EARLY EXPLORATION IN ELITE DANGEROUS
The First Age of Pioneers (April 3300 - April 3302) & The Birth of the Galactic Mapping Project
Introduction
"I've put together a brief history of the early days of exploration in Elite Dangerous, dating back to the beta's of April 2014, and up to April 2016 with the conclusion of the first Distant Worlds Expedition. I believe this 2-year period was an age of pioneers, when exploration was in its infancy and commanders were on the whole oblivious to what was out there, what the optimal set ups were, and how to deal with any hazards the early explorers would soon be experiencing.
I was lucky enough to be there from the very beginning so have witnessed a lot of what went on (if not in person, certainly by being an avid follower and chronicler of the forum posts, logs, and blogs players wrote during this period).
Most of it is from memory and from the few old posts I've managed to dig out and get info from, so its by no means a fully accurate record. The info I've put together will have quite a bit of my own adventures mentioned as obviously those are the ones I remember the most. There are details of many other players' adventures too, and events that made the headlines during this early period in Elite Dangerous' history. Please feel free to add or correct me on anything important I've missed and I'll edit any info as and when I get it". - CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel, Aug. 5th 3301 (revised April 3302 and broken links fixed March 3307).
The Alpha & Beta's : April 3300 - October 3300
In late April of 3300 news of an explorers consortium emerged, requesting recruits for an expedition that was to be launched within the year. The consortium became known as the First Great Expedition (FGE), and several hundred pilots signed up for the venture.
The Premium Beta's - May & June 3300: The birth of community driven news began springing up around this time. The Centauran Herald leading the way. Indeed it was the Herald that was one of the earliest news outlets to break the news of the first organized emergence of an explorers 'guild', the afore mentioned First Great Expedition - with the announcement of their intention to set up a base camp on Mars.
Yet exploration during this short era was pretty much non-existent due to the limited number of reachable destinations. Some intrepid pilots attempted to bypass the restrictions imposed by the lack of NavCom data available and actually tried to traverse the vast distances between stars using supercruise flight only! This proved to be a fruitless endeavor due to technical difficulties sustained during the attempts, forcing pilots to hyperspace back to their point of origin, or be forever lost in the void. Pilot attempts to supercruise between star systems!
Elsewhere during this period, the Eranin blockade and the blockade runners it gave birth to began to entice many frustrated pilots away from their preferred professions and join sides in the growing unrest. Piracy and bounty hunting increased exponentially and the very limited amount of exploration left became pretty much non-existent as the handful of available systems became saturated with more and more new recruits fresh out of the academy.
In May of 3300 the spread of piracy reached epidemic levels when scores of pilots were ambushed during an Asellus Primus trade summit.
In June of 3300 there was an attempted landing on the inhospitable moon, Dustball, in orbit around Maher Prime, in a hope to locate the lost science vessel 'Leavitt-Payne' which was rumored to have crash-landed there a few days previous. The attempt failed due to corrosive atmospheric dust damaging the hull of the rescue ship - forcing it to abandon the effort. Calls on the Federation and Empire to release suppressed atmospheric shielding technology that would once again allow pilots to land on planetary surfaces sadly fell on deaf ears.
Instead, pressure on the powers to release more NavCom data and push back the restrictive bubble grew, and finally in late July of 3300 the interstellar market for the next version of FSD tech and distant NavCom data was opened up.. codenamed Beta 1.
{OOC - the first alpha of Elite Dangerous limited commanders to visiting just a handful of star systems, centered around Aulin}.
The Beta's - July to October 3300: Fifty-five star systems covering 38,000 cubic light years centered around the Boötes constellation, often known as the first 'beta bubble', all of this was now in reach due to the release of the next phase of FSD tech and NavCom data. With this new boundary, exploration finally began to become recognized as a valid profession. Pilots spread out from tension-ridden Eranin and its neighboring systems and began reporting on new trade links between systems further and further afield. Yet within a month of this era, many explorers had grown weary of exploring the bubble for no monetary reward and instead turned to other means in order to make a living - including piracy.
{OOC - the first beta of Elite Dangerous expanded the playable region to 55 star systems}.
The New Frontier
Despite the larger area open to pilots, exploration in the first few days was often dangerous due to the amount of players being squeezed into still such a low volume of space. Hostile encounters with players and NPCs was often inevitable. Nevertheless, the first tentative roles began to emerge and players soon spread out and mapped the inner borders of the new bubble - yet yearned for the time when the release of yet more NavCom data would burst the bubble once and for all and throw open the entire galaxy. Gradually over the next few weeks the beta bubbles were expanded to encompass steadily larger regions.
Again it was The Centauran Herald that first broke the news of mounting unrest.. mostly growing out of the strict fines meted out for loitering, canister dumping, high taxation laws that the Federation began imposing, and finally the collapse of the interstellar bank that wiped out all pilots federation credit balances.
Finally, in late July of 3300 many frustrated pilots massed outside Aulin Enterprise for what was codenamed the 'Aulin Apocalypse' - a beta blowout that saw hundreds of pilots attacking the Orbis Starport. Footage of the battle is still archived to this day within the Heralds databanks.
Ultimately the Federation withheld the onslaught but many survivors of that fateful weekend still claim that the pressure brought upon the powers 'persuaded' them to release the Gamma Phase of FSD tech and the long awaited NavCom databanks containing all deep space hyperspace routes out of colonized space - removing the restrictive borders of the local region and 'beta bubble', and throwing open a much wider region for new recruits to explore. At the same time many pilots who had invested in research and development into these new techs were rewarded and allocated various prototype space craft... one of which was the newly produced Long Range Cobra Mk III.. a starship primarily dedicated to long range exploration.
A new era of exploration had begun.
