Exploration Guide

- Scan Probes have two types:
- Detection Probe is used to identify the number of hidden encounters in a quadrant.
- Pinpointer Probe is a close range probe used to discover the actual location of the encounter. It can take several pinpointer probes to discover the hidden encounter location. The more signatures in the quadrant the more chances to discover but the probe will jump to the first discovered encounter, so you have to deploy additional probes to discover another encounter in the same quadrant. Also, launching pinpointer probes if there is nothing to discover will just waste probes, so it is better to launch Detection probe first to make sure there is something in there.
- Probes are received from all encryption contracts.
- Probes are used in the Quadrant Map.
- Hidden encounters can give credits and items and resource items, there are about 385 new resource items that only appear in the hidden encounters.
- Hidden encounters are about as profitable as a Gold Transport, more or less plus the items and Incursion touch but way more profitable then Incursion.
- On average the are couple of hidden encouters / quadrant, up to 10 hidden encounter per quadrant, it takes 5 turns to jump to the discovered encounter in deep space by clicking the red pointer on the Quadrant map or the Navigate button in scan results under Quadrant Map.

- When at a hidden encounter location you are still present in the solar system you jumped from. The probe simply calculates a jump to the hidden encounter that takes 5 turns but you are still visible in the solar system you jumped from. However if another commander wants to jump to the same hidden encounter and clear it, he will have to personally scan for it, so there no way to use alts to discover hidden encounters...