Well based on the livestreams, we're supposed to use it to scan the entire system without having to fly around.
I'm not sure what stuff you're talking about that isn't designed specifically to support that goal. Could you elucidate?
First and foremost is the chevron system.
On the waveform spectrum tuner, it'll show you what types of bodies are within the range you're tuned into, whether they have rings, and when combined with the "signals" on the waveform themselves, it's possible (though not necessarily practical) to determine their size.
On the main screen, when combined with the range you're tuned into, it'll show what types of bodies are in your field of view, whether those bodies are moons, main bodies, or part of a binary or larger system.
When you combine the chevron system with the temperature and distance readings, it's also possible to deduce whether a body is terraformable or not.
If we're
supposed to just "use it to scan the entire system without flying around," none of this information is necessary for that purpose. Why encode this information into the interface when it'll be revealed by resolving the body in the first place? Encoding this information, planning these interconnnected systems, programming in the rules, and testing them requires development resources. If we're
supposed to just play the "minigame", why all the extra work on stuff that
should be ignored if we're using it "properly?"
Furthermore, in the livestreams I've watched,
especially the introductory livestream, the development team seemed quite proud of the fact that you can deduce the properties of a body before you resolved it. I spent a
lot of time going over that livestream getting ready for the beta, rewatching the hints they provided, hypothesizing about what most of the things I was most interested would look like on the FSS, other uses for the FSS besides resolving bodies, and
most of my hypothesis turned out to be correct.
I think the livestreams focused on the "minigame" not because that's the way we're
supposed to play it, but because the "minigame" is the most easily understood by most viewers. But just because its the easiest to understand, doesn't mean its the
only way its meant to be used. It's just that the livestreams are meant for those who'll be new to using the FSS.
I didn't fall into my current exploration workflow, FSS analysis -> discovery via parallax -> "minigame," right from the start. At first I was playing the "minigame" along with everyone else. But because I had paid attention to parts of the livestreams that others ignored, or outright dismissed as "fluff," I was soon in a position to skipping over completing the "minigame" in favor of flying there directly,
once I had determined that there might have been something there worth flying to. It saved a little bit of time, and more importantly it was much more
fun.