How to locate biological or geological features after surface scanning?

[digitus impudicus]

Returning player here. Have been playing since launch, left for the Odyssey debacle and now returning for all these wonderful updates, finally making this Sag A* and Colonia pilgrimage in my brand-new self-engineered Mandalay. I even bought Odyssey with no intent of playing the FPS, just to hand some money over to FDev for all the love they put into the game lately.

That said, I'm a bit stomped. I've managed to find a detour that takes me where not many other players have gone, so I find lots of stuff for the first time. I honk, then I find all the bodies through that other zoom-based scanner (sorry, I forgot all the different scanner names in the years I've been away). If the scan says there are features (biological or geological), I'll fly up close and map the surface with those probes. Here's why my confusion starts.

When I've successfully scanned 100% of the surface, I have no idea how to find those biological or geological symbols the game so proudly annouces to me in the top right corner. They're not on the navigation panel, not in the contacts, not on the planetary map. I notice that the planets have vast areas of them displayed in blue after the scan, but if I land in these blue areas, there's nothing to be found. I also looked outside the blue zones, but with no success.

I am in VR exclusively and some things might be broken there, or I might just be dumb. Which is it? How do I find those signals?

 

[J Michaelson]

Inside the blue areas are different shades of color. You want to aim for the greeniest, teal color you can find within the blue. It's usually smaller and more scattered than the overall blue. It also helps to pick a particular species if there is more than one to narrow down the range somewhat, or you won't know what to expect to find. Some of the plants like Frutexa are usually on hills. Concha is usually down in crevasses or canyons. Stratum, the good stuff sometimes, is almost always out in flat areas with Tubus, Tussock, Bacteria, and Aleoida if they are around. Osseus is on hillsides and elevated areas.

Edit: picture added.

 

[digitus impudicus]

Thanks a lot, will take off again and take a second look at the shades inside these blue areas!

 

[Ashnak]

That myth is apparently unkillable... no, the shades do not indicate a probability for finding biological (or geological) features. All they do is reflect the underlying topography. That said, it may seem that they indicate the probability for biologicals since those depend on topography - bacteria, for example, prefer sandy flats while fungi usually like mountains.

So, there's no way around it - you'll need to learn which type of topography inside your blue search area is the preferred topography for the type of biological you want to find. Then go down low and slow and keep your eyes open.

 

[J Michaelson]

Sorry, but that's just wrong in my experience. That teal color in the screenshot evenly covers quite a range of topography from flat to the mountains. The same teal color gets draped over the slopes for frutexa and the flat ground will be the darker blue or absent instead, opposite of what it shows for something like bacteria where the teal is on the flat surfaces. Regardless of what you think it indicates, aiming for the greener areas will make it easier on yourself.

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Confirmation bias. It's not a heatmap.

 

[PilotB]

That myth is apparently unkillable... no, the shades do not indicate a probability for finding biological (or geological) features. All they do is reflect the underlying topography.

Except it verifiably does not as the underlying topography can be identical between colour zones. You can land where ever you want. That green is consistently the easiest but not the only place you can find the bios.

 

[J Michaelson]

Confirmation bias. It's not a heatmap.

Never said it was a heat map, just that the greener color is a better indicator of where to look than the other colors. Calling it confirmation bias is laughable when it works every time.

 

[aRJay]

Never said it was a heat map, just that the greener color is a better indicator of where to look than the other colors. Calling it confirmation bias is laughable when it works every time.

For you, not necessarily for everyone.

 

[J Michaelson]

I hope OP comes back and lets us know if there were any better results. If it at least gets him on a more successful track that's all I would hope for. All I can say is it has worked with certainty for me for billions in exobio profits over the last months, and made a friend's life much easier finding plants as well.

 

[Neilski]

All I can say is it has worked with certainty for me

Maybe I dreamed it, but I have a strong suspicion that I saw a "Dev Post" which confirmed that it truly isn't a heat-map showing what we might have hoped it would show...

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Maybe I dreamed it

You didn't.

