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Tour the Galaxy post-revamp - Let's do this!
amezuki
Member Posts: 364 Arc User
Prior to the sector space revamp, we were told that the time limit for Tour the Galaxy would be reviewed and likely increased to reflect the increased difficulty. I don't know whether it was reviewed or not, but we all know it hasn't changed--you've still got only 15 minutes to cover the Alpha and Beta quadrants.
At first glance, this seems impossible. I'm not so sure. I've completed Alpha and come very close to finishing Beta, and that's without DI/RP or an advanced QSS. I think we can do it with the right route and approach.
And that spirit of can-do Trek optimism is what I would like to tap into with this discussion. There are plenty of other threads to complain about the revamp or what doesn't work right. Here I want to focus on solutions. Routes, tactics, philosophies, whatever works for you--let's do this thing.
My record so far is 28 systems. That's all 12 waypoints in the Alpha quadrant, plus all but five of Beta. Another minute and a half, two minutes and I could've had it. I think I can shave that time.
My setup: Eclipse with Borg engines, Fleet core with Coi/SSR, maxed DC, Lead Foot trait. I don't plan my route based on having DI/RP because it's hit or miss whether or not you can get someone to give it at any given time--my attitude is that if I can beat the timer without DI/RP, it gives me breathing room for when do I have it.
Here was my first solid route, the one that got me 28:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-NsN7mGJemFN1EwOEhVd0JWSlE/view
I start at Breen because it's an outlier--it's the single furthest system from any other in either quadrant and far from any quadrant boundary, so want it to be either the first or last place I visit. I don't want to get stuck with trying to find a way back to it and then on to wherever I'm going next. There are a few systems in Beta which pose similar issues, such as Nimbus and Traelus.
The long blue arrow in Beta is a transwarp to Beta Quadrant, which deposits you in the Azure Nebula. That was my first attempt at a "shortcut".
Tonight I'm going to be trying something different, which is using instance changes to teleport to a pretedermined location. I've noticed that when changing instances in the Alpha quadrant, you always spawn just southwest of DS9--which, conveniently, is one of the waypoints. I'll be adjusting the Alpha route slightly to take advantage of that and shave some time off.
The technique will be similar in Beta, but there's a catch: there are at least two different spawn locations in Beta, and which you end up in seems to be determined by which of old "sector blocks" your current sector was a member of. The vast majority of instance changes in Beta drop you right on top of Starbase 234--another waypoint in Tour. However, when I change instances on the left third of the map--I have yet to pinpoint the exact boundaries, but that much seems to be consistent--I spawn just south of Sol.
I think we can use this. I found the following route posted by frtoaster here in the forums:
http://i.imgur.com/8AlMaBM.jpg
At a glance this looks more efficient than my first Beta route--it involves fewer maneuvering stops and takes much better advantage of long straightaways to optimize QSS usage. However, I think it can be improved. Look at the incredibly long stretch between Risa and Traelus. If instead you started at Risa and went north, you'd connect with the endpoint of the route at Nimbus much more quickly, and eliminate about a third of that leg.
Since I'll be coming from Alpha, that means zoning in from Betreka rather than Tellar. I'll have to adjust the Alpha route to account for it without increasing the time for that quadrant.
Another possibility I see is starting in Beta instead, and working backwards. Taking frtoaster's route as a basis, begin at Nimbus and go S-SW to Teneebia, then SE to Argelius. Then follow the route clockwise until Traelus, and do one of two things: either QSS NW to Risa and Orion, then zone to Alpha... or do an IC to drop yourself by Sol and shortcut south to Orion and Risa.
A note about navigation: use autopilot to point yourself in the right direction, but always revert to manual before you get there. The whole thing of autopilot stopping you outside of the system is irrelevant if you just turn off the autopilot and fly straight through the system.
Discuss. If you've completed Tour, or do it in some significantly different way, let's see your route!
At first glance, this seems impossible. I'm not so sure. I've completed Alpha and come very close to finishing Beta, and that's without DI/RP or an advanced QSS. I think we can do it with the right route and approach.
And that spirit of can-do Trek optimism is what I would like to tap into with this discussion. There are plenty of other threads to complain about the revamp or what doesn't work right. Here I want to focus on solutions. Routes, tactics, philosophies, whatever works for you--let's do this thing.
My record so far is 28 systems. That's all 12 waypoints in the Alpha quadrant, plus all but five of Beta. Another minute and a half, two minutes and I could've had it. I think I can shave that time.
