1.2 had nothing for us, neither did 1.3. Yay , now we have 1.4, because it has...

[newman1702]

Planetary landings could be awesome, but only if done right, so I'm happy to wait for that until it's ready. I do remember them from Frontier Elite II, and while the fact they had them in a seamless way was impressive, frankly it did little for the gameplay itself once the novelty wore off. Done right this is a huge undertaking. In the mean time, however, yea some more explorer oriented updates would be greatly appreciated for us that don't find the political struggles of various factions all that relevant when thousands of ly away

 

[marx]

I agree that exploring needs plenty more love, and I'm also hoping that the big announcement will help with it. (Yeah, I'm holding a candle for planetary flight.) However, I wouldn't say that neither 1.2 nor 1.3 had nothing for explorers. My favourite is the speeding up of selling exploration data - if I've been away for a week or two, having to spend four hours selling data was decidedly not fun. Then there were fuel tanks, allowing me to run an Asp with 24T fuel, and fuel transferer drones. I think that any explorer who has been rescued by anyone (hi, Fuel Rats!) would agree that those were a good addition.
In short, it's not like the devs have forgotten about explorers. It's just that we haven't received improvements that required major gameplay changes. Yet?

I would really like the galaxy map search bug to be fixed already, however.

 

[Cliff Dobbs]

I still say that I'd like to be able to jump into deep space. I know everyone says that this is not how the FSD works, but why can't I have a special targeting module to enhance my FSD?

There are numerous systems out of reach of even the most stripped back ships. I want to go there.

EDIT: e.g. KV Ursae Majoris

 

[Ulysses_W]

I still say that I'd like to be able to jump into deep space. I know everyone says that this is not how the FSD works, but why can't I have a special targeting module to enhance my FSD?

There are numerous systems out of reach of even the most stripped back ships. I want to go there.

EDIT: e.g. KV Ursae Majoris

+1 for deep space jumps, I mean, this is where the generation ships would be innit?

 

[newman1702]

I always assumed the FSD just locks onto the strongest gravity source as a sort of an anchor. Anyway, unless rogue planets were added, as well as a method of detecting them, not sure what the point of jumping into empty interstellar space would be. It's huge, empty, and the chances of randomly jumping near a rogue planet would be so infinitesimal I'm fairly sire it would never happen to anyone.

I'd prefer to be able to insta jump to that 350,000 ls distant companion star in a binary system.

 

[Cliff Dobbs]

+1 for deep space jumps, I mean, this is where the generation ships would be innit?

Ta for the rep, and oh boy yes. Imagine dropping out of hyperspace in the middle of deep black and picking up a USS

 

[Col Frost]

I empathise with the prevailing view that Explorer's have felt somewhat unloved lately I love exploration in ED and have been hugely optimistic about this game since I joined the Beta.
For me immersion is key, and this could be improved for explorer's with some quite simple touches making all the difference.
I used to Love playing the Greywolves mod for Silent Hunter 3, and the things that increased the immersion and made it great for me were the ability to walk around the ship (sub), engine room, cabin, etc.
The other amazing thing for me would be good sea and weather effects, big storms etc, which could be seen when planetary landings come.
Crew members as well of course.

 

[archeolog108]

Yes, also looking for some content for PvE adventures, but I would not hold my breath.... not really money making feature for Frontier.

Although to be fair I got many more hours of fun than I paid for already. Even for Premium Beta.

 

[gooddoc]

I agree that exploring needs plenty more love, and I'm also hoping that the big announcement will help with it. (Yeah, I'm holding a candle for planetary flight.) However, I wouldn't say that neither 1.2 nor 1.3 had nothing for explorers. My favourite is the speeding up of selling exploration data - if I've been away for a week or two, having to spend four hours selling data was decidedly not fun. Then there were fuel tanks, allowing me to run an Asp with 24T fuel, and fuel transferer drones. I think that any explorer who has been rescued by anyone (hi, Fuel Rats!) would agree that those were a good addition.
In short, it's not like the devs have forgotten about explorers. It's just that we haven't received improvements that required major gameplay changes. Yet?

I would really like the galaxy map search bug to be fixed already, however.

But these are the small tweaks & fixes that i have referred to. These were just fixes to problems that Explorers were having whilst trying to Explore, not major 'Jaw Dropping' additions to the game.
I recently sold my data from a trip to the core & back...it still took me 4 hours to sell it all & now (because I don't use 3rd party programs to track my scans) I still can't bring up a list that tells me where i'v been & what iv scanned.
I can't even confirm that an ELW that i found was tagged by me (it was undiscovered when i found it) because the Damned Galaxy Map Search won't search for my COL 359 SECTOR system.

