The new exploration system

[stephen_usher]

I just want to chime in to say I'm loving the new exploration mechanics so far. I find it's actually faster than the old method when I jump into a new system. Just do the "Honk" while getting into a good fuel scooping position, throttle to idle, then bring up the FSS.

It immediately tells me how many objects there are, and the frequency spectrum display tells me what type. Just icy bodies? I'll move on. An Earth-like world? I'll scan it (which is MUCH faster than the old method of having to fly to it).

Overall it feels like there's more to do, it's easier to do, and it's quicker. It's a win-win-win for me.

Unfortunately it's not quicker if you are used to jumping in, throttle to full, honking whilst manoeuvring to get optimal scooping AND exiting the gravity/heat well of the star as quickly as possible, hitting jump as soon as you're at 60% heat and then flipping to the system map to see what's there whilst the countdown timer is active.

The FSS requires you to throttle down (and it takes you down to 30Km/s whilst you're looking at it) and you can't use it during the timer countdown (it says that you have to be in supercruise).

This adds between 5 and 10 seconds to the jump time per system. On a 700 jump traverse of the galaxy that adds approximately one to two hours to the trip.

I've timed it.

 

[Hfarl]

Unfortunately it's not quicker if you are used to jumping in, throttle to full, honking whilst manoeuvring to get optimal scooping AND exiting the gravity/heat well of the star as quickly as possible, hitting jump as soon as you're at 60% heat and then flipping to the system map to see what's there whilst the countdown timer is active.

The FSS requires you to throttle down (and it takes you down to 30Km/s whilst you're looking at it) and you can't use it during the timer countdown (it says that you have to be in supercruise).

This adds between 5 and 10 seconds to the jump time per system. On a 700 jump traverse of the galaxy that adds approximately one to two hours to the trip.

I've timed it.

Yeah, that would be the one change I'd like to see: let us open the FSS without needing to go to 0 throttle, and while the jump countdown is going. With that change the new system would be as quick as the previous system.

Though in my experience the FSS is much faster to load than the system map was, so it actually comes out to be about the same amount of time for me at the moment. But each computer will probably be different in this regard.

 

[Straha Yeagar]

Unfortunately it's not quicker if you are used to jumping in, throttle to full, honking whilst manoeuvring to get optimal scooping AND exiting the gravity/heat well of the star as quickly as possible, hitting jump as soon as you're at 60% heat and then flipping to the system map to see what's there whilst the countdown timer is active.

The FSS requires you to throttle down (and it takes you down to 30Km/s whilst you're looking at it) and you can't use it during the timer countdown (it says that you have to be in supercruise).

This adds between 5 and 10 seconds to the jump time per system. On a 700 jump traverse of the galaxy that adds approximately one to two hours to the trip.

I've timed it.

If they simply put the body count information on the main HUD after the initial scan, that would be a huge help. Even better would be adding the waveform too.

 

[Mengy]

If they simply put the body count information on the main HUD after the initial scan, that would be a huge help. Even better would be adding the waveform too.

Agreed on both counts. Big time.

 

[Orvidius]

If they simply put the body count information on the main HUD after the initial scan, that would be a huge help. Even better would be adding the waveform too.

Agreed on both counts. Big time.

Heck yeah. HUGE help, for sure.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Unfortunately it's not quicker if you are used to jumping in, throttle to full, honking whilst manoeuvring to get optimal scooping AND exiting the gravity/heat well of the star as quickly as possible, hitting jump as soon as you're at 60% heat and then flipping to the system map to see what's there whilst the countdown timer is active.

The FSS requires you to throttle down (and it takes you down to 30Km/s whilst you're looking at it) and you can't use it during the timer countdown (it says that you have to be in supercruise).

This adds between 5 and 10 seconds to the jump time per system. On a 700 jump traverse of the galaxy that adds approximately one to two hours to the trip.

I've timed it.

Oh my God, the horror.

 

[Hank]

The FSS Scan will tell you what materials are on the planets, you only throw probes at planets for geological / biological sites etc..

Thank you. I will give this a try next. I still have not worked out the FSS yet. I got key binds done last night and played with it a bit but I'll keep at it. I'm not easily discouraged.

The tools look nice I just have to learn how to use them. GL and HF all

 

[Goose4291]

Have to say as someone who's not an explorer persay, this new system is both engaging and challenging and genuinely makes me want to try and go on a proper exploration jaunt.

Bravo Frontier!

 

[space voyager]

Have to say as someone who's not an explorer persay, this new system is both engaging and challenging and genuinely makes me want to try and go on a proper exploration jaunt.

Bravo Frontier!

Agree!

