Thargoid Data Gathering Effort: We need your help!

Alright, let's do some field research, commanders.

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Actual situation:
The Thargoids are advancing into the bubble. Their objectives are unclear.
Proof: Have you been living under a rock? Active attacks towards stations, EAGLE outposts signal systems that may be soon attacked.
Proposed research: Field Data Gathering to answer three questions:
  1. Where are the Thargoids present at the moment.
  2. Are those attacks evolving in nature or intensity
  3. Main objective of the attacks.

Provided data gathering tools:

Old (no longer in use) tools:



USE OF THE THARGOID ENGOUNTER EDCM PLUGIN:

First, you will need to download and install the Elite Dangerous Market Connector.
Then download the USS survey plugin (in the quote below) and unzip it in the EDMC plugin folder.

Ok Folks, I have a new version of the USS Survey plugin working.

The only thing that has changed is how it reacts to USS.

As before it logs all USS automatically when you drop, but now you can submit additional details by clicking on buttons instead of going through a web browser.

As you click on the icons they build up a report. Eg You want to report 4 Scouts and a Medusa so you click on the scout 4 times and the Medusa once. As you click the report will be displayed below the row of icons. If you get it wrong you can clear the report by clicking on the leftmost space icon https://raw.githubusercontent.com/N...ey/thargoid-selector/Icons/LCU_Space_25px.png

Once you have clicked on everything you have a choice. You can click on the rightmost green button to submit the report as is.. or you can click on the report text to open the web form in your browser and enter additional details like the Thargoid logo.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NoFoolLikeOne/EDMC-USS-Survey/thargoid-selector/screenshot.png

Please take a look at the web form and let me know if you think I should add anything. You'll see that I have made it easier to submit the Thargoid logos.

Ultimately I might add a control on the EDMC to select the logo.

If you want to try this out before the final release you can download from github


PIRANHA'S 3D MAPPER TOOL (outdated and no longer in active use, but still cool):

Hello Cmdrs,

Happy to help sciencing the sh.. out of the Thargoids!

I modified my old Hyperdiction mapper to visualize the new data we got from M. Volgrands spreadsheets.
The first version is ready now, but i'll update it sooner or later because not everything is working as intended ;)

The app shows all Thargoid activities as a heatmap, aswell as Hyperdictions between systems (shown as connecting lines).
You can scubb the timeslider to see the activities evolving (not working for Hyperdictions yet).

https://i.imgur.com/RgXEsVQ.jpg

ThargoidMapper is done in Unity and Windows only, you can download it from dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ubas1lvwf5smf5n/ED_ThargoidMapper.zip?dl=0

Just unpack und run.

If you want to modify the databases, here is a description:

After installing, locate the following path:

ED_ThargoidMapper\ED_ThargoidMapper_Data\special\

There are the following files:

referenceSystems.tsv: Here you can add systems that are always included. Does not do much at the moment.
externalSystems.tsv: All system informations for this app is gathered from EDDB, but not all systems are included in this database. Here you can add additional systems by name and position
import_ThargoidInteractions.tsv: This is the Activities spreadsheet exported directly from the Google-Spreadsheat.
import_ThargoidHyperdictions.tsv: This is the Hyperdiction spreadsheet exported directly from the Google-Spreadsheat.

All we need now is YOU to gather more information and add it to the spreadsheets!

Cheers!

ADVISE FOR FIELD SCIENTISTS:

At present we have identified the following instances:
  • NHSS threat 2: 1 or more thargoid artifacts
  • NHSS threat 4: 1 human ship + 4 thargoid scouts. Scouts are immediatly hostile.
  • NHSS threat 5: 1 cyclops interceptor (occassionally a basilisk, but rare reports). Neutral at start, easily becoming hostile.
  • NHSS threat 5: Empty instance (no thargoid)
  • NHSS threat 5: 3 human ships + 8 thargoid scouts. Scouts are immediatly hostile.
  • NHSS threat 6: 1 basilisk interceptor.
  • NHSS threat 6: 4 thargoid scouts. 1 cyclops interceptor will arrive shortly.
  • NHSS threat 7: 1 medusa interceptor (may Randomius have mercy on you).
  • NHSS threat 7: 4 thargoid scouts. 1 basilist interceptor will arrive shortly.
  • NHSS threat 7: 1 Thargoid sensor (rare anomaly on the spawning system)
  • NHSS threat 8: 4 thargoid scouts. 1 Medusa interceptor will arrive shortly (Good luck).
  • NHSS threat 8: 3 human ships + 12 thargoid scouts. Scouts will become hostile and engage human ships.
  • NHSS threat 8: 12 thargoid scouts.

