A while back I got tired of running missions so I took my low-20s-LY jump range Python on an exploration trip and had a lot of fun! You don't NEED super jump range unless you head out to distant parts of the outer galaxy where the spiral arms spread out and stars get FAR apart. I found a good number of wholly undiscovered systems and got to claim them when I returned to
The Bubble. I found some cooI NSPs - notable stellar phenomena - (by sheer luck not by planning!), some pretty nebulae, a Guardian ruins site, and some other fun stuff such as super-closely co-orbiting bodies. Neat to see those. I did some SRVing, I checked out some powerful geysers, mined some geologically-active sites for Mats, enjoyed some great planet-bound views, all out in the lonesome...
At times I can't help but think that CMDRs discover less stuff because they're taking 50+LY jumps and skipping past system after system. Exploration is about stopping and smelling the roses, if you will, as much as it is about other things like going long distances. (Yes, of course you can optimize your journey by filtering your route according to star types. That's all fine.) Besides, when you've made a thousand jumps, does it really pay to count them? If you're on your way somewhere, perhaps it is - perhaps. But if you're just exploring, just go until you're tired of it or until you're homesick ("bubble-sick")...
How you choose to equip your ship will be determined by what your exploration goals are and what you want to reach. There's nothing wrong with trying it out in a non-serious-exploration (or non-long-jump-range) ship. I did - more than once. There's really precious FEW things that are "mandatory" in this game.
These are my opinions.
Some details from exploration forays...
On that trip, my "blockbuster" system discovery was one which has 2 ELWs, 2WWs, and a number of HMCWs.
[1] Yes, it was undiscovered at the time and I got credit for discovering it and for mapping a number of the bodies there. It was easily the most "valuable" system on that trip (not that I was worried about the credits, but still). It is located approx 4800LY from Sol- not an outrageous distance by any means.
On my very first foray out of
The Bubble, I went towards the Pleiades, Orion, Witch Head, Running Man, and Flame Nebulae, Barnard's Loop, and more. These are very reachable, common destinations and very pretty to go see for yourself. I got first-to-map credit on bodies in some of those systems. One in particular, first-discovered by someone else, just 1417LY from Sol, I mapped 5 HMCWs and they were just 500 to 650Ls out from the star - not far at all!
[2] It pays to look over the map when you arrive in a system.
There are a large number of closely-packed stars in the area right around the Orion Nebula and Running Man Nebula. It's mighty likely that the systems are not all thoroughly mapped. You can just amble around in that field of stars and see what you come up with.
Still not close enough? I got first-to-
discover credit for a system that's
just 594LY from Sol.
[3] Admittedly, this is a stroke of luck but it's not impossible, especially if you go off-plane, not along traveled routes. I mapped many of the bodies there and got credit for them too (of course).
As other CMDRs have stated, ANY system that you have not yet visited will show you a "discovery" message if for nothing other than the drop-in body (the star). This doesn't mean that you're the first to discover the system.
<- EDIT: This brings up an important, obvious question. See [EDIT] below.
Have fun out there and don't hesitate to try things or to ask questions.
Refs
[1] Blaa Eoq IT-O d7-1
[2] Orion Sector ZE-A d16
[3] Synuefe IK-F B31-5
----------------------------------------
EDIT:
What's a quick way to determine that? 3-to-4 easy steps...
1) When you drop into a system, you'll be close enough to the star that your Discovery Scanner (DS) will scan it automatically. It's a good habit to "honk" the system using your DS upon arrival. (note a)
2) Open the System map (not the Galaxy map). Hover your pointer on the drop-in star.
3) If nothing's reported for "First Discovered by," congratulations: it's you! (note b)
4) #3 is true ...
maybe (note c)
Notes
a) This "calibrates" the Full System Scanner (FSS), revealing the number of bodies (as a count reported to you) and their type- enabling the system map to show them correctly. (see sub-note a.1) This is an operation you'd have to do first anyway before you could perform a FSS.
b) I'll not say it's impossible but this is true because it's impractically difficult to "discover" any bodies in a star system without having first "discovered" the star at drop-in. This because you exit a hyperspace jump very close to the star and the DS scans it within a few seconds.
c) You'll get credit for this discovery and the galaxy map will permanently reflect this accomplishment (you're famous!) only if you're the first to sell the cartographic data when you return to
The Bubble. That said, I believe that getting "scooped" is rare.
sub-note a.1) Bodies (beyond the range of the DS) displayed on the system map at this point will show as "unexplored" because you have not yet scanned them - not necessarily because no one else has. I hope that I've written this so that this distinction is clear. You'll see this traveling around
The Bubble to systems that you have not previously visited but other CMDRs already have. (In fact, a drop-in star will show as "unexplored" if you open the system map and look at it before the DS has managed to scan it.)
I believe that I have all these details correct. If not, I'm sure others will chime in!
