Planning a long range exploration trip...

[IronDuke]

I have yet to go on any really enthusiastic exploration trips. So far, I haven't gone more than 500 light years or so from my start system. I've always had a goal of making a real exploration trip at some point, but never got around to it. Now that I have Horizons and have unlocked several engineers, I need a 5,000 light year trip to unlock Professor Palin. Coincidentally, my left joystick broke and the right one is atrophying, putting my combat abilities down the toilet, so I can't really run my normal cattle slaughter bounty hunting career. I've done plenty of mining and am now looking to a new activity to occupy my in-game time until I get a new pair of sticks.

When 2.3 drops, I plan to play around with the new features for a while, then purchase and outfit a Dolphin for exploring. I know an Anaconda has the best jump range, and I've easily got the cash for one or two of them, but I've never played with an eye to min-maxing anything. I can be remarkably complacent sometimes. The Dolphin will be equipped with a passenger cabin so I can combine tasks, since I've never once even equipped a cabin on any of my ships, let alone carried oxygen-consuming cargo passengers. I'm gonna pick up some Famous Explorer^{[SIZE=1](TM)[/SIZE][SIZE=1] [/SIZE]}who wishes to travel about 6,000 light years, just to be certain I get far enough.

My question to you, fellow commanders, is in terms of destination. I do bounty hunting because, being a young, excitable feller who makes a living keeping other people off your well-mown lawns for bounties, I found trading and exploring to be very boring. I've since done some serious trading. Now it's the time for exploring. What destination commonly picked by those NPC Explorers do you think would provide an interesting journey, and is in itself easily worth visiting?

--IronDuke

 

[CMDR Torsol]

As someone who did the same thing for Palin:

1. Get an Asp Explorer (or a Dolphin possibly with the next patch)
2. My passenger was 7.500Ly away, so it covered the range requirement.
3. Outfit for light weight and big jumps. Weight reduce everything and max out the FSD.
4. DON'T FORGET A FIELD MAINTENCE MODULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Go to the Neutron Star navigator, and plot a route with them.
6. Be very careful when overclocking your FSD. It's a precarious thing that can get you killed.
7. Get out there and get back safely, in a pretty quick trip.

Just don't forget the maintenance module. I did, and after using neutron stars to boost all the way out there, I didn't have 50% of my FSD left. Had to take the long way home.

Cheers!

 

[HazardousMatt]

As someone who did the same thing for Palin:

1. Get an Asp Explorer (or a Dolphin possibly with the next patch)
2. My passenger was 7.500Ly away, so it covered the range requirement.
3. Outfit for light weight and big jumps. Weight reduce everything and max out the FSD.
4. DON'T FORGET A FIELD MAINTENCE MODULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Go to the Neutron Star navigator, and plot a route with them.
6. Be very careful when overclocking your FSD. It's a precarious thing that can get you killed.
7. Get out there and get back safely, in a pretty quick trip.

Just don't forget the maintenance module. I did, and after using neutron stars to boost all the way out there, I didn't have 50% of my FSD left. Had to take the long way home.

Cheers!

And a fuel scoop...

 

[IronDuke]

As someone who did the same thing for Palin:

1. Get an Asp Explorer (or a Dolphin possibly with the next patch)
2. My passenger was 7.500Ly away, so it covered the range requirement.
3. Outfit for light weight and big jumps. Weight reduce everything and max out the FSD.
4. DON'T FORGET A FIELD MAINTENCE MODULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Go to the Neutron Star navigator, and plot a route with them.
6. Be very careful when overclocking your FSD. It's a precarious thing that can get you killed.
7. Get out there and get back safely, in a pretty quick trip.

Just don't forget the maintenance module. I did, and after using neutron stars to boost all the way out there, I didn't have 50% of my FSD left. Had to take the long way home.

Cheers!

Ah, thank you for reminding me of Neutron stars. I'd plumb forgotten about them. I'll definitely bring along a Field Maintenance Module.

...and a fuel scoop, yes. I run those on all my ships anyway, since I'm always traveling.

Either of you have any specific destinations in mind to prioritize when combing through the passengers?

--IronDuke

 

[tafkabb]

NGC 6357 nebula, Eagle Nebula, Bubble nebula or Heart & Soul nebulae

 

[rrobes]

If you can afford it, an Anaconda is a good choice. I have one that can do 52ly and it is not a totally light build (class A full size shields), there is more range to be had.

W/ the biggest scoop (hideously expensive), you can refuel quite quickly, making jumps way more efficient. Mine also had two maintenance modules (their weight is negligible) plus an SRV.

