40d:Mineshaft stitching

2009-03-30T15:52:45Z

Sfogarty:

When using [[Exploratory mining#Mine shafts|mine shafts]], dwarves will prefer to dig all of one level before moving on to the next. This can result in a lot of time spent moving, as miners go up and down mine shafts. If you have a large number of relatively unskilled miners, this is unlikely to be a problem: digging time will dominate in any case. If you have one or two legendary miners, this is quite annoying. As a solution, you can creating a single path that forces your dwarf to finish one shaft before moving on to the next. To do so, connect shafts alternately at the top and bottom layers, so the shaft snakes through the area. For example, the top, middle, and bottom layers could look like:

<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
.X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒.▒▒.▒▒.▒
▒.▒▒.▒▒.▒
▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</nowiki></div>

<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</nowiki></div>

<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X..X..X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X..X..X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</nowiki></div>

An AKH script to construct such a pattern is provided below, based on [[User:StrawberryBunny/Mineshaft.ahk|this script]], but using many fewer keystrokes.

length = 12
width = 12
depth = 3
wait = 100
spacing = 1
vdir = +.

DropShaft(vertdir, depth, wait)
{
Send i
Send {Enter}
Send {Enter}
Loop %depth%
{
Send %vertdir%
Send {Enter}
Send {Enter}
Sleep %wait%
}
}

<pre>

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; stitching.ahk ;
; this is an ahk script to place exploratory mine shafts. ;
; press d and place the cursor ;
; in the top left corner of the area to be explored ;
; then use ctrl+shift+s to run ;
; to change parameters, use ctrl+shift+c ;
; Increasing spacing will increase some shafts
; ;
; NOTE: ;
; Author: Seth Fogarty ;
; Based on a script by StrawberryBunny ;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

x = 4
width = 4
depth = 3
wait = 100
spacing = 1
vdir = +.

DropShaft(vertdir, depth, wait)
{
Send i
Send {Enter}
Send {Enter}
Loop %depth%
{
Send %vertdir%
Send {Enter}
Send {Enter}
Sleep %wait%
}
}

^+c::
inputbox x, Input Length, Vertical pattern length: x-axis
inputbox y, Input Width, Horizontal pattern width: y-axis
inputbox depth, Input Depth, Mineshaft depth: z-axis
inputbox spacing, Spacing multiplier (1 for complete visiblity)
inputbox wait, Input Delay, Delay in miliseconds (100 recommended)
return

^+s::
shafts := (x * y) -1
i := x-1
hdir = {Down}
next = {Up}

Loop %shafts%
{
DropShaft(vdir, depth, wait)
if (vdir = "+.")
{
vdir = +,
}
else
{
vdir = +.
}
Send d
k := spacing-1
Send %hdir%
Send {Enter}
Loop %k%
{
Send %hdir%
Send {Enter}
Send %hdir%
Send {Enter}
Send %hdir%
Sleep %wait%
}
Send %hdir%
Send {Enter}
Send %hdir%
Sleep %wait%
i--
if (i = 0)
{
if (hdir = "{Down}")
{
hdir = {Right}
next = {Up}
i=1
}
else if (hdir = "{Right}")
{
hdir = %next%
i := x-1
}
else if (hdir = "{Up}")
{
hdir = {Right}
next = {Down}
i=1
}
}
}
DropShaft(vdir, depth, wait)
if (vdir = "+.")
{
Loop %depth%
{
Send +,
}
}
return

</pre>

40d:Mineshaft stitching

2009-03-30T15:46:12Z

Sfogarty: Created page with 'When using Mine shafts, dwarves will prefer to dig all of one level before moving on to the next. This can result in a lot of time spent moving...'

When using [[Exploratory mining#mine_shafts|Mine shafts]], dwarves will prefer to dig all of one level before moving on to the next. This can result in a lot of time spent moving, as miners go up and down mine shafts. If you have a large number of relatively unskilled miners, this is unlikely to be a problem: digging time will dominate in any case. If you have one or two legendary miners, this is quite annoying. As a solution, you can creating a single path that forces your dwarf to finish one shaft before moving on to the next. To do so, connect shafts alternately at the top and bottom layers, so the shaft snakes through the area. For example, the top, middle, and bottom layers could look like:

<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
.X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒.▒▒.▒▒.▒
▒.▒▒.▒▒.▒
▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</nowiki></div>

