Making exploration more viable, simple suggestions.

[Cheapmilk]

Hello there, CMDR Cheapmilk here

I have been an explorer for ages in this game and am currently sitting at the Ranger rank of exploration. The bad thing is...I kinda learned to hate it more than to love it. It is a very time time consuming profession and also not rewarding at all compared to the time spent doing other things. Sure for beginners scanning 5 stars and some planets might be perfect to start out, but the more you advance into the game the less exploration starts to matter. I believe thats because of the lack of more equipment and some "quality of life" tweaks like progression bars while scanning a body. So I've got some suggestions which would, in my opinion, make exploration a viable profession again. Here we go :

-Ultra Light Alloys
Used at the Bulkheads section, reducing the weight of the ship significantly as also reducing its armor.
Example : ASP Explorer with default alloys jumps 34LY, ASP Explorer with Ultra Light Alloys jumps 38LY.
-Advanced Surface Scanner
The next level of the Detailed Surface Scanner, yielding more profits after a scan.
-Scanner Boosters
Used at Utility Mounts. Significantly boosts the range of your scanner, so you don't have to come close to bodies to scan them.
-Scan Accelerator
Used at the Internal Compartment section, just like Shield Generators or Fuel Scoops. Reduces the time to scan bodies and ships.
-Turreted Scanner
Used at Utility Mounts. You won't need to face the object you are scanning. This would be especially useful for ships which don't manouver well.
-Add small-medium ships for exploration.
Those being fast and manouverable, but also not having any hardpoints, just utility mounts and also being light. I know it is extremely hard to implement new ships as well as to model them...but maybe you could give it a try
-Make even small Black Holes more dangerous and remove their exclusion zone.


Those are all suggestions I have for now, maybe i'll come up with more stuff
Fly safe CMDRs ^^

 

[Zeeman]

Actually, it's simpler than that.

An Earth Like world should be worth at least 400000cr. It's not like they're super easy to find or anything.

I found about 80 over 230k Ly...

Z...

 

[Cheapmilk]

Indeed, the rewards really are underwhelming. If the factions of the game can spare you some millions for transporting goods from A to B they should also be able to pay you more for finding useful bodies for their expansion ._.

 

[Jaiotu]

CMDR Fionn mac Cumhaill here. Pioneer explorer... just another 75% and I'll be "Elite".

The thing to remember about exploration is that it is a relatively safe occupation. You are more likely to get killed by your own poor piloting skills then anything else. After my first great exploration I returned and found I had enough credits to buy a Type 7. I bought it and loaded it full of Paladium and, having forgotten my keybindings, boosted directly into the inside of the station wall on its maiden flight.

What would I like to see?

1. Additional scan data received for a planetary landing. Even more for returning a surface sample.
2. Undiscovered earth-likes, water worlds and teraformables should get a bonus based on how close they are to the bubble. This makes sense: the closer they are to humanity the more likely they will be future colonization candidates.
3. Additional data for each KM driven on the surface of an unexplored world in your SRV.

 

[Lestenio]

I'd like to see a dedicated explorer ship. Not the asp which can be fitted out for any purpose.
But something with a very high jump range. Big bubble canopy giving pretty much 270 degrees of views. Obviously to make it explorer class, it looses all but 1 hard point so it's not a multi purpose ship.

Additonal scanners would be cool, as would more variety in the astronomy objects. Rather than scan and run, be nice if you jumped into an system and had a moment of panic from time to time.

 

[Cheapmilk]

I agree that exploration is rather safe, unless you run into very high G worlds and try landing on them with very heavy ships But it being safe doesn't make people go for it, in fact it being safe turns down some people.

 

[Marc_Hicks]

I'd rather just see some Bulletin Board missions solely devoted to exploration. A faction asking you to go & get a detailed scan of <system name>, maybe as part of a chained mission started off by you salvaging some exploration data for that faction. Another mission type might be to *escort* a survey mission to a distant system, which could then trigger a community goal to help colonize said system!

 

[Deleted member 38366]

What I'm really missing from Exploration (reached ELITE several months ago) :

1) So you've discovered tons of Earth-Likes, Metal-Rich, Terraforming candidates... good stuff. But now what?

Status Quo :

• * 1-Dimensional. Go out (locations your choice) and return to cash in.
  * Rewards all Standard : Reputation, Credits, Ranking... The usual drill.
  * You left your name on thousands of Planets/Suns? Great - but noone can see them, except the few (if any) isolated other Explorers that might cross your old route. Hardly satisfying.
  * Ability to coordinate, buy or sell Information to other CMDRs? N/A. Doesn't exist.
  * Ability to coordinate the Exploration efforts, i.e. a bit like mankind has been doing since a long time? Again, doesn't exist. Universal Cartographics doesn't manage or care to optimize the currently 100% random (and often redundant) Exploration efforts.
  * Effect of all your efforts on the Galaxy : NIL, N/A, non-existent. Doesn't matter if you scanned 100 Planets or 100000. All irrelevant.

