Topic

bad mining citizens

I have noticed that a fair number of miners pick a rock until there's less than 5 chunks left, and then they don't waste the energy on that last go on a block.  This means that a bunch of rocks are left around with only a couple chunks in them.

This is a jerk move on the part of these miners, but I don't expect everyone to change their behavior.  Why spend 12 energy on 2 chunks when you can move on to the next rock and get 8?  So my idea is the following:
* instead of rocks having 50 chunks with the last mining attempt yielding the leftovers, have a rock disappear after more than 45 chunks have been harvested from them.  This might mean some rocks only give up 46 chunks, but others could end up yielding more than 50.

Posted 19 months ago by mirth Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Why is it a jerk move?  Will the rock not regenerate if there is a bit left?
    Posted 19 months ago by larky lion Subscriber! | Permalink
  • No Larky Lion, it won't.  I mined many meagre bits today just to force a regeneration. No shards off my pick, I was happy to do it, but I'll be interested to see how long it takes for the complaining to become constant if all  that players find are meagre bits.
    Posted 19 months ago by caley dunn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't think it's people being jerks on purpose, I think it's a large influx of new players who don't know how rock regeneration works. This is supported even more so by the fact that for a lot of the rocks I saw partially mined, a good half the rock was left, not just the last little bit. I think a lot of the newer players are under the impression that it's mining the entire rock that's bad manners and just haven't been corrected yet.
    Posted 19 months ago by karibean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • While not an ideal solution, maybe a few folks with Penpersonship can leave a few notes at The Entrance and The Other Drop for newer players explaining that rocks don't regenerate until after they've been fully mined.  I think the little bitties being left behind is more because new players don't realise the rock won't regenerate than someone being a PITA.  I know when I first started I didn't mine more than half a rock at a time because I didn't want to be too greedy, and I didn't know how regeneration worked for rocks back then.  It's something I learned over time.
    Posted 19 months ago by Marebito Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'll leave a note on Larceny Ladder if I can remember to. And other places if I happen to pass by.
    Posted 19 months ago by Millie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I agree, I think it's a newbie problem. I know when I started mining, about the third time I struck the same rock it said "Hey, go pick on someone else" and I thought that meant I had to, so I did. I didn't realize it was a "jerk move" to leave partially unmined rocks behind. And, while I occasionally get annoyed when I'm mining my own business (pun intended) and someone comes up and starts chipping away at my rock, I'll either wander on, or keep on mining the same rock, depending on my mood. I have enough "real" problems to get worked up over pixels.
    Posted 19 months ago by Essie Kitten Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like your solution to this problem.  I myself was guilty of it, but then again, I hate having stacks of something that is not it's limit, i.e. in this case, 50.
    Posted 19 months ago by frenchphenom Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "have a rock disappear after more than 45 chunks have been harvested from them"

    I'd edit that to "have a rock regenerate..."
    Posted 19 months ago by Tingly Claus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "I think it's a newbie problem. I know when I started mining, about the third time I struck the same rock it said "Hey, go pick on someone else" and I thought that meant I had to, so I did."

    Did the same exact thing!
    Posted 19 months ago by SQUIRT Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Rock regeneration it is then. But honestly, this mining is getting a little out-of-hand - when I started off people were as friendly as your besties. If you were mining a rock they'd ask if you need your tinkertool repaired, etc...

    ... but now with the influx of newbies, they're coming at you with their picks mining the rock you're clearly mining on.

    I do realize that this is a bit unrelated to the topic, but just wanted to say it anyway. 
    Posted 19 months ago by Serenadier Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You have to remember the rocks are not yours just because you are standing next to it waving a pick vaguely in that direction.  All rocks also do not belong to the right thinking minority/majority(not sure here).  People have the right to mine 'your' rock.  Politeness is not a requirement to play.

    In other words no amount of moaning will change behaviours - only controls in the game.  Either make the mining WoW like - where you mine ALL the materials from it in one go and therefore you get all metals etc in one mining attempt (perhaps skill based for the amount) or you force regeneration regardless of amount of ore left in the rock.

