Some Odyssey biologicals, especially the bacteria, can be pretty frustrating to search for. The draw distance comes pretty heavily into play too. As you need to travel a bit to archieve the genetic diversity, it's quite natural to use the SRV and the SRV should have some tools to help beside aiming things with the composition scanner to see if it blips. Adding biological signal to the SRV wave scanner seems like an obvious solution to me. In fact, I suggest 2 kinds of signals: One for biologicals in general and other for the kind you currently have a partial sample for.
Biological signals to the SRV wave scanner
- Thread starter Kissamies
- Start date
-
- Tags
- biological srvs xenobiologist
Another approach would be applying the DSS filter types to the SRV (and ship) radars. It would work like this:
1. In Supercruise near planet, Commander engages DSS, chooses bacteria filter, and uses former heat map to find areas with coverage.
2. Commander approaches planet, drops out of supercruise, and looks for the blue circles formerly used for transient POIs while flying at 2+ km altitude. With the filter engaged, the blue circles represent areas where only bacteria can be found.
3. At blue circle, Commander disembarks in the SRV, and looks for signals on the wave scanner (which only reacts to bacteria at this point).
Probeulator's scan mode should probably also respond to the selected signal filter, and there needs to be a better directional component. The SRV should get commanders close to the signal with the probeulator giving more precise information.
1. In Supercruise near planet, Commander engages DSS, chooses bacteria filter, and uses former heat map to find areas with coverage.
2. Commander approaches planet, drops out of supercruise, and looks for the blue circles formerly used for transient POIs while flying at 2+ km altitude. With the filter engaged, the blue circles represent areas where only bacteria can be found.
3. At blue circle, Commander disembarks in the SRV, and looks for signals on the wave scanner (which only reacts to bacteria at this point).
Probeulator's scan mode should probably also respond to the selected signal filter, and there needs to be a better directional component. The SRV should get commanders close to the signal with the probeulator giving more precise information.
AGREE! I like all of this. I have posted about this as well. Something needs to be done.
I see it as levels of detail. So scan system Honk. Scan signals FSS. Scan planet DSS. Land in hotspot, make the DSS hotspot map function like night vision but requires the ship to be in scan mode. It can be turned on and off and lasts all the way through to atmo flight. Changing types can be done by making it a function of the ship's scan mode. Scan with SRV to find it. Give them unique visual patterns and sounds. Go up to the node. Clock in. Go to work.
Totally agree.
I see it as levels of detail. So scan system Honk. Scan signals FSS. Scan planet DSS. Land in hotspot, make the DSS hotspot map function like night vision but requires the ship to be in scan mode. It can be turned on and off and lasts all the way through to atmo flight. Changing types can be done by making it a function of the ship's scan mode. Scan with SRV to find it. Give them unique visual patterns and sounds. Go up to the node. Clock in. Go to work.
Totally agree.
I guess the wave scanner probably does need a rethink now POI's have changed so drastically but I had real fun other night driving SRV like a tank (through turret) using composition scanner to bleep alert me of bacteria, which I pinpointed with the held unit.
Most bologicals you can see easily from a distance anyway but I think there's some positives if one or two samples hide .. just a bit. Otherwise isn't finding them just a bit inane? It takes away any real reason to stay on the planet more than 60 seconds, take selfie and go if it doesn't take you a few minutes - and it only took me a few - to find things?
Then you can feel good you had both the skill and the fortitude to find them in your codex.
Most bologicals you can see easily from a distance anyway but I think there's some positives if one or two samples hide .. just a bit. Otherwise isn't finding them just a bit inane? It takes away any real reason to stay on the planet more than 60 seconds, take selfie and go if it doesn't take you a few minutes - and it only took me a few - to find things?
Then you can feel good you had both the skill and the fortitude to find them in your codex.
To use the "cool kids" term, I don't feel like FDEV wrote user stories. There should be a clear narrative that guides the development to create an integrated experience from entering the system to dropping the working the node. I don't get any sense that the exploration/discovery loop was designed; individual features were altered or added with little consideration to how they should fit into the larger narrative.
