Anything actually out there - why explore? (New Player)

[[VR] optimal_909]

For me, the most interesting things are real-world objects: star clusters, exoplanets, strange and ridiculous stars, there is a lot of stuff to find (and sometimes hidden behind very obscure designations).

Personal note: When I was young, there was not a single known exoplanet. And a lot of doubt whether any existed at all. It lead to a lot of discussions the uniqueness of our solar system. It was a strange time for a young mind that refused to believe in that uniqueness; it had to believe in its commonness.

5,000+ known exoplanets later, virtually visiting all those KOIs and MOAs and OGLEs and CoRoTs gives me quite some satisfaction.

To me it is equally strange when I see the scientific community talk about life anytime liquid water is found somewhere. Most of water worlds in Elite should be without life too.

Back on topic, I one of the main reasons for me to explore is simply to experience remoteness - and I guess this game does a pretty good job in giving that feeling.

 

[Yanick]

There are three ways to answer that, though all can be summed up as "Yes". There are the occasional player-organized events, such as Distant Worlds. There are standing events, races, and challenges; some, such as the 65k club, are directly related to exploration, while others such as the Buckyball Run A* have some tangential reference to exploration (My initial Elite rank in exploration was primarily earned exploring on my way back from Bucky runs). And then - and this, I think, is the most important of the three - there are the challenges that you make for yourself. What do you want to do; how do you want to make your name out there?

There are regularly new expeditions happening. Check out this link for a list of Expeditions:Expedition Hub

o7
Yanick

 

[marx]

Oh, let me add one more thing: for me, it's also a sense of not knowing exactly what will happen, what to expect. As it stands, there are only two kinds of activities in Elite where you're not likely to know what awaits you: exploration and interacting with other players. After all, with pretty much any activity involving PvE / NPC-s only, you'll know what to expect. That doesn't mean they can't be enjoyable, but it is pretty predictable. When you're dealing with other people, they might surprise you. When you're jumping into an unknown system, it might surprise you. Of course, you won't be surprised all the time, but if the pleasant surprises are more rare, that just makes them all the more pleasant - in my opinion.

This does tie in with what Pirin mentioned: a possible scenario that's present in many MMOs is that if you have "too good" tools, exploration basically becomes "follow the icon to its source". I'm sure there are folks that would like that, but personally, it cheapens things for me. One of the things I didn't like about No Man's Sky was that within minutes of landing on a new planet, you were immediately dealing with markers popping up all over, showing you where to find something. Not much searching involved then, just pathfinding.
Of course, Elite is currently on the other end, as some better and more interactive scanning tools would be great. As it stands, with many things, the chances of blindly stumbling upon something without any clues are incredibly low.

 

[Cliff Dobbs]

This does tie in with what Pirin mentioned: a possible scenario that's present in many MMOs is that if you have "too good" tools, exploration basically becomes "follow the icon to its source". I'm sure there are folks that would like that, but personally, it cheapens things for me. One of the things I didn't like about No Man's Sky was that within minutes of landing on a new planet, you were immediately dealing with markers popping up all over, showing you where to find something. Not much searching involved then, just pathfinding.
Of course, Elite is currently on the other end, as some better and more interactive scanning tools would be great. As it stands, with many things, the chances of blindly stumbling upon something without any clues are incredibly low.

I'm with you on the "too good tools" thing, but that boat has sailed and I can't see that getting changed.

What would be nice would be new tools, and hence new game play. As I write, I can't really think what I mean by that, though

How about this (feel free to shoot me down - I'm just free-styling here I know many of us do not want to be dragged back to the bubble (I've been out since November 3301), but that doesn't mean *all* explorers are like me) (too many brackets in that sentence - sorry)

How about some means by which we can collect interesting information about what we find and sell that back to Cartographics (or Engineers, or factions, etc.)? Perhaps we could stock up with atmospheric collector limpets that we could send into life bearing gas giants to get samples of whatever is living in there (as an example).

