Did I bite off more than I can chew?

[Friedenreich Xante]

After doing a first 7000 ly trip and loving it, I went out in the black with a super-tweaked exploconda. My aim was a circumnavigation. Now I'm there, in the middle of the outer arm vacuus, and just desperate to see at which pace I'm actually moving. It's going to take me more than a year to achieve that. I love it, the thrill of finding new worlds, discovering things for the first time, glacing at the wonders of the universe. I even brought 4 SRVs and a fighter for alternative occupations during the trip. But if I start driving around or flying through Canyons, it will even take me longer! I fear that I might burn out at some Point.

How are you hard-boiled Explorer doing this?

How can I get myself some encouragement?

Maybe it's just this arm of the galaxy, its emtyness, that makes me doubt about myself...

I already decided that I will make a stop in the bubble after finishing the Exploration of this arm and the Perseus one, to sell data and drop off some useless Equipment for more jump range. Then I will know what I am more attracted to: go back into the black and maybe even go for finishing the circumnavigation, or do something else. I feel like a space Teenager who is looking for his spacefarer-identity.

You can look in my EDSM Profile in my signature to look at what I have done so far.

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

After doing a first 7000 ly trip and loving it, I went out in the black with a super-tweaked exploconda. My aim was a circumnavigation. Now I'm there, in the middle of the outer arm vacuus, and just desperate to see at which pace I'm actually moving. It's going to take me more than a year to achieve that. I love it, the thrill of finding new worlds, discovering things for the first time, glacing at the wonders of the universe. I even brought 4 SRVs and a fighter for alternative occupations during the trip. But if I start driving around or flying through Canyons, it will even take me longer! I fear that I might burn out at some Point.

How are you hard-boiled Explorer doing this?

How can I get myself some encouragement?

Maybe it's just this arm of the galaxy, its emtyness, that makes me doubt about myself...

I already decided that I will make a stop in the bubble after finishing the Exploration of this arm and the Perseus one, to sell data and drop off some useless Equipment for more jump range. Then I will know what I am more attracted to: go back into the black and maybe even go for finishing the circumnavigation, or do something else. I feel like a space Teenager who is looking for his spacefarer-identity.

You can look in my EDSM Profile in my signature to look at what I have done so far.

ask yourself what you are going to do back in the bubble when you get there... If the answer is go back out and explore it pretty easy to continue

my other advice is small achievable goals or "pit stops" along the way, Honk scooping your way some 30kly is like taking your eyes out and dipping them in bleach, stop along the way, land, go SRV'in, scan them WW/ ELW's, go to the rings, canyon run, asteroid dodge - whatever it is - I like to explore where I am rather than just travel to get somewhere, travelling somewhere fast is when it becomes repetitive and boring.

but that works for me ^^ it might not work for you, but even in a sea of beige planets I am still enjoying being 52kly out and still plodding along

 

[Friedenreich Xante]

travelling somewhere fast is when it becomes repetitive and boring.

This could be the issue, indeed. I tend to pin Goals, like "circumnavigation", when I should actually explore more and just Keep that other Goal in mind for the rough direction I Need to go.

Also, my Exploration right now is a bit redundant. Jump, honk, check the habitable Zone (are there planets inside), scan them, scan WW, ELW and Class II Giants, jump to next System on my route, honk..... Occasionally I go check some nice looking planets. But I haven't seen any System that didn't look like the other in this area of space, for the last 8000 ly, so I'm thinking "If it's gonna be this all the way, better stop it here".

I know there are other Areas with other Kind of Systems around, but I won't be there before weeks.

Maybe I should also start a flight log on Forums or so...

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

keep at it you will eventually get there

 

[marx]

One of the problems with galactic circumnavigation is that since you'll be traveling the (near) edge, you'll basically be going through the same kind of regions. Don't expect to see exotic stars or heavy systems out there. Personally, I don't think I could do it, because I like variety, plus that six-digit journey is a huge time commitment, and I'd want to get back to the bubble from time to time anyway. If nothing else, then when updates come, heh.

