Newcomer / Intro Returning player biological sites ?

[Arrathon2]

Hi, I am just getting back into ED after 4 years out. I have Horizons.

I was 9000LY out when I stopped playing and have spent the last week relearning how to fly and land. I managed to crash once (hull down to 15%) So am heading back to the bobble to repair.

I have scanned and mapped a few hundred systems and found loads of Geo sites but not one biological one.

Question do i just need to buy a scanner when I get back or do I need to buy odyssey in order to find biological sites?

 

[CMDR SleepyDelegate]

If I am not mistaken, the bio sites were there even before Odyssey, so I guess you were only not lucky enough yet... The chances of finding a bio site are quite low... You would get a lots of Geo sites, but only a couple of Bio signals... You do not need to buy Odyssey, unless you want to do very simple first person shooting and/or planet walking...

In Horizons, I believe if you are able to honk the system (to discover all the signals in the system), then do the FSS (learning what those signals actually represent - where you will discover whether those bodies have Geo or Bio signals) and then finally do the DSS (Detailed surface scanner - that thing that shoots probes on the planet surface from the orbit, where you learn where exactly on the planet surface these signals are) you do not need anything else...

If you do not have the DSS, then yes, you need to buy one...

EDIT: Just wanted to make sure, that I was really finding Bio signals while in Horizons. Sure enough, I was, proof below:

 

[Fizzatron]

If I am not mistaken, the bio sites were there even before Odyssey, so I guess you were only not lucky enough yet... The chances of finding a bio site are quite low... You would get a lots of Geo sites, but only a couple of Bio signals... You do not need to buy Odyssey, unless you want to do very simple first person shooting and/or planet walking...

If biological discovery is something an Elite player is interested in doing, like OP seems to suggest, then that aspect is expanded upon quite substantially in Odyssey, along with other things that don't specifically relate to OPs question, it's not just 'very simple FPS and/or planet walking'.

It's always your own choice but it is worth checking out for yourself Arrathon2, though if you're not on playing on PC then that's not going to be an option. We are waiting to see on Wednesday's livestream about how Frontier plan to move accounts from console to PC for those that wish to keep playing the non discontinued version. o7

 

[Arrathon2]

Thanks guys, It was more that I was puzzled, as stated I have scanned 100's of planets and not had a biological site, but will keep looking. I have a lot of jumps to go before I get back. I see you drive the same way I do CMDR Sleepy Delegate. 07

 

[Para Handy]

Hi, I am just getting back into ED after 4 years out. I have Horizons.

I was 9000LY out when I stopped playing and have spent the last week relearning how to fly and land. I managed to crash once (hull down to 15%) So am heading back to the bobble to repair.

I have scanned and mapped a few hundred systems and found loads of Geo sites but not one biological one.

Question do i just need to buy a scanner when I get back or do I need to buy odyssey in order to find biological sites?

You just have to let the zoomed-in FSS view complete its scan. Bio signals are more rare than geos but they are there.

BTW - the scan time is dependant upon refresh rate (yeah, I know, right?) so if you have your frame rate capped (or v-sync on) then the scan takes an age to complete.

 

[CMDR SleepyDelegate]

Thanks guys, It was more that I was puzzled, as stated I have scanned 100's of planets and not had a biological site, but will keep looking. I have a lot of jumps to go before I get back. I see you drive the same way I do CMDR Sleepy Delegate. 07

Yeah, I take the saying "Keep it wheels down" as a suggestion only...

Do you also fly like me?

 

[CMDR SleepyDelegate]

If biological discovery is something an Elite player is interested in doing, like OP seems to suggest, then that aspect is expanded upon quite substantially in Odyssey, along with other things that don't specifically relate to OPs question, it's not just 'very simple FPS and/or planet walking'.

It's always your own choice but it is worth checking out for yourself Arrathon2, though if you're not on playing on PC then that's not going to be an option. We are waiting to see on Wednesday's livestream about how Frontier plan to move accounts from console to PC for those that wish to keep playing the non discontinued version. o7

Fair point... I was merely answering his question, about whether he needs to buy Odyssey to find the Biosignals... If he is interested in exobiology, then the Odyssey offers a different level of grind, that is for sure... A grind I don't personally enjoy at all, and I am an explorer at heart...

