Surviving Mars

At the start of the game, one of the key steps is to identify resources on the map and this is done by pressing and access the map overview. Here you’ll see the entire map divided into sectors. Highlight any sector of the map you wish to scan and press . You can queue up to 10 sectors to be scanned. Scanning speed is dependent on how far the sector is from your colony and can be boosted by building Sensor Towers. If you have selected “Fast Scanning” in the Game Rules when starting a new game, you’ll be able to scan the entire map in less than 10 minutes.

To perform a deep scan, you need to have researched either the Adapted Probes or Deep Scanning technology. With Adapted Probes, you can deep scan using probes that are bought using funding through resupply rockets, whereas Deep Scanning allows you to scan all sectors without cost much like the basic version of scanning, only much faster. Deep scan will reveal deep water, metal and rare metal deposit that are usually much very rich but will require the appropriate technology researched in order to exploit them.