Fastest - no, THE FASTEST - way of long-haul travel?

[DidierDrbois]

Ahoy explorers!

As I'm sure you know, exploring is a ton and a half of fun. That is, until you have to travel to the point of interest for tens of thousands of LYs. Those bland pink balls scattered all around the route get soon boring.

My question therefore is: what techniques do you guys employ to travel, FAST? And what kind of coverage do you get?

Here's what I do:

Plot the fastest route. Hyperjump in. Blast the discovery scanner. If the star is scoopable, I align so my roof is facing it and start circling the star towards the next system in route. Charge FSD as soon as scoop disengages. All that at FULL throttle.

I calculated I am able to cover about 1,000LY per hour like that, BUT I do run very low on fuel from time to time and doing multiple scooping rounds at full throttle is way too dangerous, equals a huge delay.

So. Explorer veterans, over to you.

Cheerio!

 

[Drakedge]

Here's what I do when i go out and explore:

I turn the galaxy map over to realistic and look out for yellow stars, or interesting stars and plot my points along those routes as they will generally have the better systems with them.

If i come across systems that have already had first explorers through then I wont bother scanning the planets unless they are metal, earth like, water, gas giants or what have you. I wont bother scanning icey planets that have already been discovered, and honestly sometimes even not when they havent been.

A little purple / pink ball of ice out int he middle of nowheresville is only going to give you about 300 credits for finding it. A waste of time really.

So it depends what the system has really. Selecting the stars ahead of you lets you know of potential dangers too as you can see if they have close orbiting pairs or not.

 

[DidierDrbois]

Here's what I do when i go out and explore:

I turn the galaxy map over to realistic and look out for yellow stars, or interesting stars and plot my points along those routes as they will generally have the better systems with them.

If i come across systems that have already had first explorers through then I wont bother scanning the planets unless they are metal, earth like, water, gas giants or what have you. I wont bother scanning icey planets that have already been discovered, and honestly sometimes even not when they havent been.

A little purple / pink ball of ice out int he middle of nowheresville is only going to give you about 300 credits for finding it. A waste of time really.

So it depends what the system has really. Selecting the stars ahead of you lets you know of potential dangers too as you can see if they have close orbiting pairs or not.

Yepers, thanks! Although my question was more about LYs per hour as I tend not to bother even opening the system map when in fast travel mode.

As far as coverage of interesting / cash-heavy discoveries is concerned, I do exactly as you do. Clusters of non-sequence stars as well as nebulae are good targets too. I'm more interested in getting there quickly.

 

[Vasious]

My question therefore is: what techniques do you guys employ to travel, FAST? And what kind of coverage do you get?

Here's what I do:

Plot the fastest route. Hyperjump in. Blast the discovery scanner. If the star is scoopable, I align so my roof is facing it and start circling the star towards the next system in route. Charge FSD as soon as scoop disengages. All that at FULL throttle.


Cheerio!

I use that technique combined with voice attack, timed so that general I can skim scoop back up to 100% fuel capacity.
Even if I cannot I can get quite a distance before I have to stop to refuel.

All I need to do is steer and check the system map after the ping whist the jump drive is charging.
If there is anything interesting I abort the route, otherwise off to the next system

