Is jump range really king for exploration?

[Wardonis]

I've been thinking about it and I had to ask myself this question. Yes, having a longer jump range means you will get to your destination faster, maybe even much faster. but, that really isn't the point of exploration is it? I just moved from an asp explorer to a clipper, been farming the rep for awhile now, and I wanted to explore in this clipper. I see it as a shorter jump range, about 30 LY, is possibly better than the 40ly range I had on the asp because it means i'll be visiting more systems, gives me more chances to encounter strange, interesting a profitable things. I realize that there is a drawback of time overall, but I'm honestly not in a huge rush

what do you guys think?

 

[LeoBartlet]

I've been thinking about it and I had to ask myself this question. Yes, having a longer jump range means you will get to your destination faster, maybe even much faster. but, that really isn't the point of exploration is it? I just moved from an asp explorer to a clipper, been farming the rep for awhile now, and I wanted to explore in this clipper. I see it as a shorter jump range, about 30 LY, is possibly better than the 40ly range I had on the asp because it means i'll be visiting more systems, gives me more chances to encounter strange, interesting a profitable things. I realize that there is a drawback of time overall, but I'm honestly not in a huge rush

what do you guys think?

It helps if your're in a hurry to get somewhere such as colonia or back to the bubble.

 

[Valethar]

Jump range also means you have a much better chance at reaching stars that can be scooped, so you can visit all those systems in clusters with no scoopable stars in them.

It's not just speed, it's flexibility and helps you survive in the black.

 

[Nilt]

Jump range also means you have a much better chance at reaching stars that can be scooped, so you can visit all those systems in clusters with no scoopable stars in them.

It's not just speed, it's flexibility and helps you survive in the black.

Exactly right. More jump range is like having a [strike]full[/strike] very large set of sockets. (Full is probably a 1,000 pieces, at least.) Sure, you may mostly use a few sizes but when you need that 15/16" one having it on hand sure is nice. And, hey, even though you may only need the 1-9/16" 1/2" drive socket once a year or less, when you need it you need it. SImilarly, when exploring, you're out in the black essentially on your own, for most purposes. It makes sense to have as many options as possible.

Edit: No strikethrough here, huh? Weird.

 

[DeathStroke]

strange, interesting a profitable things

You run out of strange or interesting things less than an hour into the game, as for profitable, there are none. Profits from exploration suck, literally anything else is more profitable.

 

[AJW]

Depends entirely on where you are going, and how quickly you want to get there. You can explore in anything with a fuel scoop, and reach most of the galaxy in anything with a half-decent jump range. If you want to go to the outer limits (horizontally or vertically), you will need something better, but the systems on the edge aren't generally any more interesting as systems than any other. Having said that, it's worth taking into account that there are sometimes situations when a little more jump range can result in a lot less work to get from A to B, when the star density starts to drop. Pick your ship to suit your personal preferences, and then see if you can squeeze a little more range out of it anyway, if you have long-range objectives.

 

[Mengy]

For me jump range is king simply because I like to explore on the fringes, out along the edges or the highs/lows of the galaxy where the star density is low. A couple extra lys of range can mean the difference between exploring a system and admiring it from afar unable to even get there at all.

That said though, I fly a DBX even though an Anaconda could jump farther. I simply hate flying the Anaconda, lol.

 

[baudelier]

Longer range means more options. And for explorers, more options equals a better chance of success.

When I'm going out to scan a specific destination ie., nebula, cluster, whatever. I'll use the full power of my FSD to get there quickly. Then, once I've arrived I'll switch to economy mode and, density depending, can make sub 10 light year jumps all day.

 

[Valethar]

Edit: No strikethrough here, huh? Weird.

Sure there is, it's just in a different format.

Use just the 's' instead of the whole word, apparently there's only one set of tags defined for it here.

 

[CMDR IPL Victim]

Another benefit of increased range is increased fuel efficiency. You can go further for a given amount of fuel with a 45LY DBX than with a 25LY DBX. So, with economy jumps, you can emulate the energizer bunny... keep going, and going...

 

[sb413197]

Just like combat and trading, it depends. In trading the cutter is "best" but not in every situation - sometimes you want more speed for smuggling (asp, cobra); sometimes you want medium landing pads (python); sometimes you want to move a million miles an hour (orca). Same for combat - is a FDL "better" than a courier...well sometimes it is but sometimes you want that speed. In exploration the anaconda has the most internals and most jump range but sometimes you want faster turning (dolphin) or better visibility (asp), and so on.

 

[h347h]

It depends on where you are exploring. So basically I like to explore the outer areas above and below the plane of the galaxy. Having a high jump range indeed helps quite a lot out there. However if you are on the galactic plane along an arm it isn't that big a deal.

It also helps you get to an area you want to explore quicker since you can get there in less jumps.

 

[Ozram]

You run out of strange or interesting things less than an hour into the game, as for profitable, there are none. Profits from exploration suck, literally anything else is more profitable.

Went on an enjoyable trip about 9 thousand LYs out. That's less than halfway to colonia. It was fun, I saw some pretty interesting planets and stars as well as nice rocks to land on and even made the odd stop to some abandoned outposts. It wasn't bad at all, nor boring. In fact, it's the only currently available ironman mode in the game. For my troubles I ended up with some 60 million in credits. Seemed fair to me.
As to jump range, I imagine anything over 30 ly is pretty good.
This is what I went out in. Had a great time.