The Early Adventurers
Finally on November 22nd 3300 the last restrictive boundary was removed, and for the first time the entire galaxy was opened up. A vast exodus of pilots began as the first tentative journeys to nearby astronomical points of interest were made. The Coalsack, The Pleiades, Barnard's Loop... all places relatively close to humanities frontier that became the first hotbed destinations for the earliest travelers as they undertook their first steps out into the galaxy..
Exploration was in its infancy. No one knew what hostiles were out there. No one knew how far a ship could travel without needing maintenance. No one knew anything about the dangers of hyperspacing into a contact binary system, or how to deal with it. It was the ancient wild west revisited... a new frontier was opening up.
A first journey to Sagittarius A* and the New Horizon's Expedition
The first reports of deep space exploration began to filter back into colonized space around late November of 3300. CMDR Zulu Romeo, commanding an explorer-class Cobra Mk III 'Useless Reptile' had made the very first attempt to cross the arduous 23,000 LYs and journey to the Galactic Core. Reaching the supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A* in early December. Whilst simultaneously, CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel, piloting the 'Shackleton Explorer', had embarked on the New Horizons Expedition - a journey along the Orion Spur, crossing the Vela Molecular Ridge, and making the first recorded visit to the Eta Carina Nebula.
Considering the unknowns at the time and coupled with the hostility of ever present NPCs and non-existent route planners, such expeditions were regarded as remarkable feats. Explorers back then had no route planner at all, routes were plotted one star at a time! There were no star filters, and no known strategies for dealing with ship maintenance or environmental hazards (i.e. contact binaries - phenomena that no longer exist these days).
Full Release - December 3300: In December 3300 the Gamma Phase came to an end and a massive influx of new Pilots Federation recruits entered the world. At Noon on December 16th 3300, David Braben officially launched Elite Dangerous. With it, the age of the Asp Explorer and ultra deep space exploration began.
The Early Pioneers
Late December 3300 was a time of turmoil for early explorers. Bugs were scuppering many attempts to reach the galactic core regions as it became increasingly known that something bad had gone wrong with the travel mechanics since Zulu's successful Gamma Phase trip to the galactic core. Explorers reaching the outer core regions beyond the Norma Expanse were often disconnected during hyperspace and were unable to get back online afterwards - leaving many pilots unable to continue their journeys for days, and sometimes weeks. A word of warning was issued to explorers leaving home for the depths of space. On the bright side a 100 LY route planner was finally introduced, something that explorers had been calling for during early Gamma.
Thankfully by mid January 3301 most of these hyperspace disconnect issues had been resolved and the early pioneers could once again continue with their endeavors.
The Pioneer Age had begun.
The Pioneer Timeline
October 3300
★ CMDR Patau82 creates the Universal Cartographics Galactic Records database. A place for explorers to submit scientific data that they've discovered throughout the galaxy.
★ CMDR Jorlin becomes the first pilot to fly the newly released Asp Explorer. {OOC: access to the official Gamma Discussion forum is needed to view this thread, I've provided a screenshot of Jorlin's initial post in the spoiler below}
★ A few days after Jorlin's initial test flight, newsfeeds receive the flight-recorder footage of another Asp Explorer's maiden voyage, this one visiting several outlying beta frontier border systems, including the once incredible Wunjo 1 Furnace.
November 3300
★ CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel completes the New Horizons expedition and retires his Long Range Cobra (Shackleton Explorer), at Aulin Enterprise.
★ The FGE begin steadily pushing the envelope on what could be accomplished with group exploration. Without the help of route planners or wing mechanics - the first tentative attempts at group exploration begins with a series of expeditions out to nearby nebulae. On the first day of Gamma a flotilla of FGE exploration vessels head out to the Pleiades and begin surveying the nebula.
★ CMDR Zulu Romeo successfully traverses the 23,000 LY distance to Sagittarius A* (and returns safely in early December 3300).
December 3300
★ CMDR Nutter complies the first comprehensive explorers guide to the galaxy.
★ CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel embarks on the Distant Suns expedition to the far side of the galaxy (and ultimately discovers the system that later becomes known as Beagle Point).
★ A FGE expedition to the Coalsack begins - approximately 30 research vessels make the trip to this frontier border nebula and conduct surveys of the surrounding star systems.
January 3301
★ CMDR Kommodore sets off on a journey to visit Sag-A* in an Eagle rigged out for long distance exploration... the first recorded attempt to reach the galactic core in such a vessel. Later that year, in late September 3301, Kommodore successfully returns to colonized space and is awarded over 123 million credits from Universal Cartographics for the data he amassed. His mission is thought to be one of the longest running on record, at 9 months.
★ CMDR R4nger0 begins his epic quest to cross the galaxy in a Sidewinder. Update : 4th Feb. 3302 - R4's quest comes to an end when his Sidewinder (Sneaky Pete) finally returns home after crossing to the far side of the galaxy and back - successfully returning home 13 months after the journey began.
★ The FGE Nebulae Research voyage sets off to explore the Pleiades, Hind, and California Nebulae, and concludes the following month with trips out to the Eskimo, Helix, and LBN 623 Nebulae.
★ CMDR Big Bad Lynx sets off to cross the galaxy in an Asp Explorer.
★ CMDR Zieman embarks on a survey mission to the Orionis constellation and begins an extensive study of over 200 star systems with Orionis designations, before concluding the mission with a further study of the Orion Nebula cluster.
★ CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel reaches the far side of the galaxy after successfully crossing the outer rim Abyss in an Asp Explorer - circa Jan. 18th 3301. The first recorded crossing of the galaxy was reported and published a few days after the explorer reached 'Beagle Point' (CEECKIA ZQ-L C24-0), a star system over 65,000 LYs from home. A GalNet report of the endeavor causes some controversy at the time as it is stated that the DSS Beagle had returned from the far galactic rim, when in reality it had been badly damaged after hyperspacing into a red giant binary pair, exited in the corona of one of the stars, and thus remained crippled out on the galactic rim for several more weeks before the journey home began.
