I had this idea for a way to reward Horizons explorers in a similar way to how space exploration works: Exotic Materials.
So these are basically procedurally generated materials which can only be found on rare planets 500+ ly from the edge of the bubble. They look like your typical metallic meteorite though produce a slightly different sound on the wave scanner, so an explorer who is paying attention shouldn't miss them.
The first to discover an exotic material could either get their commander name (or a part of it) included in the material's procedurally-generated name, or just listed in the material's description. From that point on, that material enters the pool of spawnable exotic materials that can appear on these rare planets.
Each planet capable of producing these materials can only have a few types (ie: no farming a single planet for all the discovered types or to just endlessly generate new ones), and they would be quite rare as well, mostly found around mineral deposits (the colorful kind you can sometimes see from orbit or high altitudes). People would have to keep exploring, keep going further and further out to find new planets in order to find new exotics, but because they are procedurally generated, there would virtually be no limit to how many could be discovered.
Each exotic material would only be useful in one random synthesis recipe (for instance, a tier 3 jumponium mat), but the point isn't really their use, but rather the prestige (and data value) of discovering one. Like discovering a planet, discovering a new exotic material would carry a significant exploration data bonus, as well as getting your name on something, which certain types of explorers seem to enjoy. Since you'd need to go out into uninhabited space to find these materials, it would incentivise exploration as well. Perhaps the rarity of these materials could even be set to decrease the farther out you get, making them more common in the distant regions of the galaxy.
I think it's pretty realistic as well - with how little we still know about the universe, surely there are plenty of rare and undiscovered materials (maybe even some new elements) out there in the far reaches of the galaxy, and explorers and scientists alike would be driven to go out and find them.
Of course, this is just the beginning. Such a system could be expanded later into lots of interesting areas. For instance, special synthesis recipes could be created that can only be made with exotic materials.
So these are basically procedurally generated materials which can only be found on rare planets 500+ ly from the edge of the bubble. They look like your typical metallic meteorite though produce a slightly different sound on the wave scanner, so an explorer who is paying attention shouldn't miss them.
The first to discover an exotic material could either get their commander name (or a part of it) included in the material's procedurally-generated name, or just listed in the material's description. From that point on, that material enters the pool of spawnable exotic materials that can appear on these rare planets.
Each planet capable of producing these materials can only have a few types (ie: no farming a single planet for all the discovered types or to just endlessly generate new ones), and they would be quite rare as well, mostly found around mineral deposits (the colorful kind you can sometimes see from orbit or high altitudes). People would have to keep exploring, keep going further and further out to find new planets in order to find new exotics, but because they are procedurally generated, there would virtually be no limit to how many could be discovered.
Each exotic material would only be useful in one random synthesis recipe (for instance, a tier 3 jumponium mat), but the point isn't really their use, but rather the prestige (and data value) of discovering one. Like discovering a planet, discovering a new exotic material would carry a significant exploration data bonus, as well as getting your name on something, which certain types of explorers seem to enjoy. Since you'd need to go out into uninhabited space to find these materials, it would incentivise exploration as well. Perhaps the rarity of these materials could even be set to decrease the farther out you get, making them more common in the distant regions of the galaxy.
I think it's pretty realistic as well - with how little we still know about the universe, surely there are plenty of rare and undiscovered materials (maybe even some new elements) out there in the far reaches of the galaxy, and explorers and scientists alike would be driven to go out and find them.
Of course, this is just the beginning. Such a system could be expanded later into lots of interesting areas. For instance, special synthesis recipes could be created that can only be made with exotic materials.