In Search of Science

In Search of Science is a unique Grade 5 mission assigned by GSO.

Synopsis
GSO has reported suspicious activity from a Glacier area that, according to them, was formerly inhabited. They want the player to question the suspicious tech responsible for these actions. It eventually turns out to be a somewhat tedious search as Atom, the tech in question, had his own machinations.

Strategy
No combat is involved in this mission. However, it would be wise to utilize flying tech (preferably helidrone, hoverbug, or anti-grav), so that the search will be much easier.

Initially, Atom's location is marked directly on the map. The player just needs to approach him, and then he will disappear after a short conversation. The rest of the mission behaves like a segmented Crate Search mission without time limits: Atom will proceed to hide anywhere within the search area, which is much larger than those from standard missions. It is possible for him to spawn under rubble or atop higher elevations. However, he will never be out in the open in the former case, and in the latter it's much easier to spot him. This will repeat up to 3 times.

After Atom is found for the final time the mission will end successfully.

Trivia

 * The name of the mission is a double entendre, as searching for Atom is quite literally the only objective during the mission.


 * The Celestite Outcrops and other Salt Flat Rocks, which appear in some of Atom's testing areas, are not static props and can be actually broken. However, they do not reveal any resource seams, similar to those found in the Pillars Biome.


 * Unlike most neutral NPCs, when Atom leaves, he simply produces a dense but small smoke cloud and despawns. Most other techs will disappear after flying straight up for some distance.
 * Both GSO and Atom mentioned a Cloaking Device, which hints to the invisibility that hides them from the radar. So far, no other mentions of this device exists.
 * Real-Life stealth devices significantly reduces their signature to the radar, thus deceiving them. However, such technology does not exist in the game.


 * This is the first known appearance of Reticule Research in Campaign.
 * However, at the time of it's implementation, there are no randomly spawning enemy RR Techs, likely due to RR's "Experimental" nature confining them to laboratories only.


 * This mission cannot be cancelled due to it spawning specific, permanent terrain structures.
 * This makes it the only license-acquisition mission to have this property.
 * It also explains why the RR supplies are immune to all sources of damage as they are programmed to behave like a part of the Terrain.