A Hobbits Tale: There and Back Again

Traveller_GG

Traveller_GG
When I returned from my ridiculously vague wandering of the Galaxy that culminated in reaching slightly further than Beagle Point I was genuinely emotional at the last jump on my return (into Fuelem) and just sat looking at my Anaconda on the landing platform for some time. The sense of achievement was palpable.

I think it'd be great if we could share our stories, not just of the returning journey but the actual moment we get back - that initial flood of sensations when you know you've travelled hundreds of thousands of light years and spent weeks (and months) away from a base and you actually land.


  • What were the last few systems like?
  • How did it feel to see NPCs again?
  • Did you run from interdictions?
  • The first sight of the base you'll be landing at.
  • The navigation marker for your last jump.
  • Or even seeing systems with actual *names* and not procedurally generated...

Putting this in as a placeholder. I personally would really enjoy reading people's accounts of the last part of their journey and what it meant to them. Hopefully it'll become the closing chapter in this journal of our journey.
 

Scoopy Doopy

Scoopy Doopy
This is an interesting topic. I have only returned home once and that was from Sag A* so not too far. However, I remember waiting in the last system before inhabited space and going through my checklist. Do I have a my shields on? Do I have a full stock of fuel? Can I remember which button my thrusters are bound to? How to I request landing permission. What is the interdiction escape sequence? I had forgotten everything.

I was genuinely nervous as I charged the FSD. My plan on arrival was to immediately select a random system from the nav panel to be ready in case of interdiction. I set myself ready and jumped, sweating mildly. The instant I arrived I was interdicted. I submitted, turned and boosted away forgetting everything about pip management. I was trying not to panic as lasers struck my shields. I selected a system, any system, and hit the FSD. Somehow I must have hit the wrong button because instead of zapping off to another system I just went into super cruise which was a better idea anyway. I had escaped with two rings down on my shields :)

I had chosen a system with a short trip to the station and concentrated hard not to overshoot and willing the "Safe to disengage" message to hurry up. And then,bang, there before me was a coriolis station spinning serenely in front of me, letter box in the right place and little NPC's flying about. What a beautiful sight. I have never had a problem entering a station before but the nerves and lack of practice got to me and I scraped the sides of my Asp on the way in but at least I had ensured I wasnt speeding. Checked several times I was landing at the right spot and then wobbled down onto the pad. I checked carefully to hit the "enter hangar" option and not "launch" and I breathed a sigh of relief as my ship descended into the station. I then let out a whoop and congratulated myself enormously. It is a feeling like no other in a computer game.

One week later I was out again. On this trip, I have 73000LY under my belt so far and another 32000 to go to BP having travelled south from sol, through Barnards loop and then up Perseus and Sagittarius. I suspect, if and when I get back from this trip, it will be a whole new ball game.
 

Wishblend

Wishblend
I will be heading along the arm on my way back from beagle point, whilst at the same time, bringing my main account out in the opposite direction on the next big expedition.
 

jasonbarron

jasonbarron
Traveller, are you talking about a past trip that you've returned from, or are you already back from DWE?

For my part, I'm currently sitting at BP and trying to come up with a "return plan." This is my first trip out of the bubble besides a day trip to the The Witch Head Nebula a while back, and I honestly wonder what it will be like to return to civilized space after all of this amazing experience. It's hard to wrap my head around, honestly, especially considering that my estimate for arrival back "home" is mid June. I'll definitely be willing to share my thoughts here when the time comes:)

o7
 

Mengy

Mengy
I've been on countless exploration trips away from the bubble, but before the DWE I think my farthest trip was out to the Crab Nebula, which is what, 10,000ly's out from Sol? Usually on the last few jumps back home I get excited to see a space station again as I like the docking part of flying. I get nervous at NPC's interdicting me of course, but I'm usually armed anyway. However, the DWE has been something altogether different. Not only have I traveled immensely further than I ever have before, I've got a wealth of scan data like nothing I've ever scanned before, and on my return trip to the bubble I'll be taking a more than 100,000ly route back, scanning even more and seeing untold wonders like nothing I've seen yet. I have a hunch, when I do get back home from the DWE sometime in the Fall (half a year from now), I am going to be incredibly nervous and wary of every and anything human. It will be different than usual, that's for certain.

My next post in here will be many months from now, and we'll see what frame of mind I'm in by then, lol!
 

Cdr Voorheez

Cdr Voorheez
The old book says 'There and back again' and Distant Worlds typifies this. We have got there (most of us) but we have got to get back again.
For me the journey out to Beagle point has been an incredible adventure and I have made some good friends. The most distance I ever travelled was to SagA* so this epic adventure has been truly epic for me personally. It has given me membership into the 65K club (an ambition I had pre DW) and will hopefully net me a fair few credits.
The journey home is the next step. I pray we all return and personally will be slowly following CMDR Whiterose et al on the Sagittarius-Carina mission home to Sol. The return trip for me is the slow, deliberate explorative part.
 
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Wishblend

Wishblend
jasonbarron said:
Traveller, are you talking about a past trip that you've returned from, or are you already back from DWE?

For my part, I'm currently sitting at BP and trying to come up with a "return plan."

o7
Click to expand...

Hi Jason,

It is going to be a long trip back but there is a couple of routes already plotted, so you won't need to worry about that.
 
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jasonbarron

jasonbarron
Wishblend said:
Hi Jason,

It is going to be a long trip back but there is a couple of routes already plotted, so you won't need to worry about that.
Click to expand...

