FOREWORD
The following information is provided to you as the result and culmination of my adventures, which span over 500,000 light-years and 20,000 systems worth of travel. Please be aware that even though I am a seasoned explorer, I am in no way the most knowledgeable. At the time of this writing, I have been playing Elite: Dangerous for less than a year and as such, have limited exposure to a great many of the game's features and initial game mechanics. There are a great number of other explorers that you will find in this community who have more scientific and mathematical minds than I, whose work will astound and amaze you. What you are about to read is based purely upon my personal experiences and speculations, with a side of support from other players and guides. I am only here to give you the first helping hand. The rest is up to you!
1. The "Facts" About Exploration
2. The Wayfarer's Wardrobe
3. First Encounters - System Centers
4. Fuel Scooping - Techniques & Timing
5. Astronomical Objects
6. Asteroids - Belts & Clusters
7. Horizons - Planetary Landings & Prospecting
8. Popular Destinations & Tourism
9. Uncommon Interests
10. Videos, Screenshots & Streaming
11. References, Sources & Support
2. The Wayfarer's Wardrobe
3. First Encounters - System Centers
4. Fuel Scooping - Techniques & Timing
5. Astronomical Objects
6. Asteroids - Belts & Clusters
7. Horizons - Planetary Landings & Prospecting
8. Popular Destinations & Tourism
9. Uncommon Interests
10. Videos, Screenshots & Streaming
11. References, Sources & Support
DISCLAIMER:
Though there are a handful of known rules or generally accepted practices when it comes to exploration, keep in mind that you are free to explore how you went, when you want, as fast as you want and in any ship you want. Want to visit the center of the galaxy in an Eagle? Go for it. Want to explore in an Asp armed to the teeth, slowly hopping your way to the far side of the galaxy in your tinfoil hat in fear of Thargoids? That's fine, too. We are explorers first and critics last, with the inbetween spanning a vast community of personality and flair. Access the following information with an open and objective mind and you may find yourself not only improving the way you play, but help others improve their experience as well.
[*=6]First and foremost: there is no "true" method to exploring. You are free to scan as much or as little as you wish. Whether you want a whole system to
[*=6]belong to you or whether you're in a hurry to cross certain distances and scan nothing - you are free to do as you please. That is the beauty of exploration.
[*=6]And no one will give you grief for any of the methods you choose.
[*=6]Farming Neutron Fields is not generally considered "true" exploration. Neutron stars and Black Holes are worth a fair amount of credits, which makes
[*=6]reaching Elite rank in exploration fairly easy if you spend time there with that purpose alone in mind. You will not be chided for choosing to do so, but you
[*=6]will also be reminded that you have not been out to see the galaxy if all you do is farm the fields.
[*=6]You must return to civilized space and sell your exploration data at a station in order to achieve the "Discovered by CMDR Name" tag that appears on
[*=6]stellar bodies.
[*=6]Even if you discover a system that is shown as "Undiscovered", there is a chance that another commander will visit the same system and sell the data
[*=6]before you. The chances of this are slim unless it is a high-value system or highly visible object on the Galaxy Map.
[*=6]If you die, you will lose all of your exploration data, resulting in wasted credits and wasted time.
[*=6]If you die an "unnatural death", submit a support ticket and explain your situation. There have been instances where commanders had their save state
[*=6]restored to before an incident, or compensated with the approximate funds if that is not possible.
[*=6]Your exploration data is tied to your commander and not your ship, which is why death causes you to lose it.
[*=6]Exploring can be done with any ship, provided you have the dedication to perform. Yes, this includes Eagles and Sidewinders.
[*=6]"Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-mindbogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to
[*=6]the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space." - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Elite: Dangerous sports 400 BILLION systems and it will take thousands
[*=6]of years for them all to be discovered.
[*=6]You do not need a Hands-On Throttle And Stick (HOTAS) to be a good pilot. I have played the game entirely with Keyboard And Mouse (KBAM)
[*=6]No one can possibly know everything about space, real or procedurally generated as Elite: Dangerous' galaxy is. You will have to get out there and see
[*=6]for yourself!
