I have got a cobra with a jump capability of 21 ly (with weapons). I want to explore space but I don't know how decide which star to go or in which direction. All I do now is go to some random star away from civilizations by looking at PowerPlay in galaxy map. Are there any tools to get constellations or something. Or am I missing some options in game? Explorers please tell how you plan your route.
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Newcomer / Intro How to decide which direction to head or where to go? *Exploration*
- Thread starter iamadud
- Start date
If you don't have any specific astronomical interests....
- ISTR that you can enable constellations in the galaxy map. Never used it by myself, so far.
- popular targets are the close-by nebulae. Orion, Barnard's Loop, Pleiades, Eskimo, Witch Head, Elephant Trunk, .... The problem with popular targets is, though, that everyone and their dog have been there already, so your chance of finding any virgin systems on the way can be quite low. Especially if you stay on the direct line - skip a couple of hundred lys up or down in that case, but take care not to get bogged up in a field of Brown Dwarfs. And Pleiades is pretty overrun at the moment with the ongoing Barnacles research by Canonn. There's also a list of nebulae over at the Explorer's forum.
- Sag A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way is also a favourite tourist spot
- some explorers are currently on the way to Beagle Point, the furthest you can get away from Sol. Some others have already been there.
- others are going around the Milky Way - clockwise or counterclockwise.
I'm currently on my first longish trip at NGC 7822 (after visiting a couple of other nebulae), and after I return, I plan on doing 'The Weaver And The Cowherd'.
But: a weaponized Cobra isn't necessarily what most people would take for exploring. Again, check the Explorer's forum for ship/outfitting suggestions. But outside the bubble (what you can see in the Powerplay map), you'll only need the shields if you want to do planetary landings. You won't need the weapons. My exploration DBS can do up to 29 ly per jump (27 ly fuelled up), so I'll need 37 jumps for 1000 ly, while you'll need 48 (and an exploration Asp or Conda less than 28). If you want a cheap exploration vessel, take a look at the Adder.
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Forgot one thing: don't forget your fuel scoop, of course. But if you do run out of fuel (see Brown Dwarfs above), give the Fuel Rats a shout.
- ISTR that you can enable constellations in the galaxy map. Never used it by myself, so far.
- popular targets are the close-by nebulae. Orion, Barnard's Loop, Pleiades, Eskimo, Witch Head, Elephant Trunk, .... The problem with popular targets is, though, that everyone and their dog have been there already, so your chance of finding any virgin systems on the way can be quite low. Especially if you stay on the direct line - skip a couple of hundred lys up or down in that case, but take care not to get bogged up in a field of Brown Dwarfs. And Pleiades is pretty overrun at the moment with the ongoing Barnacles research by Canonn. There's also a list of nebulae over at the Explorer's forum.
- Sag A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way is also a favourite tourist spot
- some explorers are currently on the way to Beagle Point, the furthest you can get away from Sol. Some others have already been there.
- others are going around the Milky Way - clockwise or counterclockwise.
I'm currently on my first longish trip at NGC 7822 (after visiting a couple of other nebulae), and after I return, I plan on doing 'The Weaver And The Cowherd'.
But: a weaponized Cobra isn't necessarily what most people would take for exploring. Again, check the Explorer's forum for ship/outfitting suggestions. But outside the bubble (what you can see in the Powerplay map), you'll only need the shields if you want to do planetary landings. You won't need the weapons. My exploration DBS can do up to 29 ly per jump (27 ly fuelled up), so I'll need 37 jumps for 1000 ly, while you'll need 48 (and an exploration Asp or Conda less than 28). If you want a cheap exploration vessel, take a look at the Adder.
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Forgot one thing: don't forget your fuel scoop, of course. But if you do run out of fuel (see Brown Dwarfs above), give the Fuel Rats a shout.
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Just head out of the bubble in the direction of your choice! If you want to find virgin systems (they yield twice the exploration value) then head in a direction that is unlikely to be popular. If you want to see a nebula, go there, etc.
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You don't need a huge jump range if you are just out on a short trip but bear in mind that fuel could be a problem so you should have a ship with a good number of jumps in the tank. If you die then you will loose all your exploration data and be returned to your starting port. Running out of fuel is a bad way to go. As above though for serious exploring there are all sorts of things to consider and I'm no expert having only been a few thousand lys out. Something I may correct soon
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You don't need a huge jump range if you are just out on a short trip but bear in mind that fuel could be a problem so you should have a ship with a good number of jumps in the tank. If you die then you will loose all your exploration data and be returned to your starting port. Running out of fuel is a bad way to go. As above though for serious exploring there are all sorts of things to consider and I'm no expert having only been a few thousand lys out. Something I may correct soon
2nd star to the right and straight on till morning.
[video=youtube;-zKDIYyacpk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zKDIYyacpk[/video]
[video=youtube;nrizm2gnQBo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrizm2gnQBo[/video]
Check the explorers forum, likely some write-ups with tips in there. An Asp explorer is ideal to go on a long voyage and has an excellent view from the canopy, but people have gone vast distances in other ships. Even a Sidewinder... though I would not recommend that A Cobra should be pretty good to explore in, but a Diamondback Explorer would be better if an Asp is still out of price range.
Besides the obligatory advanced discovery scanner and detailed surface scanner.. get a repair system and a decent rated fuel scoop (they aren't cheap for better ones). Ensure your FSD is A rated for max jump range. The less mass on your ship, the longer the jump range. Many pure explorers limit to D rated systems to save on weight, with key systems possibly at a higher rating for performance (FSD especially). Use ED Shipyard or one of the other ship configurators to plan your build out. Super helpful tools.
Some areas of space have wider gaps between stars, and regions where you may not easily find scoopable stars. It is important to maintain awareness of where you are and the stars around you. Watch that fuel gauge closely, and be prepared to adjust course to refuel so you don't get stranded. If you do get stranded, be familiar with the 'fuel rats' and their service. But as the saying goes, "..An ounce of prevention..". Nothing worse than losing many weeks of exploration data due to loss of fuel and the resultant loss of life support.
Here's a tip. Set up the exploration ship that works within your budget. Rather than aim for crossing the galaxy at this stage.. why not try a shorter run? My first exploration jaunt was about 2,000 light years out and back... essentially a tour-hop between various sights/nebulae within the local'ish region. I enjoyed it immensely. This way you can get a taste for exploration. Get your name marked on a good bunch of systems, and by the time you return you may have earned a chunk of exploration credits to possibly jump to an Asp? When heading out, it may be a good tactic to drop down, or go up along the galactic plane. Try approaching various nebulae from an indirect route. Zig-zag around. If you go straight there, you may follow a predecessor's path, and you won't be seeing/mapping as many 'new' systems. Check the system map.. if you hit many pre-discovered systems, try adjusting route a bit.
Lots of options. Follow your desire, and do what you deem the most fun. Bring an SRV package along... land on a few far flung planets maybe? Just be careful about your approach/landing on those HIGH-G worlds!
A Cobra should be pretty good to explore in, but a Diamondback Explorer would be better if an Asp is still out of price range.Besides the obligatory advanced discovery scanner and detailed surface scanner.. get a repair system and a decent rated fuel scoop (they aren't cheap for better ones). Ensure your FSD is A rated for max jump range. The less mass on your ship, the longer the jump range. Many pure explorers limit to D rated systems to save on weight, with key systems possibly at a higher rating for performance (FSD especially). Use ED Shipyard or one of the other ship configurators to plan your build out. Super helpful tools.
Some areas of space have wider gaps between stars, and regions where you may not easily find scoopable stars. It is important to maintain awareness of where you are and the stars around you. Watch that fuel gauge closely, and be prepared to adjust course to refuel so you don't get stranded. If you do get stranded, be familiar with the 'fuel rats' and their service. But as the saying goes, "..An ounce of prevention..". Nothing worse than losing many weeks of exploration data due to loss of fuel and the resultant loss of life support.
Here's a tip. Set up the exploration ship that works within your budget. Rather than aim for crossing the galaxy at this stage.. why not try a shorter run? My first exploration jaunt was about 2,000 light years out and back... essentially a tour-hop between various sights/nebulae within the local'ish region. I enjoyed it immensely. This way you can get a taste for exploration. Get your name marked on a good bunch of systems, and by the time you return you may have earned a chunk of exploration credits to possibly jump to an Asp? When heading out, it may be a good tactic to drop down, or go up along the galactic plane. Try approaching various nebulae from an indirect route. Zig-zag around. If you go straight there, you may follow a predecessor's path, and you won't be seeing/mapping as many 'new' systems. Check the system map.. if you hit many pre-discovered systems, try adjusting route a bit.
Lots of options. Follow your desire, and do what you deem the most fun. Bring an SRV package along... land on a few far flung planets maybe? Just be careful about your approach/landing on those HIGH-G worlds!
Don't know why but I really find this funny. Maybe because this is what I did last night.
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That's a good ship but, I am collecting my credits to buy ASP. That's a worthy ship to buy I guess
Thanks for the tips.
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Yes, the Asp is the ship of choice for most explorers until they get to the Anaconda. The problem, though, at least for me, is that an exploration equipped Asp runs somewhere around 15 Million, while an exploration equipped Adder can be had for less than 2.5 Million. Those A-rated class 5 modules stack up the price.
I'm currently flying a DBS and think about upgrading to a DBX when I return to the bubble. Since I don't have Horizons (yet), I have little incentive to go for the Asp, exept perhaps the view from the canopy.
Yes, I have been told in the meantime that that amount of money is apparently easily made by bounty hunting/kill stealing in a RES, but that's not the kind of stuff I want to do in this game. And there's no way I will ever be involved in slave trading/smuggling (except perhaps behind the trigger of a pair of high level railguns, somewhere in the future when exploration becomes boring).
The nice people of Alioth give a 20% discount on the ASP but you will need to be friendly (allied?) with them to get a permit to go there.
InMemoriamSirocco
Banned
Search the exploration sub-forum for "scenic route".
I) Choose either:
1. A destination (pick a nebula or any object in space you've heard of and are curious about). Search for it in the galaxy map. If that doesn't find what you want, google it - Most astronomical objects have more than one name. Try another name for it, then another...)
2. A direction. Up or down is probably best at first: Most people think "2 dimensionally", so you'll come across something previously undiscovered sooner.
II) Go there.
III) Set route planner to "Economical".
IV) Fly around, jump, honk, scoop and scan. Look at the shinies. Go "Ooh! Aah!" (You DID buy a discovery scanner and a fuel scoop, didn't you?)
V) Go back and sell your data.
VI) Go to I). Or try something else.
1. A destination (pick a nebula or any object in space you've heard of and are curious about). Search for it in the galaxy map. If that doesn't find what you want, google it - Most astronomical objects have more than one name. Try another name for it, then another...)
2. A direction. Up or down is probably best at first: Most people think "2 dimensionally", so you'll come across something previously undiscovered sooner.
II) Go there.
III) Set route planner to "Economical".
IV) Fly around, jump, honk, scoop and scan. Look at the shinies. Go "Ooh! Aah!" (You DID buy a discovery scanner and a fuel scoop, didn't you?)
V) Go back and sell your data.
VI) Go to I). Or try something else.
The choice of destination is up to the individual of course.
In my case I started with the (reasonable) assumption that most people would be heading towards the Galactic Core. So I focused my explorations in the opposite direction - towards the Perseus and Outer Arms.
If your ship has a jump range of 21 ly, you might find it tricky to get across the gap between the arms. Not impossible, but tricky. Other choices are moving up- or down-stream along the Orion Arm.
In my case I started with the (reasonable) assumption that most people would be heading towards the Galactic Core. So I focused my explorations in the opposite direction - towards the Perseus and Outer Arms.
If your ship has a jump range of 21 ly, you might find it tricky to get across the gap between the arms. Not impossible, but tricky. Other choices are moving up- or down-stream along the Orion Arm.
Currently, there is the great exploration group heading out towards the lagoon nebula.
I've headed that way and found lots of good stars for scooping; though you will find others have bagged them.
A rated FSD, D rated life support, shields, thrusters (get the lowest number you can for range) the smallest A rated power unit and biggest scoop you can fit.
Strongly recommend a heat sink launcher.
If you're going to land anywhere you must have shields, there is always a bump on landing!
Remember - be careful, don't break the ship.
Last thought, I've found salvage about 6kly from Sol. Don't collect it from space, it is "illegal salvage" and will cause problems when you return.
Surface salvage is OK
I've headed that way and found lots of good stars for scooping; though you will find others have bagged them.
A rated FSD, D rated life support, shields, thrusters (get the lowest number you can for range) the smallest A rated power unit and biggest scoop you can fit.
Strongly recommend a heat sink launcher.
If you're going to land anywhere you must have shields, there is always a bump on landing!
Remember - be careful, don't break the ship.
Last thought, I've found salvage about 6kly from Sol. Don't collect it from space, it is "illegal salvage" and will cause problems when you return.
Surface salvage is OK
Why do you have cargo racks when exploring? The cargo is only going to be worth a ~10,000 per tonne and every tonne reduces your jump range. There are generally better/more useful things to put in your internals than cargo racks when exploring.
The Adder was suggested, but I did my first 2000Ly jaunt in a stripped down Hauler. 3,000,000 credits for this with a 32Ly jump range...
...and yeah, find an out of the way system in the bubble, look up or down at some random degree, travel in that direction for about 500Ly and you'll hit virgin systems...then go whichever way you like.
...and yeah, find an out of the way system in the bubble, look up or down at some random degree, travel in that direction for about 500Ly and you'll hit virgin systems...then go whichever way you like.
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