Credit bonuses for "complete star system" scanning

[Sapyx]

Finally figured out the rules for the credit bonuses applied for scanning an entire star system. And they're real simple.

FSS Scans: 1000 credits per scannable object in the system.

DSS Probes: 10000 credits per mappable object in the system.

Example: A never-before-seen star system with one star and six planets/moons. You decide to scan and map everything. In addition to the credits you get form the actual scans and maps, and the credits for the First Discovered and First Mapped bonuses, you also get:
- 7000 credits for "completing" the FSS Scan of all seven objects in the system.
- 60000 credits for mapping the six planets. The star isn't mappable so doesn't count.

1000 credits per scan is "worth it", given the usually very small amount of time such scans require and especially if you were already going to scan "most" of the system anyhow and you just need a few seconds to bag the last couple of planets. But 10000 credits for "completing" the probe-mapping isn't really much of an incentive, given the travel time plus scanning time one usually would have to undertake for this to happen.

Finally, I believe the "FSS Scan" total includes asteroid belts, 1000 credits per cluster. So if you don't finish the asteroid belt scan, you don't get paid the FSS completion bonus - even though the little message pops up saying the system scan is complete.

Sorry if this has been raised before; I don't recall seeing a post about it.

 

[Deamawa]

Interesting - thanks

 

[space voyager]

Very interesting... Such bonuses have been suggested in the past but I don't recall them being mentioned at any time. Thanks!

 

[Flying Peanut]

I was wondering about this. Thanks for posting. I diligently scan systems, but do not always find the patience to start mapping them all. Especially when coming across a system that has 74 bodies. I would need another lifetime to complete my journey.

 

[Para Handy]

Leviticus 20:27

 

[UTU2TM]

I was advised a few months ago (here on the forum) to NOT scan the whole system, because scanning the whole system is a selfish act. Lol

 

[Sapyx]

I was wondering why I was getting likes on a year-old-thread. Thanks for the necro-bump!

I was advised a few months ago (here on the forum) to NOT scan the whole system, because scanning the whole system is a selfish act. Lol

Well, opinion's divided on this. Is it "selfish", or simply "being thorough"? Certainly back before the FSS was launched, and before the game added payout bonuses for completionists, some people would often say "don't scan everything, leave something for those who come after you". But now, with the FSS, and especially with the inability to see the entire star system map until and unless you run the FSS and scan every single object, the anti-completionist paradigm has shifted, from "don't scan everything" to "don't map everything". Personally, I'm not a completionist: as I explore, I always scan everything, but map almost nothing.

Still, with these bonuses, the game is clearly encouraging the completionist mindset. And FD demonstrate their singular lack of understanding of explorers, once again, by making the completed system bonuses (a) credits only (most explorers don't really care about credits), and (b) making the credit bonus payouts so small (the tiny minority of explorers who would be encouraged to become a completionist by adding credit rewards, aren't going to be motivated by such a tiny reward.

The most valuable asset for an explorer is time. And the time spent mapping every single object in a system with more than a dozen objects, for no reward except credits and a second Tag on every planet, simply isn't worth it for most explorers.

 

[Flying Peanut]

I didn't mean to raise the dead with my show of gratitude. The act of exploration is a living thing and your post answered the questions I had very clearly.

 

[Flying Peanut]

I was advised a few months ago (here on the forum) to NOT scan the whole system, because scanning the whole system is a selfish act. Lol

I were to scan the whole galaxy where I wouldn't leave anything to explore for others it may have a point. Yet I think that the bonus is applied to every new explorer. I have seen systems that carry the name of the pioneers, but do not show as "explored". Other than that I do indeed not scan every system I pass. It is way too much time and other activities are calling me to come back to the bubble.

 

[iain666]

calling me to come back to the bubble.

Nah, you don't want to do that. All that killing and killing and couriering and killing.

 

[lemon407]

Im not against this, it seems kinda silly that currently the best way to explore is to honk, fss, check for like 3 types of planets that are worth more then the enterty of the system, then leave.

 

[Leif_Erikson]

I was advised a few months ago (here on the forum) to NOT scan the whole system, because scanning the whole system is a selfish act. Lol

Think I was one of those , and did think this a few days ago when I saw a planetary nebula on my journey and decided to check it out and possibly leave a greeting card map tag.
Around 40 planetary items around a NS and all were mapped by the same person and did think "how selfish is that- they could have left a few gas giant moons for other travellers...."

