[Suggestion] Make Mission "Search Zones" actual Zones!

[Marc_Hicks]

Whenever we do a mission on a planetary surface, our Discovery Scanner reveals a "Search Zone" on the planet-a single, hollow circle that keeps moving about every time you get near to it.....until it becomes fixed. Though a massive improvement on the pre-2.1 mechanics, I really think its time to overhaul the system.

Retain the hollow circle, but instead make it the center of a proper Search Zone-a roughly square, rectangular or circular area of a certain size on the surface of a planet (with the zone's extent marked out-in colour on the planet in the System map). The better the quality of the scan used to detect the mission target, the smaller the search zone would be, & the object of your mission-within that zone-becomes a fixed, persistent point on that planet for the whole time the commander is in that system. It is then up to each commander, based on the circumstances, to determine how they want to pinpoint their mission target-by eye, from their ship; using the blue circle within the search zone, or using the Wave Scanner in their SRV. Note, though, that a search zone can contain other PoI's outside of the Mission Target-making the "by eye" approach not always 100% accurate.

On a final note, this same "Search Zone" mechanic could be used, with a slight modification, for non-mission based exploration of planets. Use of a Discovery scanner would highlight zones on the planet's surface, of varying size, with an indication of how many PoI's lie within that zone.....& possibly even what type of PoI's if a truly detailed scan is performed.

 

[Hydrino]

+1.
Thinking of advanced sensor technology in 3300, any electromagnetic energy emitting objects should show up clearly on planets that are mostly devoid of such; unless actively trying to hide its signatures, including light emissions. pattern-matching algorithms on visuals, radar signature anomalies, heat, light, and radio waves could spot most of the outposts and mining operations we come across. Higher-value targets could be more hidden, but even then the mission sources in many cases could have lat/lon data.

On an Earth-like with a lot of cities and towns, etc. this would be a very different story where noise is everywhere, and more precise data from mission givers or more reward for a lengthy search requirement.

 

[mossfoot]

Yeah, I like the idea of search zones, but the fact it just hones in after 5 recalculations doesn't feel like an accomplishment. Just patience required.

 

[Marc_Hicks]

+1.
Thinking of advanced sensor technology in 3300, any electromagnetic energy emitting objects should show up clearly on planets that are mostly devoid of such; unless actively trying to hide its signatures, including light emissions. pattern-matching algorithms on visuals, radar signature anomalies, heat, light, and radio waves could spot most of the outposts and mining operations we come across. Higher-value targets could be more hidden, but even then the mission sources in many cases could have lat/lon data.

On an Earth-like with a lot of cities and towns, etc. this would be a very different story where noise is everywhere, and more precise data from mission givers or more reward for a lengthy search requirement.

I think it's the old "Game-play vs Realism" balancing act. The current mechanics serve neither game-play nor realism (though they are a massive improvement on what we had in 2.0), but simply making it so that the ADS lights up your mission target like a Christmas Tree-even if realistic-wouldn't exactly be *fun*. I think some element of actual searching should remain in the game, no matter how good your Discovery or Surface Scanners are, otherwise things will quickly get boring....but at least in my proposed system you know the PoI is persistent & lies within a very specific boundary.

As a case in point, an active primary scan of a system, with your ADS, might reveal a search zone of about 20-60 square kilometres, depending on the quality of your scanner. Then, when within a certain range (perhaps 20-50Ls) of the target planet, an active Secondary scan (basically a second "Honk", whilst targeting the planet) might narrow that search zone to between 5-20 square kilometres......again dependent on the quality of scanner. Either way, the hollow, dotted circle will sit at the approximate centre of any search zone, & so you can use that as a starting point from which to pin down the final location. Depending on how FDev decides to proceed, this mid point could be marked with a planetary bookmark......or your ship's scanner could turn a certain colour when you're within the search zone, but go clear if you ever stray outside of the zone. Otherwise, you can just use your Wave Scanner to do the final search.