Their main reason was that during test builds, resource mining was just not fun and made the game very tedious.

Quote from Harvester

Resources might make it into the game eventually, but the type of resource mining the devs had in mind before seems to be off the tabble for good.

Keep in mind please that I wouldn't like this thread to end up as another debating place for why resource mining was canned and if that's a good or a bad thing.

[MrHappyFace]

You could also find and sell precious minerals for money to spend on the next mission.

[UH60guy]

Not to mention, landing to find and collect specific *things* (resources, science objectives, anomolies, Macguffin, etc) gives rovers a use beyond just a gameplay choice. As you look at it now, rovers contribute nothing to the stock career game, and give no extra science beyond what you'll collect. If you have to land on a planet and find that your *thing* is 2 km away, well then- now I bet you'll wish you designed that nice rover!

[Wahgineer]

It seems kind of funny that the only way to put resources back in is for the very reason that they were taken out: because they were too similar to science. Also, resources wasn't shelved indefinitely, it was shelved until the game reaches scope complete (all basic core features are in), were after it will be reconsidered and redesigned and added as part of the feature complete process: fleshing out the game and adding the nice little extra tidbits, like mining, orbital construction, interstellar travel, etc.