Artisan Archive

The problem with surveying is that you only get xp for sampling, not for actually surveying. So you can get all your xp by finding a rich source of just about anything, setting up a macro and sitting on your butt all day, as opposed to tromping across the countryside, actually surveying and hunting up new mineral resources. The Xp you can get for finding resources should actually be greater than what you can get for just digging them up for a few reasons. Sitting around is boring, boring, boring, not to mention almost risk-free. Why encourage it? If you really want to get your xp from just sitting there, well I guess that's fine, but make it take a whole lot longer. Giving xp for finding the resources encourages players to explore and find all the cool things that the team has put out there for us. It also encourages grouping to protect surveyors from the wandering fauna. Truth is, for whatever reason, I really enjoy hunting up new resources. Don't know why - just enjoy wandering the wilderness by myself, avoiding red dots, and trying to find that big cache of rare fiberplast. Then it's always a let-down to have to sit there for ten minutes waiting to gather a bunch of it up. Then I tell my guildmates the location, get bored and wander off to do something else. So I've done all the work and gotten minimal xp for it, while my guildies get the mad xp just for sitting at the location I've found.

Questions, comments?

I agree with your frustration but how do you fix it? If you give XP for surveying you could just stand on the same spot and survey all night long and not move. Keeping a table of Nav points and only giving XP once would be way too cumbersome.

Unfortunately, the way they have it setup makes the most programming sense, but not game sense.

While I tend to agree, Survey is incredibly easily to "max out" as it stands.

A cool enhancement for surveyors (as opposed to harvesters) would be an option to compile and sell resource maps. Since resources die out and are replaced over time, maps would be a commodity in constant demand, and would be very much sought after by people who hate surveying. Not sure about the interface for this, maybe an overlay on the planetary map or a new screen for the survey tools. The maps should have a date on them so customers don't get stuck with an old one.

Not something that could be implemented overnight, but it would be fun in the long term.

Greetings!

It is my understanding (although I don't have personal experience) that you can email a waypoint to someone. Therefore you could sell someone your waypoint for them to place a harvestor on.

The downside is that you must personally sell the information rather than use the bazaar.

- Fulcrum of Starsider

[quote]I agree with your frustration but how do you fix it? If you give XP for surveying you could just stand on the same spot and survey all night long and not move.[/quote]

Give xp for a successful survey, proportional to the percentage of the resource. Don't give it a second time if you don't move. Besides, since you can already get xp for standing on the same spot sampling, there's no advantage to stand on the same spot surveying. At least if you're sampling you're accumulating resources.

Actually the bazaar has a listing for data. I assume that means that waypoints can be sold there. Never tried though. *shrugs* Maybe I'll do so tonight.

Be seein ya,

Farbo Median