The recent enhancements to exploration have been a huge boon to the E
community. The addition of the FSS and the new DSS have pushed many players to try their hands at exploration. In addition the new systems inspired, in part, the organizers and community to run this current Distant Worlds 2 event.
There is a minor hitch in the current system though. The first discovery tag is currently very valuable, increasing the exploration data turn in by roughly three times. Now, I'm all in favor of new discovery data being this valuable as it'll push players out into new frontiers rather than just running proven routes already treaded. But since the first discovery tag is so very valuable, players are not willing to collaborate or share information about systems they've discovered until they've turned in their data. For a seasoned explorer this can be weeks or even months later. Some important secret about the Thargoid threat or even Raxxla might go unheeded or even forgotten due to a player trying to protect their discovery.
I would like to suggest a first discovery protection system. When a player turns in their discovery data, if they scanned a system before anyone else, they should get the first discovered tag (and reward) even if another player beat them to turning in the data. This mirrors our real world history books in many ways where if someone can prove they discovered something before everyone else, they get the credit. The method would work as follows:
Player A scans body X and discovers it.
Player B scans body X. Since X has not been reported to universal cartographics yet, it shows as undiscovered.
Player B turns in the discovery data for X. They get the first discovered tag and the reward.
Player A turns in the discovery data for X. The first discovered tag updates to show player A discovered it first, and player A gets the first discovered reward.
There's obviously the concern with players trying to game this system, such as a bunch of friends all exploring together and timing the turn-in data. I wouldn't be too concerned with this as the amount of credits earned per hour in this way is far fewer than the current hotness that is deep core mining. Players would earn as much this way as they would if everyone all went in different directions instead and explored their own areas of the galaxy.
On the upside, players would be more willing to share interesting findings with each other knowing that their discoveries are truly protected.
community. The addition of the FSS and the new DSS have pushed many players to try their hands at exploration. In addition the new systems inspired, in part, the organizers and community to run this current Distant Worlds 2 event.There is a minor hitch in the current system though. The first discovery tag is currently very valuable, increasing the exploration data turn in by roughly three times. Now, I'm all in favor of new discovery data being this valuable as it'll push players out into new frontiers rather than just running proven routes already treaded. But since the first discovery tag is so very valuable, players are not willing to collaborate or share information about systems they've discovered until they've turned in their data. For a seasoned explorer this can be weeks or even months later. Some important secret about the Thargoid threat or even Raxxla might go unheeded or even forgotten due to a player trying to protect their discovery.
I would like to suggest a first discovery protection system. When a player turns in their discovery data, if they scanned a system before anyone else, they should get the first discovered tag (and reward) even if another player beat them to turning in the data. This mirrors our real world history books in many ways where if someone can prove they discovered something before everyone else, they get the credit. The method would work as follows:
Player A scans body X and discovers it.
Player B scans body X. Since X has not been reported to universal cartographics yet, it shows as undiscovered.
Player B turns in the discovery data for X. They get the first discovered tag and the reward.
Player A turns in the discovery data for X. The first discovered tag updates to show player A discovered it first, and player A gets the first discovered reward.
There's obviously the concern with players trying to game this system, such as a bunch of friends all exploring together and timing the turn-in data. I wouldn't be too concerned with this as the amount of credits earned per hour in this way is far fewer than the current hotness that is deep core mining. Players would earn as much this way as they would if everyone all went in different directions instead and explored their own areas of the galaxy.
On the upside, players would be more willing to share interesting findings with each other knowing that their discoveries are truly protected.