Spoiler

Say, 'Prepare for, Nine jump, planned auto-jump sequence'
Pause 4 seconds
Say, 'Beginning Jump One of Nine'
Pause 2.1 seconds
Execute command, 'Witch space jump' (and wait until it completes)
Pause 25 seconds
Begin Condition : [SCAN] Equals 1
Press Left Ctrl+5 keys and hold for 8 seconds and release
End Condition
Say, 'Beginning Jump two of Nine'
Pause 2 seconds
Execute command, 'Witch space jump' (and wait until it completes)
Pause 25 seconds
Begin Condition : [SCAN] Equals 1
Press Left Ctrl+5 keys and hold for 8 seconds and release
End Condition
Say, 'Beginning Jump Three of Nine'
Pause 2 seconds
Execute command, 'Witch space jump' (and wait until it completes)
Pause 25 seconds
Begin Condition : [SCAN] Equals 1
Press Left Ctrl+5 keys and hold for 8 seconds and release
End Condition
Say, 'Beginning Jump Four of Nine'
Pause 2 seconds
Execute command, 'Witch space jump' (and wait until it completes)
Pause 25 seconds
Begin Condition : [SCAN] Equals 1
Press Left Ctrl+5 keys and hold for 8 seconds and release
End Condition
Say, 'Beginning Jump five of Nine'
Pause 2 seconds
Execute command, 'Witch space jump' (and wait until it completes)
Pause 25 seconds
Begin Condition : [SCAN] Equals 1
Press Left Ctrl+5 keys and hold for 8 seconds and release
End Condition
Say, 'Beginning Jump Six of Nine'
Pause 2 seconds
Execute command, 'Witch space jump' (and wait until it completes)
Pause 25 seconds
Begin Condition : [SCAN] Equals 1
Press Left Ctrl+5 keys and hold for 8 seconds and release
End Condition
Say, 'Beginning Jump Seven of Nine'
Pause 2 seconds
Execute command, 'Witch space jump' (and wait until it completes)
Pause 25 seconds
Begin Condition : [SCAN] Equals 1
Press Left Ctrl+5 keys and hold for 8 seconds and release
End Condition
Say, 'Beginning Jump Eight of Nine'
Pause 2 seconds
Execute command, 'Witch space jump' (and wait until it completes)
Pause 25 seconds
Begin Condition : [SCAN] Equals 1
Press Left Ctrl+5 keys and hold for 8 seconds and release
End Condition
Say, 'Beginning Jump Nine of Nine'
Pause 2 seconds
Execute command, 'Witch space jump' (and wait until it completes)
Pause 25 seconds
Begin Condition : [SCAN] Equals 1
Press Left Ctrl+5 keys and hold for 8 seconds and release
End Condition
Say, 'We have reached planned way point' or ' Plotted Jump Sequence completed'

Oh when plotting the route, after the destination is selected, I can the view to Map OBAFGKM stars only, so I can quickly scan the route to make sure there isn't an uncomfortable amount of unstoppable in a row.

 

[Apocryphic]

If I'm in a hurry, basically the same thing. Fastest routing, I can cover 1kly in about half an hour.

Edit - I should note that going that fast requires some luck with local and server performance. It's not going to happen if you're stuck in hyperspace for a minute or more each jump.

Exit hyperspace, dscan starts immediately. If it's a scoopable star, dip long enough to mostly fill my tank, then finish aligning on the next system. I start charging as soon as heat starts to drop. If it's not a scoopable star, I'm charging as soon as the cooldown expires. Scooping adds a few more seconds.

Avoid the unscoopable layer on the ecliptic (-25 to -45), and make sure you have the largest scoop possible to reduce long distance travel time. In an Asp, that's the ~28m 6A scoop, and worth it.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

All I need to do is steer and check the system map after the ping whist the jump drive is charging.
If there is anything interesting I abort the route, otherwise off to the next system

I do this as well, though most of the time there isn't anything interesting. I may stop for ammonia and water worlds, and it's always nice to see the green and blue of an earth-like. Far more common is a pile of pinkish icy rocks.

 

[DidierDrbois]

Thanks all for the replies!

It would seem that I've been a fool and brought a knife to a gunfight: I've only a 3A scoop (versus max tank you can fit on an Asp).

 

[Apocryphic]

It would seem that I've been a fool and brought a knife to a gunfight: I've only a 3A scoop (versus max tank you can fit on an Asp).

Ouch, I did that one expedition, never again. There's a huge difference between the 176/s max on a 3A and the 878/s max on a 6A. Using a 3A, I'd find myself scooping for minutes at a time. If you're out exploring, nothing else you need will take a compartment that large.

 

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

Here are my criteria's to sort out if a System is worth exploring or not.

If the System was already discovered by someone:
-i dont go for Icy-Planets at all but
-I always scan the Parent Star as I am always facing towards it and it is in range.
-Gas Giants and Metal Planets might be interesting (you might be lucky if the Gas Giants Harbour life).
-Water Worlds and Earthlike Planets will always be scanned.

If a System has no discovered-by-tags on it, I scan everything, no matter how far away a star or a planet is.