EDIT: And if we do find some new life form, we get to name it

I dunno, I'm rambling - sorry

C

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

Hi everyone,

New guy here, (well...only semi new to ED, been playing off and on since Horizons launched, but new to the forums).
Here is my question. Hands down, my favorite thing about ED is the idea of getting to explore the galaxy, however I'm not understanding what there is in the game that I can really do with that idea except try to tag a planet with my name...(which is hella cool), but is there more?

I mean what are some of the goals you guys set for yourselves when exploring? (And I don't mean just for credits - there are easier ways to get those).
Whats the appeal for each of you.
- Just Screenshots
- The name tagging
- Are there any player driven events
- Mysteries
- Rare finds that would make others go owww lol
- ?

Is there more out there? Has Frontier already added things for people to find, (or do we know if they have or not, any plans to do so)?


TL;DR: Is there something in space to find, a real purpose for exploration or is it all just name tagging and screenshots?

Thanks all,
Vakross

I don't personally have "goals" I just zig zag to things I find interesting weather that's nebula / galatic background etc, I spend a lot of time crossing rifts and desolate areas thought impassable with LOTS of jumponium.

I also spend a lot of time following the edges of the galaxy or the tips of the galactic arms (normally coming across a lot of Allitnil's tags ), I like one way routes where you see CMDRs have been previously, I see if I can get further

I once found an untagged planetary nebula along one of these routes which was amazing!

I am off again when 2.3 hits within hours of sending my sensors on a diet that is! I do find I get more and more ambitious with expeditions as time goes on, my first was about 10kly in an Adder! ( total distance there and back), then 50kly, then 130kly, then 300kly with lots of smaller trips in-between along with engineering nonsense, and now I've planned something circa 600kly :O it's addictive!

 

[marx]

What would be nice would be new tools, and hence new game play. As I write, I can't really think what I mean by that, though

How about this (feel free to shoot me down - I'm just free-styling here I know many of us do not want to be dragged back to the bubble (I've been out since November 3301), but that doesn't mean *all* explorers are like me) (too many brackets in that sentence - sorry)

How about some means by which we can collect interesting information about what we find and sell that back to Cartographics (or Engineers, or factions, etc.)? Perhaps we could stock up with atmospheric collector limpets that we could send into life bearing gas giants to get samples of whatever is living in there (as an example).

It's not a bad idea, but I think it could be better. My chief problem with it would be if actually deploying the limpets would only mean targeting the body and firing away: that's not very involving gameplay. On the other hand, if you first had to reach very specific conditions (a given altitude range and a given speed range) that could be more interesting. Depending on whether actually reaching the conditions would be a challenge or a chore, mind.

To improve upon finding existing stuff, my earlier suggestion would have been an active scanner, for "anomalies". Basically, it would have an arc in front of you, and you would fire off pings (like the D-scanner honk): if there would be an anomaly somewhere within the arc, you'd get a pong back. That way, you'd actually have to search for where it might be, fly closer to narrow down the search area. It also means that doing the search in a wing would be more effective, but still could be done solo. And personally, I think it would be quite an improvement over the "ruin scanner extension" we currently have, which is just that the exact location of Guardian ruins show up if you're within 1,000 ls of the body. I'd rather the contacts tab just showed "anomaly detected", with only the location of the body.

Of course, I have no idea whether this would be difficult to implement technically in ED or not.


Oh, and back on topic, about one thing in the OP I forgot: it's not just all tagging and screenshots, as you'll notice that most of the regulars here and veteran explorers don't actually post much (if any) screenies.

 

[IliteratSqirel]

For me personally, it find it relaxing. It's my ultimate escapist fantasy. My own ship, an entire galaxy to explore and no time limits, missions or whatever. There's no "end game", no expectations...it's pure freedom. Yes, more mechanics would make it more engaging but honestly for me Elite Dangerous isn't so much "gaming" time as much as it is relaxation.

^ This

To me it is equally strange when I see the scientific community talk about life anytime liquid water is found somewhere. Most of water worlds in Elite should be without life too.

Back on topic, I one of the main reasons for me to explore is simply to experience remoteness - and I guess this game does a pretty good job in giving that feeling.

