Unidentified Signal Sources. We've all been on the dull end of these things, flying around hoping for one to pop up in front of us or appear on our Nav list. Whether you're looking for rebel transmissions or military plans, named pirates or generic targets, it soon becomes a test of patience rather than a test of skill and wits.
So how about being able to ping your D-scanner to get a number of USS's flag up within range and persist for a certain amount of time until each signal is lost? It would cut down the aimless, hope-for-the-best flying around and reduce that sinking feeling when you drop into a USS that isn't related to your mission, knowing that it could be another five minutes of flying around before you find the next one.
Or if not the D-scanner, perhaps there could be some kind of signal detector module that does this, and maybe even a separate signal parser module that can scan a USS to give some kind of general feedback on its contents?
To add a bit of tension to the proceedings, each ping of your D-scanner (which can already attract unwanted attention) or signal detector could draw the attention of pirates and system authority vessels.
I'm not suggesting some kind of "I win" button here, rather a way of cutting down the aimless, transparent time-sink of buzzing around hoping for a USS to pop up to investigate. Properly balanced it would add a lot to the game I think, and take out one of the dullest parts of the game as it stands.
And looking forward to when wings are implemented, having a ship in your wing that's specced for sensors at the expense of other modules would add to the teamwork aspect of things.
... yarrr !