February 3301
★ CMDR Ozric completes his journey to the Crab Nebula.
★ CMDR Maia Posidana and CMDR Katier announce (independently) their intentions to circumnavigate the galaxy.
★ CMDR Big Bad Lynx returns from his epic 170,000 LY round trip of the galaxy.
★ CMDR Rekal returns home from his trip to the far side of the galactic core.
★ The EDC-Explorers Four Corners Mission is launched form the Atlantis star system. The mission, made up 12 commanders flying in three separate groups, set out to explore the 'four corners of the galaxy' - one of the earliest recorded wing coordinated expeditions.
★ The Galactic Mapping Project for explorers is born.
★ CMDR Glynie begins compiling a list of all known Earth-Like Worlds so far discovered. His work is later passed on to CMDR Marx who continues cataloging data on ELWs submitted from the exploration community.
★ The 1,000 LY Route Planner and Star Filter is introduced. Payouts from Universal Cartographics is significantly improved - finally bringing exploration income into line with other professions. The star filter paves the way for easier location and surveying of scientific points of interest - namely neutron stars and blackholes.
March 3301
★ CMDR DrNoesis leaves inhabited space to explore the largely uncharted New Outer Arm. Conducting an intense survey of those regions it is reported later that year (September) that the commander had reached a point parallel along the arm to the core, around 25% of the way around the whole galaxy.
★ The first Exploration Community Goal (Lambda Andromedae) successfully concludes and leads to the construction of the most distant bases from Sol at Sothis and Ceos, and other outposts in between.
★ 43,000 LYs from Sol, CMDR R4nger0 in his Sidewinder reaches the near edge of the Scutum-Centaurus Arm, there a rendezvous with CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel (who is returning home from the far side) occurs and the two explorers make a joint survey of the rendezvous system before parting ways. The meeting is recorded and beamed back to colonized space where GalNet picks it up and reports the event via various newsfeeds.
★ The Wings feature is introduced and many explorers begin teaming up. Solo exploration remains popular though due to the unreliability of the early wings mechanic.
★ CMDR Dr Kaii begins his epic documented journey to the galactic depths and produces the stunning Deep Space Surveys video series.
★ CMDR Marlon Blake returns from an 80,000 LY round trip and is awarded a staggering 145 million credits for the data he collated - one of the highest payouts to date.
★ CMDR Rikk pilots the first recorded Imperial Clipper to Sagittarius A*. Setting off on 28th Feb 3301, he did not reach home until 23rd June 3301 - having covered 70,000 LYs during the trip.
★ The DSS Beagle, piloted by CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel, limps home from the far galactic rim with just 24% structural integrity remaining, thus concluding the Distant Suns expedition. The heavily damaged ship is decommissioned and retired from service. (Approx. 1 year later CEECKIA ZQ-L C24-0 is renamed to Beagle Point, in honour of the vessel).
★ CMDR SvennoJ departs on his quest to find the galaxies loneliest planet. Later in his journey he crosses the western edge of the Abyss using an Anaconda class starship.
★ The first recorded survey mission to the distant Hyponia sector is released.
April 3301
★ The Thargoid Flap : Rumors of a mystery out beyond the Formidine Rift causes a stir throughout the exploration community. Many pilots flock to this relatively nearby region, some 10,000 - 15,000 LYs from Sol, beyond the Perseus Arm, but to no avail. So far nothing untoward has been located. CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel produces a video log of his own investigation into the Rift and the possible connection to the Unknown Artifacts that appeared throughout colonized space in the spring and early summer of 3301.
★ CMDR Allitnil concludes his epic 14,000 star system journey, and in doing so is recorded as being the first pilot to cross the far galactic Abyss in a Cobra Mk III.
★ CMDR Katejina embarks on an epic quest to circumnavigate the galaxy as well as explore the core regions.
★ The Buckyball Run A* event begins. Pilots from across colonized space, including many dedicated explorers, begin the competition to reach Sagittarius A* in as short a time as possible.
★ CMDR Tylar's five week tour of planetary nebulae concludes.
★ CMDR SvennoJ reaches CEECKIA PE-E D13-0, a system 65,365 LYs from Sol - setting a new distance record for a 41 LY Anaconda.
★ CMDR Dognosh compiles a comprehensive exploration guide that includes lists, tools, and diaries related to all things exploration.
★ The First Great Expedition embark on the first mass-surveying endeavor of the mysterious Regor sectors and produce detailed 3D maps of its border regions.
★ The 'Four Corners Expedition' map the borders of the Bleia Permit Zone that is embedded within Perseus Stem, on the far side of the galactic core.
May 3301
★ CMDR Kancro Vantas publishes 'The Galactic Tour of Wonders' - an extensive pictorial guide to points of interest visted during a 11,000 LY journey.
★ CMDR DoubleSkulls becomes the first explorer to have his ship destroyed at Sagittarius A* due to hostile fire from an unknown assailant.
★ CMDR Akira Masakari publishes a guide to distinguish planet types from sounds coming from them, possibly easing labor for a number of explorers.
★ CMDR R4nger0 becomes the first explorer to pilot a Sidewinder class starship to the far side of the galaxy - reaching a distance of 59,000 LYs from Sol. However the ship could not cross the outer rim Abyss due to its limited FSD range.
★ CMDR Mossfoot travels to Sagittarius A* and records footage of his journey. Eventually he produces a video log of the trip and edits ancient classical musical scores with the footage - producing the 'movements of exploration' piece that is played in theaters throughout colonized space. Along with an earlier piece named Starsoul, one of the first classic 'Art of Exploration' series is born.
