I did't play for sometime. If I remember correctly, before 3.0 update you was able to buy data for any unexplored system within 20ly of your current position. Now you can't - https://ibb.co/fkhW7k0. Is this bug or feature?
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Newcomer / Intro No system data & No exploration data to buy
- Thread starter drty
- Start date
Yeah, I've noticed this as well. As I'm not using this function often, I haven't really thought about it any further but it apparenly was removed. Don't know whether by accident or on purpose. You can still buy trade data for the system, though. Maybe the button now does both things?
This was introduced with the new exploration tools. I really don't understand it as it makes little sense. The idea is that just about every system is "unknown" (there are only a few exceptions) until you arrive in it - then you either have to use the exploration tools (or nav beacon) or else you magically now have a "known" system. I think that happens if it is one of the systems where you would have previously had the system map data by default and those are the ones which show "no system data" available on the GalMap where you would otherwise be able to buy explo data. I checked this with a recent clear save and that is what is happening.
I don't think that is a good explanation, a bit rambling, sorry.
Just as a FYI - here is an example showing that you can actually still buy navigation data for systems as per before 3.3 update.
Somewhere - sorry, can't remember where - I did read that if a CMDR sells system data for a system, then other CMDRs can buy them. Could this be the problem? All the systems I explored (including undiscovered systems) I also sold, but I cannot test it, since I already have the data now.
To check this - see the picture attached: Look if you can buy the data for one of this systems - one had 26 bodies, but only Icy Bodies, so I did no surface mapping, the same goes for the other two.
If I am correct, you (everybody) should be able to buy the data.
EDIT: If the things said in this thread are correct, you should be near these systems, i.e. in a 20 ly radius. This could be a problem, since they are outside the bubble.
But I also went to the TRAPPIST-1 system, inside the bubble, because it is a star near to Earth (in real life), and interestingly the system even has a ELW with two nice moons! But it is not populated. So I went and Surface Mapped the ELW (and the two moons) and sold the data later. This should be easy to check, since it is near Sol and inside the bubble.
To check this - see the picture attached: Look if you can buy the data for one of this systems - one had 26 bodies, but only Icy Bodies, so I did no surface mapping, the same goes for the other two.
If I am correct, you (everybody) should be able to buy the data.
EDIT: If the things said in this thread are correct, you should be near these systems, i.e. in a 20 ly radius. This could be a problem, since they are outside the bubble.
But I also went to the TRAPPIST-1 system, inside the bubble, because it is a star near to Earth (in real life), and interestingly the system even has a ELW with two nice moons! But it is not populated. So I went and Surface Mapped the ELW (and the two moons) and sold the data later. This should be easy to check, since it is near Sol and inside the bubble.
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Yeah, you may be right.
I'll check this later if I remember.
Sure, you can still buy exploration data for some systems in range, but not for all. Yet, before 3.3 (again - if I remember this correctly) you were able to do this for all systems unexplored by you within 20ly radius. So, if it's a bug then I hope it will be fixed, if not - then I don't see any logic behind this.
Unlikely. It can't be the data sold by someone else at the same system, because you can't sell it closer than 20ly around explored system. And I think - it would be very hard to implement such behavior (technically), because this would require tons of information to be kept on the server.
It's got nothing to do with whether or not anyone else has sold data - after all, every single system in the Bubble is visited by someone, at least once a month. But it's got everything to do with population.
There are two types of star system in the Bubble: "Explored" and "Unexplored". The difference is strongly (thogh not universally) tied to the system's population: most star systems with less than 1 million people are Unexplored, most with over 1 million are Explored. Explored systems cannot be scanned, so you cannot buy exploration data for them since there's technically nothing there for you to explore.
Prior to 3.3, you could see see the system map for Explored systems without having to visit them. This is no longer the case. They presumably did this deliberately, to try to make it harder for people to find Unmapped systems - to find planets you can place your "First Mapped By" tags on, you have to do some actual flying-your-spaceship "exploring", rather than "armchair exploring" surfing the galaxy map while safely docked in another star system. That's the only explanation I can think of, anyhow.
