Why do you explore?
- Thread starter Madrax573
- Start date
What an odd question.
I dont see "why do you combat?" at Dangerous Discussion..
Not that odd given that there are a lot of people in DD complaining that combat is the only thing thats being looked at.
This was mearly a question to confirm my suspicions about crazy explorer types
Science and mapping, and the hope of turning up odd things. Every now and then I'll see something that surprises me.
This was mearly a question to confirm my suspicions about crazy explorer types
I don't see how being peaceful and curious is crazy. I hope you don't assume dogfighters are 'normal'.
For me, it's because there are things I want to see, regions I want to explore, stuff I want to find. Been playing since the alpha, still haven't run out of those.
The thing is, I can certainly see where they are coming from, it's just that they confuse exploration with travel. In my dictionary, exploration is looking for new things, tourism is travelling somewhere to see your final destination, travel is going from A to B. That last part is boring, and even neutron star boosting becomes routine. Unfortunately, you have to do it for both exploration and tourism. For me, The best addition to exploration would be a more interactive way for interstellar travel: I'd like it if you had the option of jumping much farther, but having to actually fly your ship in witchspace, avoiding obstacles and whatnot. Have you ever tried canyon racing in a small ship? Something like that.
As for exploration, even when I travel I always keep an eye out on my vicinity, see what kind of exotic stars might be around and such. For me, it makes it much more interesting than "plot 1000 ly, jumphonk*25, plot 1000 ly". But yeah, if you don't actually look for variety in the galaxy, then the game doesn't exactly shove it in your face. Personally, I think that's good, because other games have tried that and I don't really like the approach (if everything is unique and special, nothing is), but I can see why some people who don't want to put such effort in dislike it.
For that matter, combat is actually the same in my eyes. You could say that it's just "find your target, get within firing range, shoot while staying on target, find your next target". Is that oversimplifying things? You bet. There's plenty of variety in combat, and on the whole, it's much more interactive than exploration is. However, it doesn't have nearly as much of a lasting impact. Well, PowerPlay would have offered that for combat, but it was too poorly designed to actually deliver it.
So yes, I keep going back to exploration, but I also tend to keep going back to combat too. I tend to go on combat sprees for a couple of weeks whenever I'm back in the bubble, then there's always something that makes me want to go out into the black again.
One last thing: I'm actually looking forward to finding out more about the aliens (both the probably-Thargoids and the Guardians) - which is exploration - than I am about fighting them.
Last edited:
Luckily its just a * instead of a ^ for a Kylie
I’ve seen a lot of people who think explorers in Elite are crazy because, to a lot of players, exploration in Elite is terribly dry, boring, and mind numbing. I have a few friends who have tried to explore in the game but always give up only a little bit outside the bubble, they just don’t think it’s any fun at all. When I tell them that I spent a whole week trying to find my way out to one F-star system along the edge of the galaxy, working my way along several paths using FSD boosts and such, continually having to backtrack due to dead ends, they looked at me like I was stark raving mad or something! They just couldn’t fathom why I was bothering.
And I can’t say they are wrong, exploration is very anemic in Elite from a game mechanics point of view. I feel like to be an Elite explorer you really need to be able to make your own goals, fill in the gaps of the game with your imagination, and if you aren’t the kind of game player who can do that then exploring in Elite probably isn’t for you.
So yeah, to people who can’t do that, we probably do all seem crazy, lol. Frontier probably thinks the lot of us are crazy too!!!!
Last edited:
The solitude...
Sitting on a planet 35000 light years from my place of birth, knowing the no human will ever again set foot in this place.
Watching a ringed world move across the sky and contemplating the sheer destruction which led to such a beautiful site.
Moving to the edge of our galaxy and knowing that I am as far away as it is possible to get for humans as we are now.
Marveling at how such a small collection of atoms has traveled so far and being reminded of the futility of that which most people consider important.
Being a Pioneer.
Looking down at worlds and wondering if someone is looking back at me.
The solitude.
Lots of reasons really most powered by imagination - a reason I suppose a lot of people consider exploring to be tedious. I love any excuse to exercise my mental faculties, including my imagination - it is what keeps me young and keeps my cynicism in check.
Anyway, that's me. Fly safe CMDRs and maybe see you in the black.
Sitting on a planet 35000 light years from my place of birth, knowing the no human will ever again set foot in this place.
Watching a ringed world move across the sky and contemplating the sheer destruction which led to such a beautiful site.
Moving to the edge of our galaxy and knowing that I am as far away as it is possible to get for humans as we are now.
Marveling at how such a small collection of atoms has traveled so far and being reminded of the futility of that which most people consider important.
Being a Pioneer.
Looking down at worlds and wondering if someone is looking back at me.
The solitude.
Lots of reasons really most powered by imagination - a reason I suppose a lot of people consider exploring to be tedious. I love any excuse to exercise my mental faculties, including my imagination - it is what keeps me young and keeps my cynicism in check.
Anyway, that's me. Fly safe CMDRs and maybe see you in the black.
You pretty much wrote the post I was going to
I would also add: the frisson of anticipation when you've finished in one system, lined up on the next, and hear 'Frameshift Drive Charging'.
Not a fan of:
The way missions are capped in quantity, and variety.
Trading; hasn't been enjoyable since, well, ever.
Mining; not bad in a corvette, but the tools are worse than exploration tools, at least mark the mined asteroids differently for the love of the flying spaghetti monster.
Bored of has res/CZ pew pew.
