[Journal] Just one more jump...

[Asayanami]

Just found my first truly interesting system this trip.

F-type main star system with a gas giant and 2 Y-type stars in binary, one of which has a WW orbiting it. Both Y-types have rings <3

The WW is so close to the star that you can see it with your bare eye from the rings of the star

Pretty cool

Edit:

Also found a system with 2 TC HMCs, WW and ELW, ka-ching.

 

[Asayanami]

Chocolate planet! Just for Katejina

 

[Asayanami]

I am now 12,879 LY away from Sol and I started making a new map for this trip. I'll fill in the names of the systems/POIs I passed through later on, but this is a rough map of how far I've gone in the past 2 days.

I found 2 new ELWs and a couple more WWs but not much besides that so far.

 

[Kerenn]

I'd love to know how you make your maps so that I can do the same.

 

[Asayanami]

I'd love to know how you make your maps so that I can do the same.

Just Photoshop, nothing fancy. I got the map as overlay and then adding each waypoint by hand, cross referencing it with in game coordinates. I'm only marking interesting points of interest like nebulas or glorious finds like stars with rings and black holes etc.

Here's the updated map so far:

And some images. I found this beautiful Amonia Gas Giant with Icy rings and 2 binary ice moons



As well as another 2 ELWs and a couple WWs.

I'm heading below, to a White Dwarf field I found ~1500 LY ahead of me, so I'll probably spend some time hunting down interesting things in that field tomorrow.

 

[Katejina]

http://puu.sh/jSIFp/7ac7a8b765.jpg

Chocolate planet! Just for Katejina

Awwww, you shouldn't have!

I found this guy today. Darkest planet with direct light I've ever seen.

 

[Asayanami]

Awwww, you shouldn't have!

I found this guy today. Darkest planet with direct light I've ever seen.

http://puu.sh/jTbSB/47d87cca67.jpg

Nice!

I just found a Strawberry class IV

 

[Asayanami]

After a long break I am back, just purchased Horizons so I'm off to explore some planets from up close. If I decide to extend this visit with a long exploration trip, I'll be sure to continue this journal in the regular fashion.
How are you guys doing? What have I missed ?

 

[Edelgard von Rhein]

After a long break I am back, just purchased Horizons so I'm off to explore some planets from up close. If I decide to extend this visit with a long exploration trip, I'll be sure to continue this journal in the regular fashion.
How are you guys doing? What have I missed ?

Welcome back to the game! I hope you are enjoying driving the SRV and find many interesting locations (look out for rocky/icy landable worlds - these can be stunning, though tricky to drive around in places!).
.
What's happened? Quite a lot since your last post was at the end of 1.3. Here are a few:

