Pushable blocks and other stuff

I think it would add to the challenge and create even more ways to solve problems during mining if you could push stone and granite blocks (as long as nothing was blocking them). Only one block could be pushed left or right (and maybe you could buy strength upgrades to push more than one).

Also, how about shaped charges that blast only the direction you choose? Place a charge, tap the direction you want it to go, and stand back!

Third, when climbing down a ladder and reaching the bottom, it would be nice if you could continue to build the ladder going down.

Fourth, why can you mine a mineral above you without climbing up, but not a question mark/item?

Fifth, got a parachute, how about a balloon/propeller that would float you up until you tap, then it would stop and you could dig/walk left or right or tap down to pop/turn off and drop?

Finally, does the depth added at each level begin to lessen at higher levels? I'm only at 10, but can't imagine trying to build a shaft 2,500 blocks deep on level 50!

Best mining game ever!

I also thought about movable blocks :) Don´t know to which extent it would change the strategy and the gameplay, though.
As for your fourth point, I´ve explained it to myself like if you´re mining a mineral it kind of falls down and around you and you just gather it, as for other things, they have to be found, picked up, so you have to actually go into the block they´re laying in. But well, that´s my idea of it, I wonder, what the developer thinks :)

Hi Jon, I will try to answer your points ;-)

1. Ironcally, I also thought about blocks to push - I am thinking of holding down long to push it - that could work with stone and granite .. but that need some coding - but the idea is very good.

2. I am thinking of even more different blasts, like mines (passiv) so you could build up blast chains xD

3. No, the Robo will not auto-Build ladders, that is because if you have a long shaft, you can just blow away a piece to let the robo autorun there - that would be meaningless if the robo would build it automatically.

4. That's more, because Questions are items while ore is not - Robo just puts up the whole destroyed block if you like. In the beginning the Robo was moving automatically to the digged field, so every item was picked up automatically also.

5. Beside the parachute I am working on a JetPack Item, where you can move freely in every direction, but it is not ready so far.

6. The depth will increase 50 Fields for every level - I am pretty sure, there are players who reached level 50 so far .. we need online tabled to know for sure (work in progress)

@Nadsy You are right - the Robo just picks up the whole distroyed block - like in the real world and brings that material to the UFO for further processing elsewhere.
Items are catched inside such a block.

But normally they should fall down, that's right. Ladders btw. are ancored at the WALL not the ground, so they do not fall down.
But you can place a pillar (ancored on ground) and make a ladder on this piller (it is now ancored to the pillar), so the ladder falls down with the pillar ;-)

Thanks for the detailed answer. I thought of a way to have directional blasts, push blocks, and other features more easily selected in the interface: have a robo-click menu come up when you touch him rather than him saying "quit touching me". You could have choices like push then tap the direction, directional charge then tap direction, set mine, turn on jet pack, etc.

Another idea is a shield that would steadily drain energy. You could turn this on and off from the Robo-click menu too - it could shield from blasts but not falls. This would make upgrading energy more important.

With upgrades, you could add features at certain levels. For example, make the drill work on rock after level 25, granite on level 50, etc. Energy upgraded to 25 could add the shields, level 50 could allow you to suck energy from lava turning it to granite. After level 25 you could start choosing the balance of storage for pillars vs. ladders. You could add an armor upgrade that would allow you to hold up a falling rock briefly until you could slip out from under it, or survive a longer fall.

One other thought - how about underground cavities? This could add to strategic possibilities. You could even have certain items/minerals that would be different in the caves that anywhere else.

Sorry for so many different ideas, I really enjoy your game!

Many ideas - some of them I also had by myself for long time. The cavities for example were nearly implemented in the last version, but I decided to publish that later on, so I can concentrate on the new blocks instead.

The extra capabilities at a certain level of the upgrades is in my head also, that will come to the game for sure, just I cannot tell you when :-)

The UI consists always of 2 parts: 1 is to implement them (easy) the other is to tell it to the player (not so easy). It was the same problem with the diamond scanner, where sometimes people did not know how to use it. That's a generally task in Robo Miner to give more help to new players. This task get's more important as more features get added to the game.

I am always happy to get some ideas from players. I'm also thinking of many new items and such things, but need to do some technical changes before I can extend that. so, stay tuned ;-)

Three thoughts on interface changes:

1 tap and hold up to keep making a ladder, sideways to keep running

2 double-tap up or down on a ladder to rapidly climb 100 blocks because ladders get pretty long in later levels (or add a skip up and down button next to the instant climb button)

3 touch robo and drag any direction to pull screen and look at blocks a little further away, snap back when letting go

Also, would love to be able to tap to remove a support just like I can tap to add one!