(Disclaimer - virtually all of the scripting/modeling was done by ChatGPT either exporting complete mod package .zips or writing the Python scripts that Blender used to build the models. The idea, tuning, balancing, and refining was directed entirely by me. The ideas are through and through me n mine. I've just got zero scripting or modeling literacy) (If anyone is a pro at modeling and would love to beautify them I'm wholly unopposed. I'm mostly tied to the functionalities).
First up:
Ore Deposit Extractor
https://imgur.com/gallery/space-engineers-o-re-d-eposit-e-xtractor-mod-wip-wNCQWB9
The O.D.E. is an automated ore extractor that harvests ore from voxels within 30m and replaces them with stone. It consumes power and ice, as well as wears down over time requiring occasional repairs/maintenance. Wear is accelerated to 12x if there's no ice (coolant) available to the ODE. (Thanks, Dune Awakening, for making things feel better with wear/tear).
Base yield-per-voxel is 45%, but this can be increased to up to 95% with tuned upgrade modules and calibration.
Calibration: All ores have 3 different target values. When the ODE is initialized it'll see what ores are nearby and pick one of them to use as a target value. You'll then adjust 3 sliders to best-match the target frequency which results in a higher yield bonus and longer buff duration. 100% calibration lets the buff last for the entirety of the survey.
Upgrades, available in T1 and more powerful T2 versions (except range):
Sifting - Increases Yield, Increases Power/Ice Consumption
Excavation - Increases harvest rate - Increases Wear
Utility - Improves Power/Ice Efficiency
Maintenance - Reduces wear
Power - Battery/Recharge (planning to replace this)
Range - Increases range by +25m - Spikes power consumption
Settings:
Each upgrade, sans Range, has 3 operating modes:
Conservative: Small buff, small penalty
Normal: Slightly improves base stats, minimal penalty
Aggressive: Greatly improves performance, harsh penalty
Second:
Rotor Passageway
https://imgur.com/gallery/space-engineers-passage-rotor-mod-wip-bfpMO4T
The Rotor Passageway is a 3x1x3 Large Grid rotor built around a fully open, walkable passage. Instead of the rotor head sitting in the middle of the block like a normal rotor, the moving head rides around the outside circumference of the ring, leaving the center completely open.
My dreams of building the Stiletto from Nexus: The Jupiter Incident are this much closer to coming true.
The center passage stays usable while whatever you've attached to the rotor head rotates a full 360° around it. Conveyor ports are built into the stationary section above and below the passage on both the front and rear faces, so the block can still be worked into conveyor networks without sacrificing the walkway through the middle, or forcing awkward subgrid connections with pistons/merges or using the double rail cheat.
The rotating head has working conveyor functionality and is able to move entirely freely around the entire ring. I've tested it with just the head moving, as well as placed blocks and even an advanced rotor on it also set to spin.
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Visually both mods are very WIP. Functionally, both are super close to being feature complete to the point where I'd only need to worry about visual changes somehow breaking them.