To all the People that only scan the interesting planets in an undiscovered System and leave the "boring" or "too far" Planets our... feel my curses!

 

[SvennoJ]

After a lot of trading I upgraded to an Anaconda for the long hauls.
http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=406,,2-3I8S9Y8S2CD88I,53m0PK0PK0PKmpX2jw2UI
39.4 to 41.17 ly jumps make travel a lot faster. Not only do you make bigger steps, the planner is also able to plan a straighter route to the destination.
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My fast travel routine is, Jump in, activate ADS, point nose to star, select star.
When the ADS is done, check the system map if there are more than a couple of objects, otherwise simply check the nav panel.
When the detailed scan is done and there is nothing of interest, lock and engage fsd to the next system.
Point the nose to the next target, still sitting still (30 km/s), and briefly flick the throttle to full to start the countdown. Alt-tab until the ship arrives in the next system.
Even with the target right on the edge of the star you'll still make a safe jump from that position, and actually fuel scoop some in the process
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When my fuel is running low I check if the next star is scoop-able (star classes A through O, except L)
For fuel scooping I go full throttle straight in to the star until the fuel scoop starts, cut throttle and slow to a halt at 90% heat, then check the system map as normal. Just do not choose lock and engage afterwards, that will cook you pretty quickly. Fly away from the star and power up the fsd as soon as the heat starts to go down. It might go up to 120% for a bit while charging yet will be well below 100 by the time the timer starts.
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2k ly from the core, the planner becomes too slow to be useful. There I switch to map view, only display the scoop-able stars and plan each jump manually. You can do this already while the detailed scan is going, I never beat the scanner. It's a bit slower than a pre-calculated route, yet you know for sure each star has fuel and you can plan up to max range on low fuel which the planner never does. I managed to make a 41.15ly jump that way.
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I'm currently 27k ly from Sol. After reaching Sagittarius A last night, I went down to the bottom, 2867ly below the galactic plane. Currently I'm now on the way to the far side, NW corner.
Floating over the rings of a water giant at the bottom of the galaxy:
View attachment 19298
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Happy travels!

 

[Vasious]

Here are my criteria's to sort out if a System is worth exploring or not.

If the System was already discovered by someone:
-i dont go for Icy-Planets at all but
-I always scan the Parent Star as I am always facing towards it and it is in range.
-Gas Giants and Metal Planets might be interesting (you might be lucky if the Gas Giants Harbour life).
-Water Worlds and Earthlike Planets will always be scanned.

If a System has no discovered-by-tags on it, I scan everything, no matter how far away a star or a planet is.

To all the People that only scan the interesting planets in an undiscovered System and leave the "boring" or "too far" Planets our... feel my curses!

Well we are talking about making best speed, where one might only stop when something interesting pops up

 

[Apocryphic]

I skip the parent star if I'm in a hurry. Took me just under half an hour for my last ~960ly leg, with one scan stop for an ammonia world. My first waypoint actually had both water and ammonia gas giant life.

Continuing on the next leg, stopped to scan down the primary and orbiting planets in a system for another ammonia world and some potential terraforming candidates, though only one was an actual candidate.

I've noticed that ammonia worlds always look the same, easy to recognize, and that particularly turbulent/spotty/colorful gas giants frequently harbor life.

 

[Apocryphic]

Mmm, I'd love to take an Anaconda exploring, but that's still out of my price range.

 

[drpaul]

Thanks all for the replies!

It would seem that I've been a fool and brought a knife to a gunfight: I've only a 3A scoop (versus max tank you can fit on an Asp).

Exactly this. On my first attempt to get to the core I had a 3A on my Asp and about 600ly from the goal drifted into a star and ended up having to self destruct from a catastrophic canopy breach. This was after a couple weeks of work to get that far. On attempt #2 I learned from the mistake and equipped the best size 5 fuel scoop I could afford. Now I even wonder if a size 6 would be better. It makes a HUGE difference and I can easily tank up in fifteen seconds and top off in far less than that. I never need to do anything other than full throttle which will help on the return through interdiction space.

I think I timed it at about 45 minutes to do a 1000ly trip if I was focused on going as fast as possible. Now that I'm on the way back I'm much more leisurely pace and enjoying scanning systems way way far from Sol and I'm still at 100%.

