Maelstrom

I'm not saying that density prospecting is a way to find surface nodes directly. I'm thinking more along the lines of using the prospecting results from random prospecting as a potential indicator of surface nuggets if a visual inspection wasn't done. Granted, this is very, very niche use case. As for the technomancy? I think there is some kind of unintended interaction (probably a logic error) going on that indirectly causes density searches and ore generation of surface ore deposits to be linked in some obscure fashion.

Over the weekend I checked my map for instances of galena nuggets I waypointed and prospecting results for galena only. I have two fields of galena and both corresponded to prospecting results for galena as well. Upon further review the penalty is reversed. I concur with @MKMoose that there does seem to be some kind of connection between prospecting results and galena surface deposits that create nuggets. @Teh Pizza Lady - I'd be interested to hear your findings in less technical terms. I'd also be interested if you can find a connection between surface deposit generation and pro-pick readings.

@Metalton Correct!

Just got back from the Humorous Stories thread. Yeah, the bee story is there already. But it was 3,000 blocks, not 2,000.

In my first serious playthrough I had a 2,000 block run to the second nearest bee. Why second nearest you ask? Coz I inadvertently and totally unintentionally despawned the hive that was just 100 blocks from my home. Later I chopped down some bothersome tall pine trees about 50 blocks from home and (I think you see where I'm going here). Well, I was quite surprised when 3 honeycomb appeared in my hotbar. Yeeeeaaaahhhh... I need to check the Humorous Stories thread to see if I told that one.

If only lime could be used as a welding flux.

default month is 9 days. Best to make it a percentage so that other lengths are affected appropriately. A 2 day variation on 9day months is a lot heavier than a 2 day variation on a 30 day month. However, 25% will affect both equally.

Better be a Hummer and not a Subaru

Go to the client area and redownload the game, following the installer instructions. Other, more technical gurus, might have better suggestions though.

I was afraid you were referencing the VS wiki page. Those pages are largely unchanged since I first read them 3-4 years ago. If you read the first one carefully you'll find exactly what I've been saying. Any connection between the pro-pick density search mode and surface nuggets is purely coincidental. Additionally, that same table shows that lead does not spawn as deep ores, therefore my statement about the density search being blind to lead. Galena also has the highest tries per chunk for surface ores. The high likelihood of surface ore generation for lead makes your correlation seem strong despite being coincidental. When I get home I'll poke around with prospecting for lead in density search mode. I still maintain that your method is dubious with specious results.

I ain't scared of no ghosts!

Shouldn't that be Subaru-dee-doo, where are you? We got some work to do now. Subaru-dee-doo, where are you? We need some help from you now.

That is an example of how deep ore generates compared to the pro-pick on density search mode. The results from taking a sample in density search is the probability of finding ore. You don't actually know if the reading is true or not until you mine for it. To confirm your observation, I stumbled upon a deposit of magnetite caving under my base. I took a pro-pick reading and it came back as very poor probability. Many other reports from a few years ago reported that they found no results for iron for anything less than very high. The density mode reads the ore heat map and returns the the value from the map. The per mille number associated with the reading is basically a dump of debug info indicating how much ore could spawn in that chunk IF a deposit of ore spawns in that chunk. I'll have to test that when I get a chance (assuming I remember to the next time in VS as well). I'm curious what wiki page you refer to.

Welcome to the forums! I concur! Tyron might even implement those kinds of mechanics once the game has it's major features implemented.

Tyron has stated in the past (and wolf pup trafficking adds credence to this) that he does want to make it possible to tame wolves. For now, canines are aggressive in the base game.

I will be anxiously awaiting Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story.

Not rumor. Tyron has stated such. In fact, butterflies carries over from the VintageCraft mod. And, yes, Saraty loves flutterby's.

This is where I disagree with you, unless you mean using the node search mode (which has a range of no greater than 13 block radius). Density search mode for the pro-pick is completely blind to surface deposits that generate nuggets on the ground. I am stating this vehemently, because your satement I quoted is completely wrong. Any pro-pick reading on density search mode and finding surface nuggets will be completely coincidental. The only way to find surface ore deposits (the ones that generate nuggets on the ground) using the pro-pick is using the node search mode. @Streetwind did extensive research and study on prospecting and ore generation before I even started playing (which I haven't mentioned before coz old man brain). I learned a ton from him. Search for his posts on this if you want to learn more.

But deep ores may spawn below the bauxite. In my previous world I found very/ultra high readings for sphalerite or bismuthanite. I dug through the surface layer of shale, hit bauxite and stopped. After a couple days thought things over, went back and bored through the boaxite and found not only the indicated ore, but also sporadic veins of copper too.

@MKMoose I didn't read the entirety of your tome. I've limited time resources. I did read the first paragraph or two and when you mention the "code" was actually just data in a JSON, that tells me a lot. The data in a JSON does not indicate how the functions invoked in the actual code use that data. I have experience in coding a number of different programming languages (C# not being one of them, as I previously mentioned) so I can at least decipher some of how the code of the functions would act. Experience indicates how the game is coded. Such as using refactory bricks to create a beehive kiln vs. refractory furnace reveals different functions. Similarly, my experience with surface or deep ore generation is different indicates different functions in the code that is completely separate from the data in a JSON file. That wasn't my point at all. My point was that surface deposits are completely invisible to the density search mode of the pro-pick. Come to think of it, the two search modes for the pro-pick lends even more evidence that there are two different functions to generating ore deposits. And I concur 50 block depth is generous for "deep" lead deposits; I was erring on the side of caution.

I believe you are correct. This thread may hold all the answers you seek:

I don't know C# so can't analyze the code. Based on my experience surface deposits generate differently than "deep" deposits as I've described. And for sure the two are independent, and upon reflection may even be mutually exclusive - probably from the generation code you posted choosing one over the other. [edit] My comment about the wiki was incomplete. Some information on the wiki may be out of date while other information isn't would be a more accurate expression of the wiki. My apologies for confusion my previous comment may have caused. Gold and silver only spawn in quartz, which itself may spawn as surface or deep desposits. If it spawns as a surface deposit the gold and silver may create surface nuggets among the quartz nuggets.

fify Perhaps "No Bell Prize" for being killed by a bell summoned mob?

I intended it to be list of "accomplishments" that were taken to the absurd extreme. Such as the following, which I find absolutely, ridiculously hilarious!!!

My source? Playing since 1.14 There's a difference between surface deposits and deposits that show up on the density search. Lead deposits that may show up on density search will be shallow (compared against other ores like iron, ilmenite, etc) but those deposits are not surface deposits which spawn no lower than 10 blocks below the top layer of soil/sand/gravel. The shallow deposits of lead will likely spawn lower than 10 blocks below the top layer, but not generate deeper. I once found such a shallow deposit of lead. It was somwhere around 20 or 25 blocks below the top soil layer. Ores detected by density search are based off of a heat map. Surface ore deposits are randomly placed and completely unrelated to that ore heat map. I've found surface copper nodes in places where the pro pick says no copper exists. Remember, the wiki is likely to be inaccurate because it is out of date. Take any info from the wiki with a deposit of halite!