• Arissa Lavigny-Duval is now Emperor
• The Empire went to war with a faction called Emperor's Dawn, who had assassinated the previous Emperor, eventually exterminating them.
• The ancient wreck of the starliner Antares was discovered and the same methodology used to trace the wreck of Starship One
• Former Federal President Jasmina Halsey was discovered, alive but a bit confused, in an escape pod in the Starship One wreckage
• The mysterious Unknown Artefacts have been found to occupy a shell 135-150LY from Merope and point to that system. They transmit an image of your ship in Morse when you are nearby!
• The Unknown Artefacts cause space stations to malfunction and almost completely shut down if enough are sold to them - this is referred to as the 'technological plague'. Some player factions have weaponised this to shut down some stations and interfere with community goals - this is called 'UA-bombing'.
• On some planetary surfaces in the Pleiades, the California Nebula and the Witch Head Nebula, organic structures of unknown origin have been discovered, referred to as 'Barnacles'.
• Barnacles produce a substance known as 'meta-alloys', a valuable commodity and the only known cure for the technological plague, although it requires large amounts to restore malfunctioning stations to normal. (These are also available from Darnielle's Progress in Maia, see below). There is concern that extracting too much can harm the Barnacles and there are supposedly efforts from the Federation to protect them.
• There are numerous new stations in and around the Pleiades, most notably Obsidian Orbital in Maia, all resulting from CGs.
• The Distant Worlds Expedition saw more than a thousand commanders attempt to travel 65KLY to a system on the far side of the galaxy, that has since been officially renamed Beagle Point in their honour. Over four hundred successfully completed the trip and some are still out there!
• Jaques the cyborg attempted to journey to Beagle Point but because his station was UA-bombed right before the jump he wound up instead on the fringes of the Galactic Core, in Eol Prou R-ST d3-94, 22KLY from Sol. Dozens of commanders made an effort to ship out meta-alloys and supplies to help restore the station, resulting in the commodity market being restored without a CG.
• Jaques' station needs more than meta-alloys for full repair and there are currently active CGs to both repair the station and establish bases nearby. The August Expedition is taking supplies out there and there is a Buckyball Racing Club event to encourage participation.
• The Engineers, the title feature of 2.1, are individuals based on planetary surfaces who can upgrade your weapons and most ship modules, as per their expertise. They have different conditions to become aware of them, then to be given access to their bases, and then to persuade them to work for you. Improving your reputation with them (either by having them create upgrades or by certain other conditions, e.g. Felicity Farseer accepts exploration data) will result in them telling you about another Engineer - there are currently 15.
• Getting materials for Engineers requires a mix of different activities but some can also be obtained from faction missions. Commodities are also required for upgrades above level 1: some can be bought; some need to be mined and some can only be obtained from faction missions.
• Missiles hurt now.
• There are 'experimental effects' that sometimes (at random) result from modding weapons with Engineers. In particular, there are effects that heat the target that are in the process of being balanced. These were OP and are still very powerful.
• A new 'alien' object called the Unknown Probe has been discovered in 2.1. These resemble Unknown Artefacts and are only known to be found in convoys in a small number of systems near Ross 47. There is thought to be a region where they appear free-floating like UAs, that has yet to be discovered. When 'honked' with a discovery scanner, the UP shuts down your ship temporarily with a EMP and transmits a signal. Putting the sound from the transmission through spectrographic analysis revealed an image, showing a sphere with some labels. The meaning is still being debated and hunches investigated - in the 8th UA megathread!!
• The UPs point towards Merope 5c.
• Small ships can get enhanced thrusters (only available for class 2 and 3 thrusters) at some Engineer bases (Elvira Martuuk and Felicity Farseer, probably also Professor Palin). These make small ships much more survivable (and fun)!
• When Sandro Sammarco asked David Braben about the Thargoids, he apparently replied 'Winter is coming'. This is believed to be a Game of Thrones reference and not a general complaint about the British weather.
• The Dangerous Games have been held, to create a new Powerplay faction based around a player group. EG Pilots won, with Galcop second and SEPP a respectable third. There was a series of CGs over a few weeks and EG Pilots won every single one. The new power is not in the game yet.
• CQC was added

 

[Kerenn]

What's happened? Quite a lot since your last post was at the end of 1.3. Here are a few:

• Arissa Lavigny-Duval is now Emperor FOREVER BASK !
• Jaques the cyborg attempted to journey to Beagle Point. The Fuel Rats refuelled him first.
• This is believed to be a Game of Thrones reference and not a general complaint about the British weather. DEBATABLE.

Added a few notes. Welcome back, missus ! o7

 

[Asayanami]

Thanks for the write up
I made my first few landings and getting familiar with the crazy low gravity moon rover driving mechanics. Visited one of the engineers but she didn't like me much. Kept going on and on about needing some aloys.

 

[Asayanami]

So i've been flying around a bit just getting used to the controls and all that after this long break. Nothing too exciting yet and I haven't left the bubble yet.

I was trying to get some of the new materials to get some upgrades from the engineers but I ran into a little bit of a problem, namely my ASP is not at all suitable for this job, every time someone interdicts me I need to run away and barely do so.

So I need to get a more versatile ship for this purpose, and I was wondering if anybody has any suggestions here? Any ship that has a respectable jump range but also can pack a punch?

