The current exobiology career path involves going around the galaxy and finding new lifeforms to scan. Currently, players need a special suit with a special scanner to make those scans. It's fairly straightforward and maybe a little too simple. However, the original safe-lockpicking mechanics of the beta minigame for scanning lifeforms was extremely nonsensical and should NEVER be revisited! (It felt like you were trying to pick a safe lock, and had nothing to do with biology and taking genetic samples.) That said, there can be ways make exobiology more fun, engaging and rewarding.
1a. Speed up sample-scanning of lifeforms. DRASTICALLY reduce the money earned from simple sample scan collection.
1b. Add a new lab-based minigame. The lab should be a new module added to the explorer's ship (Lab on a Ship!). When the lab module is installed on your explorer ship, a new player seat is available. In this new player seat, you can take your sample scans to process and analyze them as a new minigame. If you process and analyze your sample scans correctly, you get the the same money from Vista Genomics that you used to get from just sampling. If you only hand in the unprocessed samples, you get some money, but a lot less. (This idea came from some comments on BurrPits recent video about ED in 2025)
For the minigame, the FDEV game-designer should actually research current technology and the Sci-Fi future extrapolation of that technology. Use that research to create a fun and engaging minigame that is appropriate and applicable for the task. In that line of thought, the minigame could have degrees of success for quality of results. The higher the quality, the more pay you get from Vista.
2. Allow players to install a pulse wave lifeform scanner module on the SRV itself. We'd still need to get out of the SRV to perform each sample scan, but we shouldn't need to get out for the preliminary passive scan.
3. If a planet has already been footballed and lifeforms on it are already scanned, show those lifeforms on the system map (with the CMDR's name who first handed-in their data). We shouldn't have to do the scans ourselves before seeing the CMDR's name who was there first.
1a. Speed up sample-scanning of lifeforms. DRASTICALLY reduce the money earned from simple sample scan collection.
1b. Add a new lab-based minigame. The lab should be a new module added to the explorer's ship (Lab on a Ship!). When the lab module is installed on your explorer ship, a new player seat is available. In this new player seat, you can take your sample scans to process and analyze them as a new minigame. If you process and analyze your sample scans correctly, you get the the same money from Vista Genomics that you used to get from just sampling. If you only hand in the unprocessed samples, you get some money, but a lot less. (This idea came from some comments on BurrPits recent video about ED in 2025)
For the minigame, the FDEV game-designer should actually research current technology and the Sci-Fi future extrapolation of that technology. Use that research to create a fun and engaging minigame that is appropriate and applicable for the task. In that line of thought, the minigame could have degrees of success for quality of results. The higher the quality, the more pay you get from Vista.
2. Allow players to install a pulse wave lifeform scanner module on the SRV itself. We'd still need to get out of the SRV to perform each sample scan, but we shouldn't need to get out for the preliminary passive scan.
3. If a planet has already been footballed and lifeforms on it are already scanned, show those lifeforms on the system map (with the CMDR's name who first handed-in their data). We shouldn't have to do the scans ourselves before seeing the CMDR's name who was there first.