Like you said, doing a flight log would probably help, and gathering data too. If, say, you note down the kinds of systems you visit, what's in there, and find that you're getting bored with it all, then a galactic circumnavigation would not be for you. There's plenty of undiscovered stuff much closer, especially around Jaques, and there is the added bonus that if you'll find something interesting, you and others will be able to visit it much quicker.

But I guess the main question is: what were your reasons for starting a circumnavigation in the first place?

 

[Dan Bender]

If you get lonely out there remember you can now multicrew back to "civilization" for a little bit for some interaction!

 

[Friedenreich Xante]

Like you said, doing a flight log would probably help, and gathering data too. If, say, you note down the kinds of systems you visit, what's in there, and find that you're getting bored with it all, then a galactic circumnavigation would not be for you.

I Keep my EDSM account up to date. There I Keep track of everything I discover. Le flight log would more RP-ish

But I guess the main question is: what were your reasons for starting a circumnavigation in the first place?

Yes, that is the question. Well I wanted to go to the edge, have a clear view on the intergalactic void and the galaxies beyond. Maybe find a way there... That alone doesn't require a whole circumnavigation. This I did more for the challenge. And there I could probably say that I bit off more than I could chew. I think I will finish off that arm and call it a day. Sell that data, and find more interesting places to explore.

If you get lonely out there remember you can now multicrew back to "civilization" for a little bit for some interaction!

Yes, will do, thanks for the reminder.

 

[goemon]

you know, i'm an elite explorer, i mainly fly to real-galaxy supergiants these days, i have been three times in the core (sag a*, top, bottom, clockwise, counterclockwise), but attempting a circumvention gets my deepest respect. I haven't been out of the bubble for longer than 3 1/2 months. I think that's probably not for me.

but anyway, here is what i do on my short 50-60 K ly journeys:

1. have short- and midterm targets. it is easier to fly towards something 4000 ly away, than to fly towards something 20 000 ly away. a supergiant, a nebula, a wolf rayet star, a non-proc gen star etc.

2. race against myself. can i beat my time of the last 1000 ly leg?

3. different stellar objects ... can i find a s-class in the sector i'm flying through? did i find all types of planets on my journey yet?

4. and astronomy podcasts. anything on kosmology.

 

[marx]

I Keep my EDSM account up to date. There I Keep track of everything I discover. Le flight log would more RP-ish

Oh, I meant noting down additional stuff that's not in the journal files. How many systems you visited, what did they have and so on: for example, recently I did this. Of course, technically you could do it by scanning every star and interesting planet in a system and then building it from the journals, but all that scanning would take a lot more time.
That's just one example though.

Since you're in the Outer Arm Vacuus, you might want to explore the galactic South a bit. Visit the edge, stop off at 3 Geminorum on your way back. It's a pretty good region, and much less trampled than the far North.

Oh, and goemon gave some very good advice there on intermediate targets. They make traveling much more bearable, and you'll get to see more interesting stuff to boot.

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

This I did more for the challenge. And there I could probably say that I bit off more than I could chew.

don't underestimate ship choice too... I could spend an age exploring in some ships while others like the anaconda for example I couldn't spend longer than 20 minutes in one of them

fly what you enjoy there is no right and wrong answer for an exploration ship if it works for you. ( although secretly reading your signature I hoped you was out in an Adder!)

 

[Orvidius]

don't underestimate ship choice too... I could spend an age exploring in some ships while others like the anaconda for example I couldn't spend longer than 20 minutes in one of them

fly what you enjoy there is no right and wrong answer for an exploration ship if it works for you. ( although secretly reading your signature I hoped you was out in an Adder!)

So much this! There are many great ships to choose from, but personally the AspX is the only one I want to spend huge amounts of time in. I can go anywhere with that (in terms of my enjoyment of it), particularly with so much glass in the cockpit and a VR headset.

