Idea: High-Density Physical Body Mining Clusters

The idea is that similar to the meteorites in SE1, there are physical bodies that can be found on planets (mid-game) and in outer space (endgame) that can only be mined with a specific drill that requires immense amounts of power. I will call these high-density bodies "clusters".

The Clusters vary in size, volume of ore, and type of ore depending on their location. But if you want a supply of a certain type of ore and come across one of these, it is definitely something to mark on your GPS. The clusters yield much more ore as well as weigh much more than a typical voxel.

These clusters require an immense amount of power that setting up a base every time you pass by one just to mine it would be quite tedious and resource intensive. And setting something up on a flying ship would add an immense amount of weight that most ships just cannot handle. The idea is that the drill required to mine these clusters should be on a static base, with the functionality to haul these clusters back to your base to be processed.

Additionally, the ore within these clusters is broken into smaller groups surrounded by normal rock. This allows a normal drill or drill vehicle to mine out the rock, breaking the ore into smaller clusters, allowing for easier transportation, especially in the early/mid-game.

With the above changes, it is the start to incentivizing players to actually build contraptions. A crane strong enough to pick up these clusters and put them in the hauler as well as place them near your drill at the base. A hauler spacious and strong enough to transport these clusters to your base. Perhaps a drone tasked with drilling all the rock around the cluster to break it up into smaller clusters.

While I enjoy the concept of Space Engineers, I always find myself never building crazy contraptions because there is never any realistic use for them. I would love to see systems like the one mentioned above that encourage us to create contraptions that have actual uses.