So I've found 11 planets in total with Bio signals but only been able to find them on 6 of those planets. So anyone else having trouble finding them? I started with the SRV at first but end up flying low over the surface, but had no luck on 5 planets. I'm guessing a bug? Or not in the blue zones on planets? Not sure.....
Bio Signals, a lottery?
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They're in the blue zones, yes, but some of them are really hard to spot, or show up very sparsely. For instance, Cactoids and Fungoids are pretty sparse. Each species also has its own preferences for terrain type, and while it might generally appear in several types of terrain, there will usually be a specific preference which will allow you to find them more quickly. For instance, Shrubs grow mostly in hilly/rocky areas, and tussocks mostly on open dirt. The smaller ones require you to fly lower and slower to see them, as compared to larger plants. I try to stay below 150m (200m at the outside) and move slowly enough that the draw-latency in the graphics has time to make things appear before they're out of my field of view. This can sometimes be easier to accomplish with the landing gear deployed (though that prevents you from boosting to get away from a potential crash, or whatever, but then it might save you from crashing due to accidentally boosting too) 
EDIT: Here's an example I recorded last night:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS_YXQVtCYM
EDIT: Here's an example I recorded last night:
I've had several planets where the place I touched down simply doesn't have the types of bio the coverage map suggests. I think it's an interaction with the terrain type - how mountainous it is etc. that can preclude them from appearing. Frankly, until there's a better way of locating bio and geo on foot or in the SRV it's really not worth searching very hard. Just put down in a nice flat zone in the blue and see what's there. Don't bother if the ground is too broken, or the area is too hilly. You can't see far enough to spot things readily from the surface, and even if you do find something from the air good luck landing anywhere near it.
If they're plants, they're usually easy to find just by flying down to soemwhere in the blue area, then fly slowly (like 100 m/s or even less) and low (50 meters high), After about 15 / 30 seconds using headlook (if you use TrackIR or Tobii it will be easier and feel very natural) I usually spot the stuff. Most of the time it's little "forests", sometimes they're sparser. But it rarely takes more than 30 seconds of flying low and slow to find them with headlook.
Bacteria on the other hand will be very hard to spot from the air, best to drop the SRV or walk and use the scanner ping.
Bacteria on the other hand will be very hard to spot from the air, best to drop the SRV or walk and use the scanner ping.
It's very hit and miss, I spent two hours flying over one planet and found nothing. Maybe it was because it was one of those planets that are covered with canyons, who knows, just got to get lucky I suppose. I think they need to make the bio signatures easier to spot. I don't think many cmdrs will be bothered to spend hours looking for them.
What's the difference between the light-blue areas and dark-blue?
The dark-blue areas seem to be rougher terrain, but are the organisms more likely to be in the darker areas?
I found two planets with Fungoids listed but have yet to find any. What am I looking for? A spot on the ground like the bacterial colonies? Or something like a mushroom?
Would those be more likely in craters shadows or dark areas?
I found a planet yesterday with 8 bio signals listed and significant differences in the heat map for a few of the species.
I found 5 easily in one general area but was unable to find any others despite an extended aerial search @200m@100mps
I've given up on searching for bacterium since I find them difficult to spot and my time could better be spent in traveling to the next planet.
If I can't find all of the species in a reasonably short time, I just take what I have and move on.
The dark-blue areas seem to be rougher terrain, but are the organisms more likely to be in the darker areas?
I found two planets with Fungoids listed but have yet to find any. What am I looking for? A spot on the ground like the bacterial colonies? Or something like a mushroom?
Would those be more likely in craters shadows or dark areas?
I found a planet yesterday with 8 bio signals listed and significant differences in the heat map for a few of the species.
I found 5 easily in one general area but was unable to find any others despite an extended aerial search @200m@100mps
I've given up on searching for bacterium since I find them difficult to spot and my time could better be spent in traveling to the next planet.
If I can't find all of the species in a reasonably short time, I just take what I have and move on.
