Doesn't sound like ElectricZ is asking for more money, but rather for more mission-based exploration objectives. Instead wandering like hobos or acting as bus drivers for famous explorers, we can get missions like "There's a earth-like world in one of these systems in the Lagoon Nebula. Find it". Personally I think it sounds like a nice addition.
Exploration - how would YOU fix it?
- Thread starter rennarda
- Start date
Doesn't sound like ElectricZ is asking for more money, but rather for more mission-based exploration objectives. Instead wandering like hobos or acting as bus drivers for famous explorers, we can get missions like "There's a earth-like world in one of these systems in the Lagoon Nebula. Find it". Personally I think it sounds like a nice addition.
This. So much this.
And also the scanner gameplay mentioned above, as well as being able to scan for POIs that you can then visit on purpose, instead of having to wait for a random one to spawn underneath you.
Back in the day when the big bad nasty Europeans set out to 'discover' the 'world' they did it for various reasons
1. Fame
2. Glory
3. Wealth
4. A desire for knowledge
but in all-most every case they did it with the patronage of their country and IN THAT COUNTRIES NAME they claimed every rock they came across. This is what I'd like to see brought in THE ABILTY TO CLAIM WHAT YOU FIND.
mayb it gives you extra rep with that faction (and a drop with the other 2)
you could get a fifty percent increase in payouts.
you could be totally independent and claim finds just to stop the others.
claims to systems would include all possible mineral wealth. You could then broker your claims to corporations etc.
all the above introduce new reasons to sell data other than just credits and a rep boost.
factions could issue MISSIONS to claim whole areas with the ensuing battles to stop claim jumpers.
it would introduce a whole new aspect to exploring
are you a purist there to find the stars for humanity?
are you a jingoist out there to push the boundaries of your faction?
or are you simply out there to make the quickest buck you can from the highest bidder
1. Fame
2. Glory
3. Wealth
4. A desire for knowledge
but in all-most every case they did it with the patronage of their country and IN THAT COUNTRIES NAME they claimed every rock they came across. This is what I'd like to see brought in THE ABILTY TO CLAIM WHAT YOU FIND.
mayb it gives you extra rep with that faction (and a drop with the other 2)
you could get a fifty percent increase in payouts.
you could be totally independent and claim finds just to stop the others.
claims to systems would include all possible mineral wealth. You could then broker your claims to corporations etc.
all the above introduce new reasons to sell data other than just credits and a rep boost.
factions could issue MISSIONS to claim whole areas with the ensuing battles to stop claim jumpers.
it would introduce a whole new aspect to exploring
are you a purist there to find the stars for humanity?
are you a jingoist out there to push the boundaries of your faction?
or are you simply out there to make the quickest buck you can from the highest bidder
I'm in general agreement with the OP. Exploration is shallow, unengaging, and inconsequential. If you don't manage to get a first scan of something and make it back in time to name it, then you kind of wasted your time, mechanically speaking. I don't care that exploration isn't as profitable as combat or hauling slaves; I care that it gets more and more boring as you upgrade your equipment. The intermediate scanner was a step up from the basic; the advanced scanner just removes an activity from the game entirely. I'm still confused by this design choice. Scanners should've had their own grades with increasing ranges on each grade. Just going from "never gonna spot anything" to "probably gonna miss most things" and then finally to "screw it, you spot everything" reeks of halfassery and surrender. Taking all that data back to whatever station you find first and getting the same value no matter who you sell to, no matter how many times that exact same data has been sold to them before, is completely baffling and leaves me disillusioned.
There's just no reason to explore in ED because exploring changes nothing for anyone. It replaces "unknown" with "planet/star/asteroid X" in your map, but that's it. It has no bearing on anything anyone else does. Is it not the mission of explorers to be the first to see things, that others may have safer passage? Do we not explore to brave the unknown and redraw our maps for the benefit of those to come? We're not accomplishing that in ED because exploration is almost a tacked-on activity that needs some serious redesign. Many of the ideas in this thread are excellent candidates for revitalizing exploration. Ignore the naysayers who claim we just want more money; if we wanted more money we'd be using exploits and getting our anacondas in a week or something stupid. We want something to EXPLORE.