 

[Northpin]

Hi, I am just getting back into ED after 4 years out. I have Horizons.

I was 9000LY out when I stopped playing and have spent the last week relearning how to fly and land. I managed to crash once (hull down to 15%) So am heading back to the bobble to repair.

I have scanned and mapped a few hundred systems and found loads of Geo sites but not one biological one.

Question do i just need to buy a scanner when I get back or do I need to buy odyssey in order to find biological sites?

Check DSSA carriers locations, you might find one nearby your location so you dont need to travel full back to the bubble to repair

 

[Para Handy]

Check DSSA carriers locations, you might find one nearby your location so you dont need to travel full back to the bubble to repair

Also there are "Hull Rats" that will come and use repair limpets on an explorer's damaged hull.

 

[KRONFROMGALVATRON]

Hi, I am just getting back into ED after 4 years out. I have Horizons.

I was 9000LY out when I stopped playing and have spent the last week relearning how to fly and land. I managed to crash once (hull down to 15%) So am heading back to the bobble to repair.

I have scanned and mapped a few hundred systems and found loads of Geo sites but not one biological one.

Question do i just need to buy a scanner when I get back or do I need to buy odyssey in order to find biological sites

Fwiw, another vote here suggesting you get odyssey. I too just got back into the game after a couple years off and can’t imagine going back to not having odyssey. It’s so cool to be able to do on foot missions, or get out of the srv to look around or loot a crash site. and there is a lot more bio scanning type stuff you can do, although I haven’t got into that yet.

 

[varonica]

Thanks guys, It was more that I was puzzled, as stated I have scanned 100's of planets and not had a biological site, but will keep looking. I have a lot of jumps to go before I get back. I see you drive the same way I do CMDR Sleepy Delegate. 07

Bio signs on airless horizons bodies are indeed relatively rare, you need to right location and star type, but once you get those right you can find them. Bio signs in Odyssey are everywhere on atmospheric worlds.

 

[Maolagin]

Bio signs on airless horizons bodies are indeed relatively rare, you need to right location and star type, but once you get those right you can find them. Bio signs in Odyssey are everywhere on atmospheric worlds.

This. Horizons life forms only occur in specific conditions. Look in the Codex for the galaxy region you are in and you will be able to see what kinds of biology exist there. The description will give a hint about what kind of planet or star you need to be looking for.

 

[Griff Rogers]

As Varonica says, space based bios and legacy planetary bios (Horizons) are fairly rare, and also extremely region specific. You can fly for thousands of light years and not hit one if you are in the wrong region or not hitting the right types of systems. There are no specific additional scanners you can buy - the FSS will tell you presence/absence of signals (though in Horizons there's a delay while the scan is "resolving"), and the DSS will give you signal locations when you fly to and map the planet.

If you want to specifically hunt for legacy bios, you should look at ED Astro's distribution maps to make sure you are in the right areas to find them.
https://edastro.com/mapcharts/codex.html

You can also look at Deep Space Network's references on bios for spawn criteria (specific star types, etc.).

Exobiological Flora - Deep Space Network

This page references knowledge of biological species found on the surface of planets. Detailed species sheets by genus: Note: many of the images presented in this flora were provided by CMDRs who participated in the Artemis Biological Survey, an expedition organised by the DSN. Many thanks...

ed-dsn.net

If you upgrade to Odyssey, note that the DSS map works a little differently - you get the results immediately, number of geo/bio signals tells you how many species types are present, and you locate signals on the planetary surfaces using a heatmap rather than waypoints. The new Odyssey bios occur only on the new Odyssey tenuous atmospheric planets, and they are much more prolific than legacy planetary bio signals. You need an Artemis suit with the genetic sampler tool (need to return to any station to get one, including Explorer's Anchorage or Colonia) if you want to collect genetic samples to sell to Vista Genomics, but you still use the FSS/DSS scanners to find them. There is no delay for resolving FSS signals in Odyssey.