700 Light Years

[Xexexh]

700 light years, that's how far I've had to travel from home base to find the first even moderately interesting system that somebody hasn't already scanned (by moderately interesting I mean something other than a brown or red dwarf surrounded by ice planets). I ran into plenty of interesting systems and I scanned them all because they're all worth money but it's just not the same when they already have somebody else's name on them.

Maybe I was unlucky in the random direction I picked but at this rate it won't be long until totally unexplored space is a long way out.

Well now I'm out here I plan to stay for a good while. I'll be back in the year of the sheep...

 

[Irritant]

I found a system with a star that was scanned, but a single gas giant that wasn't scanned right in the middle of all the populated systems.
.
Mind, I scanned it and my name still hasn't shown up on it yet. Not sure if there is a delay before it propagates or a bug with this particular system.

 

[Jackie Silver]

Maybe I was unlucky in the random direction I picked.

I think so. I'm about 300ly out and the area is mostly unscanned. You're right, though, I've been quite surprised at just how thoroughly the central areas are scanned. All those ' iceball moonlets with great clod-hopping explorer-boots all over them...

...but Alnitak and Saiph are MINE FOREVER.

 

[Salkinius]

I know what you mean... I think all explorer records should have been erased at game launch. As it is now we run into systems that beta players discovered several months ago. A tip is not to head to a nebula (Which all have allready been discovered) or anything else spectacular directly from Sol or Empire space. Head directly up or down fist. You will then have a route that not many has taken before.

 

[Raz0rking]

remotely interesting...iam happy having for once a system that contains NOTHING. I stopped counting the systems that will have my nametag. but one weird thing tough...3000 ly from sol one single discovered system lonly in the galaxy xD

 

[V3teran]

Personally I still find it boring even though I have my name on a few systems. Throw some alien races in, planet landings with anolamies and it becomes much more interesting. Until that day comes I dont think I will bother exploring again.

 

[Bluebottle]

A tip is not to head to a nebula (Which all have allready been discovered)

Possibly the handful closest to Sol have all been discovered already. I've been through a fair few nebulae on my current trip and I haven't seen a player name attached to anything yet.

 

[mrinku]

300 ly is really nothing. It's backyard stuff.

 

[Don_Von_Hulio]

I traveled about 500Ly out from Dulos and pretty much every star worth visiting was cherry picked. It was kind of irritating... Seeing dumb names in every system made Elite feel like a F2P.

Im heading 6000Ly from civil space coreward and staying there until combat oriented gameplay goes from being a pass time to an actual job.... Even if i mess up and run out of fuel or get overheated by a star and die i wont care too much unless its glitch related. And i dont plan on using the ASP for dedicated combat again because honestly i hate flying it... Its ugly and sounds like a mower so its wear and tear is a non factor.

 

[VanQ]

Maybe I was unlucky in the random direction I picked but at this rate it won't be long until totally unexplored space is a long way out.

Your " random direction" isnt heading you straight to the horsehead nebula,mor is it. My guess is that this is the most discovered area out of the colonized space,mit has basiclly a bullyeye on it...

 

[Rhonda]

...but it's just not the same when they already have somebody else's name on them.

Ya, it's like being on a deserted Island and finding a rusty oil barrel at the shore or hiking in the mountains and find that someone dumped his old washing machine next to the path.

 

[Mad Doctor X]

Your " random direction" isnt heading you straight to the horsehead nebula,mor is it. My guess is that this is the most discovered area out of the colonized space,mit has basiclly a bullyeye on it...

Even then I only started exploring a couple of weeks ago in that direction. I traveled about 150LY out and then returned to check wear and tear so I got the chance to sell some data. When I checked after 1.1 arrived I was marked as the discoverer of one system.

 

[CMDR Arni Sigurdsson]

Elite needs some surprise factor, when exploring you know exactly what is going to happen for
the next 1000 LY, you scan, explore and meet some pirates and travelers on the way, thats it.
Exploding stars, wormholes, ships that need help and alien races would spice it up a bit.

 

[Mad Doctor X]

Ya, it's like being on a deserted Island and finding a rusty oil barrel at the shore or hiking in the mountains and find that someone dumped his old washing machine next to the path.

I agree. It doesn't seem to make an awful lot of sense for you to go to somewhere that your navigation computer knows nothing about, scan it and then find something very specific about it that could only come from your navigation computer. It would probably be a pain for Frontier to sort out, but it would seem to make more sense (to me) if you got this information after you sold your own data on the system. Alternatively they could remove the discovered tag from the planet and just leave it on the information panel on the left - might make it a little less jarring.

 

[Egan]

300 ly is really nothing. It's backyard stuff.

That's it exactly, I think. I'm about 350LY out, a bit out beyond the Pipe Bowl, and every system except one boring one on the approach to a neutron star has been mapped, save for a couple of worlds here and there that the original explorers probably missed because they didn't have a powerful enough disco scanner.

Couple with the fact that most everybody with an interest in exploration will have already headed off to the closest landmarks, it's going to take a bit of time and effort to get to true virgin territory.

 

[nifty]

If your focus is getting your name on things, then yeah, you're gonna have to go farther out and not in the direction of a pretty nebula or similarly exciting object you can see on the galaxy map.

For me, I just want to visit those nebulae and other exciting places for myself. I don't really care if I am first to a system or planet or not.

 

[Salkinius]

If your focus is getting your name on things, then yeah, you're gonna have to go farther out and not in the direction of a pretty nebula or similarly exciting object you can see on the galaxy map.

For me, I just want to visit those nebulae and other exciting places for myself. I don't really care if I am first to a system or planet or not.

I do care about getting my name on things, I don't care about the money (obviously since explorers don't make much, and shouldn't since exploring don't really need an incentive like that). And until exploring means anything, except raised influence of the faction controlling the station you sell it to, like making you a name in the faction, station or system you sell it to, I'm going to strive to place my personal flag in as many systems as possible.

What we explorers need is more incentive to explore already explored systems, and I don't think money is the answer. I think we should let the second and the third explorer also show.

Like this perhaps:

First explored by Salkinius
Data confirmed by Xexeh and Nifty.
(And later on perhaps) Planet colonized due to the exploration data sold by Irritant (to the faction that actually colonizes the planet)

I think that all this together with the postulated recognition you get from a faction because of your travels, you have all the motivation you need for exploration. The money you gain would really be enough for upkeep of your ship and crew.

And as I've said earlier in this thread. Remove all interdicting NPCs and many of the USSs even one jump away from the populated bubble.