Outfitting your ship for exploration is very simple. Most often it involves stripping your ship down to the bare necessities, buying the most powerful Frame Shift Drive and Fuel Scoop available, which generally increases your jump range as far as possible. The truth is, however, that you can outfit your ship any way you want and there is no set-in-stone rigging that you absolutely must use to reach your goals.
coriolis.io and edshipyard.com are two resources widely used by players to customize the load-out of their ships to see which might better suit their exploration style. Both sites are fairly similar but coriolis seems to offer a bit more in terms of gauging the jump ranges with certain amounts of cargo and fuel. coriolis is also more regularly updated and tends to include newer ships as they are announced and released into beta builds.
Click the below examples to view ships I have used in my exploration career:
COBRA MK III
ASP EXPLORER
ANACONDA
Whenever you travel to another system, you will always be greeted with one of two things: a star or a Black Hole. Very rarely, you may be greeted with a star and a Black Hole, or two stars, or three stars, or ten Black Holes. The Universe is a crazy place and we never really know what we're going to find out there. As soon as your Frame Shift Drive spools down and you find yourself exiting back into SuperCruise, you will be met with either a bright light or darkness. Here is the list of stars and their descriptions, sorted identically to the filter in the Galaxy Map:
SPECIAL TYPES:
(CLICK EACH CATALOG ITEM FOR A VIDEO OF THEIR RESPECTIVE CLASS - MORE TO COME)
Fuel Scooping is a necessity for any kind of exploration outside the confines of the closely inhabited systems of civilized space. If you are piloting a ship that has a small fuel tank such as the Sidewinder, you will not be able to last more than 2 jumps without draining your tank to fumes. Even if you have a larger ship such as the Anaconda, fitted with multiple fuel tanks, you will still only be able to make a handful of jumps before running out of gas. That said, a Fuel Scoop is an absolutely necessary piece of equipment, and knowing the best grade possible to fit in your vessel will save you tremendous amounts of time out in the black.
FILTERING FOR SCOOPABLE STARS:
About half the stars available are candidates for refueling, here is some information regarding how to tell which are which:
Here is the Galaxy Map after switching to the Map/Filtering Panel:
Here is an example of the Galaxy Map with only Scoopable Stars checked:
And only Non-Scoopable Stars checked:
What is that giant mass of red near the bottom, you ask? Why those are The Badlands - a vast expanse of non-scoopable stars that can often lead to peril if you don't realize you're in it until it's too late. Sitting at about just below the Galactic Ecliptic (0,0,0 coordinate) and covering the entire Galaxy, this area spans about 30 light years. Learn to avoid it and always ensure you route plotter doesn't send you to your doom.
When it comes to the actual act of fuel scooping, there are various ways to handle the task. The various ships range in their ability to handle heat and some will reach high thermal levels quicker than others, despite being the same distance from a star. Whichever ship you choose to pilot, always be sure to test the limits and range of your scoop so you know the safest distance-to-scoop ratio to prevent any module damage. For the actual style of scooping, please review the following videos I have provided for a few of the ways you can fuel your ship:
[VIDEOS OF FUEL SCOOPING STYLES]
[video=youtube;kwogd2LzA8o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwogd2LzA8o[/video]
[video=youtube;fuTdDcioCu8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuTdDcioCu8[/video]
[video=youtube;609uMcVcjak]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=609uMcVcjak[/video]
The Milky Way Galaxy and, ultimately, the universe, is full of a vast number of objects. Asteroids, comets, meteors, gas giants, dwarf planets, pulsars, black holes, and many, many more. Humanity may never know everything there is to know about our galaxy and space in general, but my guide will give you at least a small glimpse of what is currently available in Elite: Dangerous.