My setup: Eclipse with Borg engines, Fleet core with Coi/SSR, maxed DC, Lead Foot trait. I don't plan my route based on having DI/RP because it's hit or miss whether or not you can get someone to give it at any given time--my attitude is that if I can beat the timer without DI/RP, it gives me breathing room for when do I have it.
Here was my first solid route, the one that got me 28:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-NsN7mGJemFN1EwOEhVd0JWSlE/view
I start at Breen because it's an outlier--it's the single furthest system from any other in either quadrant and far from any quadrant boundary, so want it to be either the first or last place I visit. I don't want to get stuck with trying to find a way back to it and then on to wherever I'm going next. There are a few systems in Beta which pose similar issues, such as Nimbus and Traelus.
The long blue arrow in Beta is a transwarp to Beta Quadrant, which deposits you in the Azure Nebula. That was my first attempt at a "shortcut".
Tonight I'm going to be trying something different, which is using instance changes to teleport to a pretedermined location. I've noticed that when changing instances in the Alpha quadrant, you always spawn just southwest of DS9--which, conveniently, is one of the waypoints. I'll be adjusting the Alpha route slightly to take advantage of that and shave some time off.
The technique will be similar in Beta, but there's a catch: there are at least two different spawn locations in Beta, and which you end up in seems to be determined by which of old "sector blocks" your current sector was a member of. The vast majority of instance changes in Beta drop you right on top of Starbase 234--another waypoint in Tour. However, when I change instances on the left third of the map--I have yet to pinpoint the exact boundaries, but that much seems to be consistent--I spawn just south of Sol.
I think we can use this. I found the following route posted by frtoaster here in the forums:
http://i.imgur.com/8AlMaBM.jpg
At a glance this looks more efficient than my first Beta route--it involves fewer maneuvering stops and takes much better advantage of long straightaways to optimize QSS usage. However, I think it can be improved. Look at the incredibly long stretch between Risa and Traelus. If instead you started at Risa and went north, you'd connect with the endpoint of the route at Nimbus much more quickly, and eliminate about a third of that leg.
Since I'll be coming from Alpha, that means zoning in from Betreka rather than Tellar. I'll have to adjust the Alpha route to account for it without increasing the time for that quadrant.
Another possibility I see is starting in Beta instead, and working backwards. Taking frtoaster's route as a basis, begin at Nimbus and go S-SW to Teneebia, then SE to Argelius. Then follow the route clockwise until Traelus, and do one of two things: either QSS NW to Risa and Orion, then zone to Alpha... or do an IC to drop yourself by Sol and shortcut south to Orion and Risa.
A note about navigation: use autopilot to point yourself in the right direction, but always revert to manual before you get there. The whole thing of autopilot stopping you outside of the system is irrelevant if you just turn off the autopilot and fly straight through the system.
Discuss. If you've completed Tour, or do it in some significantly different way, let's see your route!
Fleet Admiral L'Yern - Screenshot and doffing addict
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
Post edited by amezuki on
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A Romulan Strike Team, Missing Farmers and an ancient base on a Klingon Border world. But what connects them? Find out in my First Foundary mission: 'The Jeroan Farmer Escapade'
I am thinking about doing this for Alpha quad:
1. Start at Breen, trigger waypoint there
2. Change instance; this teleports to just outside DS9
3. Full stop to maximize turn rate and SW to Algira
4. NW to Arawath
5. Change instance again, trigger DS9 waypoint
6. NW to Defera on QSS, NE to Ferenginar
7. SE to Tzenkath and continue with illustrated route
I want to get an Oddy, but I don't actually want to -use- one except for this, so I can't really justify the C-Store cost, and my fleet doesn't have T5 shipyard yet. I suspect that with the advanced QSS I could clear this even with a sub-optimal route.
Depending on what I end up doing for Beta quadrant, I may need to adjust the Alpha route so that I end up at the correct zone-in spawn.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
It sounds like a lot, but the marks and BNPs can be had in a few weeks by running a couple queues a day and doing the daily reps, and the EC is nothing. The real barrier is the dil, but the engines are SO worth it.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
A Romulan Strike Team, Missing Farmers and an ancient base on a Klingon Border world. But what connects them? Find out in my First Foundary mission: 'The Jeroan Farmer Escapade'
Hit 'J' to bring up your mission log. Go to the Available tab. Scroll all the way down. Tour the Galaxy should be there at the bottom.
You can do this with pretty much any mission. Start it wherever is most convenient.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
Thanks for the heads up.
