Radar Tower

The Radar Tower is a building which is used for revealing a circular area on the Map. After being powered, it scans the surrounding area every five minutes up to 10 times, increasing in range with each scan. The starting range for its scans are based on the tower's line-of-sight from the tip of the tower to the ground, so placing it at the highest elevation possible for maximum efficiency. Any terrain at an elevation higher than its tip or an area blocked by a terrain feature such as the stone arch near the grass field will not be revealed.

It is unlocked via the Quartz Research chain in the M.A.M.

Players should be cautious while climbing the Radar Tower due to its tricky ladders, as falls can be fatal.

Coverage
where h = -18 m when referenced to the sea level.
 * A radar tower scans in a 3D conical shape, measured from its antenna. Means its range can reach further at ravines or valleys and is reduced for high grounds, even if the high ground is below the radar antenna.
 * The coverage of the radar tower increases with height, so it is always preferred to build it on high ground, such as on top of a rock spire. It can only scan areas that are at a lower elevation than the tower antenna, and in the line-of-sight.
 * Its coverage radius, R (meter), measured on the sea level, based on its building's base height, h (meter), is:

Coverage radius, R is capped at 2,120 meters (at sea level) regardless of tower base height, or 4.24 km diameter. As such, at least four Radar towers are needed to fully reveal the entire map. This also implies that placing Radar Towers at y = 420 m is the optimum height and higher above that has no benefit.

Scanning
The Radar Tower starts with a coverage of 50%, increasing by 5% per five minutes. So it is finished after 50 minutes and can be dismantled afterward. However, it still consumes power after finishing the scan. To bring power to the height where you want to place the Radar Tower, you can bring a Biomass Burner with 200 Solid Biofuel.

Trivia

 * It features a ladder separated into few sections. Using the ladders, engineers can climb up to 76 meters. The remaining height has to be climbed with Jetpack.
 * Both Radar Tower and Space Elevator have a collision box height of 118 meters, although the latter has a much taller graphical appearance.
 * Its Indicator Light which extends out sideways near the tip of the tower is not counted towards the collision box.
 * It has been revealed on stream that the ladder of the tower was made by Jace and was a prototype that made it to the game and will be replaced eventually.
 * The fog of war is wrapped around the edge of the map, so when a radar tower is placed at the edge, part of the opposite edge will also be revealed.

History

 * Patch 0.1.11: Radar Tower added to Early Access
 * Patch 0.1.10 (Experimental): Added proper collision to the Radar Tower
 * Patch 0.1.7 (Experimental): Polished Radar Tower menu
 * Patch 0.1.6 (Experimental): Implemented Radar Tower email