digging help (top cut or undercutting)

[Bruteforce]

i have been undercutting mining (digging from the bottom up) i was wondering if digging it down in layers rather then undercutting is a better idea. i mined a square i drill 7 times it showed 256oz rich pocket 0-5m down but i only got 21oz out of it.

[FurBall]

When you dig from the bottom up, you lose gold. Always dig top down.

[Officer Payne]

Not only does it matter if you dig from top to bottom, but also which tier of equipment you’re using. Tier 2 (mobile washplant) only has 8% efficiency. If that’s what you were using, it makes sense that you got 21 out of 256 ounces of gold. 20.4 ounces is 8% of 256. The higher tier of equipment you use, the higher gold % you’ll get.

[Metallos]

... as you can see it in the safety training viedo: https://youtu.be/0xg3EE32h6w?t=303
(Watch from 5:00)

[Bruteforce]

lol that so bad

[Ruges]

Originally posted by Bruteforce:

it showed 256oz rich pocket 0-5m down but i only got 21oz out of it.

This is because of the way the game is setup. it allows you to progress threw the different tiers of equipment its hard to get an exact number, since the devs have not posted exact numbers. And no dedicated person has went threw and done actual tests to figure out the real numbers.

But the basics of it all are: T1 is going to get you 7% of that 256oz, T2 is going to get you 20% of the gold. T3 is going to get you 40% of the gold, T4 is going to get you 60% and T5 is going to get you 80%, The last 20% comes from crew skill. Or something like that.

However others are correct in posting, digging from the bottom deletes dirt over it. I did another post on here somewhere covering that.

[Bruteforce]

i started a fresh season 4 mine now and its a hell of a lot more dirt coming out of the hogpan site cleared in 2-3days undercutting now 1 full day in and bearly made a dent in it thanks for the insight its maked a massive difference

[^^JessAmp^^]

I get all this, and I understand as a programmer myself the challenges of representing deformable terrain and calculating its content. However, the question that remains, is.. What is the point of the dozer and loader in Gold Rush? What can they really be used for if they can't really be used to push or load dirt? lol

[dogwalker1]

You can use the loader to dig - just dig from the top downwards in layers with it. There are two situations that readily come to mind where the loader is useful: the first is as a means of digging, transporting and feeding paydirt to the T3 washplant before you can afford the dumptruck, conveyor and conveyor hopper (container), all of which are needed to work with an excavator at Tier 3 and up. Even digging from the top down though I have (unverified) suspicions of getting less gold with the loader than an excavator, but it's a temporary measure to get you off T2 and up & running with T3. It works, I've gone that route. The second use for it is for clean-up duty after you've gone over the whole claim with the excavator. The loader is more useful than the excavator for scraping the last bits of payfidrt off bedrock. It just gets that remaining paydirt quicker, and it has no teeth to break.

As for the dozer, you can use it to create smooth roads, which can speed things up as your vehicles travel much more slowly over bumpy uneven ground. Smooth roads save time and fuel. (It also just looks and feels more realistic to have a planned travel route across the claim.) You can also use it to create a ramp down into the claim (but only a long gradual one). Some use it to push low-yield dirt out of the way - they call it overburden, but since ALL the paydirt contains at least profitable quantities of gold it's not really overburden.

I do find the dozer is the most frustrating piece of equipment to use effectively though.

[Ruges]

Originally posted by ^^JessAmp^^:

What is the point of the dozer and loader in Gold Rush? What can they really be used for if they can't really be used to push or load dirt? lol

So heres my view on equipment.
The Excavator:
Its what you generally do all your digging with. it has the fastest loading time of any equipment and gernally does not need any prework done to make it work. In the picture below you will see the aftermath of the excavator digging. Basically it excells at digging holes. Main disadvantage is it can leave allot of pay to the sides (unless your shallow/narrow digging into bedrock) Next disadvantage is it has extreme difficulties navigating rough terrain, It can dig on rough terrian but cannot drive on it).
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1849438769

The Frontloader:
Main advantage is movement speed. it also only takes 8.5 scoops ti fill a dump truck. Can clear out the mine faster then an excavator when coupled with mass conveyors. Can only clear a 4 or 5 meter wall face, Anything taller will result is gold being sent to the void. Low power does not handle slopes or rough terrain. Excels at clearing out the bottom 4 meters of the map. Below you will see a picture where the frontloader is cleaning up all the small mounds the excavator left. That bottom gold is the high yield gold you dont want to leave behind.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1851089324

The Bulldozer:
Main advantage smoothing / Clearing overburden. The bulldozer is the only machine that can make a perfectly smooth road. If you need it flat or at a slight angle the bulldozer is for you. If you need to send the top 4 feet of dirt to the void the bulldozer is for you. Main disadvantage is it cannot push dirt up. And can only push dirt down at a slight angle. Below are two pictures. The top picture is where the bulldozer created a road down into the bottom of the pit, This made a nice smooth area for the dumptruck to operate quickly from the bottom of the mine to the plant. The second picture is where the bulldozer flat end the terrain and removed the top 4 meters. This served two purposes, First it made the working area for the excavator and dump truck easy (or in that case the mobile washplant). Second it removed the top 4 meters of worthless dirt to get down into the paydirt.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1851089215
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1560413188

basically each machine has its role. Can you go with the excavator and skip the frontloader and/or the bulldozer? Yep. Can you go with the frontloader and skip the excavator and/or the bulldozer? Yep. And/or you can use each machine where they are strongest (or if you wanted to bash your head against the keyboard there weakest).

[HiSaZuL]

What Ruges says basically covers the use of the loader and dozer. Loader is either for clearing left over dirt at the bottom, no matter how you go about it, without going completely nutty and needing dozer you can't reach all the way down in deeper spots. To do so you need to shave off layers then make the result actually drivable for excavator, smallest nick and it may as well be a wall, so you need to roll it with dozer, and then clear out again. Lots of extra work. Loader moves really fast, has higher scoop capacity and is basically what you use to clear the bottom with. Far into later stages you can use movable conveyor belts to dig with just loader, requires more effort since you have to work in layers and not get trapped by creating a wall. Dozer is there to mitigate atrocious movement of everything... no dozer? You will never get through on excavator, dump truck or even loader over worked dirt.

[schutt]

dozer is nice for dirtroads on low yield dirt and if you want to smooth up a lvl and dont care for some dirt lost. Old arnold has a verry steep incline where the dig site and the area for the maschinery meet, if you find some cheap dirt you can build a smooth road and make your dump truck trips faster. But i admitt it needs some attention in a future patch, verry hard to build ramps.