Exploring is Awesome!

[smiths121]

First thing I did with my new commander a couple of weeks ago was a round-about trip to Pleiades. Went around 400LY 70 degrees away from bubble then turned to the nebula. I managed to plot a path well travelled, only got first discovered on a few moons someone had left over - so not well thought out and planned by me - made about 1.5MCr in a week, but the explorer rank gains were welcome.

There was a lot of honk- look - scan the high meta worlds and gasg giantsmove on. I only found 2 systems of interest to me all trip - a nice system with 2 x G class stars each with their own water worlds (3 in total in the system), and a K type start with a tidally locked high metal world (!00% metal according to the detail surface scanner - never seen that before), where I landed my buggy and found some new materials. I looked around the side facing the star, but did not look on the dark side. You go all that way......... and forget.

It was my first "proper" exploration trip (if you call doing it in an Adder as proper), there is a skill to maximising income to time through the mostly uninteresting systems. For me the number of interesting systems to uninteresting system is a bit .... uninteresting, but I intend to go out again, probably later this week.

Got my newly fitted out Type-6 explorer, 26LY range, all the explorer toys and 64 tons of cargo space for 6.5Mcr - bargain. Going back to Pleiades - different route this time, want to see alien life whilst it is still a mystery rather than a thing invading us.

Simon

Simon

 

[CMDR Swift Arrow]

It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive.

I'm out in an Asp Explorer, heading for the NGC 3199 Nebula and then on to the edge of the Galaxy.

Not many other pilots have been out this way because I am finding lots of First Discoveries. This rather slows me down because I have to DSS everything, down to the smallest moon, if I'm the first person to visit the Star System.

I'm having a ball!

Wait till you get to NGC 3199 Sector.

 

[CMDR Argent Steel]

Exploring is really a thing that you should train yourself to do if you intend to get into it. A lot of people posting here seem to have the right idea. Taking a few short jaunts (by which I mean 1000ly from the bubble) and coming home to sell your data does wonders for when you start to really stretch your legs and go farther than 10,000ly in a trip.

It also makes the bubble seem very small. Going from one end of inhabited space to another becomes no big deal anymore.

 

[RogueWolf]

Anyone have any ship suggestions for deep space?

 

[Peregrine Vee]

Anyone have any ship suggestions for deep space?

As far as I can tell the Asp Explorer is the gold standard for deep space exploration missions. Nice open cockpit with a good view, great jump range, and enough internal room to fit most of what you might need. I've been experimenting with my first real exploration with one and it's been working quite nicely so far. I've also heard that an Anaconda can do well if set up specifically for exploration due to the good jump range, internal room, and general toughness of it. But that might be outside a few people's price ranges.

 

[Cosmos]

Delighted you're able to extract some enjoyment from it. I'm rather envious because after ~40KLy all totted up I found exploration quickly became the most boring thing I've ever forced myself to endure. I even considered suiciding to get back into the bubble but for some reason ~50MCr with of exploration data forced me to travel back in about the same time I could have made four times that amount doing-- well, just about anything else.

I know, I know: ED isn't all about the money. But when you've seen one celestial body type you've seen them all, and when you crave more than playing a screenshot simulator, or you're desperate for event he tiniest morsel of player agency, money is pretty much all ED boils down to.

I've had some cool moments exploring but its a lonely old business and after a while light years from anywhere I find it gets a bit too repetative. Being able to land on planets makes a big diff but as it stands that gets a bit old too after a while since there isn't much to find.

I'm coming back after the DW trip and its turning out to be a bit of a chore. Looking forward to getting back to the bubble.

 

[Ziljan]

Fun things about exploration:

-Learning about Astronomy!!
-Pretty things to see
-Experiencing the enormity and structure of our Galaxy from one end to the other
-Finding and surviving extreme environments, like planets inside the corona of their parent star, etc
-Group expeditions like Distant Worlds!!!!



Not so fun things about Exploration:

-Brainless and boring one button scanning mechanic. The skill level required is appropriate for kindergartners, or monkeys.
-Most of the Astronomical info is text based and not interactive or feedback based. The scan information should be more visual, more detailed, and actually useful.
-There is little agency for "explorers". All planets, one choice, to scan or not to scan. That is all.
-the system map is a separate window (not in the cockpit) which makes opening it a time consuming and needlessly risky process
-Mostly the same stuff over and over again, with little to no special finds, except in their combinations and number
-Missing cool features and natural dangers like gamma ray bursts, meteor showers, deadly radiation poisoning, supernovae, high destructive ionized dust particles
-cannot create waypoints when mapping, manually plot multiple jumps, or save routes.

 

[woodhouse]

With all due respect I find 'when you have seen one you have seen them all' to be the oddest of complaints about a SPACE SIMULTION GAME. ED has plenty of faults but sometimes I really do wonder what people expect them to do to make them happy on that front. Every so often a triangular star made of cheese or a hexagonal moon made of wood?

Actually, I do find it sad that they took away the magic moons of Magec that looked like coloured bounce balls in premium beta.

 

[askavir]

Fun things about exploration:

-Learning about Astronomy!!
-Pretty things to see
-Experiencing the enormity and structure of our Galaxy from one end to the other
-Finding and surviving extreme environments, like planets inside the corona of their parent star, etc
-Group expeditions like Distant Worlds!!!!



