Expedition to circumnavigate the galaxy

Corbin Moran · Jul 25, 2015

Expedition to circumnavigate the galaxy

The First Great Expedition (FGE) is announcing that their long awaited major voyage of discovery will commence on Saturday 1st August 3301.

A flotilla will formally launch the voyage from Sol, the ancestral home of humanity, and proceed to Brackett Orbital in the HIP 83716 system where it will rendezvous with the main fleet.

The first leg of the voyage will be to the Lagoon Nebula where the fleet will establish a base camp and explore the surrounding area. Over the next 12 months the fleet will follow the Sagittarius-Carina arm to Beagle Point on the far side of the galaxy.

"We will progress in a pace that allows for careful charting of the unknown regions of the galaxy. If you want to race you should sign up for Buckyball instead", says CMDR Gibbonici of the FGE. He continues: "The expedition will establish meetups at regular intervals along the route, allowing explorers to form up in wings. This is a chance for explorers to work together and be part of something bigger".

From Beagle Point the fleet will return, exploring sections of the Scutum-Centaurus, Cygnus, and Perseus arms until a complete circumnavigation of the galaxy has been accomplished.

When asked how to deal with the prolonged stay in deep space one commander answered: "Our previous research voyages have given us a lot of practice in handling this. I'm confident that together we can pull this off. Also, I'll plant a vegetable garden in my empty cargo hold and bring a pair of Zosi Cybercats for company."

Applications for participation are still open and the expedition will be reported through press releases, blogs and live video feeds.

Do you want to join? Then head over to the FGE website and sign up for a forum account.

Macros Black · Jul 25, 2015

Good luck, Cmdr. Send many pretty pictures

Fly safe

iain666 · Jul 25, 2015

I'm far too antisocial to join you, but I will wish you all the best.

Fly safe CMDRs.

Leper Messiah · Jul 25, 2015

Good luck to the expedition! My mind boggles and my flabber is gasted at the magnitude of the trip planned!!

Allitnil · Jul 25, 2015

Good luck to all involved. Not my cup of tea as I like to go at my own pace, but I'll be following your progress.

Ulysses_W · Jul 25, 2015

I wish you all, all the best in your epic endeavour. Perhaps we'll cross paths somewhere out there.

Erimus Kamzel · Jul 25, 2015

Good luck commanders. This sounds like a great adventure

I always hoped exploration of the depths would require this kind of cooperation and thought the game mechanics we ended up with somehow let a lot of players down at the end of the day, so its great to see a fleet sticking to their principles and working as a team. Solo exploring is fun, but working as a team adds so much more.

A 12 month voyage is some commitment, and will hopefully generate a lot of stories of discovery along the way...

Sire · Jul 25, 2015

Good luck! Don't forget to bring wool underpants and to send me a postcard when you get there.

Kolato · Jul 25, 2015

Oh didn't realise this was gonna be 12 months.

mossfoot · Jul 25, 2015

And the last leg will be a race back to Sol

(the winner gets dibs on all the First Discovered Bys they come across

)

It's a shame the wing mechanic doesn't let you share exploration data over long periods of time, just in that session.

Props to my fellow Bowmen on an epic exploration

Ziljan · Jul 25, 2015

mossfoot said:
It's a shame the wing mechanic doesn't let you share exploration data over long periods of time, just in that session.

oh that would be cool!! We should submit a class action ticket to FD to correct this oversight. But wouldn't that mean a system would get multiple first discovered tags as well? That would be an extremely efficient way to explore and to survey

wait a second, just woke up and read the last four words... How does that work exactly? And why isn't everyone in an exploration wing all the time? Do you need to both be in the same system for it to work?

mossfoot · Jul 25, 2015

Ziljan said:
oh that would be cool!! We should submit a class action ticket to FD to correct this oversight. But wouldn't that mean a system would get multiple first discovered tags as well? That would be an extremely efficient way to explore and to survey

wait a second, just woke up and read the last four words... How does that work exactly? And why isn't everyone in an exploration wing all the time? Do you need to both be in the same system for it to work?

As I understand it, if you wing up and explore, you all share in any new discovers and all share in whatever planets you scan together. In addition, multiple people can be "First Discovered By" in the listings. However, only the first person to cash in gets the "First Discovered By" cash bonus.