(GAS GIANTS COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
(GAS GIANTS COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
(GAS GIANTS COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
(GAS GIANTS COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
(GAS GIANTS COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
(GAS GIANTS COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
(GAS GIANTS COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
(GAS GIANTS COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
(WATER GIANTS COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
(ROCKY ICE BODIES COME IN TOO GREAT A VARIETY TO BOTHER TO CATALOG BUT I WILL ADD THIS SOON ANYWAY)
For a more comprehensive look at the variety of planets available, visit my Imgur album of 1,700+ images from my "Chasing the Galactic String" expedition!
Let me start by saying that asteroid belts and clusters are, currently, inconsequential to exploration. As mining does nothing more than add unnecessary cargo weight to our ships, there is no reason to waste time prospecting amongst these orbital bodies. Rings, however, do offer a little in the way of records and aesthetic beauty. They can come in three different forms and sizes: Icy, Metallic and Rocky, with a ringworld comprised of either 1, 2 or 3 rings. Through all my travels I could not determine if there were any factors related to the type or number of rings, as they can be found in any number and combination of composition. Single rings are generally small while 3 rings are generally very large and span millions of KM. The size seems to depend on the parent body type. For instance, a 1:1 Icy Body may have a single ring of approximately 75 KM radius where a type L Dwarf Star might have a single ring of 600,000 KM. That same Icy Body with 3 rings might span 200,000 KM, while the dwarf sun's 3 rings will have a 30,000,000 KM radius. Gas giants and dwarf stars tend to have the largest of all ring types. This guarantees that even though you cannot see the radius in the system view before scanning, if the body has 3 rings, it will be large.
Ringworlds offer a fair amount of opportunity for screenshots and recordings as well, as they can be a place of beauty when the right amount of atmospheric gas or dust is present. Here are some examples of what can be achieved when you discover the right conditions:
Here are two videos that give only the basics of what can be accomplished with ringworlds:
[video=youtube;o6ptABsrXM4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ptABsrXM4[/video]
[video=youtube;JDp3xyZvRVc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDp3xyZvRVc[/video]
And some images:
HORIZONS information to be added at a later date, once all statistics and mechanics are studied thoroughly, as they will likely change after the full release of the expansion. For the time being, please view these two wonderful guides:
[DOGNOSH'S SRV GUIDE]
[ERIMUS' GUIDE TO PROSPECTING]
There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of locations in Elite: Dangerous that are intended to mirror their real-life counterparts and as such, are heavily frequented by explorers and non-explorers alike. If you've thought of a nebula or particularly bright star you want to visit, chances are someone has been there before. Do not let this discourage you, however, as the journey is often more rewarding than the destination. There are also plenty of chances of finding planets that have not been tagged within the previously visited systems, as many people are often in a hurry and do not explore thoroughly.
NEBULA TABLE
PLANETARY NEBULA
SAGITTARIUS A* / BUCKYBALL
THE GREAT ANNIHILATOR
STAR CHART
NEUTRON FIELDS
BEAGLE POINT & THE 65KLY FROM SOL CLUB
SOL
(INFO IN THIS SECTION COMING SOON)
So you think you've seen all there is to see, do you? Well, know now that you're wrong, and you will always be left wanting, for unless you know all there is to know in the universe, you may as well have seen nothing. The Milky Way Galaxy is host to a great many mysteries. 400 Billion Star Systems in our backyard alone are waiting for you to visit them and no two will be the same. Outside the 7,500 or so radius of non-procedurally-generated content are mostly-unknown and mostly-unexplored systems with a varying degree of uniqueness. Out here you will find some particularly interesting things that not everyone will get to experience. Read on for examples:
Bright Spots - These are the very bright stars that stand out on the Galaxy Map - You see them as small, bright dots dispersed throughout the Milky Way. They are easy to see from afar but can be difficult to locate when you zoom in unless you know how to look for them. They contain only very bright stars of certain types - Type O, Type B, T Tauri, Herbig Ae/Be, Neutron and Black Holes. The Type O and Type B stars will be much, much brighter and larger than the average Type O/B and will be discolored in various ways. (Type B stars in the bright spot systems will generally resemble Type O stars)
Herbig Ae/Be Stars - These are very young stars that generally signify recently-formed systems, so they often have very little to offer aside from clusters of other young stars such as T Tauri, Type O, Type B and more Herbig Ae/Be. As you explore these systems, you may come across rare oddities I have personally found terraforming-candidate water worlds in binary orbit with T Tauri stars where the primary is a Herbig Ae/Be. What this means for the future of the system is unclear beyond the theory that life has great potential. This information currently plays no part and carries no benefit or consequence in the game and is merely an interesting piece of conversation should you discover it.
