Editing C-Survey

[[File:Sig06-030.jpg|thumb|Image by NASA/ESA]]

Survey missions are used to find [[jump point|Jump Points]] and [[Mineral]]s. They are conducted by survey vessels equipped with specialized sensors capable of either detecting gravitational anomalies or the geological makeup of system bodies.

==Gravitational Survey==
Before you can explore new [[system]]s, or find new routes between existing ones, you first need to find the [[jump point|Jump Points]] connecting them. Surveying a system requires a vessels equipped with [[Gravitational Survey Sensors]]. You can see the surveyed and unsurveyed Survey Locations in a system by selecting "Show JP Survey Locations" from the Display tab in the [[System Map]] window. You will be notified when a system has been completely surveyed. Each system contains 30 points which can be scanned for potential jump points. These survey points are arranged in three rings around the system primary, with 6 points in the inner ring and 12 points each in the middle and outer rings. 

The distance from the primary [[star]] and the survey time will vary based on the mass of the primary star. The benchmark for this is Sol, where the outermost ring is 40 AU (~6b km) from the Sun, and each location takes 400 survey points to survey. 
* For systems with primaries smaller than Sol, these numbers vary based on the square root of the star's mass, so a star that weighs 0.25 solar masses will have a multiplier of 0.25^(1/2) = 0.5. This means that the outermost ring will be half as far away (20 AU, not 40 AU), and each location will take half as many survey points (200, not 400). 
* For systems with primary stars heavier than Sol, it will vary by the cube root instead, so a star that weighs 8 solar masses will have a multiplier of 8^(1/3) = 2. This means that the outermost ring will be twice as far away (80 AU, not 40 AU), and each location will take twice as many survey points (800, not 400). [https://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=12523.msg160681#msg160681]

==Geological Survey==
Before you can start [[mining]] other [[bodies]] (planets, moons, asteroids or comets), you have to complete a geological survey from orbit first. Surveying a body requires a vessel equipped with [[Geological Survey Sensors]]. An estimated 5% of all bodies contain [[mineral]]s. For bodies with a diameter of 4000km or more (i.e., slightly larger than the Moon), there is also a chance that the planet will be able to increase its available minerals by conducting a ground survey. Ground surveys require [[C-Ground Units|ground units]] with the Geosurvey Equipment component, and will require as many survey points as the initial space survey did. 

Normal mineral generation (at system body creation) has three phases:
1) An overall roll for the potential for minerals to be present, based on radius, density and system abundance. If this roll fails, the body has no minerals.
2) A roll for each type of mineral to be present, based on density and abundance. Duranium has twice the chance of any other mineral.
3) A roll for the accessibility of each mineral generated in step 2). This is based on radius.

Once the ground survey is completed (assuming potential is Minimal or higher), a new mineral generation roll will take place. For this roll:
Step 1 is the same regardless of the potential.
Step 2 is modified by the potential. Minimal is 25% normal, Low is 33% normal (same as teams in VB6), Good is 50% normal, High is 100% normal and Excellent is 200% normal.
Step 3 is modified by High (+ 0.1) and Excellent (+ 0.2). All others are same as normal.

If a deposit of a mineral that didn't previously exist is generated by the ground survey, that deposit is added to the system body.
If a mineral deposit is generated by the ground survey and a deposit of that mineral already exists on the system body, the existing deposit is changed to match the amount or accessibility (or both) of the ground survey deposit if the latter is greater.

The chances that an eligible body (4000 km diameter) will have ground survey potential is equal to:
None 60%, Minimal 20%, Low 10%, Good 6%, High 3%, Excellent 1%. [https://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=8495.msg107705#msg107705]

The quality of the geo-sensor (normal, improved, advanced, phased) and the capabilities of the ground surveyors affect only the time required, not the chance of finding minerals. You can't get more than two chances of discovering minerals - one for the orbital search, one for the ground survey.

Typically, larger bodies contain more minerals when discovered, but they usually have lower accessibility. Comets have high chances of containing minerals and usually have very high accessibility, but the quantities are typically quite low. 

Gas giants can only ever contain Sorium, and cannot be given a follow-up ground survey. 

===Survey results===
You will be notified when a system has been completely surveyed. 

There are several ways to find out which bodies have been surveyed and what has been found:
* Selecting "Show Surveyed Bodies" from the Minerals tab in the system map window. Here you can also see how much mineral reserves have been found, and their accessibility (i.e. possible mining rate).
* Going to the System View window (F9): the first column shows either nothing (not surveyed yet), an "S" (surveyed but nothing found) or "M" (minerals present). 
* The [[Mineral Survey]] window provides a search function for minerals you've discovered. 
Finally, the Summary tab of the Population & Production window tells you whether a geo-team search on the colony has been completed yet.

==Default Survey Orders==
In the Naval Organization window, once you've selected a fleet, you can choose the "Standing Orders" tab (third from the left). This contains a wide range of standing orders you can use to automate surveying. Select "Survey Nearest System Location" for grav survey, "Survey Nearest Body" for geo survey, or "Survey Next Three System Bodies or Locations" if you want a ship to survey both types of location. Geo survey can also be done with the "Survey Nearest [Asteroid/Moon/Planet/Planet or Moon]" standing orders, if you prefer to only survey certain types of body. These orders will be carried out whenever there's nothing else in the orders list. You will be notified when the ships have surveyed all locations which fit their orders.

You can also use bulk standing orders, such as "Survey Next 5 Bodies" or "Survey Next 3 Locations" to have the ships select multiple survey locations at once. This can sometimes spread your ships out more efficiently, and allow geo-survey ships to do more in a single time increment if multiple small bodies are nearby, but the differences are usually minor. 

Finally, there are orders that allow survey ships to automatically move between systems, once their current system has been surveyed in full. These are the "Move to System Requiring Geosurvey" and "Move to System Requiring Gravsurvey" orders. Generally, you will want these as secondary standing orders. Here is an example of how standing orders might be set up for a geosurvey fleet in practice: 

[[File:StandingOrders.png]]

[[Category:Content]]