^ and this! So much. The ability to go somewhere far out with the near certainty that no one else had been here, and no one else is within a thousand LY, with any ability to repair should something happen to me even further away.
Ironically, I also enjoy finding a tagged star when previously I thought I was in a completely unexplored region (even though a part of me knows Allitnil has also been there).

 

[Cliff Dobbs]

It's not a bad idea, but I think it could be better. My chief problem with it would be if actually deploying the limpets would only mean targeting the body and firing away: that's not very involving gameplay. On the other hand, if you first had to reach very specific conditions (a given altitude range and a given speed range) that could be more interesting. Depending on whether actually reaching the conditions would be a challenge or a chore, mind.

And this is why I'm not a game designer

Oh, and back on topic, about one thing in the OP I forgot: it's not just all tagging and screenshots, as you'll notice that most of the regulars here and veteran explorers don't actually post much (if any) screenies.

Yep, I rarely take screenies these days. Somehow, they just don't convey the beauty of the ED galaxy. There's no substitute for getting out there and experiencing it.

C

 

[CMDR Vakross]

Wow! Guys again thank you all for such amazing responses. I'd heard that the community in ED was nothing sort of amazing, but holy cow. (I'm a person who does suffer from social anxiety quite a bit, so trying to meet other people and get involved with communities is something that I can struggle with. However that said, I'm simply amazed at the amount of time and thought so many have put into this thread. Thank you!

I'd like to say that I've been playing pretty heavily over the past couple days and right now I'm currently about to begin the novel: Elite Dangerous: Reclamation by Drew Wagar. I've heard that is the place to start to begin getting my feet wet with the lore of ED..(I'm a huge lore nut to games I play), and that it's where my journey begins for the Formidine Rift. ....Any advice or pointers on this would be greatly appreciated too plus any links to other information you think might be worth me giving a read? I'm really intrigued by this.

When I originally started this thread and asked the question of what was out there, I was asking for any sort of clarity. The idea of exploration ..esp in a game this size is so thrilling to me, however at the end of the day and to briefly break the fourth wall, this game is a game created by man, so I just wanted to know if there was something at all that had been placed "out there". Thus making it all the more exciting to know there was a real chance at finding something rather than wondering if the devs had completed the addition of something in the first place.

For me personally, it find it relaxing. It's my ultimate escapist fantasy. My own ship, an entire galaxy to explore and no time limits, missions or whatever. There's no "end game", no expectations...it's pure freedom. Yes, more mechanics would make it more engaging but honestly for me Elite Dangerous isn't so much "gaming" time as much as it is relaxation.

^^This is something I have to strongly agree with too, and not just about the exploration. I was a LONG time WoW player and raider, and for such a long time "end-game" was the whole picture and driving factor. Plus my life from day to day is all about "hurry up and get this done....now go do that.....oh, man, I still gotta get to that too"; in ED it doesn't matter what I'm doing, I've learned to take my time and enjoy it.

EDIT: And if we do find some new life form, we get to name it

Also wanted to say this would be so cool as well. Here's hoping for something like that in the future.

 

[Sapyx]

I've tried all the non-evil occupations that ED has to offer, and I have to say that I find Exploration the most engrossing. For me, when I explore, I'm looking for the "extremes" - the things that the Stellar Forge spits out of the randomness of the Galactic Seed that make you go "wow, that's not normal". My favourites have got to be the Glowing Green Giants (only four known in the entire galaxy) and the Glowing White Giants (only four known in the entire galaxy). It is my goal to have my flag planted on such a rarity as these.

But there's also things like "ice" planets with no atmosphere and surface temperatures above 700 K ("It's Ice, Jim, but not as we know it"), planets with wildly eccentric orbits that still harbour life (anything with an eccentricity statistic over 0.900 and still managing to bear life has got to be impressive).

Like other explorers, I'm also always on the hunt for Earth-likes. A special project of mine is to try to find an Earth-like with as many parameters that match Earth exactly as possible, a true "parallel Earth". For the sixty-odd planets I have personally observed and scanned, and of the nine planetary parameters I'm tracking, the closest I've found is one planet that matches four of them.

