Some explorer love please, let's have a way to not loose scan data

[Tetched]

So I am out in the black (in my Asp Explorer) where I have been for 2 1/2 months more than 600 jumps from Colonia meandering my way to Beagle Point. I have aprox 200 million scan data (not including first scan bonus which most systems were). I like to scan just about every thing in a system that looks of interest even some rock and ice planets. I decide to land on a planet and do some driving around for a change.

Everything is going fine until I drop out of orbital glide and the game derps (a freeze of video in this case). I reload the game and find myself back in the Colonia system needing to rebuy my ship and 2 1/2 months data lost. Steam says I have 9985 hours into the game, most of this is exploring. Obviously I am not a "new" player (but still learning things weekly about the game), with this frustration I am thinking that I should look for another time sink. Kerbal Space Program has a new expansion pack after all.

Request #1
My requested feature would be a way to save data.
This could either be a way to beam data back to the bubble or a probe which the explorer could recover in the system of their demise.

Request # 2
How about a bonus for scanning everything in a system (say 10%).
I thought this request should have its own thread:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...-scanning-entire-system?p=6540101#post6540101

 

[Knot2clever]

There has to be some risk. Lost data on 3 occasions, many if not all my fellow explorers have also suffered this. Keeps it interesting, otherwise there is no danger.

Edit
Definitely agree with some sort of bonus for completing a system. The galaxy desperately needs a tidy up.

 

[Speedcuffs]

Bonus for scanning the full system, I like that![yesnod]
Yes please

 

[Seizewell Warrior]

There seem to several threads running on the same topic, possibly need tidying into one.

And if not, for the record I'll repeat here my own suggestion of a rebuy+ - more expensive (50% of your ship value) but puts you back in the system where you died (no suiciding home) but with ship and data intact. Or for a disabled ship, have one of your docked vessels fly out on remote to collect you and data from your scuttled ship.

 

[Tetched]

There seem to several threads running on the same topic, possibly need tidying into one.

And if not, for the record I'll repeat here my own suggestion of a rebuy+ - more expensive (50% of your ship value) but puts you back in the system where you died (no suiciding home) but with ship and data intact. Or for a disabled ship, have one of your docked vessels fly out on remote to collect you and data from your scuttled ship.

I kind of like the idea of rebuy+.

 

[Nagual]

The game is schizophrenic. On one hand we have a magic escape capsule that instantly transports you back to x system when you blow up, along with all the materials - both physical and data - you've collected along the way, but on the other hand it has no way of remembering the scans / bounty vouchers you've collected.

Yes there needs to be some kind of risk / reward balance, but one that makes sense please.

And yes please to a 100% system completion bonus.

While were are at it, can we have system / system body scan missions yet? It's only been a wee while since the game launched and well...

 

[Tetched]

There has to be some risk. Lost data on 3 occasions, many if not all my fellow explorers have also suffered this. Keeps it interesting, otherwise there is no danger.

Edit
Definitely agree with some sort of bonus for completing a system. The galaxy desperately needs a tidy up.

Yes it is called Elite "Dangerous". In my case there was either a glitch with server lag or on my local system, either way not the way the game was intended to be played. I have found the game to be a bit less stable in recent weeks.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

If a bug killed you, file a ticket, you might get something back.

As for data loss, IMHO, all activities should include risk, but that said, when you die, you should have a limited time to recover your blackbox, and the data within.

In the case of a crash landing, or fuel scooping snafu, or whatever, you just need to find the relevant USS around the object you died, or surface POI.

In a combat situation, you need to go back to where you died, and then a whole mission can kick off.
Either they're still there, and you need to recover it.
Or someone stole your data, and you need to locate them and recover it

In either case, the long you take, the more the data becomes corrupted by solar radiation (or something).
It's perfectly safe for a limited time, but then rapidly decays until it's gone.

PvP deaths will still cause you to lose data, but IMHO, the other player shouldn't be able to take it. (Because then explorers would be at massive risk of being ganked constantly for their data)

 

[MightyBOB]

If FDev were to implement some mechanism for recovering your data I think CMDR_Cosmicspacehead's idea would be the best implementation, i.e. you have to physically go back and recover your own black box and data decays over time. I do not agree with any system that instantly gives you back your data even if it is 1200% of your normal rebuy cost (Rebuy on an Asp is dirt cheap, for example; 1200% of dirt cheap is still cheap).

I do agree with a bonus or multiplier for full system scans. Right now the low payout for most celestial objects means there is a perverse incentive to completely ignore them (looking at you ice worlds).

 

[trollson]

I must disagree with the main premise - no risk no game.

I fully support an incentive to scan whole systems, but I would be more devious... A percentage reduction for each unexplored body in a system's dataset would make you question whether to ping a big system. A bonus for asteroids if there are any earth like or terraformable worlds, and other combinations rather than treating each body in isolation.

 

[Seizewell Warrior]

Well ultimately it's up to FDev what they do but the fact several threads have appeared recently about tweaking the rebuy system or other gameplay mechanism to preserve exploration data shows there is a concern amongst explorers about the situation. As I said earlier either in this thread or one of the others, no other game penalizes the fruits of several weeks or months of playing in such a way. Barmy.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

The only reason for dying whilst exploring is pilot error.
If you don't want to lose your exploration data, don't screw up.

 

[BurntJello]

Explorers should not lose scan data on death for as long as we can turn in completed skimmer missions after death. It's only fair. Both or neither.

 

[Ulaidian]

The whole black box recovering would be great.. especially if it is left for anyone to pick up! You can have it degrade over time (not sure it would though).

 

[Seizewell Warrior]

The only reason for dying whilst exploring is pilot error.
If you don't want to lose your exploration data, don't screw up.

The game dropping you between two binaries is not pilot error. It's sloppy coding.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

The game dropping you between two binaries is not pilot error. It's the only danger to explorers .

Fixed.

 

[Seizewell Warrior]

Fixed.

H'mmm... :O

 

[Artistik]

Explorers should not lose scan data on death for as long as we can turn in completed skimmer missions after death. It's only fair. Both or neither.

This is a valid point. If death wipes out the memory banks of exploration ships, it should for ALL ships.

The whole black box recovering would be great.. especially if it is left for anyone to pick up! You can have it degrade over time (not sure it would though).

It would give you incentive to go back out where you were without having to re-do every stop along the way.

Personally, I'd like to see something akin to Exploration Data Limpets; a limited amount of "data packets" you can shoot out containing all the information you've discovered that gets beamed back to the bubble. You can send the data out just before you're going to land on a planet, that way if you die, you are back in the bubble and you still lose your ship, just like now, but at least all your work isn't flushed down the toilet. And you have to balance how many of them you want to carry with the amount of collection limpets you want to carry, or make it a module that needs a 1-slot. And if you want to launch more, you have to restock them.

But for all those who claim that getting dumped between binaries is the only danger to explorers, imagine if all the loot you "earned" from piracy was lost when you died... even the credits you "earned" from selling all that loot. I bet a fair number of you would be screaming for a solution. No, once you sell that stuff, you get paid, and nothing can change that. Well, when a game crash can cause you to lose weeks or even months worth of work, that's more than just a c'est la vie moment.

Edited to add: I just now was orbiting a star to fuel scoop, and because of graphical inconsistencies, the "safe" line of the star disappeared (must have been while I looked away), so as I banked to go a little closer to the star, it suddenly reappeared as I crossed it and collided with the danger area of the star. That was not my fault, it was the game having graphical hiccups. It wasn't hidden by the structure of the cockpit, it wasn't moving fast, it just APPEARED. So until the game irons out it's issues, don't tell me there's no hazards for Explorers.

 

[Lestat]

I think you should have filed a bug report instead of suggesting an idea.

The thing with exploration you have to deal with risk and reward. Farther you go the higher the risk. If you feel you have too much credits let say 200 million Then the best idea is to turn around and go home.

 

[Tetched]

I think you should have filed a bug report instead of suggesting an idea.

I did submit a ticket, guess what I was also told that my post here was the correct thing to do. The issue which caused my game system to seemly crash it being look into. This is the Suggestions & Feature Request sub-forum, the purpose of this sub-forum is to make suggestion or feature request. I think the idea of a way for players to recover scan data is a valid request.

The thing with exploration you have to deal with risk and reward. Farther you go the higher the risk. If you feel you have too much credits let say 200 million Then the best idea is to turn around and go home.

There is of course there is risk, in this case it was the risk of a glitch either with the server lag or the way the client runs on my PC which I assume was not as intended in the game.
I was 2 1/2 months and 600 jumps into the trip, just the beginning of the trip I had planed. I am 72 jumps into tracing my steps but hope to not take as much time getting the data back.