Fastest Way to Scan Planets in a System?

[WhiskeyBravo]

Hi there,

I've been doing some exploring and I'm wondering about the fastest way to get around a system full of planets when scanning. I'm not an astrophysicist but I do appreciate that a straight line may not be the best way of going from planet to planet. I'm thinking about how to plot routes that will maybe slingshot you around planets and minimise time accelerating and decelerating for each planetary scan.

Any thoughts?

Am I even making any sense?

WB.

PS. Loving ED, takes me back to the good old days of early computer games. WB (aged 48 1/2)

 

[SteveLaw]

I'm pretty sure that slingshots aren't currently implemented, but I haven't done much exploring yet so I can't help you further. I suspect though that it is just a straight line to each next closest body.

 

[Varrag]

We are supercruising with speeds many times bigger than the speed of light so I doubt that gravitational slingshots would be of much help

 

[nikos]

I'm pretty sure that slingshots aren't currently implemented, but I haven't done much exploring yet so I can't help you further. I suspect though that it is just a straight line to each next closest body.

Choosing the next closest body will not always give you the shortest route (see travelling salesman problem), but it is hard to know what route would be better without seeing a more accurate depiction of the planet positions at that moment (The system map obviously gives no information about current positions.)

 

[Pate]

Hi there,

I've been doing some exploring and I'm wondering about the fastest way to get around a system full of planets when scanning. I'm not an astrophysicist but I do appreciate that a straight line may not be the best way of going from planet to planet. I'm thinking about how to plot routes that will maybe slingshot you around planets and minimise time accelerating and decelerating for each planetary scan.

PS. Loving ED, takes me back to the good old days of early computer games. WB (aged 48 1/2)

I have also been wondering whether my simple technique of just selecting the closest unexplored planet from the left side panel is less than optimal. Haven't found a better system yet, though.

PS. Hey, I am also aged 48 and a half!

 

[Lheim]

It'd be genuinely helpful if we had some sort of overhead view of a system with planets and suns in their proper position relative to each other, rather than the scrunched up and difficult to read scaling of the sensor read out. We could plot course more efficiently.

 

[dayrth]

Don't try Slingshot. In supercruise you slow down as you get closer to any significant mass.

 

[WhiskeyBravo]

I have also been wondering whether my simple technique of just selecting the closest unexplored planet from the left side panel is less than optimal. Haven't found a better system yet, though.

PS. Hey, I am also aged 48 and a half!

That's exactly how I have been doing it.

(66 was a good year clearly!)

WB.

 

[Mikey2305]

when its a simple system i tend to use the left hand panel. if more complex then i follow the orbit lines. this makes gas giants pretty easy to spot and are usually in close range to scan. metallics and blue stuff can be tricky if the orbit lines are close together and they are close to the star. or check again if its the one with the 'moon' from the panel. i just drop down or up until they spread or target the star once more. the more you do it the more you get a feel for what is there and how to get there. a combination of observation, left panel and orbit lines are what i use. and if you have set up key presses for open system and next system like was suggested a while back it makes the strategy very much simpler. i can whizz through a system now and cherry pick the good stuff in a few minutes now. hope that helps...

 

[pantbash]

I make sure I always head up out of the plane of the system when deciding on next scan traget.
It stops you accidentally getting too close to a body and slowing down.

Also when you get "high" enough, you can see the orbit lines pretty well and choose targets based on that.

 

[CMDR Anakin Solo]

My Exploration Strategy:

1. Go to the closest planet and scan.
2. Choose an UP for the system and keep it in mind.
3. keeping the system upside up go around the system in a circle and scan anything within ~2k ly.
4. Go out and the the few stragglers that were outside of your range.

Tips:

When leaving a planet point directly away from the center of mass to accelerate faster, then once you are clear, point your nose at your next target.
When flying all the way across a system to get that last planet, fly far around the perimeter. You will avoid being trapped in a gravity well along the way.

Good luck fellow explorers! See you in the black!

 

[SteveLaw]

Choosing the next closest body will not always give you the shortest route (see travelling salesman problem), but it is hard to know what route would be better without seeing a more accurate depiction of the planet positions at that moment (The system map obviously gives no information about current positions.)

But the salesman problem refers to fixed stops and the system bodies are moving. The nav panel updates and the shows the current distance. Yes, it may be quicker to start at the furthest body and work forwards or whatever, but as you say we have no means to calculate that. Besides, orbits are generally so slow and FSD so fast that relative position over time is probably makes insignificant difference. Maybe. But then we are back to effectively fixed stops... Just use the nav panel.

(Some interesting strategies though.)

 

[v01i0]

Because the system can be so different with planets in different position regarding each other, it is very difficult to formulate one appropriate and most efficient method.

