Difference between revisions of "Ground-penetrating scanner"

Revision as of 03:11, 3 December 2022

A ground-penetrating scanner detects and illuminates underground deposits of resources, which can be mined with a deep drill.

Acquisition

Ground-penetrating scanners can be constructed once the Ground-penetrating scanner research project has been completed. They require 150 Steel, 4 Components, 1 Advanced component, 12,000 ticks (3.33 mins) of work, and a Construction skill of 8.

Summary

Ground-penetrating scanners consume 700 W of power and do not function under a roof. When operating a scanner, there is a mean of 180,000 ticks (3 in-game days) of work to find a deposit of ores. Finding a deposit is guaranteed after 360,000 ticks (6 in-game days) of work. These values are then modified by the Research Speed of the users in question. These ores can be mined with a deep drill.

Scanners technically create ore deposits. You will never find ores with a deep drill without a scanner, and scanners can find an infinite amount of resources in a given map. Ores and their extraction are not affected in any way by the existence of ice.

Ores

The resources contained in a deposit correlates with the size of the deposit. Each cell of resources contains 300 units of the resource. Below is an estimate of the different deposit sizes:

Resource	Deposit Size	Deposit Mean	Commonality	Portion Size	Avg Deposit Return
Steel	20 - 40	~ 30	4	35	9000
Silver	7 - 20	~ 14	0.5	40	4200
Plasteel	2 - 10	~ 7	1	7	2100
Jade	1 - 5	~ 3	0.5	10	900
Gold	1 - 5	~ 3	0.5	10	900
Uranium	4 - 10	~ 7	1	10	2100

Alternative table:

Resource	1-5	6-10	11-15	16-20	21-30	31-40
Steel	-	-	-	-
Silver	-				-	-
Jade		-	-	-	-	-
Gold		-	-	-	-	-
Uranium			-	-	-	-
Plasteel			-	-	-	-

Analysis

Ground-penetrating scanners can provide a massive amount of resources. Trade is finite, ore deposits are finite, but a scanner + deep drill can find massive quantities of drillable steel, plasteel, and other useful metals without ever leaving the map. These metals can bottleneck a colony's progress. As long as you have a decent miner, a ground scanner or two is a worthwhile investment.

The ground-penetrating scanner is not usable if there is a roof over it. Scanners can be placed in rooms if you need to regulate the temperature; the open roof will make heating inefficient, but it is possible. Having a larger room with double-thick walls allows for more efficient heating.

Comparison to long-range scanners

The long-range mineral scanner can find readily mineable ores on the world map, as opposed to ores that need to be drilled. The long-ranged scanner costs the same research as Deep Drill + Ground Scanner combination, though the former is required to research Starflight Sensors.

The first comparison is of convienence; ground-penetrating scanners create much more ore per deposit (9000 vs 2300 average steel), find ores roughly 60,000 ticks (24 in-game hours) faster, and you don't have to leave your colony to access it. Meanwhile, long-range scanners require a caravan or transport pods to travel to, and the weight of all the ore can be an issue.

However, long-range scanners can be tuned to a specific material, while ground scanners will find ores randomly. In addition, drilling ores takes much longer than mining ores from a long-range scanner. Drilling also can trigger the Too Deep: Infestation event, though a caravan can be ambushed.

Version history

Beta 19 - power usage was significantly reduced from 1500W to 800W. Its build cost was also changed, previously costing 400 steel and 12 components.
1.1.0 - Reworked; previously it showed all minerals on the map instantly. Now it requires work by a pawn and will periodically find new mineral patches, forever. Its power cost was also slightly lowered to 700W.
1.1.2564 - Rebalance. Random find time 4 work days->3 work days. Guaranteed find time 8 work days -> 6 work days. Now displays feedback about the current user's scanning speed, the random scan interval for this user, and the progress to a guaranteed find.

Architect

Misc: Caravan hitching spot • Egg box • Grave • Marriage spot • Party spot • Pen marker • Sarcophagus • Tool cabinet • Meditation spot • Nature shrine (Large, Small)
(research): Comms console • Cryptosleep casket • Firefoam popper • Ground-penetrating scanner • Long-range mineral scanner • Moisture pump • Multi-analyzer • Orbital trade beacon • Pod launcher • Stele (Large, Grand) • Transport pod • Vitals monitor • Ship landing beacon

@@ Line 98: / Line 98: @@
 The [[long-range mineral scanner]] can find readily mineable ores on the world map, as opposed to ores that need to be drilled. The long-ranged scanner costs the same research as Deep Drill + Ground Scanner combination, though the former is required to research [[Research#Starflight Sensors|Starflight Sensors]].
-The first comparison is of convienence; ground-penetrating scanners create much more ore per deposit (9000 vs 2300 average [[steel]]), and you don't have to leave your colony to access it. Meanwhile, long-range scanners require a [[caravan]] or [[transport pod]]s to travel to, and the weight of all the ore can be an issue. However, long-range scanners can be tuned to a specific material, while ground scanners will find ores randomly.
+The first comparison is of convienence; ground-penetrating scanners create much more ore per deposit (9000 vs 2300 average [[steel]]), find ores roughly {{ticks/gametime|60000}} faster, and you don't have to leave your colony to access it. Meanwhile, long-range scanners require a [[caravan]] or [[transport pod]]s to travel to, and the weight of all the ore can be an issue.
-A ground-penetrating scanner can find an ore deposit roughly {{ticks|60000}} faster, i.e. 24 less hours of work, than the long-range scanner. However, deep drills take much longer to mine than the long-range scanner's ores. Drilling also can trigger the [[Infestation|Too Deep: Infestation]] event, though a caravan can be ambushed.
+However, long-range scanners can be tuned to a specific material, while ground scanners will find ores randomly. In addition, drilling ores takes much longer than mining ores from a long-range scanner. Drilling also can trigger the [[Infestation|Too Deep: Infestation]] event, though a caravan can be ambushed.
 == Version history ==