Always bring with you a xeno scanner. You may gather new data, and will make the identification of the markings a lot easier.
If you are just scouting thargoid activity, speed is your friend. Thargoid interceptors can reach speeds over 550mps and generate a graviy field that will slow your low wake jump. As usual, highwaking away will avoid slow downs.
If you are gathering thargoid samples with probes, safest bet is to use a cold ship. Aim either for silent run or a build that keeps your ship heat below 15% and the Thargoid should mostly ignore you.
If you fall in an instance with thargoid scout, do your best to count them to fill the report. It will be of great help to populate our data stores!
Any observation of new behaviour will be very welcome. Feel free to test whatever hypothesis you have and post your observations in this thread :).

Ongoing observations and theories:
This project is actually the main data gathering effort about the Thargoid movements and attacks. Our observations may grant key information for future war or peace developments.
The Thargoids are actively targeting the bubble now. Keep eyes out for unreporte thargoid presence in the bubble.

Fly safe, commanders.
 
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Every time I have engaged Tahrgoids I have been offered a Blaxck Box retrieval mission for a whopping 2mil-Why is this relevant? Because every time I accept such mission, (I imagine similar to Palin's special mission trigger) I am hyperdicted on next jump or so.
 
Every time I have engaged Tahrgoids I have been offered a Blaxck Box retrieval mission for a whopping 2mil-Why is this relevant? Because every time I accept such mission, (I imagine similar to Palin's special mission trigger) I am hyperdicted on next jump or so.

Never got that myself. If it ever happens please come here and complete the form, it may be a hint to something else happening around!
 
Every time I have engaged Tahrgoids I have been offered a Blaxck Box retrieval mission for a whopping 2mil-Why is this relevant? Because every time I accept such mission, (I imagine similar to Palin's special mission trigger) I am hyperdicted on next jump or so.

Possibly because the Thargoids liberate a black box occasionally (rarely?) at the damaged ships. I picked one up at a Thargoid USS and didnt know what to do with it afterwards, because no black markets seemed to want it. In the end I ejected it.

PS - TIssue Sampler - where do I get one, please?
 
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Possibly because the Thargoids liberate a black box occasionally (rarely?) at the damaged ships. I picked one up at a Thargoid USS and didnt know what to do with it afterwards, because no black markets seemed to want it. In the end I ejected it.

PS - TIssue Sampler - where do I get one, please?

Founders world, only place I know and I don't have access to it :_(
 
Any reason the NHSS form doesn't collect more about whether the Thargoids attack? I seem to see some that attack, and some that just bug out, but I don't know why as I think I'm doing the same...

(Feel free to point me at a 'this is what thargoids do thread, I've been avoiding them all day)

Edit: Or alternately tell me when I should be doing the Xemo-scan to avoid aggro-ing the Thargoid [up]
 
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Possibly because the Thargoids liberate a black box occasionally (rarely?) at the damaged ships. I picked one up at a Thargoid USS and didnt know what to do with it afterwards, because no black markets seemed to want it. In the end I ejected it.

Search and Rescue agent under the contacts menu accept the black boxes, along with other things like escape pods (occupied and damaged), personal items, etc...
 
Any reason the NHSS form doesn't collect more about whether the Thargoids attack? I seem to see some that attack, and some that just bug out, but I don't know why as I think I'm doing the same...

(Feel free to point me at a 'this is what thargoids do thread, I've been avoiding them all day)

Edit: Or alternately tell me when I should be doing the Xeno-scan to avoid aggro-ing the Thargoid [up]

Assuming you have no cargo they want, the moment you & it have finished scans back off immediately, if the Thargoid scans cargo where it is & you're within 500m it'll turn hostile. If you back off, it never should, it's what I've found anyway :).

Great to see this data gathering at last :), I've already got about a dozen systems I've been to where there are NHSSs. I'll submit them tomorrow, as for now I'm rescuing escape pods from the Thargoids!
 
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I'm wondering if we should have negative reports as well - I'm doing economical jumps away from Maia towards the core and some systems seem to spawn NHSS far faster (and more frequently) than others.

