Not what I want, but hey.
Exploration Scans
- Thread starter Sandro Sammarco
- Start date
Not what I want, but hey.
Please let it be as it is.
but i bet the: make this game more a timesink crowd will win this again.
just like how they cried about ship transfer.
To be honest fd you are to late with backward changes.
You stated exploration was solid since day 1 and now you want to revert it to the ideas that were day since the ddf?
black person please.
but i bet the: make this game more a timesink crowd will win this again.
just like how they cried about ship transfer.
To be honest fd you are to late with backward changes.
You stated exploration was solid since day 1 and now you want to revert it to the ideas that were day since the ddf?
black person please.
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Alright Sandro these are my thoughts on this matter.
Black Planets after a Discover Scan staying black until Surface Scanned - I would say this makes logical sense, however with the current state of exploration this is a very bad idea for game play. Right now exploration is VERY tedious. There isn't enough engaging activity, and the return on investment is horribly low. For the time spent exploring for hours on end across many days or weeks you'll make what you could make in an hour or two trading or bounty hunting back in the bubble. Right now to streamline the lack of profits explorers find neutron star fields and use the sounds + visuals on the map after a discovery scan honk to identify valuable worlds so they can get their money and get out and move to the next system.
I think later down the line when exploration is fleshed out more, when its actually profitable, when there is more stuff to do out the black, then the black planets after a discovery scan honk would be fine, but right now no.
Black Planets after a Discover Scan staying black until Surface Scanned - I would say this makes logical sense, however with the current state of exploration this is a very bad idea for game play. Right now exploration is VERY tedious. There isn't enough engaging activity, and the return on investment is horribly low. For the time spent exploring for hours on end across many days or weeks you'll make what you could make in an hour or two trading or bounty hunting back in the bubble. Right now to streamline the lack of profits explorers find neutron star fields and use the sounds + visuals on the map after a discovery scan honk to identify valuable worlds so they can get their money and get out and move to the next system.
I think later down the line when exploration is fleshed out more, when its actually profitable, when there is more stuff to do out the black, then the black planets after a discovery scan honk would be fine, but right now no.
I'm in Elite for the long run. Since this game is supposed to have a ~10 year development plan I just want to say this:
Please make sure there will be a need for an Astrometrics Lab with accompanying gameplay for when we can outfit the different compartments and decks of our ships! I want to put it right between the Medical Bay and the Science Lab.
Please make sure there will be a need for an Astrometrics Lab with accompanying gameplay for when we can outfit the different compartments and decks of our ships! I want to put it right between the Medical Bay and the Science Lab.
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I've already commented; but this.
All of this.
As I mentioned in another thread; not everyone is an hard core explorer, nor do we all want to be.
We want to enjoy this [video game] experience.
Having to waste time to fly out to a planet, scan it, is time consuming. And can end up all for naught.
That is a poor game experience no matter what.
First let me say that I am an Xbox player but I have been following some videos on YouTube regarding the Beta. I know there have been some discussions on the scanners and the recent glitch on the system map that shows blank planets. While I have not done extensive exploration I have done a little bit of exploration, but thought I might through this idea out there.
1) Leave the discovery scanners as they are with the blank grids on the planetary surface. They serve their purpose of discovering all scan-able objects within range. Seeing what’s on the planet should be left to a more detailed scan (hence the detailed surface scanner).
2) Change the Detailed Surface scanner to be able to launch probes as well. Something like I'll list below.
Details surface scanner (E RATED) - Can launch 1 probe
Details surface scanner (D RATED) - Can launch 2 probes
Details surface scanner (C RATED) - Can launch 3 probes
Details surface scanner (B RATED) - Can launch 4 probes
Details surface scanner (A RATED) - Can launch 5 probes
You could also have different classes like Class 2 or 3. The idea is that you're not adding a controlling module for the probes; the detailed surface scanner is the module that would be used while keeping its normal passive function.
You can choose where the probes go by selecting an unknown planet in the system map and launch a probe from there. This will allow you to send a probe to far planet while you fly and explore nearby planets. This would save time while exploring a system.
I know I have had responses from people that exploring is more than just about money and I can understand that. I wouldn't be exploring for money, I'd be exploring to explore. But if I can have a probe go to one side of the system while I go to the other, it would save me time from running back if there was nothing interesting in the first place. The probes are supposed to help you and yes I know who wants to carry cargo around the galaxy, but this can be easily done with 8 tons of cargo or less. You can say it will take XX time to get to a planet XXX,XXXLs away but why not send a probe to do a detailed scan. While you detail scan closer planets and explore them. Or simply don't launch a probe and go there anyway. Carrying and using probes would not be required to use the modified detailed surface scanner as it would keep its normal passive function.
