News Chapter Four - Exploration Reveal

[Red Anders]

I think people would to that if FDev hadn't straight-out wiped the focused feedback forums. Right now replying to the original thread expecting to get any kind of feedback back from FDev is pointless.

To be honest I'm not bothered about getting feedback from them, at this stage at least. I just want to make sure they get ours clearly.

I'm waiting for the open only crowd to explain how exploration was designed for PvP and how bad it is people can explore in safety in PG/solo

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...ver-Going-To?p=6990339&viewfull=1#post6990339

 

[Old Duck]

If the system has a nav beacon then the ADS should at least automatically download the info from the nav beacon in lieu of being able to honk the system as we currently do. Having to always visit a nav beacon to get the system info will get old very quickly (especially if you're carrying cargo).

I second this motion, both from a gameplay perspective and a "that's how it should work in 3304" perspective.

 

[NMS]

I don't like the Discovery Scanner method. It will do nothing more than make exploration even more time consuming. Good luck finding anything interesting when you have to spend 10-15 minutes looking at a screen looking for signals then finding the usual rocky bodies. It makes no sense to make basic system exploration this cumbersome. We're in the 34th century and we have to manually look for even the biggest planets and gas giants? This makes no sense to me. This will make people not want to go far because they will have to spend much more time in every single system.

The rest is quite good in my opinion, although I would still like to see proper planetary coordination. The ability to finally set routes to a given coordinate on a planet's surface and not turn around aimlessly in orbital cruise to figure out the heading. I think the game needs proper planetary navigation now.

But most importantly: We need more to do out there. It is useless to make the exploration process even more tedious than it already is if there's nothing worthy out there. Honking, looking at the system map, evaluating if there's a worthy planet and jumping away to the next system works now because other than credits there's nothing on the planets worth looking for. Why should we spend even more time looking for gravitational anomalies if all we find is more barren rocks?

What we need on planets is:

- Points of interests pinpointed after surface mapping (not just Guardian structures but crashed satellites, unknown bases etc.)
- Said points of interests should sometimes come with side quests. Messages sent to a given destination, NPCs contacting us with requests etc.
- More surface variety. New and more interesting surface features. Right now there are only some hills and very few canyons here and there.

I really don't see the point of the new discovery method. Spending so much time on this new screen, "calibrating" the scanner here and there only to not find anything. Because 99.9% of systems are uninteresting right now. It's not gameplay to make an existing feature more complicated. Also, I recommend playing Mass Effect 2 if you want to know how "planet scanning" is such a boring and tedious process. And it was even more simple there than here. I appreciate the developers trying to make exploration more involving but without any incentive this is just overcomplicating it.

Exactly. And new mechanics without new content, does not change anything

 

[rootsrat]

** QUESTION **

Will the objects like Voyager have their own unique energy signature, so we are able to properly find them?

 

[krylite]

I think after Q4 exploration update this is biggest challenge for FD and I will guess they will try to figure out how to make that work - otherwise surface scan can be pretty boring if nothing happens in 20 times against 1. There can be more geological features, currently we have lot of them, but in grand scheme of things FD has scratched just a surface. Smaller Guardian or Thargoid relicts? Like totems, signal towers...And yes, planets shouldn't be littered with them, but still...

Yes, what could there be to find other than what ED has currently? And I wouldn't want it littered in a smorgasboard overstuffed way like NMS either. I like how ED is far more hard sci-fi and stellar forge - solar system generated. Along with the nice unique geological features to be discovered , and hopefully more unique ones as ED is upgraded, I could imagine and prefer more human related discoveries, like lost civilizations that survived from lost colony megaships hundreds of years ago, a shipwreck where a survivor became his own Crusoe, human made artifacts and structures. From sci-fi worlds with very few aliens or none at all, such as Asimov's human only galaxy, there were several colony worlds where humans had their own "plantation" like worlds with robots as workers as depicted in "Robots of Dawn". Of course future atmospherics would help with these details much farther along, such as flora and fauna transported from Earth long ago, and eventually adapting or mutating to the new world's particular gravity, climate , and other characteristics. In the end, I hope FD keeps current Elite lore which seems to suggest very few aliens almost none or one in a galaxy kind of what we have now with aliens either being most likely extra-galactic, astronomically ancient, or even from another dimension per the thargoid mystery.

 

[Daish]

Firstly the Update sounds like a good on:

Replace flying time in game.... This is a very welcome move as we spend more time in flight than actual gameplay with the fun element involved so this is good, Hopefully this may be implemented in other areas of the game in the near future.

Random USS replacing also sounds good, ...Q will several USS be able to be targeted and stored in the ship system to visit one after each other??

Reduce time to find planet surface locations:.... Ok this is a big move but Q.will this involve ALL surface locations, I.e, wreck ships, probes, buildings, cargo etc,etc not sure that reduce would be a great improvement if all lets say metallic items where now detectable then great, please don't limit this new system.

Overall less in flight time and the more depth at quicker location means for better gameplay, more immersion, better finds, which will also help for future game play. Keeping the new systems to be implemented into the game all need to be player focused and not in any way show signs of excessive hate to say grind, but easy to understand reliable actions.