Mostly though, the freedom of going "over there", and not having a care in the world, nor a timer to force you back is great.
The way missions are capped in quantity, and variety.
Trading; hasn't been enjoyable since, well, ever.
Mining; not bad in a corvette, but the tools are worse than exploration tools, at least mark the mined asteroids differently for the love of the flying spaghetti monster.
Bored of has res/CZ pew pew.
Mostly though, the freedom of going "over there", and not having a care in the world, nor a timer to force you back is great.
Last edited:
Simply put, I only explore because I have to go to a new system.
Exploration is stunningly boring for me.
People say "OOOOH look at the shiney new planets/moons/stars". Been there done that.
It just takes way too much time. Even in a well fitted AspX, going 1000 LY is painful. Boringly painful.
You can make all the back stories you want to about being 35K LY from Earth, but its just that, a story, a JPEG based story.
Mind you this is MY opinion and not that of some others, and I'm fine with that. But to me, Exploration is dull. As dull as mining.
When I say I get bored I get told "watch a movie while doing this" or "Read a book".
I play Elite when I don't want to read a book (I find TV and movies stunningly low intelligence, and try to avoid them, with some notable exceptions).
I still wonder why I like exploring.
I liked the original Elite, for its trade and combat combination. I started out this way, until on an evening I decided to go out and try my hand at exploring. After all, there is a whole (almost) real life galaxy to explore, so why not give it a try.
It started out marvelous. In one of my first explored systems I found a beautiful ringed planet with a moon providing one of the best views on the rings of the planet I have ever seen!
This made me think that exploring might be cool.
The next ... maybe two thousand ... light years after that were utterly boring.
Then I saw something in the sky box... something far away, but very, very bright... The rest is history: I was hooked; flying into the unknown, being surprised at what the next system might bring (even if these surprises only happen every two or three thousand light years or so).
That.
Fly far,
CMDR Jermus Karlsen
I liked the original Elite, for its trade and combat combination. I started out this way, until on an evening I decided to go out and try my hand at exploring. After all, there is a whole (almost) real life galaxy to explore, so why not give it a try.
It started out marvelous. In one of my first explored systems I found a beautiful ringed planet with a moon providing one of the best views on the rings of the planet I have ever seen!
The next ... maybe two thousand ... light years after that were utterly boring.
Then I saw something in the sky box... something far away, but very, very bright... The rest is history: I was hooked; flying into the unknown, being surprised at what the next system might bring (even if these surprises only happen every two or three thousand light years or so).
That.
And this
CMDR Jermus Karlsen
(Who is currently heading west of Colonia...)
Last edited:
I just love the trip!
But it's also nice to find beautiful sights.
Not to mention that being alone out there makes me more comfortable.
But it's also nice to find beautiful sights.
Not to mention that being alone out there makes me more comfortable.
I explore to find a system no one has seen and will probably never see again ( well odds are slim )
I explore with the hope that one day ,Frontier will put small hubs every 5kly so we can visit every corner and make a home somewhere out there.
I explore cause the bubble is nothing but hassle , the Dark is serene
Well ,that's MY reasons
.
Fly safe and land safer Commanders =-)
I explore with the hope that one day ,Frontier will put small hubs every 5kly so we can visit every corner and make a home somewhere out there.
I explore cause the bubble is nothing but hassle , the Dark is serene
Well ,that's MY reasons
.
Fly safe and land safer Commanders =-)
I explore because...
Last time I was hauling mugs or something to Colonia (could have been travel guides now I think of it), I seem to have mislaid my house keys. I've been looking for them ever since. They're probably next to my spectacles floating round some water world somewhere. I will find them... maybe.
I hope it's soon too, cos I think I may have left the gas on.
Last time I was hauling mugs or something to Colonia (could have been travel guides now I think of it), I seem to have mislaid my house keys. I've been looking for them ever since. They're probably next to my spectacles floating round some water world somewhere. I will find them... maybe.
I hope it's soon too, cos I think I may have left the gas on.
Why do I explore?
Ask yourself this... if you lived in the year 3500 or so, and everything you can do in this game now, you can do then. Suppose Elite Dangerous is real.
Think what you would do.
I would go where I want to go.
I wouldn't be dependant on goods
I wouldn't be dependant on criminals to collect bounties from
I wouldn't be dependant on traders to grab their goods
And I wouldn't be anywhere near so many others, I would make my career exploring the universe and perhaps selling data to make a living. That is... if... I wouldn't simply find a planet to go to and just spend the rest of my life on that planet.. living from every resource (food and water) the planet offers. Because in that case... you wouldn't need to make a living, the planet doesn't ask for credits lol.
So yeah, I explore because I can go where I want to go.
Ask yourself this... if you lived in the year 3500 or so, and everything you can do in this game now, you can do then. Suppose Elite Dangerous is real.
Think what you would do.
I would go where I want to go.
I wouldn't be dependant on goods
I wouldn't be dependant on criminals to collect bounties from
I wouldn't be dependant on traders to grab their goods
And I wouldn't be anywhere near so many others, I would make my career exploring the universe and perhaps selling data to make a living. That is... if... I wouldn't simply find a planet to go to and just spend the rest of my life on that planet.. living from every resource (food and water) the planet offers. Because in that case... you wouldn't need to make a living, the planet doesn't ask for credits lol.
So yeah, I explore because I can go where I want to go.
It makes more sense if you play in VR. The game is shockingly awesome there and you end up just happy to qawk at it.