[DW2] Epilogue, Acknowledgements, DW Speculation & Organisation

Qohen Leth · May 4, 2019

marx said:
I was a bit surprised to see DW3 speculation here, but yeah, it's something that needs to be said. I'll go a bit farther and voice the grumbling that has come from a not-insignificant number of expedition participants as well, aimed at FD: there was barely anything new to be discovered. Looking back on it now that the expedition's mostly over, it's true: the only new finds were the Aster trees and pods. Whatever else has been discovered has been there already, and not added with the Chapter Four exploration update.
On one hand, I'm grateful that the developers have stepped in and gave so much in-game support to the expedition. On the other, I'm disappointed that they got the hopes of many people up, and then let us down.
That the expedition was a success despite this is a testament to all the work that the organisers and the players in general have put into it. Once again, congratulations!

All this should serve as a good indicator to Frontier that there is real demand and appetite for more exploration gameplay(!) and content, from plenty of players.

50 expeditions before DW2 already indicated said appetite.

marx · May 4, 2019

Qohen Leth said:
50 expeditions before DW2 already indicated said appetite.

Let's see. Looking at EDSM's numbers, the average amount of participants on the non-DW expeditions was 85.47, and the median being 44. (If we include DW1: 99.23 and 44.5.)
FD could have always pointed at that (and internally, probably did) to say that only some hundreds of players are interested in exploration expeditions. That wouldn't work anymore.

KCElstun38 · May 4, 2019

Erimus Kamzel said:
The closest the Voyager Trail gets to the Explorers Anchorage is the Aether Nebula (GalMap Ref: Eorm Phyloi OY-Z d37), which is around 12,000 LYs away from the Station. Alternatively if you follow the DW1 route instead, which is listed too, that will take you through the core as Sag A* is one of its WPs.

Thanks for the info. This has been an unforgettable experience.

KCElstun38 · May 4, 2019

NomadRomeo said:
Definitely going to frame it!

Me too!

RolloTreadway · May 4, 2019

marx said:
Let's see. Looking at EDSM's numbers, the average amount of participants on the non-DW expeditions was 85.47, and the median being 44. (If we include DW1: 99.23 and 44.5.)
FD could have always pointed at that (and internally, probably did) to say that only some hundreds of players are interested in exploration expeditions. That wouldn't work anymore.

I hope you're right. I think it's also worth bearing in mind that FD are often (understandably) most interested in getting new players in, and it seems to me that a great many new players joined this expedition and made it at least as far as SagA. If these forums are a reasonable sample, a good number made it the whole way. Which is fantastic.

So, yeah, exploration is a commercially and numerically worthwhile part of the game, and hopefully FD will give us some more love in future.

(Also, as a side point, if any new player who went on this expedition is reading: well done! I'd never have tried something this big when I first started, so kudos to you.)

Cmdr Gazer__ · May 4, 2019

Thank you heroes, one and all.

vicheous · May 5, 2019

Thanks for making this, it was a great experience! o7

WILDBOAR I · May 5, 2019

Thank you very much to the organizing team! This is my first expedition and I am very happy to have participated. I made new friends and made some nice discoveries. I can not wait to participate in the next DW3 if there is one! Now it's time to go home via the way home! fly safe all Cmdrs and see you in the dark! O7
https://inara.cz/cmdr/80310/

rpotor · May 5, 2019

Suggested route to take if one wants to go all in and touch all the Voyager Trail waypoints and the POIs listed in the opening post of this topic:

