Is Exploration now optional and it’s own game?

[DukeIronHand]

Between the server disconnects I spent the day configuring, and trying to learn, the new Exploration mechanics. Not much luck but that’s another topic.
Anyway tried to learn in my home system and was none the wiser. Got all the buttons down but what am doing with them? What information am I getting?

Figuring it was because I was in a known system I went to three others that, per the Gal Map, I had never been before however upon arrival and looking at the system map, it was now as good as if I had honked and at least partially scanned the planets. Okay.

I was worried that I couldn’t do anything else in the game if I didn’t have system information from the new mechanics but mercifully that appears not to be the case. Apparently I can trade, fight, run missions, and mine just fine without the new Exploration stuff. Previously you at least had to honk to do anything but no more it seems.

Has “serious” Exploration now become its own separate game so to speak?

EDIT: And, as long as I am here, how does one stop the ridiculous Codex from popping up and doing it’s slow load every time I exit the FSS?

 

[kpmop]

Yeah I'm not 100% sure about it (I asked during the beta) but apparently there's some kind of "communal exploration" thing going on. So if another CMDR has scanned the system and sold the data, you will see the unexplored bodies when you jump into the system.

*obviously if you jump into a system no-one has scannedm you won't know anything till you scan it!
** you'll also need to scan to find USSs!

 

[DukeIronHand]

God bless. Another brilliant stroke like Mat Traders.
So Exploration really is it’s own thing now like combat, mining, and trading instead of an apparent afterthought.

 

[WR3ND]

Waiting for the app so my wife or daughter can muck around on the FSS and DSS charts for me while I go about playing the rest of the game...

 

[DukeIronHand]

Yessir. I hardly found the process intuitive.
Luckily since it’s not critical to my usual play I can read up on it at my leisure.
Do like to USS surf though.
I do an occasional Exploration jaunt so I will have to learn but no rush.

 

[Kaybe]

I have yet to login since the update as I want the server hamsters to relax a little first.

But yes, exploration is a totally new minigame. Also ... while before, you still had to honk and scan if someone else had been there but you haven't, you no longer need to do so on systems mapped by other players. Once those players cash in their data, it's then made available to *everyone*. I imagine a ton of people are going to be flying around the bubble mapping the hell out of everything for a couple of weeks.

 

[VR George Smiley]

I misread “exploration mini game” as “exploration migraine”!

 

[CMDR Rusty Dog]

Actually in 3.3, exploration is now involuntary. Now you (or your ship to be more accurate) does it automatically and gives you free credits and discoveries and you don't have to do anything.

In Chapter 5, we'll likely have, if the trend continues, auto flying, auto firing (all weapon types), auto mining and auto mission completions.
You'll be able to just select missions manually and select when to launch (oh and drive the SRV). Everything else will be controlled by the ship (because as people argue, that tech would be available in 3304).
Gameplay or lack of it because of this is not relevant. The new exploration system (not FSS/DSS) tells you this.

 

[Riverside]

I've yet to leave the bubble & certainly haven't visited an untagged system yet. The FSS Scanner Screen is of no use at all so far, although it's handy to have an extra module slot. I was able to add an SRV to my exploration sidewinder by fitting a class 1 bi-weave shield & used it's excellent supercruise manoeuvrability to tag & map quite a few bodies while economy jumping around the bubble.

But the mapping feature is probably going to be more useful to me in populated space than out of it now. I found a crashed ship and and a couple of other fixed POis that might otherwise have passed me by unnoticed, and so many fumeroles I may never need to hunt for rocks in an SRV again.

So while shooting probes at a gas giant seems to be a pointless chore for anything more than tagging it if it's not already been tagged, probing most airless worlds only takes a few seconds & can reveal resources that should generally speed up engineering progression.

 

[bladebss]

Indeed. I would like to be able to turn off my discovery scanner or fss or what ever it is that keep disscovering things one at a time as i enter the system. It blocks the next system info.

Also that waring that pops up over the info pannel about being in the wrong mode, every time i pull the trigger because im ising my guns and the dss is on the same fire group.

I know the dss isnt going to work cus im in combat mode i realy dont need to be constatly reminded.. and it block s more inportant warnings and info in combat.

Im still a bit confused when it come to the signal tuning and zoom in thing as to what exactly is going on but it seem i dont need to lol, i have been getting on just fine with out it during my exploration jaunt. I have scanned and mapped without it, by just flying there, wich i have to do to mapp anyway. so im sure i will learn eventualy but it doesnt seem to be that inportant to be honest.

 

[PiLhEaD]

Exploration has always been optional. Surely.

