I was looking at the galaxy map just now, and reminded myself of just how BIG this galaxy actually is.
Then it kinda hit me. Out of all the lore, the missions we see and the tools we have, I don't recall any of the powers in the game showing the remotest interest in anything beyond their immediate bubble.
I mean, sure the bubble is a big place. But clearly, not big enough, as we now have Colonia. So why do we never see exploration missions? Surely the Empire would be interested in moving to a new sector of space, to exploit and control new areas of space? Or perhaps the Federation would like to search for new, exotic scientific discoveries to abuse and manipulate?
Can't this then be the basis for a whole new exploration mechanic? Long term missions, with multiple parameters to fulfill, for a large payoff and increase in Exploration ranking (or some, new reward)? And because these missions are requiring specific achievements, then it's only right that these ships are fitted with new Science Modules, with top sciencing stuff that the Canonn guys would salivate over.
Let's say, for just an example, that the Federation Science Council, have decided that they want to look for a new, more efficient source of energy. Their top men have discovered that certain types of star might have a better form of Hydrogen than we are currently using, but they need to find systems with certain types of elements for this to work. Because they can't find any within 15000ly of the bubble, they need long-distance science explorers to find systems with these specific elements and stars.
So, obviously we already have the ability to map star types. So you would plan your journey using these stars as your search parameters. The Federation Science Council have already determined that the nearer to the galactic core, the more likely these stars are to contain the elements required. So you might pop to Sag A* by way of these particular stars.
When you reach a system, you honk as you would normally to reveal all the bodies in the system. Then, using a spectroscope scanner, you would scan the main star for signs of these elements. If it is a match to what you're looking for, well, that's already some financial gain added to your final mission reward. Next, you need to see if the system is stable enough to b used for any future mining operations - the mission parameters dictate the requirement of a planetary body, no further away than 150ls from the main star, which orbits a gas giant which contains enough Hydrogen to keep things running for a few months while any base is constructed. So you search and confirm if this is the case. To ensure viability, you need to land and take a ground sample in your SRV, which would would do.
That would just be one part of their mission. They'd also like to find evidence of new life, and the Science Module is capable of scanning any planet and returning the likelihood of life being possible on the surface. Then, using the data provided by the scanner, you would venture onto the surface and see what life there is, fungal or bacterial. Or other. Other would be very interesting...
The mission would be required to run for a set number of light years from the system it was given from, and this would be a large number. Obviously, there would be many mission types, from shorter range which would last just a few days, to epic journeys of discovery lasting for several months. Eitherway, these would offer FAR more variety and purpose than the honk, jump, refuel we have now. And it might give Frontier's story writers some platform to introduce new branches of lore and legend.
