Editing Ground-penetrating scanner

Ground-penetrating scanners consume 700 W of [[power]] and do not function under a roof. Scanning falls under Intellectual work. When operating a ground scanner, there is a mean of {{ticks/gametime|180000}} of work to find a deposit of ores. Finding a deposit is guaranteed after {{ticks/gametime|360000}} of work. Guaranteed finds are separate from random finds; the ​progress towards the guaranteed scan is not "reset" after finding ore randomly. These values are then modified by the [[Research Speed]] of the users in question. These ores can be mined with a [[deep drill]].

{{Deep Ore Deposit Table}}

== Analysis ==

Ground-penetrating scanners can provide minerals, such as [[steel]] and [[plasteel]], indefinitely. These resources can bottleneck mid/late game colonies. Ores are finite, [[trade]]rs only carry a few hundred [[steel]] each, and [[electric smelter|smelter]]s are limited by [[raider]]s. Each ground deposit provides an average of 9000 steel. As long as you have a decent miner, a ground scanner or two is a worthwhile investment. Even if you don't have a spare researcher to scan for ores, any idle colonist can be set to research to contribute to the scanning effort.

As you can just scan for more ore, it typically isn't worth it to travel halfway across the map for a single deposit. Other than the [[power]] consideration, your deep drillers will have to travel a long way back and forth, and will be less secure against [[raid]]s. If you do need to travel, you might want to create a [[bed]]room and dining area to reduce walking time. The drill can be put in a room with high beauty, to please the miner.

*The ground-penetrating scanner itself is not usable if there is a roof over it, though they can be placed in rooms if you need to regulate the [[temperature]]. A minimum of 24 tiles is required for temperature regulation; the 9 tiles of open roof will make heating inefficient, but it is possible. Having a larger room with double-thick walls allows for more efficient heating.

* Scanning is considered a Research task. Using a [[research bench]] or [[long-range mineral scanner]] will always be higher priority, and will be done first whenever possible. If you want pawns to actively scan for ore, you can either turn off any of your [[hi-tech research bench]]es, or set an [[allowed area]] that ''excludes'' areas with research benches.

Long-range scanners create much less ore (2300 vs 9000 average [[steel]]), find ores roughly {{ticks/gametime|60000}} slower, and your colonists will have to leave the map to access it. You'll often need to fight hostile threats, you'll need to get there, and any colonists on the trip aren't defending against colony [[raid]]s. Many ores are very heavy, meaning [[pack animal]]s or [[transport pod]]s are needed to get ore back. But long-range scanners have a few key advantages. You can search for a specific mineral, unlike the ground scanner. It is much faster to mine ores than drill at ground deposits. The ground scanner may create a deposit on the edges of the map, making it impractical to actually mine them. And while long-range scanners are prone to ambushes, deep drills are prone to infestation events.

 

This makes the ground-penetrating scanner a more general, automated way to get material in the lategame and endgame. If you need specific ores, like plasteel or uranium, the long-range scanner is both faster to mine and faster to scan, but requires all the logistics that come with a long-range scanner. Also, which option to prefer can depend on quantity and quality of miners. Ground-penetrating scanners allow multiple miners to drill at 1 large ore deposit, while long-range scanners are fast enough to mine that a single miner is sufficient.

{{Ideology|section=1}} <!--- ensure rough parity with LRMS page -->

As scanning rates is dependent on [[research speed]], the bonuses offered by both [[research specialist]]s and the [[Ideoligion#Research|Research]] precept can make for significantly faster returns. This gives research specialists a niche even once all normal [[research]] is complete and may warrant maintaining an NPC ideoligion if it grants access to the specialist.