 

[Walter2]

When I've successfully scanned 100% of the surface, I have no idea how to find those biological or geological symbols the game so proudly annouces to me in the top right corner. They're not on the navigation panel, not in the contacts, not on the planetary map. I notice that the planets have vast areas of them displayed in blue after the scan, but if I land in these blue areas, there's nothing to be found. I also looked outside the blue zones, but with no success.

While you're still in FSS scan mode you can switch the blue area to show the different distribution maps for each species; this really helps focus your attention on areas that have a strong possibility of finding a specific species. Unfortunately, it's sometimes optimistic and you can't always find what you're looking for - it's only an indication - just go up and find another prospect. When you've had a lot of experience, you'll know when the map is lying to you.

Sometimes the blue areas can be so small you can't see them and you have to go closer while trying to stay in supercruise. This can be challenging. In these conditions it sometimes helps to go to the dark side. The dark side can also help for those bios that glow in the dark.

The lighter blue tends to indicate flatter areas and the darker higher ground; as you discover more varieties and species you'll get to know the terrain each prefers.

 

[RadiKyle]

How do I find those signals?

OP I can relate to the returning player stumped experience.

Most important part: LOW and SLOW.

Like ~100m ish and creep along on a heading and scan the horizon carefully especially left and right, things like plumes are easier to spot. Some screenshot examples:

Spoiler: Low and Slow

Spoiler: Get Down

These things are like NPC ships that randomly show up at spawn points, so if you linger and keep eyes open things will pop into view as you move along. (Caveat: I'm talking non-Odyssey v4.0 stuff, I don't have Odyssey.)

As for where on the planet, like others said the blue colour from the planet probes isn't a heatmap. Just head to any blue area you like and get down to the surface and start looking. Often I find every feature the planet has in the same spot.

 

[PilotB]

Maybe I dreamed it, but I have a strong suspicion that I saw a "Dev Post" which confirmed that it truly isn't a heat-map showing what we might have hoped it would show...

Wouldn't be the first time that the devs were less than accurate in their statements. What they say and what the game client actually does doesn't always or even regularly match.

 

[Darrack]

For those viewing in black and white, the flowers are hiding behind the blue patch.

O7

 

[Brrokk]

Returning player here. Have been playing since launch, left for the Odyssey debacle and now returning for all these wonderful updates, finally making this Sag A* and Colonia pilgrimage in my brand-new self-engineered Mandalay. I even bought Odyssey with no intent of playing the FPS, just to hand some money over to FDev for all the love they put into the game lately.

That said, I'm a bit stomped. I've managed to find a detour that takes me where not many other players have gone, so I find lots of stuff for the first time. I honk, then I find all the bodies through that other zoom-based scanner (sorry, I forgot all the different scanner names in the years I've been away). If the scan says there are features (biological or geological), I'll fly up close and map the surface with those probes. Here's why my confusion starts.

When I've successfully scanned 100% of the surface, I have no idea how to find those biological or geological symbols the game so proudly annouces to me in the top right corner. They're not on the navigation panel, not in the contacts, not on the planetary map. I notice that the planets have vast areas of them displayed in blue after the scan, but if I land in these blue areas, there's nothing to be found. I also looked outside the blue zones, but with no success.

I am in VR exclusively and some things might be broken there, or I might just be dumb. Which is it? How do I find those signals?

Have you noticed that pressing E cycles the view through different plant types? The default is set to "All". It was a couple of weeks before I noticed this, and then I was able to find plants much more easily!

Try for some easy-to-spot ones like Stratum or Tubus to begin with. Note that Fungoida can be big things out on the plains or tiny camouflaged things in mountains. Cactoida vary similarly. Osseus are sometimes easy to spot, other times very rare. Frutexa are enhanced nicely by night vision; they sparkle. Don't get me started on Bacteria.

 

[aRJay]

For those viewing in black and white, the flowers are hiding behind the blue patch.

O7

Aah! I remember that bit of commentary like it was only decades ago.