★ CMDR Allitnil embarks on a solo expedition to measure the extent of the reachable galaxy.
★ CMDR Anuranium travels to Sagittarius A* in an attempt to hunt down and destroy the 'SagA Sniper' who was attacking unarmed explorers visiting the supermassive black hole. When confronted with Anuranium's fully armed starship, the sniper promptly set his own ship to self destruct in an act of cowardice and was never heard of again as its smouldering wreckage disappeared beyond the event horizon of the black hole.
★ CMDR Dognosh starts Version 2 of the log of all submitted Commanders' exploration trips.
★ CMDR Kola2 embarks on an expedition to explore the rarely traveled 4th quadrant.
June 3301
★ CMDR Picker returns from an epic 151 day voyage around the galaxy, visiting over 6,600 systems and traveling approximately 180,000 LYs in the process.
★ CMDR Turambar concludes his 200,000 LYs galactic journey and becomes one of the first explorers to circumnavigate the galaxy via the outer arms route.
★ CMDR CaptainKremmen embarks on a journey coreward and sends back a pictorial log of his travels.
★ The Fuel rats are formed - a voluntary collection of pilots dedicated to rescuing explorers (and other travelers) who have inadvertently ran out of fuel far from home.
★ CMDR's Stulli, Barefoot Bandit and Allitnil rendezvous close to Beagle Point on the far side of the galaxy, some 65,000 LYs from Sol, and in doing so set a record for the most distant encounter so far recorded.
★ CMDR Andrew Gaspurr sets off on the "Pilgrim's Path" tour - an expedition out to Eta Carina, NGC 3199 and beyond the Orion Spur shallows, exploring the seldom traveled 4th Quadrant regions.
July 3301
★ CMDR Kancro Vantas publishes the most definitive guide to date of the vast galactic core neutron fields. The neutron survey becomes a great source of information for science-based exploration missions to the core regions.
★ The Quest to find Raxxla is launched by Macros Black, with many pilots collating data and clues on the whereabouts of this mysterious world.
★ CMDR Allitnil concludes his mission to measure the extent of the reachable galaxy and submits some of his findings to the Universal Cartographics Galactic database.
★ CMDR Derthek travels to (and surveys) the star system Drooteou PW-I A36-4, which is cited as being the physically located antithesis of Sol on the opposite side of the galaxy. The system turned out to consist of an unremarkable red dwarf orbited by several dead worlds and one moon, and is now known as 'Derthek's Folly'.
★ The Fuel Rats receive a distress call from a deep-space explorer named CMDR Monchiko, who stranded 18,000 LYs from Sol out in the Sagittarius spiral arm. The closest 'Rat' being over 16,000 LYs away. CMDR Alex Traut, CMDR Aitken, and CMDR b0rg9, all out exploring in different areas, answered the call as far away as 18,136 LYs, and in 12 hours of marathon jumping saved the stranded pilot and his months of SagA* exploration data - thus making history as the most distant and successfully completed rescue attempt ever recorded.
August 3301
★ The First Great Expedition invites the exploration community to embark on a mission to jointly explore and chart the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm of the galaxy.
October 3301
★ Akira Makasari opens the 65,000 light years from Sol club - an archived list of commanders that have successfully travelled across the galaxy to the far outer rim region.
January 3302 - April 3302
★ Distant Worlds 3302 (DW1) launches from Pallaeni. Approximately 1,200 commanders embark on the largest expedition to date - with a goal of retracing the Distant Suns expedition of 3301 and map out the first Jumponium highway, stretching across 85,000 LYs from frontier borders to Beagle Point. The expedition will become one of the most iconic events in Elite history, and indirectly leads to the birth of Colonia via Jaques failed attempt to rendezvous with the Distant Worlds fleet there by initiating a 65,000 LY hyperjump (the rest is history!).
This expedition marked the end of the First Age of Pioneers.
May 3302
★ EDSM is launched. The Galactic Mapping Project moves all data and POI information collated during the Age of Pioneers to the EDSM platform.
What the early explorers achieved during the Age of Pioneers
The First Age of Pioneers (April 3300 - April 3302) & The Birth of the Galactic Mapping Project
Introduction
"I've put together a brief history of the early days of exploration in Elite Dangerous, dating back to the beta's of April 2014, and up to April 2016 with the conclusion of the first Distant Worlds Expedition. I believe this 2-year period was an age of pioneers, when exploration was in its infancy and commanders were on the whole oblivious to what was out there, what the optimal set ups were, and how to deal with any hazards the early explorers would soon be experiencing.
I was lucky enough to be there from the very beginning so have witnessed a lot of what went on (if not in person, certainly by being an avid follower and chronicler of the forum posts, logs, and blogs players wrote during this period).
Most of it is from memory and from the few old posts I've managed to dig out and get info from, so its by no means a fully accurate record. The info I've put together will have quite a bit of my own adventures mentioned as obviously those are the ones I remember the most. There are details of many other players' adventures too, and events that made the headlines during this early period in Elite Dangerous' history. Please feel free to add or correct me on anything important I've missed and I'll edit any info as and when I get it". - CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel, Aug. 5th 3301 (revised April 3302 and broken links fixed March 3307).
The Alpha & Beta's : April 3300 - October 3300
- The Sidewinder Era
In late April of 3300 news of an explorers consortium emerged, requesting recruits for an expedition that was to be launched within the year. The consortium became known as the First Great Expedition (FGE), and several hundred pilots signed up for the venture.
The Premium Beta's - May & June 3300: The birth of community driven news began springing up around this time. The Centauran Herald leading the way. Indeed it was the Herald that was one of the earliest news outlets to break the news of the first organized emergence of an explorers 'guild', the afore mentioned First Great Expedition - with the announcement of their intention to set up a base camp on Mars.
