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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

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Author Topic: Improve preliminary survey ability  (Read 1653 times)

Sutopia

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Improve preliminary survey ability
« on: July 31, 2021, 06:34:49 AM »

I have only used it twice since it's introduced.

I think it should be able to detect roughly how many relics are floating around in the system, including probes, stations, derelict ships and what have you.
This would encourage player to use the neutrino detector to find the relic and not worry missing a random research station hanging in a nebula system.

Maybe it can also detect if a planet has ruins, since the floating space trash is visible from space, preliminary survey should be able to pick it up.
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jRivers

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2021, 06:39:14 AM »

Agree entirely with this proposal, as it currently stands it is almost useless for anything but roleplaying.
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SCC

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2021, 07:00:49 AM »

The biggest reason it's useless is because two most important things about a planet, ruins and habitability, are visible with a naked eye.

JUDGE! slowpersun

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2021, 11:32:34 AM »

Double agree, this skill is more or less useless now.  However, I can suggest a relatively simple improvement to it.  Using it to preliminarily survey an entire system not only reveals hazards and habitability, but also conversely reduces supply cost to normally survey ALL preliminarily surveyed planets (so basically all planets in a system unless a hidden planet for some reason).  So basically skill still rewards player for using it instead of just wandering around surveying a system with a lot of planets, BUT tradeoff is that skill won't trigger if fewer than some number of planets in a system (three, maybe four).
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FooF

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2021, 01:28:13 PM »

Or just rework it entirely.  I’ve done exploring runs and it doesn’t do anything I wouldn’t have done anyway (I.e. check out every planet for ruins/goodies). If it highlighted all stations, debris fields and derelict ships (almost like a super sensor pulse), in addition to its current purpose, it would be more useful.

If it actually surveyed the planet it might be a nice, but optional, QoL skill. Of course you couldn’t pick up ruins but you’d know they’re there. Of course, that would sidestep the resource cost of surveying so that’s probably a no-go.

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SCC

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2021, 12:51:11 AM »

Preliminary Survey picking up objects in space sounds like something you'd feel you need to get for exploring, then respec out of it once you're done.

Yunru

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2021, 03:49:11 AM »

Preliminary Survey picking up objects in space sounds like something you'd feel you need to get for exploring, then respec out of it once you're done.
Make it a permanent choice?

Honestly, that could apply to a lot of skills.

SCC

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2021, 05:19:53 AM »

Looking at the newest blogpost, I don't think Alex wants to have any permanent skills.

Sutopia

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2021, 05:36:47 AM »

Preliminary Survey picking up objects in space sounds like something you'd feel you need to get for exploring, then respec out of it once you're done.

I mean pick it up on sensor.
Despite the ruins being visible from space you still are required to render it on screen to do that. My proposal is make it s.t. preliminary survey reveals that planet has some size of ruins (boolean yes no) but not that it allows you to fish the ruins without fully surveying the planet.
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BaBosa

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #9 on: August 01, 2021, 04:14:32 PM »

Given that we can visually see if a planet has ruins, allowing remote survey to spot them sounds reasonable for the base game and would be really nice if just looking for ruins and not colony candidates.

It would also be really nice if it said the rough number of “large” structures like stations, hypershunt, and survey ships and “small” structures like probes, derelicts and debris fields.
That might be more suitable as a mod though.
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Sutopia

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2021, 04:31:28 PM »

Given that we can visually see if a planet has ruins, allowing remote survey to spot them sounds reasonable for the base game and would be really nice if just looking for ruins and not colony candidates.

It would also be really nice if it said the rough number of “large” structures like stations, hypershunt, and survey ships and “small” structures like probes, derelicts and debris fields.
That might be more suitable as a mod though.

I think it’s good enough to reveal total amount, doesn’t need to be categorized into large and small.
And I was having the achievement “leave no stone unturned” in mind when you literally salvaged everything in the sector.
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BaBosa

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2021, 05:03:54 PM »

Given that we can visually see if a planet has ruins, allowing remote survey to spot them sounds reasonable for the base game and would be really nice if just looking for ruins and not colony candidates.

It would also be really nice if it said the rough number of “large” structures like stations, hypershunt, and survey ships and “small” structures like probes, derelicts and debris fields.
That might be more suitable as a mod though.

I think it’s good enough to reveal total amount, doesn’t need to be categorized into large and small.
And I was having the achievement “leave no stone unturned” in mind when you literally salvaged everything in the sector.

I was thinking having them seperate as I would be fine leaving the small things behind sometimes but never want to miss in if the large ones. Though showing any number is better than none.
Pretty sure that if there’s a lot of probes and other small things that means there’s something big.
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Gothars

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #12 on: August 02, 2021, 08:10:20 AM »

I think it could be really useful if you could do it while still in hyperspace near a star. It would reveal all the planet types, which would be useful to decide through which jumpoint to enter the system. Thats often critical information for missions and bounty hunting, when all you have a location hint is the planet type.
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KDR_11k

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #13 on: August 02, 2021, 08:57:14 AM »

It's decently useful in the early game when you can't afford to survey everything that orbits and want to map out what's in a system without having to fly to every single one.
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JUDGE! slowpersun

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Re: Improve preliminary survey ability
« Reply #14 on: August 02, 2021, 01:14:43 PM »

It's decently useful in the early game when you can't afford to survey everything that orbits and want to map out what's in a system without having to fly to every single one.

All you have to do is drop into a system for it to generate the system map for a player.  Preliminary survey just tells player planet habitability and planetary hazards.  System is mapped the second player drops out of hyperspace.
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