But, as I said, it only lasts for that session. Leave the wing for any reason and you only cash in what you yourself scanned.

If this has changed I haven't heard about it, but that's how it worked when the feature was enabled.

Ziljan · Jul 25, 2015

mossfoot said:
However, only the first person to cash in gets the "First Discovered By" cash bonus.

Quite a poison pill, that should definitely be changed since it encourages unhealthy competition, and whoever gets home 2nd is screwed. So you both have to scan the same planet to get DSS credit? That kind of defeats the purpose of group efficiency if true. Otherwise, it would make near-bubble wing exploration more profitable than solo 1st discovered, which would be kind of awesome imo. I think more people would wing as a result simply due to easy proximity and finally getting a decent income rate.

Erimus Kamzel · Jul 25, 2015

To get a joint discovery, you all have to be in the same system too. So basically all exploration wings are good for are tagging all bodies in a particular system quicker than a solo explorer can.

Its another good idea that was poorly implemented imho.

Ziljan · Jul 25, 2015

Erimus said:
To get a joint discovery, you all have to be in the same system too. So basically all exploration wings are good for are tagging all bodies in a particular system quicker than a solo explorer can.

Its another good idea that was poorly implemented imho.

so you don't need to scan the same object to get DSS credit?

Erimus Kamzel · Jul 25, 2015

Ziljan said:
so you don't need to scan the same object to get DSS credit?

Correct. If one player scans the sun, for example, all players in the wing, in that system, will get credited with the scan too.

Wings are good for scanning really large systems, where players can split up and have one scan the outer planets, one scanning moons, and one scan the inner planets. Saves time, but that's about it.

dognosh · Jul 25, 2015

Erimus said:
To get a joint discovery, you all have to be in the same system too. So basically all exploration wings are good for are tagging all bodies in a particular system quicker than a solo explorer can.

Its another good idea that was poorly implemented imho.

It was implemented that way to stop the exploiters

Exploiters wanted "honk and all who are in wing share, where ever)
FD said the total opposite, "you must be in same system"
The best would have been "If within xx LY or xx Systems of each other you share" , indicator in wing info graphics stating if we qualify at current separation .

Ziljan · Jul 25, 2015

Erimus said:
Correct. If one player scans the sun, for example, all players in the wing, in that system, will get credited with the scan too.

Wings are good for scanning really large systems, where players can split up and have one scan the outer planets, one scanning moons, and one scan the inner planets. Saves time, but that's about it.

Thanks Erimus. I wouldn't call it a total waste actually. First discovered gets you 50% more credit/hr. But Winging up can net you 100-300% more credit/hr. If your names all go up on the system, then not getting an extra 50% for a specific planet isn't really a loss. It's a still a gain of 50% at a minimum. Provided you can divide up the work efficiently.

For example if you only need to be in the same system. Then one CMDR can take all even numbered planets, and other can take all odd numbers. This would cut down on the time spent in SC in a system dramatically. Especially if you cherry pick and skip icy moons. If you have 3 or more CMDRs then it gets a little more complicated clearly, but if you are efficient and organized, then exploring near the bubble in a wing of 4 could theoretically compete with the income from highly profitable trade routes. I can see 4 CMDRs making at least 2 million per hour with a little practice. Imagine combining that with the Li Yong Rui bonus, and not even having to stray far from the bubble to do it? Now we're talking making ~6 million per hour from EXPLORATION. lol.

Erimus Kamzel · Jul 25, 2015

I agree dognosh. A radius of effect, say 25 LYs, would have been a good middle-ground and made wing members feel more a part of an expedition. Could have had scout roles too.

I would have loved to have seen an option for wings to sign up for an expedition. The expedition could be player named, and could have multiple wings as part of its make up.... Exactly like what the current FGE is embarking on. That way multiple roles could have been delegated, like scouting, surveying, and fighter escort.

Maybe one day.

mossfoot · Jul 25, 2015

Erimus said:
I agree dognosh. A radius of effect, say 25 LYs, would have been a good middle-ground and made wing members feel more a part of an expedition. Could have had scout roles too.

My thought would be if you're going to share within a radius, the money gained should be reduced accordingly (you could literally make four times the money in the same amount of time if you all stuck close together). By having it in the same system, they're speeding things up, but not to the same degree.

Agreed the system could use work, mind you.