What's missing in my Opinion, just a bunch of ideas :

Universal Cartographics
Instead of being a silent Black Hole (they passively take in any Map Data - but as a Service provider will only ever yield you partial Maps (if at all) within a miniscule 20LY radius :
- how about them becoming an actual Service Provider?
- how about them having certain locations you can fly into and access their Universal Database to plan your next trip (access level Exploration Rank dependent) ?
- how about them having an actual Stellarium, like a Galaxy Map but with vastly more powerful Filters. Let them present you what they have and make good use of their mountain of Information.
- how about them being an Institution offering actual Exploration Missions from their central Locations, hand in hand with Exploration-minded Factions/Powers (Sirius for example)

- how about them taking over "Universal Cartographic Record breakers" in-game.
-> Found a new record-breaker? Now you'll get notification and enter their book of records! And you'll know others will see it, you're no longer a "nobody in the deep black". Work hard and you could even become famous, a name known to the Galaxy.
-> You're bored and need a rest to prevent "space madness"? Land on a planet, enter your online Database and review all the Record Holders and your own Universal Standing within dozens of Statistics vs. other Explorers.

Rewards
- above would already allow you to leave your mark. Actually blaze your own Trail, for others to see (if you're successful - a goal worth working for).
- Universal Cartographics could increase their Service levels to you, depending on your gained Exploration Rank (i.e. 20LY service radius increases)
- how about an "Explorer's Insurance" , a costly but useful investment. UC will now track your route and issue a Recovery Mission should you blow up. You'll only recover a part of the Data, but at least you get a chance to do so.
- you're a seasoned, high-ranking Explorer return home from a long Trip? Coordinate your arrival and you'll get dedicated NPC escort shortly before you enter the first inhabited System
- you're a seasoned, high-ranking Explorer and you return to a dedicated Exploration Community Goal location? Again, you can request assistance to cover your six for a fee.

- The Explorer's Assocation could auto-submit regular but more extensive GALnet News entries, displaying individual Explorers achievements - but also moan the deaths of those who didn't make it.
- they as well could maintain a permanent list of CMDRs who died in the service of Exploration, a Memorial containing Name, Ship, Date and Location of their demise. A place for silence.

Post-Exploration
Your Ship's Computer is bursting from System Maps... Wouldn't it be cool to be able to actually do something useful with these?

- file a claim (expensive!) and reserve the right to (one day, we can hope) be allowed to create your own tiny robotic Outpost on its Surface. A place you can call Home.
(dreaming : a functional Outpost you can work for and eventually turn into a thriving Economy with your own Faction that colonizes space around it... Naturally this process should be a LONG one and require very dedicated effort and investments)

- file a claim for mining rights (assuming Mining on Planets will become a thing) on your 1st Discoveries

- offer System Maps for others to purchase well outside the common 20LY limitation
-> non-Explorers or simply interested Players will highly welcome that opportunity
(amount and Credits must be very limited, however, as Frontier generally does not envision any passive income - thus is has to be minimal and more of a social aspect, knowing other CMDRs showing interest in your Data would be the primary reward)

Sandbox Effects

- repeatedly selling Exploration data with suitable Planets should eventually trigger moves to colonize that space if feasible (Mining, Terraforming, Colonies)
-> if these actions are starting, the Explorer with the 1st Discoveries shall get notification (just something making lonely Explorers smile, showing them they had an actual effect on the Galaxy)

---

That's just a small list of what I got in my head.

Haven't touched the Exploration mechanics, as that's a whole other topic with tons of stuff I could envision being improved.
I'm sure there can be more to Exploration than just Jump-Honk-Scan-Scan-Scan-Scan-Jump-Honk etc...
The Game is literally screaming for all that, Exploration literally has endless potential... It just needs to be tapped.

PS.
Apologies for the minimal formatting/near-Wall-of-Text... Was just typing it down as it came to my mind.

 

[fish77]

The one thing I'd like to add, it's simple and probably been mentioned 100's of times is waypoints, so what if they're not really needed for combat or trading but it would make things a lot easier for explorers to be able to tag anything they want in the galaxy map, I'm currently in a neutron field and am finding it a pain having to go into the galaxy map after every jump to find my next target, just scanned around 350 of them in one session so it does get tedious having to constantly open the map, I tried plotting a 150ly route with economical jumps and it gave me a 60 odd jump route, did the first 5 jumps and not one neutron star in an area packed with them so gone back to selecting them manually, same goes for black holes, I've lost count the number of times I've spotted a few on the map but by the time I've jumped to one I've lost track of the others.

