The Deep Space Support Array (DSSA) | A FleetComm Initiative


Click the DSSA logo to open the DSSA Network tracker

For questions or issues, contact one of the following current DSSA Managers on FleetComm:
SpaceTrash67 (DSSA#13
CMDR Scopelx (DSSA#1
SKidathor (DSSA#5
LethalMoustache (DSSA#140) [XB]



Greetings Cmdrs,

The DSSA is a project to deploy a network of support Carriers all over the galaxy to help explorers in their deep space travels. Those Carriers, offered by individuals, groups, factions or squadrons, would remain in a fixed and public location for at the very least a full year, open to all, with at least repair services, at a fair price (other services are at the owner's liberty). Beacons in the profound night, they would form a mesh of safe harbours for anyone who would need a rest stop.

The Array will have no timeframe for completion. It will also be an opportunity to set up quite a number of flexible community events! Each Carrier deployment will be its own event, from small scale ops near the bubble or Colonia, to extensive long range expeditions to the rims of the Galaxy; from individuals or small friends gang/factions, to fully-fledged Squadron or player groups expeditions, each with its own setup, timeline, motto, insignia, etc. This is an exciting opportunity to tailor events to everyone's needs, preferences or availability, giving new explorers and miners a way to learn the ropes as well as offering hardened veterans a new challenge. Time permitting, Cmdrs could very well partake in more than one such deployment, jumping from one to the other as they end.

Polygon article by our fellow Commander Charlie Hall

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The project

• Carriers being crossplatform assets, deployment operations will all be platform agnostic.
• The point is for travelers to know that there is that Carrier there, anytime. Do not sign your Carrier up if you think that mayhaps you'll use for stuff later down the road: those Carriers will have to be stationary.
• Deployment operations would mix exploration (scouting for relevant/pretty/useful/practical locations) and mining (refuelling the thing on the go).
• Deployment operations are completely free to setup as owners wish; FleetComm will welcome any op that wish to use its network, but you are welcome to use your own Discord server/Squadron/whatever. You are only asked to keep the DSSA team up to date on your progress.
• If at some point down the road you want to leave the array, and if you are the only DSSA carrier in the region, we expect you to put in the effort to find a replacement. Said replacement should be in location and operational ideally before you move your own.
• Some of the DSSA carriers will be marked as GMP POIs, depending on their location.
• Visit the #dssa-initiative channel on FleetComm if you wish to discuss the project over there, or give your ideas and suggestions here.
• There is no end to this project. I expect all the currently signed up carriers to keep us busy until early next year, and more will probably join the array in the meantime.
• The project is about deep space, not "famous places". I feel the need to stress this as it seems that many carriers are heading towards locations where many others will eventually station (5 carriers in Odin's Hold is too many, and hardly useful). The Bubble-Colonia-Sagittarius A* connection is the least relevant place to put a DSSA Carrier.

• All the currently signed up DSSA carriers are listed on the DSSA Network tracker. This is a public list of all DSSA Carriers, showing their deployment operation, status, location, destination, services, etc. It's automatically sorted by: 1) Operational Carriers on top; 2) Descending order of preparation/closeness to launch; 3) Descending order of launch date, the closer to [today], the higher.

👉 https://bit.ly/dssanetwork

DSSA Carriers Map
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.

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All deployments slots are currently filled, however, vacancies do open on a regular basis.
To add your fleet carrier to the DSSA Reserve List, please complete this form:
https://forms.gle/CV2kwXM2nVLF7Cmn7
Carriers will be assigned from the Reserve List on a first-come-first-served basis.


Signing up. By signing up you agree to the following rules:

• You need to deposit in your carrier bank enough funds to guarantee the upkeep for the entire operational time you stated in your Form.
• Once deployed, your carrier must remain in the original system indicted in the DSSA Tracker through the 'Operational Until' date you have selected (which must be at least one year). Moving your carrier outside the deployment system is grounds for immediate removal from the DSSA list.
• Naming convention: the carrier's name must fit the spirit of the game; even more so if you wish your carrier to become a GMP POI. No profanity, political, sexual, religious, etc. innuendos or explicit references.

