Better Reward Structure for Exploration Needed

andyseam · Jul 28, 2015

I'm away exploring now...have been for 2 months....I scan everything, be it ice, rock Planets to Waterworlds etc.
Worked out that with what I have currently scanned, my profit would only be about 30,000,000. That is pretty poor for 2 months exploring. ( This may change with a 50% bonus for being first to discover)
ED you need to give more of an incentive for Cmdrs' to want to go exploring.

I do enjoy exploring, but be nicer to get a bit more than offered at the moment.

I'm off now, I'm only 3,500 Ly's from leesti, still loads to explore.

Surly_Badger · Jul 28, 2015

You just said you enjoy it, but that others might do it if they were better compensated. Those are kind of contradictory statements. If others enjoy it (as you do) they'd do it regardless of whether the compensation was better. Understanding that in-game "money" is worthless, isn't the "compensation" for doing anything in a game the pleasure of doing it?

jadefriendly · Jul 28, 2015

i'm quite happy with the financial side of exploring.
i'd like to see cash for asteroid belts, but the rest of it feels very well compensated for me - especially with first-tagged bonuses.

different work pays differently, i wish people would stop asking for everything to be nerfed to an identical beige.

Bacalao · Jul 28, 2015

I agree that it needs looking at, perhaps not the most pressing issue, but does need some tweaks. I think smart exploring should be rewarded. Finding valuable things, in good locations (proximal to other valuable things) should make those things even more valuable (ALL THE THINGS). I can see why scanning so many dead rocks isn't valuable though. To me, scanning all the icy moons in a system for completion is like a bounty hunter going after a wing of sidewinders with a 2,000 credit bounty on each of them because he saw them first while the system security finish off a 100k bounty python a couple kilometers away. Or a trader loading up on biowaste because there is really high supply here and really high demand there while palladium would have been 10x as profitable. Sure, I suppose we all have our rules of engagement but there are certainly more efficient ways to do it.

I think an explorer who learns to use his system and galaxy map to search good planets and stars near each other should be able to make a pretty decent living (risk/reward taken into account, there isn't much threat of dying after you are 1,000Ly away from Sol). Sadly it isn't about being smart, it's about being fast.

gooddoc · Jul 28, 2015

But exploration isn't about making profit, when compared with trading & pewpew, it's pretty poor returns.

Iv been back from the core for a week now, btw my 3 1/2 month trip netted me about 140 mil credits. But since i returned iv been bumbling around, not really doing anything.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what to do next & where to go.....then i'm away back into the black.

Engadine · Jul 28, 2015

andyseam said:
I'm away exploring now...have been for 2 months....I scan everything, be it ice, rock Planets to Waterworlds etc.
Worked out that with what I have currently scanned, my profit would only be about 30,000,000. That is pretty poor for 2 months exploring. ( This may change with a 50% bonus for being first to discover)
ED you need to give more of an incentive for Cmdrs' to want to go exploring.

I do enjoy exploring, but be nicer to get a bit more than offered at the moment.

I'm off now, I'm only 3,500 Ly's from leesti, still loads to explore.

OP, is this your first outing? It sounds like it is.

Exploring isn't a cash cow, this has been well known for a long time.

The rewards have been tweaked once already and I think they're fine as they are with two exceptions, but certainly not deal breakers if they never get implemented: -

Have some reward for scanning Belts and be rewarded on their content/richness.
A bonus on completing a full system scan.

Exploring is also quality over quantity. You mention that you're scanning Ice as well, this can add a considerable amount of time to your trip and in some systems probably not worth it if you're looking for credits. I do scan Ice from time to time, but normally only if there's a few and it'll mean the complete system has my Tag on it, with the exception of the Belts.

Everyone has a different approach to how they Explore, there is no right or wrong way. Do it as you wish, but IMO Exploring shouldn't be nerfed to fall in line with other trades in the game when it comes to credits.

