How do we find Geological Sites now?

[Nomadski]

Nope, the geologicals are generated differently in Odyssey.

The heat map has been removed and replaced with the uniform blue - apparently it was confusing, not that I heard anyone being confused other than when it glitched and we got the lime green ball of confusion!

You can either, gather materials in Horizons, or descend into a blue area and search using the mk1 eyeball.

Not ideal, but it’s what we have.

In the Alpha it was confusing because there was no explanation of what we were meant to be looking for with the results. Combined with it not working properly in Alpha, and no Key to tell the player what is and what isn't "something", no wonder there were massive threads on it.

Silly that FD just chucked that in the bin and swapped it for "80% of the planet has something, maybe. Go find it".

A heat map just needs to have different clear colours, and a key explaining what the colour band is presenting. (Something / Nothing)

Oh, and for it to work.

 

[Marc_Hicks]

In the Alpha it was confusing because there was no explanation of what we were meant to be looking for with the results. Combined with it not working properly in Alpha, and no Key to tell the player what is and what isn't "something", no wonder there were massive threads on it.

Silly that FD just chucked that in the bin and swapped it for "80% of the planet has something, maybe. Go find it".

A heat map just needs to have different clear colours, and a key explaining what the colour band is presenting. (Something / Nothing)

Oh, and for it to work.

Yep, its the Genetic Sampler fiasco all over again......instead of FIXING a problem by making the mechanic BETTER, they instead ditched it in favour of something even worse.

 

[Marc_Hicks]

The best thing about a proper Heat Map is that it wouldn't just tell you if Geological/Biological features were anywhere on a planetary surface......it would be able to tell you about the most probable density of those features in any given location. Oh, and to make matters worse, it doesn't even look like the DSS Filters work half the time.

 

[Thaurane]

Last night I shot a needle crystal which only gave me iron. This part also seems broken (assuming I wasn't just unlucky and stumbled across a rare glitch), so I wouldn't expect too much right now.

I was experiencing this too a few days ago. Is it a bug that needs to have its own post in the issue tracker? Engineering is tedious enough as it is. This can't be a change that is on purpose. With the terrain generations possibly before forced onto Horizons this fall with console release. I'm so paranoid this will become permanent that I am trying to max out the materials now in Horizons.

edit: I found an existing issue https://issues.frontierstore.net/issue-detail/34622 its still under "confirming" though.

 

[Wolf Coffee]

I was experiencing this too a few days ago. Is it a bug that needs to have its own post in the issue tracker? Engineering is tedious enough as it is. This can't be a change that is on purpose. With the terrain generations possibly before forced onto Horizons this fall with console release. I'm so paranoid this will become permanent that I am trying to max out the materials now in Horizons.

edit: I found an existing issue https://issues.frontierstore.net/issue-detail/34622 its still under "confirming" though.

I can confirm this.
I was looking for phosphorous to be able to craft SRV fuel so I ended in Wregoe JE-G c24-2 after a search in EDDB. Got a good percentage in some planets there, above 17%.

I surface scanned the first one - Wregoe JE-G c24-2 8 g a - (17,2% Phosphorous), went down in the blue areas and started flying @ 100m from the ground, using the MK1 Eyeball - had no trouble finding the geological features - Carbon Dioxide Fumaroles and vents.
Landed and deployed my SRV. Every crystalline cluster, piceous cobble or whatever gave me the same material: carbon.

I've experimented it a couple times... some days ago in another system the geological formations only gave me iron - they where Iron Magma Lava Spout, so I thought that maybe I had to find a geological formation with a name that would indicate phosphorous presence.

Went flying around trying to scan the formations from the ship to save some time, went low wake out and in the planet in about 15 random spots, flying for some time @100m...
carbon, carbon, carbon, carbon... I even deployed my SRV a couple times to see if despite the name the formations could give me some other materials. Nope: carbon.

I now have a lot of carbon and almost no fuel left on my SRV lol.

Do you guys think the developers spreaded the materials concentrenting them on areas defined by the percentages? like 17,2% of the surface of planet I went will spawn only phosphorous? If that's the case that is just terrible design.
I am assuming it is bugged - because the experience took me hours and was terribly frustrating.

This is my experience in collecting raw materials on planets on Odyssey since release... If any of you had a different outcome, please share.

I will post my experience on the frontier ticket to see if it helps.

 

[Thaurane]

Be sure to vote on it as well!

 

[Wolf Coffee]

I can confirm this.
I was looking for phosphorous to be able to craft SRV fuel so I ended in Wregoe JE-G c24-2 after a search in EDDB. Got a good percentage in some planets there, above 17%.

