Stephen Benedetti
Community Manager
Greetings Commanders,
Welcome back to our Featured Commanders series! Who better to kick things off with again than the players behind the Deep Space Support Array (DSSA)! We had the pleasure of speaking with Commanders Qohen Leth, Gnauty Gnate, and Erimus who helped organise the initiative and they had this to say:
What Is the DSSA?
The DSSA is a loose collection of Commanders from various places, groups, careers, communities, choosing to bring something to a common project. The DSSA initiative is specifically designed to be as hands-off as possible: a slim, but solid knot tying explorers and travellers from everywhere.
The project was started and run by Qohen Leth until July of this year, when he handed it off to Gnauty. The organization is fairly flat. Aside from Gnauty as the director, there are no formal roles, ranks, or schedules. Commanders Erimus, Dr.Nagi, Heavy Johnson, and a few others have supported the project and answered questions on the forums and on FleetComm. Commander Eagle131 has taken on the video promotion role. A small group of programmers are working on a couple of initiatives. And of course, we have over a hundred volunteer Commanders, who constitute the real core of the project deploying Fleet Carriers in the black.
The number of deployed Fleet Carriers is limited to approximately three per region. Approximately 60 have deployed to date, 8-10 are en-route, and close to three-dozen are in various stages of planning and preparation. A reserve list is maintained and open for new applications to replace Commanders who are unable to deploy or may wish to remove their Fleet Carrier from service.
Finally, we must of course take into account the many explorers and miners volunteering to help haul the Fleet Carriers to every corner of the galaxy. For some, the Fleet Carriers deployment will be quick and easy; for others, it will represent a long journey dotted with mining sessions or pit stops for refueling.
What is the DSSA's mission?
Qohen: The first mission of the DSSA is to provide a reliable network of support of Fleet Carriers in deep space, all over the galaxy. Not only to help Commanders who find themselves far from any station with a damaged hull, or in need of a safe harbour for some relief after months in the black, but also to promote local exploration of faraway areas that have barely been crossed by travellers over the years. In this regard, we will deploy Fleet Carriers along some known routes (for example, along the circumnavigation paths) and deep inside remote areas. This is why it's important that DSSA Fleet Carriers avoid the beaten paths and park far away from each other. It is also to provide some fresh goals for the exploration community and a sort of test run for new logistical strategies before the new era begins.
Erimus: The DSSA is the first step toward providing opportunities geared to player-created content and emergent gameplay far from the traditional locations like the Bubble and Colonia. Fleet Carriers are providing us with the means to do this, and each launch event will be an opportunity for players to get involved in helping write this opening chapter of ‘new era’ gameplay.
The logistics involved in getting these capital ships out to where they need to be will be one of the prime focuses early on, but once the Array is in place, these Fleet Carriers will effectively become deep space outposts in their own right - offering services to travellers first and foremost, but also creating opportunities for expeditions to utilise them as focal points for specific mission goals - like mining events to help with upkeep costs and maintaining deep space Tritium depots for other Fleet Carriers traversing the depths.
In addition, emergent gameplay, such as the creation of logistical support wings, will be promoted and incorporated into major expeditionary events to come like DW3, such as;
- Heavy Industry DSSA Fuel Hauler Teams (eg. utilising high capacity T-9s, and Cutters)
- Tritium Prospectors and Mappers (in association with the GMP)
- The creation of DSSA Mining Divisions
- Freelance and FleetComm-affiliated Roving Carrier Transports (utilised to take mining teams and tourists to and from DSSA outposts)
What stories do you have from organising the DSSA?
- We are already seeing examples of the DSSA being, as Qohen wrote, beacons in the profound dark. Just this week, I was delighted to read a forum thread which began, “Hi, I have 5 minutes oxygen remaining after my canopy got blown out. Is there anything I can do to fix it or am I doomed ? :/” The tl;dr is the Commander successfully reached [IGAU] The Lemon Drop in the Empyrean Straits. Details in the forum post: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/emergency-help-needed.552164/.