We need some communication from the Devs giving us just a hint that we are not just an afterthought to our 'pewpewpew' big brothers!!!

 

[Ziljan]

Unless I missed something, FD hasn't yet denied planetary landings for the Gamescom announcement. They did however take the time to manage expectations by saying that it isn't walking around your ship/stations. So it's possible that we might be seeing the intro to landings on atmosphereless moons etc. An expansion announcement is one possibility among dozens and I am not expecting anything in particular, but I am excited to found out what all of the fuss is going to be about for the next month or so.

 

[drkaii]

Unless I missed something, FD hasn't yet denied planetary landings for the Gamescom announcement. They did however take the time to manage expectations by saying that it isn't walking around your ship/stations. So it's possible that we might be seeing the intro to landings on atmosphereless moons etc. An expansion announcement is one possibility among dozens and I am not expecting anything in particular, but I am excited to found out what all of the fuss is going to be about for the next month or so.

I'm so glad there's a ziljan in this forum to keep me informed.

Dude, can we do something in game today?

 

[Raiko]

Unless I missed something, FD hasn't yet denied planetary landings for the Gamescom announcement. They did however take the time to manage expectations by saying that it isn't walking around your ship/stations. So it's possible that we might be seeing the intro to landings on atmosphereless moons etc. An expansion announcement is one possibility among dozens and I am not expecting anything in particular, but I am excited to found out what all of the fuss is going to be about for the next month or so.

I'm kind of expecting the initial planetary landings to be at starports only (cue menu screen), so I don't expect there to be anything for us outside the bubble until the first person stuff is added (if then).

They haven't even added passenger missions yet, which could have tied in with exploration.

 

[Frank]

It wouldn't surprise me if the Gamescom announcement will be that you'll be able to get out of the pilot's chair, and that the DLC for this will be available for Christmas.

As for 1.4 CQCC, that might be the one thing that will get me out exploring the Galaxy. My previous excursions into the black yonder has so far ended with me turning back because I was missing the pew pew pew. The CQC Championship is a separate module so it's something in which I can participate without the need to be in any specific location.

 

[Raiko]

Ziljan mentioned that FD have already said that it isn't walking around your ship/stations, so we're going to be firmly attached to our seats for a while yet unfortunately.

 

[GJ51]

Be careful what you ask for...

At least exploration is still pretty stable and working as intended. I'm pretty much hoping they leave it alone until I finish my run to Elite Explorer. Last thing I need is to be almost there and have them bug it all up.

 

[drkaii]

Be careful what you ask for...

At least exploration is still pretty stable and working as intended. I'm pretty much hoping they leave it alone until I finish my run to Elite Explorer. Last thing I need is to be almost there and have them bug it all up.

Haha, good point captain optimism

 

[Ziljan]

I'm kind of expecting the initial planetary landings to be at starports only (cue menu screen), so I don't expect there to be anything for us outside the bubble until the first person stuff is added (if then).

They haven't even added passenger missions yet, which could have tied in with exploration.

Transport scientists & their equipment to a research outpost on an icy moon in the delta quadrant? I'd take that mission

Be careful what you ask for...

At least exploration is still pretty stable and working as intended. I'm pretty much hoping they leave it alone until I finish my run to Elite Explorer. Last thing I need is to be almost there and have them bug it all up.

Rank title over gameplay? No thanks. I'll take slightly buggy new exploration gameplay over a pristine snoozefest any day of the week.

 

[drkaii]

Transport scientists & their equipment to a research outpost on an icy moon in the delta quadrant? I'd take that mission




Rank title over gameplay? No thanks. I'll take slightly buggy new exploration gameplay over a pristine snoozefest any day of the week.

You never answered me ziljan

 

[Frank]

Ziljan mentioned that FD have already said that it isn't walking around your ship/stations, so we're going to be firmly attached to our seats for a while yet unfortunately.

Yes, I know that FDev have categorically denied that it will be walking around stations <grin>. It still wouldn't surprise me if that turns out to be the announcement.

I can remember Kerrash going on about how difficult it is to keep secrets, how he's unable to conform or deny things. The FDev team are good at keeping surprises.

 

[Dhan]

Don't understand the hype over planetary landings. What are you expecting to come of it? Landing on a moon base? Atmosphere combat ( with these ships? ha!)?

Remember how docking and undocking was cool when you first started playing, and how it stopped being cool and became a bit tedious shortly after? I have a feeling planetary landings will be the same.