blue lines linking systems in galaxy map

[rumtruffle]

these indicate where i can go?
whats the reasoning behind where you can and cannot go?
(they cant indicate jump range because ive got lines linking loads of them upto 20 or 30lys away. and other systems about 9lys there are no lines leading them at all, and i cant figure out how to get there despite bulletin board missions asking me to go there)

 

[Toscaner]

they should indicate the jump-range - but there's options in the navigation tab that can change that
- economic route vs. fastest route
- cargo load

maybe it's still buggy sometimes, then you should still be able to target the system in the nav-system (left tab), or set the destination in the map

 

[killminster]

The blue lines should connect to stars you can jump to. But only if it's a line between two stars. If it is several stars connected by a blue line, that would indicate a possible route you could take as you would be able to jump to all of those stars one after the the other.

If there are blue line to stars you can't jump to then they are probably interrupted by one or more stars along its length. Or they may be systems that require a permit.

 

[Janichsan]

The blue lines should connect to stars you can jump to. But only if it's a line between two stars.

Not necessarily. Depending on your map settings ("Most economic" or "fastest"), you can sometimes also jump to a specific system when there is no line directly connecting it to your current location.

 

[Falkenherz]

I think the lines are just connecting the closest systems. I can usually jump farther than those lines, regardless of economic or fastest settings. I guess the latter settings will only really kick in once a true route finder has been established.

 

[CMDR Sheehy]

One thing I noticed, as Falkenherz says, is that you can jump to systems that are not directly connected by the blue lines. It seems to be that they indicate routes rather than connections...

 

[Alymon]

I think the lines are just connecting the closest systems. I can usually jump farther than those lines, regardless of economic or fastest settings. I guess the latter settings will only really kick in once a true route finder has been established.

That's generally my experience as well. The lines help guide your path, but I can frequently jump beyond the first system they are connected to in a more dense area.

My guess is that they connect to every system under a certain LY range and that it has no relevance to your personal LY range.

 

[rumtruffle]

ok.

so, how do i get to these systems that are not connected by blue lines (eg. one thats 9ly away) ?
- do i upgrade my ship, or will just upgrading the FSD on my sidey do?

 

[Sounder Deeps]

ok.

so, how do i get to these systems that are not connected by blue lines (eg. one thats 9ly away) ?
- do i upgrade my ship, or will just upgrading the FSD on my sidey do?

That could work, or switch to eagle or hauler then get to where you are going and buy/sell what you need. Hauler is the most economical for jump range, but it's a bus. I've used it to travel, then switched ships again.

 

[FaolGlas]

So, you might see a connection to a system 14 ly away, from location to one system 7 ly away to the next one that is 14 ly from your location. The one 9 ly you may not be able to reach - if your drive has an 8 ly range, and that system is 9 ly away from ANY system, there is no way for you to jump to it, as you can't make that single 9 ly jump. But, further systems you can still reach with a series of jumps that are all less than your 8 ly range.

Make ship lighter (buy lighter versions of the systems, strip out systems), buy a better FSD, change to a ship with a longer range, to extend where you can get to!

 

[turkina]

I think they are very, very long pieces of string to help you not to get lost.
I still seem to get lost though, think I must be following someone else's string!

 

[InfiniteGremlins]

The lines show the path to distant systems. As other people have posted above, they don't show all of the paths, just the ones that match the current navigation settings, which you can change on the navigation tab.

My guess is that the way the pathing works is that it starts at the far star and traces a route to either your current location or another star that you already have a path to. Basically, one route per star to your current location.

There are two general modes: economical and fastest. Long jumps take a signifigantly greater amount of fuel than the same distance covered in several little jumps, so fuel-wise, short jumps may be a good idea. You can use the slider to adjust the search to your personal range. It goes between your range empty to your range fully loaded.

As you've noticed, more distant stars are also connected, but via other systems, so you can see the chain of jumps that would take you to that point.

Buying an FSD is the easiest way to upgrade your jump range (look in high-tech systems and don't forget to check your power usage too). Other ships, such as the hauler, also tend to have better jump range, but you'd probably want to get a Hauler + upgrade its FSD for maximum range.