 

[Actionman2222]

Create a second account back in the bubble

 

[goemon]

don't underestimate ship choice too... I could spend an age exploring in some ships while others like the anaconda for example I couldn't spend longer than 20 minutes in one of them

fly what you enjoy there is no right and wrong answer for an exploration ship if it works for you. ( although secretly reading your signature I hoped you was out in an Adder!)

that's very true. DBE gives me the perfect feeling of "a small ship in a huge galaxy", which i enjoyed in my adder. i like the conda, too - differently to kenneth, but more about what i can do with it (like: bringing stuff to a colonia CG and than attempt to get below -3000 below the core). but my last trip in an AspE (a year ago or so) i had to stop after some thousand lightyears. just so very, very boring for me.

if i would do a circimvention of the galaxy, i'd do it either in a DBE or a python or an eagle. i wouldn't do it in a conda, as the floating feeling of flying a space-whale, while being in that huge and lonely bridge couldn't keep me going for such a long time.

 

[Steyla]

I am in a similar situation, not that I wanted to circumnavigate the galaxy. My expedition is just about 200,000 Ly. Enough for me.

At the moment I am 37,000 Ly north west of Colonia (Abyssal Plane) moving towards Beagle Point (33,000 Ly away). This is my 2nd largest leg on this expedition, which is about 11,000Lly. There is just nothing here. Landing on planets with geysers. Haven't found any geyser yet. No POI either. Just keep going. In small steps. 1,000 Ly at a time.


Fly/land safe


Cmdr Steyla ( Still around, sorta.)


P.S. One big boost is coming back here in the Exploring Threads.

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

that's very true. DBE gives me the perfect feeling of "a small ship in a huge galaxy", which i enjoyed in my adder. i like the conda, too - differently to kenneth, but more about what i can do with it (like: bringing stuff to a colonia CG and than attempt to get below -3000 below the core). but my last trip in an AspE (a year ago or so) i had to stop after some thousand lightyears. just so very, very boring for me.

if i would do a circimvention of the galaxy, i'd do it either in a DBE or a python or an eagle. i wouldn't do it in a conda, as the floating feeling of flying a space-whale, while being in that huge and lonely bridge couldn't keep me going for such a long time.

I think the next time I'll get truly lost again (read 3+ months out), which will be I guess once atmospheric landings start to roll out, I'm planning to do it in a Corvette. A do-all ship with fighters, fully kitted for any need. I did love exploration in the FDL, having only the essentials on board, but for a long time it is nice to have all the toys.
For the record, the Anaconda is too straightforward to me and I consider its hull mass a cheat, but I'll probably own one down the line.

 

[Hanekura Shizuka]

With regard to the circumnavigation... in a way, there are four goals there - Perseus, Sagittarius-Carina, Scutum-Centaurus, and the Outer Arm. Traverse those four arms of the galaxy, get out of those four (because sometimes getting out of one arm and to the next is the tough part), and you have a circumnavigation. So, if it helps, separate it into those goals, rather than get subsumed into one overly-large circumnavigation goal.

As for why we do it... why do we do anything? The challenge of it, to test ourselves, exploration money, rank for those that still need it, and bragging rights all play into it. And, well, in terms of long-term endurance, there's not really anything more challenging. About the only way this could be longer is if we tried to find a way to Andromeda.

And the result, well...

Spoiler

 

[iain666]

I did it because I really wanted to, not sure I could tell you exactly why but once I got going I took great satisfaction from watching my trail slowly grow in ED Discovery and found the whole thing mostly relaxing and enjoyable. It took me more than 18 months and 30,000 jumps (less required if you don't go in a stock Cobra) so it's not for everybody. If you're not enjoying it then knock it on the head, it's only a game (unless you have an insanely rich friend who bet you two million quid you couldn't do it, then knuckle down and get it done but that's pretty unlikely...).