To sign up, please fill the following Form. The Form is editable, so:
• SAVE YOUR EDIT LINK!! (it is not the webpage URL at the end of the form, it's the blue link that says "Edit your responses" — save that link to come back, change info, etc.)*
• You don't have to answer the questions you don't have the answer to, no need to put "N/A" or "TBA" or "I think I'll blablabla". When you know, you can fill the blanks.

This Form is your form and will be used to update the status of your deployment expedition/operation and your Carrier info.

*Turns out I have a way to get your Edit Responses URL so not everything is lost if you lose it.

I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DISCARD ANY AND ALL SIGNUPS THAT I WILL DEEM UNNECESSARY, that is, mainly carriers cluttering beaten paths instead of spreading out in deep space. If you come here because you want traffic on your carrier, you've come to the wrong place.

We settled on a MAXIMUM OF 3 CARRIERS PER REGION. Overflow signups will be put on a reserve list, according to signup date.

Also please make sure we can REACH YOU. If you're not on the forums or the FleetComm Discord server, it may make things difficult to coordinate, and you may end up discarded if something comes up. For questions or issues, contact one of the following current DSSA Managers on FleetComm:
SpaceTrash67 (DSSA#13
CMDR Scopelx (DSSA#1
SKidathor (DSSA#5
LethalMoustache (DSSA#140) [XB]


~~~

To help you prepare

You can use the Carrier Travel & Equipment cheat sheet v1.5 I'm putting together. To use it, go to File > Make a copy or request access; input your numbers in the yellow cells, numbers are the new, revised ones (prices and fuel efficiency).

Archived maps (obsolete)
Map of the galactic regions and the signups as of today (May 13) Green carrier icons are the currently signed up carriers, not the limit of carriers per region 🙃


Click to enlarge


Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge

~~~


Logos for media/repost/videos:
Black | White | Grey

Forum signature
50px | 70px

See you in the black, Cmdrs o7


Click to DL full size file
 
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GMP recognition

Once your DSSA Carrier reaches its designated location and begins its service with the DSSA initiative, you can register it as a POI with the Galactic Mapping Project. Even if the location you are stationed at has an existing POI marker on EDSM, please still submit the required information.

When submitting your Carrier details to the GMP you must submit the info in this format and order;


Carrier’s Insignia:
TyUXef7Yt6mvZ-z8ydgcJavCoG2zxpqD_Lxjd4GOUmtLnnfKemWTTOL0Qa-iBgBe2ziRTDTJ-bh_kQKCFkCwB8D0X2jRDZoEVJv5iRR_1kuJ0zCsiKb-j8AczmKERxfT5g
Carrier Name:DSSA Distant Worlds ‘Endeavour'
Registration:Y21-J9N
Carrier Class:Nautilus Class
Designated Region:The Abyss
System:Beagle Point
Commission Date (date signed up to the DSSA):April 4th 3306
Carrier Construction Date:June 9th 3306
Construction Location:Kuo Terminal, Skeggiko O
Maiden Jump(s):BD-22 3573 for fueling (June 9th 3306)
Antares for maiden voyage (June 9th 3306)
In-service Date (date the vessel began its DSSA service):July 1st 3306
Services Available:Repair, Refuel, Armory, Shipyard, Outfitting, Universal Cartographics, Secure Warehouse, Redemption Office
Tariff % Set:5%
Commodities Bought/Sold on Carrier:Will Buy Tritium at 60,000 CR/T
Will Sell Tritium at 75,000 CR/T
Nearest Tritium Hotspot:Unknown at this time
Carrier Info (optional):DSSA Distant Worlds 'Endeavour’ is one of two Distant Worlds Carriers, the other being the DSSA Distant Worlds 'Discovery' which is mothballed and awaiting its first assignment (DW3).

