Originally by: Wong Wei

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Formerly in another channel:

Rats. And perhaps, More Rats.
It is fine and well that 1.0 systems have no spawns in them to cause new players interested in a mining career to learn their chosen trade unmolested. I have no problem with this. But when a miner fresh from school can't find a rock that isn't in a hard place due to systems being stripped, it's a problem.

I would therefore propose adding rats to belts in all systems, including 1.0. Not a spawn that shows up randomly, but one which shows up based on the rate of ore depletion for the belt, with an AI which specifically targets large mining vessels. The faster the rate of ore removal, the faster and deadlier the spawns.

As an example, when your average belt contains perhaps 5 newbie ships or T1 frigates mining happily away, the chance of a spawn is very small, and likely to be an extremely low level Rat which a civilian gun could handle. But, when a slew of barges arrives with strip miners, and begins slicing and dicing the roids into dust, the ante is upped and perhaps several rat frigs or a cruiser may pop into the belt which would not target frigates. I believe this would add to the player interaction aspect of the game, as dedicated miners who wish to mine large amounts will need to bolster their defenses or hire combat ships in a supporting position, which macroing barges will be unlikely to have actively available and effective defense anytime soon.

This also give a new business opportunity to the Macro Hunters. While they could continue their chosen profession, during slow times they could offer their services in support of those fellow gamers who are trying to do their thing the way I believe it was intended to be. I can imagine several former Macro Hunters stationed around a player corps multi-barge operation in an ice belt, defending it from the ensuing spawns while the macroed ships all around are blasted.

I'm not sure how difficult it would be to code this in, but i feel it would be worth a try.
Of course, if someone had a valid objection to this proposal, I'd be happy to hear it along with an improved solution.

No fretting about IP bans, or where that miner comes from. Just making it more interactive.

With thanks to LarryBongo

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