Vanilla prospecting has always felt like a chore to me, a truly “Systematic Method” as stated on the Wiki. It feels unsatisfying in a grindy, inorganic way, and unlike most other aspects of the progression system it cannot necessarily be juggled as fluidly and enjoyably as hunting, foraging, farming or even caving.

This mod seeks to get the player direct and real results from the Prospecting Pick by scanning an area Sky to Mantle, in measurements starting at 16x16, and ending at 128x128. The output results are real, the ores present within the scanned area. It is then up to the player to dig them out.

The Vanilla Proximity-Based Node Search Mode allows for a “Hot-Cold”, “Cat-and-Mouse”, or “Minesweeper” type experience where the player is managing light-sources, ladders, cave-ins, and Temporal Stability while searching for ore underground. I find this gameplay is preceded by a ‘Fun-Tax’ that is the wide-area Density Search Mode. It is vague, complicated, and leaves the player feeling Gas-Lighted by the game as to whether or not ores are truly present. This mod is simply a ‘fix’ to the otherwise frustrating ‘guessing game’ provided by the Density Search Mode, as it cuts out the guessing and gives direct and measurable results. The enjoyable Ore-Chase is readily accessible, no vanilla scan/search modes are overridden.

Modes in Detail:

• Line: searches 32 blocks in a line.
• Area: searches like the default "Node" search. Each is X by Z, by 200Y: Small (16 blocks), Medium (32 blocks), Large (64 blocks).
• Extra Large Stone: searches 128 blocks, much like the Area search, but it only returns rock in the area. Handy for when you're looking for chalk!

(A Note on Node Search):

Node search, and thus the Area search, works by counting out from the block you destroy by a number of blocks. Say your node search is 6 blocks: it's actually counting 13 by 13 square, or 6 out from the destroyed block to the north, south, east, and west.

Note: it slipped my mind, but this mod is not compatible with creative.

*Logo and Icons made by Gnomp