Okay! I started mining with the mining laser. I curse in frustration. No ores. I use my pods. Hundreds of credits out the drain. Rage!
*tries again*
Woah! I found ore. Damn -.- titanium.
*tries again at later systems*
Sigh. Not enough profit worth my troubles.
Got the point? The problem is that it is simply way too expensive to mine with the new pods. The pods are a way to make mining faster, but they don't pay off. I would rather mine traditionally and spend boring hours mining(bad/boring idea). My idea of a fix is to add "secret" miner missions. These miner missions can give shortcuts to ore lodes or effective mining equipment.
For example at a Miner Station main screen: Recent evidence of an explosion can be seen. Medical tents and metal scraps liter the rusted floor.
You send medical supplies and food(other things in other scenarios)