Scanning

In order to interact with Objects in Space in the 3D Space around the spacecraft a Player needs to operate the sensors of the ship.

To do so he requires the Sensor Tool which enables him to interact with the Sensor/Map Table in an extended way.

The first thing a player would notice is the Sensor/Map Table located usually on the bridge or CIC.

With the tool in hand, the player can interact with objects and order the sensor array to scan the ObjectsinSpace.

Sometimes this operation however requires further analysis through a Sensor drone or the alignment of the main sensor dish (pointing the ship or better the dish towards the target).

Interacting with the Sensor Table

Without Sensor Tool

The Player can interact with the sensor map by using the UI elements on the Sensor table to move the 3D Space view around (including zoom in and out). He can see the current Sensor range as a 2D/3D Representation of a sphere around the ship (that can also be toggled on and off).

It is also possible to see all not scanned and scanned objects in the local 3D Space. (Not scanned objects vanish outside of sensor range; scanned objects remain visible when moving the view).

Each Object that was scanned will also have a name assigned to it. Usually, that is created by the Name Matrix but can be changed with the sensor Tool in hand.

With Sensor Tool

With the Sensor tool in hand, the player will see more UI elements on the Sensor Table to interact with. The Range of the sensors array and forward dish can be changed with a slider - which will also increase the power consumption and therefore the decay of the sensor array.

There is also a slider to increase power to the sensors to get more accurate scans of objects. Which has the ability to overpower anomalies or shields if needed. An additional UI screen also shows two sliders to reduce the active Sensor Ping (From a 360° Sphere down to a small Cone in vertical and horizontal values), the active scan ping area can be moved by pressing the adjust button in the 3D UI space (Then moving the mouse to adjust where you want to Look at). While in this view, the player can press the action key or press the Ping button to send out and ping that will scan objects up to tier 2.

Players with the sensor tool can also select all objects in the 3D Space which will open a window with additional information. This Window shows the current information about the selected target depending on the scan-tier that has been reached. Additionally, the player can highlight the current target for the pilot; If so when the pilot seat is entered the highlight will be visible to the pilot in his UI. The Name can also be changed by using the rename function.

The window also gives the option to scan the target (If the ship is currently in range and the sensor dish is aligned to the target). By holding the scan button a loading bar appears and scans the target up to 100%. In which you move to the next sensor tier.

SensorTiers

Sensor Tier List

Tiers	Description
Tier 0	The object is not visible on the map. You have no information on the map or scanner UI
Tier 1	Object is visible on the map. It is represented by a 3D model corresponding to its size category ranging from 1 to 5. 1 is very small, 5 is very large. The 3D model is a blank sphere, its size is based on the 1 to 5 scale. The object is visible in its location in relation to the ship.
Tier 2	Object is represented by type category model. Types are distinct between: Solid ( single point object ) Nebula ( area ) Each type is subdivided between different signature types: Solid Nebula Each subcategory has an associated model for the object ( placeholders ) The name of the object is displayed over the 3d model Name Matrix When looking at the model ( cursor look ) a UI is displayed showing the signature type and more accurate size preview. For solids, this means the mass of the object ( in tonnes ) and for nebulas, it means area size ( in square kilometers ) These detailed UI elements can be pinned to their UI by the user.
Tier 3	Object is represented by a model based on what it is ( ship, asteroid, debris, cargo, Station, Planet, Anomalies, Environmental Hazards ) UI shows material composition table. The material composition table shows base elements detected within the object. ( each element has its own attributes listing those contents ) In addition to the object model, a preview of the ship's vector ( velocity, projected path ) is displayed in the UI.