Confused about system view/data availability and finding undiscovered systems

[w34p0nx]

Hi all. I have some questions about system view, exploration, locating undiscovered systems and the availability of system data for sale that's been driving me mad.

Is there currently a way to figure out which systems have not been yet discovered by explorers? I have assumed that when the galaxy map says "system view unavailable" and system data's not for sale, it means no one has yet sold the data to universal cartographics, but upon entering the system and firing up my advanced discovery scanner I find out that all bodies have been previously explored and tagged with the CMDRs' names.

If the system has been previously explored by people with detailed scanners, why can't I buy the data if I wanted to? And if I can't use this info to track which systems have not been explored, how else then would I do it?

Can someone please clarify how these above points work? When is a system's view information available and when is it not available for sale?

Thanks a million.

 

[Caleuche]

To my knowledge, there is no way to know if a system is unexplored. You have to explore to find out which I believe is the idea. Even if a system as been previously discovered, you can still do scans and surface scans and get credits for the data. You just don't get the first discover's bonus (or your name on it).

As for why you can buy the system info for some systems and not others, I have no idea. IMO, you just waste a bunch of credits. Better to go to the system, scan it, turn in the data and they pay you.

Look at it this way. If a system is discovered and it's data made available to all, then there would be no opportunity for you to gather data yourself and make credits.

 

[FoxTwo]

In a similar vein, I am often wondering why, in a system with starports and outposts, that all the planetary bodies and stars are UNEXPLORED when I arrive. If someone already lives there, why couldn't I just buy that data when I was looking at the map?

Yeah just one of those things that sometimes make me go "hmmmmm..." when playing ED.

 

[SCADVID]

I think the design is for you to go out to explore. It is self-defeating when you do go out and someone else has discovered a system before you, but it's a trade off. If everyone knew what systems weren't already explored, people would only go visit systems that aren't explored. Then 480 billion systems would eventually be all explored in short order.

If you ever played WoW, and how those min/maxers work, you'll understand this isn't a bad design after all. Keep it unknown as the draw to fly in the unknown. Too much info, the plotters would do what they do, and the rest of the game lost yet another feature for the majority.