I bought Horizons when I got the game but I had not yet done any missions that required it. So I pick up a Scan Job only given the info to go to the Asellus system. OK I go there, do a scan, then get an update to go to Asellus 1, I go there, do a scan, get nothing, land, get into my SRV for the first time, drive around, only lets me shoot my weapons, not do a scan. I must be doing something wrong but I have no idea what to do. I guess I'll go look at some videos and hope one of them mentions something similar to this. Do I need to buy a specific type of scanner for this kind of mission?
Horizons Planetary Scan Job
- Thread starter Nighturnal
- Start date
When you take one of these missions you are directed as you mention, however on reaching the target planet / moon you need to orbit it and look for a mission target indication in your HUD. Then as you approach the surface (I think while still in OC but I might be remembering that wrong) the target indicator will move about "searching" for the definitive location, before finally revealing the correct place.
As Para Handy said. Also: Target sites are labeled "Search Zone:XXX" where XXX can be either "Building" or "Outpost". Once targeted you can approach and land just as with a permanent planetary base, but as Para Handy mentioned, the target jitters around on the landscape before settling into a final location. This is so the mission target instance can spawn itself ostensibly out of your view.
Note that after landing and launching the SRV, the mission target site cannot be acquired in the SRV Nav panel or by direct scan if the ship is still grounded. If you land close enough, it's not hard to track its location by its scanner signature, which is very distinctive. It often helps to take a bearing to the site while in the ship, then use that to set your initial direction to the site. Or you can dismiss your ship, lock on the site in Nav, then recall the ship. The site lock will persist. Awkward, yes, but that's how it works.
Note that after landing and launching the SRV, the mission target site cannot be acquired in the SRV Nav panel or by direct scan if the ship is still grounded. If you land close enough, it's not hard to track its location by its scanner signature, which is very distinctive. It often helps to take a bearing to the site while in the ship, then use that to set your initial direction to the site. Or you can dismiss your ship, lock on the site in Nav, then recall the ship. The site lock will persist. Awkward, yes, but that's how it works.
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Thank you for the help.
When the site has been tracked down (that's been covered above), I land close to the site .... about 300 m or so away if I can .... because if I get into trouble having scanned the beacon (like weaponfire starts happening) I am close enough to make a quick run to the ship. Put max pips to shields in the ship before you leave it !
I have some strategies for all types of PSJ configurations that minimize fire on SRV and ship, and have been quite successful for me, if anyone is interested. I will Spoilerize them for the more adventurous sort 
Fly over the site before landing so that you land about 300m from it facing away from it, then it will be straight in front when you launch the SRV. When you get close to the beacon, switch to turret mode, point the turret at the top of the beacon and pull whichever trigger you have the scanner on. If it's a private beacon, you'll get a bounty do be prepared to run away. If there's a red exclusion zone on the radar, get ready just outside it where you have a direct run in to the beacon. You have time to get in and out before the alarm triggers. It's best to reverse out because the SRV is much more stable going in reverse. You can go at full speed without it spinning. Mysteriously, it can also climb hills better when going backwards.
This is my experience after many dozens of Planetary Scan Jobs (PSJs):
1) You can land within 1.5km of any PSJ site without incurring fire from the site as long as you haven't stirred it up while in flight. There are four types of PSJ, and none require landing far enough away to require the SRV to have the site target-locked. It may be more convenient but not a necessity.
2) The SRV cannot pick up the target site in the Nav panel unless the ship is dismissed. Nor can you lock scan on it directly if the ship is present. While I don't consider this a bug it is often a real PITA. I see no technical or logical reason for the limitation, just bad mission design. Most often I just watch my scanner for the site's signature, which is very distinctive. It's also helpful to take a bearing on the site before leaving the immediate vicinity of the ship.
3) Only PSJ sites with Private Data Points will have active defenses, even though there may be turrets, etc. present at the Public Data Point sites. Private Data Point sites will always have a Trespass Perimeter (TP) but it is not necessary to break that perimeter while defenses are active, it can be circumvented or defenses can be removed before crossing it, depending on the type of site.
4) There are two fundamental types of PSJ site, Outpost and Building, and two configurations of each of these basic types -- two for Private Data Points (PrivDP) and two for Public Data Points (PubDP).