Yet exploration during this short era was pretty much non-existent due to the limited number of reachable destinations. Some intrepid pilots attempted to bypass the restrictions imposed by the lack of NavCom data available and actually tried to traverse the vast distances between stars using supercruise flight only! This proved to be a fruitless endeavor due to technical difficulties sustained during the attempts, forcing pilots to hyperspace back to their point of origin, or be forever lost in the void. Pilot attempts to supercruise between star systems!
Elsewhere during this period, the Eranin blockade and the blockade runners it gave birth to began to entice many frustrated pilots away from their preferred professions and join sides in the growing unrest. Piracy and bounty hunting increased exponentially and the very limited amount of exploration left became pretty much non-existent as the handful of available systems became saturated with more and more new recruits fresh out of the academy.
In May of 3300 the spread of piracy reached epidemic levels when scores of pilots were ambushed during an Asellus Primus trade summit.
In June of 3300 there was an attempted landing on the inhospitable moon, Dustball, in orbit around Maher Prime, in a hope to locate the lost science vessel 'Leavitt-Payne' which was rumored to have crash-landed there a few days previous. The attempt failed due to corrosive atmospheric dust damaging the hull of the rescue ship - forcing it to abandon the effort. Calls on the Federation and Empire to release suppressed atmospheric shielding technology that would once again allow pilots to land on planetary surfaces sadly fell on deaf ears.
Instead, pressure on the powers to release more NavCom data and push back the restrictive bubble grew, and finally in late July of 3300 the interstellar market for the next version of FSD tech and distant NavCom data was opened up.. codenamed Beta 1.
{OOC - the first alpha of Elite Dangerous limited commanders to visiting just a handful of star systems, centered around Aulin}.
The Beta's - July to October 3300: Fifty-five star systems covering 38,000 cubic light years centered around the Boötes constellation, often known as the first 'beta bubble', all of this was now in reach due to the release of the next phase of FSD tech and NavCom data. With this new boundary, exploration finally began to become recognized as a valid profession. Pilots spread out from tension-ridden Eranin and its neighboring systems and began reporting on new trade links between systems further and further afield. Yet within a month of this era, many explorers had grown weary of exploring the bubble for no monetary reward and instead turned to other means in order to make a living - including piracy.
{OOC - the first beta of Elite Dangerous expanded the playable region to 55 star systems}.
The New Frontier
Despite the larger area open to pilots, exploration in the first few days was often dangerous due to the amount of players being squeezed into still such a low volume of space. Hostile encounters with players and NPCs was often inevitable. Nevertheless, the first tentative roles began to emerge and players soon spread out and mapped the inner borders of the new bubble - yet yearned for the time when the release of yet more NavCom data would burst the bubble once and for all and throw open the entire galaxy. Gradually over the next few weeks the beta bubbles were expanded to encompass steadily larger regions.
Again it was The Centauran Herald that first broke the news of mounting unrest.. mostly growing out of the strict fines meted out for loitering, canister dumping, high taxation laws that the Federation began imposing, and finally the collapse of the interstellar bank that wiped out all pilots federation credit balances.
Finally, in late July of 3300 many frustrated pilots massed outside Aulin Enterprise for what was codenamed the 'Aulin Apocalypse' - a beta blowout that saw hundreds of pilots attacking the Orbis Starport. Footage of the battle is still archived to this day within the Heralds databanks.
Ultimately the Federation withheld the onslaught but many survivors of that fateful weekend still claim that the pressure brought upon the powers 'persuaded' them to release the Gamma Phase of FSD tech and the long awaited NavCom databanks containing all deep space hyperspace routes out of colonized space - removing the restrictive borders of the local region and 'beta bubble', and throwing open a much wider region for new recruits to explore. At the same time many pilots who had invested in research and development into these new techs were rewarded and allocated various prototype space craft... one of which was the newly produced Long Range Cobra Mk III.. a starship primarily dedicated to long range exploration.
A new era of exploration had begun.
The Early Adventurers
- The Cobra Mk III Era
Finally on November 22nd 3300 the last restrictive boundary was removed, and for the first time the entire galaxy was opened up. A vast exodus of pilots began as the first tentative journeys to nearby astronomical points of interest were made. The Coalsack, The Pleiades, Barnard's Loop... all places relatively close to humanities frontier that became the first hotbed destinations for the earliest travelers as they undertook their first steps out into the galaxy..
Exploration was in its infancy. No one knew what hostiles were out there. No one knew how far a ship could travel without needing maintenance. No one knew anything about the dangers of hyperspacing into a contact binary system, or how to deal with it. It was the ancient wild west revisited... a new frontier was opening up.
A first journey to Sagittarius A* and the New Horizon's Expedition
The first reports of deep space exploration began to filter back into colonized space around late November of 3300. CMDR Zulu Romeo, commanding an explorer-class Cobra Mk III 'Useless Reptile' had made the very first attempt to cross the arduous 23,000 LYs and journey to the Galactic Core. Reaching the supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A* in early December. Whilst simultaneously, CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel, piloting the 'Shackleton Explorer', had embarked on the New Horizons Expedition - a journey along the Orion Spur, crossing the Vela Molecular Ridge, and making the first recorded visit to the Eta Carina Nebula.
Considering the unknowns at the time and coupled with the hostility of ever present NPCs and non-existent route planners, such expeditions were regarded as remarkable feats. Explorers back then had no route planner at all, routes were plotted one star at a time! There were no star filters, and no known strategies for dealing with ship maintenance or environmental hazards (i.e. contact binaries - phenomena that no longer exist these days).
Full Release - December 3300: In December 3300 the Gamma Phase came to an end and a massive influx of new Pilots Federation recruits entered the world. At Noon on December 16th 3300, David Braben officially launched Elite Dangerous. With it, the age of the Asp Explorer and ultra deep space exploration began.