Of course, when you're looking for extreme oddness, then the vast majority of the galaxy is pretty mundane, mediocre. blah. Which only makes the extraordinary shine all the brighter when you finally do find it.

As for the question of "things that have been placed out there for us to find". FD spokespeople have recently gone on record as saying "we haven't found everything yet", which is only to be expected given that we've only explored less than 1 percent of the Galaxy. Some of the content has, no doubt, been placed behind permit-locks so no-one can visit it yet, but there are presumably additional star systems which we can visit, with easter eggs hidden in them for us to find.

 

[IliteratSqirel]

Wow! Guys again thank you all for such amazing responses. I'd heard that the community in ED was nothing sort of amazing, but holy cow. (I'm a person who does suffer from social anxiety quite a bit, so trying to meet other people and get involved with communities is something that I can struggle with. However that said, I'm simply amazed at the amount of time and thought so many have put into this thread. Thank you!

I'd like to say that I've been playing pretty heavily over the past couple days and right now I'm currently about to begin the novel: Elite Dangerous: Reclamation by Drew Wagar. I've heard that is the place to start to begin getting my feet wet with the lore of ED..(I'm a huge lore nut to games I play), and that it's where my journey begins for the Formidine Rift. ....Any advice or pointers on this would be greatly appreciated too plus any links to other information you think might be worth me giving a read? I'm really intrigued by this.

When I originally started this thread and asked the question of what was out there, I was asking for any sort of clarity. The idea of exploration ..esp in a game this size is so thrilling to me, however at the end of the day and to briefly break the fourth wall, this game is a game created by man, so I just wanted to know if there was something at all that had been placed "out there". Thus making it all the more exciting to know there was a real chance at finding something rather than wondering if the devs had completed the addition of something in the first place.



^^This is something I have to strongly agree with too, and not just about the exploration. I was a LONG time WoW player and raider, and for such a long time "end-game" was the whole picture and driving factor. Plus my life from day to day is all about "hurry up and get this done....now go do that.....oh, man, I still gotta get to that too"; in ED it doesn't matter what I'm doing, I've learned to take my time and enjoy it.



Also wanted to say this would be so cool as well. Here's hoping for something like that in the future.

Regarding the Formidine Rift: definitely start here
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/324796-THE-FORMIDINE-RIFT-MYSTERY-(Part-4)/?page=1

CMDR Zach has done a wonderful job of collating the clues as well as theories so far.
Hopefully we can count you among the Rifters soon!

 

[CMDR Vakross]

@IliteratSquirel This is awesome..thank you for the link!

 

[CMDR Vakross]

Ol Well......seems I'm a bit late to this particular party. Just today it seems the long mystery of the Formidine Rift has finally been solved. :-( LOL
Guess I'll save up some credits and get ready the help with the next big mystery. Heck... maybe even find it out there myself. :-D

 

[equex]

maybe even find it out there myself. :-D

don't bet your last rebuy on that. just getting home from a 10k trip, can confirm space is big....and mostly pink and beige

 

[marx]

Ol Well......seems I'm a bit late to this particular party. Just today it seems the long mystery of the Formidine Rift has finally been solved. :-( LOL

Nope. Mr. Wagar confirmed that this was one chapter, not the whole mystery that has been solved.

Also, based on the logs on the Zurara, we now know that there are at least two other unique megaships out there, most likely with more voice-acted audio logs on them. However, with next to no clues to go on, finding them would be extremely difficult. Even for this one, Mr. Wagar had to literally spell out (in a riddle) the system name, although I'd wager that the Zurara was only not found before 2.3 (when it would have been much less impressive) because he misled people with the Eafots "clues".
He does have a tendency to overhype things, so personally, I'd set my expectations accordingly. But hey, more stuff to look for out there is always good.

 

[Wedgetail]

Ol Well......seems I'm a bit late to this particular party. Just today it seems the long mystery of the Formidine Rift has finally been solved. :-( LOL
Guess I'll save up some credits and get ready the help with the next big mystery. Heck... maybe even find it out there myself. :-D

Still totally worth going out for the view...