There's just no reason to explore in ED because exploring changes nothing for anyone. It replaces "unknown" with "planet/star/asteroid X" in your map, but that's it. It has no bearing on anything anyone else does. Is it not the mission of explorers to be the first to see things, that others may have safer passage? Do we not explore to brave the unknown and redraw our maps for the benefit of those to come? We're not accomplishing that in ED because exploration is almost a tacked-on activity that needs some serious redesign. Many of the ideas in this thread are excellent candidates for revitalizing exploration. Ignore the naysayers who claim we just want more money; if we wanted more money we'd be using exploits and getting our anacondas in a week or something stupid. We want something to EXPLORE.
I'm having a problem with that then...
While I have never entered into a career as a surveyor, I have had the interminable attitude of being forever questioning when curious. Those that have had the time to answer my questions have told me the same thing, "the maths are fun, but the job is extremely tedious." So, with that knowledge in place, I do surveying in this game as a means of unwinding from the calling I did decide to get into.
It's bland. It's can be terribly tedious, but the maths I can use when looking at a system layout can be fun.
What you're also describing isn't something that would have been done by Lewis & Clark or even Columbus, but something I would expect going on within the bubble instead. A sort of Easter Egg Hunt for things that might have been missed. I like that thought, but definitely think that would work with a better POI system than what's currently in the game. I'm definitely not a fan of it outside the bubble given the amount of tourist surveying has been done by cherry pickers on the way to the big tourist spots in the Milky Way.
The fact is the devs are not going to address that problem and as I've said before when pays were increased: has only accelerated the amount of cherry picking outside the Bubble. And I don't think this easter egg hunt will solve that problem either.
But... to stay to the theme of what you're saying and this thread. Perhaps a CG or ten needs to be created for the Explorers to begin scouring L class and lesser star systems for mining and materials instead of just ELW.. Or a CG to find more AW out there for the potential to determining Thargoid settlements. Heck, even working out a CG for the collection of Gas Giants with either Water Based or Ammonia Based life as well for... (for lack of a better word) Reasons.
As it currently stands, none of the CGs submitted for the last year (probably longer) have ever dealt with exploration for the Pilot's Guild. Just Fighting and Trade. And that's not a good sign either. Apparently the devs have missed the Star Trek message that has driven Sci-Fi for decades: Where no man has gone before...l
Have you ever read McDevitt's Academy Series? In his books, a couple of hundred years in space and learning all one can learn about astronomy and astrophysics: it is boring. Just as mundane as architectural design. We don't see it as such because we're still learning it.
Last edited:
![[VR] Frank_G](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/59/59394.jpg?1553527111){kind=avatar}
Just my two cents in brief words:
1 - give meaning to the planetary detail scanner - i consider this the most important change.
Make it identify certain resources and points of interest from orbit. Also it should allow you to mark such positions for a straight descent. Could include a minigame where you have to tune the pulse before firing it at the right moment.
2 - SRV customization or different types of SRVs
An SRV with some scanner equipment would be nice, to get more data on the things you find. Also the gun could be replaced by a robotic arm, to take soil and rock samples and grab things instead of shooting them.
3 - Give meaning and gameplay to multicrew exploration
Give the copilot an explorer role, that has access to all the maps and data you collect. The ability to set waypoints or markers to detected POI and such things would be cool. S/he could also help navigating the galaxy map and plan course etc.
4 - An orrey map for the system
A sensor pulse could reveal USS and "Surface Anomalies" from the distance, so the co-pilot can plan a good course through the system and allow to go right into the interesting things.
5 - Allow multicrew SRV usage
6 - Give us an exploration shuttle
A small ship launched from the fighter bay, that can take samples from asteroids, analyze their contents or allow for interesting surface co-op exploration things. It might also have other scanner stuff on board.
