Explorer Tips: Motivation

[Luke3107]

The Tl;Dr: Quite simple really, what keeps you motivated and commited to exploration? Do you have any suggestions for someone who generally likes to switch between jobs every couple of weeks? (I have been known to be Mining one minute and by the end of a couple of hours, I'll be Bounty Hunting).
Note: I am on xbox and don't own a laptop so please takew that into consideration with your suggestions.

I am just heading back to the bubble after my pilgramage to Sag A*. Initially, when I started, I figured I would scan each system, view the sights and eventually get to the SMBH at the centre of the Milky Way. Unfortunately after about an hour or two, (or approximately 5/6 systems, each with between 5-20 objects) I got bored and just charged straight to Sag A*. On the way back, I pretty much did the same thing. I just can't stay motivated to continue unfortunately.

However, when I watch my friend come across amazing sights such as a system with 3 stars all orbiting within about a 1000Ls diameter, or seeing a Herbig Star up close, I essentially wish I could be bothered.

I appreciate some exciting things can be found by simply jumping and honking into systems, there is a strong emphasis on the word some. I spent several hours in Sag A* alone when I got there, as I found the sight awe inspiring. But as I mentioned, I lack the motivation to fly through each system to find this stuff.

I should point out, Cr is merely an added bonus so tips on finding high value planets are welcome, but not specifically what I'm after. I'm specifically looking for tips on staying interested and motivated when flying through systems with a DSS and/or between systems with an ADS.

 

[Duckfat]

I've been the same. I see videos on YouTube and get real excited, jump into the ASP and go for it, but the tediousness of it all soon gets to me after about 500LYs and I'm back in my Vulture. But still, I can't wait for the CNE. I think doing it with a group of people would be much better, even if you do still spend a lot of the time on your own.

And your mindset obviously makes a big difference. Not setting any particular goals will probably help. And having other games to play on the side. Just treat this as a bit of a relaxing game to play for a while and just take it easy. Half an hour of sight seeing here and there.

It'd really help if we could have a second toon and switch back and forth, but Frontier obviously make a lot of extra money from people who buy second accounts for this purpose, so I doubt they'd be stupid enough to shoot that cash cow in the face.

 

[Roqinn]

You just have to WANT to do it. I wanted to go see Sag A*. I bought my Asp and outfitted it and set off. Shortly thereafter they started out on DWE and I joined in on that! I figured "What the heck? I'm almost half way across the galaxy, why not continue on??" I got to see a lot of nice sights and go places no one has ever been and only a few have been too. I can now say "I have done this."

Quite frankly, about 3/4 of the way back I got really burnt out and just wanted to be back in the bubble.

You have to want to be out there in the first place. That will give you the motivation to stay out there as long as you want. Try doing some of the closer nebula or other POI. You can get to Barnard's Loop in no time! If you just want to get to you destination, just buckyball out, see what you want to see and the buckyball back. Or you can take your time and see the sights along the way.

Like Duckfat said it's your mindset.

 

[bkrownd]

The Tl;Dr: Quite simple really, what keeps you motivated and commited to exploration? Do you have any suggestions for someone who generally likes to switch between jobs every couple of weeks? (I have been known to be Mining one minute and by the end of a couple of hours, I'll be Bounty Hunting).
Note: I am on xbox and don't own a laptop so please takew that into consideration with your suggestions.

I switch roles all the time. When I'm exploring I scan everything that doesn't appear to be plain rock/ice. I need the credits for my next mining ship, LOL. Some people will not have the time for that. Generally when I'm exploring I just pick a direction to see what's out there. The current expedition I have been trying to see how far "down" I could go, following maze-like routes down and then backtracking, and looking for unscanned pockets of stars down there. I motivate my expeditions with goals like that. Scan an area, go in a direction, building a narrative around what I'm doing. I wish we had exploration missions sending us to investigate particular areas in particular ways to help with the explorer narrative.

 

[Garrus]

The Tl;Dr: Quite simple really, what keeps you motivated and commited to exploration? Do you have any suggestions for someone who generally likes to switch between jobs every couple of weeks? (I have been known to be Mining one minute and by the end of a couple of hours, I'll be Bounty Hunting).
Note: I am on xbox and don't own a laptop so please takew that into consideration with your suggestions.

