Most all other games i have played are set up to encourage people to explore other sectors of the game they are playing, ie to get different missions or to get better equipment and the like, Would it not make sense to add some kind of explore xp to encourage players to leave there home sector as up to now i have found i can do everything in the game without having to do so.
IE players would get explore xp for each station they visit and more xp the further from their home base they travelled. I really do want to get to enjoy this game, but since i am not into PVP there really seems no point, I appreciate the few things the devs have put into the game the last couple of patches but from my experience trading items from point A to B is exactly the same with or without mass (admittedly more lucrative).

This Is Not A Flame Or A Do It My Way Or Else Rant, Just an opinion

anyone have suggestions on how we could implement a "fog of war" feature to the map in the very near, very short term?

So people would have to uncover or encounter the stations to get the xp?

I like this idea. It's like trying to get all the state spoons or magnets or in my case passport stamps to prove you've been on another continent. 4 down 3 to go....

<thread-a-ported from Content Suggestions>
On the galaxy map, try showing only the core sectors owned by their government to newcomers. These are matters of public record for them. Beyond the borders is unknown space. Blank until they explore it.
On the system map and outside of government sectors, why not show only wormholes? This gives players an idea of where they need to go. When they take a mission, the destination sector will be visible and highlighted, even in the galaxy map, but the intermediate sectors will not be. Thus, by taking trade missions, players will learn the locations of most commonly-used stations as they reach them. Of course, locations could also spread via word of mouth.

Example:

Joe Newbie gets a mission at Pyronis. It asks him to go to Ukari I2 (no map handy) and deliver twelve tons of frozen cheeseburgers or something. Now, Joe has never left Serco space before (eeevil space pirates &c), so all he can see are the Serco worlds, and some links leading,,, somewhere. Now that he takes that mission, the Ukari system is visible. He clicks it, then hits 'zoom to system', and gets a blank map with Ukari's wormholes on it, and since he took the mission, I2 (and its fabulous palace of interstellar culinary debauchery) as well. Nothing else is visible.

Thus, the only way to know where stations are is to either jump around blindly, take trade missions, or learn from other people what's where.

Not to say I hate the idea of collectible spoons or anything.

http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/5539#71316

Idea i posted several months ago.

Ok ... how I'd imagine exploration could work (with crappy mockups :P)

http://home.arcor.de/famscheffler/ven-uni-new-player.jpg
A new player would start in his home system with only the Nation systems completely uncovered:
(uh ... ignore my traces of manipulation, that i'm not in my home sector and that I forgot the border systems in ns space :P)

http://home.arcor.de/famscheffler/ven-newsector.jpg
As our brave player enters a new system every sector will show up as "unchartered" except Stations they show up as "Unknown Station". The Wormholes aren't visible and the Universe map doesn't show if there are any holes leading off either.

http://home.arcor.de/famscheffler/ven-sector-visited-station.jpg
As the player visits the first station (and buys a map?) a part of the system gets uncovered.

http://home.arcor.de/famscheffler/ven-sector-unvovered.jpg
Eventually the player arrives at a station with a gate in it's zone of influence. The Universe map now shows a broken path (as in the first shot) leading off the system.

i like.

[stamp of approval]

[double stamp]

tee hee, Kestrel really gets around =P

Sounds cool though....

Fog of war might be alright, though somewhat annoying. However, what can you do with explore xp? Trade xp already encourages exploring...for new trading possibilities. And anyone who's truely into combat checks out different stations.

Uh this is not meant as the fog of war like in starcraft. More like in Command&Conquer (at least the ones i've played) (not counting the fog generator in part two ..teh heh). Just something so new players don't have the complete universe right in their face.

As a minor addition the map should be zoomed in so that only the systems that are known are shown by default. That makes everything look a little bigger. :)

Hmm .. there could be a way to abuse this.
Obviously you can only get missions to known sectors this way. If somebody doesn't explore, trade missions stay in known space. That's bad because distances between trade runs will stay short. Especially for NT's this would be a big advantage.

After a certain level these players should only(mostly) be given trade missions that take them to unexplored neighbour sectors/systems. To force exploring.

Note! high level trade missions already take you to far away places, so this wouldn't change anything.

I was thinking more about how it could be done within the current game framework rather then adding new code. I.m sure they've had the ideas before but are there any implementation suggestions? I think the devs don't have time to do a big rewrite.

<Crossing my fingers and hoping for a great idea like the station windows>

I think the Mac game Escape Velocity has a great system for exploration (and Vendetta is similar enough that a modification would apply). In EV, You start with the map containing details for the system that you're in, and any system connected to it is gray, indicating that you know there's a system there, but you don't know anything about it. If you buy a "local stars map," it'll reveal all systems within a certain number of jumps, plus indications that there are (or aren't) systems beyond it, but again, no details for those. Zooming in on a system that you've personally been in, reveals the layout of the system (planets, stations, asteroids, etc). If you zoom in on a system where you have no information, you simply get a picture of the main star(s) and empty space. Bot information isn't automatically revealed. You get information within a certain radius of your position, but no bot information beyond that. If you purchase a "system map" from a station, you'll learn all information about bots in just that system. In all cases, information that you've learned doesn't disappear, so if you explore Sol II, and don't return to that system for several months, you'll know about the system, but your information might be outdated. Random "learn about X system" maps (maps that reveal the location of a distant system, including -possibly outdated- bot information) may appear in a station, but they're expensive. You can trade information with other players, reveal the location of a single system, or reveal bot information, either for similar information in return, or simply money. Missions CAN take you outside of your known space. You have to decide if the risk is worth it.

Yeah mine was mostly a visualisation of the exploration idea. :) Who knows if that even makes sense in the future.

Okay .. a reward that isn't connected with big changes....
Bots that sit in the bars of some stations. And start talking of the great things that happended there if the player talks to them.

as in:
Player: heya Bob
Bob the bot: greetings "Player". Know what? Ten years ago a huge toaster attacked this station. Almost ate the whole crew. Luckily an out of duty phone head cleaner stepped over it's power cable. That's where this station got its name "Phone Cleaners Stronghold" from...
Player: shutup bob
Bob the bot: ok ...

Another one ...
I like to talk to bots. More personal than those mission ... kinda :)

Player: heya Steve
Steve the Bot: I HATE YOU!
** 1: Kick him
** 2: Give Beer.
Player: 2
Steve the Bot: Uh thnks ..Damn Orion. Reduction of expenses... blabla ... I've been working my whole life for them. Today I got fired .. know how? via e-mail... blaargh..
** Steve the Bot Whispers: psst ... I want them to suffer! Theres a datapad with vital information in Orion Headquater. bring it to the Axia Headquater. I can't get near there without them getting suspect! Axia will love you for it!
** 1: accept
** 2: kick him
.
.
.

Aww crap .. doesn't really have much to do with exploration. Hmm lets just say that Steve can only be found in remote locations. And he will only give the player the mission once!