Dev Diary #5 (finally) tackles a meatier subject, one that's dear to most fans of 4x games - exploration:
https://www.matrixgames.com/news/distant-worlds-2-dev-diary-5In general, it appears exploration in DW2 will be a more interactive affair, where player engagement both matters more and is encouraged. The same content is there that was in Distant Worlds: Universe (except, of course, there's quite a bit more of it this time around
), but the discoveries you make during the course of the game shouldn't feel as automatic or dull.
In addition, there are now multiple exploration "levels" an astronomical body (planet, asteroid, etc.) can have. It looks like these levels will depend both on your sensor levels, and (to some extent) how long you've had sensors in that system. This means that:
1.) It's unlikely you'll immediately obtain complete information on a planet, moon, etc. just because you've finished scanning/surveying it.
2.) It's possible to continue making discoveries about said planets & asteroids well into the game, even after you've settled and/or thoroughly explored a star system. Thus, the exploration phase of the game gets extended beyond what one sees in most 4x titles.
There's other interesting stuff in the dev diary (seriously, I honestly recommend checking it out), but I'd say those are more-or-less the highlights.