I switch between jobs too, and that's not a bad thing. I think it's rather common - one is bound to get burnt out doing the same thing over and over unless there's a burning passion for it. My passion is to play the game - and for me that means all aspects of it. I've been exploring for the last few months, but currently I'm trading, hunting for Engineers stuff, and pondering if I'd like to start mining. I'll surely come back to exploring soon.

For me, exploring does require determination, interest and a need to find things. Like you've encountered, sometimes you come across awe inspiring systems, and sometimes it's just a few rocks.

Sometimes settings goals is good - if you're getting bored and just kinda wandering around aimlessly on the way to a certain point, you could try searching for something specific along the way - like finding an Earth like world, or gas giants with life, neutron stars, black holes, etc.

Searching for something specific kept me motivated the last time. On my last little jaunt out I wanted to find three undiscovered Earth like worlds. I read threads here discussing ELWs, how they tend to appear, which kind of systems tend to have them, if they come in groups, etc, and then left to find some, and I didn't come back until I did.

And sometimes, I just want to get the hell away from the bubble. To be alone, in the black. It's relaxing. It's slow, it's free of any rush or time crunch. To wander aimlessly with no goal in mind, in contrast to my point above.

Going out a certain distance sometimes keeps me motived - trying to push myself to go farther, or to a place that hasn't been charted much and make a significant contribution to EDSM, for example.

The sights of course keep me going out - I'm on a PC, so I have Horizons (I know you're on Xbox, and I think Horizons is coming to it very soon, right?). Landing on a planet, even if it's just a boring looking ice body or a high metal content world, and then driving an SRV getting screenshots or watching the sun rise in my ship is just awesome. They're much more impressive up close then from the system map. Hell even orbiting a planet and watching the sun rise over the horizon is sometimes breath taking.

And, when I'm ready, I just turn around and head back. It's not like I can't go out again later!

 

[Kuroshio]

One suggestion if you like switching jobs frequently: Fly circles/squares/pizza slizes around the bubble. Head out 2,000-3,000 light-years, turn 90 degrees on any axis you like, and pick a plane figure that will keep you at a constant distant to home. You'll see a lot of beauty, a lot of it undiscovered, and you'll never be more than 2-4 hours from populated space.

 

[gooddoc]

Exploration is just personal choice - you've got to enjoy it to benefit from long term exploration.

Horizon's help - though not out yet on Xbox - cos you can break up any boredom by landing on some interesting planets & wandering around collecting mats for your ship or SRV.

When I'm out exploring I usually scan everything in a system except Asteroids & Ice/Rock worlds (these are of little value when selling data).

Iv been to Beagle Point with the DWE trip, that was great. I'm now in the bubble waiting for the CNE trip to start in a couple of weeks. I now get bored quickly when in the bubble as my opinion is that the bubble is for the pewpew fanboys.

I'm currently trying to get some module updates for my Exploration ships, but can't wait to get back into the black!

Try going on a short trip like the CNE - or at least following the route if you're not on the roster.

 

[newman1702]

I don't think you can gain the motivation for exploration through tips on a forum; you either have the mindset for it and therefore enjoy it, or you don't. My advice, don't stress about it if you find it boring, just enjoy the screenshots of shinies and do what you personally like; it's a game and it's meant to entertain you. It's amazing how often that simple premise gets overlooked these days

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Pick your systems. Don't make a rule to scan them all. Cut the 27 KLy trip into smaller sized ones.

When I came back from Sag A, I always picked the next nebula on the way, trying to aim for 5 Kly stints. During such a stint, only an ELW or multiple WW could make me stop to scan the systems. Once I got to the nebula, I took some time to check out the surrounding systems. Advantage is that you always have a nice colourful nebula backdrop.

This was before Horizons, so you can also start looking for planets to land on every 5 kly and do a little planetary exploration.

Also when you're travelling:
Scoop fuel, wait for it to finish
Align roughly with your next destination (but not directly to it)
After fuel scoop disengages, fire up the FSD and check system map
If system map doesn't show anything good: align with next destination and jump
If system map has shinies, cancel FSD

Not aligning exactly with your next destination means that if your system map is slow, or you want to check out some planets, you'll have the time to do so.

