My friend and I have searched this one system and NOTHING for over 20 minutes or so. Has anyone come up empty handed?
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Newcomer / Intro Is it possible for a system to not have any planets?
- Thread starter lestat2150
- Start date
yup they're called 'dead' systems. they're dark gray translucent in the galaxy map and have weird catalog string names.
Ok well I need a different method of locating them. I'm pretty close to the start and it took us close to 20 minutes to find 1 planet. Another thing, there wasn't a nav beacon at this unexplored system. Wouldn't there be a nav buoy that led you to the star initially? I guess they only exist in inhabited systems.
You can find celestial bodies with the basic, intermediate and advanced scanners. Assign them to a fire group and fire them by holding in the fire button. Basic finds within 500 ly, Intermediate within 1,000, and Advanced finds everything associated with that star at any range. Note that they will all be Unexplored until you lock on and fly close enough, at which time you will catalogue them more fully. If you have a Detailed Surface Scanner this last step also reveals data about what they are made from (and so gives you more money when you sell that more detailed data).
Systems without planets certainly exist, so there isn't always something to find. The Advanced Discovery is the only one that will tell you for sure! You can also eyeball it by flying around and looking for points of light that move in parallax against the distant stars.
EDIT - a PS - nav beacons only appear in inhabited systems, and not all of those at that. The gravity of the star is what you lock on to for travel between star systems, no nav beacon required (they are really just there to give you a place where NPCs congregate for bounty hunting!)
Systems without planets certainly exist, so there isn't always something to find. The Advanced Discovery is the only one that will tell you for sure! You can also eyeball it by flying around and looking for points of light that move in parallax against the distant stars.
EDIT - a PS - nav beacons only appear in inhabited systems, and not all of those at that. The gravity of the star is what you lock on to for travel between star systems, no nav beacon required (they are really just there to give you a place where NPCs congregate for bounty hunting!)
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Thank you for that detailed explaination. So I have to D-scan the star itself to locate orbital bodies? Or is it possible to just D-scan in a direction and locate something.
The discovery scan is direction independent and finds anything in a 500 ly sphere. For changing bodies from Unexplored to properly named, you have to point at them and be close enough and be locked on (no buttons required, it will be automatic if you are in range). Hope this helps! Happy exploring!
Edit, note, since this is a 500 LY sphere around your ship, you may find different things depending where you are, same with Intermediate for its 1,000 LY sphere. Advanced, doesn't matter where you are as it finds it all!
Edit, note, since this is a 500 LY sphere around your ship, you may find different things depending where you are, same with Intermediate for its 1,000 LY sphere. Advanced, doesn't matter where you are as it finds it all!
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1. Make sure you have a (basic, intermediate or advanced) Discovery Scanner equipped and assigned to a fire group.
2. Enter unexplored system. See nothing on the radar.
3. Hold your fire button. The D scanner will charge and 'ping' when complete. Any celestial bodies within a 500 LS (not LY) spherical radius around your ship will become found. It will tell you in the top right.
4. Look at your navigation panel, see new objects listed as 'unexplored'. also see them on radar, also note you can target them in space via 'target ahead' key.
5. Target body, point nose at it, fly close enough to begin front scan, ship will scan and eventually object will become 'named' and info about it will be listed on the left target pannel.
You may need to fly about 'pinging' the D-scan to find other celestial bodies that are further than 500LS. Getting a better D-scanner will make this easier.
Alternatively. Dock at station in neighboring system, enter galaxy map and click the 'buy system data' button on star you wish to have system data on. Note, data may not always be available and/or may not be complete. (depends on who's found and sold what data about that system)
2. Enter unexplored system. See nothing on the radar.
3. Hold your fire button. The D scanner will charge and 'ping' when complete. Any celestial bodies within a 500 LS (not LY) spherical radius around your ship will become found. It will tell you in the top right.
