For the sake of their sanity Fdev please. Throw Explorers a bone with this update.

[Starstrydur]

If I was one of the Developers who had invested all the time they had into the Guardians/ Ram Tah / ancient ruins OR the Formadine Rift Mystery, I'd be pretty insulted and also be banging my head off the desk with all these "explorers get nothing" whinging.

I love exploring and I have been having a blast doing the RamTah mission / exploring the systems in that area for ancient ruins etc. Even though I never found anything myself it was felt great to be searching in systems where we knew there was "some thing". Then they added visible ancient ruins to the nav panel (one extreme to the other perhaps), and now you can explore and find these things even more easily.

We have been given a ton of content to do with exploring in the last few months...if you don't realize this...you will never be happy with what they give us.

Sure there have been mistakes etc with the Ramtah /Rift stuff and yes, perhaps better exploration tools would be nice. But to keep bleating on that explorers are ignored and FD never give them anything is rubbish and a slap in the face to the Devs working on this stuff.

That's my opinion...and yeah, I know, most of you probably don't want to hear it..

Thank you for bringing up the elephant in the room.

Yes, there is work being done. It is quite out of order though. Before being given a task to find many difficult to find objects there needs to be tools in the ships that require user interaction to make finding things interesting.

There are NONE, ZERO, ZILCH. Eyeballs do not count as sensors, nor does a DSS that goes beep. I have cheap tools in my garage that work better at locating things.

 

[verminstar]

I feel personally offended by the title of the thread...the assumption that we were sane?

Sanity is a disease...the black is the cure...

Tis a bit like comparing treating going back to ganktown once every 3 months on a 24 hour binge of dubious substances, pointless murder and seedy bars who employ staff who dont value personal hygeine much...

Perfect cure fer this madness is waking up without a single rebuy left and spending 6 months seeing the sights...albeit with a wonder hangover and a bad itch...

Hmm...my impatience with this game is making one saltier than usual. One feels that nstead on one small step forward, we went 3 back in a glorious explosion of beige...one is self amusing now...I dont handle breaks in my routines well...

 

[Olivia Vespera]

If they gave us the ability to relinquish helm control to other pilots, I'd like that.

 

[NW3]

Arnt we getting the planet scanner thingy that tells us if there are ruins on the planet. I love this and think it should be extened to other things of interest

Actually, this past Thursday's update gave us that. There was a Galnet article and I've seen the feature first hand. Alien Ruins now have a planetary marker, which makes finding the ruins a lot simpler.

Galactic News: Ram Tah Makes Breakthrough 13 FEB 3303

[...]Ram Tah claims to have made a significant breakthrough. In a statement, he said:

"Thanks to the hard work of many dedicated pilots – and in particular Commander Noodlz05 and his wingmates – I have isolated a signal in the Guardians' monolith network that will allow scanners to identify sites within 1,000 light seconds. This should make finding further Guardian ruins considerably easier."

Here's a couple of screenshots:
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aj2gdTGJyh_30GApkryGiJtxPTBd
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aj2gdTGJyh_30GFiT_lmuDxjl_fo

I agree. This feature should be extended to other points-of-interest.

If they gave us the ability to relinquish helm control to other pilots, I'd like that.

I'd like that too.

 

[Harley Quinn]

If I was one of the Developers who had invested all the time they had into the Guardians/ Ram Tah / ancient ruins OR the Formadine Rift Mystery, I'd be pretty insulted and also be banging my head off the desk with all these "explorers get nothing" whinging.

Having spent about a week of game time eyeballing planets I do wonder how long it took them to create and place the rift mystery sites and who should be insulted and banging their heads off a table in frustration.

While we may be missing a clue somewhere, a system where your scanners will find a SRV shell and a couple of downed skimmers from over 10km but not a powered base with multiple buildings and active data points, which can now insta-win provide you with alien ruins but not even a clue on scans that something else exists, let alone narrow the search on planets with multiple times the landmass as Earth, is not a working system anybody should be happy with.

As to planetary landings, engineers etc. That just gives you selfie opportunities and the ability to bypass more when travelling. While I can understand the selfie crowd, that doesn't interest me, and quicker travel is only good if there is something rewarding at the end of it.

