Scanning For Resources In Pathfinder - Angel-125/Pathfinder GitHub Wiki

Currently, the stock resource detection works like this:

  1. Fly the M700 Survey Scanner to the celestial body of interest and enter a polar obit. This will provide a big picture of the celestial body’s resources.

  2. Land the Surface Scanning Module on the celestial body and perform an analysis of the biome to improve scanning resolution of the biome’s resources.

  3. Fly the M4435 Narrow-Band Scanner near the desired biome to pinpoint the highest resource concentrations in the local area.

With Pathfinder, it works like this:

  1. Fly the TERRAIN Geo Scanner to the celestial body of interest and enter a polar obit. This will provide a big picture of the celestial body’s resources. Once you've completed the survey, you can initiate continuous resource monitoring (similar to how NASA conducts Earth Watch experiments) to gain Science over time. Of course, since you get the TERRAIN earlier in the tech tree than the M700, the TERRAIN might break down and need fixing. It certainly will require servicing at some point to replenish its ResearchKits, which are used up while performing its continuous resource monitoring (I picture ResearchKits representing Polaroid photos that are digitally scanned and then discarded, with the scanned image being transmitted back to KSC). Instead of the TERRAIN, you could fly the M700 Survey Scanner into polar orbit once it becomes available much later in the tech tree.

  2. Land a Ponderosa configured as a Pathfinder Geology Lab onto the celestial body and perform an analysis of the biome to improve scanning resolution of its resources. This is the same thing as landing the stock Surface Scanning Module onto the celestial body once that part becomes available. The important difference is that the Lab gives you a bit of Science for all the trouble of landing people and equipment on the planet to perform the analysis. And just like the tiny surface scanning module, the Geology lab can show you its current location as well as the local concentration of resources. Once the tech node is unlocked, you could alternately land the Surface Scanning Module.

  3. Land the Gold Digger Portable Mini-Drill on the biome and take a core sample. Each core sample brings with it a chance to improve or worsen the landscape’s resource concentrations. For gameplay reasons, you’ll have a limited number of attempts to alter the landscape’s resource concentrations. If you happen to have a Geology Lab staffed with scientists in the area, the lab will improve your core sample results. For this step, think of Pathfinder as a space western, and you're a gambler.

  4. Fly the M4435 Narrow-Band Scanner near the desired biome to pinpoint the highest resource concentrations in the local area.

At this point, you'll have fully unlocked the planet's biome and (hopefully) found the best location for your base.