4. Look at your navigation panel, see new objects listed as 'unexplored'. also see them on radar, also note you can target them in space via 'target ahead' key.
5. Target body, point nose at it, fly close enough to begin front scan, ship will scan and eventually object will become 'named' and info about it will be listed on the left target pannel.
You may need to fly about 'pinging' the D-scan to find other celestial bodies that are further than 500LS. Getting a better D-scanner will make this easier.
Alternatively. Dock at station in neighboring system, enter galaxy map and click the 'buy system data' button on star you wish to have system data on. Note, data may not always be available and/or may not be complete. (depends on who's found and sold what data about that system)
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From one newb to another:
Space is big. Some systems do not have bodies orbiting them. Just because a system is gray doesn't mean there is nothing there. The gray dot only means that there is no faction presence. No independents, alliance, empire, or federation. No crime, no law, no help. There won't be any stations in a gray system as far as I know, but there can be planets, moons, and asteroid clusters. (I don't think there is a way to find asteroid clusters without a scanner, but maybe someone can enlighten me.) You can "uncover" a body or star by flying close to it. You can scan it with a scanner simply by targeting it and pointing at it.
1. So you are in a completely unexplored system? If you have a discovery scanner, ping it as soon as you drop out of hyperspace. Check your galactic map. You can tell exactly how many stars are in the system and what type under the info panel when you hover over the star with your mouse pointer. The types of stars there will be separated by commas.
2. Fly out away from the star and align yourself with the galactic plane. (That's the bright band of core stars)
3. Once your velocity reaches at least 25c (more is better but will take a bit longer) start circling the star and make note of a landmark in the background. That way you will know when you have done a complete circle. You need to be moving fast so you can see movement in the background better. If you did a circle and didn't find anything, do a vertical one further out.
4. While you are circling the star at high speeds, maintain your distance to the star to keep your speed high and constant. Stop turning your ship for a few seconds at a time to look for movement in the background. The star will light up the planets, even very distant ones (even greater than 5,000Ls away). If you are not close enough to the planet and are also on its dark side, they become invisible, literally. If you see something moving against the background, you have found a body. Depending on the lighting angle they can be very bright, or very very dim against the background. Simply point at it and fly there, remember to stay on the light side or you WILL lose it. Approach it cautiously so you don't over shoot. Keep looking right at it or you might lose it anyway.
5. Generally once you find one planetary orbit, the others will be along the same orbital plane around a particular star.
6. If your star has an orbit, align yourself on that plane and trace the line to find another star. It'll be a decently bright one in the background along the orbital line, and its color will correspond with the a type of star listed on the galactic map. You have to be at high multiples of c (think 100+) to see distant stars move against the background. As you approach it, keep yourself and the main star aligned with the "new" one in case I'm right about my tip later on. As you notice you are starting to be slowed by the new star, start pitching up and down across the orbital plane. Look for that movement in the background again, it should be really easy to spot if you are traveling over 100c.
Tip: I just confirmed this in Amphisatsu. Only the main star (the first one you jump next to) counts for light against a pinpoint distant planet. When approaching another star in a multi-star system, you need to be sure the main star is directly behind. As you pitch up and down across the orbital plane you should be able to pick out the planets moving against the background.
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I've done a lot of exploring since I started playing this week. All I've had to use so far is the discovery scanner and it does a pretty good job. I've had up to 4 unexplored show up with just 1 ping.
The system I'm in now will net me over 5k and I'm still finding stuff in it. It's also an Anarchy system with an unknown signal source full of AIs to kill for bounties. So far there is no place in this system to collect the bounties. Still a fun place.
The system I'm in now will net me over 5k and I'm still finding stuff in it. It's also an Anarchy system with an unknown signal source full of AIs to kill for bounties. So far there is no place in this system to collect the bounties. Still a fun place.