There are two types of star system in the Bubble: "Explored" and "Unexplored". The difference is strongly (thogh not universally) tied to the system's population: most star systems with less than 1 million people are Unexplored, most with over 1 million are Explored. Explored systems cannot be scanned, so you cannot buy exploration data for them since there's technically nothing there for you to explore.
Prior to 3.3, you could see see the system map for Explored systems without having to visit them. This is no longer the case. They presumably did this deliberately, to try to make it harder for people to find Unmapped systems - to find planets you can place your "First Mapped By" tags on, you have to do some actual flying-your-spaceship "exploring", rather than "armchair exploring" surfing the galaxy map while safely docked in another star system. That's the only explanation I can think of, anyhow.
Following your logic, all unpopulated systems in the bubble should also be counted as "Unexplored". Which means, [buy system data] button should always be available for such systems. Does it? But still, there are lots of unpopulated system in the bubble that you cannot buy exploration data for. So this assumption can hardly be considered accurate.
Ahhhh - threads where multiple people give the correct answer and are ignored 
I gave you the answer in post number 3 (as did Sapyx in their last paragraph) - try reading people's answers before dismissing them.
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... F D did make unpopulated systems data unavailable to purchase, presumably for the same reason that they made the originally "default known" systems unavailable - to make people have to go there to reveal the system. I don't know why they don't even have the "buy data" button present and redded-out.
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That is not the case.
I think you are confusing it with the system map information. If a system is unexplored to you but the system data has been sold to cartographics then the bodies in the system are revealed to you on arrival (without you having to FSS the system) but they are still "unexplored" to you so you have to FSS scan (or fly to within passive range - 20ls) for the body to be named and its info to be on your system map.
In the bubble this results in you arriving in an "unknown" system and the passive FSS gives the message "Discovered {star name}" (plus anything else in passive range), the sensor screen is totally populated and the nav panel shows all bodies as "unexplored" (as does the system map).
Outside the bubble only those bodies with data sold will show, so at the moment it is not unusual to arrive in a system with gaps in the system map which you have to honk and FSS to fill. (Obviously I am not referring to "virgin" unexplored systems i.e. those whose data has not been sold by someone.)
I didn't dismiss it. Just pointed out that if this is "working as intended feature", then in this case I don't see the point in such intentions. Thanks for your explanation btw.
Yes - could be the case. It is a long time since I read this comment. The rest I know, since it happened to me several times outside of the bubble. In several cases a new body (often very far from entry point) showed up during FSS, and I also did discover new systems, where only bodies in the usual 1000 ls range where shown/found by 'honking', the rest had to discovered with FSS.
It is also interesting, that now obviously one can go 'exploring' inside the bubble, and maybe the reason for any changes to before, which I did never experience, since I started with the latest update. There are quite valuable systems inside the bubble near Sol, so for example the Trappist-1 system with an ELW, but unpopulated. One can easily go there and DSS the ELW and other bodies, and will receive money for it. There is no Nav Beacon, obviously.
I do not know exactly how ED decides which Unexplored systems you're permitted to buy data for, and which you are not. It does seem that you aren't permitted to buy data for every single Unexplored system within range. As far as I am aware, it was like this before 3.3 too (at least, I can recall wanting to buy data on a couple of occasions a yer or so ago, only to have it unavailable). I can only assume that the selection of systems is "random" (either genuinely random, or procedurally generated).
I played ED one year ago, then took a break (don't remember what version it was at that moment). And I very often used buy exploration data button to get system info for every possible systems in range. Now I've rechecked that region to make sure that all systems are still counted as explored for me - which means I'm still able to see system map for these systems (including unpopulated), even though I never visited many of them. In fact it's a pretty big part of the bubble, that I have "explored" this way.
It is interesting that there are some rare cases, when particular system allows me to buy exploration data, although I can open its system map and each object on the map is marked as completely explored - like this one for example https://ibb.co/pK3Cr7N. Not quite clear what I supposed to pay for.