<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</nowiki></div>

<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X..X..X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X..X..X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</nowiki></div>

40d:Exploratory mining

2009-03-30T15:43:05Z

Sfogarty: /* Mine shafts */

Exploratory mining is the process of mining large areas in order to obtain resources such as [[gems]], [[metal]] [[ores]] and other types of [[stone|rock]]. It is also used, to a lesser extent, to find the locations of hidden underground features such as [[chasm]]s, [[underground river]]s, [[magma]] and [[adamantine]].
The most straightforward method is to mark a large rectangular area for digging. Unfortunately, this method is also the least efficient. More efficient digging patterns involve digging out a smaller percentage of the stone in a given area, but still revealing a large percentage of the stone. These patterns are compromises, which depend on factors that will be described in this article.
Note that exploratory mining is the process dedicated solely to discovery of resources and features. The digging process is usually separated, and not discussed here in great detail.
The [[cheating]] counterpart to exploratory mining is the infamous [[utilities#reveal.exe|reveal]] tool.

== Factors in exploratory mining ==

These are the factors we shall consider for each digging pattern. Knowing them and deciding on their priority will help you find the most suitable pattern.
Most of the factors are represented by numbers, obtained by dividing two quantities. Others are more subjective.

=== Labor ===

''Labor'' is the amount of work that goes into the digging process. Exploratory mining is a work intensive process, capable of straining even a large fortress, but the work that goes into different patterns varies greatly. A fortress with a large supply of skilled miners can afford to consider labor low priority. The labor factor is the fraction of stone dug out of an area, and as such, it's a percentage, between 0 and 100%.

=== Scarcity ===

''Scarcity'' is the amount of desired material present in the rock layer. It's theoretically represented by the fraction of desired material in the soil layer, but one can seldom state it accurately or even estimate it. Scarcity is determined by the types of materials you're after. Single tiles are the scarcest, followed by small clusters, veins and large clusters. For the classification of your desired material, see the [[gem]] and [[stone]] articles. Underground features are about as scarce as large clusters.

If you are after the precious gems: diamond, sapphire and ruby, you will see that these can be found only in [[kimberlite]] (diamonds) and [[bauxite]] (sapphires and rubies) respectively. So you only need to find the veins of kimberlite in a [[gabbro]] layer or the large clusters of bauxite in [[sedimentary layer]]s respectively, and dig those out using one of the patterns that reveals every tile.

=== Visibility ===

''Visibility'' is the amount of tiles that you reveal in the digging process. Excavated tiles are always visible, and so are the tiles immadiately adjacent to them, including diagonals. The purpose of exploratory mining is to make a single tile of the desired material visible, allowing you to switch to conventional digging and extract it. Visibility is represented by the fraction of visible tiles in the excavated area. Visibility is always a priority, but it tends to decrease in priority as scarcity decreases, because there are more tiles that need to be dug out, and not just seen.

=== Reusability ===

Exploratory mining leaves behind a monotonous, repeating landscape. The excavated level may be hard to reuse for habitation, storage or industry without additional digging and significant rebuilding efforts that leave behind inferior walls that cannot be engraved. Reusability is subjective, and it depends on the desired layout. Reusability is represented by the largest room size achievable by digging into the solid rock left behind without rebuilding any walls. Reusability is a priority for a small fortress.

== Resource Distribution ==
===Ore===
[[Ore]] occurs in three forms, depending on the kind:

* Large cluster: An oval that occupies nearly half of a 48x48 block, area-wise. Only one appears per block.
* Vein: A sinuous line of the material crosses the block.
* Small cluster: A sprinkle of 3 to 9 adjacent tiles. Multiple small clusters of different materials may be in the same block.

===Gems===
[[Gem]]s also occur in small clusters, or as a single tile.

== Patterns ==

Patterns are represented by a unit tile. This unit tile is repeated throughout the area intended for excavation to create the desired pattern. Each pattern is analyzed with the above factors in mind.

Key:
░ = Not mined, not visible
▒ = Not mined, visible (wall)
. = Mined (floor)

=== Hollow ===

All tiles are excavated.

* ''Labor'': 100% of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Any scarcity. If it exists in the layer, it will be found.
* ''Visibility'': 100% of the tiles are visible, obviously.
* ''Reusability'': Approaches zero. Any design other than a large hall requires reconstruction.
* ''Bottom line'': Hollowing wastes labor like there's no tomorrow, but integrates extraction into the exploratory mining process. Use only if you have a lot of labor to spare, really need huge amounts of stone and don't mind the reconstruction required to make the hollow area habitable.

