Still confused about Discovery Scanner

[Recon022]

I have read other posts about the discovery scanner, but I am still confused. When I find an Undiscovered planet or star, my ship automatically scans it, and the name appears.

So what is the reason for the Discovery Scanner? I use it, but I just hear the sound of it being used, with no prompt that anything actually happened.

I have sold cartographer data, is this data being captured because I am using the scanner? And if so, how do you know when you have successfully captured the data?

LOVING the gamma by the way... : )

 

[blacky75]

well, there is one scanner (basic) which scanns automatically what's targeted, then the detail surface scanner which scanns more so adds more data you can sell more expensive, then the discovery scanner which adds as UNKNOWN the stars or planets around within its distance. I just don't remember what distance they cover, a had a mid range discovery scanner that time....

 

[Swan]

well, there is one scanner (basic) which scanns automatically what's targeted, then the detail surface scanner which scanns more so adds more data you can sell more expensive, then the discovery scanner which adds as UNKNOWN the stars or planets around within its distance. I just don't remember what distance they cover, a had a mid range discovery scanner that time....

Someone posted on here a short while back that they worked it out to be something like:

Basic - 600Ls radius
Intermediate - 1000Ls radius
Advanced - Everything in the system

I was using an intermediate yesterday and that seemed about right as I had to visually locate the two objects that were 100,000Ls out!!!

 

[Recon022]

So I guess I am wondering what is the point of "activating" the basic scanner?

 

[Swan]

So I guess I am wondering what is the point of "activating" the basic scanner?

It identifies unknown astronomical objects roughly within the distances I posted above.
-
So let's say you go to a system that hasn't been mapped.
-
As soon you start, just run the visual scan of the star to get it out of the way.
-
Then fire off your scanner and it will flash up with 'x number of objects discovered'.
-
These then appear as 'unknown' in your nav menu, so you fly to each one and do the visual scan.
-
If you've got the detailed surface scanner, you'll gather more info and get more money for the data.
-
Whenever you arrive at a new object, fire off the scanner again, just to see if any new objects have come into range.
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Also use the parallax method to visually identify any objects in the system that might be out of range of your scanner.

 

[Ganjis]

Scanning is done by your scanners. To scan something you need to target it. To target it you need to have discovered it.

Four ways to do this:

1) Data was already in your computer.
2) Data was bought from cartographics.
3) You flew close enough to the body to detect it (disco scanner seems to make this easier for me)
4) You activated a disco scanner when the body was in range of it.
Basic is short range, intermediate will get most bodies around a star if you are near the star, but not secondary stars and their planets; advanced will detect the entire system.

The quality of scan you perform can be improved by having a surface scanner installed, better scan pays better. This is not an upgraded disco scanner, it is a separate module with a separate function.

If you are using basic disco scanner, you will need to fly away from the ecliptic and speed around looking for more distant planets by watching for their parallax shift, then scan for them when they get closer.

 

[Recon022]

It identifies unknown astronomical objects roughly within the distances I posted above.
-
So let's say you go to a system that hasn't been mapped.
-
As soon you start, just run the visual scan of the star to get it out of the way.
-
Then fire off your scanner and it will flash up with 'x number of objects discovered'.
-
These then appear as 'unknown' in your nav menu, so you fly to each one and do the visual scan.
-
If you've got the detailed surface scanner, you'll gather more info and get more money for the data.
-
Whenever you arrive at a new object, fire off the scanner again, just to see if any new objects have come into range.
-
Also use the parallax method to visually identify any objects in the system that might be out of range of your scanner.

Ahh, I see now. Thank you!!

 

[ElectricZ]

Your ship will automatically scan a body you target, but the basic discovery scanner will let you detect bodies within a 500LS radius. When you pop it off near a star, if there are any nearby bodies you'll get the "X number discovered" message. You can then navigate toward them and do a more complete scan.

The "game" aspect of scanning and exploring comes from the limited range. There are often lots of bodies and even companion stars well outside that 500LS radius. You can take a look at the nav screen for clues. If a star is labeled Starname-A, you can bet there's a Starname-B out there somewhere. If you see a planet named Coelrind 1 and Coelrind 3, for example, you know that there's a Coelrind 2 in an orbit somewhere between.

When cruising around well past light speed, keep watch out your windows. If you see bright dots moving against the static background of space, those are planets, or maybe even a companion star! Fly toward them. If you lose them, change course a little, and the parallax effect will make them move again. Get within 500LS of them and let loose with the discovery scanner, and you should see their orbits and get the "X number discovered" message.

Also, keep an eye out for contacts way off in the distance. Your sensors can pick up frame shift signatures hundreds of thousands of light seconds distance. If you spot a cluster of ships together way off in space, you can bet there's a planetary system in that direction. All you have to decide is if it's worth the trouble to fly out there and see.

Of course, the cool thing is the more you scan, the more money and more reputation you earn. I'd say half the money I've taken in has been from exploration so far. You can clear 3-5K in a system easy if you're thorough.

And, of course, you can upgrade your discovery scanner. The more powerful the scanner, the longer the range. The top-shelf model will expose an entire system in one burst.

Finally, you can get the detailed surface scanner and make even more money by doing in-depth scans of the planets you find. It takes a lot more time, but you can rake in the bucks. Just don't go too long before docking and selling because if your ship is destroyed, all your hard earned work goes with it...