- CMDR Heavy Johnson kept a log of his deployment expedition. One of the Commanders who traveled with him cited this entry as his favorite moment (hint, lessons were learned about parking at a neutron star): https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threa...g-the-explorers-bar-grill.544560/post-8541100
- Added by Gnauty, Aug 7, 21:30, anecdote is from CMDR IncoherentOrange on Discord…
The Nowhere was recently bumped into en-route by a CMDR XenialZombie purely by chance, the first thing he'd seen in over a hundred jumps traversing the Bubble-Colonia corridor. He was on his way back to the bubble but when he found out we were bound for Colonia he decided to hitch a ride.
"Literally nothing for a 100+ jumps and then I find a DSSA Carrier on its way out. Its like winning the lottery lol"
(I hadn't updated the position of the Fleet Carrier when I finished jumping it, so it wasn't anywhere overtly public where we were, though I suppose it would show up in the Fleet Carrier locator)
Where can players find out about the DSSA?
The main place for information about the DSSA is the forum thread. The original post is updated with every new change to the progress of the project. Explorers can find the full list of DSSA Carriers on the Tracker, which displays the Fleet Carriers, their status, name, location, services, etc.
- EDAstro has a DSSA Carriers filter on its maps: https://edastro.com/galmap/?layer=regions&pins=DSSAcarriers
- You can also find the GMP DSSA Carriers on EDSM.
- The dedicated channels on FleetComm Discord are the home of DSSA’s community and are quite active.
Any aspect you'd like to share, for example where did the idea come from, who founded it, why did it form, any unique milestones you want to share?
As with each and any new feature coming to Elite, our thinking (Qohen’s, Erimus', us exploration event’s organisers) is the same: how can we use this to organise something for the exploration community? The answer came straight from the intended use of such vessels: act as mobile forward bases that we would push farther perhaps than expected by their manufacturers. However, we would not restrict it to personal use, but rather make it a public service. Finally, in typical exploration fashion we'd turn each deployment into its own flexible expedition. And there you have it: deep space support outposts, deployed by all, open to all. Qohen came up with this broad design back in September 3305, and shared it with Erimus a few weeks later. We know a few Commanders who are keen on long-term colonisation around their DSSA Carrier, and have been brainstorming it for years.
Do you have future events planned?
Gnauty: Deployment expeditions are in full swing with several heading out each week. Commanders interested in participating are encouraged to read the DSSA thread on the forums and join the FleetComm Discord to get details (both linked above).
Erimus: There are several launch events planned over the coming months. Most DSSA Carriers setting out to their designated regions will have some sort of expeditionary event associated with them - where players can sign up to help with the logistical support in getting the ships out to where they need to be.
The largest DSSA launch event to date was the Aphelion Expedition, which included eight DSSA Carriers and two support Fleet Carriers.
Is there anything you'd like to share that's coming up?
Yes! We are looking into ways to encourage the Elite: Dangerous player base to visit this amazing network of the Fleet Carriers we have assembled over the past several months. The first initiative along these lines is a virtual passport system that shows a player the patches/logos of all DSSA Carriers they have visited. It's currently under development and will be released soon. Perhaps in time for Thursday’s Livestream...
How can players get involved?
For Fleet Carriers commanders interested in joining, we are accepting applications for the DSSA Reserve List: https://forms.gle/CV2kwXM2nVLF7Cmn7
Positions are filled as available on a first-come-first-served basis. Future initiatives may include a branch of roving Fleet Carriers to provide logistics and mining support while ferrying Commanders to various far-flung DSSA locations.
For explorers and miners, your help is always needed! Expeditions to deploy DSSA Fleet Carriers are scheduled by the individual Fleet Carrier Commanders and are currently departing from Colonia and the Bubble at the rate of several a week. There are dozens of expeditions that you can take part in and join via their forum threads or dedicated webpages. From helping fuelling a Fleet Carrier just outside a starport to mining Tritium 50,000ly from the bubble, or refuelling passing Fleet Carriers at Sagittarius A* and then refuelling the refueller, there is plenty to do. Some of the Fleet Carriers don't have a destination system yet: there is also some rigorous scouting to do to find suitable locations. The best way to get in touch is to drop on FleetComm or show up on the expedition threads.
We want to thank the DSSA and Commanders Qohen Leth and Gnauty for your response, but this isn't all we have, check in on our Twitch Channel at 18:00 UTC on the 13 August 3306, as we will have Commanders Gnaughty Nate, Heavy Johnson, and Dr. Nagi on with us to answer some more questions, and give you more information on the DSSA.
o7 Commanders.
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