Endeavour travelled with the Aphelion fleet in June 3306, and reached Beagle Point on June 20th 3306.

As well as being part of the DSSA network, Endeavour's place at Beagle Point stands as a permanent monument dedicated to all deep space explorers who have visited the outer rim, past, present, and future.
Screenshot:
K0g6V-kMtRHzfnaZCsXca1v8aCgcJTLrYQWVsju7p9CfXcBgamWmTxLsV3k2ihGUItZzVLzrzHeBqaNxFXmfWckXOjl9NKJ0veJ7Evp9QkdkHfzbBF6TjhIp6zBe7Cd8qA


Submit the required information here : Link

Registering your DSSA Carrier POI with the Galactic Mapping Project

The following are the current stipulations (but they may be subject to change at some point);

The Galactic Mapping Project (GMP) will be adding DSSA Carriers to EDSM as 'points of interest'- they'll be marked as deep space outposts on the galactic map subject to the following conditions;
  • To receive a POI (point of interest) marked on EDSM, your Carrier needs to be registered with the DSSA.
  • A maximum of three DSSA carriers per designated region will be marked on the maps and given POI status.
  • Designated systems can only have one DSSA carrier deployed.
  • Your Carrier name must conform to the GMP naming stipulation guidelines. The GMP reserves the right to change the name of your POI if your Carrier name does not conform to those guidelines.
  • Your POI is considered temporary and will only remain on the maps for however long your Carrier is part of the DSSA (with permanent status being earned as outlined below).
  • If you complete 2 years continuous DSSA service in a fixed location, your POI will become permanent - even if you decide to leave the initiative and move on after those 2 years. Your permanent POI will be registered as a historical location or colony (depending on how the DSSA evolves over time), and it will be a testament and acknowledgement of your DSSA service for ever more.

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I don't think I'll ever be able to afford one but for I'll happily help other people keep their carrier resupplied with fuel when they're out there. I think this is a great initiative. There was no reason to mine and haul stuff outside of the bubble and colonia, but this idea will fill that void for me.
🥰
 
Sure, I'll take part in this. My target would be the Vulcan Gate region, specifically either the planetary nebula at Thraikoo PS-U e2-4 (the Thracian nebula) or somewhere in the Ovomly sector. It'll probably be the nebula though, since it's a good landmark. Oh, and I play on PC.

Also, the Sanguineous Rim also has infrastructure. Five asteroid bases.

Oh, and your draft document talks about base building for 2021. That's speculation though, there has been nothing from Frontier on them. In fact, seeing the latest developments on fleet carriers, I wouldn't be surprised that even if they had base building planned for the next expansion, they might have scrapped them since, and moved the mechanics over to fleet carriers instead. With the ongoing pandemic, Frontier had to turn to work-from-home too, which would either mean delays to the expansion, or dropping parts of it instead.
So, personally I wouldn't count on player base building just yet.
 
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I VOLUNTEER, (with carrier) CMDR lego addictus, PC, not sure of region yet. Would be nice to see a map with all the regions (in the table above) marked though (unless I'm missing something :) )
A shame fdev have not given any thought to exploration for the FC's though!
 
I love the ambition, but honest question: is it worth the effort?

These carriers will just be repair stations mostly, FDev haven't designed them with supporting exploration in mind unfortunately.


I can't justify buying an FC with how limited in scope they are for us explorers, nor would I ever see myself bothering to visit one out in the black, BUT I might certainly lend my hand as a fuel miner supporting the deployment of the fleet.
 
@Qohen Leth: oh yeah, I forgot to mention that like Orvidius, I'm a member of IGAU as well.

Something else that came up in another thread (I think Orvidius was the one that mentioned it): while there is infrastructure at Sgr A*, the only station in the region doesn't offer a shipyard. So, someone taking a carrier out there would offer a service that's not available anywhere nearby.
Of course, I doubt we'll be able to remote-transfer our ships to carriers, but having a carrier shipyard out there might still be of use.
 