7 - Probe launchers
Give us hardpoint mounted probe launchers (just like a missile launcher), that allow us to fire a probe at suns and planets for even more detailed info. Get into orbit, drop from supercruise and then fire it - maybe you have to hit the ideal orbit height for full details. Could include a minigame of directing the probe to the best scanning altitude.
1 - give meaning to the planetary detail scanner - i consider this the most important change.
Make it identify certain resources and points of interest from orbit. Also it should allow you to mark such positions for a straight descent. Could include a minigame where you have to tune the pulse before firing it at the right moment.
2 - SRV customization or different types of SRVs
An SRV with some scanner equipment would be nice, to get more data on the things you find. Also the gun could be replaced by a robotic arm, to take soil and rock samples and grab things instead of shooting them.
3 - Give meaning and gameplay to multicrew exploration
Give the copilot an explorer role, that has access to all the maps and data you collect. The ability to set waypoints or markers to detected POI and such things would be cool. S/he could also help navigating the galaxy map and plan course etc.
4 - An orrey map for the system
A sensor pulse could reveal USS and "Surface Anomalies" from the distance, so the co-pilot can plan a good course through the system and allow to go right into the interesting things.
5 - Allow multicrew SRV usage
6 - Give us an exploration shuttle
A small ship launched from the fighter bay, that can take samples from asteroids, analyze their contents or allow for interesting surface co-op exploration things. It might also have other scanner stuff on board.
7 - Probe launchers
Give us hardpoint mounted probe launchers (just like a missile launcher), that allow us to fire a probe at suns and planets for even more detailed info. Get into orbit, drop from supercruise and then fire it - maybe you have to hit the ideal orbit height for full details. Could include a minigame of directing the probe to the best scanning altitude.
Last edited:
I like a lot of suggestions in this thread. I like ideas for making system scanning and planetary scanning more interactive or making it more benficial to learn some astrophysics. However, I think there’s a pretty important reason why exploration is as simple and “mindless” and safe as it is now: it takes forever anyway!
As it stands now, the most frequent question I ask as I’m exploring is, “is it worth my time?” I’m on my way back from Sag A right now, and I love finding little gems along the way. I still find “mundane” discoveries compelling (e.g. gas giants with water-based life), but I hardly spend time looking for them. The reason? It’s gonna take me two weeks to get back to the bubble anyway - and that’s because I have a long weekend to play with.
By far the one change I need that comes with the most positives and the fewest negatives is... bumping jump distance. To make most of the suggestions palatable to me, jump distance would have to be bumped a lot - like 10x the current maximums. That’s a pretty big change, but I don’t think it would necessarily be a painful one, and I think it could be implemented ahead of other changes with minimal disruption.
How would I do it if I were King of ED? I’d give certain models exploration hulls (maybe start with DBX, AspX, and Annie). These new hulls would have significantly fewer internal slots, so tougher choices, but would come with drastic weight and armor reductions as well. Basically they become tin cans. However, the trade off would be massively increased jump distances as you continue to shed weight. At the very extreme, explorers might be faced with a choice between 350ly with an AFMU, and 650ly without. In other words, if you’re willing to go without a net, you can get there very quickly. This would mean grinding for a new ship if you wanted both types of hulls, but the grind isn’t really all bad. It would also create demand for FD to release other exploration hulls as player began asking for their favorite ship to be included (explorer Keelback for instance?). It might even create a market for different hull types in general, but one thing at a time.
No other aspect of exploration would have to be changed for this make a huge impact in the enjoyableness of the activity. Obviously, payouts would need to get rebalanced again (including possibly for passenger missions and smulling though both involve cargo), but even that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Think of it: now 1000 more pilots are trying to game the tsystem by going out into the black and putting their name on things. Really? The biggest problem we have is suddenly people are incentivized to go take in the galaxy’s sights? FD - go ahead and take your time solving that one!
Anyhoo, I believe that would be the simplest, most inclusive, most enjoyable, and least painful solution for everyone involved - except maybe EDSM o7
As it stands now, the most frequent question I ask as I’m exploring is, “is it worth my time?” I’m on my way back from Sag A right now, and I love finding little gems along the way. I still find “mundane” discoveries compelling (e.g. gas giants with water-based life), but I hardly spend time looking for them. The reason? It’s gonna take me two weeks to get back to the bubble anyway - and that’s because I have a long weekend to play with.