Spoiler

And the audio logs are awesome to listen to in person

Not to mention the spacebucks to be made along the way now

 

[Fyrd Judge]

FD Have stated last year that there are many things out there yet to be discovered in the Galaxy and hopefully they will not start pointing big arrows to them just because no one has found them yet. This is the thrill of exploration to just stumble on some major discovery, even if it does takes years.

Those that want arrows pointing to every thing should stay in the bubble.

 

[marx]

FD Have stated last year that there are many things out there yet to be discovered in the Galaxy and hopefully they will not start pointing big arrows to them just because no one has found them yet.

Agreed. Unfortunately, it still sometimes has to be done, like with the Zurara recently, or when the alien ships were basically shoved in our faces in the Pleiades because nobody had found them elsewhere. You generally put content in so that they'll be found. However, if there's a sort of deadline by which you want them to be found and they're still undiscovered, then it's time to put up some arrows. Instead of "the treasure is buried on Treasure Island", the new one will be "X marks the spot".

Now that I think about it, this is probably why I like to look for rarities that were procedurally generated instead - because even the devs don't know where they are. Plus it's fun to try and solve parts of the mystery of the Stellar Forge.

 

[Karbon]

Strictly speaking, this is correct. The actual game mechanics of exploring in Elite only really support jumping, honking, and scanning stellar bodies to tag them.

Now, if you are a more freeform kind of game player, the kind of person who can make up your own goals and objectives, who can even simply drive an SRV around a moon orbiting a ringed gas giant purely for the fun of it and the scenery, well then exploration can provide something much more than what the game mechanics support. It is of my opinion though that you really do need a good imagination to enjoy exploration in Elite, because the gameplay just doesn’t exist (yet?).

Personally, I hunt screenshots of scenic places when I explore. I look for interesting worlds closely orbiting ringed planets or stars. I search for beautiful colorful worlds or huge mountains, crazy craters, or dangerous canyons. I fly on the edge of the galaxy fighting my way through low star density regions just trying to get to a really far out system just for the challenge of it. The game itself rewards none of this, there is no in game reason to do any of it, but hey it’s how I enjoy playing the game. To a lot of commanders that might seem like a crazy waste of time, but that’s okay as it’s not for everyone. Admittedly even I get bored of it now and then, lol. I wish there were more exploration mechanics, more things to do and find out there. Maybe someday, but for now, a good creative imagination is practically a requirement IMHO, at least for long term exploration.

Considering the size of this game, this is really sad. I mean, if you don't have anything to discover in this game beside the planets and systems itself, what more do you have to do? Kill people and farm credits? No thank you.
I'm sad.

FD Have stated last year that there are many things out there yet to be discovered in the Galaxy and hopefully they will not start pointing big arrows to them just because no one has found them yet. This is the thrill of exploration to just stumble on some major discovery, even if it does takes years.

Those that want arrows pointing to every thing should stay in the bubble.

I really don't believe that. There is no way that since the launch just now ppl are getting interdicted 5 times in a roll. No way at all.
All I can think about all of this is they are trying to keep us playing for the late plans that didn't happened yet.

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

Agreed. Unfortunately, it still sometimes has to be done, like with the Zurara recently, or when the alien ships were basically shoved in our faces in the Pleiades because nobody had found them elsewhere. You generally put content in so that they'll be found. However, if there's a sort of deadline by which you want them to be found and they're still undiscovered, then it's time to put up some arrows. Instead of "the treasure is buried on Treasure Island", the new one will be "X marks the spot".

Now that I think about it, this is probably why I like to look for rarities that were procedurally generated instead - because even the devs don't know where they are. Plus it's fun to try and solve parts of the mystery of the Stellar Forge.

Yeah like I found a landable planet the size of a star yesterday is was orbiting a f class and it's an icy body but the same size as the f class star, its Massive!!! is it unique or have people seen this before? If it's unique I'll post pic of its stats and jot it down as a tourist locacation if not I'll just move along