A Romulan Strike Team, Missing Farmers and an ancient base on a Klingon Border world. But what connects them? Find out in my First Foundary mission: 'The Jeroan Farmer Escapade'
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-NsN7mGJemFVXJpdi1CYmhsam8/view?usp=sharing
I still did not complete the Beta quadrant. But I got 29 systems this time, and when I timed myself, I found that I would've needed another two minutes to hit the other four.
I am now 99% certain that this is doable. I made a few mistakes, even in the beginning--the Breen system is really finicky and I'm wondering if you actually have to start outside of its radius.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
A Romulan Strike Team, Missing Farmers and an ancient base on a Klingon Border world. But what connects them? Find out in my First Foundary mission: 'The Jeroan Farmer Escapade'
Fifteen seconds.
That's how close I was to finishing both quadrants tonight. A few errors unmade, slightly better QSS placement... hell, even DI/RP would probably be the edge I need.
Edit: route and directions posted below!
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
The route: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-NsN7mGJemFejRWWVNDNEIwLXc/view
Alpha Quadrant
1. Start just west of Breen, facing due east across the top of the sun but outside of the system.
2. Pick up mission and immediately engage QSS.
3. Set nav to Ferenginar, then tap right slightly to break autopilot.
4. Once you can see Ferenginar's sun and confirm you're on-course, bring up the instance change menu and find an AQ instance that's relatively empty (less lag or chance of filling up before you click).
5. The moment you ding the Ferenginar WP, INSTANCE CHANGE.
6. This spawns you just SW of Deep Space 9 and Bajor, facing N. Engage full throttle and veer NE to ding the DS9 WP.
7. At DS9, FULL STOP. Immediately do a 180 to re-orient SW, and when you're halfway through your turn re-engage full throttle (engage throttle the same way after all full stops).
8. SW to Algira. Don't stop or slow; start veering NW as soon as you're about to ding the Algira WP and then proceed to Arawath.
9. At Arawath, FULL STOP. Re-orient E-NE, and again re-engage the throttle halfway through your turn. Set nav for Defera and immediately QSS, then tap right.
10. Veer east as soon as you pass through Defera on its right. Set nav for Mizar (not Tzenketh, which is in between) and tap left.
11. Pass through Tzenketh to ding it without slowing. As soon as you're about to pass through Mizar, set nav for Tellar and tap right.
12. As soon as Tellar dings, FULL STOP. Re-orient south and immediately engage QSS.
13. Set nav for Chapel and tap right. When you ding it, reset nav for Betazed and tap right.
14. At Betazed, FULL STOP. Re-orient W-NW and head straight for Corwin.
15. At Corwin, FULL STOP. Alpha Quadrant is complete! Re-orient E-SE and head for the border between Betazed Sector and the BQ. ZONE CHANGE.
Beta Quadrant
1. Spawn just SW of Risa. Re-orient north and engage throttle, set nav for Orion as soon as you pass through Risa and tap right.
2. At Orion, FULL STOP. Re-orient E-NE and engage throttle, then set nav for Argelius and tap left, then engage QSS.
3. Stay on course until you pass just north of Argelius, then set nav to Vendor and tap left.
4. As soon as you pass through Vendor on the north side, set nav for Lirss and tap right.
5. At Lirss, FULL STOP. Re-orient east and engage throttle, set nav for Alini, tap right.
6. At Alini, veer S-SE and set nav for Vorn. Engage QSS once oriented and tap right.
7. Begin veering south just before Vorn, making sure to ding the WP. Set nav for Iconia and tap right.
8. Ding Iconia and set nav for Pheben, then tap right.
9 As soon as Pheben dings, set nav for Sanek and tap left.
10. At Sanek, FULL STOP. Re-orient W-NW and engage throttle, set nav for Qo'noS, then tap left.
11. When Qo'noS is just about to ding, engage QSS and veer HARD north before the drive fully spins up.
12. Set nav for Khitomer (act quickly!) and as soon as your course stabilizes, start veering NE to bend your QSS course to pass through Khitomer on the right.