Sapient6 · Jul 28, 2015

In general, I disagree. Exploring is a very under-developed profession, what it needs is CONTENT. Add content and the payouts wouldn't need to increase at all. Who cares if you make money exploring? That money is not going to make you better at exploring.

If the payout is to increase, though, it should only increase for detailed surface scans. Honking on your way through without looking at anything already pays too much.

Zwei34 · Jul 28, 2015

To test the money making viability of exploration, I went out from July 8th to July 24th with a Diamondback Explorer specifically to target neutron stars and black holes (32,000 - 40,000 cr a piece) in the infamous and vastly unexplored Neutron Belts about 16,000 light years from SOL. I came back with over 600 surveyed neutron stars and around 1800 systems visited. I only stopped to scan Water Worlds, Earth-Like Worlds, and Ammonia Worlds and used the advanced disco scanner for the rest while using the fastest routes to and from the fields (I got my routes down to about 45 minutes per 1000 light years).

All told, I yielded 73.5 million credits for the trip that only took 17 days (a couple hours a day and some marathon sessions on the weekends). I am now a Pioneer; nearly Elite.

Like most parts of this game (and any game where credits or money can be made), if you're solely looking to make credits there are "fast" ways to do so. My trip was a fun experiment and I'll probably do it again to get my Elite rank -- it isn't necessarily what people expect one to do (farming neutrons), but there are efficient ways to make money if that's your goal. All this being said, if you have a Python or a ship with a large cargo hold you could make 73.5 million over the same period just trading back and forth for an hour or two a day -- if making cash was really your goal.

CMDR Harada · Jul 28, 2015

Zwei34 said:
To test the money making viability of exploration, I went out from July 8th to July 24th with a Diamondback Explorer specifically to target neutron stars and black holes (32,000 - 40,000 cr a piece) in the infamous and vastly unexplored Neutron Belts about 16,000 light years from SOL. I came back with over 600 surveyed neutron stars and around 1800 systems visited. I only stopped to scan Water Worlds, Earth-Like Worlds, and Ammonia Worlds and used the advanced disco scanner for the rest while using the fastest routes to and from the fields (I got my routes down to about 45 minutes per 1000 light years).

All told, I yielded 73.5 million credits for the trip that only took 17 days (a couple hours a day and some marathon sessions on the weekends). I am now a Pioneer; nearly Elite.

Like most parts of this game (and any game where credits or money can be made), if you're solely looking to make credits there are "fast" ways to do so. My trip was a fun experiment and I'll probably do it again to get my Elite rank -- it isn't necessarily what people expect one to do (farming neutrons), but there are efficient ways to make money if that's your goal. All this being said, if you have a Python or a ship with a large cargo hold you could make 73.5 million over the same period just trading back and forth for an hour or two a day -- if making cash was really your goal.

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In my experience, that payout is way outside the norm. But farming neutrons is lots more profitable than just exploring so I agree it is possible if you know what you're looking for and have a good jump range. My own 8k LY trip took two weeks, a few hours a night, and I made 12 million. I was just larking around and not trying to turn a profit. Somewhere in between is probably pretty reasonable on what to expect, although I'd say not much more than double mine.
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Now consider what you can make BH'ing, or hitting a CZ or good RES, and that credit per hour ratio with exploring starts to look pretty poor. 17 days, at a couple of hours a day ( with marathon sessions ), we can average that to roughly 3.5 hours a day. Divided by credits earned.... comes out to roughly a million an hour. Ouch. We're not talking about trading which blows every other profession out of the water profit-wise ( and also qualifies as most boring ).
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Now, I agree, explorers and exploring shouldn't be focused on credits. But there has to be something 'out there' to find. Space hulks, abandoned alien colonies, lost human 'sleeper' ships, talking space parrots, radiation belts with strange properties... SOMETHING. As it stands now, it's "jump-honk-jump-honk.. Ohh.. ELW, lets take a closer look" or for the more OCD crowd "Jump-honk-SC.....Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, SC... Disco-scan, SC..... Disco-scan, SC.... Disco-scan, Jump-Honk".