Not so fun things about Exploration:

-Brainless and boring one button scanning mechanic. The skill level required is appropriate for kindergartners, or monkeys.
-Most of the Astronomical info is text based and not interactive or feedback based. The scan information should be more visual, more detailed, and actually useful.
-There is little agency for "explorers". All planets, one choice, to scan or not to scan. That is all.
-the system map is a separate window (not in the cockpit) which makes opening it a time consuming and needlessly risky process
-Mostly the same stuff over and over again, with little to no special finds, except in their combinations and number
-Missing cool features and natural dangers like gamma ray bursts, meteor showers, deadly radiation poisoning, supernovae, high destructive ionized dust particles
-cannot create waypoints when mapping, manually plot multiple jumps, or save routes.

Ran out of Rep for you, so have a virtual Hutton Mug full of beer instead!

I agree with pretty much all your statements.

I love exploration, yet I miss interaction, or feedback with/from the environment.

For instance, besides visuals, there is no difference between landing on a frozen moon and a scorched planet orbitting very close to a huge or extremely hot star. Or a heavily irradiated planet or star system. Of potential damage from gamma rays, radiation, extreme environments, extreme heat, extreme cold, extreme pressure, environmental hazards, meteors, etc. Even black holes and neutron stars are harmless, unless someone deliberatly suicides into them. Everything is much too harmless.

I remember the first time I visited Betelgeuse... I was able to go very close to the first planet (which is seriously close to the gargantuan star) while it was being hit by solar flare! I then became momentarily trapped in Betelgeuse's gravity pull, it took me a while to get away from it, while my ship started to heat and take damage... very very sloooooooowlyyyy... I mean come on! I deliberatly put my ship at great risk, flew into solar flare from a 640 solar radius star, got obviously caught in its gravity, I should have paid dearly from my insolent mistake. Instead I got 4% damage to modules...

Space should be big, cold, agoraphobic and also dangerous. It feels too much like a walk in the town park, when in reality it should feel like a lone, unarmed wander in the tropical rainforest or african savannah.

We're talking about space here, the final frontier, the most hazardous of environments. The only danger right now is running out of fuel. Nothing can ever go wrong, everything is just a matter of time. No strategy involved, no risk calculation, no decision wether to venture forth, or leave behind.

Scanning objects and obtaining information from them should give you intel on how to (or if) to approach / land a particular object, planet, moon, star). If the planet is too hot, too cold, heavily irradiated, etc it should start damaging your ship/srv after some time spent in it. Also orbitting neutron stars and other objects with emit huge amounts of radiation.

Going on a lengthy space exploration mission should feel like a dangerous endeavour (not like in random piewpiew dangerous, but like in environmentally dangerous).

There's plenty of hazards and dangers in real space. Maybe someday they will find their way into the game.

 

[Arubeto]

There are some pretty cool sights out there. Can't wait to see more with Horizons whenever it makes its way to the Xbox! https://youtu.be/Q5D9IMmNFcw

Great video, thanks for sharing!

 

[smiths121]

Fun things about exploration:

-Learning about Astronomy!!
-Pretty things to see
-Experiencing the enormity and structure of our Galaxy from one end to the other
-Finding and surviving extreme environments, like planets inside the corona of their parent star, etc
-Group expeditions like Distant Worlds!!!!



Not so fun things about Exploration:

-Brainless and boring one button scanning mechanic. The skill level required is appropriate for kindergartners, or monkeys.
-Most of the Astronomical info is text based and not interactive or feedback based. The scan information should be more visual, more detailed, and actually useful.
-There is little agency for "explorers". All planets, one choice, to scan or not to scan. That is all.
-the system map is a separate window (not in the cockpit) which makes opening it a time consuming and needlessly risky process
-Mostly the same stuff over and over again, with little to no special finds, except in their combinations and number
-Missing cool features and natural dangers like gamma ray bursts, meteor showers, deadly radiation poisoning, supernovae, high destructive ionized dust particles
-cannot create waypoints when mapping, manually plot multiple jumps, or save routes.

Wow perfect summary have some rep.
Once in a while you come across something cool - high metal planet 100% metal, or double G system with earth like around each (one of which has rings for added "I must land". Time between interesting things is measured in days .... in days I tell you. I have slowly got myself to being able to explore for a week at a time!

Simon

 

[Jermus]

... Time between interesting things is measured in days .... in days I tell you. I have slowly got myself to being able to explore for a week at a time!

Strangly enough, that's one of the things I find appealing to exploring. Not that I fly every day. I am now out in the deep for a bit over a month, and to my surprise I still want to continue! :S

 

[Chrystoph]

There is a popular misunderstanding of exploring and sight-seeing, mistaking one for the other.
While the latter has its moments, the former is just a boring grind for money and a search for even more boring statistical values.

Personally, I grew up in the era of space travel mania. I expected to be living on the moon base that was promised, then never was. I am still of the opinion that humanity is shooting itself in the foot by not doing things like getting orbital power collectors into operation, especially when we already have all the technology needed to do the job.

To me, the Elite universe is the closest I'll get to space travel. Why limit that to balkan state politics as applied to the interstellar map?