 

[Jaiotu]

The one thing I'd like to add, it's simple and probably been mentioned 100's of times is waypoints, so what if they're not really needed for combat or trading but it would make things a lot easier for explorers to be able to tag anything they want in the galaxy map, I'm currently in a neutron field and am finding it a pain having to go into the galaxy map after every jump to find my next target, just scanned around 350 of them in one session so it does get tedious having to constantly open the map, I tried plotting a 150ly route with economical jumps and it gave me a 60 odd jump route, did the first 5 jumps and not one neutron star in an area packed with them so gone back to selecting them manually, same goes for black holes, I've lost count the number of times I've spotted a few on the map but by the time I've jumped to one I've lost track of the others.

So much this!
Waypoints and advanced route planning.

 

[Jon flint]

I'd like to see some tie-in with multi crew and exploration.

Something like the ability for a cmdr crew member to launch and control probes when in a system to scan bodies, while the pilot focuses on the flying/fuel scooping.

Also I like the idea of another level of detailed surface scan. Perhaps one that reveals the minerals that can be collected on the surface, but obviously with some limit imposed, perhaps only having it work in orbital cruise.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

Let us add internal modules like Scanners, cargo pods and fuel pods to weapon mounts.

Trade off: Less firepower for more science.

Would make it easier to use smaller ships for exploration that way.

 

[Daynen]

Honestly, exploring isn't such a bad way to make money at the moment. A lot of it doesn't make sense, but it can make money.

The issue is those smuggling runs making people millions of credits an hour. Makes exploring look like begging by comparison.

Anyway, to be more ontopic, I have to disagree with most of the OP's suggestions. They wouldn't add anything to exploring; they'd just increase the profit margin and reduce the time spent actually exploring.

"But that's what we want!" I hear you cry. No. It's really not. If you LIKE exploring, you don't want things that make it LESS engaging. You want it to be MORE fun. More profitable? Okay, but only if the level of interaction is increased, rather than decreased. If you want to make more money at it while doing less of it, then maybe you don't like exploring as much as you think? With the OP's proposals, there would be repercussions, as follows:

-Ultra Light Alloys
Used at the Bulkheads section, reducing the weight of the ship significantly as also reducing its armor.
Example : ASP Explorer with default alloys jumps 34LY, ASP Explorer with Ultra Light Alloys jumps 38LY.
This one I can ALMOST agree with, though you'd have to accept that your ship will be a glorified origami scanbot and NOTHING else. Besides, the lightest alloys barely weigh anything already.

-Advanced Surface Scanner
The next level of the Detailed Surface Scanner, yielding more profits after a scan
NOPE. Have to disagree here. The detailed surface scanner shouldn't even be a separate module from the discovery scanner since it adds NOTHING to the gameplay of exploring and takes up a slot for no reason. "It makes me more money" is not adding gameplay. It does nothing by itself and could be part of the discovery scanner's grade scale.


-Scanner Boosters
Used at Utility Mounts. Significantly boosts the range of your scanner, so you don't have to come close to bodies to scan them.
The range of our scanners is primarily dependent on what we're scanning. I've scanned stars from 6500LS away, while asteroids require a 5LS range. This would be a very arbitrary waste of a utility mount, IMHO. I'd never use it.

-Scan Accelerator
Used at the Internal Compartment section, just like Shield Generators or Fuel Scoops. Reduces the time to scan bodies and ships.
See advanced surface scanner above.

-Turreted Scanner
Used at Utility Mounts. You won't need to face the object you are scanning. This would be especially useful for ships which don't manouver well.
GAWD no. This would literally take away what little interaction there is from exploring. You would literally jump in, ping your ADS, and hit T until everything was scanned, then pop out before you're even done fuel scooping. The galaxy would be completely mapped out by valentine's day.

-Add small-medium ships for exploration.
Those being fast and manouverable, but also not having any hardpoints, just utility mounts and also being light. I know it is extremely hard to implement new ships as well as to model them...but maybe you could give it a try
This, I can ALMOST see, but we can already accomplish this by simply not equipping our hardpoints and bringing lightweight parts. Seems like it wouldn't be worth the effort, honestly.

-Make even small Black Holes more dangerous and remove their exclusion zone.
I haven't run across a black hole yet, but I feel like they should be one of the most terrifying things in the galaxy. The fact that someone's asking to make them more dangerous just tells me that they aren't. Don't know how I feel about this yet.

 

[Cheapmilk]

I can see your point Daynen. To be honest, after me getting over the eyecandy exploration has to offer it began to be pretty dull. I made the suggestions to reduce the time just being wasted scanning things and making it more attractive for non-explorers. Sitting around in front of a body scanning it or having to approach it for minutes while you read or watch something on a second monitor doesn't have any gameplay value at all too. Also light weight modules are fine and dandy, but no explorer ever uses all internal slots or all utility mounts, thats why we need more equipment for exploration. I don't know how far you are into the game or into exploration given the fact that you haven't seen a black hole yet but you'll see yourself that on seriously long trips the whole scanning taking away your time will make you sick, heck I even turned off the "frameshift drive charging" announcement on my way to the core because I got sick of hearing it. People don't like wasting their time scanning, thats a fact I read countless times. Also, if you want to see a relatively small black hole, visit Maia