That tiny SRV... not only a great tool for insane surface expeditions but also a great means to express feelings and sentiments
Congratulations to all that crossed the line
The First Great Planetary Expedition
- Thread starter Alec Turner
- Start date
That tiny SRV... not only a great tool for insane surface expeditions but also a great means to express feelings and sentiments
Congratulations to all that crossed the line
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So, huge thanks to Alec for instigating/organising this madness and everyone else to who helped and scouted, as well as those posting their stories. There aren't enough likes to pass around.
I was going to do a report from where I left off, but realised I don't actually have many screenshots as they all kinda look the same in nightvision.
I've loved doing it, watching the landscape change, following my progress on the 3D map (work of genius btw) and having fun with waypoints as I passed.
Some highlights were:
- feeling like a total boss flyving over grim face crater and its canyon after most of a worlds practice and looking back across
- and seeing the top of the sentinal coming into view again after leaving it behind 2 months ago, had a proper moment there
+1, would do again o7
I was going to do a report from where I left off, but realised I don't actually have many screenshots as they all kinda look the same in nightvision.
I've loved doing it, watching the landscape change, following my progress on the 3D map (work of genius btw) and having fun with waypoints as I passed.
Some highlights were:
- every sunrise and set, I just love the way the light changes and moves on the surface
- jumping from the Cliffs of Insanity and not touching the sides
- being chased through Beggar's canyon by an angry Viper that wanted its palladium back (they really shouldn't have left them just lying around like that)
- rescuing waaaay tooo many escape pods, a lot of careless pilots out there
- seeing the sun rise for the first time in almost half a world
- feeling like a total boss flyving over grim face crater and its canyon after most of a worlds practice and looking back across
- and seeing the top of the sentinal coming into view again after leaving it behind 2 months ago, had a proper moment there
+1, would do again o7
Posts like this make it all worth while (actually, doing and sharing the experience with all you wonderful people made it worth while but that's besides the point). I LOVE that you (and many others) improved to the point where you could sail over features like GFC and really revel in the experience, I LOVE that you had a moment seeing the mountains again - seeing your starting point ahead of you on a circumnavigation can be really quite profound, and I LOVE that you (and many others) would do it again.
+1 right back at ya!
I'm happy to do it again, but I think it's going to be really hard finding a planet with all the qualities of the first trip, but that is sufficiently different to make the new project a worthwhile experience.
It might be a minor moon, but Kumay was the star of the first group circumlocution. When Alec said he had a shortlist of potential locations I suggested he picked one at random. I'm just glad he didn't. Finding a planet that meets the standards set by Kumay is going to be the real challenge.
It might be a minor moon, but Kumay was the star of the first group circumlocution. When Alec said he had a shortlist of potential locations I suggested he picked one at random. I'm just glad he didn't. Finding a planet that meets the standards set by Kumay is going to be the real challenge.
50+ days worth of extraordinary First Great Planetary Expedition photography condensed down into 5 minutes - enjoy!
Source: https://youtu.be/U1V2SvOBf_A
Alec aced it with Kumay, After doing a N/S and a E/W Circumnavigation on it, The several other planets I have done don't even come close to the wonders that Kumay held. You don't want to be too close or too far from the sun and a planetary backdrop is just jaw dropping. Add varied types of mountains, canyons and varied terrain yt adds up to a great trip. I signed up during the selection process but didn't suggest anything, now I know why.
Looking at all the pics you put together in a slide show is amazing also. Sooo many great pics !!!!!
Again thanx for everything, Plan something new now that will awe us all over again ..lol
Caliber
Looking at all the pics you put together in a slide show is amazing also. Sooo many great pics !!!!!
Again thanx for everything, Plan something new now that will awe us all over again ..lol
Caliber
Nope, there are a few still going (I'm one of them). Check out the tracking spreadsheet Alec has.
Thanks! In fact, I haven't even tried the new features when the last update dropped as I'm still driving! I'm determined to complete this challenge though and keep on going.Whoa. I haven't looked at the sheet in a while. I guess I assumed everyone had finished.It stands to reason that you and any other still on Kumay would still be thinking of this event. Massive o7 for still going at it.
Same here, just yesterday I was sitting around thinking about it and hoping there would be a second expedition sometime in the near future. It almost feels like a real road trip in my memory, I remember it more fondly/vividly than an actual road trip I took from Texas to Colorado about a month ago. As I discussed with a couple of others (who felt similarly), even though I was REALLY looking forward to getting back into the black during the trip I had a hard time getting back into the game after taking part in such a unique experience that I put so much time/effort into. I didn't want to immediately start circumnavigating anything with gravity and a nice smile but I just wasn't feeling combat/trading/etc either. I had to take a long exploration trip into the core (followed by joining the Apollo 11 Expedition and taking part in The Enclave) to get me over the hump and start really enjoying the game again.
This expedition proved how great this game can be with other people.
Recently I was thinking that I would gladly circumnavigate Ice planet (with you guys), if they would be improved at last, even if I hate SRV ice skating.
I should check the spreadsheet and probably get back to updating the globe
Recently I was thinking that I would gladly circumnavigate Ice planet (with you guys), if they would be improved at last, even if I hate SRV ice skating.
I thought there was noone left!