The Early Pioneers
- The Asp Explorer Era
Late December 3300 was a time of turmoil for early explorers. Bugs were scuppering many attempts to reach the galactic core regions as it became increasingly known that something bad had gone wrong with the travel mechanics since Zulu's successful Gamma Phase trip to the galactic core. Explorers reaching the outer core regions beyond the Norma Expanse were often disconnected during hyperspace and were unable to get back online afterwards - leaving many pilots unable to continue their journeys for days, and sometimes weeks. A word of warning was issued to explorers leaving home for the depths of space. On the bright side a 100 LY route planner was finally introduced, something that explorers had been calling for during early Gamma.
Thankfully by mid January 3301 most of these hyperspace disconnect issues had been resolved and the early pioneers could once again continue with their endeavors.
- On January 5th CMDR Kommodore sets off to visit Sagittarius A* in an Eagle kitted out for long range travel... he wouldn't be heard of again until almost 10 months later.
- On January 7th a pilot called R4nger0 left colonized space in his Sidewinder (called Sneaky Pete), with the sole intention to cross the entire galaxy with it.
- Around the the same time other expeditions set forth to push deeper into the galaxy and CMDR Rekal and CMDR Big Bad Lynx, both piloting Asp Explorers, began their own individual journeys to the far side.
The Pioneer Age had begun.
The Pioneer Timeline
October 3300
★ CMDR Patau82 creates the Universal Cartographics Galactic Records database. A place for explorers to submit scientific data that they've discovered throughout the galaxy.
★ CMDR Jorlin becomes the first pilot to fly the newly released Asp Explorer. {OOC: access to the official Gamma Discussion forum is needed to view this thread, I've provided a screenshot of Jorlin's initial post in the spoiler below}

★ A few days after Jorlin's initial test flight, newsfeeds receive the flight-recorder footage of another Asp Explorer's maiden voyage, this one visiting several outlying beta frontier border systems, including the once incredible Wunjo 1 Furnace.
November 3300
★ CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel completes the New Horizons expedition and retires his Long Range Cobra (Shackleton Explorer), at Aulin Enterprise.
★ The FGE begin steadily pushing the envelope on what could be accomplished with group exploration. Without the help of route planners or wing mechanics - the first tentative attempts at group exploration begins with a series of expeditions out to nearby nebulae. On the first day of Gamma a flotilla of FGE exploration vessels head out to the Pleiades and begin surveying the nebula.
★ CMDR Zulu Romeo successfully traverses the 23,000 LY distance to Sagittarius A* (and returns safely in early December 3300).
December 3300
★ CMDR Nutter complies the first comprehensive explorers guide to the galaxy.
★ CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel embarks on the Distant Suns expedition to the far side of the galaxy (and ultimately discovers the system that later becomes known as Beagle Point).
★ A FGE expedition to the Coalsack begins - approximately 30 research vessels make the trip to this frontier border nebula and conduct surveys of the surrounding star systems.
January 3301
★ CMDR Kommodore sets off on a journey to visit Sag-A* in an Eagle rigged out for long distance exploration... the first recorded attempt to reach the galactic core in such a vessel. Later that year, in late September 3301, Kommodore successfully returns to colonized space and is awarded over 123 million credits from Universal Cartographics for the data he amassed. His mission is thought to be one of the longest running on record, at 9 months.
★ CMDR R4nger0 begins his epic quest to cross the galaxy in a Sidewinder. Update : 4th Feb. 3302 - R4's quest comes to an end when his Sidewinder (Sneaky Pete) finally returns home after crossing to the far side of the galaxy and back - successfully returning home 13 months after the journey began.
★ The FGE Nebulae Research voyage sets off to explore the Pleiades, Hind, and California Nebulae, and concludes the following month with trips out to the Eskimo, Helix, and LBN 623 Nebulae.
★ CMDR Big Bad Lynx sets off to cross the galaxy in an Asp Explorer.
★ CMDR Zieman embarks on a survey mission to the Orionis constellation and begins an extensive study of over 200 star systems with Orionis designations, before concluding the mission with a further study of the Orion Nebula cluster.
★ CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel reaches the far side of the galaxy after successfully crossing the outer rim Abyss in an Asp Explorer - circa Jan. 18th 3301. The first recorded crossing of the galaxy was reported and published a few days after the explorer reached 'Beagle Point' (CEECKIA ZQ-L C24-0), a star system over 65,000 LYs from home. A GalNet report of the endeavor causes some controversy at the time as it is stated that the DSS Beagle had returned from the far galactic rim, when in reality it had been badly damaged after hyperspacing into a red giant binary pair, exited in the corona of one of the stars, and thus remained crippled out on the galactic rim for several more weeks before the journey home began.
- GalNet Propaganda - The Distant Suns Epilogue
- GalNet YouTube News Bulletin - 65,000 LY Journey Across the Galaxy
- Frontier's GalNet 'misinfo' News Release : Explorer Returns from Outer Rim
- Frontier's re-released News Article : Outrage Amongst Explorers’ Association
February 3301
★ CMDR Ozric completes his journey to the Crab Nebula.
★ CMDR Maia Posidana and CMDR Katier announce (independently) their intentions to circumnavigate the galaxy.
★ CMDR Big Bad Lynx returns from his epic 170,000 LY round trip of the galaxy.
★ CMDR Rekal returns home from his trip to the far side of the galactic core.
★ The EDC-Explorers Four Corners Mission is launched form the Atlantis star system. The mission, made up 12 commanders flying in three separate groups, set out to explore the 'four corners of the galaxy' - one of the earliest recorded wing coordinated expeditions.
★ The Galactic Mapping Project for explorers is born.