I VOLUNTEER, CMDR Notso F. Obvious (Enigmatic on Discord), Distant Worlds Squadron, PC, Elysian Shore, probably near Via Maris. This is a massive and crazy undertaking. I'm looking forward to contribute with a carrier as soon as I return to the bubble (currently in the middle of an Expedition)...
 
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Just seems like a list of rich folks that hackers might target lol . Cant afford a carrier but if i could i would leave at Beagle point =-)
 
I'm with Mengy. It seems a lot of work. But I see the long term ambition here and I like some of the things it could lead to, like mining outposts where we can contribute to something much more fun than just our own bank balances. Rock Hermits are finally getting a reason to go mine out in the depths, and thats something only dw2 has offered so far.

  • Additionally, the DSSA will be the foundation on which DW3 will be built upon - and more details of this will be announced once FDev reveal information on the 'new era' update.

^and gets giddy with excitement^
 
I VOLUNTEER, Cmdr Jackie Silver, DISC, PC, Elysian Shore. (Specifically, RS Persei)

There's already @Enigmatic signed up for the Elysian Shore, would any one of you both be willing to pick a different region?

I VOLUNTEER, (with carrier) CMDR lego addictus, PC, not sure of region yet. Would be nice to see a map with all the regions (in the table above) marked though (unless I'm missing something :) )
A shame fdev have not given any thought to exploration for the FC's though!

I'll add you when you have a region :p

@Qohen Leth: oh yeah, I forgot to mention that like Orvidius, I'm a member of IGAU as well.

Something else that came up in another thread (I think Orvidius was the one that mentioned it): while there is infrastructure at Sgr A*, the only station in the region doesn't offer a shipyard. So, someone taking a carrier out there would offer a service that's not available anywhere nearby.
Of course, I doubt we'll be able to remote-transfer our ships to carriers, but having a carrier shipyard out there might still be of use.

Sure, what's one carrier more lol However there will probably be shipyards on neighbouring Carriers, in any case.
 
I love the ambition, but honest question: is it worth the effort?

These carriers will just be repair stations mostly, FDev haven't designed them with supporting exploration in mind unfortunately.


That's true, but they do offer alternative gameplay opportunities for players when planning trips out into the black. DW2 for instance (the original proposal) was written specifically to expand expeditionary gameplay via the incorporation of logistics and mining, as the original intention was for the fleet to escort a Carrier or Megaship across the galaxy, mining icy rings for its fuel along the way, as that would provide different roles and teamwork opportunities to help bind the expedition together. Obviously FDev weren't quite able to deliver Carriers at the time, so DW2 got the static CGs instead.

That original DW2 idea proved extremely popular, with nearly 8,000 of its final 14,000 players signing up before FDev told us there would be no Carrier or Megaship gameplay for DW2.

Now the initial stages of the DSSA idea are pretty much following that original blueprint, but this time there could be potentially 30 or 40 escort missions departing the bubble over the course of this year and next - not just one like we hoped for on DW2 - and all offering players a chance to go out there not just as explorers, but as scouts, prospectors, miners, fuel haulers etc, and even set up home out at some of the Carrier depot locations.

So yes, Carriers don't offer much for the explorer in their current state, but they may benefit exploration-based events and expeditions in future.

This is just the first step. The potential is here for players to build upon whats proposed. We're finally getting content that can link up so many different playstyles and foster cooperative gameplay like never before. Its going to be a challenge, and that's the most exciting part (imo).
 
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I VOLUNTEER CMDR factabulous (might be an alt who turns up though ;) ), Canonn, PC, Lyra's Song is where I was planning to go next. If it's gone by the time you check then I'd take Acheron. Edit: heh - I see my backup was already taken :D alternate-backup - Xibalba

Looks like I now have motivation to get saving ...
 
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