 

[iain666]

I think motivation is something you need to find for yourself. The exploration community can offer you help and encouragement to keep going - even the occasional burst of company out there in the black but the motivation to get started is something that has to come from within.

 

[Jastebro]

Explore with people! This includes idling in the Discord app to swap words and share pictures with fellow explorers.
I'd never made it to Beagle Point and back if it wasn't for the company, and the weekly waypoints.
But once out, there's only exploring to do. And social meetups with SRV shenanigans on distant planets. For this, I listen to either pod radio or watch streams of other games.
Following the pre-release hype of Stellaris was nice. Watching DDR Jake conquer the world in Europa Universalis 4 in over 100+ episodes is also worthwhile.

There's too many systems to thoroughly scan, so cherry pick to the best of your ability.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Well I've been out since December 17th and don't plan to return anytime soon. Things I've used to stay interested:

Occasional CQC
2.1 Beta
Distant Worlds (Took a good 2 months of that 6 up)
Fuel Rat Rescues (4 so far)
Mining
Podcasts/videos/films/youtube

I also have very select targets. For example X nebula, Y Supergiant star. I spent a good month+ hunting black holes and planetary nebula around the core area. Really enjoyed that especially the thrill of finding undiscovered ones.

I also look for close-by worlds in trinary/quandary? (3+ landables close together) as well as scanning select things. Yeah sure I do end up racing from point to point a fair bit but I do scan stuff occasionally. I also read a lot on the forums and dip in and out of other games to keep it somewhat fresh.

 

[goemon]

I'm more of a "target oriented" explorer ... not rank or CR oriented, but i need something to fly too.

since my travel clockwise into the center, i have done/I do "projects", which allow me to switch more often (but i also have two accounts now...):

- in 1.4. i tried to reach every point with "1000"-galaxy map coordinates, for exampel +1000/-1000/-1000 ... i threw some local and planetary nebulas into the mix, visited all systems out of the bubble, and enjoyed the challenge of routeplanning high above or below the galactic plane. did that with a lots of different exploration ships, too - "usual ones" like DBE, AspE, and anaconda, and less usual ones like eagle, DBS and python. you wouldn't believe how many beautifull undiscovered earthlikes or (previously discovered) herbig AE stars you'll find, as soon as you leave the common routes. also, there are some sectors close to the bubble which are complicated to get into... once you are in, you discover "new terra". if you do something like this, you can effectivily be back in the bubble in 2 hours.

- since december i work on a list of all known hypergiants from our real galaxy, using the star catalogue simbad, flying to them. i picked up the fascination for hypergiants from another explorer on these forums. some of them are visually stunning, and on the way there and back i find some impressive and strange systems. trying to find real-world hypergiants ingame, and travelling to them, keeps me busy. still searching for the "pistol star" and westerlund 1 .... many of those hypergiants are close to the bubble. so, whenever i feel like having break, i fly to a new one. if i don't feel like returning, i target the next closest by.


___


ah, yes, and podcasts. i love channel-four-like scientific podcasts and radioessays.

 

[Cdr Voorheez]

My own motivation:

1. This community
2. Long periods on non exploration to motivate me to explore
3. My own immersion in the ED lore
4. Tech incentives like VoiceAttack and EDSM/EDD
5. Target focussed exploration.

 

[marx]

However, when I watch my friend come across amazing sights such as a system with 3 stars all orbiting within about a 1000Ls diameter, or seeing a Herbig Star up close, I essentially wish I could be bothered.

I appreciate some exciting things can be found by simply jumping and honking into systems, there is a strong emphasis on the word some. I spent several hours in Sag A* alone when I got there, as I found the sight awe inspiring. But as I mentioned, I lack the motivation to fly through each system to find this stuff.

You don't necessarily have to supercruise through systems, you can find interesting stuff just by looking at the galaxy map, then go there and check the system map. In fact, I'd recommend spending time at the galaxy map, just looking through the galaxy and trying to find places which look interesting enough to fly to and take a closer look. Maybe look at the Galactic Mapping Project for some hints too.