★ CMDR Glynie begins compiling a list of all known Earth-Like Worlds so far discovered. His work is later passed on to CMDR Marx who continues cataloging data on ELWs submitted from the exploration community.
★ The 1,000 LY Route Planner and Star Filter is introduced. Payouts from Universal Cartographics is significantly improved - finally bringing exploration income into line with other professions. The star filter paves the way for easier location and surveying of scientific points of interest - namely neutron stars and blackholes.
March 3301
- The Anaconda Era
★ CMDR DrNoesis leaves inhabited space to explore the largely uncharted New Outer Arm. Conducting an intense survey of those regions it is reported later that year (September) that the commander had reached a point parallel along the arm to the core, around 25% of the way around the whole galaxy.
★ The first Exploration Community Goal (Lambda Andromedae) successfully concludes and leads to the construction of the most distant bases from Sol at Sothis and Ceos, and other outposts in between.
★ 43,000 LYs from Sol, CMDR R4nger0 in his Sidewinder reaches the near edge of the Scutum-Centaurus Arm, there a rendezvous with CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel (who is returning home from the far side) occurs and the two explorers make a joint survey of the rendezvous system before parting ways. The meeting is recorded and beamed back to colonized space where GalNet picks it up and reports the event via various newsfeeds.
★ The Wings feature is introduced and many explorers begin teaming up. Solo exploration remains popular though due to the unreliability of the early wings mechanic.
★ CMDR Dr Kaii begins his epic documented journey to the galactic depths and produces the stunning Deep Space Surveys video series.
★ CMDR Marlon Blake returns from an 80,000 LY round trip and is awarded a staggering 145 million credits for the data he collated - one of the highest payouts to date.
★ CMDR Rikk pilots the first recorded Imperial Clipper to Sagittarius A*. Setting off on 28th Feb 3301, he did not reach home until 23rd June 3301 - having covered 70,000 LYs during the trip.
★ The DSS Beagle, piloted by CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel, limps home from the far galactic rim with just 24% structural integrity remaining, thus concluding the Distant Suns expedition. The heavily damaged ship is decommissioned and retired from service. (Approx. 1 year later CEECKIA ZQ-L C24-0 is renamed to Beagle Point, in honour of the vessel).
★ CMDR SvennoJ departs on his quest to find the galaxies loneliest planet. Later in his journey he crosses the western edge of the Abyss using an Anaconda class starship.
★ The first recorded survey mission to the distant Hyponia sector is released.
April 3301
★ The Thargoid Flap : Rumors of a mystery out beyond the Formidine Rift causes a stir throughout the exploration community. Many pilots flock to this relatively nearby region, some 10,000 - 15,000 LYs from Sol, beyond the Perseus Arm, but to no avail. So far nothing untoward has been located. CMDR 'Erimus' Kamzel produces a video log of his own investigation into the Rift and the possible connection to the Unknown Artifacts that appeared throughout colonized space in the spring and early summer of 3301.
★ CMDR Allitnil concludes his epic 14,000 star system journey, and in doing so is recorded as being the first pilot to cross the far galactic Abyss in a Cobra Mk III.
★ CMDR Katejina embarks on an epic quest to circumnavigate the galaxy as well as explore the core regions.
★ The Buckyball Run A* event begins. Pilots from across colonized space, including many dedicated explorers, begin the competition to reach Sagittarius A* in as short a time as possible.
★ CMDR Tylar's five week tour of planetary nebulae concludes.
★ CMDR SvennoJ reaches CEECKIA PE-E D13-0, a system 65,365 LYs from Sol - setting a new distance record for a 41 LY Anaconda.
★ CMDR Dognosh compiles a comprehensive exploration guide that includes lists, tools, and diaries related to all things exploration.
★ The First Great Expedition embark on the first mass-surveying endeavor of the mysterious Regor sectors and produce detailed 3D maps of its border regions.
★ The 'Four Corners Expedition' map the borders of the Bleia Permit Zone that is embedded within Perseus Stem, on the far side of the galactic core.
May 3301
★ CMDR Kancro Vantas publishes 'The Galactic Tour of Wonders' - an extensive pictorial guide to points of interest visted during a 11,000 LY journey.
★ CMDR DoubleSkulls becomes the first explorer to have his ship destroyed at Sagittarius A* due to hostile fire from an unknown assailant.
★ CMDR Akira Masakari publishes a guide to distinguish planet types from sounds coming from them, possibly easing labor for a number of explorers.
★ CMDR R4nger0 becomes the first explorer to pilot a Sidewinder class starship to the far side of the galaxy - reaching a distance of 59,000 LYs from Sol. However the ship could not cross the outer rim Abyss due to its limited FSD range.
★ CMDR Mossfoot travels to Sagittarius A* and records footage of his journey. Eventually he produces a video log of the trip and edits ancient classical musical scores with the footage - producing the 'movements of exploration' piece that is played in theaters throughout colonized space. Along with an earlier piece named Starsoul, one of the first classic 'Art of Exploration' series is born.
★ CMDR Allitnil embarks on a solo expedition to measure the extent of the reachable galaxy.
★ CMDR Anuranium travels to Sagittarius A* in an attempt to hunt down and destroy the 'SagA Sniper' who was attacking unarmed explorers visiting the supermassive black hole. When confronted with Anuranium's fully armed starship, the sniper promptly set his own ship to self destruct in an act of cowardice and was never heard of again as its smouldering wreckage disappeared beyond the event horizon of the black hole.
★ CMDR Dognosh starts Version 2 of the log of all submitted Commanders' exploration trips.
★ CMDR Kola2 embarks on an expedition to explore the rarely traveled 4th quadrant.
June 3301
★ CMDR Picker returns from an epic 151 day voyage around the galaxy, visiting over 6,600 systems and traveling approximately 180,000 LYs in the process.
