Suggestion: Tunneling Drill

    Name:
    Tunneling Drill

    Description:
    A drill that mines a 3x3x1 (size of a mineshaft). Technically the 'ultimate' drill, but isn't faster then the Diamond Drill.
    It mines 9 blocks at the same time, but a single 'action' takes longer then a Diamond Drill.
    Designed to mine a tunnel, this drill cares not for the type of stone or ore. Mines everything at the same speed. (While slower, it mines everything at the same speed to prevent mining dirt to mine stone faster.)
    It can mine 50 times before needing to be recharged. (450 blocks if 9 is mined every time.)
    Batpacks will NOT work with it, however the Tier2 Batpack will. (Assuming that idea is still planned to be implemented.)

    Recipe:

    Has to be somewhat costly.

    :Mining Drill: :Advanced Circuit: :Mining Drill:
    :Glass Fibre: :Mining Drill: :Glass Fibre:
    :Mining Drill: :Advanced Circuit: :Mining Drill:

    :Mining Drill: =Diamond Drill, as the smiley doesn't work.

    Requires:
    16 Diamonds
    32 Refined Iron
    20 Tin Bars
    34 Redstone Dust
    4 Glowstone Dust
    4 Lapis Lazuli
    47 Insulated Copper Cables
    6 Glass

    And you have 2 :Glass Fibre: left.
    (I THINK that's what it costs. Might be slightly off.)

    ...What? There's no pineapples here.

    GENERATION Pineapple: The first pineapple you see, copy it into your sig on any forum and add sqrt(-1) to the generation. Pineapple experiment.

    Wouldn't I just be better off using the drills? If it's slower and has fewer charges, it would be easier to just make the tunnel myself. I see no need to go to that expense for something that does the job worse than an existing tool.

    Quote from HeadHunter67

    Wouldn't I just be better off using the drills? If it's slower and has fewer charges, it would be easier to just make the tunnel myself. I see no need to go to that expense for something that does the job worse than an existing tool.

    Ok, Then lets remove the automated miner from the game. After all, Nothing stops you from manually using your drill to get those ores yourself, Far faster, and for less energy too. Unless that only applies to new ideas, and not ideas already implemented.

    Oh, and a build-craft quarry is clearly useless! Look how slow it moves, unless you use an obscene amount of fuel to power it, I mean, I certainly could clear that out with my drill far faster than it would.. Now If only i didn't rather stay home and decorate my house instead....

    Quote from HeadHunter67

    Wouldn't I just be better off using the drills? If it's slower and has fewer charges, it would be easier to just make the tunnel myself. I see no need to go to that expense for something that does the job worse than an existing tool.

    Depending on the speed, it would have a higher block/sec then the diamond drill.

    Say, 1 second for the Diamond drill for one block.
    Say, 3 seconds for the Tunneling Drill for 9 blocks.

    That's 3 blocks a second.

    Now, other then it makes a nice 3x3 tunnel, here's the reason I suggest it, taking the 1 second/3 second example:

    Diamond Drill: A 2x1x3 tunnel in 6 seconds shows 17 blocks(Technically 19 if you don't mine anymore), and mines 6. Shows 2.8333 blocks a second.

    Tunneling Drill: A 3x3x2 tunnel in 6 seconds shows 24(Technically 33 if you don't mine anymore) blocks, and mines 18. Shows 4 blocks a second. (141% of a diamond drill.)

    Slower, but has a higher mining, and block exposing ratio.

    It's only worse if you want to mine something that isn't a 3x3xany sized hole. That leaves use for the Diamond Drill.

    Essentially, if it was faster AND mined 9 blocks a time... OP as hell.

    ...What? There's no pineapples here.

    GENERATION Pineapple: The first pineapple you see, copy it into your sig on any forum and add sqrt(-1) to the generation. Pineapple experiment.

