Thank you for info Mike. Certainly, risk factor is key factor in mining business, I'll explain it later.
@AD
DSE mining in O-7
Hmm, because mythical "Faction Rights" work at all on that server, especially that with number five, as even history of Omega-7 shows.
Unjustified IMG bonus to Platinium
If you look carefully at screens I provided, you can notice there are timestamps clearly showing mining such amount of ore in such short time with basic drop only is impossible, currently IMG can mine Platinum Ore.
"IMG has same bonuses as house factions and it's fine"
Quote:As for the mining bonuses, you've brought this up a number of times already, and I'll answer you the same way again. Yes, IMG has good bonuses. But IMG does not have THE BEST bonuses on any of the ores, except Niobium. There is always at least one corporation that has a factor 1 higher on the bonus to give the corporations an edge over the IMG (which has an easier time with most unlawfuls, but doesn't have the backing of house industries).
Yes, and I will keep bringing it up. IMG has zoner-like diplomacy with unlawfuls, except Taus doesn't have tough enemies (Outcast ID lacks even "may treat IMG as combat targets" line), is inRP tiny, loose confederation, pretty like Zoners, and generally mines small low-yield fields "that other corporations do not deem economically viable". IMG is not profit-focused, ( "The Independant Miners Guild is a largely socialist organization which focuses on providing labor and income for it's guild members. Not as profit-oriented as the larger house corporations" ) it's quite strange when people ask me can they earn more in some house faction like Daumann or BMM than in inRP non-profit organisation, and I have to deny it. I don't see how fact IMG has same bonuses to Cobalt or Copper like factions such as Daumann or Kruger can become moot point. Having better bonus to only one ore than IMG in situation when IMG has overpowered diplomacy is very, very, VERY little edge. If we speak about "backing of house industries", in gameplay from an ooRP perspective it means your own navy faction can kill you if you use "their" technology/ships without permission. One more "perk" of being house corporation than adding "Guild" to name and getting own shipline including capitals.
IMG should have lower bonuses to Cobalt, Copper, Silver, Beryllium, etc etc, than dedicated house miners, otherwise there's no point in playing as house faction, and that situation happened in that version, look at IMG activity and look at activity of house mining corporations.
Cool diplomacy? Sirius-wide ZOI? Trading EVERYWHERE including Gallia? Own shipline including capital ships? Bonus to all but two ores on the server? Very please, but at the price of lower bonuses.
Aluminium Ore
It is very good you mentioned that wonderful ore, every house mining faction should have own, mineable only by that faction, ore, like Daumann has aluminium. In a situation when it's impossible to mine Diamonds at peak hours as Daumann (fortunately Omega-11 is remade for next version, finally), and IMG has exactly same bonuses to Copper, Cobalt and Silver from Omega-7 as house factions, there's no incentive to join them, but to join IMG and IMG only.
Aluminium Ore is the last thing saving Daumann, otherwise with current mining balance that faction would be playable like Kruger or SynthFoods are now. If Daumann players should be grateful for fact their faction is playable at all, they indeed do have a reason for it.
Notabene it is untrue Daumann has monopoly over Aluminium, as far as I am aware of, GMS also has bonus to it and fields in Gallia.
Uncut Diamonds
I thought we already discussed whole thing and agreed that bonus will be dropped, not that it "can be" ? There's no inRP reason to give IMG bonus to Diamonds, and for sure it isn't Freeport 5 infocard. IMG built Freeport 5 because Guild tried to steal Artifacts from Gamma, of course they got kicked, in their place Zoners inhabited FP5 and here we are. Not to mine non-existant Omega-41 Diamonds. Like it or not, that's original Freelancer lore.
Giving already overpowered faction bonus to ore on a basis of one vague rumor without checking deeper background wasn't good move speaking from balance perspective, and was in very poor taste.
IMG mining Diamonds is like Daumann mining Niobium. "Stealing from O-11" or "hessians gave IMG diamond mining technology" or "IMG pretends to mine that ore" explanations why IMG got that bonus are the cheapest ones I ever heard. On that basis nothing stops house corporations from buying/stealing mining technical know-how. In addition Rheinland by its corporations is the sole producer of diamonds in Sirius; has monopoly over them, like Bretonia is monopolist when it comes to Gold. In a moment when Rheinland realized IMG dared to mine diamonds things would start happening. Unpleasant things, especially for Freistadt's crew.
All in all, current mining balance favors IMG over everything else, killed some dedicated house mining factions and is one big joke.
