For a long time, Elite Dangerous has felt (may sound familiar to some) as wide as an ocean—vast, but only an inch deep. There were countless things to do, but little that truly impacted the game world. Hauling commodities, for example, was just about profit—whether I moved tea, steel, or titanium, it was all just numbers on a screen, unless background simulation was your thing, which to me it was not.
And for years, the galaxy felt static. There was the Bubble, Colonia, and the unpopulated void between them. That was it. No matter what I did, the universe remained largely unchanged.
But now, with System Colonization, I finally feel like my actions matter, at least more than they did so far. This feature is a huge step toward making the galaxy feel more alive and immersive. It gives real weight to player efforts, allowing us to shape the game world in a way that simply wasn’t possible before.
Yes, the system still has its bugs, and I’ve encountered my fair share. There’s also a lot more that could be done to refine and expand on it. Better explanations of mechanics, deeper integration with the background simulation, more efficient ways to have the commodities hauled to the construction sites, and more meaningful ways to interact with colonized systems would be amazing, just to name a few.
But despite those rough edges, I just want to say thank you to Frontier. This is the kind of feature that makes me feel more connected—to the game world, to their systems, to the factions they support. Missions that once felt like chores now have meaning. When I take a mission for a faction in “my” system, it’s not just about credits—it’s about building something.
So, here’s to hoping that System Colonization continues to evolve, because this is exactly the kind of thing that made me re-install Elite Dangerous and, if expanded upon properly, could keep many CMDRs engaged for a long time I think.
And for years, the galaxy felt static. There was the Bubble, Colonia, and the unpopulated void between them. That was it. No matter what I did, the universe remained largely unchanged.
But now, with System Colonization, I finally feel like my actions matter, at least more than they did so far. This feature is a huge step toward making the galaxy feel more alive and immersive. It gives real weight to player efforts, allowing us to shape the game world in a way that simply wasn’t possible before.
Yes, the system still has its bugs, and I’ve encountered my fair share. There’s also a lot more that could be done to refine and expand on it. Better explanations of mechanics, deeper integration with the background simulation, more efficient ways to have the commodities hauled to the construction sites, and more meaningful ways to interact with colonized systems would be amazing, just to name a few.
But despite those rough edges, I just want to say thank you to Frontier. This is the kind of feature that makes me feel more connected—to the game world, to their systems, to the factions they support. Missions that once felt like chores now have meaning. When I take a mission for a faction in “my” system, it’s not just about credits—it’s about building something.
So, here’s to hoping that System Colonization continues to evolve, because this is exactly the kind of thing that made me re-install Elite Dangerous and, if expanded upon properly, could keep many CMDRs engaged for a long time I think.