    Quote from Ranakastrasz

    Ok, Then lets remove the automated miner from the game. After all, Nothing stops you from manually using your drill to get those ores yourself, Far faster, and for less energy too. Unless that only applies to new ideas, and not ideas already implemented.

    Oh, and a build-craft quarry is clearly useless! Look how slow it moves, unless you use an obscene amount of fuel to power it, I mean, I certainly could clear that out with my drill far faster than it would.. Now If only i didn't rather stay home and decorate my house instead....


    Your sarcasm would be amusing if you actually comprehended the difference beween a TOOL and a MACHINE. Miners and Quarries are set, powered externally and operate independently. The device in the OP is clearly intended (by the batpack reference) to be man-portable - and if you have to carry a tool, wouldn't you prefer one that would work quicker to do the same thing... and have a longer battery life?

    Seriously, how long does it take you to make a 3x3x1 tunnel with a diamond drill? As for the Quarry (or the Miner) - I'd like to see you dig a 9x9 hole down to bedrock faster than either machine can.

    If you're going to be snarky, first make sure you know what you're talking about - because as it stands, you just sound foolish.

    Quote from raa1337

    Depending on the speed, it would have a higher block/sec then the diamond drill.

    Say, 1 second for the Diamond drill for one block.
    Say, 3 seconds for the Tunneling Drill for 9 blocks.

    That's 3 blocks a second.


    Then I would suggest you rephrase your original post, because the phrase "slower than a diamond drill" does not in any way imply what you just explained. In this case, at least it does have a piurpose, though it's still not worth the expense. If you consider something that requires 16 diamonds and mines as fast as a diamond drill "OP as hell", I'm not sure what you think WOULD be a fair expense. Even the Quarry requires only 11 diamonds and the time it takes to make a 9x9 hole to bedrock is many times faster than a diamond drill, count on it.

    Quote from HeadHunter67

    Then I would suggest you rephrase your original post, because the phrase "slower than a diamond drill" does not in any way imply what you just explained. In this case, at least it does have a piurpose, though it's still not worth the expense. If you consider something that requires 16 diamonds and mines as fast as a diamond drill "OP as hell", I'm not sure what you think WOULD be a fair expense. Even the Quarry requires only 11 diamonds and the time it takes to make a 9x9 hole to bedrock is many times faster than a diamond drill, count on it.

    That's the Quarry. From Buildcraft. I only run IC2, so... :p

    If the 'Tunneling Drill' mined as fast as a Diamond Drill, then it would mine 9 times the amount at the same speed. I guess, considering the cost, that could be reasonable- If that's not considered overpowered.

    Then again. It mines 9 times more blocks. A diamond drill takes 3 diamonds. To be 'reasonable' to mine 9 times the amount of blocks/sec, you would require 27 diamonds. Could be balanced in many ways.

    ...What? There's no pineapples here.

    GENERATION Pineapple: The first pineapple you see, copy it into your sig on any forum and add sqrt(-1) to the generation. Pineapple experiment.

    Likely the best way to balance it is the simplest. It uses 5 diamond drills..... So now divide the time it would take a diamond drill to go through 9 blocks and divide it between those 5 used in the recipe and then add a small cut in time (and I do mean SMALL) so it is a better deal to use the tunneler and not just your diamond drill. :thumbup:

    I really like the concept, but I agree with Rana that this seems to be better suited for the Mining laser.

    'Wait! What does that mean?! I can't panic properly unless I know what that means!'
    'Well believe me, Mike, I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid, and... I went ahead anyway.'

    The Mining Laser can destroy blocks, permanently, can it not?

    ...What? There's no pineapples here.

    GENERATION Pineapple: The first pineapple you see, copy it into your sig on any forum and add sqrt(-1) to the generation. Pineapple experiment.

    Quote from raa1337

    The Mining Laser can destroy blocks, permanently, can it not?

