Short Range Exploration

Viscera · Dec 11, 2016

I like the idea of exploring.

And I also like doing other stuff, mostly varied mission running, which leads to all sorts of adventures.

I have found that I do not have the attention span to keep at exploring for a long period of time.

I have tried. It just gets to me after a while. I have to get back to the bubble.

So what I have done, is try to work out what I can do here.

I have two options, which can both fit in the same bracket:

1: exploration in the bubble. There are some cool planets on your doorstep.

2: exploration on the fringe. "A grand day out"

The first option is very simple. Just go out in the bubble and have some fun looking at places you have no info on. I have been doing this in the simple manner of taking a mission nearby, flying there and scanning the whole area if required. It is actually quite fun, just roaming about one or two jumps at a time, and looking around, whilst still working that fed/imp rank up slowly etc. it also allows for some less than optimal exploration type builds - just have the two scanners and you are good to go.

The second option is where some of you experts will come in:

My first real exploration trip was quite enjoyable: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/233685-A-strange-new-world

My second trip was a little too far for my own tastes : https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/271131-Tipping-The-Witches-Hat

So for my goals it looks like about 600ly from sol is a good estimate at where I seem to hit the wall.

Can you name some of the more closer things to the bubble, that are worth going for a look at? Or will I just have to push through the wall on the occasion when I want "a grand day out"?

Regards, John.

Mitch Brewer · Dec 11, 2016

I highly recommend Betelgeuse. Huge star with a nearby landable planet to sit back and contemplate the meaning of it all. Not to mention it's my favorite star IRL. I just love looking at it and thinking "You big lovable bastage, the people who have sat and marveled at your glory".

Sapyx · Dec 11, 2016

At some point, if maximum-engineered thrusters from Professor Palin is going to be one of your goals, then you'll have to fly at least 5000 LYs away from your starter system. SO you might want to plan for what you'll have to do and where you might want to go to hit that target.

Meanwhile, there are sights to see in the "Outback" - the region of space outside the Bubble proper, but not completely beyond the reach of inhabited space. If you fancy "exploring" to places and then arrive at a nice, comfortable space station, you could start with my list of Outback planets to visit - these are remote, isolated outposts, like Sothis and Robigo but much less well-known and less-visited. If you're a Terry Pratchett fan, you shouldn't miss visiting HIP 74290. The Pleiades, of course, is home to the Maia outpost, several other outposts, the Unknown Artifacts and the Barnacles.

Greenmantle · Dec 11, 2016

Close range exploring is good fun - but 600ly these days does not allow you much chance of being the first-to-discover (always a thrill) You don't say what ship you fly, but if you get a stripped down Asp and engineer the FSD range to level 3 (not too difficult) you can push the jump range up to around the 40ly mark - which for the same time spent on exploring will let you get quite far out.

The other thing that I do - now that we have bookmarking - is collect interesting things - in my case water worlds...but it could be stars, or ammonia worlds - or whatever you like.

Oh - and if you take some short range sightseeing missions, they can lead you to some interesting places (geysers etc)

RevLogos · Dec 12, 2016

Keep an eye out for passenger missions for "famous" explorers (probably not so famous, but rich), that are in the bubble or within around 1200 LY. Sometimes I take these just because the locations are usually interesting and I wouldn't have know about them otherwise. And you get paid.

For a little more adventure, try going either straight up, or straight down, as far as you can. This gets tricky as the stars thin out, about 1000 to 1500 LY. Get some Jumponium first, and a grade 5 FSD mod really helps. And be careful - its easy to paint yourself in a corner and find you can't get back.

MrFailfactory · Dec 12, 2016

Greetings Commander,

As RevLogos suggested, I would keep an eye out for passenger missions that sound like they might lead to interesting things. If they are not picky about how long it takes, then you can also scan the surrounding systems while you are there, then head home.

One place off the top of my head is the Ancient Ruins - head out there, take a look at the site, scan that system, and then scan the surrounding ones until you feel the need to return. If you feel like stretching your legs a bit, then pick something farther out.

I think this strategy will give you the best return for your time spent.

Riôt

Captain Willard · Dec 12, 2016

I use umpteen ships as I feel at the time. All carry a Adv scanner for inside the bubble.

Muetdhiver · Dec 12, 2016

My recommandation for a short exploration trip is the following journey :

1) Pleiades (HR 1185*, Maia, Tagyeta*, HR1172*) *very nice landable high G planets with beautifull ring systems.

2) Taurus Dark Region

3) Hind Nebula

4) Betelgeuse

5) NGC1999 and Spirograph nebula

6) Witch head

7) Horse head

goemon · Dec 12, 2016

eskimo nebula.

a bunch of hypergiants below 1000 ly distance.

the highest and lowest point from sol you can reach (+/1 1300 ly ca.).

i have done a project in 1.4. visiting all 1000-coordinates (e.g. +1000/-1000/-1000) - that lead e to a lot of interesting places.

local nebulas. check the lists sticky

Jackie Silver · Dec 12, 2016

MrFailfactory said:
One place off the top of my head is the Ancient Ruins - head out there, take a look at the site, scan that system, and then scan the surrounding ones until you feel the need to return.

There are also (at least) three alien crash sites to visit, and a whole string of new satellites which point to mysterious bases in the local area. Forum searching should turn up the coordinates as you're unlikely to run into the clues by chance yourself.

Maia and the surrounding systems in the Pleiades are good; I like the Hyades also, and if you search for Praesepe (the Beehive Cluster) there's a big string of stars to trek along. You can find similar strings of stars in various places around the Bubble. If you drop down to California Nebula, visit the newly established Mic Turner base there (I forget which system it's in off-hand, search the forum or galnet and you'll find it).

I would suggest following the line of new Sirius colonies out to Sothis, then cutting across to California, up to the Pleiades and up to Praesepe then home.

If you'd like a longer trip Barnard's Loop is colourful and there are lots of interesting stars and nebulae to visit out that way, but you'll need to be ready to navigate around permit-locked sectors (Col 70 and so on) to get to them.

As ever, be wary when flying around a popular site like the ruins or the crash sites. I'd rate the ruins as the most dangerous site outside of an active CG in terms of your likelihood of encountering eejits out to spoil your trip.