13. Keep veering NE and set nav for Starbase 234.
14. At SB 234, FULL STOP. Re-orient NW and fly manuall to Mylasa.
15. At Mylasa, FULL STOP. Re-orient SW and engage throttle, set nav for New Romulus and tap right.
16. Pass through New Romulus on the right and set nav for Virinat, then tap left.
17. At Virinat, FULL STOP. Re-orient south and engage throttle, set nav for Archanis and immediately engage QSS.
18. Pass west of Archanis and begin veering hard west. You may have to terminate QSS early in order to hit Drozana.
19. Pass east of Drozana and set nav for Traelus, then tap right.
20. While enroute to Traelus, bring up the instance change menu and find one that isn't almost full.
21. The moment you ding Traelus, INSTANCE CHANGE.
22. You will spawn just south of Sol, facing S-SE. Immediately re-orient due north and fly manually to Teneebia.
23. Engage QSS the moment it's available, set nav for Nimbus, and tap right.
24. PROFIT!
I literally ran out of time halfway between Teneebia and Nimbus. And I know I made a few mistakes that cost me seconds here and there.
Now, some explanations.
1. FULL STOP: When in sector space, you turn MUCH faster while at a full stop. The autopilot likes to slow you to half speed in order to make turns, and while this can be effective for minor course adjustments, it's extremely slow to loop around like that if you have to make a significant turn. It's much faster to simply kill throttle, start turning, and re-engage throttle partway through your turn. Your ship takes a second or two to come back up to full speed, and you can complete your turn before your turn rate tanks again.
2. INSTANCE CHANGE: Click on the bar just above your mini-map, where you see the name of the sector and the isntance number. Select "change instance", and choose an instance that is relatively empty. You don't want the time for the transfer to come and find that the one you selected filled up in the intervening seconds. Here we are basically using the instance change as a fixed-endpoint free transwarp. You will always spawn in a predictable, consistent location, so we can take advantage of that to shave time.
3. Setting nav: There is a trick to doing this quickly. What I do is already have the map open and the nav point clicked on while I am enroute to my next WP. With the prompt already up, you can just click OK to accept it the moment it's time to change course.
4. Tapping left or right: You NEVER want to allow the autopilot to take you all the way to a system. It will begin slowing when it gets close, and will stop at a point that is usually just outside of the system. Instead, use the autopilot SOLELY to orient our course in the precise direction we need to. Then use a movement key to break autopilot, and the direction tapped is the side of the system on which we want to pass, which sets us up for the next turn.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
My boyfriend is win. Keep up the good work.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
Friday: tried a few things that didn't work out; embarrassingly only got 24 systems.
Saturday: even worse than Friday due to, er, mitigating circumstances. Don't toke and tour, kids! XD
Sunday: Eleven seconds short of completion.
I think my route is solid. I'm totally open to ideas for different ways to approach it, but at the moment I'm focusing on identifying the optimal timings for QSS usage and ways to shave seconds through execution.
In the meantime, for planning and reference purposes here is something I've started working on:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-NsN7mGJemFOHRvYk5OTUV0b1E/view?usp=sharing
This is based on the excellent blank top-down version of the galaxy map created by Suricata. The map background itself is his fine work and I take no credit for it. However, by deliberate intent the map has no systems or any other POIs on it, so I spent a few hours over the weekend pulling the icon assets out of the game files and adding them.
The red/yellow question marks are temp markers for icons for POIs that I don't have icons for yet.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
But toking and touring go hand in hand, that's my fave part of TTG!! Also keep up the good work, I'm looking forward to reading this thread once you have your route down
Looks like someone here has some solutions. Going to try adapting this approach tonight. I'm skeptical of its efficiency in terms of how many abrupt turns it involves, but clearly it works for him.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
My character Tsin'xing
In seriousness, my understanding is that the Solanae warp core is capped at Warp 10, and the jump is only 2 LY. I don't think any benefit one could gain from it would be offset by the tremendous loss in overall speed.
Instance changes are my equivalent. XD There's subspace folding for you.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
Yeah, probably not too useful for tour, but I've done it just for fun.
My character Tsin'xing
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
ship: Sarr Theln, mk12 Borg impulse engine, mk12 solanae warp core. (both purple) nothing with [Coi]
Sakari to Wyanti at just warp: warp 20.93, a little bit over 2 minutes
back to Sakari with QSS and fold: QSS 29.9, and several fold jumps, around a minute and a half
Fold has a short cd, about 15 sec
My character Tsin'xing
I run a Fleet Eclipse with Borg Subtranswarp engines, and a Fleet core with +Coi and SSR. I have the Lead Foot trait, and both times I was lucky enough to get a crit on the doff assignment that buffs DC. Tonight I'm going to try it without that buff, and hopefully without mistakes.
