Topic

Do you mine for 10 real-world minutes straight?

If so, please keep track of your bounty as you mine, and use your data to help me with my research project for the Zillonomics Department of the State University of Ur.
1. Choose a location.
2. Decide whether you will mine for sparkly only; sparkly and beryl; sparkly, beryl, and dullite; or everything including metal. Commit to your methodology for your 10 minute session.
3. Enter your results in my survey form, and I will post the results!
SURVEY FORM LINK
Thank you for your help! Please let me know if you have any questions. You are also welcome to join the Zillonomics department.

Posted 12 months ago by Penelope Sue Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • You might want to add a choice for sparkly and dullite, as that's what I usually go for when I mine. 
    Posted 12 months ago by Circe Subscriber! | Permalink
  • i am going to suggest that you also include a question about what time of game day you;re miing in, or how much you have mined since start of game day.

    i think that makes a difference in drops.
    Posted 12 months ago by flask Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 on Circe's suggestion.  Also, a metal-only option for the toolmakers.   
    Posted 12 months ago by oscarette Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks for the suggestions. I'll update now.
    Posted 12 months ago by Penelope Sue Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am confused:

    What exactly is the aimed result of this statistical data?

    How much you can mine in 10 minutes? Isn't that too heavily influenced by too many factors to produce significant data? (Alone or in groups, how far away the rocks are from each other, if you mine while chewing hairball, etc. etc.)

    I would love to see a statistic on gems instead, if I might humbly suggest this. Everybody mines, say 500 chunks of a specific rock at the beginning of the day and counts the gems. And then a second time with rubeweed.

    That would be data that is not so heavily influenced by all other kinds of factors.
    Posted 12 months ago by Louis Louisson Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I shall assist your study in a few hours, Magistrix, as I have real-life duties to attend to at the moment :D - great work, though!

    Everyone's encouraged to participate in this academic study as it will not only help the University but also shed more light into informing Glitchen everywhere of the possibilities that can happen should they start the mining track :D
    Posted 12 months ago by Dave Aflaris Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Louis: It's definitely not without major flaws, I'll admit. I just wanted to start to take a look at the benefits of skipping various rocks while mining. If I mine EVERYTHING, will I be making more money for my time spent than if I only choose sparkly, which is worth more? Based on a little bit of this information, I can think about a more specific study.
    Posted 12 months ago by Penelope Sue Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Louis--this experiment is time based....if you'd like to make a form that is chunk based...go for it! 

    probably the same people will add to both.

    Your whole "distance of rocks" is too hard to quantify as there is no data available for that.

    Also, your question of gems per chunk are answerable by this survey. Though not the efficacy rubeweed.
    Posted 12 months ago by M<3tra, obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Quick question.  Is this with or without use of energy assistance in the form of Earthshakers, meditation or food consumption?
    Posted 12 months ago by Rusty McDusty Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If it helps, I did an experiment a month or so ago where I spent a full game day (4 hours) mining in each of various areas: the deeps, callopee & pollokoo, ajaya bliss, and neva neva. It's not exactly what you are looking at, but there may be data there that you can use (or find interesting).

    Here's a link to the results: Mining Results with Mining 4 in 4 Mining Areas.
    Posted 12 months ago by Vera Strange Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I wonder what affects gem drop percentages. I don't use rubeweed or any other buffs that would affect my luck when mining (I do drink earthshakers though), but I recently got THREE diamonds during a 20min mining expedition I did for my own curiosity. Vera got 2 in FOUR HOURS?? I was also mining ONLY sparkly, so perhaps that throws off the numbers a little as well. But still, that's a big difference. 
    Posted 12 months ago by Chuck Stone Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Penelope Sue, the answer to the question of Sparkly vs Everything is market dependent. 

    It's not uncommon for the price of Dullite to shoot up past the price of Sparkly. In fact, right now, Dullite is selling for 9.6 while Sparkly is selling for 6.2. So, clearly, right now, your best bet would be to aim for the Dullite and skip the Sparkly... if you're a rock skipper. Which, casually, does not pay off in my experience, even with Beryl - which is the unloved bastard child of rocks. 