 

[Edelgard von Rhein]

So i've been flying around a bit just getting used to the controls and all that after this long break. Nothing too exciting yet and I haven't left the bubble yet.

http://puu.sh/qmNOX/6db3344fe7.jpg

I was trying to get some of the new materials to get some upgrades from the engineers but I ran into a little bit of a problem, namely my ASP is not at all suitable for this job, every time someone interdicts me I need to run away and barely do so.

So I need to get a more versatile ship for this purpose, and I was wondering if anybody has any suggestions here? Any ship that has a respectable jump range but also can pack a punch?

In 2.1 it's difficult to make a versatile build: you pretty much have to decide whether to run or to build a ship for fighting. I'm no expert on combat so here's what I found to be a good ship for materials hunting: the Imperial Courier

3A FSD
3A Enhanced Thrusters
2A power plant
1D life support
3D power distributor
2D sensors
3A fuel scoop
3D cargo rack (8t)
2A shields
2G planetary vehicle hangar
advanced discovery scanner
detailed surface scanner
chaff launcher
point defence turret
wake scanner (the best way to get some data materials, e.g. Strange Wake Solutions)
(last utility slot can be heat sinks or another pdt/chaff or empty - might need more power for a shield booster)
weapons optional (but you'd need an overcharged power plant mod to run them off a 2A power plant)​

.
The Asp is still a good ship and very versatile but to reliably escape tough NPCs I use modded thrusters and shields (grade 3 mods have been sufficient, so far). I wouldn't give up on it at all, just take your time getting used to it in the new environment and see what works for you. (I have found equipping a chaff launcher and point defence turret as a minimum on any ship to be invaluable).

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

So i've been flying around a bit just getting used to the controls and all that after this long break. Nothing too exciting yet and I haven't left the bubble yet.

http://puu.sh/qmNOX/6db3344fe7.jpg

I was trying to get some of the new materials to get some upgrades from the engineers but I ran into a little bit of a problem, namely my ASP is not at all suitable for this job, every time someone interdicts me I need to run away and barely do so.

So I need to get a more versatile ship for this purpose, and I was wondering if anybody has any suggestions here? Any ship that has a respectable jump range but also can pack a punch?

In my humble opinion, the only ship that still has a respectable jump range and can pack a punch is the Anaconda. On the more affordable side, there is the Python but you won't get anywhere the jump range you would get on an Anaconda.

 

[Asayanami]

In my humble opinion, the only ship that still has a respectable jump range and can pack a punch is the Anaconda. On the more affordable side, there is the Python but you won't get anywhere the jump range you would get on an Anaconda.

Yeah, I'm a bit short to get a fully fitted conda so I dusted off my python and I'm using that for now.
Now I just need to figure out where to get all those materials needed for the FSD upgrades and after I get my ASP buffed up im off into the black.

 

[Kerenn]

Now I just need to figure out where to get all those materials needed for the FSD upgrades

Pssst... I know a guy. Strictly under the hood, of course but... he's got some real good stuff, if you know what I mean.

 

[CMDR Kantos Kan]

Yeah, I'm a bit short to get a fully fitted conda so I dusted off my python and I'm using that for now.
Now I just need to figure out where to get all those materials needed for the FSD upgrades and after I get my ASP buffed up im off into the black.

Have you checked http://inara.cz? It has a list of all engineers, blueprints and data, material and commodities that you will need for each blueprint. It will even give suggestions as to where you can find a specific data, material or commodity.

 

[Asayanami]

Alright, a bit of an update.

I've been getting used to flying around again, checking out what all the updates have to offer. I've taken my ASP for a short expedition 1500 LY below the bubble just to test the waters.

Spoiler

Almost lost the ship to this trinary system (you can't really see it in the picture but the top one is actually 2 stars nearly touching eachother)

Also, started exploring some planets and found my first crash site

Spoiler

Which was quite something.

After that short run I decided to dust off my Python and pay the Engineers a visit, doing some missions and hunting down USS for materials.

