Thanks for all the comments, it's really interesting to see how views differ on this sort of thing!
Exploring covers a wide range of approaches. To me, though, it is primarily about pushing back the boundaries of human knowledge. That's why I'm a bit disappointed with how (relatively!) quick we can cross the galaxy. I would much prefer if each and every explorer were capable of slowly pushing out the limits of explored space. Whether that can be achieved with interesting game mechanics is not really something that I'm capable of answering. But the biggest problem for me - and what enables this type of trip - is that we already know everything we need to from the galmap and that required knowledge basically boils down to "is the next star scoopable?".
What would you have FD do to make it take longer? Increase the amount of time spent in hyperspace (people complain this is already too long)? The amount of time preparing each jump? I'm not sure what mechanic could be used that would make exploration take longer but be just as or more enjoyable than it already is (happy to hear suggestions)...
Definitely not anything that arbitrarily delays jumping. As above, I'm not a game designer so don't know what would work. But basically I see the fundamental requirement being that if you are jumping between two systems for the first time then it should require some thought or prior knowledge. The latter could be because you've done it before or you have purchased the knowledge from UC which got it from another CMDR selling the data. But this isn't really something that can be retro-fitted to a game that has already been out for a year.
I agree. Point-to-point is one thing, but there's way more in the galaxy than that. Seems to me that the timescales are about right. Add to that the actual exploration (which a speed trip doesn't allow for) and the one-slip-and-you're-gone risk factor, I think they've got it bang on.
Let's be clear, this trip is very much about exploration. Getting to Beagle Point is just the travelling necessary to start my exploration objectives. Scanning systems on the way would be time consuming whilst contributing nothing towards those objectives. I roughly model my exploring style after the great polar explorers, particularly the expeditions that contributed to reaching the south pole. For them, the journey to Antarctica was just a chore that they had to do before their true expedition started.
I'm heading out there myself to give feedback on the amount and type of POIs that are being generated post beta. But you can save time now that you're there !.. can you post your findings in NeilF's
thread ? In beta I was finding human wreckage and cargo of tea and coffee all over the place, and as far out as BP and was hoping FD would have massively toned it down for Horizons release (or at least change the variety of POIs we find that far out).
Will do.
If you want to meet up while you're out there do you fancy helping me see how far 'west' ships can reach out there? If a route across the Abyss back into the Scutum-Centaurus arm can be found beyond Svennos Crossing using boost jumps, it will save pilots doing a 30,000 LY detour to the Abyssal Plain after the Distant Worlds event. I'm also hoping to see if I can push the northern meridian marker a little further 'north'
Might be fun to look for it, but I suspect it would require a huge amount of jumponium even for a Conda to make a crossing much further west. If it turns out there is a lot of jumponium out there then it might be worth trying but otherwise I think it would probably not be a good use of time.
Absolutely true. 27 hours of game time in 40 hours of RL is extreme, and far above what the average player can put in. Shall we make a point that if I don't sleep at all I can make a beagle round trip in less than 48 hours? What would be the point? I can't explore along the way if I intend to do that, not to mention eat, sleep or go to the toilet.. That's all assuming I don't have RL stuff to deal with and I'd be crazy enough to go do it. Neither is true. Achieving something through such extreme gameplay that you almost need a nurse with an IV next to you proves nothing.
As above, this was just a quick way of getting to the starting point for my exploring. I would rather that it wasn't possible but given that it is, why not? It's not quite as extreme as some of you seem to think. ~13 hours a day for two days of listening to podcasts, listening to music and watching the Sopranos whilst happening to also be pressing a few buttons and moving a joystick once a minute. On the first morning I did a 5 hour straight session but I then had a long lunch. I cooked our dinner and watched telly with the missus for a few hours. On the Sunday I had several small chores to fit in. The only real 'extreme' thing I did was to go to bed at 1:30am on Saturday night and be back at the computer by just after 6am. But that was only because I couldn't sleep due to completely non ED issues!
*peeks head in*
Don't tempt me...
Seriously though, nice job Allitnil! That's a decent pace you must have kept up. I can't help but feel that you should have stopped in via Galileo on the way out to be eligible for the
A* Challenge though, that would likely have been a pretty decent time
(assuming you went through the core rather than over/under, otherwise that might have been a slightly more sizeable detour at the other end!)
I only skirted Sag A* by about 1K. I did think of fitting in the challenge but I would then have felt the need to do a really long first session, probably beyond what I could stomach. And the time wouldn't have been particularly special at something over 9 hours even without a break.
I wouldn't want to encourage anyone to make this into a real 'race'. If for no other reason than that it could potentially be done within 24 hours. Make it too much of a thing and sooner or later someone will attempt just that which wouldn't be healthy.
I can only second that! + Rep, Allitnil. I bet you couldn't resist to go there with a boostable conda first to see to the task of tagging all reachable systems before anyone else could
I'm impressed, very impressed! The Tags would be more than deserved.
The Viper is for fun and tourism, then.
Unless there is a huge source of jumponium out here then there's no way I could tag them all. By my reckoning there some 300 systems beyond the current record distance along with a lot of systems below that but unreachable without boosts. I only expect to visit a small number of them. So even if, as I hope, reach the furthest system that it's currently possible to get to there will be plenty for others to try for. eg, there's a good chance that there is an ELW among those 300 systems and the "furthest ELW from Sol" record is one I consider at least as special as the furthest overall system given that the latter can theoretically be found just from the galmap (indeed, I believe I have).
nb: the Viper M4 will still be going on the DW expedition and for that one I will obviously taking my time and doing a lot of surveying and prospecting along the way.
