Best technique for finding fumeroles/geysers?

[Cmdr Frawd Digger]

Hello all!


I'm putting together a list of interesting sites for new tourist destinations and wondered which organic locations you'd found so far?


Michael

The above was posted in the Canonn thread by Lord Michael Brookes...Canonn thread posters are very suspicious and suspect that it is a hint rather than a true request...

So what is the best technique for finding these structures? Do I fly at over 2km altitude and look for POIs?

Where is the best place to look? Are canyons best, craters, mountains?

Thanks for any help.

Frawd

 

[disorganise]

Intetested in the answer too. Gotta admit I got bored failing to find any barnacles on the dwe trip and stopped even looking after a while.

 

[CMDR MadRaptor]

For now the only help is small radius planets, sticky to rock worlds and looking for deep or windy canyons or large craters, or distinct discolorations. As for generation tips, it seems to sometimes take up to 20 seconds for the generations....sometimes...and once loaded they are visible at high rates, so I would think if you get to an area get down to about 2 kilometers then head straight up, using the debug camera you should find anything that may have loaded nearby, not always a usefull tactic though.

 

[varonica]

For now the only help is small radius planets, sticky to rock worlds and looking for deep or windy canyons or large craters, or distinct discolorations. As for generation tips, it seems to sometimes take up to 20 seconds for the generations....sometimes...and once loaded they are visible at high rates, so I would think if you get to an area get down to about 2 kilometers then head straight up, using the debug camera you should find anything that may have loaded nearby, not always a usefull tactic though.

Yeah I use the debug camera a lot, I haven't found anything using it yet,but I think it helps eliminate a lot of territory not worth checking.

I always fly between two and four kilometers up, I have found to many sites by the POI to fly any lower than two, and anything above four makes it difficult to spot sites, unless there are some really gorgeous canyons there of course, then it's all bets off.

Another technique I have been practicing, and it takes some skill, is to climb to 4klms and go up to max speed horizontal then turn FA off, that way you can drift in one direction and turn to check out any likely canyons and depressions, it's like the helicopter mode using rear and vertical thrusters but much more relaxing once you get the hang of it.

 

[Astirian]

The above was posted in the Canonn thread by Lord Michael Brookes...Canonn thread posters are very suspicious and suspect that it is a hint rather than a true request...

So what is the best technique for finding these structures? Do I fly at over 2km altitude and look for POIs?

Where is the best place to look? Are canyons best, craters, mountains?

Thanks for any help.

Frawd

I recently sent a version of the following directly to someone asking me for advice, it's just what I do personally. Definitely NOT an exact science.

So basically, I start by ignoring magma only bodies 'cos I figure they could be subterranean, or maybe liquid on the surface in a future patch (in retrospect, looking at the findings so far, there seem to be a lot of findings on magma worlds anyway, my geology sucks). I also go for bodies with a temperature range between 250-350K ('cos I figured -15C to 80C is a nice life sustaining range), although the water geysers I found were at 79K so I may have to revise the lower number.

I then pick the areas on the planet that look the most messed up. I tend to stay away from planets that are more than 1.5G because... effort.

I usually have a pattern where I check out a canyon first then fly over to the highest mountain peak I can see on the horizon, takes me about 15-20 minutes. I'll then low wake and try another spot. Might repeat this 3-4 times, depending. I always try to stay between 2.5km and 3.5-4km and I go for tiny blue dots, have had no luck eye-balling. I've tried skimming the ground in "helicopter mode", but never had any luck with it, although it is more interesting than level flight. But it does mean I could be missing some that don't have crystal growths etc... that result in the tiny POI. I have been skimming the ground a bit more in recent times though, to alleviate boredom...

I also leave the system once I've done this routine and move onto the next. So, I'm surely missing spots on planets but I think moving on to another body or system is crucial after a while (for sanity's sake). I figure my chances are better in a new system than sticking with one planet for a dozen hours lol.

I know it's more than likely my imagination but it feels like maybe there's a discovery cap per CMDR. Like, one field per system. That's probably not true but that's how it feels. We should disprove this if possible.

Good luck out there if you decide to go hunting CMDRs!

