The title says it all.
I think I finally found Raxxla.
Disclaimer:
This is going to be a recounting of events, rough timeline and love letter to Elite Dangerous, the Universe, exploration in general and a speculation as well as my genuine conclusion about the matter.
First things first, I've been playing Elite Dangerous roughly since release. At the beginning I thought only bounty hunting could entertain me. Didn't think that exploration or mining could satisfy me, had no real love or interest in trading or anything else.
Now, I primarily and almost exclusively play in Solo Mode or in my own Private Group. I'm not very good at fighting, except in PvE where I can firmly stand my ground! Only had problems since Engineers started, cause of engineered NPCs that can be a real pain, but that was mainly my own fault because I disregarded engineering in the beginning.
But during this time alone I quickly learned that mining (especially since the deep core mining update) can indeed be fun, if you don't approach it as a task you have to get through for another different goal, i.E. profit or being able to afford the next bigger ship, but instead actively try to find fun in the different play-styles.
I was a bounty hunter first, miner and explorer second. Thanks to Twitch and Youtube I was able to meet other CMDRs and even though I'm from Germany made some friends along the way from all over the world. At the time that the Horizon Expansion launched, I finally dabbled in exploration for a longer time period.
Before, I've only dipped my toes into the vast ocean of exploration. I've watched the "Lore Tour Videos" from Drew Wager, Obsidian Ants videos about the "Distant Worlds" events and very quickly got not only interested in exploration itself but wanted to have a unique experience.
I actively searched for interesting systems, ignored systems or quickly left them when they seemed like your usual generic system. And I don't mean that in the way of "If you've seen one system x y z you have seen all of 'em", but more as in some systems just didn't interest me as much. I wanted to see double-stars, Wolf Rayet Systems, my first black hole. Stuff that is not as common or at least very interesting to look at.
After my first flight to Colonia, Jaques Station, neighboring systems, the Pleiades Nebula, other nebulae and parts of the outer rim, my eye was quickly drawn to the lore of Elite. Not only ED, but its predecessors as well. So I got myself the very first Elite from 1984 which I wasn't able to play before, downloaded it form the Frontier Store including the emulator to play it, booted it up and had a look. It was fascinating, the things you could do. I'm still unclear if that was a thing you were always able to do in the original game, or if it was only through the emulator that I was able to "misjump" purposely. But fascinating nonetheless. At some point I looked into the Codex we have now, which wasn't there in the beginning.
And one thing in particular caught my eye.
Raxxla.
So I did what anybody in my situation would do. The only thing that made sense to me. I set out to "find Raxxla". Especially since David Braben himself said on multiple occasions that it's in the game. And I only mean Raxxla, not The Dark Wheel themselves.
So I got my hands on a version of the original booklet of Elite, where the first mention of Raxxla was found, I read the Codex entry and tried to wrap my head around what it could be.
And then i set out for my search.
How I found what I didn't even look for
Just before that though, I participated in a very particular event, the Thargoids already showed themselves and Federation and Empire were now racing towards a defense.
It was at that time that Zachary Hudson, President of the Federation at time of writing, decided that to counter the acts of violence and terrorism against certain stations from Pro-Thargoid activists should be countered by hightened security screenings, scan of private messages and so on.
A very interesting Community Goal occured, where the Pilots Federation awarded us with a lot of money (and I mean A LOT of money) for only providing data materials to Nanomam.
I don't think I have to tell anybody that a very certain crash site not far from the Nanomam system was quickly overrun by CMDRs and datacores were mined quicker than any asteroid mine could have worked with a millions workers.
I participated, placed in the top 10% and earned myself over a billion credits just as a reward for that one CG. More credits than I ever had. Just before that I was barely able to pool together enough for my first Anaconda. So I, again, did the only sensible thing anybody would do.
I spent it without holding back.
New Type-10 which only just got added to the game? Mine!
Wanting to try the Beluga Liner for some passenger missions I never tried before? I'm a taxi-driver now!
I bought a LOT of stuff, tried different things. I was suddenly rich! Well, compared to my previous bank account at least.
One thing I did with that money was to work towards the Federal Corvette, buy it, equip it, do some engineering and therefore reach a goal I had since the Vette was added to the game.
It was finally time for Raxxla.
