How to make resource extraction much more interesting

[MrNeon]

KSP1's resource extraction is boring. You mine ore, convert it into LF/O, and maybe refuel. I am very sure that mining missions should be much more hyped up IRL than normal missions, so let's make them matter in KSA.

In early game, resource extraction isn't needed, but it all changes in mid-late game.
As your space program develops more and more advanced tech, you realize that the materials required to build your newest high-tech drive are either very expensive, or very limited on your homeworld.

So what do you do? Go to space. To mine! Every celestial has an amount of a resource, for example an asteroid moon has no antimatter, but a gas giant has an abundance of antimatter.

Now, what about making mining dangerous?
Let's say, you need uranium. A lot of it. And, uranium is expensive. So you go to a gas giant moon. You find uranium, but the moon is very radioactive - you need radiation protection to mine a lot of uranium. After harvesting all that sweet, radioactive ore, you go back to your homeworld with a fresh delivery of U-235 - perfect for long, faraway missions where reactors are needed.

Or even better. You need a lot of argon for your new line of VASIMR engines. And due to developing fantastic spaceplane technology...
...you dive into the system's argon-rich gas giant, scoop it up, and now you don't have to pay millions, or even billions for argon as it is very limited on your homeworld.

Yes, this system would make things not very realistic, but very fun - it gives you a reason to visit every single celestial body, to either get more resources for a lesser price or to harvest a resource not present on your homeworld.

That would be my suggestion! I have some more, but i'll post them someday (if i have the motivation to do so)

 

[Sumessefui]

I agree, but it might (or might not) be quite hard to implement.

After harvesting all that sweet, radioactive ore, you go back to your homeworld with a fresh delivery of U-235 - perfect for long, faraway missions where reactors are needed.

This, for example, while being something I have looked for in KSP mods, would require a much more detailed career mode; a resource inventory of the Space Agency.

 

[stephensmat]

I've already weighed in on Resource Extraction in KSA. If the Mods are indeed going for stock Colony Editors, then they'll probably be doing something like this. After all, what are Colonies for, if not to move the Frontier outward?

 

[seehpcod]

> Mining and conversion is boring.

True.

From a gameplay point of view it also does not make sense for very large stations to actually mine and convert. As long as a certain size of station is reached (power output, mineral extraction capacity), you should not simulate the whole process anymore, just make the fuel tanks fill up at a certain volume per day. Or, for very large stations, simply "always have enough fuel". Like the Space Center. I don't see storage tanks over there

The key component is to integrate it into the game: Make the parts heavy or require a certain amount of amorphous "building material" to set up a proper station, really anchor it to the ground (i.e. make it static, fullstop). And then for "class 2" stations, require even more things like a power station, a proper mine, a converter station and after that have a filling station with no limits (as long as there are proper minerals on the space body). Add a Construction station and a Survey station, a control center, and you have a proper Space Center, wherever you like. Then also add beamed energy and build your huge solar station in the center star's low orbit! (Creating no-fly-vectors if you don't want to fry your crew ?)

And if there are no minerals to convert: Why not build greenhouses and start making BioFuel?

What I personally wouldn't like would be having to micromanage fuel production on a full-blown Spacecenter. Let's hire a Kitten with administrative qualities and a couple of engineers and workers to staff out the center and let them deal with it. They have a job to do, and that is creating fuel.

As for "exotic" fuels and minerals: A proper Mine (or orbital "scooping station") would allow to get to that in large quantities, making a transport route necessary if you want to use that mineral on Earth, or have tugs pull your shiny new Unobtanium powered vessel to the nearest Unobtainium filling station.

This spawns lots of nice gameplay.

 

[Spaceman3d]

In KSP there were only a few resources, Liqud Fuel, Oxidizer, Monoprop. This made for a very simple ISRU system. In KSA I hope they go for the real fuel types, so Kerosine (RP1), Hydrogen and Mehane. As we get into the late/ end Game more exotic fuel types will become avaleble (Helium 3 to Antimatter).

early game ISRU:

The most simple type of ISRU is to make Hydrogen and Oxygen from Water. This is in my opinon the closet to the "convertion" of "Ore" in KSP. So you mine Water from the Moon for example and then use a electiolysis unit to split the water into H2 and O2, that can then be used as rocket fuel. The next step uf from that will be Methane production. CH4 can be made using the Sabatier process, which takes Hydrogen and CO2 (from athmosphere of mars for example) to produce CH4 and Water. The water coould be colected and then fed into a electiolysis unit to produce more Hydrogen. As for size, small units will be able to fit onto vehicles but have a low production rate. As untis get bigger they will have a highter output but also consume more power and produce more waste heat. Once colonys are implenented the could be full on preineries that could only be build in some sort of colony editor.

This Early Game ISRU system should cover the foudation for surface mining and athmospheric harvesting, that future expansions could buld up on