Newcomer / Intro Filtered Spectral Analysis Chart.

Harrier_1961

Harrier_1961
Hi everyone, back again ..

I've started taking long trips out into the void to look for bodies to scan in order to earn some credits. I'm still a pauper at this point 😁 From the bit of reading I've done, Earth like, rocky body, high metal and water bodies seem the be the ones to aim for if possible. Terraformable also seems to be a good attribute to look for.
I've seen examples of the FSS being used and one thing I saw was a 'filtered spectral analysis’ chart which explained the meaning of the patterns of the 'spikes' being shown on the scanner. Trouble is, I don't know how/where I find this chart? I'm currently arriving at and 'honking' a system and then switching to the system map and looking through the descriptions as I select each orbiting body. Any which look to be OK I will then do a DSS on and then move to the next interesting looking one. Initially I was scanning every body in a system but quickly realised that the payout from many of these wasn't really worth the effort. 'Time is money' and all that.

So .. By reading the descriptions of selected bodies in the system map and then doing a DSS on any good ones. Is that the most efficient way of doing this or am I missing out on something which makes the job easier? Seeing the example of the 'filtered spectral analysis’ chart which I can't find made me wonder if I was going the long way around as it were.

(On a PS4 and have Horizons installed just in case that makes any difference)

Thanks as always.

Dave.
 

Sapyx

Sapyx
You need to be activating the Full Spectrum Scanner. There will be a keybind for it - look in Options > Controls > Mode Switches > Enter FSS mode. Once you've bound the key, press it at any time to enter the FSS (you do not need to be in "analysis mode" for the FSS to work).

Note: you will also need to bind a key to exit the FSS mode again; this keybinding is found in Options > Controls > Full Spectrum System Scanner. You may need to bind the other controls in this area as well, for moving the scanner reticle around and for zooming in and out on planets. Note: it will let you bind the same key to enter and exit the FSS; very handy.

Note that your method of "exploring" only works in star systems which have already been explored by other people. It does not work in never-explored-by-anyone-before systems; in those you need to use the FSS.
 

Tyres O'Flaherty

Tyres O'Flaherty
Swap your rocky bodies for ammonia worlds and add metal rich - slightly different to high metal content.

But, to be honest, just scan the whole system from the FSS. It all adds up. Personally, I then only map ELW, water and ammonia worlds but that's just me.

In days of yore, you had to fly to the body to scan it: these days, it's much more efficient and quicker.
 

Chris Simon

Chris Simon
D-Simmo said:
Is that the most efficient way of doing this or am I missing out on something which makes the job easier?
Click to expand...
Yes. I think you are missing the whole FSS thing.
When you turn on the FSS after honking, you'll see a bar at the bottom with a lot of squiggly lines representing various bodies throughout the system (and also unidentified signal soruces and other stuff). You can move a "cursor" along this spectral bar left and right. When you place it on a squiggly line, you can immediately read which type of planet (or other stuff) it is. Then, by looking around in FSS, you can find it.
All stuff within the system is visible as blue pulsing "blobs" as you are looking around, the thing that you selected on a spectrum bar will have a small white circle around it, whihc means you can zoom in on it.
Alternatively you can do it the other way around - look for a "blob" and then move the spectral scanner cursor left and right until the blob has this white circle in it.
It's hard to explain, actually, but it's really easy. There is an official tutorial video on ED's youtube channel and million other videos that describe it.

The point is - FSS is a really quick way of finding out what is in the system. Once you've learned what each squiggly line in the spectral scan means, one look is enough to see if there's anything worth your while in the system. Just like you've learned what each signal means on the SRV's wave scanner.

edit: ninja'd. Like Sapyx said, you just need to check your bindings. You will need a button to enter and exit the FSS (the bindings are at different places in the controls settings, for some reason) and a way to "look around" in FSS, tuning the spectral scan left and right and zooming in and out of focused objects.
 

Ashnak

Ashnak
D-Simmo said:
Hi everyone, back again ..

I've started taking long trips out into the void to look for bodies to scan in order to earn some credits. I'm still a pauper at this point 😁 From the bit of reading I've done, Earth like, rocky body, high metal and water bodies seem the be the ones to aim for if possible. Terraformable also seems to be a good attribute to look for.
I've seen examples of the FSS being used and one thing I saw was a 'filtered spectral analysis’ chart which explained the meaning of the patterns of the 'spikes' being shown on the scanner. Trouble is, I don't know how/where I find this chart? I'm currently arriving at and 'honking' a system and then switching to the system map and looking through the descriptions as I select each orbiting body. Any which look to be OK I will then do a DSS on and then move to the next interesting looking one. Initially I was scanning every body in a system but quickly realised that the payout from many of these wasn't really worth the effort. 'Time is money' and all that.

So .. By reading the descriptions of selected bodies in the system map and then doing a DSS on any good ones. Is that the most efficient way of doing this or am I missing out on something which makes the job easier? Seeing the example of the 'filtered spectral analysis’ chart which I can't find made me wonder if I was going the long way around as it were.

(On a PS4 and have Horizons installed just in case that makes any difference)

Thanks as always.

Dave.
Click to expand...
This one (or a similar one, there's about a dozen of them around)?

Y2GJy3t4Sm9rPuNENsz3ZvaakeNScKnYpiJvzZ5J3wo.jpg
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
D-Simmo said:
......... I'm currently arriving at and 'honking' a system and then switching to the system map and looking through the descriptions as I select each orbiting body. Any which look to be OK I will then do a DSS on and then move to the next interesting looking one. Initially I was scanning every body in a system but quickly realised that the payout from many of these wasn't really worth the effort. '......
Click to expand...