I have calculated this quite manually by using the scanner and looking how the bodies align with each other. I try to find the fastest way quite intuitionally, or so to speak. When I enter an previously unexplored system I do following:

1. Scan and scoop (if applicable) the first star for fuel
2. Zoom in and out the scanner multiple time to figure which planets are closest to the sun and therefore my ship
3. Scan the closest bodies (doesn't usually even involve FSD but I can drop out FSD and therefore save some precious hull)
4. Try to figure out the most fastest way to scan the outer bodies. This involves to figuring out if there are other bodies in the way and whether they are scanned or not.
5. Sometimes (quite often actually) there will be already scanned objects on your path to the next unexplored body and this can slow you down significantly. Therefore I will try to scan the system in the order that this will be kept minimal.
6. Also remember to scan from maximum range and stop your ship before you are too deep in its gravitational field, for accelerating takes more time the nearer the scanned body is.

Hope that helped?

-v

PS. About the slingshot effect: it is not applicable here because other objects in the way rather slow you down than boost your speed. Avoid other bodies if you can.

 

[Vasious]

One at a time....

1.) Star
2.) Most distant object (you are willing to go to)
3.) Then from that, nearest, then next nearest and so forth

 

[TriumphANT]

One at a time....

1.) Star
2.) Most distant object (you are willing to go to)
3.) Then from that, nearest, then next nearest and so forth

That could work better than "middle out". Nice thought. The biggest problem with the planets near the middle is that you're constantly buzzing past the local star. Getting a "plate" in your head of where everything is involves shooting off the plane of the ecliptic which is time consuming. I suspect that your strategy works really well if a couple of the distant bodies are close to aligned.

The Navigation panel is a nuisance. What it should do is keep the stuff in the same order, then just adjust the distances to suit. That way you would know what was nearest/furthest away from the star, rather than yourself. A little switch would be easy to implement. FD??

 

[Ben_BigBen]

One at a time....

1.) Star
2.) Most distant object (you are willing to go to)
3.) Then from that, nearest, then next nearest and so forth

Yep - this ! I do it for the reasons stated above - buzzing past the star multiple times means you actually travel further.

Ideally we'd have that isometric Systems map that was banded around pre-launch

 

[graham.reeds]

Hi there,

I've been doing some exploring and I'm wondering about the fastest way to get around a system full of planets when scanning. I'm not an astrophysicist but I do appreciate that a straight line may not be the best way of going from planet to planet. I'm thinking about how to plot routes that will maybe slingshot you around planets and minimise time accelerating and decelerating for each planetary scan.

Any thoughts?

Am I even making any sense?

WB.

PS. Loving ED, takes me back to the good old days of early computer games. WB (aged 48 1/2)

Slingshots don't work as planets and stars repel you - you slow as you approach them.

If you have jumped into a system I rotate the planetary disc so I have them in vertical line and then try to complete them in a loop.

If I am traveling from one star to a gravitationally bound neighbour I then aim just above the elliptic so I can see where the best angle of approach is so I can do them in one sweep.

 

[Greyhawk]

My tips:

• Use "Headlook" to check your left panel. That way you can see if its a planet or a rock belt you have targetted. If you have three monitors you can see this without headlook. Otherwise you need to keep flipping between left panel view and front view.
• Scan as many planets as you can from the initial entry to the system. Many times I've seen 4 or 5 planets within 50ls of the star and can just turn my ship round to scan any in range before setting off on individual planet searches.
• Move your way down the left panel one by one.
• As your scanner starts scanning reduce your speed back to 30km/s or press "x". That way you wont slide down the gravity well and be able to get to full speed for your next target.
• For ringed planets with tons of moons, fly into the system and sit at 30km/s scanning each planet in turn from where you "stopped". Its just less hassle.
• Scanning in a populated system just drop out of FS to scan so you dont get interdicted while scanning.
• Dont forget to scan a planet if you are just trading around and in a system with unexplored planets, you can target it when you leave a station and do the scan before you move to your next destination. Easy credits and no risk.

 

[Grecian]

i'm using the sensors all the time.

i got bored from doing the shortest-distance method and then realising i was doing massive distances whereas a proper 3d map like the one posted above would facilitate economy of travel - and then i realised we have an, albeit, simplistic map already in our sensor screen onboard.



so i'm looking carefully at my radar and plotting an efficient route.

sometimes i get confused admittedly because if you do a lot of bobbing and weaving and rolling, you'll lose orientation but a quick check on the nav screen will show which way the 'unexplored' bodies are.

hope it's clear.

 

[BarFly]

Hello,

First i started with scanning the closest planet, then the next..
But that close to the main star, moving on to the next star feels like swimming in honey.
Being much more flexible (hey i'm german ) now
While scanning the main star i take a look at the system and at the left interface for the distances. With this information it is prettyeasy to decide what to do next.
Lets go on with an example: The closest planet is a high metal with ~ 0.25 earth mass and in a distance of about 20 Ls - here i know i don't have to move, cause scanning starts from the place i'm right now.
The same for a tall Jovian, which is ~800 Ls out.
While scooping i'm trying to get a bit outside the systems ecliptic, so i can count the virtual tracks of the planets. Then count to the ...

One at a time....
2.) Most distant object (you are willing to go to)
3.) Then from that, nearest, then next nearest and so forth