My First Real Exploration Trip - Help me Choose a Destination!

Well, this is it - my first 'real' exploration Trip! 'Real' implying that I won't just self-destruct once I hit 5K light-years out because, unlike last time, I'm not doing this for Palin. Anyway, I need a destination! I'm heading out 820 LY above the bubble to see if I can hit an unexplored spot, and after that I have no plans. I don't want to go quite as far as Jacques, maybe as far as Sag. A but not something so generic. Any ideas?
 
If you fly to Jaques, exploring on the way, at least you have something to do at the other end .... or somewhere to rest .... and somewhere to hand in that data [heart] .... and feel good that you made a difference :cool:
 
If you fly to Jaques, exploring on the way, at least you have something to do at the other end .... or somewhere to rest .... and somewhere to hand in that data [heart] .... and feel good that you made a difference :cool:

Nah, that's 500 jumps, and by the time I got there the CG'd be over. I also want to get back to the bubble in a reasonable amount of time.
 
Second star to the right, then straight on till morning.

I've always liked to just point somewhere and go. I turn around when it feels like it's time to turn around.
 
Second star to the right, then straight on till morning.

I've always liked to just point somewhere and go. I turn around when it feels like it's time to turn around.

Two problems; I have no idea where "right" is relative to my current position, and "morning" is nonexistent in space. :p
 
That's kind of the point...it's a reference to The Undiscovered Country, which itself was a reference to Peter Pan.

Pick a direction and head out into it, sir.
 
If you want a destination, pick one of the awesome nebulas you can see from the bubble. Conversely, when I started exploring I just picked a direction and went.

If you are looking for previously undiscovered locations, do not go directly towards tourist locations like nearby nebulas. Head off in some random direction with nothing of obvious interest nearby, you will probably start finding untagged planets/stars about 500Ly-1000Ly out, depending on the direction you go.

Have fun and enjoy the trip!
 
NGC 6357 is a nice destination, around 8000ly away. It's a good distance out but not extremely remote, has lots of interesting systems in it's sector.
 
Bubble Nebula. It's stunning and there's not another one like it in the game. About 7k out of the (human) bubble if I recall correctly.

NGC 6357 is a nice destination, around 8000ly away. It's a good distance out but not extremely remote, has lots of interesting systems in it's sector.

Also a good idea.
 
Last edited:
Bubble Nebula. It's stunning and there's not another one like it in the game. About 7k out of the (human) bubble if I recall correctly.



Also a good idea.

Huh. I might check out the Bubble nebula. I'm already in undiscovered systems. One question, though; If I just "honk" and don't do a planetary scan, will it still say I discovered the planets and such?
 
If you want a destination, pick one of the awesome nebulas you can see from the bubble. Conversely, when I started exploring I just picked a direction and went.

If you are looking for previously undiscovered locations, do not go directly towards tourist locations like nearby nebulas. Head off in some random direction with nothing of obvious interest nearby, you will probably start finding untagged planets/stars about 500Ly-1000Ly out, depending on the direction you go.

Have fun and enjoy the trip!

All good advice. It's still possible to find unexplored systems quite close to the bubble, and conversely you can be a very long way out and find yourself following someone else's trail. Not long ago I was out at NGC6199 and decided to head from there to Jaques. Almost immediately I was coming across systems already explored by 2 other pilots. I detoured about 100ly at a tangent and then set heading for Jacques again and bingo - no previous discoveries.
 
Last edited:
I like the fact you are going above the bubble. I went up too. Reached the top at one point. There were only three jump options and beyond them I couldn't find any stars above me. It was weird.

On another note, I'm thinking soon about an Exploration trip around the top of the bubble. There seems to be plenty of systems where players never go up there.

To answer your question though why not try the Dog Star (Canis majoris) it's a nice easy trip and worth it when you get there.
 
Trouble with heading to known spots is, other people will ahve done the same, and you'll find everything between there has been scanned. You're better off just picking a direction and plotting a course for a random system somewhere along the way.

And to get credit for discovering the planets, I'm pretty sure you need to do a surface scan.
 
… I don't want to go quite as far as Jacques, maybe as far as Sag. A but not something so generic. Any ideas?

Jaques is closer than Sag A*.

My advice for the first exploration trip is to try to reach the neutron star fields that are around 1200 above the galactic plane (and below) and around 10,000 ly from SOL in the direction of Sol.
It's an interesting journey - the gap between the galactic arms, the increasing star density, the excitement of jumping into a neutron star system for the first time (remember to set your throttle to 0 on jump for that one).
A lot of things to see and learn and after reaching the neutron star fields you can farm a bit and get some credits and rank.

On your way you can make detours for tourist spots like nebulae or the few more interesting stars along the way.

Use the galaxy map to filter out uninteresting stars and use it to find things that interests you on the way (A type stars are nice to visit, there is a high chance to find one that has suns as planets - or what that O types?). You get the idea…

Remember to bring a SRV and land on some nice looking moon or planet (moons are better as the view is usually nicer) and relax a bit.

Don't rush it and plan your trip with enough time and then add about double of it ;)
 
The ideal first trip is Barnards Loop.

Lots of awesome points of interest on the way, and its still just 1 hour away from the bubble in case the OP finds out not liking the experience.

Bubble -> Betelgeuse -> WitchHead Nebula -> Rigel -> Orion Nebula -> Barnards Loop -> Horsehead Nebula.

Going towards the center in the first trip may be demoralizing for first timers who may not like exploration, as there is a near 2000ly gap just as you leave the bubble area without any major POI.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom