22k LY exploration trip. Some thoughts I had on my trip.

[CMDR Harada]

1200 LYs away from returning on a trip half way to Sag-tourista-A* . I look forward to getting 'home' tonight. Spending a lot of time horn honking and jumping and scanning gave me time to think.


1: No-one appreciates how much TIME this actually takes. 12-15k LYs from SOL, scannning systems, and generally poking around took two weeks. Thats about two hours a night, for TWO weeks. Not a small investment. People who are 30k+ LYs out have my admiration.


2: LEARN TO USE THE MAP. I found myself heading back and suddenly started getting "route not available" messages. In the middle of the galaxy ? Turns out, each time I used the scroll up/down option on my mouse while in the galaxy map I accidentally 'rose' 20-30 LYs. In the end I was at the top of the arm and ran out of stars. I had to drop down 1200 LYs to find good routes again. Now I make sure to orient the map to point at my eventual destination.


3: I saw a LOT of cool stuff. Black holes, massive multi-multi star systems ( my record was 5 ). I got my son out of bed 30 minutes after putting him down to show him an earthlike I just discovered. He had been waiting a few days to see one. I guess half of my sense of wonder comes from knowing that in SOL, those stars actually look like what I see from my back yard. So, hopefully, the things I saw on my journey look like they should as well. That is freaking cool.


4: You can't do this for credits. Time vs Credits Earned, it was a stupid move. I could have made the same money in a few days trading. But I did see some cool stuff, I did make a good bit, and it was a change of pace from the buy-jump-sell-buy-jump-sell or the pew-pew-pew. Plus, hopefully I will live on in game lore with my name attached to a few systems.


5: I know this has been beat to death, but DAMN. I wish we could plot longer routes. 1k LYs is a bit short. It would be nice to set a 5k LY route and just go exploring.


6: Maybe this is possible and I don't know how. But after jumping into a system and scanning a few cool things, why can't I continue my journey without re-plotting my course in the galaxy map. I should be able to replot my course without having to actually re-plot it.


7: XTRA FUEL TANKS. Thank you very much. Scooping every 6 or 7 jumps just to be safe was getting tedious. I only got the dreaded "You're running on Fumes" <main fuel tank drained> message once.


8: There needs to be some changes to this, IMHO. Given the time investment it doesn't pay. Also given that a serious screw up can cost you not only your ship, but literally weeks worth of data. Any other profession doesn't run that risk. Only a T9 loaded with Paladium risks losing as much , and compared to a long exploration mission, the explorer will lose multiples of that. We all know trading is the real money maker, but the difference is a bit startling. It tends to make exploration a hobby, not a profession ( from an income point of view ).


9: Do NOT ( really, don't ) try to fuel scoop while at full throttle and inverted over a star 8k LYs from home. Getting bounced from SC by glancing off the corona is.. not the kind of excitement I was looking for. Boredom and Stupidity, with lack of sleep, don't mix well. I've been looking at those cracks in the canopy for a long time. Repair modules don't fix that ( or hull ).That made my decision to come home much easier.


10: It has been mentioned elsewhere, but it would be cool to see something else besides planets. Wrecks, dead probes, little green men, SOMETHING.. I realize finding dead alien spaceships every week would tend to make the experience less unique, but after 22k LYs and 850+ systems, another ringed planet isn't so breath taking. "Ringed planet, gotcha. Moons around said planet, gotcha. Anything unique or note worthy ? Right. <computerowering up jump drive>"

 

[wiblflibl]

6: Maybe this is possible and I don't know how. But after jumping into a system and scanning a few cool things, why can't I continue my journey without re-plotting my course in the galaxy map. I should be able to replot my course without having to actually re-plot it.

Options/Controls/Targeting option 'Target Next System in Route'

It's been there since one of the 1.2 updates - it's worth keeping an eye on the 'Patch Notes' forum for info on any new features.

 

[HagbardCeline]

6: Maybe this is possible and I don't know how. But after jumping into a system and scanning a few cool things, why can't I continue my journey without re-plotting my course in the galaxy map. I should be able to replot my course without having to actually re-plot it.

The next system in your plotted route is also marked in the left panel. I believe. Or bind the function to a key.

 

[Fen Harel]

I agree with most of this. In terms of the time investment I estimated that my last trip (which took me to a spot just over 20 kylies out) took more time than entire play throughs of other games (and big ones too, like DAI and ACIV). I also find that I tend to drift upwards, I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that.

One difference in style: I like to top off at every star, I get very nervous with half a tank. Personally I won't use any extra tanks for my ASP. Now my Vulture, yes, that can definitely use another one, but the ASP is fine with a 32-ton tank and I wouldn't want to lose the range.

Coming home from a long trip is the best part. Just prepare to be deflated by the whole process of turning in your data.

Good post, and good luck on the last part of your voyage Commander!

- - - Updated - - -

Options/Controls/Targeting option 'Target Next System in Route'

It's been there since one of the 1.2 updates - it's worth keeping an eye on the 'Patch Notes' forum for info on any new features.

I have that bound to 'N' with 'M' for the Galaxy Map, and 'B' for the System Map. Obviously one can do it any way. Having Next System as a key binding was an excellent addition, I think it was added with 1.2.

 

[Kancro Vantas]

1: No-one appreciates how much TIME this actually takes. 12-15k LYs from SOL, scannning systems, and generally poking around took two weeks. Thats about two hours a night, for TWO weeks. Not a small investment. People who are 30k+ LYs out have my admiration.

4: You can't do this for credits. Time vs Credits Earned, it was a stupid move. I could have made the same money in a few days trading. But I did see some cool stuff, I did make a good bit, and it was a change of pace from the buy-jump-sell-buy-jump-sell or the pew-pew-pew. Plus, hopefully I will live on in game lore with my name attached to a few systems.

5: I know this has been beat to death, but DAMN. I wish we could plot longer routes. 1k LYs is a bit short. It would be nice to set a 5k LY route and just go exploring.

6: Maybe this is possible and I don't know how. But after jumping into a system and scanning a few cool things, why can't I continue my journey without re-plotting my course in the galaxy map. I should be able to replot my course without having to actually re-plot it.

8: There needs to be some changes to this, IMHO. Given the time investment it doesn't pay. Also given that a serious screw up can cost you not only your ship, but literally weeks worth of data. Any other profession doesn't run that risk. Only a T9 loaded with Paladium risks losing as much , and compared to a long exploration mission, the explorer will lose multiples of that. We all know trading is the real money maker, but the difference is a bit startling. It tends to make exploration a hobby, not a profession ( from an income point of view ).

10: It has been mentioned elsewhere, but it would be cool to see something else besides planets. Wrecks, dead probes, little green men, SOMETHING.. I realize finding dead alien spaceships every week would tend to make the experience less unique, but after 22k LYs and 850+ systems, another ringed planet isn't so breath taking. "Ringed planet, gotcha. Moons around said planet, gotcha. Anything unique or note worthy ? Right. <computerowering up jump drive>"

Welcome to the club CMDR. Sounds like a lot of fun you had. Some comments on your points:

1.-Indeed noone that has never left civilized space knows how BIG the galaxy is. Into 4th week here, 16,000 ly from the Core and 13,000 ly from SOL.

4.-No, we don't do it for credits. They come handy, and they flow very decently for what we need to have for exploration but "I got billionaire by exploring!', is not happening.

6.-As mentioned by wiblflibl, there is an option to map that function to a key. I have that mapped to a target button in my HOTAS, and have Galaxy and System Map mapped to two toggle switches. Saves tons of time.

8.-Great but extremely rare risks makes this profession extreme. Anything that "fixes" a delivery of data without coming back, is basically a free ticket to self destruct and then re-spawn back to civilization within seconds. We like it as it is and this will probably never be implemented.

10.-Yes, yes, and yes...we are all crying and yearning for more content and rare stuff. However, we are not too loud about it, partially because at some points, Thargoids will potentially make our lives a nightmare when out, alone, in the void, and thousands of light years from home, you get interdicted and attacked by their ships...we might find other stuff...but better be careful to what we wish for!

 

[wiblflibl]

Good post, and good luck on the last part of your voyage Commander!

Deary me, where are my manners. I meant to say something along the lines of Fen Harel's quote above. My only excuse - I was busy exploring

 

[puca]

but "I got billionaire by exploring!', is not happening.

This appears to be a dare.

 

[CMDR Harada]

8.-Great but extremely rare risks makes this profession extreme. Anything that "fixes" a delivery of data without coming back, is basically a free ticket to self destruct and then re-spawn back to civilization within seconds. We like it as it is and this will probably never be implemented.

I agree. But there has to be some adjustment to the risk/reward balance when a fully loaded T9 costs less than what I carry in my databanks. And it took me a hell of a lot longer to gather that data than the T9 CMDR did loading up his 'cow' for the next run.

 

[mono]

Nice post, thanks for sharing.

Totally agree on the time it can take if you let it. I'm 17 kylies out and there's a lot more to see than 4 or 5 kylies back. Currently scanning around 50 systems a day if I manage to get 3 or 4 hours in. I guess I'm just curious, lol. Sag A is 9 kylies out give or take a few, which will take a while at this rate.

 

[Whiterose]

Nice post. the thing is.....you will soon be back out.....

 

[Zenith]

10: It has been mentioned elsewhere, but it would be cool to see something else besides planets. Wrecks, dead probes, little green men, SOMETHING.. I realize finding dead alien spaceships every week would tend to make the experience less unique, but after 22k LYs and 850+ systems, another ringed planet isn't so breath taking. "Ringed planet, gotcha. Moons around said planet, gotcha. Anything unique or note worthy ? Right. <computerowering up jump drive>"

Sometimes a ringed system just jumps out at you and makes you go "WOW!"

Spoiler

The nearby planet to the right is 3.96ls away.
The far away star to the left is 167ls away... and the rings are 208ls across!

 

[Fenric]

At least a couple people addressed your question about having to replot your course sometimes. As mentioned, you should set a key to 'target next system in route' if you haven't already.

However, in addition to that, be sure not to use the navigation panel to target stars. If you notice, when you do this it actually says something like 'lock target and set destination' which overrides your previous route planned from the galaxy map.
I think this only happens with main stars used for navigation, and not a secondary star in a system if you want to lock on to it to go scan it. I know it happened to me a few times and I figured it out, but I forget the exact details. I think it is similar to what I just stated.

If I'm correct, and for example you already scanned the star at the jump in point but forgot if it was a scoopable type, use the 'target forward' function instead of the navigation panel.

 

[iain666]

Sometimes a ringed system just jumps out at you and makes you go "WOW!"

That's pretty nice.

 

[Allitnil]

1. Yep, it is time consuming. But OTOH it is really great for whiling away those boring winter and early spring days when the weather is too bad to get out in the garden. The only trouble now is that I need to get the garden in shape but there's always just one more system to visit....

2. That is so easy to do. I find it best to make sure that I zoom back in to the map when picking the star for the end of each leg as that means that I'm close to the same level as when I started.

3. The absolute best thing about exploring is all the new stuff you see. Conversely though, after a while it does become a bit passé when you see that cool item for the 57th time. Enjoy each and every new sight for what it is!

4. Trading will always be worth more in credits per hour. But I reckon that 500,000 credits per hour is minimum you should be looking for when exploring unless you explicitly choose to earn less (eg deliberately scanning every body in every system you visit). That's not huge, but bear in mind that it can be done in a fairly cheap ship and the multi-millions per hour that traders talk about can only be achieved if you have already earned a large sum.

5. Everything's relative. My first long trip was back when we could only plot 70 LY at a time... On the whole, I find 1,000 LY more than adequate even though I now consider 5,000 LY to be a short trip.

6. as per the other answers this is possible!

7. I almost always top up at every opportunity. I don't think I've ever explored in any ship that can go 7 jumps on a single tank. I went to the far side of the galaxy in a Cobra that could only manage a maximum of 5 jumps on a tank and my current ride only does 4. But your wish will soon be granted as the 1.3 update is going to allow you to use some cargo space as extra fuel tanks.

8. I find there is too *little* risk currently with exploring. It takes either a lot of mistakes or a lot of bad luck to really risk loss. I did a 14,000 system trip and would have stayed out a lot longer if not for cracking my canopy. That was down to my own silly mistake and it wasn't until I got back home that I realised that the canopy was actually fine (88% left). The "all or nothing" aspect of the risk is unique within ED but to me that's something to welcome, not mitigate against. I find it a disappointment that there is now effectively zero risk from NPCs on the return and miss the adrenalin rush I got on returning from my first long trip. Nowadays I don't bother with shields or any defensive measures because the risk is so minuscule.

9. It's really just a case of knowing what the limits are. The only time I've had a problem with fuel scooping was when something caused my HOTAS to be temporarily unrecognised.

10. Definitely. There needs to be something else out there. But it would be just as boring if it happened more than very rarely. It must be hard to program this sort of thing right as it could easily be either "oh, just another dead alien civilization" or "I hate that others have found stuff but I haven't".