Newbie exploration goals to feel some sense of accomplishment?

Piratescribe

Piratescribe
I've been playing about a week now, and am loving the game! But today I finally felt like I was ready to head off into the unknown and find something not already "First Discovered By"... but evidently that is NOT a goal one should have without having the ship and mods to get a FAR way away.
So... what are some challenging but entirely reachable Exploration goals that one might strive for with a Hauler, say?
(Obvious ones are, "Take a pic of one of every major stellar body, e.g. neutron star, black hole, etc")
Also, are there any Explorer accomplishments that can be had that gets your name on something, as a newbie? (Akin to "First Discovered By" type things people can see in game)
 

goemon

goemon
this was posted yesterday, and maybe is interesting for you (and totally doable with a hauler): https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/wanted-apprentice-explorers.566802/#post-8992413

some other suggestions:

- try to reach the highest point above sol or below sol. so 0/+1000/0, or 0/-1000/0. (find out how you scroll the galaxy map up or down). the challenge navigating through less dense areas doesn't change whether you are 50k ly from sol, or just above or below it. i have done that in an (unengineered) eagle. good fun! you'll learn a ton about how to use the routeplotter, how to plot manually etc.

- for me, most of my early exploration enjoyment was visiting real galaxy phenomenons. for exampel Y Canim Venaticorum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Superba, the eskimo nebula https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_Nebula, betelgeuze, other hypergiants close by.

- a third approach would be to confirm all codex entry for the local region. extra points for finding your own exampel of methane geysers or bioluminiscent anemones.

- a much more guided, but explorey version would be, to go to meene, land at the outpost, and take the first ram tah mission plopping up in your inbox. that mission will have you exploring guardian ruins (and other thingies on the way).

generally, finding something previously undiscovered isn't down to jumprange, but more about knowing how to navigate the gal map up and down, and knowing which highways to avoid. i had no problem finding fully undiscovered systems on the last two accounts i started - in both cases, less than 1000 ly from sol (which is not much in terms of exploration, but might still feel much for you - exploration isn't for everyone).
 

[PS4] Lorenzo Waringos

[PS4] Lorenzo Waringos
Excellent advice from @goemon there.

May I also add, don't listen to anyone who tells you you cant explore in a [insert ship name]. You can do it in any ship. You don't need to engineer anything, if you don't want to. Careful choice of modules and any ship will get you almost anywhere. You could certainly get to Sag A* in any un-engineered ship. It may take longer but not everyone feels the need to sprint up the side of Everest.

Jump range is only going to be an issue when you get right out on the edge of the map and maybe the gap between the systems is so far apart that you cant make it, though even then, there are options, but by the time you are in that neck of the woods, you would have already (easily) achieved what it is you talk about in your OP.
 

Astaran

Astaran
A related field to "exploration" is "sight-seeing". You could visit the various generation ships in and around the bubble. Their audio logs are first class material and one of my personal highlights in Elite. You could also make a trip to the Pleiades and visit some abandoned settlements there (or if you feel brave enough, a Thargoid base!).

Another goal could be upgrading your ship with Guardian Tech (especially the FSD Booster). This would require a trip of about 600-800ly one way and there should still be undiscovered systems in that area. Who knows, maybe you come across a previously undiscovered Guardian site.

A third idea is to make a trip to one of the "close" Nebulas around the Bubble (Witch Head, Coal Sack, California, Pleiades etc.). The distances look ridiculously long to a noob (believe me, was AGHAST the first time I read about Guardian content. "Bloody hell, 800ly to some Guardian site?! NEVER"), but the more you explore and the more experience you get (and the better your ship becomes) even a trip of some 2500+ly to have a peek at something you spotted in the galaxy map becomes merely a "short detour".

Oh, and last but not least: Short term goals can also always be something "trivial" as "reaching the next rank in exploration".

Fly safe Commander o7
 

marx

marx
Piratescribe said:
I've been playing about a week now, and am loving the game! But today I finally felt like I was ready to head off into the unknown and find something not already "First Discovered By"... but evidently that is NOT a goal one should have without having the ship and mods to get a FAR way away.
So... what are some challenging but entirely reachable Exploration goals that one might strive for with a Hauler, say?
Click to expand...
When it comes to what you can reach in the galaxy, jump range is what matters: 35-40 ly will get you through anywhere, albeit in the sparsest places, you'll have to synthesize some boosts. Today, there are only five ships that can't reach 40 ly. So, a Hauler can get you through anywhere, to almost anywhere. (The only things out of reach are some fring systems on the very edges of the galaxy.) I'd recommend finding your own routes if you want to go this way, though, because there isn't much of a challenge in you follow an established, detailed, per-system route ;)
Visit the edge of the galaxy, it's quite a sight. Also, going to the Southern edge is more challenging navigation-wise than going to the popular North is.

That said, you don't have to go far to find untagged bodies, nor untagged systems. What you do have to do is pick the right direction to start in. EDAstro is your friend here, especially the interactive map: set it to the saturation map. (You can also find that separately here.)
Flying off the galactic plane, or the neutron star planes, can also help quite a lot. The general rule of the thumb is to not go in any "touristy" lines, directly from popular sight A to popular sight B. Stay off the beaten tracks, if you will.

Also, some interesting reading: some data on how far you have to go to find a new system. By now, it would be around 1000 ly.

Piratescribe said:
Also, are there any Explorer accomplishments that can be had that gets your name on something, as a newbie? (Akin to "First Discovered By" type things people can see in game)
Click to expand...
There are the tags on the Codex, but well, that's pretty much wrung dry by now. Odyssey should help in this regard. Other than that, and First Discovered / Mapped by, there are no tags in-game.
 
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Nordmarken

Nordmarken
And don't be shy to zoom in on the landable planets in the system view. There you can see if there might be some cool geological feauters, like big mountains, deep canyons etc (not to be confused with the geological points of interest).
 
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CMDR SleepyDelegate

CMDR SleepyDelegate
Wow, some great advices here... Although, Im surprised no one has recommended you to first visit Hutton Orbital... This trip requires some preparation though and I would strongly suggest to do some reading before you go... Also, make sure they have stock... Plenty of commanders came emptyhanded...

One of the best is of course the Guardians and the Thargoid base... Very cool experience... But that was already mentioned, so I am not going to beat a dead horse... :)
 

CMDR SleepyDelegate

CMDR SleepyDelegate
Now jokes aside... :)

Aside from what was already recommended, there are certain accomplishments not everyone is willing to accomplish, whilst almost everybody has his name tag on some planet no one cares about:
  1. reach Sagittarius A
  2. reach Colonia
  3. reach Beagle Point
If you accomplish this in an unengineered hauler, you will be respected by many...

And here is a build I can imagine to use for such trip...

Hauler Explorer
 

Piratescribe

Piratescribe
CMDR SleepyDelegate said:
Now jokes aside... :)

Aside from what was already recommended, there are certain accomplishments not everyone is willing to accomplish, whilst almost everybody has his name tag on some planet no one cares about:
  1. reach Sagittarius A
  2. reach Colonia
  3. reach Beagle Point
If you accomplish this in an unengineered hauler, you will be respected by many...

And here is a build I can imagine to use for such trip...

Hauler Explorer
Click to expand...

LOL At Hutton! XD Fortunately I saw a reference to that elsewhere early on and looked it up already :) Would like to take the leap sometime, though...

But hey! That suggested Hauler loadout is already pretty close to what I'm currently using for my exploring!:

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
s.orbis.zone s.orbis.zone
 

Hawk of Battle

Hawk of Battle
Piratescribe said:
LOL At Hutton! XD Fortunately I saw a reference to that elsewhere early on and looked it up already :) Would like to take the leap sometime, though...

But hey! That suggested Hauler loadout is already pretty close to what I'm currently using for my exploring!:

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
s.orbis.zone s.orbis.zone
Click to expand...

