Mining

Tunneling deep beneath

Mines are going to be the major source of materials for crafters and builders. Everybody will be able to mine to some extent, but for maximum efficiency and skill players will be able to pick a crafting class (whose skills/talents and overall progression revolve around crafting, gathering or building) and specialize it into mining if they so choose.

Mining will be a team effort, including claiming, digging/tunneling and building deep beneath the surface, long term exploitation, refining, transport and seeking for new veins in the same mine (unlike the classical "hit it twice and the node is gone" on the surface).

Overview

Players can enter these mines and gather the materials; they can also dig shafts looking for new veins. Unlike mines/nodes found in most MMORPGs, these mines are not meant to be mined out quickly by one or even a few players. Additionally, to help encourage Realm pride, we will design these mines to be mined cooperatively by players. Think of the gold mining scene in the film “The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey” for reference.

Since Camelot Unchained is an RvR game, we have to be careful with the amount of digging and tunneling we allow players to do. After all, if we allowed players to simply dig wherever they wanted, the game would quickly turn into “Tunneling Unchained” instead of Camelot Unchained. Also, unlike some other games, digging through the ground is not instantaneous or easy, so like in “The Great Escape” don’t expect to easily tunnel out of trouble and into freedom. To prevent players from all doing their best imitation of the gopher in “Caddyshack” I introduced the concept of bubbles into the design.

The Bubbles

Bubbles are areas that exist below the surface of the world. These bubbles can be of different sizes but are totally self-contained and while you can dig throughout them, you will eventually reach the wall of the bubble. Once you do that, you cannot dig any further with or without magical help unless, of course, we allow that to happen (open up a new bubble/mine). This helps prevent players from using the mines as a way to tunnel into enemy territory and simply pop up under the enemy’s structures.

Now, I’m not saying this can’t happen because we may want to use this concept to have hidden paths that can be discovered by the players but players should expect this to happen very often. Also, Bubbles are contained within the “zone” structure of Camelot Unchained. They are not individual instances but simply zones that players move in and out of as they pass through the mine entrances.

Claiming and Controlling

Players can control mines through the territorial control system of Camelot Unchained. In order to help foster Realm pride, owning most mines doesn’t give total control of the mine to a player or guild but rather it yields a “piece of the action” to he player or guild that controls it. This will reward the player or the guild for discovering and controlling the mine but not harm realm pride because it encourages, rather than discourages, cooperation between players and guilds. Some mines, because they are either too small or too large will allow for control by an individual or the realm itself but these are in the minority.

Mines, since they are persistent and non-instanced, can also be set up with traps and other devices to protect it from attack by the other realms. Additionally, like other structures in Camelot Unchained, in times of strife, the side that controls them can destroy them.

Also, resources could vary in quality and amount both through time and various territories and mining closer to the frontline or in the enemy territory will be more rewarding.

Summary

Overall, the key features of mining in Camelot Unchained are:

• Mines are bubbles that are contained within separate world zones.
• Long lasting, not simply “hit with a hammer a few times and watch them disappear” types of mines.
• Mines are meant to support many players unlike traditional MMO mines.
• More players/miners = more bonuses (more on this in the cooperative play section).
• Overall design encourages realm-mates working together and helps build Realm pride rather than discouraging it
• Mines can be claimed.
• Small mines can be claimed by individuals, groups and guilds.
• Large mines can be claimed by the realm as well and shared with players.
• Mines can be protected – i.e.: traps and defenses.
• Collapsible – Can be heavily damaged to prevent easy reuse by the enemy.

Developer Quotes

Question: Will the same resources be scarce for every realm or will there be differences? E.g. the TDD have much copper in their lands and the Arthurians have much iron, so what is scarce for one is abundant for the other.

Answer: Mark has a heavy bias toward diversity, so it seems likely the Realms will have varying/dynamic scarcities in resources, and that those could change over time.

Question: When you note that heading deeper into warzones results in better-quality rewards, does that apply to mining as well? Will miners who risk their necks by mining in enemy territory haul in more materials?

Answer: Absolutely! Miners who want to get the best materials will have to be escorted out to the mines and protected by the RvR players. RvR players who want items made from those materials will be motivated to do just that.

Question: What's to stop players from griefing their own realm-mates by scuttling mines and structures? Are you relying on social pressure to police such behavior?

Answer: It won't be possible to scuttle a mine unless certain conditions are met, and some may be scuttled by the realm itself, not the players. Individuals will always be able destroy their own structures that they have permission for. Unfortunately, I don't think we can rely on social pressure alone to prevent griefing. If we tried, all that would happen is that some people would relish this role. We need to rely on other methods to limit the amount of intra-realm griefing as much as possible.

Question: How, precisely, will the mining mechanic work -- what will players do, and how will you stop it from being boring? Will it be a minigame or public quest or something done while players are offline (like Star Wars Galaxies harvesters)?

Answer: It may be a combination of harvesting through an intermediary (NPC or device) and some solo mining until one becomes wealthy and skilled. Right now, the plan is to make it a minigame and fun, but that too can change over time.

Videos

Kickstarter building update (set to the beginning of the "mining" part)

Sources

1.Kickstarter Update #23