I surface scanned the first one - Wregoe JE-G c24-2 8 g a - (17,2% Phosphorous), went down in the blue areas and started flying @ 100m from the ground, using the MK1 Eyeball - had no trouble finding the geological features - Carbon Dioxide Fumaroles and vents.
Landed and deployed my SRV. Every crystalline cluster, piceous cobble or whatever gave me the same material: carbon.

I've experimented it a couple times... some days ago in another system the geological formations only gave me iron - they where Iron Magma Lava Spout, so I thought that maybe I had to find a geological formation with a name that would indicate phosphorous presence.

Went flying around trying to scan the formations from the ship to save some time, went low wake out and in the planet in about 15 random spots, flying for some time @100m...
carbon, carbon, carbon, carbon... I even deployed my SRV a couple times to see if despite the name the formations could give me some other materials. Nope: carbon.

I now have a lot of carbon and almost no fuel left on my SRV lol.

Do you guys think the developers spreaded the materials concentrenting them on areas defined by the percentages? like 17,2% of the surface of planet I went will spawn only phosphorous? If that's the case that is just terrible design.
I am assuming it is bugged - because the experience took me hours and was terribly frustrating.

This is my experience in collecting raw materials on planets on Odyssey since release... If any of you had a different outcome, please share.

I will post my experience on the frontier ticket to see if it helps.

UPDATING MY EXPERIMENT.

Today I tried another planet for the sake of science and because I may be masochist.
I was able to find more than one material.
Sulphur, Carbon, Iron and Nickel... Nickel had a smaller composition percentage than phosphorous, so I believe I may be able to find some P before I run out of fuel.
I don't know if they fixed something in this last patch or if I just got extremely unlucky in my previous attempts.
The way resources are behaving is that you find a large area of one material... if you want a different material you have to fly some distance away and be lucky enough to land on the spot that have the materials you want.
I don't know why they did it but they could at least have implemented some kind of short range scanner to be used in the ship while flying over the surface... much like the SRV scanner works but with different signals for different elements..
Anyway... Thats it I think... I'll try to find some P tomorrow.

 

[yvesmarie]

I'm starting to think this is all actually WAD... see here ==> https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threa...ation-resource-gathering.578697/#post-9224539

 

[gonopo]

so to clarify, in odessy you are just supposed to fly around hoping you see some materials, maybe. alternatively you can log into horizon, land at a geo site, and be surrounded by crystaline clusters, fragments, etc.
cause i know i personally prefer my mat grinds to be even more grindy

 

[yvesmarie]

well, there is the wave scanner, so it's not just a question of dumb luck...
but yes, in ED:H mats were spammed at every geo site.
but it's not really a grind if your belt mining for 'em (which I think makes a whole lot more sense as a planetary explorer than just expecting a ridiculous bounty of them for pretty much zero effort)

 

[gonopo]

well, i still had to find the planet, scan the planet, land at the geo site, and then mine and collect the materials. considering how many materials are required for some upgrades, this is more than enough effort imo.

 

[Wolf Coffee]

UPDATE AND CONCLUSION ON MY PHOSPHOROUS HUNT

Now I can refuel my SRV and here is what I found about raw materials and the new exploration system:

• No, the exploration mechanic is not broken, just different.

• Planet composition is still relevant. The difference is that in Horizons the percentages would determine the drop chance within a geological feature. In Odyssey it represents the area of the planet surface that will yield the material. (I don’t really know the actual mechanic behind it, but it is a guess based on my observations)

• The number of Geological Feature displayed after the surface scan shows the different types that can be found (Fumoroles, Geysers, etc). In Horizons it represented the number of spots in the planet where geological features would spawn - this explains why some planets went from having 28 geological features to 2.

• The blue areas can be filtered by the type of geological feature, much like the way biological features work, although I haven’t noticed any difference in the areas displayed when changing filters. This could be explained by the fact that I spent all my research time in only one system without much variety in geological features.

• I did read some speculation about different shades of blue that would indicate a higher chance of geological features in darker blue areas rather than brighter ones. This has proven to be untrue so far and the subtle differences in shading seems to be just how the blue overlay interacts with the color and relief of the surface beneath it.

• The process of finding geological features is pretty straightforward: descend into a blue area and you will probably find it. You could fly low until you spot some of them - but IMO, after a lot of attempts, it is much, MUCH easier to just land and use your SRV scanner. The features are abundant and VERY easy to come by. If you landed in a spot with none, just enter in low wake and land again a few thousand km from there. On a side note, although SRV searching is more efficient, low altitude flight is awesome and gave me a really chill experience full of gorgeous sights.

• The process of finding a specific raw material require a little more work. Every geological feature will only yield one kind of material within an area, regardless of the kind of feature you shoot. I don’t really know how the areas are mapped, but I found some degree of success by going low wake and landing again few thousand km away If I didn’t land in the “right” spot.

• I believe the size and therefore the chance of finding a specific material area follow the percentages of planet composition. What I don’t know for sure yet is if the areas are spreaded separately or contiguously concentrated.

• You can travel enough with your SRV to change areas. This happened to me when I found phosphorous and suddenly started finding carbon. I then went back and worked in a radius from my landing spot to only collect the element I needed.

• I found metallic meteorites in one of my landings.. so I believe any other rare drops are still possible. I don’t know if there is a method to find those more easily though… so for now I think it’s just chance.

I believe this new mechanic may not appeal to some players but the frustration I was feeling in the beginning was slowly replaced by a sense of awe and relaxation. I really enjoyed the fact that I had to get close and personal to scavenge a planet for materials and it gave me the opportunity to really appreciate the effort the developers put into the planetary visuals. I may even add the role of photographer to my exploration activities.
What was supposed to be a quick detour in my route to carry the mundane task to refuel my SRV became an adventure on it’s own.

TLDR


I found phosphorous, the exploration mechanic is not broken, raw materials percentages are now relative to the planet surface area where you can find them, this game is beautiful and I need a coffee.

If this is old news, just ignore me

 

[Wolf Coffee]

Great post, and awesome pictures!
Pretty well sums up my own observations. As for metallic asteroids: classic surface "mining" is currently kaput. All the sources I've shot at are yielding only the lowest grade material, and I'm afraid that since no one seems interested in collecting material the old fashioned way at the moment, this failure will remain a permanent condition for now. While I for one have stopped wasting my time with the issue tracker for some time now.

Should someone care, please drop a link. I would at least help with an up vote.

Thank you very much!

In my search I found 5 metallic meteorites and they yielded Polonium, Ruthenium and Yttrium among other materials.
I believe these are rare, right? (sorry I’m fairly new to the game).

I don’t know if I just got lucky with those...
Also I tried finding different materials in one moon and could only find carbon. I came back to the same moon after the latest patch and could find a variety of them as described in my post above along with the metallic meteorites. I don’t know if they fixed something or what...
Keep us updated on your experiences with rares... I may take some time time this week to look into this as well.

 

[yvesmarie]

UPDATE AND CONCLUSION ON MY PHOSPHOROUS HUNT

Now I can refuel my SRV and here is what I found about raw materials and the new exploration system:

• No, the exploration mechanic is not broken, just different.

• Planet composition is still relevant. The difference is that in Horizons the percentages would determine the drop chance within a geological feature. In Odyssey it represents the area of the planet surface that will yield the material. (I don’t really know the actual mechanic behind it, but it is a guess based on my observations)

• The number of Geological Feature displayed after the surface scan shows the different types that can be found (Fumoroles, Geysers, etc). In Horizons it represented the number of spots in the planet where geological features would spawn - this explains why some planets went from having 28 geological features to 2.

• The blue areas can be filtered by the type of geological feature, much like the way biological features work, although I haven’t noticed any difference in the areas displayed when changing filters. This could be explained by the fact that I spent all my research time in only one system without much variety in geological features.

• I did read some speculation about different shades of blue that would indicate a higher chance of geological features in darker blue areas rather than brighter ones. This has proven to be untrue so far and the subtle differences in shading seems to be just how the blue overlay interacts with the color and relief of the surface beneath it.

• The process of finding geological features is pretty straightforward: descend into a blue area and you will probably find it. You could fly low until you spot some of them - but IMO, after a lot of attempts, it is much, MUCH easier to just land and use your SRV scanner. The features are abundant and VERY easy to come by. If you landed in a spot with none, just enter in low wake and land again a few thousand km from there. On a side note, although SRV searching is more efficient, low altitude flight is awesome and gave me a really chill experience full of gorgeous sights.

• The process of finding a specific raw material require a little more work. Every geological feature will only yield one kind of material within an area, regardless of the kind of feature you shoot. I don’t really know how the areas are mapped, but I found some degree of success by going low wake and landing again few thousand km away If I didn’t land in the “right” spot.

• I believe the size and therefore the chance of finding a specific material area follow the percentages of planet composition. What I don’t know for sure yet is if the areas are spreaded separately or contiguously concentrated.

• You can travel enough with your SRV to change areas. This happened to me when I found phosphorous and suddenly started finding carbon. I then went back and worked in a radius from my landing spot to only collect the element I needed.

• I found metallic meteorites in one of my landings.. so I believe any other rare drops are still possible. I don’t know if there is a method to find those more easily though… so for now I think it’s just chance.

I believe this new mechanic may not appeal to some players but the frustration I was feeling in the beginning was slowly replaced by a sense of awe and relaxation. I really enjoyed the fact that I had to get close and personal to scavenge a planet for materials and it gave me the opportunity to really appreciate the effort the developers put into the planetary visuals. I may even add the role of photographer to my exploration activities.
What was supposed to be a quick detour in my route to carry the mundane task to refuel my SRV became an adventure on it’s own.

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TLDR


I found phosphorous, the exploration mechanic is not broken, raw materials percentages are now relative to the planet surface area where you can find them, this game is beautiful and I need a coffee.

If this is old news, just ignore me

this all pretty well agrees with my thoughts as posted here, though i'm still not entirely certain yet about the old nodes just being window-dressing... something seems amiss...

 

[ULITE]

• I did read some speculation about different shades of blue

The darker shades of blue have something to do with the heightmap.

 

[M_Biscotti]

So I use the DSS and at the top right it says there are two geolgical sites but I can't find them on the planet. What am I missing?

I have found the best and most efficient solution : switch to Horizon Mode
And if you're looking for bio sites don't bother with heatmap, it's a nice idea but just useless IMHO as it doesn't work (bug ?) : target one of the sites on left panel go to it, when you're at about 6km go down to the ground. You should find something. I completed all LHS3447 in a really short time and used that while exploring far away.

 

[Miri4Ever]

I still don't understand how to use this new scanner and those colors and there no how to do video found yet. There is a new system scanner yet show me all time 100% and the complete star system with zoom, but I can not display the find there on my planet surface. Trying to fly 100 m over surface one time crashed my ship and often doing much damge and the auto landing computer try to put me down.

So I read a lot of success and working but how I got exactly step by step this geolocials working to be selected from the right top menue is still a riddle for me.

 

[Wolf Coffee]

I still don't understand how to use this new scanner and those colors and there no how to do video found yet. There is a new system scanner yet show me all time 100% and the complete star system with zoom, but I can not display the find there on my planet surface. Trying to fly 100 m over surface one time crashed my ship and often doing much damge and the auto landing computer try to put me down.

So I read a lot of success and working but how I got exactly step by step this geolocials working to be selected from the right top menue is still a riddle for me.

in your case, if you see no blue areas and the signal filters display ”All” after you surface scanned the planet, this means that the planet has no features.
you can check for geological features in the FSS screen when fine tuning the discovery scanner, the number of features will display in the top right corner of the fss screen When you zoom in a planet.
if you scanned all planets in FSS you can alternatively check the system map, select a planet and see if there are any features under “Planetary Information” Tab. It is on the right, the third icon from top to bottom.
after you find a planet with geological features:

1) approach the planet until your surface scanner is within range
2) enter the surface scanner mode by firing whatever button you mapped to it.
3) launch your probes to scan the planet.
4), if the planet has any geological feature, it will become blue in certain areas, and display the name of features under “Signal Filter” - you have to map a key to filter between features.
5) land in any of these blue areas - note that when you enter glide, the blue areas will disappear as you have to be in low wake to see them.
6) after landing, deploy your SRV - check your SRV scanner
7) there is a good chance that you will find geological features. I mean a REALLY GOOD chance.
8) if you find nothing, take off, enter low wake and repeat from step 5, landing in another location.

I recorded a video of the entire process but couldn’t upload it yet. When I have it I’ll post the link here.

 

[Wolf Coffee]

this all pretty well agrees with my thoughts as posted here, though i'm still not entirely certain yet about the old nodes just being window-dressing... something seems amiss...

I am sorry, but english is not my main language… or I just don’t know enough about the game yet to fully understand your observation on the old nodes. Would you mind to clarify? Maybe I could help by checking those as well. Thanks!

edit: I read your post more carefully… by window-dressing you mean that the old nodes are just a way to pop the geological on the radar, is that it? If that’s the case, my theory is that they are not just for show, they will yield wathever material is in planetary composition, now segmented by areas that hold equivalence to the percentages. Even the more rare ones (but they have to be in planetary composition), leaving other harvestable - like metallic meteorites - with a chance of spawing other rares (even if those are not in planet composition)… It is just a theory, but makes some sense if you think that meteorites are a “strange body” .. they would not account to planet composition.…

 

[Wolf Coffee]

I have found the best and most efficient solution : switch to Horizon Mode
And if you're looking for bio sites don't bother with heatmap, it's a nice idea but just useless IMHO as it doesn't work (bug ?) : target one of the sites on left panel go to it, when you're at about 6km go down to the ground. You should find something. I completed all LHS3447 in a really short time and used that while exploring far away.

I actually found material grind a lot easier when I understood the new mechanics, no need to switch to horizons.
but yeah, this works too!