5) Case 1 & 2, PubDP sites -- Outpost & Building variety both have a centrally located DP tower, no TP. If Defense Turrets (DT) are present they are dormant. For Outposts this is vary rare, I'd estimate less than 1% of instances. For Building types I'd estimate 10%-15% of instances. In both cases you can land as close as you want.
6) Case 3, PrivDP, Building -- Active TP with two Sentry Skimmers. You can land within 1km and not trigger attacks from these Skimmers, they are fairly passive unless you cross the TP or blast a nearby "sitting duck" pirate. They are also easy to take out with the SRV guns if you take them on one at a time, from outside the TP. Just maneuver the SRV so one of the Skimmers is behind the large structure on site when you blast the first skimmer. It should go down in seconds. The second will go hostile but should present no real threat. If your ship is over about 750m off it will not be fired on. After downing the Skimmers (criminal skimmers will each earn you a 1000cr bounty claim) you can cross the TP with no other response than a warning. There are usually 6 to 8 canisters laying about that can be collected if you so desire, but watch out for occasional illicit cargoes like nerve gas. Once the site is cleaned out, scan the PrivDP, drive like heck to your ship and do the usual fast getaway routine. NOTE: Even after downing the skimmers and gathering all the cans, I have often spent hours collecting Elemental materials before scanning the PrivDP, with no interference from occasional visitors, even System Authorities, as long as you have no crimes on record.
7) Case 4, PrivDP, Outpost -- This is by far the most common PSJ site configuration. From the air, the site describes a roughly rectangular layout. Two Defense Turrets (DTs), one large and one small, guard the DP tower that sits roughly between them, this arrangement forming one short end of the rectangular site. The DP tower sits in one corner of the rectangle. For this configuration I choose a landing spot about 1.5 km away, preferably closer to the side of the site with the DP tower and turrets. This will make escape easier and safer. As long as you haven't triggered the site's TP in your ship, or blasted a nearby "sitting duck" pirate ("It's a trap!"), the site will ignore you. Land with your ship facing 180deg away from the site, and if possible, in terrain that will hide the ship from the site -- more getaway tactics. Deploy the SRV and do any prospecting you might want to do, it's safe as long as your ship doesn't attract pirates (just run empty of cargo), but don't get farther than 2km from your ship or it will auto-dismiss, an inconvenience at best. Approach the Outpost only from the side with the DTs and PrivDP. The TP will become visible in your scanner from quite a ways away, making this simpler to line up. Once close enough, target lock (select) the smaller DT, then maneuver the SRV until the small DT is sitting directly behind the DP tower structure. At this point the small DT will be completely blind to your presence, and you can slowly approach the DP tower. Slowly! Crawl up to it. As soon as the DP becomes active and you can select it, STOP and put the SRV in reverse. Select the PrivDP and scan it, then bug out in reverse as fast as feasible given whatever problems boulders and terrain might present. The small DT will be hostile but will not fire unless it has line of sight on you, so try to keep it behind the DP tower. The large DT ignores the SRV. After backing off a hundred meters or so it's usually safe to swing about, resume forward drive, and bug out to your ship. The small DT will fire on you if it can but it's usually easy to keep some terrain in its fire path, and occasional hits don't do a lot of shield damage. If your ship is not hidden from the site by terrain the large DT may start firing on it once you approach it, and definitely once you board it, so plan your landing accordingly. Once aboard, lift off only a few meters, raise landing gear and boost directly away from the site, hugging the terrain. This is why you aim your ship away from the site when you land. Once about 3km away from the large DT it will stop firing on you, but you can angle the ship up and boost to break mass lock before this because the DT is much less accurate beyond 2km range. Once out of mass lock, jump to SC and find a safe system to escape to, which you should plan in advance. Also scout ahead of time for nearby Interstellar Factor systems so you can pay off your bounty conveniently.
2) The SRV cannot pick up the target site in the Nav panel unless the ship is dismissed. Nor can you lock scan on it directly if the ship is present. While I don't consider this a bug it is often a real PITA. I see no technical or logical reason for the limitation, just bad mission design. Most often I just watch my scanner for the site's signature, which is very distinctive. It's also helpful to take a bearing on the site before leaving the immediate vicinity of the ship.