If you've read this far, let me thank you and tell you that all you've just read is important to understand how I play this wonderful game, to be able to follow my thought process.
So, as we already established, I generally don't do stuff because I want the thing at the end. At least I try to not think about it.
The same as with mining, I didn't search for Raxxla actively.
I didn't even know what Raxxla was and if I would be able to recognize it if I saw it. Is it a place? Is it a gateway or tunnel?
During my travels, my exploration, all of my different ways through the galaxy and the paths it took me... at some point, it just hit me.
I jumped into the next star system on one of my travels and there it was. Finally.
The realization that Raxxla is not a place. It is not a gateway or tunnel.
It is a feeling. A drive. To me, Raxxla is the thing i found and didn't even know I looked for.
To me, Raxxla was the journey itself.
When sources about Raxxla talk about a gateway to other dimensions, I interpret that as the feeling that struck me.
Similar to a gateway to another dimension, I traveled from one point to another point.
My starting point was simply put "Uncertainty". I would even like to specify even more. In the german language we have a word for it, "Wanderlust". But it has two meanings.
In the english language (as far as I understand it) it means: to long for home, miss home etc.
In german that is called "Fernweh", but there is also Wanderlust itself, which means: Lust for wander. To long for the journey, wandering about and seeing new things, meeting other people and so on.
That was where I started. A drive to wander, seek what's out there, see new places and meet people I haven't met before.
Where my journey ended was, and I know how this sounds already, a sort of tranquility.
Raxxla, to me, is the feeling of movement and i mean this figuratively. The feeling of being "on your way", doing things you like, pushing your own boundaries and interests, learning things.
Conclusion
When David Braben and others have gone on record saying "It's in the game and the players have to find it themselves", personally I think they mean the journey itself and the realization of what you've accomplished on your way through the galaxy of Elite Dangerous.
So go out there, make your own way, carve yourself a path of your own and create your very own story, just by playing the game and most importantly:
By having fun!
Please let me know what your thoughts are.
o7 CMDRs
Isabella
P.S.: I wholeheartedly thank Robert Holdstock for his book and David Braben and the team at Frontier and all the skilled writers of in-game lore for this experience so far. I'm excited where this journey will take me next.
I think I finally found Raxxla.
Disclaimer:
This is going to be a recounting of events, rough timeline and love letter to Elite Dangerous, the Universe, exploration in general and a speculation as well as my genuine conclusion about the matter.
First things first, I've been playing Elite Dangerous roughly since release. At the beginning I thought only bounty hunting could entertain me. Didn't think that exploration or mining could satisfy me, had no real love or interest in trading or anything else.
Now, I primarily and almost exclusively play in Solo Mode or in my own Private Group. I'm not very good at fighting, except in PvE where I can firmly stand my ground! Only had problems since Engineers started, cause of engineered NPCs that can be a real pain, but that was mainly my own fault because I disregarded engineering in the beginning.
But during this time alone I quickly learned that mining (especially since the deep core mining update) can indeed be fun, if you don't approach it as a task you have to get through for another different goal, i.E. profit or being able to afford the next bigger ship, but instead actively try to find fun in the different play-styles.
I was a bounty hunter first, miner and explorer second. Thanks to Twitch and Youtube I was able to meet other CMDRs and even though I'm from Germany made some friends along the way from all over the world. At the time that the Horizon Expansion launched, I finally dabbled in exploration for a longer time period.
Before, I've only dipped my toes into the vast ocean of exploration. I've watched the "Lore Tour Videos" from Drew Wager, Obsidian Ants videos about the "Distant Worlds" events and very quickly got not only interested in exploration itself but wanted to have a unique experience.
I actively searched for interesting systems, ignored systems or quickly left them when they seemed like your usual generic system. And I don't mean that in the way of "If you've seen one system x y z you have seen all of 'em", but more as in some systems just didn't interest me as much. I wanted to see double-stars, Wolf Rayet Systems, my first black hole. Stuff that is not as common or at least very interesting to look at.
After my first flight to Colonia, Jaques Station, neighboring systems, the Pleiades Nebula, other nebulae and parts of the outer rim, my eye was quickly drawn to the lore of Elite. Not only ED, but its predecessors as well. So I got myself the very first Elite from 1984 which I wasn't able to play before, downloaded it form the Frontier Store including the emulator to play it, booted it up and had a look. It was fascinating, the things you could do. I'm still unclear if that was a thing you were always able to do in the original game, or if it was only through the emulator that I was able to "misjump" purposely. But fascinating nonetheless. At some point I looked into the Codex we have now, which wasn't there in the beginning.
