The starship will search for minefields. This mission actually can do three different things:
- When the ship does not have weapons, it can only scan for mines. You will receive appropriate reports. The same holds when the ship is armed but out of sweep range.
- When the ship has beam weapons and is in sweep range of an enemy mine field, it will fire the beams at the mine field, and try to destroy it. The number of mines destroyed is Beams * BeamType^2 * MineSweepRate. Carriers can also use their fighters to sweep the field (FighterSweepRate).
- When the ship is inside an own minefield, is set to the friendly code msc ("mine scoop", registered-only), and has torpedo tubes, it will gather up all the mines and convert them back into torpedoes. The number of torpedoes you get back is the same as the number you would need to lay the mine field with this ship; it need not be the same as the torpedo type actually used to lay the field. This will collect as many torpedoes as possible.
Preconditions:
- ship has fuel
- ship is within MineScanRange from minefield
- for sweeping: ship has beams and/or fighters and is within respective sweep range to use them
- for scooping: ship has beams and torpedo launchers, and is inside the minefield
- if IonStormsHideMines is enabled, a minefield cannot be scanned or swept if its center is covered by an ion storm, and the ion storm is larger than the minefield. Minefields owned by the ship owner can always be seen, though.
Relevant Configuration Options: AllowColoniesSweepWebs, FighterSweepRange, FighterSweepRate, MineScanRange, MineSweepRange, MineSweepRate, WebMineSweepRange, WebMineSweepRate.
Relevant PControl Stages: MineSweeping (scanning), MinefieldScan (generation of messages).
Relevant Formulas: Mine Sweeping.
