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Greetings Cmdrs,
A few months ago we, the FleetComm/Distant Worlds team, have started mulling over what could Carriers bring to exploration. After yesterday's stream, we can say: not much. However, in their current state, Carriers still represent an opportunity to foster new gameplay and community endeavours. Thus we present to you the
Deep Space Support Array.
The
DSSA is a project to deploy a network of support Carriers all over the galaxy to help explorers in their deep space travels; roughly one Carrier per galactic region (plus a few more on the Z axis around the galactic centre). 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 refuel and repair services, at the lowest 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.
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Obvisouly there are still a lot of details to iron out until Carriers are finalised, so just about every aspect of the project is subject to change; keep that in mind.
• Regarding the funding of Carriers, we will look closely into the upkeep aspect, but I can say right off the bat that we will require owners that volunteer their Carriers to deposit in those enough cash to guarantee the upkeep for a year or two (seems like a little over a billion Cr a year with minimal services).
• There is no word yet afaik about crossplatform, so we will assume that Carriers won't be crossplatform, thus planning on having
3 Carriers per slot, one per platform (hence the huge table below).
• 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. The point is for travelers to know that there is that Carrier there, anytime.
• Deployment operations would mix exploration (scouting for relevant/pretty/useful/practical locations) and mining (refuelling the thing on the go).
• Volunteer Carrier owners will have to accept a set of rules (mostly what's been mentionned above); a few of those Carriers will be managed by FleetComm (those offered by FleetComm officials). You do NOT give up your Carrier! You merely offer to lend it for a certain amount of time.
• 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.
• A public list of the Carriers, operations, locations, status etc. will be made available in due time and remain online forever and ever until the heat death of the universe.
There is still a lot to go over, but you get the idea. See
this draft for a few more bullet points. We also have a #dssa-initiative channel on FleetComm if you wish to discuss the project over there, or give your ideas and suggestions here.
~~~
If you wish to volunteer your future Carrier, please post a comment starting with
I VOLUNTEER, then your Cmdr name, group/faction if any, and your platform. If you have multiple accounts you can volunteer multiple carriers. Keep in mind that we will vet the volunteers, so the signup list is entirely TBC at this point. To signup you can also PM me here or on Discord; first come first serve depending on when you post your signup, and I'll make a waiting list if need be.
Here's a (large) map of all the regions.
# | GALACTIC REGION | OWNER (CMDR + GROUP if any) TBC | OWNER (CMDR + GROUP if any) Confirmed | PLATFORM |
1 | Galactic Centre | Already has infrastructure | Already has infrastructure | All |
2 | Empyrean Straits | Cmdr WIshblend | | PC |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| (above plane) | | | |
| (below plane) | | | |
3 | Ryker's Hope | The Hull Seals | | PC |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| (above plane) | | | |
| (below plane) | | | |
4 | Odin's Hold | Cmdr Keni Drunken Wolf | | PC |
| | CMDR Ragnar Black-Mane (DVCO) | | PC |
| | | | |
| (above plane) | | | |
| (below plane) | | | |
5 | Norma Arm | CMDR Lagamemnon | | PC |
| | | | |
| | | | |
6 | Arcadian Stream | Heavy Johnson (EDSM) | | PC |
| | | | |
| | | | |
7 | Izanami | SGT Stubby | | PC |
| | | | |
| | | | |
8 | Inner Orion-Perseus Conflux | CMDR Qitscher, Enigma Dyson Syndicate | | PC |
| | | | |
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9 | Inner Scutum-Centaurus Arm | Already has infrastructure | Already has infrastructure | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
10 | Norma Expanse | CMDR Norma Expanse (Distant Veterans) | | PC |
| | | | |
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11 | Trojan Belt | CMDR Nozdus (DSN) | | PC |
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| | | | |
12 | The Veils | | | |
| | | | |
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13 | Newton's Vault | CMDR voodoocurse | | PC |
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14 | The Conduit | | | |
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15 | Outer Orion-Perseus Conflux | | | |
| | | | |
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16 | Orion-Cygnus Arm | CMDR Al Vador (Al Pacini on Discord) | | PC |
| | | | |
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17 | Temple | Orvidius (Intergalactic Astronomical Union ) | | PC |
| | | | |
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18 | Inner Orion Spur | Already has infrastructure | Already has infrastructure | |
| | | | |
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19 | Hawking's Gap | CMDR Eisen | | PC |
| | | | |
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20 | Dryman's Point | CMDR Alicia Hope (Alistair Hope, DSN) | | PC |
| | | | |
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21 | Sagittarius-Carina Arm | Cmdr Dragotha (Distant Worlds squadron member) | | PC |
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22 | Mare Somnia | | | |
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23 | Acheron | Qohen (FleetComm) | | PC |
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24 | Formorian Frontier | (Reserved - event to be announced) | | PC |
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25 | Hieronymus Delta | | | |
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26 | Outer Scutum-Centaurus Arm | | | |
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27 | Outer Arm | | | |
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28 | Aquila's Halo | | | |
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29 | Errant Marches | | | |
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30 | Perseus Arm | Dr Nagi | | PC |
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31 | Formidine Rift | Children of Raxxla | | PC |
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32 | Vulcan Gate | marx (Intergalactic Astronomical Union) | | PC |
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33 | Elysian Shore | CMDR Notso F. Obvious (Enigmatic on Discord), Distant Worlds Squadron) | | PC |
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34 | Sanguineous Rim | Already has infrastructure
Nemisis Wolf (Seals) | | XB |
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35 | Outer Orion Spur | | | |
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36 | Achilles's Altar | Cmdr Argaric | | PC |
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37 | Xibalba | | | |
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38 | Lyra's Song | CMDR factabulous, Canonn | | PC |
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39 | Tenebrae | Cmdr Jackie Silver, DISC | | PC |
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40 | The Abyss | Erimus Kamzel (Distant Worlds Fleet Carrier) | | PC |
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41 | Kepler's Crest | | | |
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42 | The Void | Penny Umbra | | PC |
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Seems like a heckin' lot of buzzing activity to come!
~~~
GROUP MINING SESSIONS
I've been asked about organizing group mining sessions to lessen the grind and advise non-specialist miners. I have nothing planned on that front, moreover I'm still working and generally not much available; however I'll gladly help out (and participate whenever I can play) if some people wish to step up. Remember the material gathering sessions we had before DW2, something like that I suppose. You're welcome to coordinate here or in FleetComm, it think that'll benefit everybody.
~~~
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See you in the black, Cmdrs o7