Hello CMDR. I know that I'm not returning via the same route we came out on--without knowing the specifics (because I don't know the region at all!), I'm looking at traveling back to the bubble in a roughly counter-clockwise fashion, with as many zigzags & detours to visit out of the way nebulae as I can muster. Besides joining the 65,000 LY Club, my other goal when I started this journey was to not return until I was confident that I would earn Elite Explorer status upon my homecoming--a tall order since I was only a lowly Pathfinder at the time of my departure. I can say with some certainty that this trip has changed me in many ways, and that it stands as the greatest moment(s) in all my long years of gaming.
 
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Wishblend

Wishblend
jasonbarron said:
Hello CMDR. I know that I'm not returning via the same route we came out on--without knowing the specifics (because I don't know the region at all!), I'm looking at traveling back to the bubble in a roughly counter-clockwise fashion, with as many zigzags & detours to visit out of the way nebulae as I can muster. Besides joining the 65,000 LY Club, my other goal when I started this journey was to not return until I was confident that I would earn Elite Explorer status upon my homecoming--a tall order since I was only a lowly Pathfinder at the time of my departure. I can say with some certainty that this trip has changed me in many ways, and that it stands as the greatest moment(s) in all my long years of gaming.
Click to expand...

No problem, have a safe trip home when you set out.
 

Traveller_GG

Traveller_GG
jasonbarron said:
Traveller, are you talking about a past trip that you've returned from, or are you already back from DWE?

o7
Click to expand...

I was referring to my previous jaunt out to BP, which I got back from the day before DW left (if you want to see Buckyballing, you should've seen the last 10,000LY :D)

I had a wide mix of emotions when I got back, I'm hoping that this thread will allow people to share theirs.
 

jasonbarron

jasonbarron
Traveller_GG said:
I was referring to my previous jaunt out to BP, which I got back from the day before DW left (if you want to see Buckyballing, you should've seen the last 10,000LY :D)

I had a wide mix of emotions when I got back, I'm hoping that this thread will allow people to share theirs.
Click to expand...

You're on your second trip to BP...back to back? Goodness, I thought I was starting to get some experience! Respect, CMDR!!!
 

pilotbugs

pilotbugs
Traveller_GG said:
I was referring to my previous jaunt out to BP, which I got back from the day before DW left (if you want to see Buckyballing, you should've seen the last 10,000LY :D)

I had a wide mix of emotions when I got back, I'm hoping that this thread will allow people to share theirs.
Click to expand...

nutter

:)
 

Jackie Silver

Jackie Silver
I'm feeling oddly deflated after returning from a long trip.

I left the main Distant Worlds fleet at the gap before the furthest arm and returned by a roundabout route. On the final stretch I'd stopped at a relatively unvisited nebula out in PHEIA AUSCS to carry out a final survey (12th one of the trip; they're quite time-consuming) and pretty much buckyballed the rest of the way home.

My route took me right through the centre of NGC 6231 and I remembered how once upon a time it was an exotically distant destination as I breezed by.

With less than a Kylie to go I was becoming seriously nervous, brought all weapons online and stocked with top-quality munitions, checked fire groups, set power settings. I picked an obscure, single-star (so the stations would be close) low-population system on the Frontier, checked its name on the forum and google to make sure no eejits had decided to declare it their personal fief; all clear. Jettisoned remaining limpets for slight extra range.

Made it to the system, no interdictions, no problem. Spent the next hour selling data. Over a hundred million credits richer (my "highest payout" is now set to the value for Sadge, like so many others) and more importantly, the system scans are now safe, meaning I can always go back and look at them to check things which is vital for me. I was happy to have returned a couple of wayward hitchhikers from the far reaches of space.

On the way back I'd been running through all manner of ship specs. I'd toyed with the idea of jumping into an Asp and making a Beagle-line to rejoin DW before it ends, but fortunately a communication from a fellow explorer restored my sanity on that score. :)
In any case, I did jump into an Asp, but all my planning with Coriolis failed to account for how it feels to fly with only weak thrusters and those puny shields... yuck. I just can't settle with ships, and that's important because I feel like I want to explore but I can't face going for a long journey in a ship I don't like.

So I'm a bit flat. Don't know what to do. There's research needs doing but I can't face trawling through the galmap right now either. I might just trade for a while for kicks - I promised/threatened myself that if I made it back safely I'd do some trading. ^^
 
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Ziggy Stardust

Ziggy Stardust
Yeah, to me that's the biggest problem facing my return trip. So, I get back, sell my data, then what? 2.1 doesn't seem to be my thing, since mission grinding isn't my thing. Will there be exploration missions perhaps? I doubt it.

I heard 2.2 could possibly introduce the Beluga. Now that I am looking forward to. Insane's Sightseeing Trip now with more Insane Sightseeing. Looks like I've got a little time before I need to head back.
 

jasonbarron

jasonbarron
Ziggy Stardust said:
Yeah, to me that's the biggest problem facing my return trip. So, I get back, sell my data, then what? 2.1 doesn't seem to be my thing, since mission grinding isn't my thing. Will there be exploration missions perhaps? I doubt it.

I heard 2.2 could possibly introduce the Beluga. Now that I am looking forward to. Insane's Sightseeing Trip now with more Insane Sightseeing. Looks like I've got a little time before I need to head back.
Click to expand...

I just decided I'm not going to return. I was planning on coming home from the DWE June/July...now I'm thinking of just staying out as long as my ship holds together.
 

Traveller_GG

Traveller_GG
I've not actually left BP (system) yet. Taking a few days off just to detox from E: D :) once done my journey back probably won't end for a couple of months. I expect I'll be one of those little green markers still on the far side of the core when most are back.

Got to say though: looking at the Galaxy map at how far some have got is a little amazing. Looks like many are eager to get back and bask in the glory of a trip completed

(still interested to hear how it feels though)
 
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