No, its not "all they added".
The new exploration system
- Thread starter Anoobvia
- Start date
No, its not "all they added".
I'm not enjoying the novelty of it, even.
I knew I might struggle to see the benefits of the new scanning system over my beloved - yes, beloved - honk. But I thought I might enjoy the probe thing. But I don't, much.
I especially just don't get why a scanned body stays in its blue wireframe state even when you're using the external camera. It should look like a planet, not a graphic.
I knew I might struggle to see the benefits of the new scanning system over my beloved - yes, beloved - honk. But I thought I might enjoy the probe thing. But I don't, much.
I especially just don't get why a scanned body stays in its blue wireframe state even when you're using the external camera. It should look like a planet, not a graphic.
Overall I'm really liking the new exploration mechanics. It really makes me feel like a new discovery was a discovery; I had to work for it a little, and seeing the zoomed-in view of the planet and all the details about it really hammers that home for me. It feels a bit cumbersome right now, but I hope it'll become more natural as I get more used to it.
You'll have to assign a key to toggle cockpit modes between "Analysis" and "Combat" modes. That took me a while yesterday to figure out! I was about to report it as a bug, but seeing that nobody else had posted it made me double-check. Turns out it's a feature.
You'll have to assign a key to toggle cockpit modes between "Analysis" and "Combat" modes. That took me a while yesterday to figure out! I was about to report it as a bug, but seeing that nobody else had posted it made me double-check. Turns out it's a feature.
Fortunately I did not have the connection issues others had, so I was able to spend a few hours in the beta last night.
My beta snapshot had me starting planetside where I had spent over 50 hours unsuccessfully trying to find the volcanism on the planet Cmdr Orvidius was circumnavigating. I spent about ten minutes messing setting up the new bindings, and got a pretty satisfying result. Naturally, the first thing I tried was using the new system to find the volcanism, and I was able to find it in a matter of minutes
Setting aside the expected learning curve, I found the experience so far to be different for sure, but not all that bad. Within half an hour, and maybe a dozen systems, the process started to feel natural and muscle memory started to build. There are aspects of my exploration routine that will have to change, but I tended to vary things anyway with different missions goals for myself, though I don't usually do things that rely almost entirely on sheer number of systems visited. I can see myself easily falling towards the completionist category in the future. I am still able to use the galaxy map exactly the same way I did before, and the majority of my exploration adventures have been based in the gal-map.
I am still trying to organize my thoughts on this, and will be spending a lot more time using it over the coming days, but my initial hot take over limited use is positive.
My beta snapshot had me starting planetside where I had spent over 50 hours unsuccessfully trying to find the volcanism on the planet Cmdr Orvidius was circumnavigating. I spent about ten minutes messing setting up the new bindings, and got a pretty satisfying result. Naturally, the first thing I tried was using the new system to find the volcanism, and I was able to find it in a matter of minutes
Setting aside the expected learning curve, I found the experience so far to be different for sure, but not all that bad. Within half an hour, and maybe a dozen systems, the process started to feel natural and muscle memory started to build. There are aspects of my exploration routine that will have to change, but I tended to vary things anyway with different missions goals for myself, though I don't usually do things that rely almost entirely on sheer number of systems visited. I can see myself easily falling towards the completionist category in the future. I am still able to use the galaxy map exactly the same way I did before, and the majority of my exploration adventures have been based in the gal-map.
I am still trying to organize my thoughts on this, and will be spending a lot more time using it over the coming days, but my initial hot take over limited use is positive.
I think I'll just concentrate on my last circumnavigation, and concentrate on hitting 2500 ELWs...let it be my sunset cruise, while I'm still able.
Ah, thank you!
I'm pretty sure it is, at least for now.
FD do look at metrics, and I think if they find that players aren't engaging with exploration as much as they'd hoped they might change it sometime in the future as they have with engineering. I do think their main goals with this update are (1) to make it possible and easier to find things that they will put out there, (2) reduce the need to spend long passive time in SC and passive scans and replace that with active game-play, both of which this update facilitates.
Whether they are concerned with players just exploring for the sake of uncovering the galaxy remains to be seen. But if they do want that and it doesn't happen, then I guess they might revisit it at some point.
The main issue it seems to me is whether the game-play is compelling enough to compensate for players having to (as I have said before) scan a body / system to find out whether it is of interest rather than scan a body because it is of interest.
Some interesting points here, particularly powerful are the comments on finding the volcanism much more easily than relying on the MKI Eyeball modules we've had to use previously. Probably going to get ignored on this thread due to all the hate, but significant nonetheless.
Personally, I think the success of this feature is ultimately going to be determined by which players and how many of them that the new mechanics brings into the exploration fold, as opposed to a handful of old guard who refuse to let the game grow.
Well, quite. It's clear the idea is to get more people exploring who perhaps haven't done it before. In any revolution there are casualties. Unfortunately the group I belong to is unlikely to remain unscathed, if at all. I'll certainly be looking at trying to change my style but whether it'll grab me enough to keep going like the old system did remains to be seen.
My concern with the new system is that it's quite complex to learn for a newcomer.
Most of us using the beta are quite experienced with keybindings, mouse controls etc., and juggling several screenshots of information.
I reckon that a new Commander will find the learning curve too much.
I'd argue for 2 versions of scanner (different modules) - one is the "simple" version which shows just stars, planets and gas giants - but less detail than present - and low credit rewards.
The other is what we have in the beta (with amendments as suggested).
Maybe force the player to hand in exploration data before changing modules to simplify calculations.
Most of us using the beta are quite experienced with keybindings, mouse controls etc., and juggling several screenshots of information.
I reckon that a new Commander will find the learning curve too much.
I'd argue for 2 versions of scanner (different modules) - one is the "simple" version which shows just stars, planets and gas giants - but less detail than present - and low credit rewards.
The other is what we have in the beta (with amendments as suggested).
Maybe force the player to hand in exploration data before changing modules to simplify calculations.
Oh, it's going to bring in a lot of players, no doubt about that. Novelty is great for gaming. The real question is, how many will still explore a few months later?
I quit exploring because the current system was so vapid, and the new system at least has me interested in trying my hand at it again.
Honestly, I went back and picked up NMS again today and the new update to that's holding my interest way more than ED's new exploration system could.
Yeah, this would be ideal. Then we'd only need to scan the one or two objects which show a sign of potentially being interesting every 50 systems or so.
Sorry to hear that, there's a lot of us feeling the same way.
Indeed, we've been saying this to death though, and here we are.
It may have for me, and after I'd just jumped all the way back to the bubble to pick up a Guardian FSD booster for my Cutter, too...
Yeah, it feels like a right kick in the... flight suit zipper.
Truer words...
Yeah, it really feels like it was bashed together in a sort of "What can we make that's similar to the planetary surface scanning?" mindset as everything else approached being finished, and they'd not started on this yet.
Still the #1 issue.
That was my hope too. That at least the POIs would be suficient in abundance, interest and most especially variety to make up for having to eat this turd sandwich...
Already did 1500ly on my way back to the bubble (was around 3Kly out on ther beta save), been using this thing after every jump to see if it at least becomes bearable with time and I don't have to toss aside this game (as having a real(ish) galaxy to explore was my primary motivation for playing it), and so far only seen the same old same old geysers, fumaroles, occasional lava spounts... Last planet with POIs I went down had over 20 geological POIs, but were all fumaroles. But the majority of planets still do not have a single POI.
So far, I feel like a neverending chore plus a pile of convoluted new controls/modes were added "just because" in exchange for absolutely nothing. Although it's possible that the fabled "new POIs" aren't yet in the game to avoid spoilers. Or not, I guess we'll know in a few weeks.
Another thing I just realized, is that after zooming in and out several hundreds of times (which would quickly turn into dozens of thousands of times If I had the will to keep doing this), I'm not even paying attention to what planets I'm finding anymore, I just take a quick look at the top right to see if "locations" changes to "none" and zoom out and onto the next, sometimes even before the planet finished turning from blobs into its actual form. Could have passed Raxxla or a planet with 80% of the rarest material and not even noticed...
Honestly I find it somewhat disconcerting that the devs cannot envision anything else to do while exploring space, the final frontier, the ultimate adventure that defies the limits of the imagination, other than pointing at planets to make a map.
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I'd call it a curate's egg, good in parts.
The biggest problem I have are that there are too many separate modes, all with separate key bindings. Not only this, but some of the modes don't have the bindings available that you'd expect.
Case in point, tuning. You can bind it to an analogue slider or on your joystick but it can't work in an absolute mode where the position of the slider/ determines the position on the dial. Instead it's operates the speed at which the dial moves, faster/slower, backwards or forwards. It feels as if the development team working upon this were thinking about game controller joysticks, possibly this was all they used.
With the probe system. I can use the mouse to steer the probe target but have to use the joystick button to fire the probe and there's no binding I can see to change this.
It just doesn't feel as if there was a holistic approach to the whole interface system. It seems as if multiple teams worked on the different parts but no-one stood back and thought about the thing as a progressive workflow.
The biggest problem I have are that there are too many separate modes, all with separate key bindings. Not only this, but some of the modes don't have the bindings available that you'd expect.
Case in point, tuning. You can bind it to an analogue slider or on your joystick but it can't work in an absolute mode where the position of the slider/ determines the position on the dial. Instead it's operates the speed at which the dial moves, faster/slower, backwards or forwards. It feels as if the development team working upon this were thinking about game controller joysticks, possibly this was all they used.
With the probe system. I can use the mouse to steer the probe target but have to use the joystick button to fire the probe and there's no binding I can see to change this.
It just doesn't feel as if there was a holistic approach to the whole interface system. It seems as if multiple teams worked on the different parts but no-one stood back and thought about the thing as a progressive workflow.
When I've found some I'll be able to help.
At the moment for the detailed surface scanning I'm having to aim with the mouse and fire with the joystick button as I can't see a way of binding it to the mouse button.
At the moment for the detailed surface scanning I'm having to aim with the mouse and fire with the joystick button as I can't see a way of binding it to the mouse button.
Bind mouse button as the second command for "fire primary weapon"?
