Surface Mapping, why didn't I already know this?

[varonica]

Surface mapping, why didn't you lot tell me?

So here's me surface mapping multiple bodies in a system, ELW, WW, Teraformables, mapping each one, waiting for 100% mapped, exiting surface scanner and heading for the next one to be mapped. One time I accidentally exited the DSS while in the middle of mapping and before I could re-enter it finished with 100% and mapping bonus. Oh that's handy, if I set my probe pattern correctly I can exit and check out the system map to check for the next body and it still finishes mapping. Now hang on, what if I quickly fire my probes, exit and set course for the next target planet before it finishes? Yep still works.

Now this system has one WW, so lets fire off the probes, exit the DSS, target the next system on my route and fire up the FSD, yep still works.

WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME THIS!!!!

 

[Factabulous]

Because it was obvious?

 

[Ethaidan]

How did you not know this?

 

[Ozric]

Don't worry it took me a long time to actually work it out myself and no one told me either. It was only when I was mapping a pair of binary moons in a very tight orbit that I thought, I wonder if...

 

[BaldEagle]

Sometimes on a larger body I am watching the FSD charge up and waiting (hoping) the scan will complete before I have to cancel and fire a couple more probes ...

 

[schlowi123]

Discovered that a while ago … but still I can't get myself doing that. If I accidentally get out of the DSS that way and it get's to 100 %, I get back into the DSS to check if what the computer said to me is correct … albeit … my Covacs speaks in French to me … I don't understand a word she's saying … but I really like that voice … hearing it literally thousands of times saying something like "Frame shift drive charging … Four … three … two … one" (just in french of course) … it's kind of more important to like the voice than to understand what she's saying … I probably should stop talking now

 

[Orvidius]

Yep. Just like the whole "Cool people don't look at explosions" meme, cool explorers don't watch their probes land.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

The trick is knowing the sweet spot of where to line up your cursor before firing each probe, and where that sweet spot changes between a 6 probe and a 7 probe efficiency planet. In either case, I find I can fire 5 probes and reach 100% without having to sit and wait, but you do have to fire a couple of probes from further out on a slightly large planet, to maximise coverage.

Best technique I've found is to fire your first probe straight at the planet (line up your circular crosshair as you throttle down and enter DSS even before you're properly in range, so you can fire as soon as it turns blue), then angle up "north" until the centre of your circle is just over the line that appears on the HUD to fire your second, then repeat on the opposite side of the planet. After that, move to the "west" and fire your fourth at twice the distance of the others (the right edge of your circle lines up with the centre-line) and then move to the "east" side of the planet for the last probe. The last one is where the difference comes in; on a 6 target planet, you can fire just about anywhere within the centre-line area and it should do the job, but on a 7 target planet you need to go further out and line the centre of your circle with the centre line.

Once you fire the last one quick select your next target/charge FSD and start turning away. Your scans will complete before you high wake out or get too far away. Of course if they don't then you gotta throttle down/cancel jump and then turn back over to figure out where you screwed up, and then you look like a fool, but fortunately nobody can see you mess up out in the black anyway, so it's all good.

 

[Darth Wonko]

@Hawk of Battle - I'm going to play around with that pattern.

@varonica - I accidentally discovered this, too. However, as @schlowi123 said - I just can't bring myself to jump away. Typically, though, I will get out of DSS and look at my next target, etc. but won't leave until I hear Celeste (lovely French accent) tell me that I hit 100%.

 

[Cmdr Nemo]

The trick is knowing the sweet spot of where to line up your cursor before firing each probe, and where that sweet spot changes between a 6 probe and a 7 probe efficiency planet. In either case, I find I can fire 5 probes and reach 100% without having to sit and wait, but you do have to fire a couple of probes from further out on a slightly large planet, to maximise coverage.

Best technique I've found is to fire your first probe straight at the planet (line up your circular crosshair as you throttle down and enter DSS even before you're properly in range, so you can fire as soon as it turns blue), then angle up "north" until the centre of your circle is just over the line that appears on the HUD to fire your second, then repeat on the opposite side of the planet. After that, move to the "west" and fire your fourth at twice the distance of the others (the right edge of your circle lines up with the centre-line) and then move to the "east" side of the planet for the last probe. The last one is where the difference comes in; on a 6 target planet, you can fire just about anywhere within the centre-line area and it should do the job, but on a 7 target planet you need to go further out and line the centre of your circle with the centre line.