Happy exploring!

 

[Recon022]

Your ship will automatically scan a body you target, but the basic discovery scanner will let you detect bodies within a 500LS radius. When you pop it off near a star, if there are any nearby bodies you'll get the "X number discovered" message. You can then navigate toward them and do a more complete scan.

The "game" aspect of scanning and exploring comes from the limited range. There are often lots of bodies and even companion stars well outside that 500LS radius. You can take a look at the nav screen for clues. If a star is labeled Starname-A, you can bet there's a Starname-B out there somewhere. If you see a planet named Coelrind 1 and Coelrind 3, for example, you know that there's a Coelrind 2 in an orbit somewhere between.

When cruising around well past light speed, keep watch out your windows. If you see bright dots moving against the static background of space, those are planets, or maybe even a companion star! Fly toward them. If you lose them, change course a little, and the parallax effect will make them move again. Get within 500LS of them and let loose with the discovery scanner, and you should see their orbits and get the "X number discovered" message.

Also, keep an eye out for contacts way off in the distance. Your sensors can pick up frame shift signatures hundreds of thousands of light seconds distance. If you spot a cluster of ships together way off in space, you can bet there's a planetary system in that direction. All you have to decide is if it's worth the trouble to fly out there and see.

Of course, the cool thing is the more you scan, the more money and more reputation you earn. I'd say half the money I've taken in has been from exploration so far. You can clear 3-5K in a system easy if you're thorough.

And, of course, you can upgrade your discovery scanner. The more powerful the scanner, the longer the range. The top-shelf model will expose an entire system in one burst.

Finally, you can get the detailed surface scanner and make even more money by doing in-depth scans of the planets you find. It takes a lot more time, but you can rake in the bucks. Just don't go too long before docking and selling because if your ship is destroyed, all your hard earned work goes with it...

Happy exploring!

Thanks for the detailed explanation. So one more question, does the info you get that you can sell come from the automatic ship scan, or from the discovery scanner?

 

[Swan]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. So one more question, does the info you get that you can sell come from the automatic ship scan, or from the discovery scanner?

The automatic scan I think. The discovery scanner just flags unknown bodies - not sure if you can just sell that though? I've never tried! Wouldn't have thought you'd get much for it though if you could.

 

[schurem]

I find finding planets and/or stars that are out of range from the discovery scanners' ping one of the most gratifying things in the game. My method is as follows:

At jumping in, I make the thing go ping (bwaaaaarp). This discovers all inner planets.
The discovery scanner will tell you if its found anything once it bwaaaarps (4 astronomical bodies found!)

Now i will target the closes unknown and fly towards it until the ship starts scanning it. It only does that if its close enough and if its in a small cone off the nose. Once the scan finishes, the object gets a name. If you have the detailed surface scanner it will also tell you what sort of thing it is.

Having found the inner planets also tells me waht the systems' orbital plane is. I now fly out at an angle of about 45 degrees from said plane. This makes any bodies that are out there parallax (shift) when compared to the far further away background stars.

If I see something move or shift I race towards it, bwaarping the scanner once in a while until it detects it. Watching the skies for something moving is to my nerdical brain something very exciting. It's a hunt, not for murder or meat but for science

If you see configurations like ..O.. in the distance, thats a clue that it may be a gas giants with a gaggle of moons or even a sister star with her own planets! always interesting to check out, altough the way there can be a long trek!
Like the previous poster said, the names of things you scan out can give clues as to what else is out there.

 

[Lestat]

I found one place that had like 40 Planets, Asteroids and other things around it. I had around 15,000 credits from that run.

 

[Chek]

Advanced - Everything in the system

/QUOTE]

These bad boys absolutely rock and the sound is cool. Pricey though.

 

[Chack321]

So the Discovery Scanner is for finding planets etc. and there is another scanner for detailed scans of individual planets? Have I understood this correctly?

 

[JosefEk]

So it means that you could as well profit from exploration even without the discovery scanner, though it would require lots of paralaxing work and much more time and effort?

Now, you can sell your data only once? I though that data copies will work in 3300, but nwm

Can you sell exploration data in any system (except then current)? Are the prices all the same or there are differences? If there are differences, are they random or influnced by some parameters?

What if they already have that data, then they will not buy it?
If some other player explores system X before me, and sell it in system Y, then when i enter system X, i will still see it as unexplored, unless i bought data from system Y (or other system that sells it)?

Any plans to implement exploration data trading between players? Would be nice.

 

[JosiahD]

What I haven't worked out yet is why my Exploration fitted out Cobra has both a basic and an intermediate discovery scanner. I assume it's because the basic is standard kit but certainly seems redundant - aiming to replace it with a detailed surface scanner but I haven't come across one yet.

 

[Veldryn]

So it means that you could as well profit from exploration even without the discovery scanner, though it would require lots of paralaxing work and much more time and effort?

I'm pretty sure you can't. If you don't have the Basic Discovery Scanner, then Stars/Planets will not appear as "Unknown", even if you fly right in front of them (Meaning that you can't target them, and the scan will never start)

 

[Teefur]

What I haven't worked out yet is why my Exploration fitted out Cobra has both a basic and an intermediate discovery scanner.

What I don't understand is why the Explorer Cobra is fitted with a wake scanner. If an entity jumps and leaves a wake cloud, I'm pretty sure it wasn't an astral body to be explored