Probes would be launched while in normal space and they can fly to different planets and enter a planetary orbit to scan the surface. We already see this with things like voyager probes, which we can find in the game already.
Give the probes something like a 30 second orbit time of a planet. I suggested 30 seconds because 1 probe trying to scan 60 objects would take 30 minutes. The probes would take up cargo space just like limpets and you could synthesis more probes using materials (looking at those long distance explorers). It may help cut down on exploration time while still giving them a delay. We already have various limpets (Collector, Prospectors, Hatch Breakers) with several grades and they use cargo space.
Once the scan of the system is complete a message could appear letting the player know that it was completed. Then the player can recall the probes and pick them up in normal space. The player could also recall the probes early before the scan is complete if they do not want to wait for a complete scan, or the player can leave the system losing all scanned data from the probes and the probes themselves.
The other option would be to allow the probes to send data back directly to the ship, but I thought it'd be more fun to pick them up. The only thing is you would need to stay in system for the scans to complete because the last thing we want is for exploration Anaconda with 200 probes scanning everything in the known galaxy by simply launching probes. This may need a limit on the number of probes to 10.
We could also have around a 5% failure rate for probes as well due to well... meteor showers, radiation, faulty FSD, or computer failures.
This gives the explorers a little more game play other than just flying around scanning this and scanning that. Please consider this as well, while you launch a probe to a planet that's 250,000Ls+ away from you. You can do the close work, and by the time you get done your probe will be out there scanning. You can then make your way there while your probe scans the area. And it'll be done by the time you get there. Saving you the trouble of having to scan them and may allow you more time to go down to planets that look interesting.
If something like this ever gets introduced to the game the only thing I request is that they be called “Echo Probes”.
I hope someone finds this interesting, maybe I am way off base but please consider it.
Like to original post:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/298712-Player-Launched-Probes
1) Leave the discovery scanners as they are with the blank grids on the planetary surface. They serve their purpose of discovering all scan-able objects within range. Seeing what’s on the planet should be left to a more detailed scan (hence the detailed surface scanner).
2) Change the Detailed Surface scanner to be able to launch probes as well. Something like I'll list below.
Details surface scanner (E RATED) - Can launch 1 probe
Details surface scanner (D RATED) - Can launch 2 probes
Details surface scanner (C RATED) - Can launch 3 probes
Details surface scanner (B RATED) - Can launch 4 probes
Details surface scanner (A RATED) - Can launch 5 probes
You could also have different classes like Class 2 or 3. The idea is that you're not adding a controlling module for the probes; the detailed surface scanner is the module that would be used while keeping its normal passive function.
You can choose where the probes go by selecting an unknown planet in the system map and launch a probe from there. This will allow you to send a probe to far planet while you fly and explore nearby planets. This would save time while exploring a system.
I know I have had responses from people that exploring is more than just about money and I can understand that. I wouldn't be exploring for money, I'd be exploring to explore. But if I can have a probe go to one side of the system while I go to the other, it would save me time from running back if there was nothing interesting in the first place. The probes are supposed to help you and yes I know who wants to carry cargo around the galaxy, but this can be easily done with 8 tons of cargo or less. You can say it will take XX time to get to a planet XXX,XXXLs away but why not send a probe to do a detailed scan. While you detail scan closer planets and explore them. Or simply don't launch a probe and go there anyway. Carrying and using probes would not be required to use the modified detailed surface scanner as it would keep its normal passive function.
Probes would be launched while in normal space and they can fly to different planets and enter a planetary orbit to scan the surface. We already see this with things like voyager probes, which we can find in the game already.
Give the probes something like a 30 second orbit time of a planet. I suggested 30 seconds because 1 probe trying to scan 60 objects would take 30 minutes. The probes would take up cargo space just like limpets and you could synthesis more probes using materials (looking at those long distance explorers). It may help cut down on exploration time while still giving them a delay. We already have various limpets (Collector, Prospectors, Hatch Breakers) with several grades and they use cargo space.
Once the scan of the system is complete a message could appear letting the player know that it was completed. Then the player can recall the probes and pick them up in normal space. The player could also recall the probes early before the scan is complete if they do not want to wait for a complete scan, or the player can leave the system losing all scanned data from the probes and the probes themselves.
The other option would be to allow the probes to send data back directly to the ship, but I thought it'd be more fun to pick them up. The only thing is you would need to stay in system for the scans to complete because the last thing we want is for exploration Anaconda with 200 probes scanning everything in the known galaxy by simply launching probes. This may need a limit on the number of probes to 10.
We could also have around a 5% failure rate for probes as well due to well... meteor showers, radiation, faulty FSD, or computer failures.
This gives the explorers a little more game play other than just flying around scanning this and scanning that. Please consider this as well, while you launch a probe to a planet that's 250,000Ls+ away from you. You can do the close work, and by the time you get done your probe will be out there scanning. You can then make your way there while your probe scans the area. And it'll be done by the time you get there. Saving you the trouble of having to scan them and may allow you more time to go down to planets that look interesting.
If something like this ever gets introduced to the game the only thing I request is that they be called “Echo Probes”.
I hope someone finds this interesting, maybe I am way off base but please consider it.
Like to original post:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/298712-Player-Launched-Probes
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As someone who apparently can get lost in a phone-box, I wish for an easier way to set down on a given set of coordinates on the surface. Today it's a pain. Pinpointing materials from orbit after a detailed scan would also be nice.
Glad to hear that the grey blobs are out.
If we could manually enter lat/long coordinates for surface bookmarks, that would do the trick. And also simply click on the zoomable surface map to create a bookmark. Those two combined should cover it, and make sharing locations and finding your way to a targeted surface spot quite easy.
Of the 3 options presented by Sandro I like the 1st best. My druthers would be amount of info revealed to be a function of scanner power and apparent magnitude of object. I.e., basic scanner + app. mag of 15 = nada, advanced + surface + app. mag of -10 = everything + large POI.
The thing is there was no improved tool set coming with this release. As such it would have simply involved removing things now and saying 'hey it's Ok we'll fix that right up in 2.3 which will be coming some time in 2017. Have a swell Christmas'.
See the problem?
Yep pretty much. Did a bit today as I went out to the Pleiades to visit one of the wreck sites. Most of the moons I scanned I could see the surface before the scan even completed. Also some planets too given they often tend to be quite small around M class and smaller stars. I've run across several systems where the outermost planet is inside Mercury's orbit and there are 6+ planets in the system.
Pretty sure I posted a screenshot of one awhile back. The first planet was within 2ls of the parent star, which was a Y dwarf or something to that effect. The entire system was tiny, but pretty cool! Should dig my notes out and revisit it as I bet they're all landable.
But the point still stands. For a large majority of bodies you can actually land on (and I'd say it's over 70%), you can see the surface details before you're done scanning. In the time it takes you to access the system map, you could already be entering orbital cruise. Kind of pointless if it goes live like that imo.
Well, not that my idea has any traction at all... but probes might be useful on larger systems.
Didn't you see the stream? Sandro said we won't get that yet because it would require gameplay to support it...
Meanwhile I just flushed two more tip-offs out of my chat log because I can't face the prospect of flying to them.
Hey anybody remember that event to find the crashed alien ship which was at specific coordinates on a planet.
Etc.
Close, but incorrect. Ice mining is actually the least profitable job in Elite currently. Metallic mining is more than exploration, but ice mining sucks so hard for credits that it only makes like 25% per hour of what metallic does (even with mission stacking!), and that pushes it down below exploration.
I just wanted to correct that, because it sits foully with me as I want ice mining to be comparable to metallic but it just isn't.
This is the prospect that disturbs me the most.
If I were not able to see the type of planets in a system as we already do from the discovery scanner I would never scan any of those planets. It's simply not worth the time investment.
Exploration is already a HUGE time sink, we don't need "features" that require yet more time to be sunk into each system.
That I would be quite happy with, and a good suggestion for giving exploration another dimension.
I was referring to player created content, like finding and sharing race locations, exploration meetups, interesting natural formations or sight seeing spots, sharing fumarole/alien locs, etc.
In any case, surface bookmarks aren't directly related to the scanners so it's somewhat OT.
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With all the talk of "honking" and "system scan", I looked it up and discovered that putting my discovery scanner on a fire group (at least while said fire group is active) passively increases scan range tremendously. I've been getting way closer to planets and suns than necessary for months.... Now it makes sense why the outfitting descriptions for scanners didn't match how close I had to get to actually scan.
Also new to me is that holding the button for the discovery scanner is what makes the "honk", which I'm guessing is the system scan.
So, my question here is whether this stuff is covered in the new tutorials. I'm hoping it is for the sake of new players. Maybe it already was and I just forgot.
Also new to me is that holding the button for the discovery scanner is what makes the "honk", which I'm guessing is the system scan.
So, my question here is whether this stuff is covered in the new tutorials. I'm hoping it is for the sake of new players. Maybe it already was and I just forgot.