WAYPOINT	SYSTEM	Distance from previous WP (in LY)
Beagle Point	Beagle Point
Voyager's Reach	Byoo Briae CW-C C26-0	22461
Voyager's Trail WP1	Byoo Briae TY-Q C18-0	343
Voyager's Trail WP2	Byoo Briae LF-P B19-0	397
Voyager's Trail WP3	Bla Byoe KM-N A116-0	471
Voyager's Trail WP4	Prie Chrea OO-Z D13-9	7506
Voyager's Trail WP5	Prie Chrea RJ-I D9-15	459
Voyager's Trail WP6	Prie Chrea FP-V B29-0	235
Voyager's Trail WP7	Prie Chrea WC-Z B26-1	0
Voyager's Trail WP8	Hyiechiae IY-F B38-0	2028
Voyager's Trail WP9	Hyiechiae MN-S C17-2	58
Sisyphos' Rock	Hyiechou AI-J b36-0	3027
Voyager's Trail WP10	Plae Free CW-E C11-80	8655
Voyager's Trail WP11	Plae Free JS-K C8-34	162
Proximity Rock	Bleethuia FF-A e1	3247
Blue Peach Nebula	Lyaisai PS-U e2-160	11354
Rattla	Rotheau SZ-O e6-895	1960
Aether Nebula	Eorm Phyloi OY-Z d37	5010
Voyager's Trail WP12	Eos Chruia XS-T B7-2	2366
Voyager's Trail WP13	Eos Chruia LG-C C1-16	103
Voyager's Trail WP14	Pheia Auscs GY-A B59-26	71
Voyager's Trail WP15	Pheia Auscs DF-S B49-12	251
Voyager's Trail WP16	Pheia Auscs TH-X B46-30	58
Voyager's Trail WP17	Pheia Auscs BX-P B21-0	647
Voyager's Trail WP18	Pheia Auscs TQ-I B9-51	495
Voyager's Trail WP19	Hypio Prao NZ-J C24-88	649
Phroea Ploe Nebula Cluster	Phroea Ploe PD-B e2165	4106
Shrogaee Nebula	Shrogaae LB-C c14-1067	2162
The Brain Forest	Shrogaae KK-A d983	683
Guardian ruins - Teal Nebula sites	Eorl Auwsy SY-Z d13-3468	74
Singularities Playground	Mynoaw AA-A h26	2366
Isegrim Nebula	Greae Phoea QF-I c25-150	2040
Guardian ruins - Hollow Veil sites	Blaa Hypai LZ-F b27-0	5619
Angerona	Plio Aihm ML-P d5-307	2982
V1033 Scorpii	V1033 Scorpii	2006
Red Storm Geysers	Cat's Paw Sector HR-W d1-31	2624
Morgan's Rock Asteroid Base	NGC 6188 Sector LC-V c2-28	1626
Tark	Blu Thua JS-J d9-1	2133
The Stranded Snake (Anaconda settlement)	HR 5906	2062
Pallaeni	Pallaeni	277
Voyager's Trail WP20	Sol	177

All the waypoints on the biiiiig map (red dot - Pallaeni, green dot - Beagle Point, yellow dots are the expedition waypoints, blue dots are the Voyager Trail waypoints, orange dots are the POIs suggested on the way back). Note: The Stranded Snake waypoint and Sol are not shown, because they'd totally overlap the Pallaeni waypoint. Also Voyager's Trail WP7, which is Prie Chrea WC-Z B26-1 is a strange one. It is listed on the Voyager Trail, but apparently is not in EDSM, so its coordinates I couldn't find, that's why it is listed in the table as being 0 LY from the previous waypoint. Illuminati confirmed! I'm totally calling that Raxxla is in Prie Chrea WC-Z B26-1, true story!
Background map is by CMDR Corbin Moran.

Cdr Voorheez · May 5, 2019

Awesome effort to all, thanks Devs, Mods and Admins for your hard work, and thanks FD for making this amazing second DWE a reality.

The Sonderval · May 5, 2019

I wonder what percentage of the player base we took away from the bubble?

Dr. Nagi · May 6, 2019

rpotor said:
Suggested route to take if one wants to go all in and touch all the Voyager Trail waypoints and the POIs listed in the opening post of this topic:

WAYPOINT SYSTEM Distance from previous WP (in LY)
Beagle Point Beagle Point
Voyager's Reach Byoo Briae CW-C C26-0
22461
Voyager's Trail WP1 Byoo Briae TY-Q C18-0
343
Voyager's Trail WP2 Byoo Briae LF-P B19-0
397
Voyager's Trail WP3 Bla Byoe KM-N A116-0
471
Voyager's Trail WP4 Prie Chrea OO-Z D13-9
7506
Voyager's Trail WP5 Prie Chrea RJ-I D9-15
459
Voyager's Trail WP6 Prie Chrea FP-V B29-0
235
Voyager's Trail WP7 Prie Chrea WC-Z B26-1
0
Voyager's Trail WP8 Hyiechiae IY-F B38-0
2028
Voyager's Trail WP9 Hyiechiae MN-S C17-2
58
Sisyphos' Rock Hyiechou AI-J b36-0
3027
Voyager's Trail WP10 Plae Free CW-E C11-80
8655
Voyager's Trail WP11 Plae Free JS-K C8-34
162
Proximity Rock Bleethuia FF-A e1
3247
Blue Peach Nebula Lyaisai PS-U e2-160
11354
Rattla Rotheau SZ-O e6-895
1960
Aether Nebula Eorm Phyloi OY-Z d37
5010
Voyager's Trail WP12 Eos Chruia XS-T B7-2
2366
Voyager's Trail WP13 Eos Chruia LG-C C1-16
103
Voyager's Trail WP14 Pheia Auscs GY-A B59-26
71
Voyager's Trail WP15 Pheia Auscs DF-S B49-12
251
Voyager's Trail WP16 Pheia Auscs TH-X B46-30
58
Voyager's Trail WP17 Pheia Auscs BX-P B21-0
647
Voyager's Trail WP18 Pheia Auscs TQ-I B9-51
495
Voyager's Trail WP19 Hypio Prao NZ-J C24-88
649
Phroea Ploe Nebula Cluster Phroea Ploe PD-B e2165
4106
Shrogaee Nebula Shrogaae LB-C c14-1067
2162
The Brain Forest Shrogaae KK-A d983
683
Guardian ruins - Teal Nebula sites Eorl Auwsy SY-Z d13-3468
74
Singularities Playground Mynoaw AA-A h26
2366
Isegrim Nebula Greae Phoea QF-I c25-150
2040
Guardian ruins - Hollow Veil sites Blaa Hypai LZ-F b27-0
5619
Angerona Plio Aihm ML-P d5-307
2982
V1033 Scorpii V1033 Scorpii
2006
Red Storm Geysers Cat's Paw Sector HR-W d1-31
2624
Morgan's Rock Asteroid Base NGC 6188 Sector LC-V c2-28
1626
Tark Blu Thua JS-J d9-1
2133
The Stranded Snake (Anaconda settlement) HR 5906
2062
Pallaeni Pallaeni
277
Voyager's Trail WP20 Sol
177

