Will exploration change with the new fleet carriers?

If carriers can jump to previously unexplored systems and if the fuel costs are low enough then carriers will become the dominant exploration ship. New records to be set, new frontiers opened up. Not what i would have wanted tho. As i said in another thread, fuel costs will have to be managable or there would be no point in a trade configured carrier. Trading has never been top profits in this game has it? if FD wants people to use carriers for bulk transport of goods they cant squeeze those profit margins too hard.
 
If I can sell astro-data, and filling the fuel tank isn't a PITA, sure.
Exploration support should do this, the trade support should have access to markets, and pewpew support should have access to bond market.
 
A lot will depend on how many jumps a FC's tank will hold: If it's more than one, things are great, much less danger of being stranded in remote systems. If it's just one and you jump to a system without this unique fuel...
I'm really looking forward to more info on the FC subject.
 
A lot will depend on how many jumps a FC's tank will hold: If it's more than one, things are great, much less danger of being stranded in remote systems. If it's just one and you jump to a system without this unique fuel...
I'm really looking forward to more info on the FC subject.

If I was FDev, I'd only allow carriers to jump into systems that the owner had previously visited (and possibly also those with a Nav Beacon). That prevents carriers becoming a must-have for exploration, whilst also addressing the problem of jumping into systems without fuel.

If carriers can jump anywhere then you could take one to Beagle Point without doing any actual exploration. I'm hoping FDev don't choose to dumb the game down that far.
 
If I was FDev, I'd only allow carriers to jump into systems that the owner had previously visited (and possibly also those with a Nav Beacon). That prevents carriers becoming a must-have for exploration, whilst also addressing the problem of jumping into systems without fuel.

If carriers can jump anywhere then you could take one to Beagle Point without doing any actual exploration. I'm hoping FDev don't choose to dumb the game down that far.
What if the support ships could install nav beacons? gather resources to build them? Something like the seed-ships in SG:Universe?

Players that don't like exploration will always find ways to avoid it. If, however, they can minimize travel time, they might explore systems nearby their FC destination.
I just see sites like EDSM having their databases swell from data:)
 
What if the support ships could install nav beacons? gather resources to build them? Something like the seed-ships in SG:Universe?

Players that don't like exploration will always find ways to avoid it. If, however, they can minimize travel time, they might explore systems nearby their FC destination.
I just see sites like EDSM having their databases swell from data:)

Players that don't like exploration travel 5,000 LY to unlock Palin, then suicide back home. If the FC can jump anywhere then that's 10 jumps - making the Palin unlock essentially meaningless.

If other players can place Nav Beacons then someone will place 10 of them, put the list on Reddit and everyone will follow it.

I don't think being able to jump around in an FC is going to encourage people to take up exploration.
 
Players that don't like exploration travel 5,000 LY to unlock Palin, then suicide back home. If the FC can jump anywhere then that's 10 jumps - making the Palin unlock essentially meaningless.

If other players can place Nav Beacons then someone will place 10 of them, put the list on Reddit and everyone will follow it.

I don't think being able to jump around in an FC is going to encourage people to take up exploration.
Although I like and enjoy exploration, I'm not a hard-core explorer and I can't see myself becoming one. I will often feel the desperate need to get out and explore, but each time it will last for 2-4 weeks*. Then either I get tempted by something I read in the forums or just get bored and feel the desperate need to come back, to sell my explo data and engage in some other activity in elite.

I can imagine I'm not the only one, and having every bit of encouragement helps. People might not become explorers, but they may explore to try out their new toys.

* The last time I went exploring was to find Crystalline shard sites "near" Colonia to fill up for the local engineers' upgrades. I managed to find some and updated the wiki. But Polonium eluded me till the end :(
 
The ability to put ad-hoc ship repair facilities deep in the black will change Exploration (for those with access to those Carriers, anyway).

I am not sure how, to be honest. My main explo ship comes with AFMU, repair limpets and such and you pretty much never need them at all. It might change things when exploration starts to include risky/dangerous things that will do damage even when you are awake. ;)
 
Maybe fleet carriers can only jump to already explored systems.

PS
I should probably read the rest of the thread before posting. Sorry for the noise.
 
I'd love to have an exploraton FC but whether I'll buy one or not depends on a couple things.

How often can I jump?
How hard is to get the jumpfuel?
Can I take several of my ships along?

500ly is not that much of a jumprange if I can only jump once a day, my Krait Phantom does that in just a couple jumps.
If the fuel required means I have to grind for it then my exploration trip turns into a job.
If I can only take my presently controlled ship along then I don't see the use of a Carrier.
 
Carriers for explorers will be seen as a fail / success whatever happens.

If they give unique rewards (like extra $$$ for data, ability to set beacons etc as the OP suggests) then they will be seen as required and people will complain about the grind of having to drag them across the galaxy.

If they don't give those rewards them people will call them useless because 500 Ly is maybe 10 minutes travel - so that's a refuel every 10 minutes - and you miss out on scanning all the intermediate systems.

I think they'll be used by some to open up static remote refuel / repair facilities, but few will take them on trips, except those trying to visit remote systems. And also to do long distance carrier races - but that's not exploring :)
 
Carriers for explorers will be seen as a fail / success whatever happens.

If they give unique rewards (like extra $$$ for data, ability to set beacons etc as the OP suggests) then they will be seen as required and people will complain about the grind of having to drag them across the galaxy.

If they don't give those rewards them people will call them useless because 500 Ly is maybe 10 minutes travel - so that's a refuel every 10 minutes - and you miss out on scanning all the intermediate systems.

I think they'll be used by some to open up static remote refuel / repair facilities, but few will take them on trips, except those trying to visit remote systems. And also to do long distance carrier races - but that's not exploring :)

There is no way on earth carriers can jump once every ten minutes.
 
There is no way on earth carriers can jump once every ten minutes.
My point was that a 70 Ly explorer can jump 500 Ly in 10 minutes. So to make the same progress across the galaxy a FC would have to do the same and, as you say, that is unlikely. Of course exploration will usually involve more than jump + honk, but even so it's going to be slower and visit less systems.
 
Right. I think you'll understand that, though probably not agree, most people wouldn't mind if a meaningless grind is made trivial.

Indeed. Also, most people wouldn't mind if a trivial activity was removed entirely.

There's a whole nother thread in my feelings about this, but I'm not going to derail this one. Feel free to PM me if you feel like an argument though :)
 
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