 

[Bomba Luigi]

Sticking to Canyons and small Planets is the best thing to do as far as I can tell, big planets can be a pain, I have found Volcanism on a Planet whos Radius is more then 1km but I wouldn't recommend it. Going for 3-5km hight observing the ground but also keeping and eye on the Radar.

But I don't think Mr. Brooks is asking for Volcanism, I wouldn't call that Organic.

 

[Cmdr Frawd Digger]

Sticking to Canyons and small Planets is the best thing to do as far as I can tell, big planets can be a pain, I have found Volcanism on a Planet whos Radius is more then 1km but I wouldn't recommend it. Going for 3-5km hight observing the ground but also keeping and eye on the Radar.

But I don't think Mr. Brooks is asking for Volcanism, I wouldn't call that Organic.

Wow, those are REALLY small planets

I think you meant 1Mm and 3-5Mm...

Jokes aside, thanks to all the Cmdrs who responded. Much appreciated...I shall start my searching tonight.

Frawd

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

For now the only help is small radius planets, sticky to rock worlds and looking for deep or windy canyons or large craters, or distinct discolorations. As for generation tips, it seems to sometimes take up to 20 seconds for the generations....sometimes...and once loaded they are visible at high rates, so I would think if you get to an area get down to about 2 kilometers then head straight up, using the debug camera you should find anything that may have loaded nearby, not always a usefull tactic though.

I guess your suggestion is about finding life (branacles or fungae) - at least so far I had more luck finding volcanic activity on icy planets.

 

[CMDR MadRaptor]

I guess your suggestion is about finding life (branacles or fungae) - at least so far I had more luck finding volcanic activity on icy planets.

Not had much luck on ice myself. Rocky is the only one's i've had luck on, or a mixture of rock and ice. Still not certain on organic life, but I'm thinking yes to the more rockier types for those.

 

[Fenris Wolf]

Finding quite a few planets with various geysers listed in the descriptions but haven't physically seen any yet on the surfaces.

Anyone found an easy(ish) way to spot them yet?

 

[Jon474]

I have never seen a blue POI marker.

My, so far unsuccessful, approach is:

All types of planets - HMC, Icy, Rocky etc.

Size is no object.

All types of volcanism - magma - iron, water etc, geysers - water, carbon dioxide, silicate vapour etc. Major or Minor.

Pick an area to start - zone of discolouration, interesting canyon, interesting crater, highest mountain, deepest valley.

Fly the ship down to somewhere between 50m to 2km and cruise at 229 m/s...until I get bored having not spotted anything.

The caveat to this is that I absolutely love flying around and about the surface of these planets. I have tried canyon-running in my T-6. Some fantastic sights are out there just waiting to be seen.

But...I'm not finding anything!

Flying happy
Jon
Type-6E

 

[CMDR MadRaptor]

We hunters seem to be finding great success on Rocky and Rocky ice world's that are at least 500 radius or below. Minimal strong geographic feature. I usually aim for the deeper darker looking canyons. The other night found 3 sites within 30 mins to an hour of searching.

 

[Mengy]

Anyone found an easy(ish) way to spot them yet?

I've found five geyser / fumerole sites so far, and there is no easy way to find them. It often takes a lot of slow searching, and I've left more planets in defeat than I have in victory. Here are some tips to improve the odds though:

- Only search small planets, less than 500km radius.
- Search canyons and discolored areas, or any area that looks very unique and strange.
- Ignore planets that are covered in tons of canyons and craters, because they have too many potential sites and finding anything there will be very unlikely.
- Stay above 2km but below 10km altitude, this gives you good visibility while also allowing you to use the radar.
- Set your ship scanner to full range. Every site I've found so far has had a small blue POI dot return on the radar, and its how I found all five. Not every site will have them, but I feel like most of them do.
- If you can, fly a ship with great visibility out of the cockpit. It's why I love the Asp / T6 / Keelback for geyser hunting.
- Fly a ship with as fast (and often) a boost speed as you can. The faster you can cover ground the more area you can search before giving up. This improves your odds of finding something by shear distance covered.

Good luck, and happy hunting. Hopefully someday Frontier improves the scanner mechanics so that we have search areas marked by the DSS instead of having to blindly search entire planets.

