Mythbusters: More Scan Probes

It’s the activity we do the most. It’s also the most dreary, boring, lackluster activity you can do in game. And we do it, all the time. We don’t have a choice really. If we want to know what’s out there, or we want to know where the exit is, or if we just want to know where that Hulk is stupidly mining, scanning is a necessary evil that we have to put up with. So of course, one starts trying to figure out how to make said dreary activity faster so they can get back on with the fun stuff.

The majority of us get by with a standard 5 or 4 probe setup. A few patches ago, CCP “unlocked” the other probes allowing for more probes to contribute to signal strength. But does it matter? Do more probes actually increase the speed of scanning, or does the hassle of dealing with more probes actually take longer to deal with?

Time for a little Mythbusters, Sleepless in Space style.

What's that smell...

The Setup

So initially, I am trying to determine what effect, if any, multiple probes have on scanning. The best way to determine this is by scanning a known sig and noting the signal strength. If there is any difference in the strength of scan, the numbers will show an increase when more probes are used. If there is no difference, the number will remain about the same. This way we can put a real number next to the “touch and feel” art of scanning.

I ran this test in a nameless class 5 J system with no wormhole effect. I selected two sigs to run the test on, a YHI size 10 sig which will hereafter be called Sig 1 and a BHM size 6.67 sig which will hereafter be called Sig 2. Sadly, these were the only two size sigs in the wormhole at the time of the test, a discouraging fact that I will speak about later in the conclusion.

Next, I scanned the sigs down to bookmark. After bookmarking and renaming them Sig 1 and Sig 2 respectively, I then exited the hole to reset the scanner. This is because once a signal is scanned down, it always appears as 100%. The only way to reset it was to exit the system then re-enter.

Using the bookmark as the anchor, I then placed the various probes directly on top of the bookmark and sized them out to scan from 32 AU on down, noting the signal strength as I went along. I did this for a couple of reasons. The first was speed and ease of data collection. The second was by locating the probes directly on top of the bookmark, I was taking deviation out of the picture; theoretically giving me the maximum strength for my skills and equipment. This also avoided me having to “chase the signal” which could result in a lower strength as a fault of my operation and placement of the probes and less on whether or not additional probes had an effect.

Speaking of skills and equipment, I was using my main character for this experiment. My main has above average scan skills at Covert Ops 5, Astrometrics 5, Astrometric Pinpointing 4, Rangefinding 4, and Acquisition 4. I was using a covert ops ship equipped with a Sister’s Launcher and Sister’s Core Scanning Probes. My main does not have any scan boosting implants.

I decided to test 4 methods of scanning, standard 4 and 5 probe setups to determine a baseline, a modified 7 probe setup to see if there was any difference, and a 3 probe setup. The 3 probe setup was just a curiosity as I was unsure if only using 3 probes could work. Theoretically it could, thus I decided to test it as I have never done so before.

The Results

SIG 1	AU SCAN	STRENGTH (in %)
3 Probes	32	(2 sigs)
	16	(2 sigs)
	8	9.92 (2 sigs)
	4	15.82 (2 sigs)
	2	45.75 (2 sigs)
	2	50.00 (2 sigs)
	1	50.00 (2 sigs)
	.5	50.00 (2 sigs)

Just so there is no confusion, I scanned at 2 AU twice because I moved the probes as I found they were slightly off center. And I didn’t bother scanning Sig 2 after the results I was getting from Sig 1.

As you can see, using 3 probes just didn’t work. It failed on two levels; I couldn’t get the signal to coalesce into 1 sig for verification, nor could I get it above 50%. It is interesting to note that technically I did scan the sig down as 2 sigs times 50% is 100%, however neither were able to be warped to. I realized that this was a restriction not of the probes or scan strength but simply the effect using 3 probes in 3 dimensional space. This is because using 3 known points on a 2 dimensional surface (called Triangulation) any point can be located with accuracy within the X and Y axis. However 3 dimensions require a 4^th point to locate the point on the Z axis. So is it possible to scan with 3 probes? Myth busted.

Not that it was ever in question. It was a mere curiosity for me. However, there are some applications where this could actually become useful that I will save and speak of later.

Moving on to 4 and 5 probe standard setups:

	AU SCAN	Sig 1 Str %	Sig 2 Str %
4 Probes	32	6.37	3.2
	16	12.10	6.29
	8	26.22*	12.75
	4	50.43*	25.49*
	2	100.00**	51.12*
	1		100.00**

* denotes initial name (ladar, grav, unknown, etc)

** denotes Signature Verification and full name

	AU SCAN	Sig 1 Str %	Sig 2 Str %
5 Probes	32	7.35	3.41
	16	14.24	6.85
	8	27.96*	13.44
	4	59.48*	27.69*
	2	100.00**	56.06*
	1		100.00**

Using a 4 or 5 setup is pretty common for most wormholers. I usually find that using 5 probes is faster and more effective because the middle probe I just drop on the sig and keep going. I found 4 probes a bit more difficult at times as I had to “aim” the center of the probe arrows from four directions at the sig. This required me to look at it a bit longer then I traditionally do and just felt like it took more time, even if it required the exact same number of scans.