When you actually get a bit further you will find systems where all (or some) of the bodies will not be shown on your system map - these have not been discovered by anyone - so you need to use the FSS to actually discover stuff.
 

Harrier_1961

Harrier_1961
Para Handy said:
When you actually get a bit further you will find systems where all (or some) of the bodies will not be shown on your system map - these have not been discovered by anyone - so you need to use the FSS to actually discover stuff.
Click to expand...
Ah, so if I 'honk' a system and it reports for instance, 20 bodies but only 10 show on the system map, then I'll know that there are still 10 to find and would use the FSS to find the missing 10?
 

aRJay

aRJay
D-Simmo said:
Ah, so if I 'honk' a system and it reports for instance, 20 bodies but only 10 show on the system map, then I'll know that there are still 10 to find and would use the FSS to find the missing 10?
Click to expand...
Yes, and any Unidentified Signal Sources anywhere in the system.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
D-Simmo said:
Ah, so if I 'honk' a system and it reports for instance, 20 bodies but only 10 show on the system map, then I'll know that there are still 10 to find and would use the FSS to find the missing 10?
Click to expand...

As @aRJay says, that is correct. Soon you will have the pleasure of arriving in a system where initially there isn't even the arrival star on your sensor display - a whole new undiscovered system for you to FSS and get your first discovered by (and first mapped by) tags on (when you sell the data). You will have "boldly gone where no man has gone before", not even an NPC:

boldly go S.jpg
 
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Tyres O'Flaherty

Tyres O'Flaherty
What is nice is when you arrive in a system and there's nothing on your main scanner. Then, the main system star pops up. At this point, it's fair safe to assume that after you've honked, everything you find will be virgin and will have your name tagged on those bodies. Subject to the usual caveats.

What makes me sad is, when you arrive in a system and there's nothing on your main scanner but then the main star pops up immediately followed by "system scan complete". The kids will go hungry tonight.
 

Harrier_1961

Harrier_1961
Para Handy said:
As @aRJay says, that is correct. Soon you will have the pleasure of arriving in a system where initially there isn't even the arrival star on your sensor display - a whole new undiscovered system for you to FSS and get your first discovered by (and first mapped by) tags on (when you sell the data). You will have "boldly gone where no man has gone before", not even an NPC:

View attachment 183373
Click to expand...

Managed a 'first mapped' earlier today. Complete fluke of course but also had an Earth Like Body in the same system. Already discovered and mapped but still nice tho. Surprised that the 'first mapped' which I got was in the same system as the ELB. I'll check out the others shortly. 👍🏼
 

Sapyx

Sapyx
D-Simmo said:
Yep that's the one 👍🏼 I wasn't sure if this was an 'in-game' feature which I can't find or if it was a graphic created by someone externally as an explanation of scanner features.
Click to expand...

In case it's still ambiguous: it's a graphic created by CMDR and forum member Qohen Leth (you can see their name in the bottom right corner of the graphic) to help explain and interpret the spectrum area of the FSS screen - the squiggly line at the bottom. Each planet type emits a distinctive signal that always turns up in the same region of the spectrum. Earth-likes, for example, always have the bullet-shaped 1-2-2 signal shape and always appear in the part of the spectrum directly over the letters "AL" in "FILTERED SPECTRAL ANALYSIS". Rocky-ice planets sometimes have signals in the same general area as ELWs, but their signal shape is always an X-shaped 2-1-2.
 

Hawk of Battle

Hawk of Battle
I still don't know the patterns for all the different planets types, even after hundreds of hours exploring. Just fss everything and after a while you'll recognize where certain planet types lie on the bar. Still just fss everything anyway and then look for anything terraformable, then go map those.
 

withnail67

withnail67
Just wanted to add my thanks for the above information as it saved me from posting a similar question: "how do I know if the system I'm scanning with the FSS Scanner has been visited before?"

EDIT Ok, I'm confused! I've been out exploring and found a fairly decent (for me anyway) number of unvisited systems. Tonight I noticed several occasions where I honked, opened the FSS Scanner which would show, for example, 2/10 planets already marked which, as they were both within a few light seconds of my ship, I assumed were picked up by the passive sensors.

I then "tuned in" the remaining 8 planetary bodies to complete the system scan, and opened the System Map to find all 10 had already been discovered & tagged by another Commander. Have I missed something? If it makes any difference, I'm playing on a PS4.

Any clarification gratefully appreciated. o7
 
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Tyres O'Flaherty

Tyres O'Flaherty
The FSS will show you bodies undiscovered by YOU. To see if they really are virgin worlds, open your system map and hover over a body - it will show a tag of a CMDR name if disco'd/mapped.

Of course, if you open the sysmap and already see the bodies before using the FSS, the chances are, someone got there before you.

Sometimes, as I said earlier, you can jump into a system and nothing shows on your main ship scanner for a few seconds. Then the main star pops up. At this point, it's possible to be excited as it indicates a potentially virgin system.
 

withnail67

withnail67
Tyres O'Flaherty said:
The FSS will show you bodies undiscovered by YOU. To see if they really are virgin worlds, open your system map and hover over a body - it will show a tag of a CMDR name if disco'd/mapped.

Of course, if you open the sysmap and already see the bodies before using the FSS, the chances are, someone got there before you.

Sometimes, as I said earlier, you can jump into a system and nothing shows on your main ship scanner for a few seconds. Then the main star pops up. At this point, it's possible to be excited as it indicates a potentially virgin system.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tyres! Another aspect of Elite that's gone from mysterious to understood. What a great game/alternate reality ;)
 
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