    Comparing the mining in Neva Neva vs the mining in Ajaya Bliss - while I got a touch more Sparkly at Neva Neva, it was the Beryl that assured me it was the profitable of the two -- in part because everyone else was skipping it. It'll be interesting to see, from your results, if that holds up in general caverns as well. 
    Posted 12 months ago by Vera Strange Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Metra "Your whole "distance of rocks" is too hard to quantify as there is no data available for that."

    Yes but it is a very important factor, so your error terms could explode (besides other problems).

    "I just wanted to start to take a look at the benefits of skipping various rocks while mining"

    This is impossible to test, there are to many factors you cannot quantify and you need a huge sample size. But Penelope, maybe you'll prove me wrong, good luck. :)
    Posted 12 months ago by Sare Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Vera: Thank you so much for the link! Your results seem to agree with my completely anecdotal-evidence-based feeling that I do better in Callopee and Pollokoo than elsewhere.
    Sare: I understand your concerns about this unscientific survey. I'm interested in mining in many regards, including personal preferences and what people tend to do after mining (refining, auction, sell to vendor, etc.) I figured I need to start somewhere with my information-gathering. If you have any suggestions, I'm open to them!
    Posted 12 months ago by Penelope Sue Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Rusty: I am leaving energy out of this completely, though I am VERY curious to see which method of maintaining energy results in the best use of time/ rocks mined. Maybe another survey? For me, 10 minutes of mining is easy as long as I start with a full tank.
    Posted 12 months ago by Penelope Sue Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Penelope - Glad I asked! Righto, I'm off to run this and I'll have some results to you shortly.
    Posted 12 months ago by Rusty McDusty Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Vera--on your sheet you have a footnote that you grounded rocks in situ....was it a space issue?

    How did you deal with all the extra red since you mine beryl? or specifically did not mine beryl ?

    @Penelope--with the greater use of herbs...mind adding another drop down? No rubeweed, 1 rubeweed, and 2.

    Also, since there is an ONLY metal option....any chance of adding Alakol? when i go out for metal that's where I fill up....and from the looks of it i'm not alone!

    @Sare- The large sample size is a given. However, on further thought of your spacing issue it came to mind that the areas pretty much take care of that. 

    Neva and AB are closely spaced though vertically separated. The Deeps also tend to have much more vertical separation which for many glitches (mahself included) is difficult to nagivate while P & C do have some vertical separation but normally it's in the form1 long "shelf" with easy jumps as opposed to the fractured nature of The Deeps.
    Posted 12 months ago by M<3tra, obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Another factor that will throw your 10 minute information off is the limitations of skill.
    10 minute totals at level 1-2 is way different than 3 not to mention the jump once you learn 4. 
    Posted 12 months ago by BlackWolf Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Metra: I had to grind because of space. I can't remember exactly my inventory setup (though I have it recorded), but I think I had 1 bag for tools & food, my alchemy kit, two element bags, and the rest for rocks (and whatever else) I picked up. Having the two element bags let me hold twice as much red and, though I recall losing some, I combined most of them into compounds which I turned into powders and potions. I made a load of stuff, including sparkle powder (which I never make, but actually ate up a bunch of the red). I also managed to drop a bunch of stuff because my inventory was full - fortunately I had a friend along who was able to pick stuff up behind me while I hastily ground another stack or three of rocks. 

    As for which rocks I mined - I mined anything. While I didn't consciously have a priority during the experiement, if there had been a stretch of the 4 different rocks for me to choose from, I probably would have hit them either in order of placement or if I was bouncing about (I'm an annoying jumper) I might have gone Dullite, Sparkly, Metal, Beryl. I love Dullite and tend to make the most off of it due to my hoarding (so, if it shoots up in the auction I can sell some of it then). Sparkly is nice and useful both for grinding & selling. It's also good as a raw donation filler if I'm low on meat and milk (2.4 per chunk with EHSP ;)). Metal is useful. Beryl's the bastard stepchild that usually gets in the way, but hey! rock! let's mine! (unless, of course, there's something better in view)
    Posted 12 months ago by Vera Strange Subscriber! | Permalink