Max cruising speed: 22.15 (23.9 with assignment DC buff)
Max QSS speed: 34.81 (37.57 with assignment DC buff)
Here is the route:
http://ayashi.net/sto/tourthegalaxy-amezuki-route4.png (lower-res version)
Later on I'll post a full walkthrough with the tricks I use to shave time. For now, the short version:
Start at Breen, QSS due east, and instance change to DS9 as soon as you ding Ferenginar. Then follow the route, slipstreaming where indicated. Your slipstream points may be different depending on if you have SSR, an advaced QSS, or anything else that might affect slipstream speed or cooldown.
The silver pointers with a red dot are what I call "maneuvering stops", which take advantage of the fact that you turn faster at a full stop in sector space. Right as you reach the outermost orbit of the target system, start a hard turn in the direction you need to turn to. Right as the waypoint dings, cut throttle to full stop while continuing to push the turn. When you're about 45 degrees off of your target heading, re-engage throttle; it takes a second to fully spin up and by that time you'll complete your turn.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
Both the oddy and, the dauntless have double the QSS time, not to mention the chimera/peghqu' & daeinos.
While the risian luxury liner, has the solar sail doing the same.
Now, the multi-mission science vessel, has the experimental systems set, which offers the absolute fastest QSS speeds without bonuses.
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Experimental_Systems_Set
Praetor of the -RTS- Romulan Tal Shiar fleet!
Sorry for the delay in getting the walkthrough posted. Among other things, I'm revising the map a bit and collecting a bunch of /loc values so that I don't have to describe point in space as "that spot SW of DS9".
The upshot of my findings thus far is that without an advanced QSS or DI/RP, I can sometimes complete Tour--with seconds to spare, and only if I keep mistakes to a minimum. There really is not a lot of margin for error.
With an advanced QSS, I can complete it with about a minute to spare, as long as I don't completely TRIBBLE it up.
IMO, I don't think this mission needs to be adjusted. It can be completed--just barely--by a skilled clvl 50+ navigator at the top of their game who is specced for max DC and has free (fleet/rep) Coi/SSR gear. No dependency on DI/RP so it's solo-friendly, and no dependency on "premium" ships or items so it's fine for F2P players. It is doable--it's just hard. That's not a bad thing.
Give that same player an advanced QSS or other further advantages, and it remains challenging but comfortably doable.
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
My character Tsin'xing
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
Forums thread "tour the (bigger) Galaxy" has lots of information about tour. I'm on my iPad right now and using my gf PC so don't have my details to hand. Incidentally I've been hitting around 11minutes for the fed side with;
Borg engine, obelisk core, polaric modulator, lead foot, vesta and diplo (working on raiding party) and 9 in driver coils. Only thing I'm missing is the doff buff which is hit and miss and given my times, not needed but worth mentioning.
Kdf I've got to around 13minutes with same setup but veteran ship.
Romulan around 14 but with veteran ship and a singularity core I forget which one but obviously can't use the obelisk core. Looking at 10-13 minutes with rp when I get it in a few days. I could get kdf and rom down further but it's a marginal improvement and not worth it.
I use the quadrant transition method as it saves trans warping but my route has changed bit by bit as I wanted a route odd and rom can use and then I wanted to end up at a place I could then do other stuff or be near a holding to trans warp for free.
Interesting routes mentioned but some I find baffling as they seem much longer or have a ridiculous amount of unnecessary turns. Unless you have a vesta which can turn around 25.5 at qs, the veteran ships are around 6.4 kdf (even less for rom) and other ships even worse. Minimising turning helps keep qs going longer so less time overall.
I'll look at trying some of those other routes but for now happy with the route I have which I think helps minimise distance, fewest sharp turns and shortest distance. From what I can see my routes nothing like those mentioned but then again my fleetmates collectively all came to the same route and that is similar in time to mine which goes to show there are plenty of routes out there that are relatively equal in efficiency.
When I've got rp I'll see how that changes things as qs etc will probably change and affect the kdf and rom, fed will be okay as I can turn so well.
I didn't really see much useful info about the mission itself in that thread--mostly complaining about the time limit. I did see a longish post with a lot of good general advice about maximizing your speed.
I put DI/RP in the same category as the doff buff: nice if I can get it, but not to be relied upon because getting it is not entirely within my control.
I have not tried the Obelisk core--is the very minor-looking QSS speed buff better than the Coi mod on my fleet core? Other than that I recently picked up Polaric Modulator, which is really nice for tightening QSS turns; the rest I have (Chimera rather than Vesta).
Mind sharing your route?
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster