We have today launched an update to Project Terran based largely on feedback from players.
Combat and Mining have now been merged, so that you can see enemies in the field while you are mining, and if they attack you, it will all take place in the same interface, no jumping back and forth. Friends can also see you and the enemies in the field, so can sit with you and take care of the baddies while you mine
This of course means that mining lasers now have a range, so you will need to slightly adjust your play style for mining.
We have also made some back end changes, some modifications to the enemy AI, and squashed a few bugs.
We are constantly monitoring logs and data, and are tweaking things in the background, but if something looks wrong, please let us know!
We would greatly appreciate feedback on these changes either good or bad.
Not a fan at all regarding the changes to mining/combat, I keep checking in and hoping the changes will be to my liking but instead they seem to getting more frustrating and not enjoyable at all.
In short when I want to mine resources I just want to mine resources!
Now We have an overly complicated and slow system of scanning asteroids and hoping I wont be attacked,
Iāll check back from time to time but really I just donāt have the timeā¦
Though it seems you dislike not any particular changes, but the general concept. If youāve been following the last few updates, you surely do know that PT was not meant to be an economic simulator, where you can gather resources, craft and trade without any risk. It did indeed look that way for some time, but just because combat was missing.
Just read the Combat Primer (again), youāll get the general idea. More specifically, players arenāt meant to be able to ājust mine resourcesā without taking any risks. Letting everyone get (potentially rare) resources āfor freeā destroys game economy and favors exploiting.
Also, as a side note, aside from removing the artificial separation between mining and combat fields and thereby the unnecessary screen transition, not much has changed about the principal risk of being attacked: The enemies were āthereā before and could drag you into combat, now theyāre visible.
I fail to see how 3s of rock scanning time - negligible compared to typical mining session length - can make mining āslowā. And if youāre mining a lot, youāre surely able to recognize rock types visually and not scan them all.
First of all, I have no much time for play, so my report/Opinion is very shallow. Sorry.
I like idea of one Combat&mining Screen (No comment about NPC aggresion on particular LL). I like I see asteroids which I cannot Scan - those with large ā?ā sign. Empty asteriod fields were confusing. BUT I donāt like lack of names on asteroids Iām able to scan. I can see, distinguish by colour/shape, thats true. But If I donāt play everyday - it is hard. And all rocks looks more or less rocky, so similarā¦ I think It is bad change.
I have to agree that Mining is slower. Not because those 3s scan, but because you have to fly close to rock. Escape when you are attacked, Enter back and fly across field again. BTW, there is no mention about mining laser range in item description. If all have same range, and you write it into first NPC mission - thats ok. BTW, can you always draw range circles for all my weapons and mining lasers? yes, that would look like old Harpoon game Enemy weapon range would be nice too.
One more change, perhaps realistic, but not like it, is you cannot setup one Rock laser and one Ice laser. I mean you can, but there is little chance you were able to use them both.
Right. There is in combat screen, but not at vendors. Which is irritating. EDIT: Fixed.
Maybe, but only as a switch you may personally toggle. Though, btw, how would you distinguish between those max 8 circles?
Hmmmā¦ No How would you know
That is probably very true. If at all, the described slot layout sounds more like āprepared for all casesā Not sure how much sense it would make. But I donāt think there is any reason to actually prevent players from equipping what they want.
The ranges on the current lasers is relatively short. As you work your way through to more advanced lasers, they will have greater range, increasing the chances that you can mine multiple asteroids at the same time if the field layout allows (both ice and mineral, as you can do both at once if the 2 are in range and you have the right lasers installed.)
I like the new changes. It makes much more sense to me that mining and combat are on the same screen, this is the way it should have always been. It just felt all wrong trying to protect your miner from an unseen enemy on a screen where you couldnāt even see each other.
As for the general concept, I agree that mining shouldnāt be without risk. The whole idea is that in order to mine rare ores, the risk should get progressively higher. You need to protect yourself and get better ships and better shields as you increase in level.
As it is even now, there isnāt much real risk. Sure, you may get attacked, and may have to temporarily retreat. But realistically, my miner hasnāt had to repair any damage, only had wait for his shields to recharge. So that said, (based on what Iāve read I doubt this will be popular), but I would advocate that when you get attacked, there should a āchanceā that itās an ambush and you get swarmed by several enemiesā¦or perhaps thereās a āchanceā that a retreat can be blocked by the enemy.
Expanding idea a little, perhaps AI ships shold move from time to time, āpatrollingā asteroid field? I not mean any chance of combat decrease, just more random adrenaline peaks
Time for retreat could be increased by +10s for each attacking Enemy, or soā¦
Well, it already succeeds at preventing you from constantly farming the mining field^^
And risk should scale with LL. Higher level enemies do significantly more damage.
The feedback you all provide is very important, as it allows us to achieve a better balance between āfunā and āriskā.
The attacking algorithms are quite complicated and have few dozens parameters we can adjust.
Therefore, should mining turn out to be too easy, be not afraid, we simply adjust the āpainā lever a little
did you try any low LL field after the update yet? Just be careful
While this sounds like a reasonable idea, I - again - propose trying out lower LL zones. Maybe you will change your mind
EDIT: Just few minor spoilers:
enemies now do not (mostly) attack blindly, instead they analyze the risks and potential gains etc.
maybe you have noticed already, but some enemies now belong to factions (tooltip^^)
if multiple members of same faction happen to be in the same combat zone, they will definitely actā¦ hmā¦ ādifferentlyā. Both offensively and defensively
We probably should have highlighted that a large chunk of the latest update was to the way the AI works for the Enemies. As @DeepOne says they are no longer ādumbā they have been given their own entire rule sets and AI behavior.
This will start to become apparent as you move through different faction zones in the game and come across the differing faction based enemies. Of course Law Level plays a big part in whoās there lol. So beware what you wish for some times
Enemy weapon range would be nice too.
How would you know 
Not sure how much sense it would make. But I donāt think there is any reason to actually prevent players from equipping what they want.