There's honestly not much need for a wake scanner out in the black. Dropping that would save weight and power. You could also save more weight and power by only going for a standard 2A thruster. You'll mostly be in supercruise whilst exploring so normal flight speed is largely irrelevant. Because you'd be using less power you could then also downgrade the power plant and really eek out a few more lightyears per jump. Obviously, range isn't everything, but it sure does help, otherwise if you do decide on a long trip it's gona be thousands of jumps to get anywhere. And that's not an exaggeration.

To further save power explorers usually also turn off their distributers once they're underway, after switching full pips to engines and then systems. You basically never need anything other than that then.

Also, I noticed you put your life support on 3 on priority and everything else is on 1. Don't do that. You always want life support on 1, so it remains on in the event of sudden power loss. Higher numbers turn off first, so put less important stuff on higher priorities.
 

Piratescribe

Piratescribe
Hawk of Battle said:
There's honestly not much need for a wake scanner out in the black. Dropping that would save weight and power. You could also save more weight and power by only going for a standard 2A thruster. You'll mostly be in supercruise whilst exploring so normal flight speed is largely irrelevant. Because you'd be using less power you could then also downgrade the power plant and really eek out a few more lightyears per jump. Obviously, range isn't everything, but it sure does help, otherwise if you do decide on a long trip it's gona be thousands of jumps to get anywhere. And that's not an exaggeration.

To further save power explorers usually also turn off their distributers once they're underway, after switching full pips to engines and then systems. You basically never need anything other than that then.

Also, I noticed you put your life support on 3 on priority and everything else is on 1. Don't do that. You always want life support on 1, so it remains on in the event of sudden power loss. Higher numbers turn off first, so put less important stuff on higher priorities.
Click to expand...

Wow, some great advice, thank you!
About the Wake Scanner, I just picked that up in order to try to figure out how to use it so I could get improved FSD through Engineer Farseer, whom I just unlocked. Also got the thrusters you mentioned from her as well as part of trying to improve status with her -- is why I have those :) I lit out a direction with no stations as soon as I did that part of the Farseer stuff :)

ok, good to know about priorities! I really didn't know how those worked, actually. And I'll definitely use your other tips!
 

Piratescribe

Piratescribe
Chrystoph said:
Wake scanner:
  • Put the scanner in a fire group
  • target a wake
  • hold the fire button the same way you would discovery scanner
  • random result may occur
Click to expand...
Heh yeah, I've done step 1, and am prepared to do step 3 (and I'm hoping for step 4 as I need odd results for an engineered FSD)... it's step 2 that's a problem for me. How and where do I find wakes?? o_O I feel like this is a REALLY dumb question! :(
 

Sapyx

Sapyx
Piratescribe said:
How and where do I find wakes?? o_O
Click to expand...
Wakes are generated whenever a ship in normal space uses their frame shift drive, to either exit the star system (called a "high wake") or travel elsewhere within the same star system (called a "low wake"). NPCs almost always generate high wakes. So just go somewhere where lots of NPCs are appearing and disappearing. A space station, a nav beacon, a RES - they'll all do. Space stations are nice and convenient, since all you have to do is launch. Watch the NPCs coming and going - especially going. Follow them out. Once they get far enough away, they'll jump to another system, leaving a Wake behind. Scan it. Wakes last a few minutes, before they disappear.

Wakes appear on your radar as white solid squares - the same colour as missiles, mines, cargo, limpets and the nav beacon.
 

yah-ta-hey

yah-ta-hey
It is exciting to see another venture off into space looking for whatever may catch his/her eye.
Have you tried running a rare trade route? there are 141 different rare sites out there and I have seen very few commanders who are doing the rare trades. Some are daunting.. like hutton...... a huge long distance... nearly a million light seconds to get there for what? a mug and a free anaconda that doesn't exist?
The braggng rights ae , of course, worth it and it does show a sense of purpose that you will need when going deep.
 

Chrystoph

Chrystoph
I made decent cash back in '02 on Rares, but you have to understand that the haulage route needs to be more than an A-B-A route.

Unless the dreaded words, Balance Pass, have been applied to the value of Rares, though, I cannot see them as being an effective time/cost to profit ratio compared to most of the current money making efforts. If memory serves, even the Road to Riches pays better.
 
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