=== Rows ===
<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒
......
▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒
......
▒▒▒▒▒▒
</nowiki></div>
* ''Labor'': 1/3 (~33%) of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Any scarcity. Clusters as small as a single tile are revealed.<br />
* ''Visibility'': 100%.
* ''Reusability'': Very low. The long corridors aren't very useful, and can only be expanded to long, wide corridors.
* ''Bottom line'': This method achieves the same visibility as hollowing out, but using a mere third of the labor. Ideal for hunting single-tile gems. As an added bonus, it is more efficient than a 3×3 design.

=== Diagonal ===
<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒.▒▒▒▒.▒▒
▒.▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒
.▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒.
▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒.▒
</nowiki></div>
* ''Labor'': 20% of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Any scarcity. Clusters as small as a single tile are revealed.
* ''Visibility'': 100%.
* ''Reusability'': With a bit of imagination you can build nice 3x3 rooms
* ''Bottom line'': This method is 2nd most efficient of those with 100% visibility. This one doesn't use other levels to move from one spot to another but is annoying to designate.

=== Mine shafts ===

<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</nowiki></div>
* ''Labor'': 11.1% of the tiles are excavated (1/9).
* ''Scarcity'': Any scarcity. Clusters as small as a single tile are revealed.
* ''Visibility'': 100%.
* ''Reusability'': It's easy to make into square rooms of various sizes, the stairways can be removed and used as doorways, or just carved out as part of the rooms.
* ''Bottom line'': You'll need to clear part of one layer above it to get it started (use one of the other methods to cover the area), but this method is the most efficient for those with 100% visibility, and has a great reuse value. Real dwarves' choice! It takes a lot of keypressing to designate, [[User:StrawberryBunny/Mineshaft.ahk|here]] is a ahk script to save your fingers. For a discussion on optimising travel times through mineshafts, see [[Mineshaft Stitching|here]].

=== Pinwheel Shafts===

<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒XX▒▒X▒▒XX▒
▒▒▒▒▒X▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒░▒▒▒░▒▒▒
▒X▒▒▒▒▒▒▒X▒
▒X▒▒XXX▒▒X▒
▒X▒▒▒▒▒▒▒X▒
▒▒▒░▒▒▒░▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒X▒▒▒▒▒
▒XX▒▒X▒▒XX▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

</nowiki></div>
* ''Labor'': In this example about 17.3% of the tiles are being excavated..
* ''Scarcity'': All except single-tile small clusters.
* ''Visibility'': 96.6%.
* ''Reusability'': Workshops can be easily fitted into the unmined 3x3 areas.
* ''Bottom line'': Very similar to Mine Shafts, but you can replace the up/down stairways with a mixture of up stairs and down stairs, eliminating the chance that one of your dwarves will slip and fall all the way down the shaft.

=== 7×7 blocks ===
<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
░░░▒.▒░░░░░▒.▒░░
░░░▒.▒░░░░░▒.▒░░
░░░▒.▒░░░░░▒.▒░░
▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒
................
▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒
░░░▒.▒░░░░░▒.▒░░
░░░▒.▒░░░░░▒.▒░░
</nowiki></div>
* ''Labor'': 15/64 (~23%) of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Veins and up, as the large 5X5 space left in each unit tile can easily conceal a small cluster.
* ''Visibility'': 39/64 (~61%) of the tiles are visible.
* ''Reusability'': Medium. The 7×7 blocks can easily be converted into 5×5 rooms, suitable for individual rooms, storage or workshops. Optionally, it can be converted into a grid of connected 7x7 rooms, if you center each room on a crossroad. Easily converted into a more thorough 3×3 block patten by digging through the large blocks.
* ''Bottom line'': This is a low-labor method great for vein-hunting. The low labor cost puts you in a position to invest more and get better coverage if desired.

