Ground Penetrating Scanner power

[Shurp]

Others have already pointed out the problem with the Ground Penetrating Scanner -- that since you can flick it on and off, the power requirement is irrelevant.  I have a solution.

Require that the scanner be on for any Deep Drill to work.  After all, the drill needs to be guided to its target, right? 

You could also add an AI Persona Core as a requirement to build the Scanner -- as it needs to interpret the radar data to identify where deposits are and guide the Deep Drill to its destination.

When you're done mining, then of course it makes sense to turn the Radar off.

[NeverPire]

I don't agree.
Find out more about petroleum or mining exploitation.
First, a special truck find where there are waterproof rock layer with the right shape.
Second, the position is registered, the truck leave and a drill is make on the position.
Third, workers discover finally what is underneath.

As you can see, the truck, the ground penetrating scanner in Rimworld, is usefull only for the first phase.

[b0rsuk]

I don't think you should need artificial intelligence to guide a drill. The reason AI is needed for a ship is because of cryostasis. Unless you're fine with a generation ship and generations living and dying on the board, you need to freeze everyone. An AI doesn't need to be frozen. Built from the right, durable materials it can run forever.

Alternate solutions:
- add earthquakes that shake up the shape of subterranean resources
- make scanner gradually identify the type of resources while it's on (this would need clever change to shapes of deposits, so they're no longer identifiable by the number of tiles)

In other words, make players want it, but don't require it.

[glob]

Deposits are small and get depleted very fast anyway. So any changes to the scaner and drills would be irrelevant.

[Sinosauropteryx]

Deposits are small and get depleted very fast anyway. So any changes to the scaner and drills would be irrelevant.

Yeah, I haven't built a drill since A16. There are more than enough above-ground resources just next door, in every direction. Drills/scanners are an expensive solution to a problem that no longer exists.

[NeverPire]

Deposits are small and get depleted very fast anyway. So any changes to the scaner and drills would be irrelevant.

Yeah, I haven't built a drill since A16. There are more than enough above-ground resources just next door, in every direction. Drills/scanners are an expensive solution to a problem that no longer exists.

I don't agree, when your play with a small or medium map size, you run out of steels and plasteels so fast, especially if you play in a flat area that you are forced to use it.

[Thyme]

my last run was on a 200x200 flat map. Built my entire base and half my ship before resorting to DeepDrilling to get the remaining 8k steel. Could've built for less than 15k Steel for 15 colonists i guess lmao. See profile pic for reference. The Scanner was of course turned off 98% of the time, but by the thyme you build it, power is not so much a problem anyway. I also like to add the line for minified furniture, to carry those deep drills around.