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From one newb to another:
Space is big. Some systems do not have bodies orbiting them. Just because a system is gray doesn't mean there is nothing there. The gray dot only means that there is no faction presence. No independents, alliance, empire, or federation. No crime, no law, no help. There won't be any stations in a gray system as far as I know, but there can be planets, moons, and asteroid clusters. (I don't think there is a way to find asteroid clusters without a scanner, but maybe someone can enlighten me.) You can "uncover" a body or star by flying close to it. You can scan it with a scanner simply by targeting it and pointing at it.
1. So you are in a completely unexplored system? If you have a discovery scanner, ping it as soon as you drop out of hyperspace. Check your galactic map. You can tell exactly how many stars are in the system and what type under the info panel when you hover over the star with your mouse pointer. The types of stars there will be separated by commas.
2. Fly out away from the star and align yourself with the galactic plane. (That's the bright band of core stars)
3. Once your velocity reaches at least 25c (more is better but will take a bit longer) start circling the star and make note of a landmark in the background. That way you will know when you have done a complete circle. You need to be moving fast so you can see movement in the background better. If you did a circle and didn't find anything, do a vertical one further out.
4. While you are circling the star at high speeds, maintain your distance to the star to keep your speed high and constant. Stop turning your ship for a few seconds at a time to look for movement in the background. The star will light up the planets, even very distant ones (even greater than 5,000Ls away). If you are not close enough to the planet and are also on its dark side, they become invisible, literally. If you see something moving against the background, you have found a body. Depending on the lighting angle they can be very bright, or very very dim against the background. Simply point at it and fly there, remember to stay on the light side or you WILL lose it. Approach it cautiously so you don't over shoot. Keep looking right at it or you might lose it anyway.
5. Generally once you find one planetary orbit, the others will be along the same orbital plane around a particular star.
6. If your star has an orbit, align yourself on that plane and trace the line to find another star. It'll be a decently bright one in the background along the orbital line, and its color will correspond with the a type of star listed on the galactic map. You have to be at high multiples of c (think 100+) to see distant stars move against the background. As you approach it, keep yourself and the main star aligned with the "new" one in case I'm right about my tip later on. As you notice you are starting to be slowed by the new star, start pitching up and down across the orbital plane. Look for that movement in the background again, it should be really easy to spot if you are traveling over 100c.
Tip: I just confirmed this in Amphisatsu. Only the main star (the first one you jump next to) counts for light against a pinpoint distant planet. When approaching another star in a multi-star system, you need to be sure the main star is directly behind. As you pitch up and down across the orbital plane you should be able to pick out the planets moving against the background.
Wow man I appreciate that very succinct description. We sort of figured out how to fly away from the star and look for movement. My buddy located a planet that way without even using the scanner...it took us about 20 minutes, but he found one and I just flew to him. I definitely need to upgrade my scanner now that I know the distances are that increased. Advanced are just so damn expensive.
Generally endorsing what's been said.
Many systems have no planets - just a star. This is pretty normal. I think it's particularly true on unexplored systems near populated space as all the "high-quality" systems have been surveyed well enough to show up on the map - all the more reason to take a long hike!
Re Nav beacons - these only show up in fairly well-developed systems. If there is a nav beacon then the system definitely has one or more settlements (which will show up as well very likely)
Many systems have no planets - just a star. This is pretty normal. I think it's particularly true on unexplored systems near populated space as all the "high-quality" systems have been surveyed well enough to show up on the map - all the more reason to take a long hike!
Re Nav beacons - these only show up in fairly well-developed systems. If there is a nav beacon then the system definitely has one or more settlements (which will show up as well very likely)
I've had some really bad luck at finding things. So bad in fact, I ran out of fuel trying to find things (went to a named system hoping to find fuel... dead system.) long story short, wait til you get a fuel scoop before trying to explore. I've lost a lot of creds being stuck in systems and having to self destruct. BTW, top speed in sidewinder is 1000LS/S @ .84 fuel consumption. you can't slow boat to the next star either.