This area needs work and it's not a "oh look I've won" button. Just adding a note to the planets description that it has anomalies, giving a hot spot indication in planet map to narrow search and having persistent POIs show up as 1 on a scanner would be a massive improvement.

Considering we already have placed items on planets with a texted description that has been made unique and relevant for many places, a code to show normal POIs on scanners and a generated planet map on which items have been placed, I also can't see how this would be an onerous task for FD to add.

There are many better suggestions for an end product by others to make exploration better, but this would at least give something better than "eyeball for up to a year" or "you are within 1000ls so here it is".

 

[Starstrydur]

Actually, this past Thursday's update gave us that. There was a Galnet article and I've seen the feature first hand. Alien Ruins now have a planetary marker, which makes finding the ruins a lot simpler.



Here's a couple of screenshots:
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aj2gdTGJyh_30GApkryGiJtxPTBd
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aj2gdTGJyh_30GFiT_lmuDxjl_fo

I agree. This feature should be extended to other points-of-interest.



I'd like that too.

The new automatic detector is just GARBAGE. No more interactive than honk point jump. It is a band-aid for a huge gash in discovery. Even some audio static noise that reacts to a poi site/ruin would be interesting compaired to a location put on a plate in front of you.

What happened to the 'ED dose not hold your hand?' Now it is like a taxi pulls up and takes you directly to the destination.

 

[nexxo]

The last game with a heavy emphasis on exploration did not do so well (No Man's Sky). Turns out exploration does not suit a short attention span.

There are things Frontier could do to make exploration more fun. Ironically earlier versions of Horizons generated unexpected glitches in planetary simulation which resulted in explorers stumbling across weird geological structures such as monoliths, impossibly deep craters or canyons. They made exploration rewarding. So would the odd purple and green planets before beige-ification set in. We need those back. Frontier needs to be a bit more daring with planetary simulation; be prepared to sacrifice a little realism and let it generate some crazy stuff on occasion. After all, nature does.

I have also proposed in the past that the automatic field repair unit should need feeding regularly with materials to keep the ship in good condition. Materials required would change depending on damage and wear sustained on your travels. Failure to keep up supply would result in random malfunctions accumulating until the ship is crippled. This would require the explorer to do geological surveys and material collection.

Explorers should also be able to deploy probes for collection later. Data gathered this way can be sold; it would also reveal geological sources for mining that casual surveys won't reveal, thus making it worth an explorer's while to figure out which systems look promising and worth the investment of a probe survey. Similarly explorers should be able to deploy mining units for material collection later.

Explorers can also have exploration missions: find certain types of planets or systems with certain planetary combos for terraforming or prospecting corporations. Deliver probes or automated labs to order. Collect them later when they're done.

All this can be written in using existing game mechanisms and resources.

 

[TheSisko]

Reinforced Discovery Scanner. Coming Soon. [ugh]

 

[Hellhawk666]

I've said this elsewhere. Explorers have loads of content, but virtually zero tools to enjoy that content. Combat pilots have loads of tools for combat but barebones content for that combat. Adding more tools isn't going to make combat any better in my eyes.

Really hopeful that that there are more areas being updated in this patch.

Yep. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. I'd rep but the forum bot says I have to spread the manure more widely

What it all really boils down to is game mechanics. Combat is a learned skill using game "tools". Muscle memory, planning, reflexes, etc. You can't fake it and it's integral to the base mechanics of the game, so combat always gets the love first. It's easy for them.

The other activities are all more difficult to realise as skill-based tasks, to a greater or lesser degree - and exploration is the least skill-based task of them all in this game. Why? Who knows. There is no reason it has to be that way, they just designed it so. If exploration involved interactive tasks and genuine danger it would be a whole lot more interesting, as hundreds of opinions/posts have pointed out over the YEARS that this game has existed.

Instead the only changes to exploration since day 1 have been either cosmetic or based around other mechanics. I don't believe it will ever change now, FD just don't want (or don't know how) to implement that sort of exploration mechanics or tools.

 

[Mengy]

The new automatic detector is just GARBAGE. No more interactive than honk point jump. It is a band-aid for a huge gash in discovery. Even some audio static noise that reacts to a poi site/ruin would be interesting compaired to a location put on a plate in front of you.

What happened to the 'ED dose not hold your hand?' Now it is like a taxi pulls up and takes you directly to the destination.

Yep. Instead of actually implementing any interesting search mechanics, Frontier just decided to have the ruin sites "magically" pop up on our nav panels. We went from the extreme worst case (searching entire planet surfaces with our eyes by brute force) to the extreme easiest case (passively discovering the ruins by simply flying within 1000ls of them).

THAT in a nutshell proves by action alone just how much Frontier does not care at all about new exploration mechanics. They simply don't want to bother, and I'm afraid this pretty much proves it. There are a dozen ways this could have been implemented better, with more interactive and robust mechanics, but instead they simply took the extreme easiest way out for both the developers and the players.

I don't believe exploration is getting any new mechanics anytime soon, if ever in Elite's roadmap. Their consistent neglect for exploration says it all, time after time, over and over again, and without any actual verbal confirmation that they ARE working on exploration, or even planning to someday, their actions are the only thing we have to go on.

Throw explorers a bone? I'd start looking for that bone somewhere else, because Frontier is saving their bone for something they care about, and it ain't exploration, sadly.

 

[Blackcompany]

I assume by engine limitations you mean jump range? That has nothing to do with the issues exploration has - all it would do is allow people to cover greater distances while seeing the same things. No, the issue with exploration is not engines or jump ranges but simply the lack of things to actually do in a system. It needs more planetside features to discover, new scanning options like geophysical scans to more easily detect items of interest (instead of the current mindless wandering), ability to make discoveries on the surface that add (significantly) to the income made, and so on. The biggest boon explorers will get is when we can land on planets with life and ecosystems, with all the associated things to discover (and hopefully earn money from), with hopefully the ability to name lifeforms and maybe have missions to collect specimens and such. We need more reasons to linger in a system, such as comets that might be passing through, rogue asteroids passing through and perhaps even to watch as they collide with a planet or moon, skim gas giants for rare materials. The sooner we can at least land on planets with atmospheres the better exploration will be, and I'm really hoping the 2.4 surprise is the first iteration of this (ie atmospheres but not planets with ecosystems/complex life).

Edit: I see from Liqua's post that you may have actually been referring to the game engine. Apologies if that was the case as I hadn't thought of that. Been seeing too much of people wanting longer jump ranges I think so naturally thought that was what you meant.

Yeah I meant game engine here.

I do want longer ranges. Not exponentially so, but longer. My time is limited and I can't watch load screens for an hour a night. Not worth my time, to be honest.

Either range needs increased or load times need drastically reduced.

 

[askavir]

At least it should require a detailed surface scan to show planetary POIs on the navigation list... Give that module some use besides making a planetary scan pay double the peanuts, and telling us that a planet has precisely 0.8% arsenic yet no clue where.

And it would actually make sense - using detailed surface scanner shows detailed information on things on the surface. Maybe "making sense" is the problem, taking into consideration all the cheese put in the game after 2.0.

This just shows how really interested FD is in exploration gameplay...

 

[Vasco Sapien]

I agree... The galaxy in this game is its largest unique asset and its going to waste.

Explorer is 33% of the gameplay as given by the Ranking system, yet Exploration has been ignored over and over again in favour of combat.

I did one long distance trip into the galaxy and after 4 days i came back.. it became a snorefest of the same old same. Jump honk jump.

We can argue that the passenger missions and tourism are an attempt to add gameplay to exploration but its not really exploration if you are being led to a place on a leash. We could say the same about the crashed Alien ships and the Alien ruins, but players where led to those discoveries via a meta game.

Explorers need to be let lose and to find something.....Unique!

Even if Fdev created a list of 1000 Science fiction space artifacts, like abandoned Dysons swarms... Tomb worlds or worm holes that open to another area in the galaxy.

Then Explorers have something to find and name. Its a small idea adding to small gameplay but at least it pads it out a little.