By far the one change I need that comes with the most positives and the fewest negatives is... bumping jump distance. To make most of the suggestions palatable to me, jump distance would have to be bumped a lot - like 10x the current maximums. That’s a pretty big change, but I don’t think it would necessarily be a painful one, and I think it could be implemented ahead of other changes with minimal disruption.
How would I do it if I were King of ED? I’d give certain models exploration hulls (maybe start with DBX, AspX, and Annie). These new hulls would have significantly fewer internal slots, so tougher choices, but would come with drastic weight and armor reductions as well. Basically they become tin cans. However, the trade off would be massively increased jump distances as you continue to shed weight. At the very extreme, explorers might be faced with a choice between 350ly with an AFMU, and 650ly without. In other words, if you’re willing to go without a net, you can get there very quickly. This would mean grinding for a new ship if you wanted both types of hulls, but the grind isn’t really all bad. It would also create demand for FD to release other exploration hulls as player began asking for their favorite ship to be included (explorer Keelback for instance?). It might even create a market for different hull types in general, but one thing at a time.
No other aspect of exploration would have to be changed for this make a huge impact in the enjoyableness of the activity. Obviously, payouts would need to get rebalanced again (including possibly for passenger missions and smulling though both involve cargo), but even that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Think of it: now 1000 more pilots are trying to game the tsystem by going out into the black and putting their name on things. Really? The biggest problem we have is suddenly people are incentivized to go take in the galaxy’s sights? FD - go ahead and take your time solving that one!
Anyhoo, I believe that would be the simplest, most inclusive, most enjoyable, and least painful solution for everyone involved - except maybe EDSM o7
I put quite a lengthy post together of suggestions in this thread, mostly to do with revamping the exploration system
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...odules-and-how-to-make-them-fit-the-ED-scheme
Beware. MANY WORDS.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...odules-and-how-to-make-them-fit-the-ED-scheme
Beware. MANY WORDS.
So what did FD promise at the Expo?
* a codex of discoveries (slightly confused by this - is this global discoveries, or just your own?)
* updated graphics for planets - I'm not 100% convinced there's anything new here, just a case or restoring what we used to have
* updated lighting model - not much detail given on this, but I wonder if it will include fixes like the dark-side lightening, multi-point light sources (eg. binary stars) and rings casing shadows ?
* updated surface features - geysers, etc.
* updated rock scattering. If they managed to approach the concept art shown, then I'll be very happy
I think they mention some changes to scanners? I can't remember the exact details...
* a codex of discoveries (slightly confused by this - is this global discoveries, or just your own?)
* updated graphics for planets - I'm not 100% convinced there's anything new here, just a case or restoring what we used to have
* updated lighting model - not much detail given on this, but I wonder if it will include fixes like the dark-side lightening, multi-point light sources (eg. binary stars) and rings casing shadows ?
* updated surface features - geysers, etc.
* updated rock scattering. If they managed to approach the concept art shown, then I'll be very happy
I think they mention some changes to scanners? I can't remember the exact details...
I'm not really a fan of this, as it would make the galaxy feel 10x smaller. I would be in favour of some kind of alternate jump system though - maybe a wormhole link to Colonia, or a 'hypercruise' jump where you can leave your ship flying when you log out and haul huge distances in real time but at the expense of being locked out of the game for hours...
The main problem on the enhancements FD has announced are connected at 90% to eyecandy.
This is good to have improvements here only it adds nothing to the reason why exploring something.
It would be mean more to collect mining probes and sell them to UC with the data collected for extra money on the body.
It would mean more being able to team-explore a system with a SLF optimitzing system exploration time by scanning
system A with the SLF while going for B and AB bodies with the main ship.
It would mean more to equip a Research SRV for trips that enables us to collect more precious body data.
and so much more.
