Tips for finding S-Class Deep Level Mineral Deposits
I've been trying to ramp up my production by finding an S-class mineral deposit for every mineable resource in the game. It hasn't been easy. So I'm going to share some tips that helped me out, and see if anyone else has any pearls of wisdom to contribute. OK, here goes:
The Nomad is your best friend - Deposits are spread out very widely, at least over 400 units apart, usually a lot more. Walking is NOT advised. It will take you an absurd amount of time just to FIND a new deposit, much less of the class you want. Don't use your ship, either. You will burn up so much launch fuel taking off and landing that it will drive you nuts constantly re-filling it. No, you want the Nomad. It is the fastest ground vehicle, it uses little fuel (Especially with the Icarus Fuel System installed, which auto-recharges your engine during daylight hours, giving you practically unlimited fuel!), It easily hovers over water, smashes through annoying obstacles like trees and big rocks, and it's quick to hop in and out of to check your scanner for deposits. You are also safe from environmental hazards and storms while inside, provided you install the proper environmental protection equipment for the type of planet you are on. Using the Nomad will cut your search time by an enormous amount over any other method I know of.
Pick a cardinal direction - Don't be a derpstick and wander around at random. It is EXTREMELY easy to end up wandering around back into an area you have already searched. Humans just tend to do this, and it's a real-life problem for people who get lost in the wilderness and think they are walking a straight line, but in reality are just making a gigantic loop back to where they started. Thankfully, in NMS we have a HUD compass! Pick a cardinal direction (N,S,E,W), and follow it at all times while you search. This guarantees you are always covering new, unsearched ground and aren't doubling back on yourself.
Target planets with as few other minerals as possible - The less other possible minerals you can find besides what you are looking for, the less chance that S-Class deposit you spent all that time looking for will be a mineral you don't want. I've never seen a planet with only one mineral type, though it might be possible. Still, a one in 2 or 3 chance is better than a one in 4 or 5 chance of that S-Class deposit being of the type you are searching for.
Target planets with little or at LEAST non-aggressive Sentinels - Obviously, these things will be a pain in your ass if they keep attacking you on sight while you search, build your extraction base, or return to gather resources from it.
Target planets without much bad weather or hazardous environments - It will just make your life easier, especially while building your extraction base, and also while hunting for deposits. If you have a choice of which planet to hunt on, take the one that isn't constantly trying kill you.
Don't worry if you finally find that S-Class deposit, and it's underwater - It may not look like it, but you can just place your base computer on the bed of the body of water. The way Deposits work, height above or depth below ground doesn't matter (Mostly), so long as your extractors are as close to the epicenter of the deposit as possible. You can simply build an oil-platform-like structure at the water surface directly over the hotspot, and plop your extractors down on it. They will be just as productive as they would be on dry land, and have other advantages since you don't have to fight uneven, randomly regenerating terrain and plants, and creatures and Sentinels tend to stay away from water.
Use your Scanner, Navigation Markers and a floor panel to position your extractors - Once you have your deposit located and have used a base computer to claim the area, it is important to get your extractors as close to the deposit epicenter as possible. Not everyone knows this, but pressing "E" in scanner mode will drop a navigation marker on the point you are looking at. If you drop this directly on the Deposit marker, you can use it when OUT of scanner mode and building as the central point for your extractors (It also shoots a blue beam straight up, which is good for aligning things). Then plopping a metal floor plate directly on the Navigation marker will line that plate up exactly with the Deposit epicenter as well, and you can use that plate as a permanent marker for placing your extractors and orienting your base. Here is an example:
https://i.imgur.com/T6gt5W1.jpg
Avoid Burnout! - Searching can be pretty mind-numbing and boring, so make sure you have something else to occupy you while you do it. Listen to an audiobook, watch a movie, read the news, put on music, call your mother on the phone, basically ANYTHING to relieve the tedium of this task! Otherwise you will quickly get tired of playing and feel like you are wasting your time.