On a recent incident, a mining laser came in real handy in saving a stranded explorer that needed to asteroid mine mat for a jump boost, so putting one on may come handy.

Good luck.

 

[IronDuke]

NGC 6357 nebula, Eagle Nebula, Bubble nebula or Heart & Soul nebulae

Do you happen to know the names of any beacons in the vicinity of those nebulae? The Explorers seem to only give the beacon names.

--IronDuke

- - - Updated - - -

If you can afford it, an Anaconda is a good choice. I have one that can do 52ly and it is not a totally light build (class A full size shields), there is more range to be had.

W/ the biggest scoop (hideously expensive), you can refuel quite quickly, making jumps way more efficient. Mine also had two maintenance modules (their weight is negligible) plus an SRV.

On a recent incident, a mining laser came in real handy in saving a stranded explorer that needed to asteroid mine mat for a jump boost, so putting one on may come handy.

Good luck.

I somehow feel that an Anaconda is too mainstream, and kinda ugly. Besides, Dolphin is gonna be a brand new ship, and she definitely is purty. Thank you for the advice, though. On future expeditions designed for maximum range or data profit, I may well take a Conda.

--IronDuke

 

[tafkabb]

Do you happen to know the names of any beacons in the vicinity of those nebulae? The Explorers seem to only give the beacon names.

Sorry mate, no. I've never done any tourist or passenger missions

 

[Phazon Xenomorph]

As someone who did the same thing for Palin:

1. Get an Asp Explorer (or a Dolphin possibly with the next patch)
2. My passenger was 7.500Ly away, so it covered the range requirement.
3. Outfit for light weight and big jumps. Weight reduce everything and max out the FSD.
4. DON'T FORGET A FIELD MAINTENCE MODULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Go to the Neutron Star navigator, and plot a route with them.
6. Be very careful when overclocking your FSD. It's a precarious thing that can get you killed.
7. Get out there and get back safely, in a pretty quick trip.

Just don't forget the maintenance module. I did, and after using neutron stars to boost all the way out there, I didn't have 50% of my FSD left. Had to take the long way home.

Cheers!

What Neutron Star navigator?

 

[Lanceor]

What Neutron Star navigator?

https://www.spansh.co.uk/

 

[colprice2002]

Add in at least one heat sink launcher!
The old process of hitting the X key during hyperspace jumps means you won't fly into a neutron star and suffer heat damage but I've jumped into systems with two starts very close together and hit 120% heat in a couple of seconds...
Yes, you can scoop from 2 starts at the same time, but jumping between stars means you don't have a safe escape route.

For long range, save as much mass as you can - thrusters, life support, sensors, weapons, shields. Take the smallest A rated power supply you can, turn off the auto-repair modules.
Don't try to auto-repair in flight! Land first!

 

[Shiro Akai]

Not so long time ago I attempted a trip to Sagittarius A*. Made somewhere 6k LY mark from destination when I decided to turn around. My non-engineered DBX turned not entirely suitable. Don't get me wrong, DBX is awesome ship for exploration. Only my outfitting wasn't optimized as it was my "maiden" exploration trip, to taste how it feels. It gave me enough experience to properly prepare for my next "hit the black".

Which is about to start this weekend, final tweaks and off we go. So, as stated above already - take biggest FSD and Fuel Scoop you can + AFMU. That's basic. Some equip 2x AFMU to be able to repair AFMU when damaged, as this system cannot repair itself. Just set both AFMUs on different fire groups and you're golden. As for the rest of modules - mass is your main stat. D-class is your friend. You may also consider top class discovery and surface scanner for additional income. Visit ED Shipyard site and play with load-out. I have non-engineered, non-optimized DBX capable of 33 LY. With knowledge gained from my first exploration trip I tweaked my setup and pushed it beyond 35 LY. Need to play with it a bit more as I have too much spare power.

As for destination... You said you want to take some famous explorer. Quite good idea, takes destination problem off your shoulders. I myself don't like timers hanging over my head (somewhat limited time for play, don't know if I can continue on the next day or next week) so I set my target myself. At first it was Sag A*. Now I just set some random star at 2k LY (right now I do not need to go any further), go there and start mapping surrounding systems for exploration data. My goal is pure credit run. When I get back I (hopefully) will have enough data to get allied with a faction so I can get totally discounted ASP. And ASP will be engineered for max jump, but that's whole different story.

 

[IronDuke]

Wow, thanks for the responses, guys! [up]

Add in at least one heat sink launcher!