All the waypoints on the biiiiig map (red dot - Pallaeni, green dot - Beagle Point, yellow dots are the expedition waypoints, blue dots are the Voyager Trail waypoints, orange dots are the POIs suggested on the way back). Note: The Stranded Snake waypoint and Sol are not shown, because they'd totally overlap the Pallaeni waypoint. Also Voyager's Trail WP7, which is Prie Chrea WC-Z B26-1 is a strange one. It is listed on the Voyager Trail, but apparently is not in EDSM, so its coordinates I couldn't find, that's why it is listed in the table as being 0 LY from the previous waypoint. Illuminati confirmed! I'm totally calling that Raxxla is in Prie Chrea WC-Z B26-1, true story!
Background map is by CMDR Corbin Moran.

Recreated the route in EDSM, including the "optional" waypoints that come after the main ones:

EDSM - Elite Dangerous Star Map

The Galactic Positioning System of Elite: Dangerous at your service.

www.edsm.net

Also @Erimus Kamzel I recreated the routes of DW1 and DW2:

EDSM - Elite Dangerous Star Map

The Galactic Positioning System of Elite: Dangerous at your service.

www.edsm.net

EDSM - Elite Dangerous Star Map

The Galactic Positioning System of Elite: Dangerous at your service.

www.edsm.net

Qohen Leth · May 6, 2019

The Sonderval said:
I wonder what percentage of the player base we took away from the bubble?

If Steam Charts show an average of about 5k players on a daily basis, assuming that Steam is broadly half the PC playerbase, and the consoles have both lower daily numbers, I suppose 15k-20k daily players is a good estimate. I reckon 10k went on the first leg of the journey at least.

Orvidius · May 6, 2019

Are those the concurrent player numbers? It's hard to draw conclusions from that, since usually the concurrency is pretty small compared to overall active users, like < 5%.

Rudi Raumkraut · May 6, 2019

Watching Orvidius' DW2 heatmap video seem to show lots of other exploration everywhere in the galaxy happening during dw2. (based on edsm of course)
I thought DW2 would have recruited nearly all explo focused Cmdrs, but it seems although it had that many participants it was just a fraction even of the exploration fans so I don't think an impact to the bubble wasn't really noticeable...
I also may be wrong and don't have any solid numbers

The Sonderval · May 6, 2019

@Erimus Kamzel Thanks for everything by the way!

Erimus Kamzel · May 6, 2019

The Sonderval said:
@Erimus Kamzel Thanks for everything by the way!

Thanks for taking part!

Those are some impressive stats! You did nearly 700 neutron jumps?

And mapped nearly 500 worlds!

The Sonderval · May 6, 2019

Erimus Kamzel said:
Thanks for taking part!

Those are some impressive stats! You did nearly 700 neutron jumps?
And mapped nearly 500 worlds!

Ha ha I had to do some quick travelling to get back to the waypoints for the Mass Jump from EA after going back and then after a death.

Thanks to your expedition I've done lots of travelling and proper exploration

GreyAB · May 6, 2019

Thanks to all the organisers, you have done a fantastic job of getting this arranged and running. This has been a fun journey, and I have made a few new friends along the way. As I am in no hurry to get home, may take a look at the route you have suggested, thanks for that and it shows the dedication and planning you all have put into this.

See you all in the black, and it has been a pleasure to join you on this adventure.

Wargrum · May 7, 2019

I've had a fabulous time. And plan to have more fabulous times in the weeks to come working my way home with my new found in game friends.We are still negotiating over the route... should be interesting.

For me the highlight of the trip was the two Community Goals. It combined mining (one of my favourite Elite things), and CG's (another of my favourite Elite things), with a truly meaningful goal (first time ever for me in game), and an absolutely massive community to participate with in completing it. I was grouping up almost continuously for the entire two weeks these events ran. So much fun. Had an absolute blast.

Can we please get Qohen's wonderful Community Goal logo on a piece of memorabilia (or a ship decal - I'd pay for that)? Along with the Mug Club Ski Team I joined, the community goals are what I think about everytime I think of DW2. They completely changed the way I prepared for this expedition, the ship I selected to take, and had a large influence on the friends I made on the trip.

Thankyou again - really can't say that enough. o7