Herbig Ae/Be stars can be found in two types(as seen in the star class listing above) and are often found in a spinning state, like such:
[video=youtube;oXU3bT1MumA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXU3bT1MumA[/video]
Not every rotation is the same. Some Herbig Ae/Be stars rotate faster than others. The first I ever found was spinning so fast I could not make out surface details. I do not have a video, unfortunately.
Carbon Stars - These types of stars are fairly rare but can be found easily if you know where to look. I have studied a few dozen of them in my travels and found no correlation in the type of planets they have and the fact that they are a late-life entity. I have found all types of planets ranging from metal-rich to Earth-likes in their vicinity, but their value lies in the sheer size that they can be. As they are late-life stars, they are in the stage of expansion and can often be seen as bright spheres from thousands of light-seconds away, allowing for good screenshot opportunities should you find a suitable planet to use as a subject.
Black Holes & Neutron Stars - Both of these star types can be found in abundance in the Neutron Fields and at certain coordinates on the galactic ecliptical, but to the average explorer who chooses not to farm them, they are few and far between. The Bright Spots mentioned above will give you a semi-often chance at finding one, but those aside you would have to travel either 1kly up or 1kly down on the z-axis of the galaxy to find a notable amount. Black Holes are, at this time, completely harmless to explorers. You can enter their orbit and even fly directly into them without worry (unless they are Supermassive, then you chance overheating as if it were an active star). Alternatively, Neutron Stars care very dangerous entities and can often surprise you with how close FSD drops you in front of them. They are visible only as a seemingly distant star and have no photogenic value whatsoever. Their only value lies in the credits earned for scanning, which leads to people farming the Neutron Fields.
SOME VIDEOS OF BLACK HOLES:
[video=youtube;94-dagp78N4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94-dagp78N4[/video]
[video=youtube;xAJrNduMX34]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAJrNduMX34[/video]
[video=youtube;Ldgc9hNJU_A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldgc9hNJU_A[/video]
[video=youtube;9qJ4HGCNpms]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qJ4HGCNpms[/video]
[video=youtube;jMt3oa3idIE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMt3oa3idIE[/video]
Open/Private Group/Solo - The pros and cons of the Open vs Solo will always be debated and there will always be someone in either version of the game who refuses to use the other. There is not much to say for this besides "Do what you want." Exploration does not change aside from the potential interaction with other players near the bubble and the possible death-by-interdiction of someone waiting at Sag A*. Joining a private group such as Mobius or Kamzel (currently prepping for Distant Worlds) is the preferred method of the career explorer, as this gives a slightly higher chance of encountering a friendly explorer out in the black.
(CMDR Katejina meets CMDR Lance "Spacecat" D on the far rim, approx. 40kly from SOL)
Wings - Exploring with other players can be an exciting and pleasurable experience as it allows for constant player interaction and the thrill of discovering new things together with a mate. having other players join you for expeditions also gives you opportunities for unique screenshots. The best part about exploring in a wing is the credits and discoveries are shared - If you surface scan a planet, you will all get tagged once the data is sold! Yay team!
Social Events - Player-created events such as The First Great Expedition, Distant Worlds and any other events that attempt to tie in with large parts of the community are generally aimed at showcasing the importance and prevalence of the exploration career. Without exploration, humanity would never have made it as far as we have, so we try our best to show the other commanders that we, too, deserve some spotlight! Frontier's Community Management team is great at putting together events, videos and streams that tie the community together, so be sure to look out for those, too!
