Newcomer / Intro First long distance exploration destination

yolomcswaginabx

Y
Hi,

I need a break from money grinding in Elite. I want to visit something cool - Ive looked around and having trouble finding a destination to goto...

Can anyone recommend a system to go visit? Maybe a cool nebula as I cant figure out how to find them
 

Zieman

Zieman
How long distance are we talking about?
Really close is the Pleiades Nebula (Merope, Maia etc.).

Then there's for example Eta Carinae with a nebula nearby at about 7.6 kLy.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
The "goto" destination for many first timers is NGC 7822 - it is really quite well done and there are loads of black-hole systems to rack up the cartographic rewards. The "waterfall" or "string of pearls" grouping of it's stars on the skybox of E D makes it very easily noticed even at distances where the nebulosity isn't yet clear.

A hint though - no matter which destination your choose to head for, there were probably very many people who made the journey before you, therefore to increase your chances of getting "first discovered by", head off in a sideways and "up" or "down" direction before starting towards your target destination.
 

ITZC0ATL

ITZC0ATL
Try HIP 63835 as well, it's a system with .... well, many cool things to explore. It has a medley of interesting stars and several black holes, and isn't too far out from Sol. It was one of my earliest exploration trips, as per advice from Reddit/forums!
 

Baym

B
So what would the be the minimum recommended first exploration setup you would recommend to do some basic first time exploring? You know how some people recommend the basic sidewinder for those first bounty hunter missions because if you mess up, everything is loaned? Is there a similar minimum setup for exploration?
 

Atrus5060

A
Baym said:
So what would the be the minimum recommended first exploration setup you would recommend to do some basic first time exploring? You know how some people recommend the basic sidewinder for those first bounty hunter missions because if you mess up, everything is loaned? Is there a similar minimum setup for exploration?
Click to expand...

You can technically explore in anything. But if you want to do it on a budget, Hauler is a good choice. Fit the biggest fuel scoop you can afford and put D rated modules in (except the FSD, that should be A rated). Add the best discovery scanner you can and you should be good to go!

Cobra is also another great one and if you want a good explorer ship, Type-6 is great when on a higher budget but can't quite afford an Asp-E
 
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ITZC0ATL

ITZC0ATL
Baym said:
So what would the be the minimum recommended first exploration setup you would recommend to do some basic first time exploring? You know how some people recommend the basic sidewinder for those first bounty hunter missions because if you mess up, everything is loaned? Is there a similar minimum setup for exploration?
Click to expand...

Depends entirely on your finances. You can do basic exploring in a hauler, or a Type-6, or Diamonback/Asp Explorer, depending on how much you have available. Exploration fits are generally pretty cheap, as you want to put pretty much all your core modules except your FSD to D-rating, to save weight and jump a bit further.

If you let us know what is available to you, I'm sure there will be plenty of recommendations for cheap starter loadouts that will do everything you need!


EDIT: Ninja'd
 
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Baym

B
Atrus5060 said:
You can technically explore in anything. But if you want to do it on a budget, Hauler is a good choice. Fit the biggest fuel scoop you can afford and put D rated modules in (except the FSD, that should be A rated). Add the best discovery scanner you can and you should be good to go!

Cobra is also another great one and if you want a good explorer ship, Type-6 is great when on a higher budget but can't quite afford an Asp-E
Click to expand...

So before you do any exploring, you need a few million parked in the ole piggy bank! Thanks.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
Baym said:
So before you do any exploring, you need a few million parked in the ole piggy bank! Thanks.
Click to expand...

Not at all ... The build Baym posted will work fine, there are just two points about that build I would make. Firstly, I would fit a heat sink launcher in case of any mishaps. Secondly, remember that the basic disco scanner only does 500ls range, so you either accept that you miss some bodies or you have to fly about pinging to find things, using orbit lines etc as a hint. By the time you have made your first exploration trip and cashed in the data you will be able to upgrade.
 