And one thing in particular caught my eye.
Raxxla.
So I did what anybody in my situation would do. The only thing that made sense to me. I set out to "find Raxxla". Especially since David Braben himself said on multiple occasions that it's in the game. And I only mean Raxxla, not The Dark Wheel themselves.
So I got my hands on a version of the original booklet of Elite, where the first mention of Raxxla was found, I read the Codex entry and tried to wrap my head around what it could be.
And then i set out for my search.
How I found what I didn't even look for
Just before that though, I participated in a very particular event, the Thargoids already showed themselves and Federation and Empire were now racing towards a defense.
It was at that time that Zachary Hudson, President of the Federation at time of writing, decided that to counter the acts of violence and terrorism against certain stations from Pro-Thargoid activists should be countered by hightened security screenings, scan of private messages and so on.
A very interesting Community Goal occured, where the Pilots Federation awarded us with a lot of money (and I mean A LOT of money) for only providing data materials to Nanomam.
I don't think I have to tell anybody that a very certain crash site not far from the Nanomam system was quickly overrun by CMDRs and datacores were mined quicker than any asteroid mine could have worked with a millions workers.
I participated, placed in the top 10% and earned myself over a billion credits just as a reward for that one CG. More credits than I ever had. Just before that I was barely able to pool together enough for my first Anaconda. So I, again, did the only sensible thing anybody would do.
I spent it without holding back.
New Type-10 which only just got added to the game? Mine!
Wanting to try the Beluga Liner for some passenger missions I never tried before? I'm a taxi-driver now!
I bought a LOT of stuff, tried different things. I was suddenly rich! Well, compared to my previous bank account at least.
One thing I did with that money was to work towards the Federal Corvette, buy it, equip it, do some engineering and therefore reach a goal I had since the Vette was added to the game.
It was finally time for Raxxla.
If you've read this far, let me thank you and tell you that all you've just read is important to understand how I play this wonderful game, to be able to follow my thought process.
So, as we already established, I generally don't do stuff because I want the thing at the end. At least I try to not think about it.
The same as with mining, I didn't search for Raxxla actively.
I didn't even know what Raxxla was and if I would be able to recognize it if I saw it. Is it a place? Is it a gateway or tunnel?
During my travels, my exploration, all of my different ways through the galaxy and the paths it took me... at some point, it just hit me.
I jumped into the next star system on one of my travels and there it was. Finally.
The realization that Raxxla is not a place. It is not a gateway or tunnel.
It is a feeling. A drive. To me, Raxxla is the thing i found and didn't even know I looked for.
To me, Raxxla was the journey itself.
When sources about Raxxla talk about a gateway to other dimensions, I interpret that as the feeling that struck me.
Similar to a gateway to another dimension, I traveled from one point to another point.
My starting point was simply put "Uncertainty". I would even like to specify even more. In the german language we have a word for it, "Wanderlust". But it has two meanings.
In the english language (as far as I understand it) it means: to long for home, miss home etc.
In german that is called "Fernweh", but there is also Wanderlust itself, which means: Lust for wander. To long for the journey, wandering about and seeing new things, meeting other people and so on.
That was where I started. A drive to wander, seek what's out there, see new places and meet people I haven't met before.
Where my journey ended was, and I know how this sounds already, a sort of tranquility.
Raxxla, to me, is the feeling of movement and i mean this figuratively. The feeling of being "on your way", doing things you like, pushing your own boundaries and interests, learning things.
Conclusion
When David Braben and others have gone on record saying "It's in the game and the players have to find it themselves", personally I think they mean the journey itself and the realization of what you've accomplished on your way through the galaxy of Elite Dangerous.
So go out there, make your own way, carve yourself a path of your own and create your very own story, just by playing the game and most importantly:
By having fun!
Please let me know what your thoughts are.
o7 CMDRs
Isabella
P.S.: I wholeheartedly thank Robert Holdstock for his book and David Braben and the team at Frontier and all the skilled writers of in-game lore for this experience so far. I'm excited where this journey will take me next.
Last edited:
