Newcomer / Intro Noob questions about the galaxy map (searching for certain star types, unexplored zones, etc).

[FugueLife]

Very new player. Advance thanks to this community, which has been unbelievably helpful to me in getting into this extraordinary game.

First: I'm playing on PS4, in case it matters.

I find that I only partially understand the galaxy map. I can usually plot routes fine, but I notice some hiccups that I can't quite figure out.

1. Recently, I wanted to find a white dwarf. I'd encountered one by accident and wanted to find it, or another like it. But when I filtered for white dwarves on the galaxy map, all my pips disappeared, and nothing remained, leaving me nothing by which to navigate (to say nothing of no white dwarves). Zooming in and out yielded nothing. What am I doing wrong?

2. Does my galaxy map have access only to those systems I explore myself, or for which I purchase data? If yes, is there any way to import other users' map data? Exploring the galaxy seems very difficult, or impossible, to do wisely and enjoyably if I have only my own info to go by.

3. Sometimes, I see a star on the galaxy map but can't access it because its corresponding blue disc doesn't appear. Leaving and re-entering the map doesn't solve this, and I end up just selecting a location from my navigation menu and going there instead. This undermines my ability to explore the galaxy by my own sense of purpose and direction; much more often, I just end up heading to stars that are selectable on the map. I suspect that has something to do with my map-filter settings, but I generally don't mess with those (unless I'm searching unsuccessfully for white dwarves).

4. Is there a good, basic galaxy map resource out there that can tell me the basics so I can use it confidently? My partial grasp of the map and the effective use of it is really the only thing damaging the experience I want to have (that is, feeling that I can go and do what and where I want).

 

[Maggie_Oz]

Specific filters can be tricky to see. You need to pan and zoom around a bit.
Once you find one though you need to turn everything else back on to be able to navigate to it.

There are 3rd party sites that make it easy but they do break the immersion a bit.
INARA.com would be useful

 

[Sapyx]

1. White dwarfs are actually rather scarce; depending on where you are in the galaxy, there might not be any within reasonable range. It should also be pointed out that the galaxy map only looks at the primary star. If there's a white dwarf secondary star in a system (like in Sirius), then the galaxy map won't see it. Note: it probably wasn't Sirius where you saw your white dwarf, as Sirius is a permit-locked system and as a newbie you won't have any permits yet. Van Maanen's Star is a white dwarf primary star not too far from Sol, but it too is permit-locked. I believe any star system with a name beginning with "LAWD" is taken from a real-world database of real-world white dwarf stars.

2. The galaxy map has infinite range and can see all stars in the galaxy, whether you've been to them or not. You cannot, however, see system maps for any system which you haven't actually visited yet. And no, you cannot filter the galaxy map by "already explored by other people" status. They don't want to make finding truly Unexplored systems that easy for you.

3. The galaxy map does currently have a glitch which can make it difficult to select stars. It's a frustrating bug, and relatively new. Zooming right in to the target star seems to help.

4. There are probably some good YouTube guides; I've never looked for them or produced them myself, so I'm probably not the best person to offer advice or links here.

 

[Hooplah]

Here's an excellent YouTube video for navigation.

 

[metatheurgist]

1. Not sure. A pic of what you're seeing would help. There is a WD at Lawd 13.

2. Every star in the galaxy is catalogued and visible as is their type. What isn't available is the system data.

3. Try selecting the star by hitting the base of the stalk the star sits on instead of the star itself.

 

[FugueLife]

Thanks to all of you for this info! Most helpful.

3. Try selecting the star by hitting the base of the stalk the star sits on instead of the star itself.

The issue is that the base often doesn't appear for me; only the star does. It may be that I'm not quite grasping what zoom/x- and z- and y-axis circumstances make the base appear and disappear. But very often, my galaxy map simply looks like a profusion of stars (small, un-interactable multicolored dots) that produce no clickable base, no matter how far I zoom in or out, no matter how far up or down I bring the y-axis. It's very frustrating.

I'll post a pic or two when I'm back in game. For now, thanks for bearing with my verbal description.

 

[Para Handy]

........
3. Sometimes, I see a star on the galaxy map but can't access it because its corresponding blue disc doesn't appear. .

...........
3. Try selecting the star by hitting the base of the stalk the star sits on instead of the star itself.

Gosh do people still display the grid? I actually find it really intrusive.

I use the keyboard controls to move about on the x-y axis, the mouse* to rotate, pitch, raise, lower and zoom and this way I can best select the system I want.

*(I have keyboard controls for those too but I prefer to use the mouse for them.)