I think I'll do it in a Dolphin next time and take the trip out as far as I can find passengers willing to go.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

I've only done the one 5,000ly trip out of the bubble, in a random direction. Near the end I was having a lot of trouble finding a star I could reach, and I had to carefully backtrack a couple of times. This was in a 45ly Asp.

 

[-VR- pipestein]

I've been thinking about it and I had to ask myself this question. Yes, having a longer jump range means you will get to your destination faster, maybe even much faster. but, that really isn't the point of exploration is it? I just moved from an asp explorer to a clipper, been farming the rep for awhile now, and I wanted to explore in this clipper. I see it as a shorter jump range, about 30 LY, is possibly better than the 40ly range I had on the asp because it means i'll be visiting more systems, gives me more chances to encounter strange, interesting a profitable things. I realize that there is a drawback of time overall, but I'm honestly not in a huge rush

what do you guys think?

Jump range is nice but if I am going to be honest with myself it is not the most important thing for me. I am cruseing in a AspX with only a 30ly jumprange. What is important to me in this ship is being able to withstand heat, and lots of it. I only have a 3A fuel scoop so I need to get up close and personal with a star for extended periods of time. I can sit on a star and not go above 63% heat. I can hit the friendship drive while scooping and not go over 90% or so heat. I can emrgency drop out of supercruise on top of a star because of proximity and when I jump back out my heat will only go up to 95%. Heat is what will kill you while exploring, that and dry gulching yourself. You can control running out of fuel though if you pay attention and plan ahead. You can't always control your heat damage. So yeah jump range is nice but heat management is more important to me.

 

[Gunnet]

One thing I like about exploration ships with long legs is the fact that no matter where you go, you always have the ability to return to the bubble relatively quickly if needed. With the storyline accelerating, I'm happier knowing that I won't miss out on anything unless I chose to.

 

[rrobes]

A 58ly range Anaconda was what got me to elite exploration and it was a LOOONG SLOG. I can't imagine doing it in a shorter range ship. On a long trip you can save 100 jumps, that's a 5k+ chunk of galaxy you don't have to travel through.

Of course if you're not in a hurry, any ship will do for exploration of some sort.

Example:

50000ly trip@ 58ly/jump=862+ jumps
50000ly trip@ 52ly/jump=961+ jumps
Difference is 99 jumps

The trip I took to Sag A* was about that distance and I took it in my Conda w/ 52ly jump. If I had taken it in the last config of my Conda w/58ly range I would have saved 100 jumps on that trip, almost 6k ly's distance.

 

[mikekim]

Exploration is all about seeing the galaxy at your own pace...
you choose where to go and what to scan.
I've got ships that will easily do 50ly, but i mainly use them in the bubble to get to places quickly.
Unless you plan to go to the fringes of the galaxy any ship will do for exploration, just ensure its a ship you enjoy flying, as you'll be spending a great deal of time behind the controls.

for example..
my first major trip was to the Rosette Nebula and back (only 5,000ly each way - but quite substantial for a first outing) I used an Anaconda (only 27ly fully loaded, but i was running the whole trip on economical jump mode).. by the end of the trip the handling in super cruise was painful, and even though that same ship now does 50+ly unless i really have a specific need to use it on an exploration trip i wouldn't.

My second trip (to Sag A* and Colonia) was in a 36ly Cobra Mk III - the whole trip was 2,700+ jumps and no bother at all (a highly recommended ship for log journeys)

My current outing is in a Dolphin (45ly) which also is a joy to spend time in... Will probably end up taking this one to Beagle Point..

So in essence Jump range is nice to have but not really important, unless you're looking to to to the edge of the galaxy..

 

[NW3]

I am cruseing in a AspX with only a 30ly jumprange.

I made it all the way to Beagle's Point in an AspX with only a 32 ly range. (This was before engineers.) However, that's not enough to get to some places you might want to. I needed 56 lys to go on the Distant Stars Expedition and to actually get to the destination required using a neutron star boost, for a total of 224 lys (for a single long jump). There was no way back, so everyone on the expedition suicided their ship. (We knew this before going.)

It took me 8 weeks of gathering materials and engineering to get that 56 lr range! (What a pain!)

Spoiler

Now that I have that range, I really love it, especially in the bubble, where I get 35-45+ lys, depending on cargo and outfitting.

Even so, I would like a larger jump range. When I start or end a long exploration trip, I want to get through the "first discovered by" systems that are 1-2 K lyrs around the bubble. It took me over 2 months of flying (every day for up to 5 hours per day) to get to Beagle Point. I seriously considered suiciding my ship and throwing away all that exploration data, just to get back instantally. (This was before neutron star jumping, which might have made the trip less boring.)

A longer jump range is good. That's why I've posted in the Suggestions forum asking for an Asp Explorer Mk II, with a larger FSD for a much better jump range.

 

[Sapyx]

Long jump range helps explorers in two ways:

- Crossing deserts, whether they be deserts of unscoopable stars (eg brown dwarfs or neutron stars) or the "desert" of already-discovered-stuff within 1000 LY of the Bubble.
- Out on the galactic fringes where stars are thinly spread out, it helps you get to your destination more directly - or even helps you get to certain places that might otherwise be unreachable, such as the Elysium Cluster (M67 Sector).