The new exploration seems to be much, MUCH faster for explorers who at least scan some planets per system. For travellers who want to draw pictures across the galaxy and still get the data it must be a disappointment though.

EDIT: Frankly I hate the fact that you CAN circumnavigate the galaxy with ease if your mind allows it. Such a feat should be practically impossible due to space being dangerous. But ok...

 

[jimbeau1571]

EDIT: Frankly I hate the fact that you CAN circumnavigate the galaxy with ease if your mind allows it. Such a feat should be practically impossible due to space being dangerous. But ok...

Frankly, the space of the bubble should be just as dangerous as the space on the edge and vice versa, after all, its not a different type of space. The danger in being at the edge is complacency. One wrong move and your stuck. The Fuel Rats and others have made ridiculous journey's to rescue people from mishaps. One Neutron jump and you can easily find yourself with no way back. Forget to stock up on Jumponium mats, your goosed. A lot of the time on the edge you can be jumping with only enough fuel for that jump to keep your range at its maximum. Yes its in the mind, but that is not to say it is without danger.

 

[Macedonica]

Coughs. Puts on coat. Hails taxi and leaves.

 

[MattG]

Coughs. Puts on coat. Hails taxi and leaves.

And we all know who that taxi driver is...

 

[MattG]

WHAT! How? Why? They changed the orbits? Why would they do that? That has to be a stellar forge change that might affect a lot of previously discovered systems.
A number of these colliding moons have been discovered

Only just found this, but it was actually in first beta patch notes:

Moved 2 moons in Kyloasly DA-A f69 slightly apart so that they no longer intersect

So it looks like a system-specific change rather than a Forge change - hopefully the others are still intact (I've not checked for obvious reasons). Quite why that particular curiosity needed fixing, who knows, didn't seem to do any harm. On the plus side for FDev, similar systems will be extremely difficult to find in 3.3.

I'd be hesitant to name any similar systems though, lest they meet the same fate.

 

[Burke]

So is the system map totally gone then? Totally useless unles you scan the separate bodies?

 

[Orvidius]

So it looks like a system-specific change rather than a Forge change - hopefully the others are still intact (I've not checked for obvious reasons). Quite why that particular curiosity needed fixing, who knows, didn't seem to do any harm. On the plus side for FDev, similar systems will be extremely difficult to find in 3.3.

The way they worded it, it certainly sounds like a single-system fix. But it makes me wonder whether they simply added some sanity checking, which would fix it everywhere, for any cases that might exist anywhere? It's hard to say. We would need a lot of examples to check.

 

[MattG]

The way they worded it, it certainly sounds like a single-system fix. But it makes me wonder whether they simply added some sanity checking, which would fix it everywhere, for any cases that might exist anywhere? It's hard to say. We would need a lot of examples to check.

It seems unlikely they'd tinker IMO. They could potentially push a body into third, accidentally re-classify a body because it moved too far, push into rings, eliminate it completely etc. Many potential repercussions for little gain. If I'm right, it only needs 1 other example for someone to check (but as mentioned, I'm not naming the others).

 

[Macedonica]

And we all know who that taxi driver is...

Well, if you need a taxi (sort of), there's no better one in the galaxy!

 

[Orvidius]

It seems unlikely they'd tinker IMO. They could potentially push a body into third, accidentally re-classify a body because it moved too far, push into rings, eliminate it completely etc. Many potential repercussions for little gain. If I'm right, it only needs 1 other example for someone to check (but as mentioned, I'm not naming the others).

Yeah you're probably right. It's just that when I'm coding, I usually favor doing the extra programming now, to sanity check all results for the future, so that we never have to deal with it again. But considering that the complexity could rapidly explode, with unpredictable results, plus the previous track record from FDev, I suspect their choice here would be to override just that one system.

 

[Sunyavadin]

Yeah you're probably right. It's just that when I'm coding, I usually favor doing the extra programming now, to sanity check all results for the future, so that we never have to deal with it again. But considering that the complexity could rapidly explode, with unpredictable results, plus the previous track record from FDev, I suspect their choice here would be to override just that one system.

Making a change to the entire generation system would cause stuff akin to the massive No Man's Sky mess when they did it, and caused every planet's climate to change.

We've seen however that they can edit specific systems, look at the whole Trappist thing. That's probably always going to be their preferred mechanism for updating stuff where things glitch out.

 

[malenfant]

We've seen however that they can edit specific systems, look at the whole Trappist thing. That's probably always going to be their preferred mechanism for updating stuff where things glitch out.

Did they actually fix the Trappist system? Last time I went there the orbits were all sorts of inclinations, the whole darn point of it being so special was that the orbits are all in one plane (or we wouldn't have seen all the planets).