A few destination suggestions from me:
- You've been to Sagittarius A*, but if you fancy making another trip to the core, the G2 Dust Cloud is also well worth a visit. It's the farthest non-procedural large nebula out there. It's one of the smallest and the faintest ones, but it makes for some nice views as it tints the backdrop of the core red.
- Why not travel to the edge of the galaxy? The Southern one is only ~15000 ly away, and much less explored than the far end of the Milky Way. On your way, you'll have to cross the Outer Arm Vacuus (or take a massive detour), which is a fun navigational challenge as long as your jump range is under 44 ly or so. It can be done with T1 boosts in a 35 ly jump range ship, mind.
- The Skull & Crossbones Nebula is one of the farthest non-procedural ones out, with a number of interesting stars around it.
- Procedural nebulae near and in the core tend to have thousands of systems next to or even inside them, making for some very interesting stellar backdrops.

While you're travelling, I'd also recommend keeping an eye on both the system map, and the galaxy map once your route is planned. You might accidentally come across interesting regions and interesting systems too. Personally, at least half - or maybe even more - of my interesting finds were ones that I didn't specifically go looking for.

 

[SMcA]

I'm more of a "target oriented" explorer ... not rank or CR oriented, but i need something to fly too.

You beat me to it. "target oriented" explorer, a good description. That sounds like me.

One of the targets I use is to go into the G-Map and switch off all the star types. You can then see some fuzzy points that when you zoom in are fuzzy volumes. (I think they might be planetary nebula.)
Switch all the stars back on and most of the Fuzzies have a star at the centre which you can navigate to. [Zoom out and rotate your view for them to show up better.]
The view inside these systems can be spectacular.

Here are some s/shots that might help.

Spoiler

http://imgur.com/Up5nIdW
http://imgur.com/SAP0lbl
http://imgur.com/UuzMrgc
http://imgur.com/phdduTF

 

[Luke3107]

A lot of suggestions and I'll take them all inbto account. It certainly seems a popular method is to have other forms of entertainment in the background (be it music or youtube vids) so I may invest in a cheap second device for that sort of thing.

I've bookmnarked the post for reference so thanks a lot guys.

 

[MarcusVatta]

Personally, when I get the explorer bug (I do spend a fair bit of time in the bubble doing missions, bounty hunting, and prospecting/salvage) I'll look at the galaxy map for quite a while. I look for structures that look unusual. For example, my current target is a cluster of red dwarfs that extends linearly away from a large nebula. I don't know if the nebula expelled them, or if some other process created them, but it looked weird. So I went there (and then pancaked the ground hitting the down jets instead of up and brought my hull to 12%). I plan to return as soon as I've introduced myself to Ms. Farseer.

 

[askavir]

My motivation is my love of astronomy. Having all (well, most of ) the REAL known astronomical objects to visits is priceless for me.

Most of my travel destinations are usually famous stars, real nebulas, real locations. I pick some place I would die to be able to vissit in real life, plan a trip passing by other real POIs, and there I go. To be honest, I don't scan the vast majority the things I pass, only the particularly interesting ones. On return, credits are just an extra, actually being there, and feeling I've been, the journey there and back is my real reward. While travelling along my planned POIs, I always end up taking a lot of detours any time I spot something interesting, either on the galaxy map or on the skybox.

 

[Yanick]

I think you've go to have the motivation to do it in the first place. I built up to big jaunts by doing smaller ones. My first jaunt was in a Hauler, very early on in my ED experience. I reached about 500 ly out. Then moved on to longer distances as my ships improved. Untill I went to Sag A in my ASP. After doing that journey, long distance exploration doesn't seem such a hard thing to do. Listening to podcasts and music helps pass the time, in duller moments.

Appart from Sag A, I've never had a specific system to travel to in mind. Just certain regions that appealed. I'm in the middle of my present expedition that went across the west side of the core, up though those under explored North West areas, to the Abyssal Plain. The plain has been the goal of my present expedition, and I'm slowly mapping it. You do need a certain amount of patience as an explorer. But you get to see so many wonderful things, it more than makes up for it