The System Map

You want to go exploring, or you want to find somewhere to stay to stay for the night; you may even want to know which bodies are landable so you can go mining or resource gathering. You’re going to need The System Map, and here it is. It tells you everything you need to know about the system you’re currently in, including all the things I’ve just mentioned, which means that The System Map in Elite Dangerous is invaluable.

The System Map we’re looking at here shows that the system has one star and six planets. Planets one and two have one moon each adn both of those moons are landable, which means they’ve probably got something worth collecting on them. The only way you’ll find out for sure though, is to do a Full Surface Scan.

It also shows that there is a starport (two different types) circling each of the first two planets. You can stop here for the refuelling, repairs, missions and many other types of service. The triangles you can see sitting just past the two moons and after the final planet in the system are fleet carriers, owned by other players. You may, or may not be able to dock there.

You can also click on any of these icons in the left hand pane to see more information about each. This is where you’ll see planetary makeup and whether or not you’ve previously surface scanned the planet. Once you’ve clicked on it, you can ‘Select’ it, it’ll show in your ‘target’ and you can fly to it. You probably can’t ‘set a route’, but you may be able to find surface information and you’ll certainly be able to bookmark it. That’s what the other icons in the box mean.

That box in The System Map will also give you a lot more information about the plaent you’re looking at. For example, how far away is it and therfore, how long will it take to get to it should you want to map it, or land on it. It’ll tell you who first discovered it and who first mapped it. If it’s unmapped, head out and fire a few probes. Get your name on it. If it’s undiscovered, get over there too. It’s a gem and nothing beats the feeling of being the first commander to find a new system and it’s planets and moons, and map them for the rest of human kind.