=== 15×15 blocks ===
<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
▒▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
................................
▒▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
</nowiki></div>
* ''Labor'': 31/256 (~12%) of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Large clusters and up, as the large 13×13 space left in each unit tile can easily conceal quite a lot. Unless you have particularly bad luck you should also find all veins, but there is no guarantee.
* ''Visibility'': 87/256 (34%) of the tiles are visible.
* ''Reusability'': High. A 15×15 block of solid rock is extremely versatile when it comes to interior design. It's easily converted into a 7×7 block design, which may be further converted into a 3×3 block design.
* ''Bottom line'': This method is preferable when you are low on labor or when you're after an underground feature. It can easily accommodate parts of your fort, or serve as the precursor for a more thorough search.

==Searching for underground water & magma==
While a lot of fun, underground features can be both difficult to find and dangerous to the unprepared, being as they are full of hostile creatures.

===Digging===
Underground features are a lot larger than [[ore]] and [[gem]] deposits, so the 15x15 block method is quite sufficient to find them. Furthurmore you only need to dig every 3rd [[z-level]] out as even the shortest feature, a [[cave river]], can be discovered on any one of the 3 levels it influences, as shown in the side profiles below.

Over the top Reveals Hits damp Hits damp Underneath

_______o## ######## ######### ######### ######### # Unmined stone
### ##### ___o ## #### ### #### ### #### ### ~ Water
##<font color="blue">#~~#</font>#### ###<font color="blue">#~~#</font># __o<font color="blue">#~~#</font>## ###<font color="blue">#~~#</font>## ###<font color="blue">#~~#</font>## _ Floor of the tunnel
###<font color="blue">##</font>##### ####<font color="blue">##</font>## ####<font color="blue">##</font>### ___o<font color="blue">##</font>### ####<font color="blue">##</font>### o Miner
########## ######## ######### ######### _______o#

Once you encounter warm or damp stone you want to back off a couple of squares and dig an up [[staircase]]. On this new z-level dig another tunnel to where you just found damp/warm stone. Depending on how tall the feature was and whereabouts you hit it, you may need to repeat this approach. Eventually your miner will reach a z-level where he can safely dig all the way through to the "surface" of the feature.

===Obsidian caps===
[[Image:obsidian_cap.png|thumb|right|100px|An obsidian cap]]
Even when a magma pipe reaches the surface it can freeze over in cold [[climate]]s, or may simply stop just short of surface. In theses case it will have a [[obsidian]] cap over it, which is easier to find: just search for any hills or mountainsides that have a circular chunk missing and/or a grey circle of stone (example on the right).

[[Category:Guides]]

{{Mining FAQ}}

40d:Exploratory mining

2009-03-30T15:38:16Z

Sfogarty: /* Mine shafts */

Exploratory mining is the process of mining large areas in order to obtain resources such as [[gems]], [[metal]] [[ores]] and other types of [[stone|rock]]. It is also used, to a lesser extent, to find the locations of hidden underground features such as [[chasm]]s, [[underground river]]s, [[magma]] and [[adamantine]].
The most straightforward method is to mark a large rectangular area for digging. Unfortunately, this method is also the least efficient. More efficient digging patterns involve digging out a smaller percentage of the stone in a given area, but still revealing a large percentage of the stone. These patterns are compromises, which depend on factors that will be described in this article.
Note that exploratory mining is the process dedicated solely to discovery of resources and features. The digging process is usually separated, and not discussed here in great detail.
The [[cheating]] counterpart to exploratory mining is the infamous [[utilities#reveal.exe|reveal]] tool.

== Factors in exploratory mining ==

These are the factors we shall consider for each digging pattern. Knowing them and deciding on their priority will help you find the most suitable pattern.
Most of the factors are represented by numbers, obtained by dividing two quantities. Others are more subjective.

=== Labor ===

''Labor'' is the amount of work that goes into the digging process. Exploratory mining is a work intensive process, capable of straining even a large fortress, but the work that goes into different patterns varies greatly. A fortress with a large supply of skilled miners can afford to consider labor low priority. The labor factor is the fraction of stone dug out of an area, and as such, it's a percentage, between 0 and 100%.

=== Scarcity ===

''Scarcity'' is the amount of desired material present in the rock layer. It's theoretically represented by the fraction of desired material in the soil layer, but one can seldom state it accurately or even estimate it. Scarcity is determined by the types of materials you're after. Single tiles are the scarcest, followed by small clusters, veins and large clusters. For the classification of your desired material, see the [[gem]] and [[stone]] articles. Underground features are about as scarce as large clusters.

