Just finished private 60 day server run being the main miner/smelter and have some thoughts on the mining gameplay especially. I love mining in games in general so I know it's repetitive/grindy process in the end, but mining in Eco is another level.

First I have to say the crafting tables for mining are really well done, especially the modern ones. The whole process of ore extraction and transformation to a final product is the perfect amount of complex/engaging in my opinion. Now for the headaches:

Mining rocks in general

Stone breaking into yellow chunks is a feature devised in hell. It makes Lucky Break talent mandatory and doesn't have a real purpose other than adding +1 pickaxe hit to get 4 rocks.

My suggestion - give all rocks +1 hitpoint and remove yellow chunks from the game. It would make the +1 damage talent more useful in the early game and free up Lucky Break talent to something else.

Talents

There's always a better option atm. Sweeping hands (not sure about the name) on lvl 6 doesn't always work properly. If rock breaking described above is implemented, this opens up lvl 6 options and makes lvl 3 not as one-sided.

My suggestion - let Sweeping hands pickup 4 rocks automatically on the stone break. Practically the same functionality as it is currently. Other talent option could be faster pickaxe swings or carry multiple rock types at the same time (or higher carry capacity).

Tools

Pickaxes improving damage/durability only doesn't motivate much to get the modern pickaxe as shovel does. Shortening the swing time or autopickup on rock breaking would be nice QoL features that would motivate me to get the best gear possible. Sickles/scythes have autopickup on default and iirc it has AoE effect too.

Logistics

Daisy chaining stockpiles is the fastest way to move anything from the mine and feels lame. I like to use elevators but these usually come up late and require proper roads to function too.

My suggestion - conveyor belts. Make both mechanical and electrical variants, make it build as 4x1 ramps to balance it out. It could just have recipes that eat 20 rocks and produces the same rocks in the end, setup in/output stockpiles and we're golden. Great QoL feature that fits the game and removes 'cheesy' stockpile setup.

Vehicles

Tractor scoop is nice, looking forward to use it in tandem with explosives.

Skid steers and excavators both feel clunky in how rocks interact with the bucket - having to collide with the rock introduces some glitchy behaviour. Skids still feel great, but excavators are the worst, it's so underwhelming to use it. My suggestion would be make the collider trigger only and slightly bigger than the bucket for continuous mining experience and let the excavator mine with the backside of the bucket too.

Also let me mine one block below with tractor/skid steer if I press some key. When building ramps, I have to constantly get out of the vehicle to mine out block lower manually.

Misc

Since 11.1 and object maintenance, industrial elevator loses durability faster than generators, even though I don't use it that frequently.

If I want to mine/smelt for copper mostly from the start, I can't without going through the iron first to reach lvl 2 Smelting. Doesn't motivate to specialise in this way (and I'm so tired of living in the deserts :D).

Overall I think mining in Eco has a great potential, but currently it's just hurdle after hurdle and makes the grind very frustrating. If the changes I mentioned were implemented, I think it would be in-line with the game's core and it would be fun and rewarding system, which all games should be.

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