    People are people - some are good - some are A'holes - some are both depending which way the wind is blowing.  I would consider myself one of the latter - perhaps others would say different
    Posted 19 months ago by Accy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh, this again?

    It's not a jerk move. You can mine the rock down yourself and then wait until it regenerates- why should I waste energy mining more than I need? And if I run out of energy, should I waste boosters in order to mine more than I need or want just in order to benefit whoever comes next?

    You could just as well say that it's a jerk move to mine every rock down to nothing, as then players who need a quick bit of mining have to wait until the regeneration is complete.
    Posted 19 months ago by Cefeida Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Or (like I did when I got my first mining quest) wonder where on earth the glittery rocks were that the loading screen told me were on this street!

    I'd rather they regen from any state, and leave a remnant behind when they're "gone" too.
    Posted 19 months ago by Spong Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Perhaps the code could be tweaked so that a partially-mined rock that was not mined for (RegenTime + x seconds) would automatically start the regenerate process. 
    Posted 19 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Only a jerk thinks you have to mine a rock "my  way"  :) 
     my advice is to mine how YOU want to. It is your game play and no one else's. Another made up rule some people think should apply to every one. Im sure this will end up as the same old, same old. But for the good of the game and glitch society. But no one is right or wrong as to how a rock should be mined. :)
    Posted 19 months ago by Misha Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'll admit that since I just started mining the last test that I thought it was more polite to leave part of the rock (even if just a little bit).  Especially since like Spong mentioned, I'd go into areas and wonder what happened to all the rocks that were supposed to be there.  Over the course of the test, I realized, oops, the rocks don't regenerate until they've been mined all the way.  So, I learned.  At times, I still will leave 1/2 a rock since that seems polite especially when there seems to be a lot of people running through the area I am in obviously looking for rocks, but now I know that if I'm getting down to that last little bit to continue to mine until done. I'd agree, this game is a learning experience and many of us are still learning vice intentionally being jerks.
    Posted 19 months ago by b3achy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Personally, I think it's rude, albeit unintentional, to start mining a rock that someone else is already mining.  We all know that gem might be there.  So, a glitch just spent a bunch of energy picking away and then another player joins in and happens to reap the reward, and that's okay?  Not nice anyway, imho.
    Posted 19 months ago by Joni Mitchell Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't think there's a gem hidden in a specific rock, it's much more likely that each time you mine, there is a percentage chance that you will get a gem, just like when you harvest a tree or pet a piggy.

    I really don't see why it's a problem if someone starts mining the same rock as you. What rights do you have over that rock?  I mean,  I don't because I know it annoys people,  but really it's all just a pile of regenerating rock  -  there's more than enough to go round.
    Posted 19 months ago by shhexy corin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • But it is sooo tiring to walk to the next rock!  -  <---- This is sarcasm 

    Accy
    Lower than the lowest form of wit
    Posted 19 months ago by Accy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • As far as mining a rock someone else is mining- that's different, because that someone might be on a quest that demands that they mine a certain amount of rocks rock down to zero in a certain amount of time. If you start mining and the game registers YOU as the one who finished off the rock, you messed up their quest- they will probably have to start over which means they need to recharge their energy and possibly repair their pick or buy a new one.

    Other than that, I think it's polite to ask to use a resource someone else is using already. But that's my personal opinion.
    Posted 19 months ago by Cefeida Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I saw an awful lot of newbie graves next to partially-mined rocks yesterday!

    And I'm certain that jewels are statistically generated per mining effort, because your skill affects your chance of getting a jewel. There's no way another player could "steal" "your" jewel. Quotation marks very intentional, because it's not stealing and it's not yours.
    Posted 19 months ago by Spong Subscriber! | Permalink
  • But would it be stealing if you're mining, you've just run out of room (because you're a prolific miner) and before you can dop something to pick up that gem that just came out of the rock you were mining, someone was waiting (maybe waiting to mine that rock, maybe not) and picked it up.

