My experience of DW2 so far

[Nomadski]

Has been absolutely brilliant. I've travelled further (already) away from the bubble than I've ever been, I've had my first real go at wings, I've seen things(!) like 4 way Anaconda Pyramids, 30 odd ships in the same instance, and crashed ships on the surface of a desolate moon orbiting a methane dwarf star that itself orbited a black hole.

I've already formed friendly banter with some regulars in the EDSM squadron, have been healed by friendly seals, mined for the first time since Beta, and learned more about the galaxy we inhibit than I've learned in the previous years of playing on and off.

I didn't actually expect it to be this much fun, I expected more of an isolated experience, but the organisers and the participants I have met have really made it an experience I'm glad I didn't miss.

Also, I met Dave the mollusc in Flyiedgiae DL-Y g8. If you see him, say Hi!

Spoiler

 

[Henkka77]

.. and the expedition hasnt even properly started yet..

For me DW2 really starts when we leave Sag A behind us, everything before that is just a safe haven with lots of stations close by.

 

[RolloTreadway]

This was very nice to read. [smile]

I've also been enjoying it a lot. I have explored, travelled far and wide, although never yet to Beagle.

But always on my own. I don't really play multiplayer games, the whole business makes me anxious and uncomfortable (I play games to get away from people), but so far DW2 has been a very nice experience. It feels like being part of something big, but also relaxed, and just fun.

And so much of the trip still to come!

 

[Orvidius]

For me DW2 really starts when we leave Sag A behind us, everything before that is just a safe haven with lots of stations close by.

I'm starting to feel the same way. I didn't realize we'd be sticking the to the Colonia road for quite so long. At this point, there might only be a week or two in which we don't have a base within the itinerary, before we're building the station in the core.

 

[Diostar50]

I like that we're still near some spacestations, its like leaving a big city, and now we're entering the countryside with a few little gas stations and rest stops along the route, but soon we know we'll be heading into the vast wilderness and we won't see another soul (except each other) for the next 6 months. its a slow burner but it feels like its building up to be an epic trip.

 

[Sllewji]

Having a final few stations on the route has been useful as repair stops whilst reacquiring the skills being out in the black again.
I've been dropped out of hyperspace a few times due to my own carelessness, and I'd hate to have to carry the module integrity loss with me for the rest of the trip.
I have a couple of AFMUs and a Repair Limpit Controller, but these still leave the power plant vulnerable.
I'm trying to re-train my jump procedure to avoid future drop-outs.

 

[Nomadski]

Yeah having had an incident with both a black hole and a neutron star, my PP is down to 90% so another stop along the way wont do me any harm! That said it has taught me to be extra vigilant once we cross the threshold and go truly out into the black.

It's been a learning experience like I said, but a fun one.

 

[Numenor1379]

I'm starting to feel the same way. I didn't realize we'd be sticking the to the Colonia road for quite so long. At this point, there might only be a week or two in which we don't have a base within the itinerary, before we're building the station in the core.

Heh, my first reaction to the WP4 route was "Oh come on! Another station? Really?"

This said, given the number of newbie explorers we have, I suppose wading into the pool instead of jumping in the deep end is a good idea. Still, I am itching to get away from inhabited space.

 

[Erimus Kamzel]

Heh, my first reaction to the WP4 route was "Oh come on! Another station? Really?"

This said, given the number of newbie explorers we have, I suppose wading into the pool instead of jumping in the deep end is a good idea. Still, I am itching to get away from inhabited space.

This is an important point to consider. According to the fleet stats less than 2,000 players on DW2 are what you'd call exploration veterans. Only 10% of the 13,500 who signed up have been to Beagle Point. So the bottom line is that its likely that over 10,000 players on DW2 are new to deep space events, and a lot of those are new to the game itself.

On DW2 we've broken it down into stages of diffculty, we're on level one at the moment.

Stage 1 was written to ease players into it so we've got the safety net of the Colonia Highway at the moment, and will until we leave WP5. That's when Stage 2 begins and we finally head into the depths.

We'll still have the luxury of a station at the core to refit and utilize, but after that fleet attrition is likely to sky rocket!

 

[Orvidius]

This is an important point to consider. According to the fleet stats less than 2,000 players on DW2 are what you'd call exploration veterans. Only 10% of the 13,500 who signed up have been to Beagle Point. So the bottom line is that its likely that over 10,000 players on DW2 are new to deep space events, and a lot of those are new to the game itself.

On DW2 we've broken it down into stages of diffculty, we're on level one at the moment.

Yeah, I think that was a good call. I wasn't expecting it, but in retrospect I think it's good planning.

 

[Dziondziak]

Very good points.
I sit and listen to to the fleetcoms discord on general while I play. I hear a lot of people saying things like "57 jumps today and 20 left to go. Ready to pull my hair out". I think we will see a good number of self destructs before this is over.