Once you fire the last one quick select your next target/charge FSD and start turning away. Your scans will complete before you high wake out or get too far away. Of course if they don't then you gotta throttle down/cancel jump and then turn back over to figure out where you screwed up, and then you look like a fool, but fortunately nobody can see you mess up out in the black anyway, so it's all good.

How or why does it take you five probes? It rarely takes me more than three, four at the most.

 

[cmdr milesred]

The way you write that it seems like you actually move from west to east to scan.
If that's true, you never need to move, an entire scan can be achieved from where you stopped to scan
your dss range for a body covers front and back from where you stop and for the probes, that starts at center of body to first line that appears when you move the cursor away from the center, that's anyplace on the side of the body facing you, then after that the marker for anything on the opposite side of the body is from that line and out farther continuing away from the body till the word miss appears.
as for number of probes, it gets less with practice and can always be way less than indicated
as for firing all probes and leaving the dss, probes are probes, just like mining probes, once fired they do their job and exiting any dss or whatever screen won't affect that.

 

[Speedcuffs]

Well, that's sped things up a bit! ✌

 

[Cpt Shadow Wolfe]

The trick is knowing the sweet spot of where to line up your cursor before firing each probe, and where that sweet spot changes between a 6 probe and a 7 probe efficiency planet. In either case, I find I can fire 5 probes and reach 100% without having to sit and wait, but you do have to fire a couple of probes from further out on a slightly large planet, to maximise coverage.

Best technique I've found is to fire your first probe straight at the planet (line up your circular crosshair as you throttle down and enter DSS even before you're properly in range, so you can fire as soon as it turns blue), then angle up "north" until the centre of your circle is just over the line that appears on the HUD to fire your second, then repeat on the opposite side of the planet. After that, move to the "west" and fire your fourth at twice the distance of the others (the right edge of your circle lines up with the centre-line) and then move to the "east" side of the planet for the last probe. The last one is where the difference comes in; on a 6 target planet, you can fire just about anywhere within the centre-line area and it should do the job, but on a 7 target planet you need to go further out and line the centre of your circle with the centre line.

Once you fire the last one quick select your next target/charge FSD and start turning away. Your scans will complete before you high wake out or get too far away. Of course if they don't then you gotta throttle down/cancel jump and then turn back over to figure out where you screwed up, and then you look like a fool, but fortunately nobody can see you mess up out in the black anyway, so it's all good.

That's pretty much the method I use, although, it should be noted that its only effective with a tier 5 engineer upgrade on the DSS. Don't know why anyone would use anything less than a fully engineered upgrade on it, but way back in the beginning, I tried a few mappings before I upgraded, while I was still learning how it all worked, and was unable to get the efficiency bonus on any gas giant, and on smaller planets, you definitely would be using all your probes. The real kicker is learning how to set up on planets or gas giants with rings, the rings tend to get in the way if you set up wrong, so I learned to shoot for the the top or bottom of the planet, the furthest point from any rings and can usually get the whole planet mapped without wasting extra probes or having to move my ship in the middle of the mapping run.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

How or why does it take you five probes? It rarely takes me more than three, four at the most.

Engineering differences probably? I currently only have grade 3 that I got from Farseer, haven't got any other engineers that can boost it the rest of the way. The 5th probe is only getting me about the last 5% so I imagine with a few more engineering upgrades the probe count easily drops a couple.

That's pretty much the method I use, although, it should be noted that its only effective with a tier 5 engineer upgrade on the DSS. Don't know why anyone would use anything less than a fully engineered upgrade on it, but way back in the beginning, I tried a few mappings before I upgraded, while I was still learning how it all worked, and was unable to get the efficiency bonus on any gas giant, and on smaller planets, you definitely would be using all your probes. The real kicker is learning how to set up on planets or gas giants with rings, the rings tend to get in the way if you set up wrong, so I learned to shoot for the the top or bottom of the planet, the furthest point from any rings and can usually get the whole planet mapped without wasting extra probes or having to move my ship in the middle of the mapping run.

As I say, it works on grade 3 easily enough, but yeah if you can unlock the full 5 levels then even better. Rings are definitely a problem yeah, you have to come in at the right angle to do it without moving position, not sure I've quite got the technique for that yet since I don't get many rings worlds when I DSS. I learned not to bother with gas giants long ago.