 

[Roqinn]

I too am circumnavigating the universe. I just take it 1 system at a time and scan everything that interests me. I am only doing ~1,000LY a day, so you can figure out how long it will take me to do this. On the weekends I might do more and I might do none. *Shrug* I am not pressing myself to get it done. It becomes a chore then.

 

[-VR- pipestein]

After doing a first 7000 ly trip and loving it, I went out in the black with a super-tweaked exploconda. My aim was a circumnavigation. Now I'm there, in the middle of the outer arm vacuus, and just desperate to see at which pace I'm actually moving. It's going to take me more than a year to achieve that. I love it, the thrill of finding new worlds, discovering things for the first time, glacing at the wonders of the universe. I even brought 4 SRVs and a fighter for alternative occupations during the trip. But if I start driving around or flying through Canyons, it will even take me longer! I fear that I might burn out at some Point.

How are you hard-boiled Explorer doing this?

How can I get myself some encouragement?

Maybe it's just this arm of the galaxy, its emtyness, that makes me doubt about myself...

I already decided that I will make a stop in the bubble after finishing the Exploration of this arm and the Perseus one, to sell data and drop off some useless Equipment for more jump range. Then I will know what I am more attracted to: go back into the black and maybe even go for finishing the circumnavigation, or do something else. I feel like a space Teenager who is looking for his spacefarer-identity.

You can look in my EDSM Profile in my signature to look at what I have done so far.

Believe me when I say I understand exactly what you are saying here. We look at the galaxy map from the bubble and think to ourselves, "How hard can it be? I can do that!" then once you get out of the bubble and really start travelling you begin to realize how BIG the Milky Way is. It is impossible to comprehend until you set out and travel 50,000ly. Travelling 1000ly seems to make almost no noticeable change in your position. it is not until you go 5,000ly that you realize that you are making progress. At that point it can all seem a little daunting. Added on top of all of that is what you are missing in the bubble with game updates and just having fun in general. I get it I really do. BUT....

The best advise in this thread so far on a practical level was from Hanekura Shizuka, I quote, "With regard to the circumnavigation... in a way, there are four goals there - Perseus, Sagittarius-Carina, Scutum-Centaurus, and the Outer Arm. Traverse those four arms of the galaxy, get out of those four (because sometimes getting out of one arm and to the next is the tough part), and you have a circumnavigation. So, if it helps, separate it into those goals, rather than get subsumed into one overly-large circumnavigation goal."

My two cents for what it is worth. I left the bubble on October 11th 2015. Yep you are reading that correctly. It started out as a trip to Sag A, then it morphed into getting to 65k, then it became a total circumnavigation. I have taken my sweet time and I am fine with that, I left before Horizons was launched so I have no SRV, no jump juice, and and I am doing it in an under geared AspX with a 3A fuel scoop and 30ly jump range. I do not regret one second of my trip. Who knows how long is left of it, certainly not me. What keeps me going is the fact that I will never ever repeat this trip, even if I tried. Nor would I want to. When I get back I can only imagine what the feeling of accomplishment will be like. That is what keeps me going. Stay the course, enjoy the time at it, reap the benefits in the end. When it is all said in done you will have a singular experience and it will never be repeatable.

EDIT... I forgot to mention, one of the things that has really helped me has been friending other explorers here on the forums and chatting with them while I am out there jumping. Many of the people here have kept me honest and it has been the kind words and encouragement from the people here in private chat that have kept me going. the Stand out in that regard have been, Frawd Digger, iain666, Optimal_909, and several others along the way. So build some relationships and talk to people they will egg you on in the end.

 

[Kolato]

I wouldn't really advise you to be doing what you're doing on your first trip. Do some more exploration and get used to traveling faster before doing such a large trip. But if you really want to, i suggest having something running in the background like netflix or a youtube video. At some point you're going to lose some interest so it's nice to have something to make those long trips without fun easier.