But it seems there are not so much more ideas around for exploration enhancements that go further than pixel optimization in 2018.
Regards,
Miklos
This is good to have improvements here only it adds nothing to the reason why exploring something.
It would be mean more to collect mining probes and sell them to UC with the data collected for extra money on the body.
It would mean more being able to team-explore a system with a SLF optimitzing system exploration time by scanning
system A with the SLF while going for B and AB bodies with the main ship.
It would mean more to equip a Research SRV for trips that enables us to collect more precious body data.
and so much more.
But it seems there are not so much more ideas around for exploration enhancements that go further than pixel optimization in 2018.
Regards,
Miklos
Your suggestions would definitely make the universe feel 10 times smaller. Even with the extended range, you're still having to traverse the distance with the same jump times and cool downs; you're just seeing that your journey is several hundred jumps more.
But this? What you are suggesting is speeding up the time and extending the jump several hundred light years and doing so offline out of convenience. And doing it offline would create the effect of compressed time through editing, which would take away the feeling of just how big the universe is.
Wormhole to Colonia? And offline? Should it be with the same time of shipping things from the Bubble to Colonia? Imagine the noise and complaints about not being able to play the game in that time.
Last edited:
I would like there to actual things to find! Something interesting!
I posted a write up of one suggestion here
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/382635-Exploration-Unique-Random-permanent-POI
I posted a write up of one suggestion here
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/382635-Exploration-Unique-Random-permanent-POI
Good suggestion. I would recommend pairing this with the exploration scanner proposals.
My point exactly I've said that the galaxy is huge in Elite but it has nothing really in it, exploring is a big part but finding things is dreadful POI are hideous, the coordinates system is equally as bad, in order to search whats on planets better scanners are needed I do feel that they are coming, I just hope frontier deliver the goods and don't skimp on things as of in the past...
Some of my ideas:
A NEW AND MUCH MORE INTERESTING EXPLORATION MECHANIC WITH PROBES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 - You arrive in a system.
2 - You do the classic honk: The honk is now much more limited. It can only tell you that there are planets in the sytem, with no other information than their location and orbit relations. In the system map you might then only see blank spheres with a question mark.
3 - You then launch exploration probes (these can be manufactured in the ship) towards each stellar body.
TWO SCAN MODES: You can set such a probe to do a quick scan or a detailed scan of the planetary bodies and stars in a system. The detailed scan will take much more time (4x?) to complete than a quick scan. The quick scan will give you the same information about planets as the honk does now: planet types, star types, asteroid rings etc. The detailed scan will be comparable to information you get when you do a detailed surface scan.
You get an audio warning when scan information of a probe comes in and in the system map you now see the planet displayed in full glory, with all the information.
There might be a limit to the number of probes you can have on board. Perhaps you need a planetary probe hangar (like the planetary vehicle hangar). The size of this hangar influences the number of probes you can have on board and launch at one time. Perhaps 4 probes in a size 2 hangar, 6 probes in a size 3 hangar, 8 probes in a size 4 hangar, and so on.
The hangar not only stores the probes, but can also manufacture them.
I am not sure whether exploration probes should be one-way devices, or perhaps should return to the ship to be reused. I think Perhaps the cmdr should have a choice whether to abandon his probes, or wait for their return. Having to make choices in a game is always good.
It would be advisable to do detailed scanning of some stellar bodies yourself (like you do now) while your probes scan the other bodies.
In general this will save considerable time, because you now have drones who do a large part of the scanning.
It would be very nice if you could program an exploration probe to explore multiple bodies in a system.
ORRERY MAP
------------
It would be very convenient to have the orrery system map. An orrery map would make it easier to decide which planets you want to send a probe to and which ones you want to visit yourself, because you can easily see the lay-out of the star system in an orrery map.
I think the implementation of the orrery map map should now be a priority, because it could be a central element in several very interesting game mechanics in Elite Dangerous.
I feel the exploration mechanic desperately needs the orrery map to be able to develop into a more mature feature in the game.