★ CMDR Turambar concludes his 200,000 LYs galactic journey and becomes one of the first explorers to circumnavigate the galaxy via the outer arms route.
★ CMDR CaptainKremmen embarks on a journey coreward and sends back a pictorial log of his travels.
★ The Fuel rats are formed - a voluntary collection of pilots dedicated to rescuing explorers (and other travelers) who have inadvertently ran out of fuel far from home.
★ CMDR's Stulli, Barefoot Bandit and Allitnil rendezvous close to Beagle Point on the far side of the galaxy, some 65,000 LYs from Sol, and in doing so set a record for the most distant encounter so far recorded.
★ CMDR Andrew Gaspurr sets off on the "Pilgrim's Path" tour - an expedition out to Eta Carina, NGC 3199 and beyond the Orion Spur shallows, exploring the seldom traveled 4th Quadrant regions.
July 3301
★ CMDR Kancro Vantas publishes the most definitive guide to date of the vast galactic core neutron fields. The neutron survey becomes a great source of information for science-based exploration missions to the core regions.
★ The Quest to find Raxxla is launched by Macros Black, with many pilots collating data and clues on the whereabouts of this mysterious world.
★ CMDR Allitnil concludes his mission to measure the extent of the reachable galaxy and submits some of his findings to the Universal Cartographics Galactic database.
★ CMDR Derthek travels to (and surveys) the star system Drooteou PW-I A36-4, which is cited as being the physically located antithesis of Sol on the opposite side of the galaxy. The system turned out to consist of an unremarkable red dwarf orbited by several dead worlds and one moon, and is now known as 'Derthek's Folly'.
★ The Fuel Rats receive a distress call from a deep-space explorer named CMDR Monchiko, who stranded 18,000 LYs from Sol out in the Sagittarius spiral arm. The closest 'Rat' being over 16,000 LYs away. CMDR Alex Traut, CMDR Aitken, and CMDR b0rg9, all out exploring in different areas, answered the call as far away as 18,136 LYs, and in 12 hours of marathon jumping saved the stranded pilot and his months of SagA* exploration data - thus making history as the most distant and successfully completed rescue attempt ever recorded.
August 3301
★ The First Great Expedition invites the exploration community to embark on a mission to jointly explore and chart the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm of the galaxy.
October 3301
★ Akira Makasari opens the 65,000 light years from Sol club - an archived list of commanders that have successfully travelled across the galaxy to the far outer rim region.
January 3302 - April 3302
★ Distant Worlds 3302 (DW1) launches from Pallaeni. Approximately 1,200 commanders embark on the largest expedition to date - with a goal of retracing the Distant Suns expedition of 3301 and map out the first Jumponium highway, stretching across 85,000 LYs from frontier borders to Beagle Point. The expedition will become one of the most iconic events in Elite history, and indirectly leads to the birth of Colonia via Jaques failed attempt to rendezvous with the Distant Worlds fleet there by initiating a 65,000 LY hyperjump (the rest is history!).
This expedition marked the end of the First Age of Pioneers.
May 3302
★ EDSM is launched. The Galactic Mapping Project moves all data and POI information collated during the Age of Pioneers to the EDSM platform.
What the early explorers achieved during the Age of Pioneers
- Explored all the nearby points of interest; nebula, clusters, black holes.
- Traveled to the Galactic Core regions and brought back data on Sagittarius A* and the vast Neutron Fields.
- Crossed the entire galaxy and visited the most distant star systems.
- Mapped the borders of many permit-only regions strewn throughout the four quadrants of the galaxy.
- Circumnavigated the galaxy.
- Created a wealth of data and knowledge in the form of guides, diaries, and databases, all for the love of exploration.
- Surveyed an estimated 12,000,000 star systems during the Pioneer period (according to a July 3301 Newsletter).
- Extensively mapped the local regions of the Orion Spur, and began the first tentative steps in creating maps of all four quadrants.
- The Useless Reptile (Cobra Mk III) : First ship to reach Sagittarius A*
- Shackleton Explorer (Cobra Mk III) : First ship to visit VY Canis Majoris and cross the Vela Molecular Ridge to survey the Eta Carina Nebula (New Horizons Expedition).
- DSS Beagle (Asp Explorer) : First starship to cross the Abyss and reach the far side of the galaxy, over 65,000 LYs from Sol, discovering the system that later became known as Beagle Point.
- The 'Phonebooth' Explorer (Eagle) : First starship of its class known to have attempted to reach the galactic core. Successfully concluding its mission later that year.
- The Roncevaux (Cobra Mk III) : First Cobra-class starship to cross the eastern edge of the Abyss and into the outer galactic arm regions.
- Svenno's Anaconda (Anaconda) : First Anaconda-class starship to cross the western edge of the Abyss and into the outer galactic arm regions.
- Magellan (Asp Explorer) : Starship that embarked on one of the earliest recorded attempts to circumnavigate the galaxy.
- The Orinoco (Asp Explorer) : The Starship that undertook the epic survey of the 4 neutron fields strewn throughout the galactic core regions.
- Sneaky Pete - (Sidewinder) : First Sidewinder to cross to the far side of the galaxy - reaching a distance of 59,000 LYs from Sol.
- Nobody's Business (Anaconda) : The ship that undertook the trip to the Galactic Limits, an endeavor to measure the extent of the reachable galaxy.
- Viaticus Rex II (Lakon Type-6) : The ship that recorded extensive video footage used in the making of the 'Movements of Exploration' series.
- Lostpath Wayfarer (Asp Explorer) : A ship that was stranded during the Orion expedition, near Epsilon Orionis, but was ultimately rescued by the newly formed Fuel Rats at the time.
- AGS Intrepid (Asp Explorer) : The ship that conducted the Pilgrim's Path expedition through the Orion Spur Shallows and into the 4th Quadrant.
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