Q..Will a lot of thought be taken into account of the new systems actions for example detailed information on what scanners are finding, adding some immersion even narrative to this as well, with the new screens that are adding, making sure that for example again, scanners have located a wreck ship! type of ship maybe a hint at large cargo or smaller fighter tempting us to locate it, also giving us info: on % of cargo located near it etc, It would be a shame to have very basic info:esp: at this stage of the game.

Q...Location pin pointing once a planet has been scanned will there be accurate info: on its location and hopefully not "it's near here"???!!! type info, again Elite is set in the future so we really need things to locate on a quicker basis rather than steeping back by adding flight time, which frontier are stating they want to reduce !

That's about the size of questions I have for the moment hopefully someone from frontier would be kind enough to reply with some details. thanks.

 

[Daish]

I second this motion, both from a gameplay perspective and a "that's how it should work in 3304" perspective.

3304 is pretty much way out there so we should have future tech, not Nokia 3310 tech frontier please, Ayes have it I third the motion.

 

[through the hole backwards]

I long for the old days when i had to wind my spaceship window down and lower a lead weigh on a string to know where i was. All this newfangled stuff will come to nothing.

 

[Daish]

I appreciate this is early days for the Explorer updates, I still have 3 crucial area's of improvement that I still see no answer for as yet:

1. If I am travelling a long distance say to the centre of the galaxy or beyond, how is that journey going to be more interesting, challenging or more to the point less repetitive and frustrating?

Replace flying time with gameplay is not just about getting to a planet its also about getting to a system or area of the galaxy.​

2. There must be interesting things to find, more PoI's yes but most importantly different things, and things of value to the player.
3. There must be things to do once you find something, just taking photo's is not enough it needs to be interactive and again of some value or meaning to the player not a throw away experience.

I agree if frontier are saying reducing flight time then REDUCE it make the search worth while, everything on planets should not only be discoverable after all it is 3304 not 1977... but details and information must be provided to us, if we find something give us details about it wet our appetites, give us immersion and MAKE IT WORTH while, cargo to find not a can of tea worth diddle squat. REM: frontier the galaxy is HUGE place so please FILL IT !!!

 

[CMDR Carbo]

Hey Ed and Will.

I really like the proposed changes to the exploration mechanisms, but of course I'm looking forward to test them hands on in the upcoming beta.

One problem I see with the big revealing ADS honk nerf is for those systems with secondary and tertiary stars that are far away (200+ kly). They will be so close together from distance that I can't imagine we will be able to distinguish anything on the scanner, so the only way to know if there is something interesting or worthwhile there is to fly there. I fear that a lot of players will probably just ignore these secondary stars in the new system.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

I don't like the Discovery Scanner method. It will do nothing more than make exploration even more time consuming. Good luck finding anything interesting when you have to spend 10-15 minutes looking at a screen looking for signals then finding the usual rocky bodies.

Oops, another person who didn't actually read the OP.

 

[Alec Turner]

I long for the old days when i had to wind my spaceship window down and lower a lead weigh on a string to know where i was. All this newfangled stuff will come to nothing.

You might enjoy the following forum thread by straha20 who's currently employing some properly old skool exploration techniques in his circumnavigation of a planet in an SRV (he's been calling for a sextant!).

Meridian-a-planetary-circumnavigation

(apologies for the off topic post)

 

[x Harlon Nayl x]

I am pretty damn stoked with this. Thank you FDev and I am looking forward to your other releases!!!! Keep up the good work.

 

[dannysquid]

I don't like the Discovery Scanner method. It will do nothing more than make exploration even more time consuming. Good luck finding anything interesting when you have to spend 10-15 minutes looking at a screen looking for signals then finding the usual rocky bodies.

I'd guess the process is reasonably speedy. Like tuning a radio or something.

 

[unmarco]

I love everything about this but I wonder (especially thinking about the new UI), how will it work in VR?

 

[CyclicOcean6125]

Sounds interesting. A few additional things I would like to see: 1) the ability to set plot jump range max, like 70% of max capable range. This gives you more control over fuel consumption and the number of jumps in a leg. 2) fsd capable explorer ships launched "fighters", but exploration. This would increase exploration load out and ship size selection dynamics. Improve multi crew participation by each crew member being assigned a region or planet to "map". 3) Valuable specail finds -- need for cargo racks -- random and set. Maybe some special high metal content rings. To add to mining. --- Just some wish items. Thanks for listening and those updates already coming.

 

[Bob McBobblehead]

If you tune the discovery scanners horizontal and vertical frequencies just right, you can enter the Twilight Zone. Oops, I meant Raxxla.

 

[Martin Afonso]

Suggestion: escape pod signals visible from low orbit. We have a whole new search & rescue contact, i'd like to have a 21st century spacecraft capability implemented in our 3304 spaceships.

 

[Siobhan]

If you tune the discovery scanners horizontal and vertical frequencies just right, you can enter Twilight Zone. Oops, I meant Raxxla.

You imply they aren't the same place.

 

[Noogillim]

Out here in a new system, and I can instantly see benefits in the new scanner implementation, I am having to travel thousands of light seconds to detail scan one of the none primary stars, all I will need to do is have a look at it from the main star to gather its data. Much more realistic than having to travel to the light and let the light travel to you.

It may seem like a small thing to some but I for one see that as a big improvement over the current system.