 

[ibmalone]

Actually in 3.3, exploration is now involuntary. Now you (or your ship to be more accurate) does it automatically and gives you free credits and discoveries and you don't have to do anything.

In Chapter 5, we'll likely have, if the trend continues, auto flying, auto firing (all weapon types), auto mining and auto mission completions.
You'll be able to just select missions manually and select when to launch (oh and drive the SRV). Everything else will be controlled by the ship (because as people argue, that tech would be available in 3304).
Gameplay or lack of it because of this is not relevant. The new exploration system (not FSS/DSS) tells you this.

Not really true.

You'll auto discover very close stars and asteroids on arrival without honking. The rest you have to hunt down. The difference to the previous situation is you automatically get the reward you'd have got for holding down a button for five seconds between jumps, and what gets automatically listed is stuff you can see on the galaxy map ("hey this star I jumped to is the one I thought it was!"), and the other stars (which aren't scanned). The extra scanning rewards from previously you still have to work for.

 

[Bigmaec]

Actually in 3.3, exploration is now involuntary. Now you (or your ship to be more accurate) does it automatically and gives you free credits and discoveries and you don't have to do anything.

In Chapter 5, we'll likely have, if the trend continues, auto flying, auto firing (all weapon types), auto mining and auto mission completions.
You'll be able to just select missions manually and select when to launch (oh and drive the SRV). Everything else will be controlled by the ship (because as people argue, that tech would be available in 3304).
Gameplay or lack of it because of this is not relevant. The new exploration system (not FSS/DSS) tells you this.

I'd take auto-undocking though

 

[sollisb]

God bless. Another brilliant stroke like Mat Traders.
So Exploration really is it’s own thing now like combat, mining, and trading instead of an apparent afterthought.

Not exactly; It's still an after-thought, but now it has a over-complex, long-winded way of achieving the exact same thing. It looks nice.. Achieves nothing.

 

[Sylow]

You'll auto discover very close stars and asteroids on arrival without honking.

.
I fully agree. And dare to add that there's probably more that Rusty Dog doesn't know. Also in the old system, when you had a discovery scanner on board, the star you jumped to was revealed. The mechanic is not new. Just formerly you had to use an optional slot, now the scanner is always present on the ship.
.
And mind you, many of my ships had an ADS on board. It sure is of no use when you do nothing else than flying passengers or cargo between two stations. But even when doing some basic missions, be it assassination, material recovery, salvage or several other kinds, the mission first only gives you info about the system you have to go to. More detailed information has to be found there. If the system has a nav beacon, you can scan that one. If it doesn't or if you don't want to crawl there to scan it, the "honk" is what you want. Before 3.3 you needed to carry a discovery scanner, now the scanner is there for free.
.
So really, for many of my ships the mechanic Rusty Dog now complains about was there all of the time. The only change is that the scanner now is always on board, instead of having to use a slot for it.
.

 

[777Driver]

In Chapter 5, we'll likely have, if the trend continues, auto flying, auto firing (all weapon types), auto mining and auto mission completions.
You'll be able to just select missions manually and select when to launch (oh and drive the SRV). Everything else will be controlled by the ship (because as people argue, that tech .

Quit with the Hyperbole, you have given your opinion on the Beta forums multiple times. Yes, many of us believe that an advanced interstellar craft shouldn't require having to point at objects in order to short range scan. Besides, passive scanning has been in the game for a very long time.

I for one also hope we eventually get more automation to flying. Ridiculous (putting aside FA) that we are operating with tech less sophisticated than a sperry autopilot used back in 1914.

 

[Oss133]

I misread “exploration mini game” as “exploration migraine”!

I misread "exploration migraine" as "exploitation multi-grain"

 

[Squid Gumbo]

Honestly, exploration is the only thing I've been doing since 3.3 dropped I believe you're right though, it certainly seems like one could go out and explore...like really explore. The surface scanning and the discoveries actually make it feel like you're exploring and learning about the galaxy, I just love it.

 

[DukeIronHand]

Guess my point was, previously, everyone was a bit of an explorer (at least honking) as everything in the game demanded it.
Now, as long as your running in the bubble, doing anything with any scanner is quite optional. Unless your exploring of course.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I sure hope so. It's the only thing I'd like to try out one day since engineers pretty much ruined the rest of the game with their power creep crap. Let's hope they don't throw some alien pimpships in deep space at us just because we have some combat rank and are considered to have gotten gud with grade 5 improvements from ashtray to coffee machine.

And let's hope the whole thing is and stays playable without having to hamsterwheel ourselves stupid in the crappy engineers game loops of hell.