Just finished the last 2 core game mechanic!
Smuggling:
A very lucrative source of income for pilots brave (or crazy) enough to sneak pass law enforcement & military patrols. High risk, high reward is the name of the game here, with one successful smuggling trip raking in the credits!
Note that depending on the Faction, certain valid tradegoods are considered illegal so pay attention to the descriptions!
For smugglers unfortunate enough to run into the law, they have to quickly decide:
Choose to give up your cargo or try to make a run for it!
Obviously, any smuggler worth his spice is going make a mad dash to jump out of system.
If you make a run for it, you had better be good at dodging missiles or your ship engines are going to be knocked out, repeatedly, by EMP missiles.
Hopefully it’s a fun playstyle, with lots of tension but plenty of reward!
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Mining:
In all lawless (un-colonized) systems, there are a variety of mineable asteroids for pilots to claim, all they need is to equip an active mining laser module.
Systems further away from civilized space yield better asteroids & ores, but also pose higher risk as the frequency of pirate traffic increases.
To mine, just target the asteroid, and activate your mining module. The graviton beam will focus and fragment chunks of precious ores, ready for pickup into the cargo hold.
All top tier (Mk3/4) modules as well as faction Ships require a certain number of the rarest ores, Gravonite & Elypsium, which are auto deposited (if you have any in your cargo) into your Universal Bank account upon docking at a port.
Besides mining to obtain these rare ores, they are also often dropped from tougher ship cargo and merchant vessels.
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Phew! Been a long haul, nearly there!
Now in the final phase of development, putting it all together, more polish & content (random encounters, think FTL or Fallout)!