New exploration payout is rubbish

CMDR Ged Satti

C
So I do a fair amount of exploring and I understand a large part of the reason people explore is just because it's a thing they enjoy. I enjoy it. I find it relaxing, and I like getting my name on stuff when I discover it. BUT we also like to think that we're going to get some decent coin for our efforts. I managed to scan down a system yesterday which, with first discovery bonuses, paid out 14.5 mil. I was pretty happy about that. However then I went into the station and went to deliver the biologicals I had scanned down. 1.5 million (with first discovery bonuses) for 5 samples that took me longer to get than scanning down all of those planets.

I mean seriously, landing takes a little while, and flying/driving around far enough to get your 3 genetically diverse samples takes even longer. Add on top of this that you have to do this for one species at a time (apparently it's too hard to label your sample cans and switch them out because there are no sharpies in space) and it easily becomes waaay more time consuming than just flying around scanning planets. And for what? First footfall on planets (I do like my name on things, but I prefer it come with a cash bonus) and rubbish payout. I would say it's a risk vs reward system, except there's more risk trying to land on planets than just flying from system to system.

I honestly have no idea what the devs were thinking with payout balanced this way. For the extra effort it deserves to payout much higher than the space based exploration. Also, it would be cool if you got a further bonus for collecting all specimens in a system.
 

NokturN

NokturN
Don't use an SRV for scanning plants, it's added time. Use an eagle which zips fast from plant patch to plant patch and lands anywhere.
 

Red Rocket

Red Rocket
I am out exploring and found getting samples just not worth the time.
First you can only work on one sample at a time even tho you may be around multiple samples.
add to that you need 3 samples meaning most likely you will need to get back into your ship 3 time to move to different location.
if a planet has 3 types thats 9 times to get in and out of your ship, its just not worth the time invested.

So i have given up on getting samples, i now just scan the items with the SRV and be done with it.

Just to much grind again
 

Greasetrap42

Greasetrap42
My sense of how things should be:

1) Each step of investigating a new system should incrementally pay more.
  • The relative value of scanning something in an uncharted system should increase as you scan more and more items within the system.
  • The more you learn about a system the more valuable additional information becomes.
  • Scanning a crappy planet might pay 100CR. Scanning the 2nd crappy planet should pay 110CR. Scanning the 3rd crappy planet should pay 130CR.
  • Obtaining biological samples from a previously uncharted system should be worth way more if you gathered lots of other information about the system.

2) Scanning or collecting the exact same items from the same general location (geographical features, samples, etc) should continue to pay, but with diminishing returns.
- Obtaining a sample from a new planet should pay lots. 2nd sample less. 3rd sample much less. 4th sample much much less.

3) Studying the same item in the same system already studied by another cmdr should have the same diminishing returns applied to it.
  • Scanning an ELW within the bubble should yield almost nothing.
  • Scanning the ignored planets in a system in a partly scanned system should pay just a bit more. Because you are helping to complete the full investigation of a system.
 

tomimt

tomimt
Exploration is now the most time-consuming thing you can do in Elite. It took time before Odyssey, but the need to collect 3 different samples from each biological specimen tied to that some of them are hard to find, makes it 10 times more time-consuming. If you find a planet with several signs, you can spend hours there. In contrast to what their payout is, the rewards feel way, way too small. The payouts don't feel like they respect the players.
 

askavir

askavir
All the Odyssey payouts are currently rubbish.

Not only exploration (both exobiology and codex - although in fairness codex stuff always rewarded pitifully), but also new missions take much longer and are much more involving and fun, but pay on average only one tenth of the ship-only missions. And faction reputation at the moment also makes no difference whatsoever.

Currently there's bigger fish to fry regarding fixing stuff, but this will have to go on the balance agenda sooner or later.
 

Ydiss

Ydiss
askavir said:
All the Odyssey payouts are currently rubbish.

Not only exploration (both exobiology and codex - although in fairness codex stuff always rewarded pitifully), but also new missions take much longer and are much more involving and fun, but pay on average only one tenth of the ship-only missions. And faction reputation at the moment also makes no difference whatsoever.

Currently there's bigger fish to fry regarding fixing stuff, but this will have to go on the balance agenda sooner or later.
Click to expand...
Could just balance everything else down :D

High CZs pay about 4m per (so about 16m an hour, maybe a little less), which is decent enough. Thing is, I can make 1bn an hour in my ship :D There's a happy medium somewhere there. But you're right, low priority.
 

Red Rocket

Red Rocket
If Fdev is going to stick to 3 samples needed then they should allow more than one sample collected at a time.
Better yet one sample only needed to complete a sample.

It still takes plenty of time to

1) find planet
2) map planet
3) fly down to surface
4) fly around and hunt for new bio stuff
5) land get sample
6) hunt for next Bio, could take a while

Boy i am already tired....nap time
 

Erei

Erei
Fun fact, it's better than what it used to be. We used to get 25k voucher for lifeform in horizon.

I mean, ED is not what I'd call balanced when it comes to time vs reward.
 

Flimley

Flimley
I flew my spaceship many light years. Traveled in my srv and ran around, very much. only to receive very little payout.
…… meanwhile an extra backpack costs 750,000 credits.

Flimley
 

Thatchinho

Thatchinho
Meh. Back in the day we didn't get paid anything whatsoever. Literally nothing. And it was much harder.

But then again back then we did it for the exploration and the discovery.

(Ok, ok, I've not said it explicitly but still... <drinks>)
 

Thatchinho

Thatchinho
Erei said:
Fun fact, it's better than what it used to be. We used to get 25k voucher for lifeform in horizon.

I mean, ED is not what I'd call balanced when it comes to time vs reward.
Click to expand...
Do you mean time vs reward or do you mean time vs credits? ;)

Besides, it's supposed to be a dystopian setting anyway, not a utopian one. ;)
 

alexzk

A
NokturN said:
Don't use an SRV for scanning plants, it's added time. Use an eagle which zips fast from plant patch to plant patch and lands anywhere.
Click to expand...
Depends on GPU. For my system any speed above 50 m/s means I will miss things not loaded, so Anaconda is the best for it :D
 

Red Rocket

Red Rocket
My point is, That it makes no sense to get multiple samples one type at a time because it takes too much time.
Just scan one time with SRV and it goes into your codex and move on.

Game time is to precious to waste on this kind of nonsense.
Remember you have to also move your ship for each sample.
 
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