CHASING THE GALACTIC STRING
My personal expedition journal. I attempt to include the community any way I can. I currently run a Twitch stream and will be hosting giveaways and real-life events in the future. Subscribe to any of my social media platforms and keep your eyes out for announcements as I'll be giving out hundreds of dollars worth of items!
DISTANT WORLDS
The Distant Worlds Expedition is a massive fleet-based exploration of the Far Rim and will involve hundreds of commanders across dozens of ship types and time zones. There are dozens of waypoints and points of interest to stop at on the way for screenshot, video and streaming opportunities. I am signed on as a headliner and streamer for the event and will help handle some of the promotion and graphics.
When it comes to taking screenshots, recording videos, streaming and sharing your content, there are hundreds of options available out there. By no means are you required to use any one setup but here are some services that I am familiar with and prefer:
STREAMING & VIDEO:
twitch.tv - One of - if not the - most popular streaming platform available. Twitch is a free-to-use hosting service for streaming of all types - games, movies and all other forms of entertainment. As Twitch is not the software used, it allows you to use whatever software you wish as long as it can be implemented into their site's hosting server.
Click here to visit the Twitch Site
YouTube - YouTube has integrated their own direct-to streaming service and, as it is powered by Google, is fairly reliable. The platform does not offer as many features as some of the software available for Twitch, however.
YouTube is, of course, free to use.
Click here to visit the YouTube Site
NVidia Experience/ShadowPlay - ShadowPlay is NVidia's built-in software for higher-end GPUs and can be accessed through the NVidia Experience program. It offers easy Twitch integration and a variety of basic features such as feed quality and speed as well as FPS overlays, camera placement and keybinding. Shadow Play can also be used to record video in HD and offers this without any restrictions.
Shadow Play is free to use, but requires an NVidia GPU.
Click here to visit the Shadowplay Site
X-Split Gamecaster/Broadcaster - These two programs are recommended by Twitch and offer a great variety of options for streaming such as overlays for music, cameras, FPS, 1080p broadcasting, integration with various other programs such as FaceRig, keybinding, AFK screens, various color options and more. You would have to explore the program or watch videos yourself to see it all as it is very extensive.
X-Split is free to use, if you don't mind a small logo placed in the corner of your stream or videos. Otherwise it costs roughly $5 USD/month.
Click here to visit the XSplit Site
Fraps - This is not a program I have used for a long time but it has always been free and attempts to stay relevant. I hear the name mentioned here and there so I did some research and it still seems to be a viable option as far as game capturing is concerned. Fraps can capture audio and video up to 7680 x 4800 with custom frame rates from 1 to 120 frames per second.
Fraps is free to use but places some text with their logo over your videos. Otherwise, it costs $37 USD to buy and updates thereafter cost nothing.
Click here to visit the Fraps Site
SCREENSHOTS:
Elite: Dangerous - F10 will capture a screenshot in-game and is the default key for doing so. If you are in Private Group or Solo, you can use Alt+F10 to capture a high-definition screenshot. 1920x1080 would be the normal F10 resolution(unless your monitor does not reach this) while Alt+F10 provides a 7680 x 4320 resolution image. Screenshots done through the ED client are saved as a .BMP and generally must be re-saved as a .JPG or .PNG to be hosted through most file-sharing sites. Screenshots will be found in your Frontier Development directory.
STEAM - Steam allows you to capture screenshots using the F12 key. Pressing this key saves screenshots to a folder in your Steam directory. The files will be saved with their date and screenshot number in .JPEG format. These images can be directly uploaded to all file-sharing sites as it is a web-optimized image.
Screenshot Name-Changer CMDR Voz has created a wonderful third-party program that takes the generic name for screenshots (Screenshot_001) and names it after the system you are currently in, allowing for an easy organization effort.
