Scout Archive
Thread: Exploration Flags....
This weekend I was climbing through hill and dale when I walked to the peak of one of the highest mountain ranges on Corellia. I surveyed the land around me and though 'I wonder who else has been here' as well as 'I'd love to tell folks I was here first'.
What I thought would be neat would be an exploration flag, something you could plant to show other's 'hey, I was here first'. Granted, by this time a lot of territory has been seen, but perhaps something for future expansion.
What I was thinking was that either master scouts, or perhaps rangers onle, would be able to plan 2-3 flags that simply labled name, time of planting, perhaps a short sentance and faction affiliation (if any) in a region. Only one flag could be planted in say a 500mx500m range at any one time to prevent 'falg city' from forming and they could not be planted within 5000m of a city.
While I realize that this won't help anyone kill a PC or mob any better then they can now, I thought it might add some depth to what is a pretty shallow environment sometimes.
I like the logbook idea.
AZ has logbookson some of it's cooler treks (not just mountains, but good hikes). I've written in a few of them myself 
Guys,
This is great idea - I'll bring it up to the Devs. Especially if they ever get around to reimplementing the "exploration" badges that don't work right now.
B
I'm an Appalachian Trail section hiker and I really enjoy stopping at Shelters and logbook stations and reading who was there before me and their comments and seeing people's trail names.
Logbooks placed in POIs would be great for explorers - especially if we could leave comments.
-- FUna
K-Bear wrote:
Good idea, but I have a suggestion. Instead of flags, but a logbook there. I live in Colorado, and at the top of all our fourteeners, we have one that you can sign. It would eliminate the clutter of flags, and names could be signed and timestamped. Mabey put them atsome hard to reach places or points of interest. Possibly on advanced planets only?
Ohhhh, me likey! Maybe when yousign it you get some scouting XP as well. They could also do something with declining XP. First one on the server who gets to it gets like 1000 scouting XP, then it should cap off at a minimum of 100. This could really encourage exploration. GOOD POST!
Idea of the log is very sweet and would eliminate the 'territorial' complaints that flags might generate (although I'd still love to plant a flag near my house to tell people to bugger-off 
).
Good to see that even if it doesn't garnish you xp, uber lootor the almighty PvP kill we can still get some good ideas flowing around the boards...
Cool idea. Agree that the logbook would be better than flags.
"Especially if they ever get around to reimplementing the "exploration" badges that don't work right now."
::Mouth waters:: What are these? I was just about to suggest something like this. I love to explore, and time to time you come across these "anomalies" - on Rori for example, there is a tall antenna-like structure at one location and a partially submerged pyramid-like structure at another. It would be cool if there was some way to record (and display when others con you) a list of all the "neat" sites you have discovered or visited. Another non-combat way to inspire exploration and the scout/ranger classes.
It would also be cool if you could target these structures and get some type of description: "...a 70-foot spire made out of some seemingly impossibly fragile material, yet it has apparently stood untouched for millennia. Fascinated by the swirling images in your own reflection you move closer...". Perhaps the information you get is more detailed based on the level of exploration skill you have. Maybe something like this is planned for these anomalies but not implemented yet. One can hope at least! It makes my day to stumble across something other than the same old terrain...
I agree, the logbook is a great idea. I also like the idea of being able to target unique structures and get additional information about them.
One of the things I think SWG is missing most is depth, and it's hard to add depth when these structures are just dumped somewhere and you have no idea what they are, why their there or any back-history about them.
Granted, none of this will help one out in combat, but it would add to the immersion of the game as well as help better define certian roles, i.e. only Rangers get 'site knowledge' while Creature Handlers might get 'herd migration' or something to better define the roles and add some diversity again.
Any of you backpackers out there who have done a week long trek thru the Smoky mountains or Rockies and have run across old abandoned homesteads, obvious man-made holes and piles of dirt that date back 300 years and look to have no earthly business being 15 miles from the nearest human being (other than you) can understand an appreciate the mystery. Providing old ruins or unique structures with no immediate explaination provides mystery and intrigue. The real reward is being able to more closely investigate for answers (dig around inside underground ruins, find artifacts that need to be interpreted by a historian unless your exploration skill is high enough, discover random clues) or finding a "library" or knowledge repository where you can dig up such info would add depth and a feeling of history (back-story) to the worlds you're visiting.
I've personally had this experience IRL in the Smokies where I found an undocumented road and homestead and cemetery near Panther Creek (west side of the smokies near Abrams screek) while hiking for 3 days off-trail (that was an experience). Searching for who lived there and when later on was a lot of fun and more rewarding than if there would have been an NPS signpost explaining it all.
Additionally you can get more info from a "Library" than from a quick mouseover blurb and that aspect alone could add the depth some of us crave.
We're explorers after all...and exploration is as much footwork as it is bookwork sometimes.
-- FUna
Savv,
The Jedi hackers found code in the game for a number of badges that include "exploration" badges. Like "...has found the Pit of Sarlacc" or "...has visited the Temple of Exar'Kun".
Go check out the "complete badges" post over on the Jedi Forums.
But watch out - the Jedi forums make the CH forums look tame.
B