Spoiler

Eventually I decided to make some money, as I heard the Sothis hauling missions are quite profitable. I have outfitted Akitsushima with plenty of cargo racks and started my own biowaste delivery service.

After 2 days of flying around with that smelly cargo I started thinking about what should my next goal be. As my account balance grew, I decided to head to Founders World and see what they have to offer.

A night of drinking and negotiating with the shipyard rep later I was the proud owner of this new, yet to be named, exploration vessel:

First thing I did was strip it down to bare minimum fittings and payed Farseer a visit to boost the FSD range, after which I took the time to take a tour of Sol, just to get a feel of what the ship is capable of and how it handles.

I am currently 35% into Pioneer Rank.
I want to visit the Jaques Station first and then set out around the outer rims, counter-clockwise and come back to the bubble.

Currently I am still tweaking the fit and looking for a good name for this ship, one that will bring me luck and shield me from any further "Incidents".

Suggestions are welcome.

 

[Asayanami]

Eager to leave the bubble I promptly named the conda Katsuragi II and started jumping.

Currently I'm 5000 LY away from the bubble, getting used to the speed my tank depletes and the general tempo of the conda. It's quite different from the ASP, the tank doesn't last as long given the mass and the far superior range of 50 LY.

I started using EDD along with EDSM, so no more hand-making maps:

I am currently trying to get off the common route people take to Jaques, and the number of systems that were previously discovered by somebody else is decreasing rapidly.

Haven't really found anything really interesting, apart from a number of WW's and ringed stars. Only one planet was interesting enough for me to stop to take a photo so far:

And only one system that was interesting so far, and stood out from the rest:

About to finish crossing to the other galactic arm, so will start picking systems i visit more carefuly soon and I will report back my findings.

I already plan to extend my trip past Jaques and onto Beagle and beyond, but that's still way into the future.

 

[Asayanami]

I am currently 8000 LY away from Jaques.
I would say I'm beginning to like the Anaconda. It's pretty comfy to fly and sturdy.

So I've been making best speed towards the core regions and honestly apart from multiple Water Worlds, I haven't seen anything of note. You might say it was a pretty boring, routine trip. That's until the universe decided to remind me how        ' terrifying it can be.

Exiting Witch Space I wasn't expecting any surprises, but suddenly alarms go off left and right, everything is flashing red at me and my dashboard starts burning like hell itself

The heat wen't from cozy 30% to 150% in less than a second and I thought I was gone fore. I figured I jumped too close to a binary system, but boy that doesn't even begin to describe it.

I pointed the nose of the ship into the first black patch of space I could see and slammed the throttle to get out of there as fast as I can and maybe live.

Turns out I was basically skimming the surface of the star.

Spoiler

I was lucky to get away with some minor module damage, nothing AFMU couldn't fix, but it was scary.

I moved on and found my first ELW this trip, first near-contact trinary system and first Black Hole.

Spoiler

After that BH find I decided I would specifically look for them on my way to Jaques, so I spent some time with the map and bookmarked a couple dozen I plan to visit on the way:

Which led me to finding one of the coolest looking systems this trip. Contains 3 Black Holes, multiple stars and one ringed one.

I obviously had to drop into those rings and take some pictures because this is something I would never pass up.

After that I continued on the Black Hole path, finding one that confused me a bit, because it was so close to the landing point, that my ship immediately dropped out of SC and what I assume happened, is I skimmed the event horizon. All of the surrounding nebulae and even the galactic core which is normally clearly visible all around you disappeared.

It was just my ship and the Black Hole. And it wouldn't let me go. Each time I tried to escape and go to SC, it would spin up the drive and shut it down shortly after the count down. I was stuck there for a while before I figured out how to get away..

Strange thing. After I managed to go into SC successfully, the space around me warped and the nebula as well as the core were visible again.


I expect to arrive at Jaques within 2-3 days, fix my ship up and then decide what to do next. Will report back with an update soon.

Current position: