I've vocally supported the new exploration tools, but I've also strongly advocated for giving us NPC crewmates in a (near) future update. Having just scanned a system with 80 planets, even I thought, "Wow, that was tedious!" So here's my idea:
Why not allow an NPC crewmate, one who sits on the bridge with us, run the FSS? This NPC would have an exploration rank, just like SLF pilots have a combat rank, and we would be able to issue commands to our NPC the way we can our SLF pilot. Those commands should be bindable - I currently have "Attack my target" bound on my DS4 controller, for example. This means if we have an NPC copilot, we could issue "scan system" and "probe planet" commands, which would, from our perspective, honk the system and slowly start filling in the system map with data. As our NPC copilot ranks up in exploration, they become faster at filling in the system map, with an Elite explorer NPC being able to "instafill" the system map, just like the old ADS. In fact, it would be even better since that map will also have planet details.
The reason I find this more acceptable than just giving us the old ADS back is because:
1) It keeps the current exploration tools as-is. We're not just "rolling back" major design decision made by Frontier.
2) In essence, it gives explorers who want the old ADS system the very same functionality.
3) I want a copilot sitting in that chair next to me, and this gives said copilot something cool to do!
4) There is a cost trade-off that balances the "easiness" of having an automatic system scan done for us.
.....A) NPCs take a cut* of our income, so while we would be mapping systems faster with an Elite NPC, we wouldn't make as much money (which also counts towards our own exploration rank).
.....B) NPCs take time to train, especially to get to Elite. So it'll take a bit of effort to get the old ADS functionality.
.....C) NPCs require ships with at least two seats, thus forcing at least some of us to reconsider what we explore in (sorry Ziggy, no more Type-7 exploration).
I would love to have this option, To me it's the best of all worlds, and theoretically should make people in both camps (FSS vs ADS) happy. Right?
* NPC payment needs to be reconsidered. NPCs should be paid a relatively low base salary, with any "percentage cut" based on actual work, not just final payment. In other words, if I decide to scan a system myself, the NPC should not get a cut of the value of what I personally scan.
Why not allow an NPC crewmate, one who sits on the bridge with us, run the FSS? This NPC would have an exploration rank, just like SLF pilots have a combat rank, and we would be able to issue commands to our NPC the way we can our SLF pilot. Those commands should be bindable - I currently have "Attack my target" bound on my DS4 controller, for example. This means if we have an NPC copilot, we could issue "scan system" and "probe planet" commands, which would, from our perspective, honk the system and slowly start filling in the system map with data. As our NPC copilot ranks up in exploration, they become faster at filling in the system map, with an Elite explorer NPC being able to "instafill" the system map, just like the old ADS. In fact, it would be even better since that map will also have planet details.
The reason I find this more acceptable than just giving us the old ADS back is because:
1) It keeps the current exploration tools as-is. We're not just "rolling back" major design decision made by Frontier.
2) In essence, it gives explorers who want the old ADS system the very same functionality.
3) I want a copilot sitting in that chair next to me, and this gives said copilot something cool to do!
4) There is a cost trade-off that balances the "easiness" of having an automatic system scan done for us.
.....A) NPCs take a cut* of our income, so while we would be mapping systems faster with an Elite NPC, we wouldn't make as much money (which also counts towards our own exploration rank).
.....B) NPCs take time to train, especially to get to Elite. So it'll take a bit of effort to get the old ADS functionality.
.....C) NPCs require ships with at least two seats, thus forcing at least some of us to reconsider what we explore in (sorry Ziggy, no more Type-7 exploration).
I would love to have this option, To me it's the best of all worlds, and theoretically should make people in both camps (FSS vs ADS) happy. Right?
* NPC payment needs to be reconsidered. NPCs should be paid a relatively low base salary, with any "percentage cut" based on actual work, not just final payment. In other words, if I decide to scan a system myself, the NPC should not get a cut of the value of what I personally scan.