You may have seen various strange megastructures and mysterious objects strewn around various sectors - and they get stranger the further away you go from civilisation. They range from ruins of ancient advanced cultures, to strange natural (and unnatural) creatures, to things even more alien and unknowable.

Even though I said they are more common further away from population centres, you actually find one such anomaly in practically the heart of Vauldric - the ancient hypergate that has a short quest associated with it. These anomalies certainly inspire awe and wonder, but did you know they could also make you a very rich starchaser, all while satisfying your completionist side?

In the inky depths of space, the scanner is your friend and saviour. Remember, this isn't Freelancer - you no longer have to prowl systems sector by sector, waiting for things to pop up on your map. Hold B (default binding) to activate your scanner at the expense of roughly half of your ship's energy reserves, and you will see a number of coloured pings, as pictured above.

White pings are stars, planets, and stations. Green pings are jump points (gates or jump holes) - very useful if you're mapping out the universe for yourself. Red pings are wrecks - another lucrative opportunity to find rare cargo and equipment. But what we're looking for are gold pings - those show you the way to anomalies.

The pings you see are not 100% precise - they shift to the sides a little with each scan. Still, they will show you where you need to go with some accuracy, and by the time you're close enough where the precision starts to matter, you're likely to have made visual contact with what you were flying towards anyway - the things we're looking for are rarely inconspicuous.

Generally, you will need to get quite close to your target to scan it and receive the data you will later sell. With some of the more expensive anomalies, this may involve some danger - so be quick and nimble, or make sure you're tough enough to withstand whatever comes your way. Still, you can never be sure you're strong enough until you get into the thick of it...

Once you've gotten close, hit the scanner again (hold B) - if you're near enough, you will see text on the left saying you've recorded data worth X amount of money. For the rarer anomalies, this can vary between 200K and 650K, so if you hit a few of them, you're looking at several million in data.

Once you've made your way to a station or planet with a stormchaser hub, go into the data sale menu and hit the "Sell Data" button. Once you've sold the data, you will immediately get money transferred to you, and the specific records you've sold will appear on the left in the "Archived Data" section - where you will be able to read about what it was you just encountered.

Finding all the weird anomalies this universe has to offer is its own fun, but I offer you a couple of interesting places to visit.

1. Pictured at the top is an anomaly in the Deadforest system - what does it look like to you?
2. A cloud in Rhetus-91 contains strange crystalline growths, with a Children fighter wreck buried deep inside. Could there be a connection?
3. Occasionally, when travelling through jump holes on the edge of known space, you will be intercepted and made to face something far stranger... Does anyone know what it is? And more importantly, does anyone dare find out?

Happy hunting, starchasers, and kill the storm!