Dumb idea for a new piece of exploration equipment

[SafteyBot]

Dumb idea for a new piece of exploration equipment -

Advanced Surface Scanner

Cost, weight, and power draw identical to the Advanced Discovery Scanner.

It's a turreted DSS that, when controlled by a Sensor Specialist, returns the locations of points of interest on a planet. Requires an NPC crewmate or another player to use. Otherwise acts like a normal DSS.

It would not only make multicrew a thing for exploration, but they could add a new type of NPC crew with an exploration rating instead of combat. And since the data it returns requires crew of some kind, there would be a reason to pay your multicrew people.

 

[thundernuns]

I like it [up].

While on the subject of exploration ideas I have one that I didn't think warranted it's own thread.
Limited life support supplies, a better life support would use them more efficiently. Now this could kill exploration as it means you couldn't go far, but maybe they could be replenished at ELWs or WWs. And as an extension, finding ELWs could be done with some telescope device which can look at stars and tell the number of planets orbiting, and which are likely to be ELWs

This is most likely flawed but oh well

 

[Crank Larson]

I agree that scanners really need some love. Currently my main bugbear is that I have to face a planet to surface scan it. Why can't I have a scanner mounted on a turret so that it can keep the target in sight? It makes no sense, from either game or any other point of view I can think of... While your idea would address this to a degree, I don't like the idea of a scanner requiring an additional person to manage it. The pilot should also be able to look at or process any scan results (it would simply take some time). Multicrew could still be an option, and that would provide the advantage that the pilot can just concentrate on flying while the data was analysed by the additional crew member (so saving time, but not providing any other benefit).

 

[Burke]

So you can scan that sun as you soar over it to find your next jump?