====== Exploration ======

Most of the map starts hidden. Before a site can be used, it has to be found.

===== Visibility states =====

A site moves through up to four states:

^ State ^ What you see ^
| **Unknown** | Nothing. Hidden from the map and F10. |
| **Rumored** | A rough search area and a radio frequency. Exact position is masked. |
| **Discovered** | A provisional marker after a flyover. Position is approximate. |
| **Mapped** | Full details: stock, routes, F10 navigation, and its normal radio beacon. |

Only **mapped** sites are fully usable for deliveries and navigation.

===== Rumors =====

Rumors appear on their own over time, generally near existing supply or construction demand, and generally closer to one of your mapped Settlements — the further a site sits from the nearest one, the less likely it is to come up. A rumor gives you:

  * A rough search area (a circle, not a point).
  * A radio frequency to search on.
  * A compass direction and a named anchor site for context ("reported south of X").

Check the **Current rumors** list under ''F10 > Other > Tycoon > Navigation'' for every open rumor, its search area, and its frequency.

A rumor left unattended for too long eventually lapses back to unknown, and a site that just lapsed won't immediately show up as a new rumor again. It needs a little time before it can reappear, so the same site doesn't cycle back the moment it drops out.

Only a handful of rumors can be open across the whole map at once, so leads compete for the same few places — chase them or lose them. The **[[settlements#institutions|Cartography Institute]]** adds one more slot server-wide; it doesn't unlock anything a Survey Station unlocks, it simply lets the world track one more lead at a time.

===== Finding a rumored site =====

Rumor search uses a simulated **A/N radio range**, the historical four-course radio beacon: fly the course line named in the rumor text and you hear a steady tone; drift off it and you hear a Morse "A" (dit-dah) or "N" (dah-dit) bleeding through instead, telling you which way to correct.

This requires **SimpleRadio Standalone (SRS)** — the tone is sent to you personally once your radio is tuned to the rumor's exact frequency and modulation, not broadcast to everyone in range.

  - Tune the rumor's frequency and modulation in SRS.
  - Fly into the search area, roughly along the compass direction named in the rumor text (e.g. "south of X" — fly the line running south from the anchor).
  - Listen for the tone: a steady, rhythm-free tone means you're on the course line; a Morse "A" or "N" mixed in means you've drifted to that side — the stronger the letter, the further off. The Gazelle (SA-342) hears a wider, more forgiving course and a slightly longer range than other airframes.
  - Flying near the actual site promotes it to **discovered**, with a provisional marker on the map.
  - Landing on it confirms it as **mapped**, unlocking its full details, beacon, and F10 navigation.

===== Survey Station =====

Some sites — richer ore deposits, advanced factories, oil — only start showing up as rumors once the region has a **Survey Station** built to a high enough level at any of its Hubs. Level 2 unlocks Tier 2 cargo rumors, level 3 unlocks Tier 3, and the unlock applies across the **whole region**, not just near that one Hub. Because the unlock is regional, only one Hub per region can host a Survey Station — decide which one, and level that one up. See [[settlements#survey_station|Settlements & Projects]] for how to build one.

The unlock lasts as long as the Survey Station does: [[settlements#demolition|demolishing]] it drops the region back to whatever tier is still covered, which without another Survey Station means Tier 1.

A Survey Station also widens how far the search reaches, from level 1 onwards. Rumors favour sites near your existing mapped Settlements and stop considering anything too far out entirely — so extra range doesn't just make distant sites more likely, it brings sites into play that the region would otherwise never turn up at all. Tier 1 sites are rumored everywhere without any Survey Station, so this is about reaching further and faster, never about getting started.