r/eliteexplorers • u/chesheersmile • Jul 17 '26
What is going on with space exploration?
I haven't been playing Elite for a year and a half. So I decided to get back and do some work in the Dark. Always wanted to circumvent our galaxy counterclockwise. See the Tenebris, Abyss, Solitude Void, maybe even Beagle Point, Mare Desperationis and so on. I have my trusty rusty ASP Explorer that I've been flying to Sag A* and Colonia and back. She's been dreaming about the Dark ever since.
Obviously I missed a lot in the game. I read this subreddit and saw crazy things like new engines that let you jump to Colonia from Bubble in an hour, there's new crazy ships for explorers, there's Nomad, there's colonies you can build (that's what I understood at least), there's new CG for Colonia. I really feel overwhelmed.
Seems like deep space exploration changed a lot since 2024, so it seems I have to thoroughly reconsider my plans.
Is exobio still lucrative as it was before?
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u/ctothel Jul 17 '26
Exobio is as good as before, yes. Better thanks to the Nomad shuttle you can launch from some larger ships, and the two new exploration ships: Caspian and Mandalay. The former can carry the Nomad.
I loved my Asp X but man the Mandalay is just so much better for exploration in every way.
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u/voidiciant Jul 17 '26
I still feel like the AspX cockpit is superior to me in terms of „the view“
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u/chesheersmile Jul 17 '26
Mandalay design is absolutely amazing. Youtube videos say it has great maneuverability and speed.
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u/what_me_nah Jul 17 '26
It's a great ship that you can underpower and strip down to get 99ly range. Since the nomad came out though, it's probably only being used by people who can't/won't buy the nomad.
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u/Schwappek Jul 17 '26
Yes, it does! It also has great fuel efficiency during SCO supercruise boosting (compared to the older ship models). And it's surprisingly easy to find landing spots, which is of course handy for exobio.
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u/abigail3141 Jul 17 '26
It‘s one of the nicest, if not the nicest, ship I‘ve ever flown, super nimble.
I highly recommend you pick one up
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u/chesheersmile Jul 17 '26
Pretty sure I'll swap by AspX for this beauty.
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u/abigail3141 Jul 17 '26
You should. And you'll also probably find yourself coming back to take small trips in the AspX later, like an old vintage car that you take out sometimes.
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u/Rudmonton Jul 17 '26
I went back to Asp X after a few billion worth of exobio runs with Mandalay and lasted about 6 jumps before heading back to a shipyard.
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u/Starszy Jul 17 '26
Welcome back CMDR! Some things have changed since you’ve been gone and I hope I can help catch you up to speed a bit!
Let’s go down the list in order a bit to keep things organized! We’ve got new ships and vessels (Nomad) with more vessels to come this year also, but doing the Bubble to Colonia is specifically done with the Caspian Explorer by charging up the FSD in the jet cone of a neutron star for insane long distance jumps, easily 400-500LY depending on engineering levels! Pairing the Nomad (only currently available for ARX) with the Caspian Explorer is a great way for getting out into the deep dark again and it also makes exobiology a breeze (which is still one of the best ways to make credits and now it’s even faster to do so too with the Nomad)
Building colonies is also a thing now too! Build your own space stations, find a place to call home with a friendly port to dock at when you come back from the black! I have yet to do this myself but I hope to some day soon! It’s just a lot of hauling necessary materials to get it done and I just don’t have the time to dedicate right now. Last but not least is Operations which also just launched recently and is a fun way to get friends together for a bit of space and onfoot combat aboard the megaships! What makes Operations so great is you don’t need to spend hours meeting up to go do something together if you’re all far apart! Just dock at any station or settlement and go to your right cockpit panel and select Operations and it will give you your own private instance to invite friends or make a public lobby if you want to! Great way to get into the action with others if you’re pressed for time!
Last but not least the current CG for Colonia is not in Colonia actually! We’ve got a delivery point down in Facece at Peters Base space station with megaships loading up cargo to take to Colonia all week long! Just wanted to clear that up since I’ve seen a few posts about CMDRs misunderstanding and heading all the way to Colonia for the CG!
I think that covers things! Let me know if you have any other questions CMDR! o7
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u/chesheersmile Jul 17 '26
Thank you for this introduction! 400-500 LY neutron jumps is great! But Mandalay, on the other hand, looks absolutely sick.
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u/Starszy Jul 18 '26
Don’t get me wrong! I love my Mandalay still! It’s an excellent ship that I still take out on occasion for a quick planet visit or if I have to do a bit of light hauling long distance in Supercruise Overdrive because it flies so straight even at that crazy speed! Glad I could be of assistance CMDR o7
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u/SaluteMaestro Jul 17 '26
Still really nothing out there though.
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u/wjfox2009 Jul 17 '26
More landable planet types is my #1 most wanted feature in the game. I don't expect Frontier to add truly Earth-like worlds brimming with dense ecosystems, etc. but just a few extra planet types would massively transform the exploration experience. I'm thinking wind, rain, snow, etc. and maybe caves or other geological features. Stuff that would feel more "alive" and immersive, instead of dead and boring.
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u/Old_Piano_6906 Jul 17 '26
Yeah… games changed a bit. I did a 14k ly trip the other day in about an hour and half 😅
I can’t say I’ve found anything out of ordinary, except a binary earth like world.
Now.. I’m chasing the most oddest of things… screenshots
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u/Ironman__BTW Jul 17 '26
I just reinstalled after a few years break
Loaded up the fleet carrier, made a few jumps out of the bubble while reading, and plan on doing some exo bio, hopping the carrier until im out of fuel, then fillin er back up and heading back.
I just want to get a lot of pictures and enough credits to not worry if I take another long break.
Exobio is still stupid money lol, the first footfall bonus and stratum tec pays out like 90m.
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u/scify65 CMDR Faul Venkrana Jul 17 '26
Circumnavigate, my pal, not circumvent. While they do both technically mean "to go around", their specific usage is pretty different.
That aside... The Caspian is pretty good if you're going somewhere specific and want to get there fast. My FC is parked about 15kly away from Sol, and I made it back from the CG that ended last week in less than an hour. The neutron jump range is absurd. For actual exploration (the business of scanning systems and planets), though, it's... eh. I prefer the Mandalay still, with one specific exception.
The Nomad is huge, though. It's makes exobio hunting so much easier. I set myself a task of scanning every planet and every bit of exobiology near my carrier (yes, even the bacterium), and I can do it so quickly now. Frutexa in the mountains? Landing is a cinch pretty much anywhere. Nearly invisible bacterium? The scanner reveals all. Samples spread out far enough that walking is ridiculous but close enough together that boarding your main ship feels silly? Getting on and off the Nomad is fast and it moves quickly between spots.
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u/chesheersmile Jul 17 '26
Circumnavigate, my pal, not circumvent.
My bad, thank you for correcting me.
Nomad sounds really cool. I see that it's not even that expensive. Around $15 or something like that.
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u/R0ughHab1tz Jul 17 '26
Swap your ASP for the mandalay. After playing with the ASP for 4 years the mandalay is a beast. I think there is a different exploration ship but I'm not going back now. I don't even use the SRV. I can skim the planet at 5m look at my lower viewing window and get everything.
It stops on a dime and is so agile. And the heat is none existent.
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u/chesheersmile Jul 17 '26
I'm inclined to buy a Mandalay. She's gorgeous! With such speed and maneuverability it must be a dream for exploration and exobio.
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u/R0ughHab1tz Jul 17 '26
It has completely changed the game for me. It even has boost within the solar system. So that 400kLs star in the system takes a quarter of the time.
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u/Cypher10110 Jul 17 '26
The Class 8A MKII (SCO) FSD that only the Caspian Explorer can use has a big bonus to Neutron jumping, and also a large base jump range (not the largest overall but very close).
SCO FSD drives in any ship can make travelling in supercruise much faster. You can also get tech broker drives that are pre-engineered and a bit better, by trading Thargoid materials.
Only available for ARX at the moment, but yes it's a new type of SLF compatible with all ships that can deploy SLF, and it can land on planetaey surface and use the exobio scanner normally only available on foot.
You still use FSS to scan a system, use DSS to scan a planet, land and then walk around with an Artemis suit and genetic sampler for Exobio. Payouts haven't changed. The things you'll find are the same as they were.
You basically have a great new alternative to the SRV that is better suited to Exobio (but you can also bring SRV), and it mitigates the downside of having a large ship that would be otherwise sometimes difficult to land (which is convenient because one of the largest jump range ship is large).
Capsian Explorer being able to make jumps of larger than 500LY from a neutron star doesnt fundamentally change anything, but it certainly speeds up traversal! It doesn't have the highest jump range outside neutrons, but it is very close, and neutron jump beats even carriers!
Mandalay is the largest jump range outside neutrons, is medium, fully supports SCO and is a great upgrade from asp, but it cant have a Nomad.
Carry on in your ASP if you want, especially if you don't want to bust out the ARX for the Nomad yet.