Resource Detection Overlay
Scanners or potions reveal what's hidden in the rock.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Information · Discovery · Optimization
No.052Terraria01The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Activate detection
- 02Read the markers
- 03Plan a route
- 04Go harvest
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
In a cave, the player has one 5-minute ore-sight potion.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
They descend deeper before drinking it.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
Gold-outlined ore lights up: a rare gem cluster bottom-left, common ore to the right.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
They grab the gems first, then sweep common ore with 2 minutes left.
How it plays
Detection tools highlight or mark nearby resources, some for a limited time, others via powered structures. It turns blind digging into targeted digging, and range, duration and cost decide how valuable the info is.
What the player weighs
- Spend resources for info vs. dig on luck
- Wide and vague vs. narrow and precise
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Terraria
The Spelunker potion makes nearby ores and treasure glow for a time, and the Metal Detector names the most valuable ore nearby.
Subnautica
A Scanner Room built in your base lets you choose a resource and shows its locations as markers in your view, with upgradable range.
The difference worth noticing
Terraria's detection is a portable consumable; Subnautica requires investing in a base facility.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Detected deposits only stick on the map you've explored yourself; unexplored areas show just a vague direction.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Reading Signs of Buried Loot
Small surface details hint at what's below; only sharp eyes dig it up.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Notice an odd detail
- 02Infer what's beneath
- 03Dig to confirm
- 04Remember the pattern
Ability Gates and Backtracking
That ledge you couldn't reach? You'll be back once you can double jump.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Hit an impassable obstacle
- 02Note it and move on
- 03Earn a new ability
- 04Backtrack and open it
Earned Map Information
The map doesn't just appear; you buy it, find it, or draw it yourself.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Enter unknown ground
- 02Seek a map source
- 03The map fills in
- 04Plan routes with it