Gridwalker
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Posted - 2007.09.27 17:24:00 -
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Maybe "broken" is a bit overstated. Let's say it still needs "some work." To give an example, I spent 6 hours a few days ago probing down a hidden belt, only to find about 4m isk worth of ore. I would have literally been better off mining Veldspar all day. My Astrometric Triangulation skill is IV, so while not perfect, should be more than sufficient.
I think the first major problem with exploration is the almost complete lack of feedback. You put down probes, and then start spamming "scan," with no feedback whatsoever. Eventually, if you are lucky, you might get a hit.
Here is my problem with this: the vastly weaker Multispectral you use to determine if there is anything in a system knows if something is there, but the stronger probes act like nothing is happening. That said, I have two suggestions:
1. If something is there, your probes should always report it.
Let's say you throw down eight quest probes. You know something is in the system, because your multispectral says so. You hit scan. After the scan period, your scanner tells you which probes detected that something is there--even if they can't tell you even roughly where in the scan range they are. If something is there, the probes in range WILL tell you.
This has two effects. First, it lets you know that, indeed, you have your probes placed properly. Second, it gives you some sort of feedback that you aren't just wasting your time. Now you can simply destroy the other probes, which reduces your clutter and gives you a sense of moving forward.
2. If a probe can't give a rough location, give a percentage.
Do I have any hope in heck of actually finding this thing? If the probe can't tell you where it is, roughly, it should at least be able to tell you what your percentage chance of finding the location is on any given scan.
Once again, it is feedback. I'm not just wasting my time. I'm either being unlucky, or the site is really tough to find.
The point of all this, is every scan at least gives us a little more information. Maybe it doesn't lead us to the site, but it at least let's us know if we are making some sort of progress, or just banging our heads against the wall.
Would this make exploration EASIER? Probably not. But it WILL make it less frustrating and more interactive than it currently is.
Oh, and three words: Tech Two Probes. :)
-Grid
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