But then again what would be do with negative reports (though it might allow us to classify systems where Thargoids are more / less likely)

Edit: for instance Pleiades Sector ZA-N b7-2 doesn't seem to have MHSS spawn, despite being < 70 Ly from Merope, but the previous system I checked Pleiades Sector ZA-N b7-1 (< 5 ly away) had plenty.

Assuming you have no cargo they want, the moment you & it have finished scans back off immediately, if the Thargoid scans cargo where it is & you're within 500m it'll turn hostile. If you back off, it never should, it's what I've found anyway :).

Great to see this data gathering at last :), I've already got about a dozen systems I've been to where there are NHSSs. I'll submit them tomorrow, as for now I'm rescuing escape pods from the Thargoids!

that makes sense - they seemed happy, then they went and scanned a dead fed anaconda and decided to attack me. Need to sort out my controls - reverse is not something I've needed to use a lot before o7
 
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I've spent most of the weekend investigating the Threat 5 encounters.
I've been flying a completely unarmed DBX and have never had a hostile encounter, though I've had a few complain and pop their Thargons if I got too close.
Some of them even let me scoop occupied escape pods out of the instance without any complaint at all.

Unfortunately I wasn't recording the info you were after - I was trying to triangulate their destination on waking out of the area, but I did run into a few in the region of 100ly from maia/merope, but ill try to keep track when I'm back out there.
 
Yea I had at least 1 system with many NHSSs 133 LYs from Merope.

Another thought, what about the sounds they make after each scan?

I'm wondering if we should have negative reports as well - I'm doing economical jumps away from Maia towards the core and some systems seem to spawn NHSS far faster (and more frequently) than others.

But then again what would be do with negative reports (though it might allow us to classify systems where Thargoids are more / less likely)

Edit: for instance Pleiades Sector ZA-N b7-2 doesn't seem to have MHSS spawn, despite being < 70 Ly from Merope, but the previous system I checked Pleiades Sector ZA-N b7-1 (< 5 ly away) had plenty.



that makes sense - they seemed happy, then they went and scanned a dead fed anaconda and decided to attack me. Need to sort out my controls - reverse is not something I've needed to use a lot before o7

Yea was the initial scan of you is over, I don't think they like you being within 500m. And they won't move off if something is within there scanning range. So they'll turn to scan, & then turn back cos you're still in 'there' space! ;)

And I've noticed varying incidence of NHSS, I'm rating them now, low, med, high.
Oh also, An odd thing I've noticed, is that with some at least, when I have pods on board they don't turn hostile, even when I've just scooped them from under their nose! ;)
 
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Every time I have engaged Tahrgoids I have been offered a Blaxck Box retrieval mission for a whopping 2mil-Why is this relevant? Because every time I accept such mission, (I imagine similar to Palin's special mission trigger) I am hyperdicted on next jump or so.

I have turned in a black box at a station's Search and Rescue but never noticed or got a mission to retrieve another black box for 2 mil CRs. Where or how are you getting these missions?

When you engage Thargoids, do you attack or just scan them?
 
Any reason the NHSS form doesn't collect more about whether the Thargoids attack? I seem to see some that attack, and some that just bug out, but I don't know why as I think I'm doing the same...

(Feel free to point me at a 'this is what thargoids do thread, I've been avoiding them all day)

Edit: Or alternately tell me when I should be doing the Xemo-scan to avoid aggro-ing the Thargoid [up]

Basically, those are the behaviours we have observed. If you ever observe something different indicate it in the comments. When I have confirmation that this is a new behaviour, I´ll add it to the options. :)
 
Just spent some time buzzing systems in the California Nebula - nothing to report, no NHSS (or USS).

At least I got the hang of not being half-killed in NHSS on the few I found in the Pleiades before I headed over here :)
 
Summary of current NHSS reports

Nothing from the Logograms, seems an even spread, no 'common' ones ; only 1B-2 has hit 3 reports.


NHSS Reports in Ly from Merope, still no logged reports out of the Merope UA shell.

4Gcqc86.png


C'mon people - let's do some science!
 
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Hey OP - have you PMed the mods to ask for this to be sticky? I think I submitted all but maybe 2 of the data points today - surely if we can get this post some notice we can get some more info. I find it hard to believe that no-one else is willing to submit info, but they have to be able to find the form in the first place.
 
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