Auto-Explore

Is there a way to utilize Auto-Explore more effectively? I find that auto-exploring vessels often just barely skirt my known areas when they could really be going further out to explore more area at once. Also, several exploring vessels will often follow each other around on the exact same exploration path. Is there a technique or method I can employ to have my scouts auto-explore more efficiently and effectively?

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do it manually? just kidding

But what you could do is take whatever ship you want to explore and first pick a destination for it thats way out there, then have it auto-explore once its there. Personally I have never used the feature and istead just point my ships to planetary clusters and see what my flag ship digs up. Basically explore with colonizers and take planets when you find them.

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Philocthetes

Join Date 10/2003

+153

I manually explore in the early game because auto-explore is weak as the OP describes. But I'm kind of compulsive about wanting a complete map, so once I'm more or less finished planting colonies, I turn on auto.

The sloppy close-in work doesn't bother me nearly as much as when an exploring ship decides it has to head for the opposite side of the map despite the large swaths of unexplored territory much closer to home. I show auto-pilot lines on the mini-map, so those decisions are usually easy to spot and then I do roughly what the Capn says and try to manually put 'em somewhere that won't tempt auto-explore to be super stupid.

Sure wish I could train the little boogers.

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The autoexplore AI won't go beyond its sensor range so it doesn't run into enemy ships or other obstacles to maximize its movement from what I can tell. The only time it doesn't seem to follow that rule is when it goes stupid and decideds the other end of the galaxy needs some exploring.

I find survery ships to be better explorers personally. Just set them to auto-survery and they'll uncover huge swaths of the map. I also haven't seen auto-survey send two of your own ships to the same anomoly unless there are no others in range.

So in conclusion, build survey ships or get the Galactic Guide Book improvement and slap free survey modules onto your scouts.

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