Why I percieve the "new" scan as broken

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The current system goes like this:
  1. Jump into the system
  2. Hold down your keybind to start the scan/maneuver for fueling if you are going to
  3. Scan completed, pull up the system map
  4. Make a decision on whether or not to invest more time on the system
  5. Take other actions in system or plot course and jump out

The new system, if I understand it correctly, works like this:
  1. Jump into the system
  2. Hold down your keybind to start the scan/maneuver for fueling if you are going to
  3. Scan completed, you now know more about the primary star
  4. Activate the analysis system, manually maneuver your forward only facing sensor onto each body individually, performing a full scan on it to determine what it is
  5. Make a decision on whether or not to invest more time on the system
  6. Take other actions in system or plot course and jump out

While the write up of the two sequences is almost identical, the new system requires that you scan EVERY body in the system BEFORE you can make an informed decision on whether the system is even worth additional activity.

In effect, Frontier has removed the ability to make a quick decision and replaced it with what is going to be another round of repetitive, boring game play. I say this because, once you master the technique, it will become cumbersome. While you are learning it, it may or may not be entertaining, but doing it over and over again is not going to provide excitement for most people after the first hundred times.

Worse than that, statistically, the majority of that scan time is going to be used to look at objects that are not worth the time because you will still need to scan bodies which are not landable to determine that they are not landable.

No matter how impressive a skill set you develop in reading the scanner, this is not going to be a faster process for making a decision on whether the system is worth further investigation. Consider a system with multiple stars with subsystems of small, non-landable moons and planetoids. You could spend a lot of time on that system only to conclude that it was an exercise in futility.

Added to that is the idiotic notion that I need to point the nose at everything as if I am using a FLIR instead of a sensor suite that can scan in all directions when it is dealing with starships but cannot see system bodies unless they are directly in front of it. Oh, wait, it can see them persistently once you have scanned them, which means the internal logic isn't consistent.

In summary, while the mechanics for in depth MAPPING seem to be worthwhile, I feel the value of the new scanning system is going to be negative because it takes choice away from the player and puts in an procedural/RNG mechanic.
 
I suppose they could have made the entire system fully scanned and resolved on arrival, that way it would be quicker and you wouldn't even need to make a decision.

I mean yes you would still need to travel to the system in the first place, and I know that is a hassle but still you still want some involvement right?
 
your sequences are misleading to prove your point.

Second sequence step 3 should say "scan completed, you have a frequency analysis that with a little experience will tell you if the system is worth investigating or not."

But thats ok, you go ahead and rant about something you've a) not actually been able to use yet, and b) not watched and understood properly.

The basis for your complaint however clearly seems to be an issue of "how long will it take me to make money", which frankly is not the major consideration of most explorers. It migt be your play style, but don't assume its everyone elses.
 
My goodness, nobody has posted this opinion and been followed by pages of discussion explaining why it's wrong, before.
 
Second sequence step 3 should say "scan completed, you have a frequency analysis that with a little experience will tell you if the system is worth investigating or not."

Can you tell if something is worth investigating before you've investigated it though? You can in the current system, but I haven't watched the livestream so I wouldn't know if you can in the new system.

As an example - most gas giants are kinda boring. In the current system, once you've honked, you probably won't bother DSSing any gas giants. Except - and this is a huge exception - there are some that are flourescent green. Not many, about half a dozen or so so far discovered in the entire galaxy. Billions of gas giants, and half a dozen that are interesting simply because they are so rare. In the new system, if you happen to stumble upon one, will you know it without investing large amounts of time scanning every single gas giant in the system just in case? I don't know, that's why I'm asking.

But yes, overall I agree with "wait and see."
 
Yeah, main scan revealing a skeletal map of system would be nice, then you can pick things to investigate further. Guess we'll have to try it, then complain, er, I mean, offer feedback.
 
It's not broken. It fixed something that was broken. Therefore, now that the devs have acknowledged this and demoed their patch, you are an exploiter.
 
The current system goes like this:
  1. Jump into the system
  2. Hold down your keybind to start the scan/maneuver for fueling if you are going to
  3. Scan completed, pull up the system map
  4. Make a decision on whether or not to invest more time on the system
  5. Take other actions in system or plot course and jump out

The new system, if I understand it correctly, works like this:
  1. Jump into the system
  2. Hold down your keybind to start the scan/maneuver for fueling if you are going to
  3. Scan completed, you now know more about the primary star
  4. Activate the analysis system, manually maneuver your forward only facing sensor onto each body individually, performing a full scan on it to determine what it is
  5. Make a decision on whether or not to invest more time on the system
  6. Take other actions in system or plot course and jump out

While the write up of the two sequences is almost identical, the new system requires that you scan EVERY body in the system BEFORE you can make an informed decision on whether the system is even worth additional activity.

In effect, Frontier has removed the ability to make a quick decision and replaced it with what is going to be another round of repetitive, boring game play. I say this because, once you master the technique, it will become cumbersome. While you are learning it, it may or may not be entertaining, but doing it over and over again is not going to provide excitement for most people after the first hundred times.

Worse than that, statistically, the majority of that scan time is going to be used to look at objects that are not worth the time because you will still need to scan bodies which are not landable to determine that they are not landable.

No matter how impressive a skill set you develop in reading the scanner, this is not going to be a faster process for making a decision on whether the system is worth further investigation. Consider a system with multiple stars with subsystems of small, non-landable moons and planetoids. You could spend a lot of time on that system only to conclude that it was an exercise in futility.

Added to that is the idiotic notion that I need to point the nose at everything as if I am using a FLIR instead of a sensor suite that can scan in all directions when it is dealing with starships but cannot see system bodies unless they are directly in front of it. Oh, wait, it can see them persistently once you have scanned them, which means the internal logic isn't consistent.

In summary, while the mechanics for in depth MAPPING seem to be worthwhile, I feel the value of the new scanning system is going to be negative because it takes choice away from the player and puts in an procedural/RNG mechanic.


It's my understanding that after learning what all the icons on the spectrum analysis mean you will actually be able to determine if there are any bodies worth further investigation right away. You'll be able to tell gas giants from WW and ELW without opening the system map to see what they look like. Scanning every body in the system will take less time since it can be done without moving from the entry point, so by the time you've filled out the system map to know if you want to travel to any of those bodies for full mapping bonuses or just to take pictures you've already fully scanned (and potentially first tagged) every body in the system, something that would take minutes or even hours depending on the size of the system in the current version.

It's not broken, it's just different. It will just take some getting used to and involve a little work to learn what all those signals and icons mean.
 
Personally I doubt in a 1000 years or so we will be using a mouse and keyboard to identify planets. I would guess our on board computer will do all of that so we can just sit back and let it do all the work for us.
But I don't have a crystal ball so who knows. I am just really pleased that FD are still putting time and effort into trying to improve the game as it is the only game I play on my 1080Ti 4k rig which is pretty much a glorified internet browser if it wasn't for Elite.
 
I like something that was said on Obsidian Ant's stream on this topic.

It was asked more or less: "If you had this new system, would you really want to 'upgrade' to what we have now?"
 
I like something that was said on Obsidian Ant's stream on this topic.

It was asked more or less: "If you had this new system, would you really want to 'upgrade' to what we have now?"

Well I would just wait and see, I am not very optimistic about this new feature but I am willing to give it try. I am just pleased that something new is on the horizon as I am quite bored now.
 
Vash627, thank you for the polite reply. Repped for being civil.

Braandlin, thank you for giving me something to laugh at. People that are that hypocritical always amuse me, at least when they aren't in the White House. Doing EVERYTHING you accuse me of in the same sentance you accuse in is... impressive.

the100thmonkey, I couldn't tell whether you are being sarcastic or not; either way, you need to work on the delivery.

As to the various, "you are wrong" elements, I notice that you talk about the new mechanics without addressing my points or proving me wrong in a specific fashion.

Am I wrong that you'll have to point the ship at each object to see the analysis of that object? That is the core of my objection, after all because THAT will take more time than the system map TO REACH THE DECISION POINT of the system's worth in terms of further exploration. I don't want to waste the time looking at potatoes, even if it is only TO DETERMINE that they are potatoes not worth my time in the first place. With the current system, I have visual queues IN AN AGGREGATED image of the bodies, even if I don't have specifics.
 
Literally my only issue is the level of "situational awareness" whilst the analysis screen is up. Our main scanner-scope should be visible through the FSS GUI, as should the view from our cockpit-even if that visibility is partially obscured and/or hazy due to the FSS. A skilled pilot really should be able to fly (& even evade interdiction) & resolve signals at the same time.
 
As to the various, "you are wrong" elements, I notice that you talk about the new mechanics without addressing my points or proving me wrong in a specific fashion.

Can you show me a video of you using the new system and exactly what your issue is please?

think that might help visualise the issue you have, where it is broken
 
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I support the OP's interpretation of this. I feel like "facing" is a real problem.

If it were possible to set a circular radial 500 ls range interval for each spectrographic scan that might help (0-500, 500-1000, 100-1500 - etc.)

Another option would be to have every system entry occur significantly above or below the ecliptic so that a conical scan would encompass planets within the habitable zone.

I do think that either discovery rewards or material rewards will have to be way ramped up to make it worth the time investment.
 
Perhaps I am misunderstanding you, or perhaps I need to watch that part of the stream again, but I distinctly recall them moving the scanner around quite a lot without turning the ship.

The scanning can also be done by a Multi-Crew member, and while they didn't show it, it seems to be fairly omni-directional.

Perhaps someone who saw it live can provide clarification on this?

Riôt
 
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