Paige Harvey
P
Hello Commanders, and welcome to the twenty-first Featured Commanders thread of 2019! This week we're talking to Commander Rusty Dog, a veteran Elite Dangerous player and YouTuber who has introduced many to the mysteries of the universe.
Hello Commander! Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you.
Hello! I'm Commander Rusty Dog. I got my name when I was convinced by colleagues at work to adopt a shelter dog, after mentioning I might be interested in doing so. Looking on Facebook, I saw a picture of an anxious looking dog at a shelter, so I went along to meet him! Out of all the dogs there, he was the only one who wasn't barking, and when I saw him he immediately came up to me, wagging his tail and was very friendly. I sorted out the paperwork and took him home and because of his colour, I gave him the name Rusty. He now lives with my sister, who has 5 acres of land and 4 other dogs! It was emotional for me to let him go, but I knew he would be given a much better life in the country so I put him first. I still visit him regularly, we get on great and he's very happy! While he was with me, I needed a CMDR name so I hope he doesn’t mind that I ‘borrowed’ his name. He will always be the real Rusty
Oh my goodness, Rusty is absolutely gorgeous! It's wonderful to hear how well you've treated him over the years. So, when did you find out about Elite Dangerous?
I recall that I was browsing online one day and read that David Braben was interested in doing a new Elite game using present day hardware. Having played the original Elite on the ZX Spectrum and then Frontier: Elite 2 on the Commodore Amiga, I knew straight away that a new game was something I wanted to find out more about. Once I found out that it was being crowdfunded on Kickstarter, it was a no-brainer for me to pledge and get involved from the outset. So, I’ve been part of the community since the very early days when the ‘universe’ was a capsule size with a handful of systems in it. I didn’t need any convincing to play it as I enjoyed the originality of the earlier games so much that it was clear a new Elite game was going to be quite stunning to see.
That's so wonderful to hear, and it's a pleasure to have had you as part of the community for so long! What got you hooked on the game?
I've been a fan of the series since 1984, but I was hooked by the sheer scale of the Elite Dangerous universe, the science within it (orbits, gravity, the flight model) and the sandbox nature within an entire 1:1 galaxy. I’m a sci-fi fan and pure sci-fi games are a bit hard to come by. They've become more popular in recent years but I don’t think any come close to Elite for it’s size, attention to detail and, now of course, the VR aspect which takes the game to a whole other level of immersion.
How long have you been creating content around Elite Dangerous?
I’ve been an Elite Dangerous YouTuber for over 3 and a half years, September 15th will be my 4 year anniversary! I currently have over 400 videos of Elite Dangerous content and recently these have become weekly livestreams which regularly run for 4-5 hours each. My audience seems to prefer these for some reason
We've always heard great feedback about your streams! What is your favourite piece of content you've created around Elite Dangerous?
One of my favourites in recent memory was on the way back to the bubble from the Distant Worlds 2 expedition. I came across something called 'Chryseum Void Hearts' (the video on my channel is called ‘Hearts & Brains’). I didn’t even know that these existed in the game and hadn't seen anyone else pointing them out in a YouTube video. The attention to detail on them was impressive and finding them garnered a good response from the viewers!
Apart from videos, a friend and I created the SIRIUS voice profile for Voice Attack. Although it's not yet been released (as it needs some updates), I feel that it's a nice way to give back something for free to the amazing community that this game has built.
If you could give one piece of advice to every Commander, what would it be?
This is an easy one! For any new players, I would say don't rush through the game, don’t be too eager to get your hands on an Anaconda in the first few days. Take your time, enjoy your journey and the experiences along the way. It will feel so much more rewarding when you’ve experienced all the aspects of the game and really worked to earn your ships.
Great advice! Are there any other Commanders you'd like to shout out?
I recently came across CMDR THREEOFNINE on YouTube. I enjoy the content he's putting out, and I like that he role-plays the game in the way I wish all CMDR’s did! I'd also like to mention Isinona. He's another YouTuber who has recently returned to the Elite Dangerous fold after a lengthy break, and I hope he's back to stay! He's certainly the best pilot in the galaxy (that I know of). He flies permanently in FA off, his videos are narrated by text and he has a way of pulling you into what’s going on.
Do you have any cool projects on the horizon you’d like to tell us about?
Alongside the SIRIUS voice profile which I hope to complete soon, I've got 3 Elite Dangerous accounts one of which has been recently wiped. My idea is to start again from scratch (not for the first time) and create a veterans guide to Elite Dangerous, for newcomers who might be in need of some tips and help. The learning curve is steeper than when I started out so it’s a lot to take in for some people! It’s also very satisfying when someone tells you that you’ve really helped them out with the game. It makes me feel good when I can do that, as I needed help when I was finding my feet and it’s only fair to give something back.
That's a very kindly response and we can't wait to see your guide! Where can people find you online?
