Is Exploration of planets shared with players?

[Adam Chattaway]

If someone explored a planet etc then turns in that data does that planet then become discovered for me automatically so i can therefor no longer scan it and get the reward? or is this done player by player so everyone can scan each system and be rewarded?

Also is there a way i can quickly see which of the many systems I've been to and explored without spending hours and hours checking each system 1 by 1 to see if its explored and by how much?

 

[r4nger0]

I'm not sure but I think the data becomes available for sale for others to buy at the station you sold it to.

 

[Wolfman]

Exploration is supposed to work on a sliding scale. Whoever finds/scans it first (and turns his scans in to Cartographics!) will get the biggest payout. The next person along gets less and the next even less etc until it eventually bottoms out. Every system (except the major ones) will appear as unknown to you until you go there. You can generally tell if someone had been there before you if you get the option to buy scan data on a system although I'm not sure this works when you are fairly far out from inhabited Space.

Currently there is no way to tell where you have been unless you make a note or do a system screenshot.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

If you have data for a system (ie: it doesn't say unexplored) then you have already visited it.

You can still survey systems that overs have visited. Just the more other players have visited a system, the less you get. Basically the first person to a system gets max, then the next gets a little less, and so on and so on, down to some minimum (not sure what that is). So, while it pays to be the first to scan a system, you still get someone for repeating it.

Main thing while exploring is to get out of core systems and find something new. Go a few hundred LY, and you'll definitely be flying into systems where nobody else has been. That's the beauty of this game. Even with hundreds or thousands of players exploring systems, it doesn't take much to find systems where nobody else has been.

As time goes on, it will get a bit harder to get to virgin systems, but not so bad. The amount of stars is mind-boggling.

 

[Wolfman]

I'm not sure but I think the data becomes available for sale for others to buy at the station you sold it to.

The data has been moved from the Cartographic server in a station which is only used for selling now. You now buy the data on the Galaxy map. An icon will appear next to the system name if there is data available on that system.

 

[Adam Chattaway]

Exploration is supposed to work on a sliding scale. Whoever finds/scans it first (and turns his scans in to Cartographics!) will get the biggest payout. The next person along gets less and yet next even less etc until it eventually bottoms out. Every system (except the major ones) will appear as unknown to you until you go there. You can generally tell if someone had been there before you if you get the option to buy scam dats on a system although I'm not sure this works when you are fairly far out from inhabited Space.

Currently there is no way to tell where you have been unless you make a note or do a system screenshot.

So why do people buy exploration data? what do i get from it? just so i can see all the stuff in that system?

 

[Wolfman]

Exploration data includes any stations in inhabited systems as well as making a systems economy clear. That's useful for traders to buy if it's a system they have never visited. Also prospectors will find useful info on ring composition and availability of resources for ringed planets and planetary debris fields. Otherwise it's for AI purposes. I think the game will use the data as the game progresses and new systems are colonized.

 

[r4nger0]

So why do people buy exploration data? what do i get from it? just so i can see all the stuff in that system?

As an explorer I can think of one example. I look for systems that contain valuable planets to scan with the Detailed Surface Scanner (planets with metallic rings, water-based planets, etc). These pay alot more credits. There are many systems that have had the planets discovered but have not had a surface scan on those planets. I'd pay for a map just for that reason.