Im actually taking this time to be go sight seeing. Ive spent so much time looking for things nobody has seen before, that ive turned away from all the wonders others have found. last night I went to the first nebula on the suggested stops list, and it really was beautiful. Im looking forward to seeing the other intended stops.
One thing that seems to elude me...I have yet to run into another cmdr. I play in the fleetcom PG, and assumed id be running into people, but alas, not yet.

 

[Rampant]

Good post OP - enjoyed reading that others are having fun.

As an experienced explorer, and backer, I've been avoiding the intermediate sightseeing so far and chosen to travel to systems that keep me 500-1,000 Ly away from the trodden path.

This week, though, I'll definitely travel via the Guardian ruins. Looking forward to that.

O7

Mark H

 

[iain666]

Heh, my first reaction to the WP4 route was "Oh come on! Another station? Really?"

There are stations? I've been ignoring the suggested route and submarining it. I'm approaching a point 2.5kly directly below WP4 at which point I'll pop up to see it and then sink back down to continue along the floor to WP5

 

[Nomadski]

Well just to make things that little more special, after handing in another 70m worth of data into Sacaqawea I got promoted to Elite! My first in any of the Elite games. Bottle of Pinot Gris later, I'm still grinning!

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

There are stations? I've been ignoring the suggested route and submarining it. I'm approaching a point 2.5kly directly below WP4 at which point I'll pop up to see it and then sink back down to continue along the floor to WP5

i've been doing something very similar, have to say though the number of CMDRs at WPs is amazing, being on Xbox in DW1 was very much a lonely affair, DW2 is full of folk to play planet side shenanigans with!

 

[CMDR Aegle Bra2S]

Hey Nomadski, thanks for bringing this up.

I actually very much agree with everyone's thoughts and I wanted to point out the organisation of the event. It is sooooo very clever, and so much details taken into account. I love the pace of the journey, and the steady staging. Many of those who couldn't start on time could still catch up. Presence of stations along the way lets us rethink the outfitting of ships, have a rest and so on.

I thought I was an experienced explorer, and long ready for the DW2 until I took off for the WP1. Just after the mass jump start I had to completely rethink my outfitting, sacrifice some jump range in order to be really ready to go to the blackness of the unknown. Now I feel like Im ready, but still I have a chance to rethink something while we are on our way to Colonia.

Looking forward to meet everything that awaits us alongside all of the other CMDRs! Fly safe, o7!

 

[jovi_1981]

Before DW2 started, I had played Elite for almost a year (PS4). I was very anxious about keeping up with the fleet, as my real life schedule is incredibly busy (my day starts at midnight delivering newspapers and then after a full day of teaching, I might get into bed by 7pm if I am lucky) and does not allow for much binge playing. I also had never really interacted with other players, as I grew up in the Nintendo generation (online gaming hadn't been invented yet). But so far, I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this event, meeting people who share a love for this game around the world, and I am looking to meet as many new people as I can. I also would like to try and keep up with the fleet throughout, even if that means I don't stop at every POI along the way. Currently at WP 5, and planning to scout around Polo Harbour for a potential SRV Race course for the event on Friday. Feel free to add me to your friends list (PSN jovi_1981).

 

[Ozmodion]

I agree with the pace of this event, I was away for a week doing some skiing in France and thought it would take a few late nights to catch up and miss the POI's on the way, but i was wrong. I thought ahead before i left and pre-empted the next WP (WP4) so threw myself 3kly towards the centre. I was wrong and it was further to the west. Luckily though i was in a position to visit all the major POI's on the route and was able to catch up in a few sittings.

As much as i like docking into a base/station and selling my data i am also looking forward to getting properly out there after Sag A* and having to take it a little more cautious when blasting through canyons.

 

[Wargrum]

Nice post OP.
I am likewise finding this expedition something of a revelation, and that its revitalizing this game for me in a bunch of ways I did not expect.

The biggest change to my Elite experience since starting this adventure is the sheer number of people I'm playing with all of a sudden. I've been playing this game since release and in that time I had interacted with two other Cmdrs, both of whom are real life long term friends. Launch day of DW2 my in game friends list went from 2 to over 100. Its kept expanding ever since, but 10-15 of those contacts are starting to become people I chat to or hang out with regularly. That is an utter game changer for me. This game feels like an MMO experience to me for the first time ever.

The POI's that have been selected for our trips to the various WP's have been generally spectacular. Clearly the old hands among the explorer community have known about these awesome areas for a long time, but bouncing from awesome system to awesome system on our journey to the Core so far has been a fabulous adventure.

And the first community goal. Just rockin! Can not wait to get my teeth into the next one. Had so much fun at the last one, and again meet a bunch of people I can't wait to team up with again.

I've never been further than Sag A in my solo exploration.... So everything after WP7 is gonna be all new. Exciting times!

Warg

 

[Qohen Leth]

Its kept expanding ever since, but 10-15 of those contacts are starting to become people I chat to or hang out with regularly.

That's the spirit.

Some of the people I met during DW3302 have been my friends for 3 years now and we chat daily. It indeed was a game changer, and we'll keep hanging out together long after we drop Elite.