Thank you for your time, CMDR Rusty Dog and we look forward to seeing SIRIUS in action!
If you're reading this and would like to be interviewed as a Featured Commander, apply here.
Hello Commander! Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you.
Hello! I'm Commander Rusty Dog. I got my name when I was convinced by colleagues at work to adopt a shelter dog, after mentioning I might be interested in doing so. Looking on Facebook, I saw a picture of an anxious looking dog at a shelter, so I went along to meet him! Out of all the dogs there, he was the only one who wasn't barking, and when I saw him he immediately came up to me, wagging his tail and was very friendly. I sorted out the paperwork and took him home and because of his colour, I gave him the name Rusty. He now lives with my sister, who has 5 acres of land and 4 other dogs! It was emotional for me to let him go, but I knew he would be given a much better life in the country so I put him first. I still visit him regularly, we get on great and he's very happy! While he was with me, I needed a CMDR name so I hope he doesn’t mind that I ‘borrowed’ his name. He will always be the real Rusty
I recall that I was browsing online one day and read that David Braben was interested in doing a new Elite game using present day hardware. Having played the original Elite on the ZX Spectrum and then Frontier: Elite 2 on the Commodore Amiga, I knew straight away that a new game was something I wanted to find out more about. Once I found out that it was being crowdfunded on Kickstarter, it was a no-brainer for me to pledge and get involved from the outset. So, I’ve been part of the community since the very early days when the ‘universe’ was a capsule size with a handful of systems in it. I didn’t need any convincing to play it as I enjoyed the originality of the earlier games so much that it was clear a new Elite game was going to be quite stunning to see.
That's so wonderful to hear, and it's a pleasure to have had you as part of the community for so long! What got you hooked on the game?
I've been a fan of the series since 1984, but I was hooked by the sheer scale of the Elite Dangerous universe, the science within it (orbits, gravity, the flight model) and the sandbox nature within an entire 1:1 galaxy. I’m a sci-fi fan and pure sci-fi games are a bit hard to come by. They've become more popular in recent years but I don’t think any come close to Elite for it’s size, attention to detail and, now of course, the VR aspect which takes the game to a whole other level of immersion.
How long have you been creating content around Elite Dangerous?
I’ve been an Elite Dangerous YouTuber for over 3 and a half years, September 15th will be my 4 year anniversary! I currently have over 400 videos of Elite Dangerous content and recently these have become weekly livestreams which regularly run for 4-5 hours each. My audience seems to prefer these for some reason
We've always heard great feedback about your streams! What is your favourite piece of content you've created around Elite Dangerous?
One of my favourites in recent memory was on the way back to the bubble from the Distant Worlds 2 expedition. I came across something called 'Chryseum Void Hearts' (the video on my channel is called ‘Hearts & Brains’). I didn’t even know that these existed in the game and hadn't seen anyone else pointing them out in a YouTube video. The attention to detail on them was impressive and finding them garnered a good response from the viewers!
Apart from videos, a friend and I created the SIRIUS voice profile for Voice Attack. Although it's not yet been released (as it needs some updates), I feel that it's a nice way to give back something for free to the amazing community that this game has built.
If you could give one piece of advice to every Commander, what would it be?
This is an easy one! For any new players, I would say don't rush through the game, don’t be too eager to get your hands on an Anaconda in the first few days. Take your time, enjoy your journey and the experiences along the way. It will feel so much more rewarding when you’ve experienced all the aspects of the game and really worked to earn your ships.
Great advice! Are there any other Commanders you'd like to shout out?
I recently came across CMDR THREEOFNINE on YouTube. I enjoy the content he's putting out, and I like that he role-plays the game in the way I wish all CMDR’s did! I'd also like to mention Isinona. He's another YouTuber who has recently returned to the Elite Dangerous fold after a lengthy break, and I hope he's back to stay! He's certainly the best pilot in the galaxy (that I know of). He flies permanently in FA off, his videos are narrated by text and he has a way of pulling you into what’s going on.
Do you have any cool projects on the horizon you’d like to tell us about?
Alongside the SIRIUS voice profile which I hope to complete soon, I've got 3 Elite Dangerous accounts one of which has been recently wiped. My idea is to start again from scratch (not for the first time) and create a veterans guide to Elite Dangerous, for newcomers who might be in need of some tips and help. The learning curve is steeper than when I started out so it’s a lot to take in for some people! It’s also very satisfying when someone tells you that you’ve really helped them out with the game. It makes me feel good when I can do that, as I needed help when I was finding my feet and it’s only fair to give something back.
That's a very kindly response and we can't wait to see your guide! Where can people find you online?
Thank you for your time, CMDR Rusty Dog and we look forward to seeing SIRIUS in action!
If you're reading this and would like to be interviewed as a Featured Commander, apply here.