    Obviously. But In all honesty, the Mining laser is more of a Tunneling laser, as It is (In its current form) more useful for making tunnels, for that exact reason. (assuming you can actually aim it) since it bores though any basic materials rapidly, and is clearly not designed for mining, for the reason you said.

    So Obviously this function would belong on the mining laser more so than on a mining drill type thinggy.

    Quote from Ranakastrasz

    Obviously. But In all honesty, the Mining laser is more of a Tunneling laser, as It is (In its current form) more useful for making tunnels, for that exact reason. (assuming you can actually aim it) since it bores though any basic materials rapidly, and is clearly not designed for mining, for the reason you said.

    So Obviously this function would belong on the mining laser more so than on a mining drill type thinggy.

    Hm. I guess it comes down to if you want the cobblestone from the mining or not (recycling ftw :D ). I'd rather have this be slower then the mining laser, and let you keep all the blocks. That, and this is technically better (then the Diamond Drill) for mining for ore where the laser might accidently destroy it. Only named it 'Tunneling' as it makes a bigger hole, and you really can't make anything faster without it becoming the laser.

    If the Laser is getting a drastic revamp, then I guess this would have to be ignored for now until we see what happens to it.

    And aiming the laser is kind of hard... Off by a few pixels and you can go off track.

    ...What? There's no pineapples here.

    GENERATION Pineapple: The first pineapple you see, copy it into your sig on any forum and add sqrt(-1) to the generation. Pineapple experiment.

    Quote from raa1337

    Hm. I guess it comes down to if you want the cobblestone from the mining or not (recycling ftw :D ). I'd rather have this be slower then the mining laser, and let you keep all the blocks. That, and this is technically better (then the Diamond Drill) for mining for ore where the laser might accidently destroy it. Only named it 'Tunneling' as it makes a bigger hole, and you really can't make anything faster without it becoming the laser.

    If the Laser is getting a drastic revamp, then I guess this would have to be ignored for now until we see what happens to it.

    And aiming the laser is kind of hard... Off by a few pixels and you can go off track.

    Yea. Hopefully the revamp will include some modes (such as the low focus mode) to not actually destroy the resources, Possibly that Tractor-beam extra, as well as A Tunneling mode, a Snap-to effect, and (extremely unliked) an actual weapon mode that does not punch holes in your garden, walls, Roof, And anywhere else trying to hit that creeper.(or possibly that simplly fabricates arrows when used, lol)

    Tunneling mode would kinda be a Two-high laser modifier (makes me think we really need a UI for the laser) that clears out a walkable tunnel, so you dont have to use your drill, or rapidly cylce between laser modes if you want to actually use it. (since you have to dig a tiny hole to lower yourself, which is actually quite a pain)
    Alternatively the quite simipler "shift offsets laser downwards one block) so two blasts make the tunnel.

    As for snap-to effect, if you target a block, The laser will, assuming you are in line with the face, Force the shot to be perfectly perpendicular with the face, so as to make a clean close shave cut every time.

    The Equivalent Exchange mod has something like that. Right click on the middle block, and a 3x3x1 area is instantly mined, and the drops are all placed right in the center area.

    If the Laser gets something similar, that doesn't totally annihilate blocks out of existence, then this Drill is unneeded.

    Edit:

    Maybe this?
    EU/Block is the amount it costs per block in EUs, and Blocks/Second is how many Blocks a second it can mine (Not the speed per individual block).

    Mining Laser: Highest EU/Block, Highest Block/Second
    Tunneling Drill: High EU/Block, High Block/Second
    Diamond Drill: Low EU/Block, Medium Block/Second
    Normal Drill: Lowest EU/Block, Lowest Block/Second

    Would require this drill to become less costly, and the laser to become more costly, if this was to become the 'Tier 1-4' kind of thing.

    ...What? There's no pineapples here.

    GENERATION Pineapple: The first pineapple you see, copy it into your sig on any forum and add sqrt(-1) to the generation. Pineapple experiment.