Ah yes, thank you for reminding me. Added to the list.

- - - Updated - - -

Some equip 2x AFMU to be able to repair AFMU when damaged, as this system cannot repair itself. Just set both AFMUs on different fire groups and you're golden. As for the rest of modules - mass is your main stat. D-class is your friend. You may also consider top class discovery and surface scanner for additional income. Visit ED Shipyard site and play with load-out.

As for destination... You said you want to take some famous explorer. Quite good idea, takes destination problem off your shoulders. I myself don't like timers hanging over my head (somewhat limited time for play, don't know if I can continue on the next day or next week) so I set my target myself.

Double repair modules, got it. Nice and cheeky method. Scanners, check, I run those on everything because why not.

I play way more than I should, putting in several hours each day, so I know I can make it. [wacko]

--IronDuke

 

[Comrade Napoleon]

Wow, thanks for the responses, guys! [up]


Ah yes, thank you for reminding me. Added to the list.

- - - Updated - - -


Double repair modules, got it. Nice and cheeky method. Scanners, check, I run those on everything because why not.

I play way more than I should, putting in several hours each day, so I know I can make it. [wacko]

--IronDuke

Last thing to add, see to that you are well stocked with mats for synthesis it does not weigh, and easy to find in bubble BEFORE you go.
Have a nice trip!

Cheers Cmdr's

 

[SafteyBot]

You'll have room for two amfus if you skip the srv. potentially worth it if you're going to do the neutron star thing. Plus amfus are 0-weight, so they don't change your jump range.

Something like this, maybe?

http://www.edshipyard.com/beta/#/L=...sO0B2Q0BK40Bb60,,1bu04_w07Q400Ko00JE02jw02UI0

 

[ViperSixAlpha]

If you haven't done any long range stuff, it might not be a bad idea to give one of the 2k-4k trips a shot first. You mentioned you got bored running trade and exploring. Long range passenger missions are longer, lol, and require some more advanced skills. All the "famous explorers" are secretive, for example, so you will need to learn hown to avoid scans if you haven't already. Also worth noting is the route plotting system doesn't work past 1,000 LY, so that requires more effort than the trading missions. You need to plot waypoints.

Not that I'm trying to talk you out of it, but just so you can work out some of the rough edges of your build without the 6k LY commitment hanging over your head the whole time.

Just to give you an idea time wise, I personally run these with an Anaconda that jumps about 45LY with the setup I like and it takes about an hour to cover 2,000 LY. For the round trip I figure an hour for every 1k LY of the mission distance, so for your 6k LY trip, I would figure 6+ hours of just jump, scoop, honk. If you want to do some exploring beyond just honking as you haul butt to get there, it will take longer, of course.

The long range missions aren't for everyone, I'd hate to hear that you jumped for a few hours then were so mind-numbingly bored you needed to quit and self distruct.

 

[IronDuke]

If you haven't done any long range stuff, it might not be a bad idea to give one of the 2k-4k trips a shot first. You mentioned you got bored running trade and exploring. Long range passenger missions are longer, lol, and require some more advanced skills. All the "famous explorers" are secretive, for example, so you will need to learn hown to avoid scans if you haven't already. Also worth noting is the route plotting system doesn't work past 1,000 LY, so that requires more effort than the trading missions. You need to plot waypoints.

Not that I'm trying to talk you out of it, but just so you can work out some of the rough edges of your build without the 6k LY commitment hanging over your head the whole time.

Just to give you an idea time wise, I personally run these with an Anaconda that jumps about 45LY with the setup I like and it takes about an hour to cover 2,000 LY. For the round trip I figure an hour for every 1k LY of the mission distance, so for your 6k LY trip, I would figure 6+ hours of just jump, scoop, honk. If you want to do some exploring beyond just honking as you haul butt to get there, it will take longer, of course.

The long range missions aren't for everyone, I'd hate to hear that you jumped for a few hours then were so mind-numbingly bored you needed to quit and self distruct.

I've done smuggling before, so avoiding scans is no trouble at all. [arrrr] As for the boredom, I'm kinda looking for a bit of that, to be completely honest. Life has been way too hectic for my tastes lately. Also, route planner limited to 1000 LY is something I'd actually noticed when derping around in the galaxy map. Thanks for the advice though; I'll definitely run a shorter mission first, maybe 1000 LY just to get a taste before doing the long one. It's no Sag A run, but the galaxy is whoppin' huge. Thanks for the advice; I'm running out of things to do while waiting for 2.3 to drop. [hotas]

Incidentally, 6 hours for the whole trip is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I've spent hours on end zipping around planets in the SRV without picking up a single mat, just because that thing is such a joy to drive. [heart] I was anticipating this trip would take at least thirty hours all told, but with a good jump range and the magic fairy plumes neutron star boosts, it could be much shorter.

