Gathering minigames and mining design

Gathering in Scars of Honor is presented as an active profession system rather than a passive resource click. The August 2024 update focuses on mining as the first detailed example, while indicating that similar minigame-based interactions are planned across the other gathering professions.

The design goal is to make gathering part of moment-to-moment play. Resource collection is intended to involve timing, positioning, and interaction with the world instead of long menu use or repeated unattended actions.

Mining node types and tools

Mining uses dedicated tools, including different pickaxes. The presentation shows concept work for multiple pickaxe variants and states that tools are expected to have gameplay significance.

Mining nodes appear in multiple sizes, including larger nodes intended for group interaction. Copper is shown as one material type, and the update states that the game currently includes ten tiers of materials.

Skill-based mining minigame

Mining is described as a skill-based minigame built around player reactions. Hits can result in at least three outcomes: a miss, a regular hit, or a critical hit. These outcomes depend on player performance during the interaction.

The system is intended to avoid "mindless" gathering. Instead of treating mining as a background task, the design emphasizes attention and execution during each node.

Directional hits and physical feedback

The mining interaction is designed to feel physical and grounded in the game world. Developers describe researching how rocks crack in real life and using that reference to shape the visual effects and hit logic.

The angle of impact matters during mining. Rather than simply striking a static wall, the player is meant to feel as though the character is breaking apart a specific object. Cracks spread across the node, and the destruction sequence uses physics-based breakup instead of a simple fade-out.

Party gathering nodes

Large mining nodes support group gathering. The update compares the intended rhythm to historical footage of multiple workers striking in sequence, such as railroad construction crews.

In the shown example, several players attempt a large copper node together. Success depends on coordinated performance in the minigame, and failed attempts are possible. When the group succeeds, the node yields a larger amount of copper.

Resource collection and progression use

Gathered materials are intended for crafting and housing. The update does not go into full profession recipes, but it frames gathering as part of the broader progression loop rather than an isolated side activity.

The same design philosophy is also applied to woodcutting. Tree cutting is shown as another minigame where players must strike the correct part of the tree, with misses causing the axe to glance or jam. This indicates that gathering professions are being built around distinct but similarly active interactions.

Gathering without menu-heavy interaction

A stated design direction is to move gathering away from menu-based collection. Dropped items are meant to exist physically in the environment so that players walk to them and pick them up, rather than collecting from a list-style interface.

This approach is presented as part of a larger effort to keep players in the world itself. The intended result is that even routine gathering contributes to the sense of inhabiting a living environment.

Source

• Recording: Gathering & Mining | Scars of Honor Development Update - August 2024
• YouTube: Watch on YouTube
• Published: Tuesday, August 13, 2024 at 11:34 AM UTC