 

[EdzUp]

The thing is no matter what they do with exploration there will always be someone asking for something new, personally I would like to see:
1) Scoop able gas giants
2) Comets
3) Rogue asteroids
4) Wormholes
5) Comets
6) Asteroid to planet collisions

 

[Chpouky]

4) Wormholes

Aah, just imagine, getting yourself ready for the unknown, jumping in it, having no idea where you are.

For the same reason I hope someday we'll get FSD malfunctions, and jump in a totally random place ^^

 

[Toshi_TNE]

They added tons of things for explorers in 2.2. Most explorers take a lot of pictures and will get a lot from the new camera. They will also hopefully fix the beige planets bug. However from the sounds you simply are not an explorer. I suspect you will never like exploration. I suggest you stop trying to tell yourself otherwise and do something else.

Protoplanetary rings, cannibalizing stars, asteroid fields, comets, unstable systems, planet collisions, supernovae, there's a lot of things that would make exploring a lot more interesting. You could toss in some abandoned megastructure or a Dyson sphere here and there for people to find.
But here you go, a better camera.

 

[Mikey2305]

Im wondering how frequently we might expect these astronomical phenomena to occur. Given that we have discovered about 0.1% of everything that is out there in the last two years, whqt would be the odds? Not to rubbish the need for interesting stuff to be out there, i wouldnt like to find a lost civilisation in every system frinstance...

 

[Toshi_TNE]

Im wondering how frequently we might expect these astronomical phenomena to occur. Given that we have discovered about 0.1% of everything that is out there in the last two years, whqt would be the odds? Not to rubbish the need for interesting stuff to be out there, i wouldnt like to find a lost civilisation in every system frinstance...

Star systems in different stages of formation would be everywhere. Alien civilizations? We may never find anything. Although FD put a dead one one next to the bubble.

 

[[DOOK] Droogie]

NO! PHEW-PHEW only. And what a hood that phew-phew is in the first place... exactly two scenarios (one with spinning asteroids aka Res, one without aka conflict zone) where endless npc drones appear out of no-where and conveniently line up to be shot again and again and again... truly quality phew-phew at its finest.

Absolute nonsense and hyperbole.


There are 3 scenarios. You forgot the scenario where you get blinded by the star (compromised nav beacons) while endless npc drones appear out of no-where and conveniently line up to be shot again and again and again.


See? Different!

 

[Sole Hunter]

If I were a full time exploration player I would be absolutely losing my mind right now. An entire year goes by and you guys get diddle and squat. It doesn't matter what the focus of the update it. In this case multi crew. Each update should bring a little something for everyone. A new ship is great for everyone. You can fly it yourself or just murder anyone else doing so. You can't really go wrong adding a new ship. They were hyping up unshown features on the stream so it either means they are going to blow our minds with Comets or something. Or whatever they had up their sleeve simply wasn't impressive enough to show on stream. I hope I am horribly wrong but it seems more likely to be the latter. Exploration is already a major disappointment it doesn't need any more neglect. I took a trip out to Sag A while back and was so underwhelmed by it all I killed myself right there on the spot. Cursing all the time I wasted. For me the exploration aspect wore itself thin so fast that despite my best attitude going into this jump fest I came away with pure distaste for it all (albeit with some sick screenshots). I genuinely don't understand how you explorers tolerate such a boring galaxy. In between Jumps all I would think about is "Gee a Comet or two would really liven this experience up." Maybe even make it tolerable. Nope just same looking star to same looking star rinse and repeat until you hit a nebula then putz around in the SRV until you decide to get moving again.

One long range trip was enough to drive me mad. I know you super explorers are a special breed of crazy. But it must be wearing thin by now even for you lunatics.

They gave you planet landing in 2.0 with limitless exploration, alien discovery sites & new missions, new functions for scanning discovery, increased FSD..etc

what did we get for combat since 2.0?

- Useless launcher fighters (2.2)
- 1 bug fixing and balance patch (2.1)
- Engineers like you (everybody got something out of it)
- Oh apparently they improved piracy (2.0) lol...

calm down horizon has been mostly focused on exploration more than any other profession. Just because they are focusing on combat (now) that doesn't imply they won't release more stuff for explorers.