LAUNCHING A PROBE
--------------------
One would right click a planet/moon/star in the (orrery) system map and then see 2 options: "launch probe for quick scan", or "launch probe for detailed scan".
PRESENTATION OF EXPLORATION INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
This should be done much more attractive. Perhaps you would see the information from your probes come in in stages.
You would see the image of the planet build up more detail. etc.
RELATED MECHANICS
--------------------
You can scan planetary surfaces from orbit to reveal stuff on a planet like alien bases, general mineable areas etc. This ties in with a planetary mining mechanic I would like to see added to the game. Sadly there currently is no real planetary mining mechanic at all.
I would like to be able to do an orbital scan for mineable areas on planets. This scan gives an idea of what type of material/ore is to be expected in a certain area. Then I would like to go down to the planet with a specialized mining srv to pinpoint the actual place I need to do the mining and then deploy some sort of mining drill device to extract the ore.
OTHER HARDPOINT USE
-------------------
Why not have exploration related devices that must be fitted in a hardpoint?
Perhaps some scanners could be mounted in a HP
SPECIALIZED EXPLORATION RELATED SLOTS
-------------------------------------
Give exploration ships specialized slots that are useful for exploration ships like perhaps a Fueltank slot, or a device called "FSD enhancer" that increases the jump range.
A NEW AND MUCH MORE INTERESTING EXPLORATION MECHANIC WITH PROBES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 - You arrive in a system.
2 - You do the classic honk: The honk is now much more limited. It can only tell you that there are planets in the sytem, with no other information than their location and orbit relations. In the system map you might then only see blank spheres with a question mark.
3 - You then launch exploration probes (these can be manufactured in the ship) towards each stellar body.
TWO SCAN MODES: You can set such a probe to do a quick scan or a detailed scan of the planetary bodies and stars in a system. The detailed scan will take much more time (4x?) to complete than a quick scan. The quick scan will give you the same information about planets as the honk does now: planet types, star types, asteroid rings etc. The detailed scan will be comparable to information you get when you do a detailed surface scan.
You get an audio warning when scan information of a probe comes in and in the system map you now see the planet displayed in full glory, with all the information.
There might be a limit to the number of probes you can have on board. Perhaps you need a planetary probe hangar (like the planetary vehicle hangar). The size of this hangar influences the number of probes you can have on board and launch at one time. Perhaps 4 probes in a size 2 hangar, 6 probes in a size 3 hangar, 8 probes in a size 4 hangar, and so on.
The hangar not only stores the probes, but can also manufacture them.
I am not sure whether exploration probes should be one-way devices, or perhaps should return to the ship to be reused. I think Perhaps the cmdr should have a choice whether to abandon his probes, or wait for their return. Having to make choices in a game is always good.
It would be advisable to do detailed scanning of some stellar bodies yourself (like you do now) while your probes scan the other bodies.
In general this will save considerable time, because you now have drones who do a large part of the scanning.
It would be very nice if you could program an exploration probe to explore multiple bodies in a system.
ORRERY MAP
------------
It would be very convenient to have the orrery system map. An orrery map would make it easier to decide which planets you want to send a probe to and which ones you want to visit yourself, because you can easily see the lay-out of the star system in an orrery map.
I think the implementation of the orrery map map should now be a priority, because it could be a central element in several very interesting game mechanics in Elite Dangerous.
I feel the exploration mechanic desperately needs the orrery map to be able to develop into a more mature feature in the game.
LAUNCHING A PROBE
--------------------
One would right click a planet/moon/star in the (orrery) system map and then see 2 options: "launch probe for quick scan", or "launch probe for detailed scan".
PRESENTATION OF EXPLORATION INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
This should be done much more attractive. Perhaps you would see the information from your probes come in in stages.
You would see the image of the planet build up more detail. etc.
RELATED MECHANICS
--------------------
You can scan planetary surfaces from orbit to reveal stuff on a planet like alien bases, general mineable areas etc. This ties in with a planetary mining mechanic I would like to see added to the game. Sadly there currently is no real planetary mining mechanic at all.