I should check the spreadsheet and probably get back to updating the globe
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Just wanted to dive in here - send best wishes to anyone still going - and yes, as others have said I really miss the expedition now it's over for me. So many genuinely memorable moments. It feels like a very real thing ... which I guess it was. I still frequently re-watch many of the videos.
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Yep, same for me! It's a bit of a strange feeling really, but I guess that's just how the brain works. There are still bits of my first trip around Enceladus that I remember with the same vividness of actual ones to real places. And I definitely feel a bit of nostalgia for Kumay, not just for the place in itself, but for the time spent on it. When the journey matters more than the destination...or in case of circumnavigations, when the journey IS the destination.
It was an awesome experience. Actually, one of the best I had in this game. And like the others said in previous posts, I'm sad it's over. I actually have not played that much at all since I crossed the line and Jonas is still stuck somewhere between Beagle Point and Sag A*. I really have to get a grip and get the poor sod out of there...
I'm actually on Kumay right now, visiting for the first time since I beat cheeks out of here after crossing the finish line. Ever since that day I've planned to come back and take another crack at the Twin Peaks Challenge. I really haven't messed around in the SRV much since Kumay but the other day I visited Dav's Hope and that mountain it sits at the base of was just too good to pass up and after Kumay it was a piece of cake. So I decided it was time to go back to Kumay and settle some business.
I was a pretty green SRV driver on that first day and could barely keep driving in a straight line much less straight up a cliff face. We also didn't take the best route there and our guide may have been a little confused. This time I parked at the base of the mountains at the right longitude so I just had to head straight in to get there. Before I think we just went straight west of Bridger into the mountains (I was just following the other 2 but that's what it looked like) and then navigated to it through the mountains. The result was that by the time we got near the top of Sentinel we had been driving in the mountains for 2-3 hours, lost one member of our party and I was suffering from some unpleasant motion sickness. After a few failed attempts at the peak, the last of which dropped me down a good ways, I had to sign off and lay down to focus on not throwing up for a few hours. When I got back on there was another person (who I never heard of again before or after on the expedition) trying to make the ascent with an Anaconda spotting for him and using his weapons to show the best looking path. I joined up with them and, I'm told, reached the peak...however I'm not sure it was THE peak and anyway I slid right down the other side to my death. I tend to agree with Sir Edmund Hillary in that it's not really a successful climb if you don't survive the descent but I didn't have it in me to try it again and I decided not to even bother with Cinder Toffee. I just decided to set across the mountains and go on with the expedition. Actually that first day left me feeling like I'd bitten off more than I could chew and that I wouldn't be able to pull off the trip but I got better and by the time I was halfway through the expedition I was confident that I could go back and easily handle the ascent. Which I did do today, Sentinel at least. I'll make my way toward Cinder Toffee later tonight or tomorrow.
I was a pretty green SRV driver on that first day and could barely keep driving in a straight line much less straight up a cliff face. We also didn't take the best route there and our guide may have been a little confused. This time I parked at the base of the mountains at the right longitude so I just had to head straight in to get there. Before I think we just went straight west of Bridger into the mountains (I was just following the other 2 but that's what it looked like) and then navigated to it through the mountains. The result was that by the time we got near the top of Sentinel we had been driving in the mountains for 2-3 hours, lost one member of our party and I was suffering from some unpleasant motion sickness. After a few failed attempts at the peak, the last of which dropped me down a good ways, I had to sign off and lay down to focus on not throwing up for a few hours. When I got back on there was another person (who I never heard of again before or after on the expedition) trying to make the ascent with an Anaconda spotting for him and using his weapons to show the best looking path. I joined up with them and, I'm told, reached the peak...however I'm not sure it was THE peak and anyway I slid right down the other side to my death. I tend to agree with Sir Edmund Hillary in that it's not really a successful climb if you don't survive the descent but I didn't have it in me to try it again and I decided not to even bother with Cinder Toffee. I just decided to set across the mountains and go on with the expedition. Actually that first day left me feeling like I'd bitten off more than I could chew and that I wouldn't be able to pull off the trip but I got better and by the time I was halfway through the expedition I was confident that I could go back and easily handle the ascent. Which I did do today, Sentinel at least. I'll make my way toward Cinder Toffee later tonight or tomorrow.
Great story @LetItBleed1980, thanks for sharing and bravo for returning to complete the twin peaks challenge. @Jonas Treesong (and others) - I share your sadness over the end of the expedition. I'm still finding things to do (like planning and now running the current Buckyball Race you see linked in my sig) but nothing really compares to the engagement I felt with that planet and the brave souls driving around it. We really will just have to do this again won't we!
I forgot to mention that I completed the Twin Peaks Challenge the next day after my last post. Cinder Toffee was an easy/enjoyable climb, I was able to flyve most of the way up it. After that I flew around and got aerial views of some of the more memorable spots for me. Lithops Mesa, The Northern Route, Sulphur Peak and The Cliffs Of Insanity. The Northern Route looked almost as gnarly from the air as it did down in there. During the expedition it started off a complete dumpster fire but eventually I saw some amazing views and the drive out up that smooth valley ascending from those canyons, finally in the daylight, was glorious.
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I'll tell you what I'm going to miss ... Kumay in it's current form. It's actually quite heartbreaking that places like "Blue Vein Valley" and "Kitten Face Vale" will no longer exist (although I'm equally exicted for what Odyssey will bring and for FGPE2). Between now and then I may have to re-visit some of my favourite locations on Kumay one last time!