BUG - The extrastable soil for the Radioactive Desert cannot be investigated

[Tindomion]

I started playing the campaign in this game, and after exploring the radioactive desert biome, I decided to build an outpost to house ore storage. When a section of wall is built on a quicksand tile, Mr. Riggs prompts me to research unstable ground to prevent damage to the structures. I then go to the Research window and see that the unstable ground technology is no longer a mystery and the unstable ground icon appears... but it's marked as locked and won't unlock until an event occurs, preventing me from doing the required research! Furthermore, the objective reminder on the normal game screen appears when Mr. Riggs gives me the warning, but then it seems to disappear. Therefore, I think there's a bug preventing me from researching this technology, as something similar happened in the acid plains, but the acid-resistant ground technology could be researched there. I need help with this problem or I won't be able to expand properly in the desert biome due to the excessive amount of quicksand that takes up much of the available land.

[deltahazer]

To unlock the ability to actually do the research, you need to scan enough Stregaros creatures to get the required Familiarity level (Lv 2, I think). You should gain access to a new map via the Orbital Scanner for a "Stregaros Nest," which is very heavily populated with the beasties.

However, it is possible with a little luck to get the required Familiarity by scanning them on other maps- even on the very same map where the subject first comes up, if you're careful about "scan before frag" and have a little luck on how many spawn as scannable. If not, you should be able to get it before long if you thoroughly explore & scan your way through the other maps in the radioactive desert biome-- just have to be more careful of your building until then, or lay down extra Repair Towers to keep the structures patched up. ;)

[Tindomion]

Thanks for the info. I'll scan the Stregaros more to see if it fully unlocks the technology. I'm surprised by this requirement, as it wasn't necessary in the case of the Acid Plains.

[deltahazer]

Originally posted by Tindomion:

Thanks for the info. I'll scan the Stregaros more to see if it fully unlocks the technology. I'm surprised by this requirement, as it wasn't necessary in the case of the Acid Plains.

Yeah, I think it was part of them trying to vary up the pacing in the exploration of the original game's biomes a bit, way back in the pre-DLC days. Easy to miss the chatter between Ash and Riggsy when it comes up, especially if you were dealing with a slug of hostiles at the time ;) Basically something along the lines of "This quicksand is a pain" "Those creatures don't seem to have trouble with it. Let's scan them and adapt."

Similarly, if you haven't gone after Titanium yet, make sure you don't bust up the plants on the white ground in that Biome until you've scanned enough that you can research the special flooring for THAT place. They're easier to find than the Stregs, but it's easy to destroy plants accidentally if you're a little loose on fire discipline. ;)

[Tindomion]

Oh wow, thanks for the advice. I'll be careful.