    This happened to me recently and after I asked for it back several times and global chat discussion the guy gave it back (but not after trying to sell it to me first).

    Or does that just fall under fair (or unfair) gameplay? If someone is mining a rock, I move on to find a different rock to work on. What they get from it, unless they clearly walk away and aren't coming back, is theirs as far as I'm concerned.
    Posted 19 months ago by WhizGidget Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The problem is that newbies don't have as much energy as higher leveled characters. Even now, if I'm doing a quest or something that requires me to have some rocks, I don't want to spend 50+ energy getting way more than I need. :/ Considering I just started a few days ago, when I first learned mining, I didn't have the energy to mine it all the way to the bottom, and didn't have the food to replenish my energy endlessly. When I have more skill in mining and it's not a huge effort on my part to mine more than necessary for etiquette purposes, I will, but to expect newbies to use like 1/3 of their energy to follow etiquette isn't very fair. :(

    I personally feel that etiquette shouldn't waste a lot of your energy or time. Not mining a rock that someone else is already on is etiquette. Expecting newbies to spend a lot of their energy and time (what is it with Mining I, 12 energy and 20 seconds per chunk?) when there are plenty of rocks around isn't etiquette on the part of the newbie. It's just what you want them to do because it's the most convenient thing for you. Sure, it's nice if they do things the way you want, but I don't really see the problem with mining what you need and moving on.
    Posted 19 months ago by Milx Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This is a good point Milx.  Maybe some higher level players could consider checking the level of another miner and giving an Earthshaker or something to any newbies they come accross?
    Posted 19 months ago by Cassandria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Why did no one tell me this was here.
    Posted 19 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • And as I just pointed out in the other thread, "partial" rocks regenerating in the same manner as "empty rock spaces" would also reduce some of the issues a few of us have with partial or not enough rocks.
    Posted 19 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I just mine the bits of rock I find around, crush or smelt them, and move on.  As newer players level up, and have the resources to mine more, they will. 

    Also, the mechanics of the game are not immediately apparent to everyone.  There will always be new players who haven't yet realized that the rocks won't regenerate, or that empty patches are just as valuable as trees are, or that multiple people can scrape the same barnacle, and so on.  There will also be a number of players who simply don't care about these things, and will play the way they want to play, ignoring conventional wisdom. 
    Posted 19 months ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It doesn't even bother me if a mining IV guy picks most of a rock that a mining I guy is on when they both know the mechanics.  When I went between resets concentrating on AK and was on the slow side of that, I just grabbed what I could and moved to the next rock rather than color the other player as being rude or breaking etiquette.
    Posted 19 months ago by Tingly Claus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There doesn't seem to be an immediate clear understanding by players of how the net value of a rock/tree is distributed among multiple players.  People are making assumptions (me too) about it based on how it works with real rocks or trees, or how it works in other games, and the end result is a lot of fumbling in establishing some kind of accepted social norm around the activity (people who get their hackles raised at the phrase "social norm" can just skip this post, if you like) 

    So whatever the mechanics are (and I am still not clear after reading this thread), maybe the game needs to make it much clearer, and thus the etiquette surrounding it can be established very easily, clearly and without the need of a wiki entry, or a constantly re-spawning discussion in chat or the forums.   
    Posted 19 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't really see what the whining is all about. When I find partial rocks, I mine them out and move on. 

    So what if I waste a bit of energy or time? 

    You aren't going to 'win' by strategically conserving all your energy and time. 

    Play the game, have fun, fix stuff if someone messes it up, and get on with life. It's really not worth getting all upset about spending a bit of imaginary energy in an imaginary world harvesting an imaginary rock. 

    Really - of all the things to complain about, this one is pretty damn inconsequential. 
    Posted 19 months ago by Old Pea Head Subscriber! | Permalink