Mining - how ore is obtained

In the previous iteration of the game (Agonia is a sequel), there was indeed a mining skill. There are a few major differences between the two systems that have a large impact on the game and the economy.

With a "Mining Skill" system, players needed to level the skill in the first place, or leveled it for stats, which generated a lot of extra unwanted ores diminishing their value. Wood and Stone items are in a similar situation, though their location on the map is also important due to their weight, as generating new wood or stone in the needed area is easier than carrying it from another. Ore is fairly light weight in comparison and can easily be transported. This also let every player use their turns per day on one tile (as stoneworking/mining has no fertility) which means there's no limit to how many ores are generated per day, which also creates an abundance of materials. In the end, even with a mining skill in the game, the best ores and materials in the previous game still came from exploring or combat encounters, and not "Mining", because if they did, they would become too abundant, or if the rates were adjusted so that they wouldn't, they would become too intrusive to your play time, and a more annoying grind.

With the new "Seeking" / Explore / Fertility system, there is an absolute cap to the amount of ore generated per day. For example, with Iron Mines, if you find iron at a 30% rate, and you mined it every chance possible that day (fertility increases once an hour), so 24 times per day, that means each mine can generate 4.8~ iron ore per day. These numbers are just examples, but goes to show that you can mine with minimal explores per day, maybe using 20-40 of your 120 daily turns, and the economy isn't flooded and materials become valuable instead, because the fertility limit is a global thing, unlike player turns.

Iron is a decent unit of currency for players in Agonia precisely because it is available, but not overly available, and it is used almost universally. If anyone at any time could harvest it with no competition or no limit, it would become too common, or the amount used in recipes would need to be increased, or the find rate reduced. As the population of the game grows and the mines become too crowded, then more mines can be added, as the admins want to strike a balance between population and possible ore per day generation.

While it may not be immediately intuitive or roleplay accurate, it seems to be the better method for the outcome the admins want from the system. Feedback is always appreciated though, and maybe they'll find a mix between the two systems or something!