Pandering to explorers

[Whiterose]

The way we explore at the moment is fine. The only thing we need is new stuff to see. Comets, planetary geysers, destroyed planets.

 

[Allitnil]

I'd support this one idea. The more you put in, the more you get out.

DSS already pays out a lot more than ADS. Here's a rough guide to what you get for each type of body:

 

[Engadine]

Yes, I just had to click on the youtube link sent by cmdr Pete (back home with wifi) and "eau de smeg" is that a big pile of poop to pass...

I'm not looking forward to having to go through it once I'm back, but if that's the only way, well, then....

Well to be honest once the "close" button is active you can press it. But then you miss out on the only screen where you can view your first discoveries. The only other way to see them is to click through each system and check.

There is so much more potential for explorers, most explorers love data (especially their own), so FDEV just need to make it available to us...
As I said in another thread I would love an interactive (and exportable? Make me dream!) list of discovered system and celestial bodies in game, with customisable headers including system name, main star type, breakdown of planets/stars per type with values such as coordinates/age/size/mass/rotation/etc, whether they have a terraformable flag, whether they were "first discovered" etc...
Of course also sortable by any of said headers.

If they did this, and also made data saleable as "sell all" or "sell x systems" (better to divide sales over different systems for rep gain) then I think just about all explorers would be over the moon with joy. Even if "sell all" took potentially some hours as a background server activity ("Your data will be processed within 24 hours, your records and credit account will be updated as soon as the process is complete").

-- Pete.

I'm surprised that there isn't a way in game to view more stats across all activities, or even if it was through the Elite: Dangerous website. It's not as though the data isn't available.

Regarding the selling, can you see before you start how many pages/system you have to sell? I only ask with a reference to selling data in different systems for the rep gain, because if you can't how do you know how many pages to sell at each system?

Thanks & Regards

 

[Snakebite]

I am not an explorer. But there are many explorers out there mapping the galaxy, I think it would be nice to pay them a tribute.
After all, while :

PvP players whine because other players aren't easy enough to kill.
PvE players whine because other players kill them too easily.
Pirates whine because traders are not like babies you can steal a candy from.
Traders whine about many things because many things are a direct threat to profit.
And psychos laugh at all of them because stuff you all!

Explorers are the silent bunch who play the nicest and most civilized role in this messed up galaxy.

I've spent a lot of time on these forums and in my experience.

PvP players whine because other players don't show up as wanted or combat log when attacked.
PvE players whine because other players exist.
Pirates whine because traders are hiding in solo mode.
Traders whine about anything that restricts them from pointlessly and endlessly increasing their credits.
And psychos laugh at all of them because stuff you all! - I agree with the last one though...

 

[PavelKCZ]

Being just back from my first exploring trip to California Nebula, I must say that exploring is fun. Not a way to get rich fast, but it is fun. On my first 2.5 days long fly (approx. 7 hours of playing), I discovered 15 previously unknown systems, fully DSS one nice undiscovered system with two terraforming candidates (SYNUEFAI JC-X C4-0) and my net profit was approx. 900kCr.

Of course, I can have more Cr for one hour of boring trade grinding, but exploring is much more fun. On the other side, the galaxy is really an empty space. There should be something more in those unexplored systems. Strange things, bilion years abandoned alien installations, gravity anomalies, strange and unknown signals and/or ships which make a blip on your radar etc. Simply things which pop-up and you say "Wow, what the hell is this..." and when such a thing disappeared, you can say "OMG, I forgot to make a picture of this strange phenomenon..."

 

[Surly_Badger]

I am not an explorer ...
For me, two things would make exploration a lucrative and fun profession instead of just a hobby.

I am an explorer. And it's a fun profession and not a hobby. It's weird that you're simultaneously dismissing/devaluing what we do and pretending to want to "help" us.

I, personally, am especially unimpressed by your desire to make exploring more lucrative; if I wanted lucrative, I wouldn't be an explorer. Therefore, lucrative is not a fun-defining criterion for me.

There are plenty of threads by explorers with suggestions for what would make exploring more interesting to explorers. Maybe you should read a few of those in the explorer's section of the forum?

Hint: exploration missions, more interesting stellar graphics, ways to bring back stuff like life-forms from strange places, etc.

 

[dognosh]

Most of those ideas, just no.

but.

While we're doing wishlists on exploring. Why the hell do you lose all your exploration data if you die? Why is there no way in the 32nd century to back up your data? Why is there no cloud? This needs to be addressed, it's just silly, it's also an exploit loophole if exploration becomes more lucrative, just die and you can scan systems anywhere to make money. It's also annoying that you have to re-explore everything, how does that work for the people that have been to the edge of the galaxy and back only to have some jerk take all of that system knowledge out of their galaxy map - and while we are on the subject of the galaxy map there needs to be far more versatility with that thing, multiple way points, way points that can be customized with color and text, hand plotting courses, just to name a few 'why isn't this already in here?' ideas.

If we stay with the lore(in character with the game) then how/where is this data going ? you are 10000 LY from the bubble and find a new system, since transmitting the data back to civilisation(without giving the data an FSD ) will take 10000 years, what option did you have in mind ?

The other side of this argument, we have had in the exploration forum, is that if there was a way to save or transmit your data, then all you have to do is go somewhere , over say 50 hours of gameplay, transmit your data, self destruct(or hit an asteroid) and you are back home with all your data and 50 hours of return journey time saved

 

[Rikk]

If we stay with the lore(in character with the game) then how/where is this data going ? you are 10000 LY from the bubble and find a new system, since transmitting the data back to civilisation(without giving the data an FSD ) will take 10000 years, what option did you have in mind ?

The other side of this argument, we have had in the exploration forum, is that if there was a way to save or transmit your data, then all you have to do is go somewhere , over say 50 hours of gameplay, transmit your data, self destruct(or hit an asteroid) and you are back home with all your data and 50 hours of return journey time saved

We covered this mate. Was a misunderstanding.
Not referring to unsold data, but when data has been sold the systems show as unexplored for you again if you die after selling.
It was then established this is no longer the case

 

[dognosh]

We covered this mate. Was a misunderstanding.
Not referring to unsold data, but when data has been sold the systems show as unexplored for you again if you die after selling.
It was then established this is no longer the case

my bad for not reading all if it, apologies

 

[Bazil]

DSS already pays out a lot more than ADS. Here's a rough guide to what you get for each type of body:

But, you scan whole systems in one go with the ADS without moving from the main star. So honking the horn nets you everything the ADS will ever get from minimal time and effort.
Given that you can jump in, scoop, DSS the main star and jump on in a couple of minutes compared with much longer to DSS a whole system and incurring wear from the time in supercruise getting to those planets.

 

[Blackfoxx]

You probably didn't read about the scumbag who took a combat rigged ship and some friends over to sagittarrius*A with the sole purpose of destroying unarmed explorers who'd spent weeks exploring then and then having a good proportion of the community call out the explorers for playing the game in open and not thinking about the risks that open brings? Oh to put a realistic spin on it. search on your galaxy map for SAGI to find the supermassive black hole that many explorers head to.. now picture the idiots who decide that good sport is to travel 25,000+ to that place just to grief people who prefer this peaceful past time, and you will get a picture of the massive divide between good players and scumbags who also frequent this game. (all of course fully acceptable because this game is called Elite Dangerous right?

Exploration is fun for those with the patience for it, but the grim reality is .. don't play it in open mode as you never know what idiot may be out there