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[Cthulhu]

So I'm sitting here, digging around, looking for Hematite, and I started to wonder:  Barring mods, what's the best way to quickly search an area for valuable minerals?

How do you do it?  I usually do a grid pattern, but I'm sure there are more efficient ways.

[Warmist]

The most effective is the diagnols method ( 1/3 work 100% visibility) according to wiki but i use grid pattern

[ April 20, 2008: Message edited by: Warmist ]

[ April 20, 2008: Message edited by: Warmist ]

[Jreengus]

i dig a single shaft cutting the map into two sections (often unequal since ym stairwell is hardly ever in the direct centre of the map. then you dig tunnels going at a 90 degree angle from that out the edge with a 3 space gap between them, this will reveal every single gem/ore cluster on that level but requires a massive amount of dwarf power increse the gap and youll miss some gems but it will take less dwarf power.

code:

 
#######.###########
#.................#
#######.###########
      #.#
#######.###########
#.................#
#######.########### 

is baisically it gem clusters will never just be in a straight line so you dont have to worry about any hiding in that unexplored section.

[zagibu]

The diagonals method is NOT faster, because it takes a lot of time to designate...

[Mlittle]

It requires less mining by the dwarfs, but drives the player insane.

[Proteus]

If you just have to mine out 1/3 of the map it doesn´t sound more efficient than the linear shaft metod:

code:

#.##.##.#
#.##.##.#
#.##.##.#
usw

Looks like you also just need to mine out roughly 1/3 of then map if you use vertical (or horizontal)lines (+ a few tiles to connect the lines)

[Cthulhu]

Ugh, I hate everything.

I started a new game, on a new map, sedimentary this time, and found literally everything I was looking for, on the surface, within 50 squares of my wagon.

[Kanil]

I dig vertical shafts of up/down staircases. It's only one dig and reveals the 8 tiles around it.

code:

######
#X##X#
######
#X##X#
######
 
# = Wall/Dirt
X = Staircase

[Odalrick]

Looking for Hematite, which tends to be in huge clusters, the most efficient should be vertical shafts 5, 7 or even 10 tiles apart.

[Khosan]

quote:Originally posted by Odalrick:
<STRONG>Looking for Hematite, which tends to be in huge clusters, the most efficient should be vertical shafts 5, 7 or even 10 tiles apart.</STRONG>

You're thinking of Magnetite.  Hematite comes in veins.

[xzzy]

I dig a 48x48 grid that bisects the 48x48 "units" in the region (that is, the top left corner of my grid is 24 tiles from the left and 24 tiles from the top).

This way my tunnel will cut through the middle of every unit in the area.. revealing all the large blobs of ore. It usually catches all the veins as well. If I find a unit without a blob I dig branches to try and find the gems.

[Kidiri]

quote:Originally posted by Kanil:
<STRONG>

code:

######
#X##X#
######
######
#X##X#
######
 
# = Wall/Dirt
X = Staircase

</STRONG>

This is even more efficient and requires less digging.

[Derakon]

The strategy that optimizes for both mining and designating time is to designate ramps, since they reveal two layers of the map at once (and don't block movement like channels do). However, ramps make your mining areas blink all the time, since the game has to show both the ramp and the rock lying on it.

You can take the "every three columns" approach as suggested by Proteus, but I don't think you ever get even a small cluster of gems that doesn't cover at least two columns of the maps, so it's sufficient to do every four columns to know where everything interesting is, even if you don't reveal all the squares.

[BurnedToast]

I'm a fan of just strip mining the whole level. 2 - 3 Legendary miners makes it go fast, it's a breeze to designate, and you get every single thing possible. The only disadvantage is the tens of thousands (or more on bigger maps) of extra stones make my fort lag down like crazy.

[fleacircus]

I'm lazy and impatient and value ore a lot more than gems, so covering a large area quickly in both real and dorf time is important. I imagine that a lot of the strip mining techniques are holdovers from 2D DF where it was important to get the most out of a finite amount of total stone area with clear boundaries.

First I make a grid around the central shaft on the highest level I want to start digging. Usually a 2x2 grid with 20x20 cells (i.e. I hit shift-arrow twice). I feel that the odds are pretty small that a whole vein will happen to fit in one of the 18x18 unrevealed pockets. Then at the intersections I dig stairwells down to the lowest level I want to mine. Then I complete the grids on the intervening levels starting of course with the levels with revealed veins.

This will hopefully reveal enough goodies (close to the central shaft) to keep the fortress busy for awhile. It also will clear out an area around the central shaft to be developed into housing, tombs, offices, noble quarters, etc.

Then later I can go back and expand the grid wider... it's pretty "efficient" and boring, though of course things don't always go according to plan.