3) Only PSJ sites with Private Data Points will have active defenses, even though there may be turrets, etc. present at the Public Data Point sites. Private Data Point sites will always have a Trespass Perimeter (TP) but it is not necessary to break that perimeter while defenses are active, it can be circumvented or defenses can be removed before crossing it, depending on the type of site.
4) There are two fundamental types of PSJ site, Outpost and Building, and two configurations of each of these basic types -- two for Private Data Points (PrivDP) and two for Public Data Points (PubDP).
5) Case 1 & 2, PubDP sites -- Outpost & Building variety both have a centrally located DP tower, no TP. If Defense Turrets (DT) are present they are dormant. For Outposts this is vary rare, I'd estimate less than 1% of instances. For Building types I'd estimate 10%-15% of instances. In both cases you can land as close as you want.
6) Case 3, PrivDP, Building -- Active TP with two Sentry Skimmers. You can land within 1km and not trigger attacks from these Skimmers, they are fairly passive unless you cross the TP or blast a nearby "sitting duck" pirate. They are also easy to take out with the SRV guns if you take them on one at a time, from outside the TP. Just maneuver the SRV so one of the Skimmers is behind the large structure on site when you blast the first skimmer. It should go down in seconds. The second will go hostile but should present no real threat. If your ship is over about 750m off it will not be fired on. After downing the Skimmers (criminal skimmers will each earn you a 1000cr bounty claim) you can cross the TP with no other response than a warning. There are usually 6 to 8 canisters laying about that can be collected if you so desire, but watch out for occasional illicit cargoes like nerve gas. Once the site is cleaned out, scan the PrivDP, drive like heck to your ship and do the usual fast getaway routine. NOTE: Even after downing the skimmers and gathering all the cans, I have often spent hours collecting Elemental materials before scanning the PrivDP, with no interference from occasional visitors, even System Authorities, as long as you have no crimes on record.
7) Case 4, PrivDP, Outpost -- This is by far the most common PSJ site configuration. From the air, the site describes a roughly rectangular layout. Two Defense Turrets (DTs), one large and one small, guard the DP tower that sits roughly between them, this arrangement forming one short end of the rectangular site. The DP tower sits in one corner of the rectangle. For this configuration I choose a landing spot about 1.5 km away, preferably closer to the side of the site with the DP tower and turrets. This will make escape easier and safer. As long as you haven't triggered the site's TP in your ship, or blasted a nearby "sitting duck" pirate ("It's a trap!"), the site will ignore you. Land with your ship facing 180deg away from the site, and if possible, in terrain that will hide the ship from the site -- more getaway tactics. Deploy the SRV and do any prospecting you might want to do, it's safe as long as your ship doesn't attract pirates (just run empty of cargo), but don't get farther than 2km from your ship or it will auto-dismiss, an inconvenience at best. Approach the Outpost only from the side with the DTs and PrivDP. The TP will become visible in your scanner from quite a ways away, making this simpler to line up. Once close enough, target lock (select) the smaller DT, then maneuver the SRV until the small DT is sitting directly behind the DP tower structure. At this point the small DT will be completely blind to your presence, and you can slowly approach the DP tower. Slowly! Crawl up to it. As soon as the DP becomes active and you can select it, STOP and put the SRV in reverse. Select the PrivDP and scan it, then bug out in reverse as fast as feasible given whatever problems boulders and terrain might present. The small DT will be hostile but will not fire unless it has line of sight on you, so try to keep it behind the DP tower. The large DT ignores the SRV. After backing off a hundred meters or so it's usually safe to swing about, resume forward drive, and bug out to your ship. The small DT will fire on you if it can but it's usually easy to keep some terrain in its fire path, and occasional hits don't do a lot of shield damage. If your ship is not hidden from the site by terrain the large DT may start firing on it once you approach it, and definitely once you board it, so plan your landing accordingly. Once aboard, lift off only a few meters, raise landing gear and boost directly away from the site, hugging the terrain. This is why you aim your ship away from the site when you land. Once about 3km away from the large DT it will stop firing on you, but you can angle the ship up and boost to break mass lock before this because the DT is much less accurate beyond 2km range. Once out of mass lock, jump to SC and find a safe system to escape to, which you should plan in advance. Also scout ahead of time for nearby Interstellar Factor systems so you can pay off your bounty conveniently.
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