If you are after the precious gems: diamond, sapphire and ruby, you will see that these can be found only in [[kimberlite]] (diamonds) and [[bauxite]] (sapphires and rubies) respectively. So you only need to find the veins of kimberlite in a [[gabbro]] layer or the large clusters of bauxite in [[sedimentary layer]]s respectively, and dig those out using one of the patterns that reveals every tile.

=== Visibility ===

''Visibility'' is the amount of tiles that you reveal in the digging process. Excavated tiles are always visible, and so are the tiles immadiately adjacent to them, including diagonals. The purpose of exploratory mining is to make a single tile of the desired material visible, allowing you to switch to conventional digging and extract it. Visibility is represented by the fraction of visible tiles in the excavated area. Visibility is always a priority, but it tends to decrease in priority as scarcity decreases, because there are more tiles that need to be dug out, and not just seen.

=== Reusability ===

Exploratory mining leaves behind a monotonous, repeating landscape. The excavated level may be hard to reuse for habitation, storage or industry without additional digging and significant rebuilding efforts that leave behind inferior walls that cannot be engraved. Reusability is subjective, and it depends on the desired layout. Reusability is represented by the largest room size achievable by digging into the solid rock left behind without rebuilding any walls. Reusability is a priority for a small fortress.

== Resource Distribution ==
===Ore===
[[Ore]] occurs in three forms, depending on the kind:

* Large cluster: An oval that occupies nearly half of a 48x48 block, area-wise. Only one appears per block.
* Vein: A sinuous line of the material crosses the block.
* Small cluster: A sprinkle of 3 to 9 adjacent tiles. Multiple small clusters of different materials may be in the same block.

===Gems===
[[Gem]]s also occur in small clusters, or as a single tile.

== Patterns ==

Patterns are represented by a unit tile. This unit tile is repeated throughout the area intended for excavation to create the desired pattern. Each pattern is analyzed with the above factors in mind.

Key:
░ = Not mined, not visible
▒ = Not mined, visible (wall)
. = Mined (floor)

=== Hollow ===

All tiles are excavated.

* ''Labor'': 100% of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Any scarcity. If it exists in the layer, it will be found.
* ''Visibility'': 100% of the tiles are visible, obviously.
* ''Reusability'': Approaches zero. Any design other than a large hall requires reconstruction.
* ''Bottom line'': Hollowing wastes labor like there's no tomorrow, but integrates extraction into the exploratory mining process. Use only if you have a lot of labor to spare, really need huge amounts of stone and don't mind the reconstruction required to make the hollow area habitable.

=== Rows ===
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▒▒▒▒▒▒
......
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......
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* ''Labor'': 1/3 (~33%) of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Any scarcity. Clusters as small as a single tile are revealed.<br />
* ''Visibility'': 100%.
* ''Reusability'': Very low. The long corridors aren't very useful, and can only be expanded to long, wide corridors.
* ''Bottom line'': This method achieves the same visibility as hollowing out, but using a mere third of the labor. Ideal for hunting single-tile gems. As an added bonus, it is more efficient than a 3×3 design.

=== Diagonal ===
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▒▒.▒▒▒▒.▒▒
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* ''Labor'': 20% of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Any scarcity. Clusters as small as a single tile are revealed.
* ''Visibility'': 100%.
* ''Reusability'': With a bit of imagination you can build nice 3x3 rooms
* ''Bottom line'': This method is 2nd most efficient of those with 100% visibility. This one doesn't use other levels to move from one spot to another but is annoying to designate.

=== Mine shafts ===

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▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
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▒X▒▒X▒▒X▒
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* ''Labor'': 11.1% of the tiles are excavated (1/9).
* ''Scarcity'': Any scarcity. Clusters as small as a single tile are revealed.
* ''Visibility'': 100%.
* ''Reusability'': It's easy to make into square rooms of various sizes, the stairways can be removed and used as doorways, or just carved out as part of the rooms.
* ''Bottom line'': You'll need to clear part of one layer above it to get it started (use one of the other methods to cover the area), but this method is the most efficient for those with 100% visibility, and has a great reuse value. Real dwarves' choice! It takes a lot of keypressing to designate, [[User:StrawberryBunny/Mineshaft.ahk|here]] is a ahk script to save your fingers. For a discussion on optimising travel times through mineshafts, see [[MineshaftStitching|here]].