I would like to be able to do an orbital scan for mineable areas on planets. This scan gives an idea of what type of material/ore is to be expected in a certain area. Then I would like to go down to the planet with a specialized mining srv to pinpoint the actual place I need to do the mining and then deploy some sort of mining drill device to extract the ore.
OTHER HARDPOINT USE
-------------------
Why not have exploration related devices that must be fitted in a hardpoint?
Perhaps some scanners could be mounted in a HP
SPECIALIZED EXPLORATION RELATED SLOTS
-------------------------------------
Give exploration ships specialized slots that are useful for exploration ships like perhaps a Fueltank slot, or a device called "FSD enhancer" that increases the jump range.
Last edited:
One change that would be nice for all players, but especially explorers, would be better bookmark organization. Unless there's some obvious UI element I'm missing, there seems to be no way or sorting or separating one's bookmarks list. I'd like to be able to have a dropdown menu and separate bookmark lists for "home systems", "bubble POIs", "expedition 1", "expedition 2", etc...
IMO the DSS should detect major POIs and display them (as dots) on the planet in the HUD.
Interesting planets should be land-able, especially atmospheric planets (ammonia/air/whatever) even if there is no life at all beyond moss/algae.
Surface bases should offer more than data-points and canisters.
SRV remote survey/surveillance drone. 'Nuff said.
Yes to caves, overhangs, ledges, etc.
Yes to more impressive geology. The current "spurt & squirt" reminds me of p.o.r.n. VOLCANOES, people! With flowing lava, huge smoke plumes, etc.! Earthquakes! Dust-Devils! Dust STORMS!
Yes to darker dark-sides.
Exploration missions should offer real discoveries that can earn the explorer extra credits such as new life-form discoveries, new POI discoveries, new or very significant materials/minerals discoveries ("Look, a 10% technetium world! BONUS credits for the discovery!")
SURFACE MINING! Not just the "seek & find stuff laying around" that we have now.
WEATHER on worlds. Rain, even steaming hot rain, or ammonia rain, liquid methane rain, fog, smoke, snow, BLIZZARDS, mist. I have this picture in my head of a world with a pale yellow sky, the ground covered in thick yellow mist with landing-pad lighting towers just barely visible poking up through it, the mist gets blown away from the pad as you hover prior to landing. Ponds or even OCEANS on worlds. Doesn't have to be atmospheric worlds, a lake of frozen methane or nitrogen on a frozen world would be cool.
A teaser in the system map so that when a CMDR honks a system, a sigil pops up notifying the CMDR "Hmmm, something unusual over HERE on THIS planet". o7
Interesting planets should be land-able, especially atmospheric planets (ammonia/air/whatever) even if there is no life at all beyond moss/algae.
Surface bases should offer more than data-points and canisters.
SRV remote survey/surveillance drone. 'Nuff said.
Yes to caves, overhangs, ledges, etc.
Yes to more impressive geology. The current "spurt & squirt" reminds me of p.o.r.n. VOLCANOES, people! With flowing lava, huge smoke plumes, etc.! Earthquakes! Dust-Devils! Dust STORMS!
Yes to darker dark-sides.
Exploration missions should offer real discoveries that can earn the explorer extra credits such as new life-form discoveries, new POI discoveries, new or very significant materials/minerals discoveries ("Look, a 10% technetium world! BONUS credits for the discovery!")
SURFACE MINING! Not just the "seek & find stuff laying around" that we have now.
WEATHER on worlds. Rain, even steaming hot rain, or ammonia rain, liquid methane rain, fog, smoke, snow, BLIZZARDS, mist. I have this picture in my head of a world with a pale yellow sky, the ground covered in thick yellow mist with landing-pad lighting towers just barely visible poking up through it, the mist gets blown away from the pad as you hover prior to landing. Ponds or even OCEANS on worlds. Doesn't have to be atmospheric worlds, a lake of frozen methane or nitrogen on a frozen world would be cool.
A teaser in the system map so that when a CMDR honks a system, a sigil pops up notifying the CMDR "Hmmm, something unusual over HERE on THIS planet". o7
Last edited: