Mapping a planet

[neofit]

Hi,

I started playing yesterday. I am confused as to how people go about finding their way on planet. The game sent me to a trade station, I spoke to everyone there, and also fired up the signal thingie. I ended up with half a dozen markers, for artifacts, settlements and downed cargo ships.

OK, some of those are visit once and forget, and it's nice that the waypoints disappear when you reach them. Still one of the two downed cargos I visited won't delete itself. But on the other hand, POIs like trade outposts are deleted as well. So how does one find them again? I've tried firing up the scanner at various altitudes but this never shows anything. The game doesn't seem to have a planetary map either, nor a way to set up permanent markers.

So how exactly are people finding and remembering locations on planets?

[Miro Fox]

there are bekons around the planet, activating them "Save & map" will give you progress in them, there is obviously more than what it asks you for.

but its apart of planetary completion.

[xPEDx]

you can hold a button now and mark it for later . i use xbx pad so mine is hold x when targeting anything at all.

[neofit]

Originally posted by xPEDx:

you can hold a button now and mark it for later .

This is useless since it disappears as soon as I put a marker on something else like a drop pod.

Case in point: I had a waypoint to a settlement with a trader in it. I went there and the settlement disappeared. How do I find it again? Apparently we have interstellar travel, but no maps, not even coordinates on planet. What's the trick?

And how do you find something from orbit or high altitude? So far I've only been able to "find" POIs either from coordinates given by NPCs, or the first use of a signal booster.

[BaneBlackGuard]

Originally posted by neofit:

Originally posted by xPEDx:

you can hold a button now and mark it for later .

This is useless since it disappears as soon as I put a marker on something else like a drop pod.

Case in point: I had a waypoint to a settlement with a trader in it. I went there and the settlement disappeared. How do I find it again? Apparently we have interstellar travel, but no maps, not even coordinates on planet. What's the trick?

And how do you find something from orbit or high altitude? So far I've only been able to "find" POIs either from coordinates given by NPCs, or the first use of a signal booster.

sometimes when you scan from space it will mark a location as well. if you have the economy scanner you can scan for a trade platform. Signal booster is a good method as well. or you can just explore and happen upon them. with the new icons on your visor HUD, finding stuff just wandering around on the planet isn't bad at all.

[neofit]

Also, after my first planet I have been sent to a space station with traders and stuff. Then onto my second planet. Except the marker for the space station has disappeared from the game view now. The Galactic "Map" shows my first system as a primitive series if circles, with no apparent way to select a planet and see what's what, and of course no trace of any space stations. Any way to find it again?

[neofit]

Originally posted by Saito Fox:

there are bekons around the planet, activating them "Save & map" will give you progress in them, there is obviously more than what it asks you for.
.

BTW, once one of these beacons is discovered, it is filed under Discoveries and then promptly forgotten by the game apparently, isn't it? Unless I missed a way to mark the location and find it again from orbit for instance.

[Elfblood]

The complete marker, waypoint system is almost unusable. Markers come and go dependend on where you look, some stuff doesnt disappear even in space, sometimes a scan shows you locations miles away but not the one over the next hill etc. Its one of the things that I didnt like since release, and im afraid its not going to change at any time.

[AlphaTested]

Originally posted by neofit:

Originally posted by xPEDx:

you can hold a button now and mark it for later .

This is useless since it disappears as soon as I put a marker on something else like a drop pod.

Case in point: I had a waypoint to a settlement with a trader in it. I went there and the settlement disappeared. How do I find it again? Apparently we have interstellar travel, but no maps, not even coordinates on planet. What's the trick?

And how do you find something from orbit or high altitude? So far I've only been able to "find" POIs either from coordinates given by NPCs, or the first use of a signal booster.

Actually there are coordinates. You can find latitude and longitude when you fire up the analyser (when scanning flora/fauna/minerals). Just check out all the information it gives on the right side and you should see "Current location: ...".

[EkSkietKettie]

if you want to mark a location to come back to you will need to build a beacon [link]https://nomanssky.gamepedia.com/Beacon[/link]
these will help you find your way back to a location again

[Ǥɾᴧᴤʆᴧᵯᴧ]

You can see the planet coordinates in your ship - look at the display - and in your scanner.
just look for the changing numbers when you move. +15.34, -142.65 for example
If you ever find a good spot, maybe for a base but you can't build yet, write down these numbers. you'll find that spot again, for sure, i've done this several times

[Asmosis]

There's nothing unique about any particular location, so there's very little reason to try and visit the same place again.

If you *really* want to stick around somewhere, build some beacons. or better yet, bases. That way you can just teleport everywhere.

[sakshale]

Originally posted by EkSkietKettie:

if you want to mark a location to come back to you will need to build a beacon [link]https://nomanssky.gamepedia.com/Beacon[/link]
these will help you find your way back to a location again

This is what I do with the Cargo Pods I find and need to gather resources to complete the repairs. I've also been known to drop a beacon at Manufacturing locations before flying out to shoot up the door. Too often I got turned around and couldn't find it on the second pass.

I keep a beacon, signal tracer and portable refiner in my inventory. Drop one as needed, no resources required, and ALWAYS pick it back up immediately after I am done using it. (There are a bunch out there that I forgot to pick up and left behind.)

The beacon, to find my way back until I am done with the site.
The Signal Tracer to find the next site to explore.
The portable refiner to help manage inventory.

[PhoenixGI]

Originally posted by sakshale:

The beacon, to find my way back until I am done with the site.
The Signal Tracer to find the next site to explore.
The portable refiner to help manage inventory.

I do the same thing, I think I'm going to add a save point also. Sometimes it's a good idea to do a manual save every now and then...

[Flaming Orb]

Build a base, keep building, keep researching blueprints, this eventually triggers the Base Overseer. He gives you missions for more blueprints and for other NPC mission-givers. The Science NPC mission-giver will eventually give you the beacon blueprint. If you build and place beacons, you'll never lose another Trade Hub again. Why don't they make this Base Overseer blueprint relationship perfectly clear from the start? We'll never know. It's a very mysterious and unpredictable game.

[neofit]

Originally posted by Asmosis:

There's nothing unique about any particular location, so there's very little reason to try and visit the same place again.

When I figured this out life became much easier. At first I approached this game like any other: there is a planet to explore, I must do it thoroughly, find and map every nook and cranny and possibly every secret. A few planets in I figured that everything was generic and I could just jump onto another planet and get more of those landmarks I was looking for.