Change Exploration Data acquired from previously-scanned planets to 'tactical data'.

[DemiserofD]

It doesn't make very much sense that Universal Cartographics would pay the same amount for scans of the same planet over and over again.

But what might make sense is other governments paying for tactical data on their enemy's movements. Even just knowing that a planet remains uninhabited can be useful in that context.

So change it from Exploration Data, sold to Universal Cartographics, to Tactical Data. When you scan a previously-scanned planet you get a data package with the same value as the current data, and you can then sell it to other powers.

That way, it makes more sense.

 

[Greasetrap42]

Perhaps with diminishing payback based on when it was last scanned. Therefore scans in the bubble usually worthless. Maybe make scans of planets with emerging settlements have a small bonus.

Some planets in the bubble (or elsewhere) could have the designation "teraforming in process" making scans full value.

 

[Erei]

The "road to riches" bubble scanning serve a purpose. It's a good early game way to get money as a wanabee explorer, when all you have is a sidewinder, or perhaps a hauler. It will pay for the DBX, which allow for further scanning. Also, teach you how you do it in a safe environment (DSS, jump+honking, FSS, scooping, landing, exobio....).
When you start out, you have to remember that pretty much everything in a 800ly radius around you is explored. Except for a bunch of no money rocks starting at like 250-500ly. You need something for new players, to learn the rope and hopefully unlock their first explo ship. 800-1K ly with a top end 70ly explo ship is 10jumps, but for a new player with no dual engineered module, no anaconda, no Guardian FSD booster, no "lightweight" engineering and so on, we are not looking at 70ly. We are looking at 30ly top.
And 800-1K ly is the absolute minimum. You have a few unexplored system there, but not many. My first discovery is about 1800ly from the bubble.

Quick build a new player is probably going to use :
hauler->25ly. Not to expensive at 1.5mil
basic DBX->nearly 40ly. Relatively expensive at 9.6mil
Asp X : initial "big" goal for a new player explorer->36ly but better scoop than DBX (QOL). Very expensive at 37mil
The Asp is likely to be the one they'll use to unlock most of the good stuff for exploration. Dual engineered FSD, FSD booster mostly. Eventually, their exploration will pay for a phantom for a slight upgrade. But they aren't new player at this point.

As a wanabee explorer when I started, I barely had enough for the DSS initially (225k is a lot in the starting area, when you don't know how the game works). I scanned some nearby planets with the sidewinder, made enough for the hauler. Which was quite the amount of money.
Then went "road to riches". Made enough to buy an asp, but poorly fitted (it was quite a grind). Then I used that asp to leave the bubble on my first exploration trip.

So no, I wouldn't nerf it. I would, however, buff the "undiscovered" payout.

The issue is the ratio of reward you get between bubble "already explored world" vs "new undiscovered world". Right now, it's probably more efficient to go for road to riches, than to explore the unknown, even if we don't take into account the lengthy travel time to get there. And even if it's the same efficiency, it's not enough.
-Newly discovered world need to award more.
-Exobio need to pay A LOT more (it's very time consuming for practically nothing)
-The bonus for fully scanning a newly/partially discovered system need to increase drastically (I heard there is one, but it's so pititful you don't notice it). That would help new players, as they could simply finish scanning already discovered system around the bubble, and get money for it. Also, would help the "scan only interesting planet" syndrom the game has, leaving most system half scanned if at all.

I made roughly 250mil all combined (including exobio) for a week of explo, far enough from the bubble so that all the FGK stars where unexplored. Lots of terraformanble HMW, many WW, some ammonia and ELW. Which is quite a haul a newbie is not going to get, since all GFK stars are explored on a large radius around the bubble. WW are going to be rare, and ELW/Ammonia world are pretty much the holy grail.
That's very low for all the time I spent getting there, all the gear I have and so on. I would have made a ton more bounty hunting, or trading or whatever inside the bubble. And that's just wrong.

For reference, since I bookmarked my exploration milestone as a new player :
-1400ly first discovered system
-1800ly first important discovery (a WW). System was already discovered, but not the planet (guy just honked)
-2400ly first EWL discovery. The system map is buggy and I can't access it (forever "loading", doesn't show everything). System was also already discovered, but the guy didn't map the EWL, for some reason.

Do note that I went in a very weird direction to avoid places people have been to. At a 45° angle "up" from the bubble, basically.

 

[Greasetrap42]

The "road to riches" bubble scanning serve a purpose. It's a good early game way to get money as a wanabee explorer, when all you have is a sidewinder, or perhaps a hauler.

I believe the OP's thought is that following a pre-made path and scanning stuff that has already been done thousands of times isn't really "exploration" and not worthy of much payout. Additional mechanisms to give it a sense of worth and value would be nice.

My daughter enjoyed exploring our back yard. But nobody is going to pay her money for her discoveries. Maybe some ice cream in the summer. If she cleans up the dog poop she will get a big bonus.

 

[Erei]

I believe the OP's thought is that following a pre-made path and scanning stuff that has already been done thousands of times isn't really "exploration" and not worthy of much payout. Additional mechanisms to give it a sense of worth and value would be nice.

My daughter enjoyed exploring our back yard. But nobody is going to pay her money for her discoveries. Maybe some ice cream in the summer. If she cleans up the dog poop she will get a big bonus.

OFC it's not. But it's a game, and just like the starting system are full of sidewinder pirate ready to die for some reason, already scanned planet that give some reward need to exist.


And to be fair, I don't see why they'd pay for the bajilion terraformable planet near Sag A or Beagle point, where we'll never settle, either. Or in basically the middle of nowhere like I was recently.
But game mechanic>lore when needed.

 

[Greasetrap42]

Agreed. As per the OP's suggestion.

Edit: My addition expands on the idea to encourage commanders to do more than follow a pre-made path. And if we add planets with settlements then there are even more things to scan and make money. And it makes ingame sense.

 

[Brrokk]

It doesn't make very much sense that Universal Cartographics would pay the same amount for scans of the same planet over and over again.

But what might make sense is other governments paying for tactical data on their enemy's movements. Even just knowing that a planet remains uninhabited can be useful in that context.

So change it from Exploration Data, sold to Universal Cartographics, to Tactical Data. When you scan a previously-scanned planet you get a data package with the same value as the current data, and you can then sell it to other powers.

That way, it makes more sense.

It's another respect in which ED is really a disguised single-player game. When you scan a planet, that's the first time it's been scanned.