Purpose for asteriods

That's where the durantium is mate,thats why you have to build a mining ring on a starbase within range of it

Asteroids slow you down and are the only place durantium can be found. Mining is in the game just not implememnted the same way as it was in GC2. However, if enough people ask for it they may readd it...just dont hold your breath.

It (asteroid mining) probably will show up in the first Expansion pack.  At least that's the latest word I've heard from the DevStreams.

What form, and how it operates, is still way up in the air.

From a utility standpoint, their purpose seems to be to clutter up the strategic view. Seriously, it's so difficult to see strategic resources, ships, and planets, I'd love the ability to de clutter the various "fields" from that view.

From Beta, they were going to put in Asteroid mining then changed gears and said they wanted to do a 'better job' with it. I am fine either way. Currently they are an obstacle and yes they are the only place that has Durantium in it. I play on Uncommon Asteroids and I still think I have too many. We will get Asteroid mining but as Trims pointed out it may be off in an Expansion. 

For now, we are awaiting the mighty Snathi DLC! Where the Dread lords scurry in terror. Ware, the Snathi! 

This is a GCII question.

Can anyone confirm that Asteroid Mining in GCII was much more than busy work? When they introduced it I tried it, and for the life of me, I never saw how it would earn enough BC to make it worth my while vs investing in trade ships and building econ improvements. After that I started upgrading my mining ship to a colony ship on T1 and never built another one.

Interestingly, in GCIII, Trade ships have become uninteresting to me. Unless you research deeply into trade, the return seems puny, and other branches of the research tree are always a greater priority for me.

That's not what happened. Mining asteroids gave the recipient planet a boost to production, a significant one, actually. And you could specify which planet got the boost. Generally you would tell your miner to just go and build, and just forget it. But there was some tactical value in taking out enemy mined asteroids during wartime.

It has been so long I seem to have forgotten what they did and why I decided it wasn't worth it. Obviously I may have been wrong in my evaluation.

Franco, 

Trade in GCIII is well sought-after. If you just go a to the 2nd tier into the trade techs and are able to have at least 3 trade ships you will see a return. The most important thing to remember is....time.

The trade route value increases over time. So the initial trade route is 6 credits. PUNY. However with a bit of research and time those routes can jump to 47-86 per route. 

Also if you go up the traders line in Pragmatic and can manage to get them converted to 'luxury' routes they practically double in value. They also dramatically help in UP votes and diplomacy. Trade is KING here. 

Obviously I am a trade advocate. Most of the benefits are not fully realized until you unlock some "Trader pragmatic traits".

Are you saying if you leave a trade route alone with no additional research, it will increase in value? Or is it the research that makes it more valuable? If the former, that is not at all clear in any of the tooltips, I think.