I'd highly recommend trying this out on the test server once it's available there, and posting feedback in the test server forum. Whether or not it's "too fast" can only really be judged by experienced users (ie, you lot) trying it and seeing where the balance falls

I approve of this sort of question. Every minute that you're spending interacting with the UI is a minute you can't spend interacting with other players. There's generally a minimal amount of UI time that's needed to work with mechanics that are deep enough that they frame interesting and varied player-player interactions, but it's easy to fall into a trap of rewarding "good at using an obtuse UI" and thinking that's "interesting gameplay".

I'm going to play the devil's advocate for a second - is scanning needed AT ALL in this game? Someone earlier said he's worried about probing getting "dumbed down". How much dumber can it get? It's already pretty dumb, non-challenging, non-entertaining "busy work" that only requires absolutely minimal skill.

Do we really need *manual* D-scan and *manual* probing? Are they challenging? I don't know about you, but they're not challenging to me. I can scan and probe when drunk and half-comatose. Entertaining? Again, not to me. Tedious, boring and repetitive more like. Does it improve the overall gaming experience? How can it? When it is neither challenging nor entertaining?

So, why do we need it at all?

You can still break probes out of the formation and manipulate them manually, which I think answers most of your questions?

The functionality of the deep space probe should largely be replaced by the new scanner overlay doohickey, which gives you a nice visual overview of what signatures are present in system, and their *approximate* location (give or take a reasonable number of AU).

You have a really low bar for "skilled". The only actual skill with scanning is ninja probing ships and even that is stupidly easy to learn.

Just say you like using the swift and bitter DSP guide to dumb down what you're doing and consider it "skill". From what I heard there is nothing in the new system to stop you from using manual formations so...

I hope this change is reconsidered. It causes significant problems in wormholes. It significantly reduces the potential of mining in low sec. It hinders mining in null sec. The only benefits are in high sec, and are minimal. People who do not want to scan will still have many ore asteroid belts available to them.

I would also like to see the ice be placed into signatures (requiring scanning with probes), but at least consider keeping the ore in signatures.

you're talking out your butt. Your "arsenal of skills" is a dsp probe and a guide....please...I suggest you get a new dummy guide when the update goes live.

lol
Anyone who probed a bit knows your "advanced techniques".

Please reconsider this change. As someone who lives and mines in wormholes, I rely on the fact that any predators will need to put probes out to find me, thus giving me a chance to spot them on dscan and get to safety in time, in order to bring the risk/reward to acceptable levels.

By making these ore sites anomalies, a newcomer to a wormhole can track down a miner without the miner having any warning. No warning = no chance of defending themselves by getting away in time.

I like how people in this thread call other people dumb and consider it "winning the argument".

I could only imagine the great Sophocles telling other Greek philosophers of the time:

"You are dumb."

"Q.E.D."

I.... What? Could you try that again in a fashion that isn't impossible to parse, please?

Gee, if only we had a non-sarcastic ass of a newly elected CSM rep who respected others' opinions and posted constructively instead of using far too much of his time in the forums making jabs and ad hominem attacks.

And you lot wonder why so many of the playerbase are either apathetic towards the CSM or outright hostile. I'd reccomend looking in the mirror to find the answer.

To put it another way, that stinging sensation you feel is called the truth... yes, it hurts.

Sometimes it takes a bit of pain to get your attention, and nudge you into using your head for something other than a hat rack.

But, for what purpose? Occasionally he'll make a thoughtful contribution but, for the most part all we get from him are sarcasm, insults and showing off his supposed superior knowledge of the game.

We'll see if things change now that he's on the CSM. I'd hope to see posts that are more respectful, that communicate what he's doing for us players, how he's making player concerns known to CCP, etc. I'm not holding my breath on that, though.

A "proper mining op" might work for higher-class WHs that have a full corp living in them, but lower-class WHs aren't suitable for occupation by more than a couple of people.

The reward might be going up by 25% or something, but the risk is going up a lot more. It's moving from "if I'm not on the ball, someone who comes into my system can kill me" to "anyone who comes into my system can kill me regardless of anything I do."

I would say a logical next step is the ability to put your scanner on auto sweep and be able to set it to scan for inbound ships in warp.
Which would mean a lot of people would need to learn how to mine while properly aligned.

30 sigs in a system? Oh, I didn't know popping 27 anoms with one scan was part of the arsenal of skills you have. What a joke...

I'll answer your question if you answer a few of mine since you claim to be the pro scanner. How do you ninja probe a ship? What are a couple ways you can find his mission pocket even if he bails? Do missions always spawn in completely random places in a system or do they generally spawn around the same dead space locations?

Now go get your shinebox my wingtips need a spiffy.

Sure Master of probes!
Wait... I have time to laugh at you thinking you're superior with your basic understanding of probing. But no time to waste to prove anything to someone apparently not even posting with his main.

Also, saying to people disagreeing with you that they are dumb and noobs doesnt make them be dumb and noobs. Just make you look mad, as you apparently like to qualify all this annoying dumb and noobs.

No talking while you shine, please...and while you're down there...would ya mind? I promise to warn ya before I bust.

BTW, quick question on the new auto launch/formation feature.
Why does it launch 7 and not 8 probes?
Scanning with 8 probes allows you to use some extremely efficient setups and is faster than a 7 probe setup by a good way if you know what youre doing.

Even if its just cos the formations are setup for 7 probes, you CAN still launch 8 probes right?

With decent skills in a good ship 7 probes in the shape of a cross with 1 in the middle, 1 above the middle and 1 below the middle is the only formation you ever need. Most of the time you can roughly pinpoint everything in the system in one scan in that formation, and then focus your scannning down.

In the examples you actually used twice you mentioned a "cross" which is the same shape each time and the only one you mentioned which I haven't seen before is a "sifting" pattern to see what's in system. I'm amazed you've ever managed to gank anyone if you are using your probes to see what is in system before scanning them instead of using your D-scanner. Maybe it's because your experience is only in wormholes where people don't know you're in system and Lowsec where people are used to having neutrals in local and are more likely to have fools who think they are safe in anomalies.

So I'm sorry, I don't buy your premise and I don't believe your examples are concrete at all.

It's good to see an NPC alt posting about ideas telling me I'm wrong with no evidence to actually back up what they are saying, and even no explanation of why they believe what they are saying is correct.

Either pipe down or start posting with some actual content instead of "nope you're wrong, I'm an NPC alt".

From the OP

Is there a dev quote somewhere about 8 probes launchable at same time? Can't seem to track it down myself, and it's relevant to my interests (I use 8 probes when I scan, and am really hoping it won't require an extra launcher cycle after this change to continue doing so).

So they stopped what they were doing and took your pro advice to design the new stuff? It couldn't be that no blog or detailed official information has come out so all of us are working off of speculation? And Saheed just compiled all the great peals of wisdom you morons have spewed out in 600,000 words or less?

Seek help for delusions of grandeur.

Lol wow, you didn't even read did you? The cross shape is the core of any good scan pattern. That uses 4 probes...which leaves 3-4 other probes for modified cross patterns, including the nested cross, a layered central focus, and a lotus pattern. ALSO, you're completely minsunderstanding which pattern is used for which scenario. Sifting patterns aren't used for ganking, they're used for ninjaing and scanning systems with a large number of sites. If you're ganking, you're either going to d-scan and quickly scan in, or use a long range 32 AU scan and collapse it at the last second, to give the target no warning that you're coming. Seriously, they're all crosses? Wtf are you going to do, arrange your probes in a line? Are you ******* ********?

And I SAID you use d-scan first if you're planning a gank and the enemy isn't aware of you. Maybe you need to level up your reading comprehension.

Edit: And for the record I'm not an NPC alt, I'm between corporations atm cause an old friend and the CEO of my new corporation went on vacation right after I submitted my app. Check my corp history.