Ozric
Volunteer Moderator
I think it's just a representation of the height map, and another reason why I think it shows it's not working properly.
I personally always land before I start looking, because I find that some things don't pop into existence until I do. I also tend to just get out in my SRV and drive around. As Orvidius said you begin to learn the terrain where you can find different genus, but also some species within a genus like to grow in different areas. Fungodia are a good example, Gelata you will find in open areas whereas Setisis are in very hilly/mountainous terrain.
So far, the fungoids I've found were relatively small (height of grass / tussocks), and in small groups that tend to be in the hills and more rough terrain. If you're flying right at 200m altitude, you might be too high. I'd try to stay down around 100m to find those. The pop-in distance, combined with their size, makes them harder to find from higher up. Some of them glow due to a bug currently, and if you find those, they're extremely hard to miss... but you still have to be low enough, or the pop-in may still make you miss them.
Got a couple of pictures, Fungoida Setsis Yellow, and you aren't kidding they like hills and rough terrain;
I didn't get to sample these, they were the only ones I found on the planet, the reason I didn't get to sample them? You see that view? You see this mountain, guess where they were, yes 7klms up with nowhere to land!
Yep, that's exactly what I was referring to.
This is why I'm in my DBX at the moment. Sometimes... sometimes, you can land that thing in those places. 
I've not had much trouble finding most of them. When things are a big blue blob, the things have been pretty much everywhere I've looked. However, I'm currently on a planet that is supposed to have Bark Mounds. Cannot find those anywhere. I'm wondering if there's a bug with those, because I went to a couple of planets that said 2 biosigns, and the map gave Bark Mounds and Anemones. I did not find bark mounds, but I did find 2 different types of Anemone on both planets. The current planet just says 1, but can't find them anywhere.
Do they show up on the srv pulse wave scanner? I know Anemones do, but none of the atmo stuff I've seen so far does.The bark mounds are there, but they're very sparse. They seem to like rocky terrain, but can be out in the open too. But frequently there will only be one or two in any given place, and only occasionally more. I was joking recently that we now have a second reason to hate bark mounds.
Edit: Oh yeah, bacterial colonies can be a knighmare too, depending on terrain and bacteria type. I have to say, it was only today I realised the codex told you how far you need to be between samples for each bio type. Doh. (I suppose I'm just not used to the codex giving actual useful information
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There are very definitely occasions where an area that is supposed to contain a particular type of bio simply doesn't, no matter how far you look. Whether it's a bug in the coverage map, a bug in the procedural surface generation, or a bug in the renderer (I frequently encounter invisible bio among patches of visible ones; maybe sometimes all of them are invisible) I can't say, but sometimes they are just not there to find - and once you've spent 10 minutes looking for even one patch you start to feel like you've been made a fool of.
We need a directional guide specific to bio type, at the very least.
We need a directional guide specific to bio type, at the very least.
You know, that's a good question. I didn't try. I've been landing next them (the bark mounds) and sampling them on foot, without using the SRV. The Odyssey life doesn't show up, I know that much, but didn't test it with the Horizons life forms.
I haven't had a chance to verify, but I think the SRV picks up the material that grows on it, not the bio itself. So if the type you're looking for has material growths, you can find it with the SRV. Otherwise, not.
I can confirm the SRV scanner still picks up material that grows in Brain Trees, curiously Crystal Spikes don't appear to have mats at all now, but it's also clear from when I visited Crystal Spike planet they were also no longer associated with vulcanism like they used to be. So Bark Mounds probably yes, Brain Trees certainly yes, Crystal Spikes no.
Interestingly, the crystals are mentioned in today's patch notes, so they should be spawning mats again (the typo is not mine) :
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Update 2 | Horizons Update
Greetings Commanders, Today at 08:00 UTC / 09:00 BST, we released 'Update 2' to address a number of issues in Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, as well as an update for Elite Dangerous: Horizons PC and Console players. Patch notes for issues addressed are listed below. Thank you once again for your...