The numbers support the myth so far. Using 5 probes over 4 saw a slight increase in signal strength, while not as obvious in the beginning was very clear near the end. But would the numbers continue to go up with 7 probes? And would they make it easier to scan?

	AU SCAN	Sig 1 Str %	Sig 2 Str %
7 Probes	32	8.57	4.23
	16	16.95	8.54
	18	35.28*	17.24
	4	68.64*	34.51*
	2	100.00**	69.53*
	1		100.00**

Color me impressed. What started as almost a full percentage point better then 5 probes grew to over a 13% jump near the end on Sig 2. So does using seven probes give you a stronger signal? Most definitely. Is it faster? Ehhhh….

It still took the same amount of scans to zero the point to 100%. So I didn’t save any time by cutting corners. In addition, I had to pull out two more probes in the lotus formation which takes a bit longer. In the case of scanning with 7 probes, I used a standard 5 probe layout, one in the center, one north, south, east and west (as you are looking down), then pulled one probe from the center to the “top” and one to the “bottom” of the formation and overlapped all the probes. This method of scanning would be more bothersome if not for the advent of the ALT key to move all probes to the center. Does it work on 7 probes? You bet, like a champ. With the ALT key to move all probes to the center (or away from center) it worked just fine, and the only time lost was the initial setup time.

Who says Math and Science are boring.... mmmmmmmmm..... Kari.......

Conclusion

So what does it all mean?

More probes means higher signal strength? Confirmed.

More probes make scanning faster? Eh… based on the data I have, Busted.

My one regret in all of this testing was I felt like I was missing an entire spectrum. Size 10 and 6.67 sigs are the easiest sigs to scan down. In my case, Sig 1 was a Wormhole, and Sig 2 was a Ladar site. There were no other sigs smaller then 6.67 in the system. I would have killed for a mag or radar site, as usually those are the harder of the sites to scan down ranging between an average of 2.2 and 4 in size.

Because those sites are so hard to scan down (often taking average scan skill wormholes to .25 AU to lock) it would have been interesting to see if the addition of 2 more probes would have locked it an AU increment earlier, thus saving a step. Regrettably, I didn’t have any of those sigs, and the couple of days leading up to this posting weren’t helping. I kept finding WH’s without small sigs, or they had effects. Not that I felt the WH effects have anything to do with scanning, but I wanted a no effect system to effectively be able to compare the results. If I find a suitable testing spot, I’ll run the numbers again on a smaller sig and post them up here on Sleepless.

In all I have to say that this one is Plausible. The numbers pan out. There is a considerable increase in signal strength that is coming from the increased number of probes. Theoretically, it’s possible that a harder to scan sig may actually zero out to 100% a step faster with the increased strength then 5 probes.

But is it all worth it? I have to say for the most part, no. For those of us with competent scanning skills (read: all of us or should be at least) 5 probes will get the job done just as effectively. However for those of you who need a bit more help getting that tough sig to scan out, toss a couple more probes out and see if that helps.

Perfectly Positioned Probes – Every Time

I figured I would share my method for positioning probes. It doesn’t take me very long to do; and if you train yourself to do it, you’ll have perfectly positioned probes every time.

I start by firing off 5 probes then get my ship safe. After I’m sure I’m cloaked up in a good place, I then open my map. The probes will appear on your map as one right on top of the other. Ignore the scan size of the probes for now. Look at the probes from top down, then start grabbing arrows. By clicking on the arrow, the probe will only move along that direction and not on an angle. Pull the probe away from the center, and position it so that the arrows pointing at each other touch at the point. Continue to do this for the other three probes, clicking on the arrow you want the probe to move and slide it away from center.

You should have 5 probes now touching arrows at the opposite points. If you used 7 probes, simply rotate the camera to the side and pull on the up and down arrows and move the probes into position. When pulling the probes out from center, use the arrows and try to avoid clicking on the “box” of the probe. By clicking on the box you unlock all four directions, so the probe can be moved on an angle as well; this will take you longer to position the probes correctly.

Got it? Great. Your probes are probably way out of position based on overlapping fields. This is easy to fix. Simply set your probe scan distance by shift clicking on the blue bubble field and pulling it out or in to the correct distance. Alternately, you can simply shift select all the probes in the active probe section of the scan window and right click to adjust the scan distance. Once you have that ready, now go back to your probes. Hold the ALT key, grab an arrow pointing away from the center of the formation (doesn’t matter which one, just as long as it is not the center probe) and push or pull the probe in or out from center to adjust the entire scanning field. I generally pull them in so all the probes boxes are just inside the scan bubble from the probe on the opposite side. This gives you a really good and large scan field from which to work with.

Presto! Perfectly positioned probes every time. Hit scan, reposition your probes using shift, drop the scan distance, hold ALT and adjust the field, then hit scan again. Repeat until you have that sig! Easy as pie. If you aren’t already doing that, give it a shot and see if it doesn’t decrease the amount of time you are scanning dramatically.