=== Pinwheel Shafts===

<div style="font-family: monospace; white-space: pre; line-height: 126.5%"><nowiki>
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒XX▒▒X▒▒XX▒
▒▒▒▒▒X▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒░▒▒▒░▒▒▒
▒X▒▒▒▒▒▒▒X▒
▒X▒▒XXX▒▒X▒
▒X▒▒▒▒▒▒▒X▒
▒▒▒░▒▒▒░▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒X▒▒▒▒▒
▒XX▒▒X▒▒XX▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

</nowiki></div>
* ''Labor'': In this example about 17.3% of the tiles are being excavated..
* ''Scarcity'': All except single-tile small clusters.
* ''Visibility'': 96.6%.
* ''Reusability'': Workshops can be easily fitted into the unmined 3x3 areas.
* ''Bottom line'': Very similar to Mine Shafts, but you can replace the up/down stairways with a mixture of up stairs and down stairs, eliminating the chance that one of your dwarves will slip and fall all the way down the shaft.

=== 7×7 blocks ===
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░░░▒.▒░░░░░▒.▒░░
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................
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* ''Labor'': 15/64 (~23%) of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Veins and up, as the large 5X5 space left in each unit tile can easily conceal a small cluster.
* ''Visibility'': 39/64 (~61%) of the tiles are visible.
* ''Reusability'': Medium. The 7×7 blocks can easily be converted into 5×5 rooms, suitable for individual rooms, storage or workshops. Optionally, it can be converted into a grid of connected 7x7 rooms, if you center each room on a crossroad. Easily converted into a more thorough 3×3 block patten by digging through the large blocks.
* ''Bottom line'': This is a low-labor method great for vein-hunting. The low labor cost puts you in a position to invest more and get better coverage if desired.

=== 15×15 blocks ===
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░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░▒.▒░░░░░░░░░
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................................
▒▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒.▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
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* ''Labor'': 31/256 (~12%) of the tiles are excavated.
* ''Scarcity'': Large clusters and up, as the large 13×13 space left in each unit tile can easily conceal quite a lot. Unless you have particularly bad luck you should also find all veins, but there is no guarantee.
* ''Visibility'': 87/256 (34%) of the tiles are visible.
* ''Reusability'': High. A 15×15 block of solid rock is extremely versatile when it comes to interior design. It's easily converted into a 7×7 block design, which may be further converted into a 3×3 block design.
* ''Bottom line'': This method is preferable when you are low on labor or when you're after an underground feature. It can easily accommodate parts of your fort, or serve as the precursor for a more thorough search.

==Searching for underground water & magma==
While a lot of fun, underground features can be both difficult to find and dangerous to the unprepared, being as they are full of hostile creatures.

===Digging===
Underground features are a lot larger than [[ore]] and [[gem]] deposits, so the 15x15 block method is quite sufficient to find them. Furthurmore you only need to dig every 3rd [[z-level]] out as even the shortest feature, a [[cave river]], can be discovered on any one of the 3 levels it influences, as shown in the side profiles below.

Over the top Reveals Hits damp Hits damp Underneath

_______o## ######## ######### ######### ######### # Unmined stone
### ##### ___o ## #### ### #### ### #### ### ~ Water
##<font color="blue">#~~#</font>#### ###<font color="blue">#~~#</font># __o<font color="blue">#~~#</font>## ###<font color="blue">#~~#</font>## ###<font color="blue">#~~#</font>## _ Floor of the tunnel
###<font color="blue">##</font>##### ####<font color="blue">##</font>## ####<font color="blue">##</font>### ___o<font color="blue">##</font>### ####<font color="blue">##</font>### o Miner
########## ######## ######### ######### _______o#

Once you encounter warm or damp stone you want to back off a couple of squares and dig an up [[staircase]]. On this new z-level dig another tunnel to where you just found damp/warm stone. Depending on how tall the feature was and whereabouts you hit it, you may need to repeat this approach. Eventually your miner will reach a z-level where he can safely dig all the way through to the "surface" of the feature.

===Obsidian caps===
[[Image:obsidian_cap.png|thumb|right|100px|An obsidian cap]]
Even when a magma pipe reaches the surface it can freeze over in cold [[climate]]s, or may simply stop just short of surface. In theses case it will have a [[obsidian]] cap over it, which is easier to find: just search for any hills or mountainsides that have a circular chunk missing and/or a grey circle of stone (example on the right).

[[Category:Guides]]

{{Mining FAQ}}