 

[Cmdr Frawd Digger]

I've found five geyser / fumerole sites so far, and there is no easy way to find them. It often takes a lot of slow searching, and I've left more planets in defeat than I have in victory. Here are some tips to improve the odds though:

- Only search small planets, less than 500km radius.
- Search canyons and discolored areas, or any area that looks very unique and strange.
- Ignore planets that are covered in tons of canyons and craters, because they have too many potential sites and finding anything there will be very unlikely.
- Stay above 2km but below 10km altitude, this gives you good visibility while also allowing you to use the radar.
- Set your ship scanner to full range. Every site I've found so far has had a small blue POI dot return on the radar, and its how I found all five. Not every site will have them, but I feel like most of them do.
- If you can, fly a ship with great visibility out of the cockpit. It's why I love the Asp / T6 / Keelback for geyser hunting.
- Fly a ship with as fast (and often) a boost speed as you can. The faster you can cover ground the more area you can search before giving up. This improves your odds of finding something by shear distance covered.

Good luck, and happy hunting. Hopefully someday Frontier improves the scanner mechanics so that we have search areas marked by the DSS instead of having to blindly search entire planets.

Thanks for all your responses Cmdrs.

Frawd

 

[Macedonica]

Great post and tips - just what I need. I am about to take the 'Wilderness of Tigers' into a low orbit about this stunning planet:

Spoiler

The aim is to focus in on the valley features using the deploy-able Aegis F SLF for low passes with the Keelback XE following through as my support vessel. High above me will be the the planet's rings framed by the sun and the Cepheus Dark Region. Should be quite a dramatic survey!

Spoiler

 

[varonica]

I have never seen a blue POI marker.

See this is explained by this;

Fly the ship down to somewhere between 50m to 2km and cruise at 229 m/s...until I get bored having not spotted anything.

Blue POI markers only appear if you are more than 2klms above the surface!

Your lack of luck in finding anything is a combination of all these;

All types of planets - HMC, Icy, Rocky etc.

Given the size they are all good targets, but usually, stay away from ones with large numbers of canyons if possible. I know that makes canyon running difficult, but it makes finding features very difficult;

Size is no object.

A 20,000 klm radius planet will have a searchable surface are of 5 billion, yes billion square kilometres, in which you are looking for maybe three sites 0f 50 or a 100 meters across. 300klm radius drops that around 1 million square kilometres, not sure of the exact number at the moment, I can look it up if you want exact figures, it sounds a lot but it is much more searchable than 5 BILLION!

All types of volcanism - magma - iron, water etc, geysers - water, carbon dioxide, silicate vapour etc. Major or Minor.

These are all fair enough, I suspect there are a number of types volcanism on one planet, given the difference in features in different areas;

Pick an area to start - zone of discolouration, interesting canyon, interesting crater, highest mountain, deepest valley.

Discolouration no, canyon yes, crater definitely no unless it has a canyon running through it, the heat of impact should melt the rock and form in impenetrable crust so geologically extremely unlikely, mountains no, valleys yes.

But...I'm not finding anything!

Flying happy
Jon
Type-6E

I'm all for canyon running, I do it myself a lot regardless of geysers etc, but when searching for geysers that's probably not the best tactic, it's not the worst, it does work sometimes, but it's not the best.

Stick between two and four kilometres up unless a really nice canyon lures you in for a bit of wall dodging!

Good luck out there.

 

[Jon474]

@Cmdr Varonica

Many thanks. A very useful guide. I will modify the search pattern as you suggest.

The search continues...

Flying happy
Jon
T-6E

 

[Satsuma]

If you have a chance, talk to CMDR Alesia (she's on the CCN Discord server). She's come up with a method that works really well. As proof, she's got 14 discoveries of geysers and/or life to her credit.

 

[tententacles]

Has anyone noticed, of those who have found them, if being on the day or night side of the planet has any bearing on the appearance of geysers?

 

[CMDR MadRaptor]

Has anyone noticed, of those who have found them, if being on the day or night side of the planet has any bearing on the appearance of geysers?

I do believe some seem to be more active once the sun hits. So I wouldn't say it's out of the picture and is a good technique to use if anything it helps with being able to see them stand out from the ground better than in the dark