Transport Fever 3 Prospecting: How the Tycoon Bonus Works

Transport Fever 3 prospecting is a Tycoon bonus that adds new raw material deposits in the area around a city you choose. Urban Games describes it as one of the bonuses unlocked while developing your company in free play. That is the key distinction: prospecting concerns the location of raw material supply. It does not, by itself, complete the transport chain that takes those materials to a processor or a city.

The official Tycoon development blog confirms the ability, but does not give a specific rank threshold, a cost, a list of deposit types, or a guaranteed placement rule. If you are looking for an exact button sequence, check the current in-game rank and bonus descriptions. Avoid relying on a fixed recipe from a different game version or a campaign mission.

What prospecting actually changes

The game divides its world into municipal areas, each covering a city and its surrounding region. According to Urban Games, prospecting can create new raw material deposits around a selected city. This makes the chosen municipal area central to the decision. A new deposit near a processor or a useful freight corridor may be easier to serve than an equally valuable deposit far from any existing route.

Prospecting is a company bonus, not a passenger or cargo line. After a deposit appears, you still need to inspect its position, connect it to an appropriate downstream industry, provide suitable vehicles, and move the finished goods to a customer. The official description does not promise that the deposit will be placed at a precise point or that you can choose its resource type.

The first column reflects the developer's description. The second column is practical advice for designing a network; it is not an additional game rule.

How to prepare a useful prospecting area

Begin with the downstream demand. Identify the factory or production chain that would use more raw material, then trace where that factory sends its output. If the next leg has no capacity, adding a new deposit will only move the bottleneck. Check station coverage, storage, vehicle capacity, and transfer points before spending time on a new source.

Next, compare candidate cities. Favor a municipal area with a short connection to your existing freight network, enough space for a station or road access, and a viable route to processing. On an island map, a new source may require a harbor and a final land delivery; on a rail-heavy map, it may fit an existing cargo corridor. These are route-design considerations, not claims that the bonus favors particular terrain.

Finally, inspect the new deposit once it appears. Build the line around its actual position rather than a hoped-for location. Run a small service first and verify that cargo moves through the entire chain. A deposit close to town is only useful when its output reaches a producer and the resulting goods reach demand.

Company rank and city growth

The official blog says the company begins at Junior rank and can rise to Tycoon. The measure is growth of the world's population, not merely the cash balance of one line. Cities gain experience when passengers travel and requested goods are supplied; more complex supply chains can contribute more city experience. This explains why a raw material bonus fits the wider progression system: stronger supply networks can help cities grow, while growth unlocks more company bonuses.

Do not assume that prospecting unlocks at a specific intermediate rank. The public developer explanation does not list one. Likewise, it does not describe separate survey tiers, scanning tools, a fixed fee, or a guaranteed yield. If those details appear in your version's interface, use the in-game description as the authority.

Prospecting and Sandbox mode

Urban Games also describes Sandbox tools that can promote the player to Tycoon and allow the placement of industries. Directly placing an industry in Sandbox is a separate action from using prospecting as a progression bonus. A Sandbox test is useful for trying freight layouts, but it does not establish the costs or limits of a normal free-play run.

Quick decision checklist

1. Identify which production chain lacks raw material.
2. Check whether the processor and final destination can handle more throughput.
3. Compare city regions for a practical road, rail, or water connection.
4. Check your current rank and read the available bonus description.
5. Use prospecting on a city you can serve, then inspect the deposit that appears.
6. Connect the complete chain and verify actual deliveries before expanding the fleet.

Frequently asked questions

Does prospecting let me select an exact map tile?

The developer says the bonus prospects deposits around a city chosen by the player. It does not document tile-level placement control. Plan for a flexible connection and inspect the result.

Is the deposit's material type guaranteed?

The published Tycoon description does not specify whether the player chooses a material or how a type is selected. Check the current game interface rather than treating any particular resource as guaranteed.

Is prospecting the same as placing an industry in Sandbox?

No. The developer presents prospecting as a rank-related bonus and direct industry placement as part of Sandbox freedom. Both affect the map, but they are described as different tools.

Source: Urban Games, “Dev Blog – Episode 4: Tycoon”.