Not all explorers do this total system map though- I was quite impressed when I went to Eriksons Star and noticed various single map tags in the area. An area of Cmdr diversity.
Also noticed how many there had mapped tags on the far reaches of the system and closer worlds with no map tags at all.
As Cmdrs were heading here returning from DWII there was obviously a few who though "if I map a closer item I could lose the tag before I return so I'll map one further away instead..." And may have ended up losing the tag anyway!

 

[UTU2TM]

Each Cmdr has their own technique. If I'm settled-in, and exploring, I'll scan everything (which is most of the time).
If I'm in a hurry, it's honk-n-go, but that is rare.
I don't see any harm with any technique, there is so much stuff out there.
Cheers

 

[Bennoj61]

I suppose I must be considered a 'selfish' explorer, but to be honest I've been playing for about 2 1/2 years and I've never heard of the 'leave something for others' ethos before about 2 weeks ago. And I'm fairly sure I've never come across a system where it appeared obvious that planets had been left unscanned/unmapped for others. The only systems I can recall encountering where planets had been left unscanned or mapped were ones where the first discoverer was obviously only looking for high-value bodies. My current strategy is to scan all, map high-value when there are no earthlikes, and map all when there is an earthlike (the thought process behind this is based in roleplay - that if I find an earthlike, there might be a colonization effort and the colonists would want to know what kind of other resources are available in that system).

 

[FixMeNow]

I FSS scan everything in the system, since it was introduced.

Never knew not scanning asteroids belts was losing me money. Will have to start scanning them now.

 

[Para Handy]

.........
Never knew not scanning asteroids belts was losing me money. Will have to start scanning them now.

I thought they changed that - when you have scanned all bodies in the FSS the signals for asteroid belts disappears from the graph now. Nope I was wrong, sorry.

 

[Orvidius]

I've always taken the approach of "scan what you want, map what you want" and also "first come, first served". However having said that, I do occasionally find it mildly annoying if it's an area of interest (nebula, for instance) and I see a system that had tags from lots of different commanders who mapped only one or two each, and then one last explorer mapped everything that remained (all gas giant moons of the outer 3-4 planets, and all icy bodies beyond).

But whatever. I like the "calling card" systems when I see them. But it's really up to you.

As others have said, there have been many divided opinions here. I've seen people get annoyed at the "greedy" completionists, and others who get annoyed at the "lazy" cherry-pickers. So take your pick.

 

[Sapyx]

I thought they changed that - when you have scanned all bodies in the FSS the signals for asteroid belts disappears from the graph now.

That hasn't been my recent experience. If you scan one cluster in the belt, it regards the entire belt as scanned, but if there are multiple asteroid belts in the system, you have to scan at least one cluster in each belt for them to "count".

Very often, scanning asteroids does seem an "automatic" process, but that's just because in many star systems, the asteroid belts are right up close to the primary star - in such cases there's usually at least one cluster in the belt within the 32Ls passive scan range, which means the entire belt becomes auto-scanned. It's only in those relatively rare cases where the asteroids are remote, or there are multiple belts in the system, where it becomes an issue.

 

[marx]

I suppose I must be considered a 'selfish' explorer, but to be honest I've been playing for about 2 1/2 years and I've never heard of the 'leave something for others' ethos before about 2 weeks ago.

Well, you know, these two always came up from time to time:
"People who don't scan everything are lazy"
and
"People who scan everything are greedy"

Since then, scanning has been made much quicker, and if people find something they deem interesting, they tend to scan everything; so I guess much of the debate moved on to mapping instead.

However having said that, I do occasionally find it mildly annoying if it's an area of interest (nebula, for instance) and I see a system that had tags from lots of different commanders who mapped only one or two each, and then one last explorer mapped everything that remained (all gas giant moons of the outer 3-4 planets, and all icy bodies beyond).

You know, back then I deliberately left bodies unscanned in systems of interest - real planetary nebulae, for instance. The way it would go, a maximum of two other explorers would tag a body or two, then the third would tag everything else.
Same seems to happen with mapping tags these days.

 

[Para Handy]

That hasn't been my recent experience. If you scan one cluster in the belt, it regards the entire belt as scanned, but if there are multiple asteroid belts in the system, you have to scan at least one cluster in each belt for them to "count".
........

Yeah I was obviously mistaken. I just checked out a good few systems in my exploration account and sure enough you have to FSS-zoom in to one cluster of each belt to clear the signal line. I was sure I had seen the signal clear on fssing all bodies but I must have been mistaken.

( I have been having a "bad posts day" today - maybe need stronger coffee beans.)