Yes there's no reason why we can't have some sort of tools, the wave scanner traditionally has been a sort of metal detector, and that was fine when all bio and geo sites came with mats, they don't now so we are missing a tool to help find bio if it's the rare and/or hard to find stuff. Since they nerfed the heat maps to be just location maps they could at least give us something to indicate where they are most likely to be found. That heat map nerfing really annoyed me. I really don't have issues with geo, but I almost never chase bacteria, it's not worth the time and effort at the moment.
Fully agree on this, there should be a mode we can switch to within the SRV itself that would allow us to detect bio's easier than it is now.
Also on the genetic diversity, not on bacteria but bios, you only need to go a few hundred meters away to get a different diversity on the biological.
As I said just above here, an SRV mode for bios would be cool, some of the bios I actually have missed, Ianded on top of a bunch and didn't realize it till I had to go back and scan them with the sampler.
So having a mode for them would be cool, have a sound or have a wave scanner we can use like the PWA but for bios.
So I think that might be held back in the launch phase till they get the bugs worked on. Remember there are two new SRV's in the code that have been found, we still don't know the details of them yet, I'm assuming one is a exploration/trade one, and the other is probably a combat one, the current SRV is a great SRV I've enjoyed driving it, I enjoy driving it more in odyssey cause I spin out less when I'm flying across planets at top speed. But I agree we need an SRV that is able to switch into a biological scan mode so we can pick them up, like a sonar ping for example which we have with the genetic sampler.
Er , wouldn't 'be' cool .. IS cool.
Existing loop; From surface scan there are bacteria, so analysis mode, composition scanner. Steer through rocks and geologicals on drive assist. Use turret to scan horizon, or area in front of vehicle, other techniques may exist. Beep means you found one, disembark, apply heat radar and scan. That's a loop and it gives a real sense of a Mars rover, LOOKING for life, too.
Bacteria are my favourite primordial slime at the moment precisely because they're difficult to find .. and that gives them extra value for me. (Gold isn't expensive because it's easy to come by.) I'm sure you'll get your way and the wave scanner will get tuned in but I personally hope Frontier can do better than, "I've landed, where's the life, there, click, leave." The problem being that if the wave scanner is too good, it takes away the fun of actually finding things. I hope it's kept away from biology and gets kept for mining.
The SRV wave scanner doesn't find life, it finds minerals associated with the older life like Brain Trees, and vulcanism, the new life on atmospheric planets doesn't have associated minerals so it doesn't show it at all, the volcanic sites do so they still show like the old sites.
Hence my starting this thread. I am suggesting making it so that it does find life.
Fantastic idea, but watch out, this is a slippery slope. If we have SRVs being useful for scanning bio, we might end up with SRV cargo collection/delivery missions, SRV detailed surface/subsurface scanning of geo, SRV vs SRV combat missions and other gameplay loops that make the SRV really useful.
This bugs me about FD and how they add features into the game. If you think "we will make a new ranking system in exobiology" and a bunch of new bio into a complete game with ship, SRV, legs, a mission system, passenger system, etc. You should address how to include the feature all facets of the game. If there is money to be made from bio, then factions are going to want a part of it and drive a few missions, passengers are going to want to see it, ships and SRVs should be able to detect it, etc. All that is not even considering the actual exobiology rank gameplay.
This bugs me about FD and how they add features into the game. If you think "we will make a new ranking system in exobiology" and a bunch of new bio into a complete game with ship, SRV, legs, a mission system, passenger system, etc. You should address how to include the feature all facets of the game. If there is money to be made from bio, then factions are going to want a part of it and drive a few missions, passengers are going to want to see it, ships and SRVs should be able to detect it, etc. All that is not even considering the actual exobiology rank gameplay.
The DSS overlay could be useful on the planetary map too. Add a toggle to that so you can show the blue overlay.
Definitely could be useful to have the SRV scanner detect bio signals though. Especially when hunting for bacteria that's just lying flat on the surface...
Definitely could be useful to have the SRV scanner detect bio signals though. Especially when hunting for bacteria that's just lying flat on the surface...
Ooh, I like this... and add the same ability to switch overlays as with surface scanner when you have multiple sorts of bio/geo.