 

[DidierDrbois]

Good read. Reps all over the place!

Well, nothing can save me now, 22,000LY from home with not a lot more than a fork to fill up an 18-wheeler haha. I'm at 91% hull after I circled staright into a close-orbiting M star which I didn't even see upon entry, and the plan is to pop by Milky Way's ol' pal Sgr A*, then back home to pick up a better scoop.

Hopefully the trip won't descend into a horror story of having to self-destruct 600LY from goal - I feel for you fellow explorer, I really do!

 

[drpaul]

Good read. Reps all over the place!

Well, nothing can save me now, 22,000LY from home with not a lot more than a fork to fill up an 18-wheeler haha. I'm at 91% hull after I circled staright into a close-orbiting M star which I didn't even see upon entry, and the plan is to pop by Milky Way's ol' pal Sgr A*, then back home to pick up a better scoop.

Hopefully the trip won't descend into a horror story of having to self-destruct 600LY from goal - I feel for you fellow explorer, I really do!

Thanks kindly. I had 'parked' my Asp so the 3A fuel scoop could do its magic while I tried to plot my next jump with the galaxy map. As you may know, it gets really slow when you get into the core so it took longer than normal and by the time I got back to the ship something had happened and I had 1% hull, canopy breach, and klaxons sounding. My heart stopped for a moment and I ended up self destructing and going to bed. I'm still not sure what happened because I was at throttle 0 and not that close in to the star. My guess is there was a rapidly orbiting binary that caught me and whacked me good.

On the plus side, I would have had an equally painful and slow return trip with the 3A and now coming back it is not only more fun scanning/exploring and less time scooping but I've got a bit more safety to avoid interdictions. So maybe it was for the best. Didn't feel like it at the time though. And they say exploration is a safe vocation.

I just wish they'd buff up exploration a smidgen with the odd 'jackpot' finds like archeological ruins, abandoned alien space wreckage, exotic isotopes, etc to make scanning all worlds in a system worthwhile. Perhaps also allow those who achieve rankings in the exploration area the chance to buy enhancements to the FSD at scientific research stations. Oh, and allow these isolated research stations to sell some rares. And put one of those at Sag A*. It wouldn't take a lot of effort or coding to enhance the already pretty good exploration game mechanics and I hope someday they will.

 

[Ambivalent]

I raced home from 10,000 lys out yesterday and paid quite close attention to how fast i was able to travel. I have a 627/s scooping rate (6C) and a 34.7ly jump range. Ignoring all scans except for ADS, skimming stars for fuel and jumping asap I was able to do 1 jump per 50s give or take a bit of variation in loading time in witchspace.

I did stop if i spotted an earth-like and found 4 + a few WW's in my way through but on average I was making 1k ly's / 30 mins.

Given that I had spent that last 7 weeks over the previous 55k ly's and scanning everything of value, slowly wombling around it was quite refreshing to just drop the hammers and see how fast i could cover some distance.

 

[lolanon]

Ouch, I did that one expedition, never again. There's a huge difference between the 176/s max on a 3A and the 878/s max on a 6A. Using a 3A, I'd find myself scooping for minutes at a time. If you're out exploring, nothing else you need will take a compartment that large.

Eek I refuel at Max 176/s. I need to upgrade when I get back.

 

[DidierDrbois]

Agreed on the suggestions, thinking something along the lines of anomalies in STALKER games. Spooky too, so with an atmosheric boost as well. Quite like that.

 

[Ydiss]

I raced home from 10,000 lys out yesterday and paid quite close attention to how fast i was able to travel. I have a 627/s scooping rate (6C) and a 34.7ly jump range. Ignoring all scans except for ADS, skimming stars for fuel and jumping asap I was able to do 1 jump per 50s give or take a bit of variation in loading time in witchspace.

I did stop if i spotted an earth-like and found 4 + a few WW's in my way through but on average I was making 1k ly's / 30 mins.

Given that I had spent that last 7 weeks over the previous 55k ly's and scanning everything of value, slowly wombling around it was quite refreshing to just drop the hammers and see how fast i could cover some distance.

Yeh, similar to me. Best scoop and jump distances are essential for safe, fast exploration travel.