HurstLlama

H
The first time I went seriously out in the Black I used a T6. Firstly because I had one lying around that I had been using for trading and secondly because of the lovely cockpit on that thing - the point of exploring is to see the sights and nothing gives a better view than a Lacon cockpit. Don't knock the T6 when it comes to exploration, I gave mine the best FSD that was available and the biggest scoop along with lots of the auto-repair thingies, plus of course an advanced discovery scanner (I do disagree with the poster above who said that an intermediate scanner is good enough, it ain't). I cannot remember the figures now but the T6 got me all the way out there (if you go out past the California Nebula you will find a fair few planets with my name on them) and all the way back and I don't remember ever wishing for a longer jump range.

I am not sure why there is this insistence on long jump ranges for exploration trips. The only time they are useful is getting out of the bubble and getting back in. Once you are out in the Black the whole point is to see the sights so going the long way round to escape a trench or a group of unscoopable stars, for example, should be regarded as a good thing because you will visit an whole lot more systems and discover goodness knows what. I would say 30ly range is more than adequate.
 
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Rob_the_Sparky

R
Agreed wrt to long jump ranges, you really only need these for the travelling, not exploring. If you just want to go and scan a load of systems never scanned before then you just need to travel ~1000 to 1500ly out of the bubble in a direction that is not going towards anything of interest and then put the system on economical.
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The basic/intermediate scanners are OK for your first trip out but you want to get an advanced and surface scanner before you spend too much time doing it. Although finding planets by sight can be an interesting pastime in itself...
 

goemon

goemon
hey,

1) ship: i explored in an Adder with an intermediate discovery scanner to finance my first AspE. fine ship for doing it. if you don't have horizons, and therefore can't land, a hauler is a very nice starting exploration ship, too.

2) destinations. i recommend the eskimo nebla as the visually most stunning planetary nebula <1000 ly from the bubble. i recently visited the spirograph nebula, which is also great. betelgeuze is another destination close by, especially if you have horizons, because it has a landable very close to that giant! alternatively you could check out the ancient ruins - there are over 60 by now, or the alliance research bases in the california nebula with their fungal growth .... all around 850 ly from the bubble or closer.

if you want to go really deepspace, i'll second zieman - eta carina star and nebula, the supergiant x carinae and the statue of liberty nebula make great medium range destinations - and that general direction isn't explored as much as the straight line to sag a*, soll you'll get a lot of first discoveries. but generally i'd recommend doing a <1000 ly trip first, as exploring isn't for everyone, and you should check out whether you like it at all.
 

Ashnak

Ashnak
Ship: if you can afford it, another vote for the Adder. But basically, anything with a fuel scoop and >15 ly jump range is feasible. Everything else is optional, but some things can make life easier:

- Advanced disco scanner, to find those planets without having to use the eyeball/prallax method
- detailed surface scanner will dramatically increase the payout for those stellar objects you had a closer look at
- SRV (if you have Horizons) will let you get a break from flying your ship and let you collect surface materials, which will come in handy for e.g. hypercharging your FSD
- in this case, shields are also recommended, for the occasional bump against a planet
- a mining laser may help you get at materials if you can't/don't want to land and/or the materials you sorely need aren't available on the surface in this system
- if you want to go really far out (Jacques doesn't even count any more due to the waystations), an AFMU can repair everything on your ship - except for the stuff that really counts, hull and power plant
- about half of the explorers recommend heat sinks for close encounters with double star systems, the other half doesn't think they're necessary, since by the time you actually need them, you'll have fired off all of them by accident...
 

CMDR Mr. Boombastic

CMDR Mr. Boombastic
  • Here's a ~1 hour video with everything you need to know about exploration (but was afraid to ask ;)). Although pre 1.6/2.1 so features old-style screens:
    [video=youtube_share;7bUXHhMjX0c]https://youtu.be/7bUXHhMjX0c[/video]
  • Visual guide to exploration (with estimated credits):
    latest
  • Run out of fuel. Call the fuelrats: http://www.fuelrats.com. Cinematic tribute:
    [video=youtube_share;3h2x6e216c8]https://youtu.be/3h2x6e216c8[/video]
  • If you need help getting back safely from a long exploration trip contact the Iridium Wing: https://iridiumwing.space/
 
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