TIP:
Unless you are playing on a Mac, all Windows-based machines come with the program Paint. Paint can be used to edit screenshots and, in the case of those created with ED, re-save them into the proper format. You can open the screenshot directly through Paint or drag the screenshot into the Paint window. If you want to emphasize something in the shot or size the image down, you can do that with these steps:
You can crop part of an image by doing these two easy steps:
And ta-da! Your image is now cropped!
You can also easily re-size images by doing two simple steps:
And there you have it, re-sized at 50%:
And ta-da! Your image is now cropped!
You can also easily re-size images by doing two simple steps:
And there you have it, re-sized at 50%:
HOSTING IMAGES AND VIDEOS:
puush.me - Puush is a very simple and well-designed hosting service that I prefer for screenshots. You download an uploading client, create an account and then can upload the files manually (one at a time, unfortunately). After uploading, the images are placed in a single folder that can be viewed by list or thumbnail. From there you can organize the images into a private or public folder and once clicked, the image will open with a URL that is both short and easily placed into IMG tags for posting on the forums. As far as I am aware, there are no limits to the image size or resolution.
Puush is free to use.
imgur.com - Imgur is a popular image-hosting website that allows you to keep your uploaded files for personal use or publish to the internet for all to see. You can upload up to 150 images at once and I am not aware of any limitations. I recently uploaded 1,700 screenshots from my Circumnavigation Expedition and they can all be viewed in one massive album. It took roughly 6 hours to upload them all, due to some issues with the site, but in the end, they are all there and available for view.
Flickr - A site that I know mostly for it's heavy photography content, flickr can also be used to host images from your exploratory adventures. I am not familiar with the ins and outs of this particular service but I hear the name a lot, so I imagine it is a reliable platform to use.
PANORAMAS
There are multiple ways to create panoramic images, but the way the debug camera in ED works doesn't always allow for perfect results. That aside, here are two programs I've used that do a decent job if you take enough images at the necessary angles:
Photoshop CS5 and Newer - File>Automate>Photomerge - Simple process that allows you to upload all necessary files and let the program do the work. Not too reliable considering it's an expensive product unless you pirate it.
Image Composite Editor- A free alternative offered by Microsoft. Upload your files and begin stitching them together. Has been more reliable than Photoshop so far but isn't too much better.
Hugin - A very in-depth, extensive program recommended by CMDR Third Nostril. I couldn't figure the program out but I hear good things.
CMDR Third Nostril created a thread for Panoramas that covers a few other programs. Find it here:
How I Create Panoramas by CMDR Third Nostril
POSTING IMAGES AND VIDEOS:
Posting images and videos is easy. Once you've uploaded them to the proper hosting site, you just take the image/video link and paste it into image/video tags, like so:
The forums, when posting in "Advanced Mode" also allow you to upload them directly to your post. This feature also saves the uploaded files for later use. In case you are unsure of how to use the post elements, here is an image to help you along:
I have gained knowledge from many people, many threads and many hours of Google-searching. Not everything in this guide will work the same way for you as it has for me. Here is a list of resources throughout the forums that may be of use to you in the event that you require more information.
Exploration Records and Catalog
Exploration Guides & Tools
Exploration Data and Logs Database
Music to Explore To
Post your weird systems!
Call of the Wild. Pristine Ring List
Galactic Mapping
Captain's Log
EDDiscovery
Gratuitous Selfie Thread
Gratuitous Ship ShotsThread
65KLY Meet-Up
65kLY from Sol Club/Records
Planet Sounds
Safe Systems to Return To
Guide to nebula
List of Planetary Nebula
ED Star Map
Age of Pioneers
Advanced Discovery Scanner
Veg? Omni? Meat-eater?
Ship Fitting Discussion
Ship Fitting Discussion 2.0
As I mentioned earlier, I use a keyboard and mouse. I was gifted a Saitek X52 Pro for Christmas but currently do not have the room to set it up.
I use a generic, blue-backlit keyboard, nothing of the mechanical sort.
And I use a Razer Naga MMOG, with blue backlight. Here is the set-up for that:
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