How many ELW here
- Thread starter Witcher 7
- Start date
None.
Could be anything between 0 and 7. That's why you can listen to them on the system map to work out what they are (IIRC ELWs have something like whale song)
HMCs and/or water worlds lol. I can actually spot earthlikes from the map alone without the sound (which I simply can't hear) but yeah, there are easier things to do. I'd imagine at least two of those were terraformable though, so it should still be a decent payday system.
No Earth-likes. Number Five is a guaranteed waterworld, pretty sure Four is as well. The others are HMCs which I suspect wouldn't even be terraformable.
With experience, you learn what ELWs look like under different lighting conditions and usually don't be fooled. I've only been fooled once, and it went the other way - a world I assumed as a mere waterworld turned out to be an ELW with really tiny landmasses.
But there are plenty of ways to tell an ELW before you actually scan it:
- On the system map, ELWs usually have both islands in the ocean. If the planet is just sea and clouds, it's (probably!) not an ELW.
- Also on the system map, and mentioned by other above, turn on the game's ambient sounds (if you've turned them off) and listen to the "music of the spheres". Each planet type has a distinct sound when you zoom in to it: HMCs have heavy metal distorted guitar thing going; waterworlds have bubbly gushing water. ELWs have some gushing water, some string accompaniment and a tropical bird calling out every few seconds. If you want practice, open the system map for Sol or some other pre-Explored system with a known ELW and listen.
- Look at the little graphic that shows up in the bottom left corner of the main screen. Again, each planet type is different. Waterworlds are always featureless balls. ELWs have a complex land-and-ocean pattern with a distinctive lake/island at about the 2 o'clock position (ammonia worlds have the same pattern). HMCs have a mixture of different patterns, one of which can resemble the ELW pattern but is blurrier and without the lake at 2 o'clock.
With experience, you learn what ELWs look like under different lighting conditions and usually don't be fooled. I've only been fooled once, and it went the other way - a world I assumed as a mere waterworld turned out to be an ELW with really tiny landmasses.
But there are plenty of ways to tell an ELW before you actually scan it:
- On the system map, ELWs usually have both islands in the ocean. If the planet is just sea and clouds, it's (probably!) not an ELW.
- Also on the system map, and mentioned by other above, turn on the game's ambient sounds (if you've turned them off) and listen to the "music of the spheres". Each planet type has a distinct sound when you zoom in to it: HMCs have heavy metal distorted guitar thing going; waterworlds have bubbly gushing water. ELWs have some gushing water, some string accompaniment and a tropical bird calling out every few seconds. If you want practice, open the system map for Sol or some other pre-Explored system with a known ELW and listen.
- Look at the little graphic that shows up in the bottom left corner of the main screen. Again, each planet type is different. Waterworlds are always featureless balls. ELWs have a complex land-and-ocean pattern with a distinctive lake/island at about the 2 o'clock position (ammonia worlds have the same pattern). HMCs have a mixture of different patterns, one of which can resemble the ELW pattern but is blurrier and without the lake at 2 o'clock.
One.
3rd planet is a HMC.
4th and 5th are Water Worlds.
6th is the Earthlike.
edit: Wow, nevermind. That...really? All HMC and only 5 is a water world? Nahhhhh, no way! I might even bug report that if that's true and were a system I'd been to....
Stuff like this is why I listen to planets more than I actually look at them. [wacky]
3rd planet is a HMC.
4th and 5th are Water Worlds.
6th is the Earthlike.
edit: Wow, nevermind. That...really? All HMC and only 5 is a water world? Nahhhhh, no way! I might even bug report that if that's true and were a system I'd been to....
Stuff like this is why I listen to planets more than I actually look at them. [wacky]
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No ELW, although I'd have targeted 4 & 5 to check for TWW. The scanner target display already shows you what you're dealing with.
Maybe the headphones on the Rift aren't very good but I've never heard the Earth sounds or the water sounds either.
I'd definitely have checked the 6th. Bummer (and scanned the ww's without hope) 
I'd definitely have checked the 6th. Bummer (and scanned the ww's without hope)
The shading is wrong. If you look at the WW next door you will see the lighter shade of blue that is shared between WWs and ELWs. HMCs use very similar looking icons but the colouring is a consistent tell. It really is just a case of being disappointed enough times, I reckon.
It's my ears that aren't very good, although my speakers are hardly cutting edge either.
It's my ears that aren't very good, although my speakers are hardly cutting edge either.
Further to the posts about the 'Music of the Spheres' I've tried it on PS4 and never get *anything*. Can any other PS4 players out there confirm/contradict? If it's just *my ears* that are defective, I don't think I can get a refund on that hardware lol!
