Exploration to what end?

planatar

P
I can see how exploring new systems is worth doing to find valuable ores etc. but wouldn't this only be for systems that are relatively close to a core system with a station?
I.e. if you discover a new system with valuable ore, would anyone really be interested in visiting it or mining it if it is far away from any station?
In which case is there any point in exploring further out?
Or will there be other reasons / things to find that make the exploration effort worthwhile?
I fear the situation where we have the 400 billion systems but no-one has any incentive to reach out much beyond those systems with stations.
I read the DDF archive on exploration and it did mention generally being able to sell any new system discoveries but I am trying to understand the reason why anyone would buy those discoveries.
 

Joe Spivey

Joe Spivey
planatar said:
I read the DDF archive on exploration and it did mention generally being able to sell any new system discoveries but I am trying to understand the reason why anyone would buy those discoveries.
Click to expand...

Once knowledge of a new system becomes known by the factions one or more will attempt to exploit it. This will eventually lead to the building of a station and so our trading sandpit becomes that little bit larger.
 
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ZenSpider

ZenSpider
Hey. :)

I expect the background simulation will take care of most of this and lead to the gradual expansion of inhabited space.

As an example, say you go out and find a mineral-rich system on the frontier not far from an inhabited system. You map it, return the data for your reward and carry on your merry way. As time passes, background simulation "notices" said newly mapped system and sends NPC prospectors out to have a look (PC prospectors too might show an interest I suppose). Soon enough, a small Extraction economy takes hold. Local factions may take an interest in establishing a jurisdiction there, a station might spring up, and so on and so forth.

I expect the simulation to continue to expand human space based on the activity of PC explorers, among other things. That's how I understand it is planned to work anyway.
 

warbaby2

warbaby2
Joe Spivey said:
Once knowledge of a new system becomes known by the factions one or more will attempt to exploit it. This will eventually lead to the building of a station and so out trading sandpit becomes that little bit larger.
Click to expand...

That, and we will able to sell cartography data to various ingame factions... for a little more short term incentive.
 

planatar

P
Joe Spivey said:
Once knowledge of a new system becomes known by the factions one or more will attempt to exploit it. This will eventually lead to the building of a station and so out trading sandpit becomes that little bit larger.
Click to expand...

This makes sense although I wonder how often this kind of thing will happen in game terms, all the time new systems opening or once in a blue moon. (Perhaps a blue moon would be worth creating a station for!)

Hopefully major powers would also fight over a new system which makes it more interesting for other player types too.
 

Celeste

Celeste
Discovering planets that will support life? Discovering different lifeforms? Discovering other "Intelligent" lifeforms. Discovering new elements? Adventure! Endless possibilities.
 

planatar

P
ZenSpider said:
Hey. :)

I expect the background simulation will take care of most of this and lead to the gradual expansion of inhabited space.

As an example, say you go out and find a mineral-rich system on the frontier not far from an inhabited system. You map it, return the data for your reward and carry on your merry way. As time passes, background simulation "notices" said newly mapped system and sends NPC prospectors out to have a look (PC prospectors too might show an interest I suppose). Soon enough, a small Extraction economy takes hold. Local factions may take an interest in establishing a jurisdiction there, a station might spring up, and so on and so forth.

I expect the simulation to continue to expand human space based on the activity of PC explorers, among other things. That's how I understand it is planned to work anyway.
Click to expand...

Actually this leads me to a follow up question. How is time modeled in the game? Is time for the 'simulation' sped up in any sense? I suspect it isn't in which case creation of a new station could literally take years.
 

ZenSpider

ZenSpider
planatar said:
Actually this leads me to a follow up question. How is time modeled in the game? Is time for the 'simulation' sped up in any sense? I suspect it isn't in which case creation of a new station could literally take years.
Click to expand...

I would expect this would be something that will be subject to ongoing balancing. Years wouldn't make the simulation very "dynamic" so I wouldn't expect it to be that long.
 

Cmdr Eagleboy

Cmdr Eagleboy
We aren't informed about time scales, but if I would have to guess building station could take some weeks (at least). I guess we will have info drop from FD when we will getting close to introduction of event generation and simulation parts.
 
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warbaby2

warbaby2
ZenSpider said:
I would expect this would be something that will be subject to ongoing balancing. Years wouldn't make the simulation very "dynamic" so I wouldn't expect it to be that long.
Click to expand...

I don't quite remember where DB stated it, but big events like a the building of a new station will take 1-2 months at most, while smaller events like famins or a planetary siege will take a few weeks.
 

Voyager_NL

Voyager_NL
planatar said:
Actually this leads me to a follow up question. How is time modeled in the game? Is time for the 'simulation' sped up in any sense? I suspect it isn't in which case creation of a new station could literally take years.
Click to expand...

Time right now is the same as here, it's just UTC time with the same date but then in the year 3300... it ticks with the same speed. So YES interesting to know how quickly a station can be built by a faction.

And why would we want to explore? To be the first ofcourse! The first to see these never before seen things, be it an ordinary system or maybe something exotic.

"Where we go... others can only follow."
-=The First Great Expedition=-
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/243036775900907/)
300+ explorers and growing!
 

TallTroll

T
If you are looking for a tangible benefit,there are "dark systems" that don't appear on the galaxy map. You could use those to shortcut long, unjumpable journeys that would otherwise require taking a long winded route and make large trading profits.

There will also be unspecified "mysteries" to discover. How does the prospect of finding the ruins of an alien civilsation grab you? Especially if you could salvage some neat alien tech upgrades for your ship? Or finding an interesting astronomical phenomenon, which you could "sell" for many thousands of credits? Or finding an unusual star or planet that allows you to scoop hyper grade fuel, so you can jump way further and / or faster than nayone else in the whole Galaxy?

Also, there are the Thargoids out there....somewhere. It is almost inconceivable that a Thargoid Invasion isn't being planned for some point down the road, sometime. Might be handy to know where they live, don't you think?
 
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