--IronDuke

P.S. Never yet self-destructed, and I aim to not break that.

 

[Decoy7]

You said you didn't want to do an Anaconda but here is a build for it. If you can get a decent roll for the FSD optimal mass (48%) is what I picked, it's what I got on my conda, then you are hitting 53 ly jump range.

such a small power plant just have to be careful of what you run with it off. But that 25 seconds to fill your fuel and the 53ly jump range, could be even lower if you mod stuff to lightweight is just untouchable.

https://eddp.co/u/WaBruglA

It covers your scanning and your planetary landing, and a passenger cabin too, tons of repairs and some heat sinks, could bring more if you really wanted to but 2 should be fine. And if you could happen to cross 2 passenger missions to the same area could throw in a 2nd cabin. and a single mining laser just in case you need it in a desperate case. And flying without shields anyways so don't really need to worry about it being so low.

Can do all you need and the fastest way of doing it.

at 53 ly you are doing 1,000 ly every 19 jumps. at worst you spend 20ish seconds every 4th jump scooping, but if you only fly with scoopable ones anyways you would regain all you need on pretty much every jump anyways. So no real stopping. I was able to time myself once and do 1 jump every 45 seconds when completely going at it with full attention. That's 14 1/2 minutes for 1,000 LYs. you do 6,000 in 1.5 hours, so 3 hours there and back! like a cake walk. Depending how much exploring you want to do besides your first honk though as well. Going for speed this is it, going for that sights and don't care about actual time take an AspX or wait for 2.3, then a DBX would maybe better, (depends how long you like to wait to scoop, i hate it).

 

[killminster]

As someone who did the same thing for Palin:

1. Get an Asp Explorer (or a Dolphin possibly with the next patch)
2. My passenger was 7.500Ly away, so it covered the range requirement.
3. Outfit for light weight and big jumps. Weight reduce everything and max out the FSD.
4. DON'T FORGET A FIELD MAINTENCE MODULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Go to the Neutron Star navigator, and plot a route with them.
6. Be very careful when overclocking your FSD. It's a precarious thing that can get you killed.
7. Get out there and get back safely, in a pretty quick trip.

Just don't forget the maintenance module. I did, and after using neutron stars to boost all the way out there, I didn't have 50% of my FSD left. Had to take the long way home.

Cheers!

One other thing to bear in mind when neutron star overclocking/boosting is that if you're carrying risk averse passengers they can very quickly get frightened and you can easily end up failing the mission. Not something you want to happen if you've traveled several tens of thousands of light years with them.

 

[kmwmtd]

Ah, thank you for reminding me of Neutron stars. I'd plumb forgotten about them. I'll definitely bring along a Field Maintenance Module.

...and a fuel scoop, yes. I run those on all my ships anyway, since I'm always traveling.

Either of you have any specific destinations in mind to prioritize when combing through the passengers?

--IronDuke

SRV if you can fit one. Not only does it break up the monotony a bit to do some sweet drifts on a small moon, but essential if you want to collect materials for jumponium or AFMU reloading.

An extra fuel tank, if you have room. Few things more annoying than running into a field of unscoopable stars and having to take the long way round. On that subject, I'd suggest that you stock up on jumponium materials before you set out - you never know when that extra 25, 50 or 100% boost might be needed to get you out of trouble and you may not be close to any suitable bodies.

If you want to discover new stuff, fly about 1000 lys up or down before heading towards your destination. This will increase the chance that you are the first to follow a particular route.

There are half a dozen outposts between the bubble and Colonia where you can stop for repairs. If you're new to long range exploration, maybe try to stay within a few hours journey of one of these.

If you suffer damage, and you probably will, be careful with life-support repairs. During repairs, life-support will use the emergency oxygen supply to keep you alive. This supply is *not* replenished when life-support is turned back on. For example, if you have 5 minutes supply, and repairs take on average 30 seconds, you will only be able to repair 10 times before you run out, and on the 10th or 11th repair, you will die. Take the best (largest oxygen supply) life-support you can without compromising your range too much, and note the remaining time if you ever repair it. When you dock, it will be replenished. Probably best to let damage accumulate a bit as it is more efficient to repair a lot of damage once than a little damage 10 times.