Yes a special color for stars permit locked and no way to gain access. It would make a huge difference
Caliber
The First Great Planetary Expedition
- Thread starter Alec Turner
- Start date
Caliber
On the evening of 27th March 3305 I lined up (with a host of other drivers) on the startline of The First Great Planetary Expedition (just below the solar panels on the North side of the base).
As we rolled out towards the Sentinel and Cinder Toffee mountains I made a simple statement - "Bridger Town is no longer behind us ... it's in front of us!".
Almost exactly 56 days later (at around 8:40pm) and accompanied by a group of my fellow circumnavigators, I bounded (quite literally) INTO Bridger Town, did a few laps of the race track and then once again lined up underneath those same solar panels, battered, bruised and tired but above all truly fulfilled, to celebrate the completion of my circumnavigation of Kumay.
It's been a genuinely amazing journey.
On the first night I tried (and failed) to complete that "hellish" climb of the Sentinel, ultimately losing an SRV on the mountainside and then flying to the top to witness Cmdr Malibu (and others) perched on the peak surrounded by astonished onlookers.
The next morning I started out afresh, foregoing the "twin peaks challenge" to put some distance between me and the start. I remember the moment the yellow mountain terrain finally gave way to the red desert plains beyond and feeling like my circumnavigation was now truly underway.
I remember the "first great nipple jumping festival" at the Grand Canyon Crater and the loss of further SRVs due to some ludicrous "big air" shenanigans. We were all so young and innocent back then, looking again at the 3D map now - our expedition had barely begun.
Beyond that was one of the most scenic parts of the entire circumnavigation, taking in as it did the Lithops Mesa, the Blue Cliff and Vein valley complexes and the first proper loss of an SRV (as opposed to those lost through meetup tomfoolery) while fliving through the latter with Tannnik Seldon. Somewhere along the route there I was also trolled by an NPC Anaconda into taking a leap of faith off a cliff edge while Mr Seldon watched and laughed!
Next came the "dreaded" Northern Route (rumours of which were filtering back from the frontrunners) which started out deceptively easy and then got progressively trickier despite its brilliantly detailed mapping by my part-time guide Cmdr Alice Cooper.
And then what felt like a major landmark, the Northern Polar region with my successful (and epic) climb of Sulphur Peak ..
.. and my less than successful climb of Manaslu Peak where, after battling for ours with the near vertical icy slopes ..
.. I finally lost my ship (which I'd recalled in a moment of desperation less than 50m from the top) to an autopilot error.
Now I was truly alone without a safety net but resolved to plough on towards O'Donnell Settlement with a vague plan to somehow gain passage back to Bridger so I could purchase a new ship to cover me for the rest of the trip.
I made it to O'Donnell (after an action packed final 100km or so fliving alongside Cmdr Agony Aunt) ..
.. and, after boarding Alice Cooper's passing ship and remote detonating my SRV to distract the guards ..
.. I was then ferried back to Bridger where I purchased a new ship and then returned to O'Donnell under cover of darkness to resume my journey.
By now numerous communications were being received from those down South of endless days spent in the dark and I knew that this expedition was soon to become a test of resolve but before that there was Kitten Face Vale (a joyous exploration of the two ears of the "kitten" as I recall), a glorious journey over the top of Claw Ridge, the Cliffs of Insanity and on through the Tusken Wastes and then a major detour to the West as I skipped Horeshoe Crater (should probably revisit that) to pay a visit to Kumay's largest crater which finally lived up to its name (after a rather disappointing first impression) by greeting me with a truly spectacular sunrise.
I'm not sure exactly where it started but it was somewhere around this point that I discovered a rather unsavoury technique for destroying the WANTED ships that I encountered along the way and developed an obsession for photographing myself next to their wrecked carcasses!
And then yes ... it got dark ... and it stayed dark. I made it to the South Pole where there's nothing to see other than what you take with you ..
(hang on ... I forgot, didn't I stare at that thing too long much earlier on in my journey and go mad for a bit? something about butter and being naked ... or did I just imagine that?)
.. and then on through various adventures in glorious narrow canyons, bounding across Knievel's jump and a slight detour through Zig Zig point before the first traces of daylight finally made an appearance once more.
With the end now drawing relentlessly closer I felt myself unconsciously slowing the pace at this point (reluctant for it to end) and thoroughly explored the glorious terrain of Grim Face crater, followed some stunning canyon routes and, yes, subjected more ships to my Hanibal Lecterish tendencies.
More stalling tactics as I veered off-route again, paying attention to the in-game surface map for the first time in the entire trip and heading East to catch a run of canyons that by-passed Corona Basin for a more rewarding trip North.
And so we come to the final days. Bridger now appearing on the HUD, truly no longer behind but in front. A series of crater mounds (and crater mound art) ..
.. and then a final celebratory run in to Bridger Town (accompanied by the expedition's official "Buur Pit" camera crew - thanks for everything guys!) and finally the END (which Doctor Introvertsius quite rightly reminds us is but a part of the journey).
According to my distance travelled figures I've covered some 7,300km and, as I said at the start of this ramble, it's been a GENUINELY - AMAZING - JOURNEY.
For every adventure and place I've mentioned I've probably forgotten three. If you were involved in one of those, apologies and please feel free to remind me. If you want to read (and see) more then it's all there in the #screenshots, #videos and #stories section of the Discord.
Thank you to all those who've shared those adventures with me (whether in person or through your stories here and in the Discord) and to those that are still going ... keep going, it's worth it!
Alec x
As we rolled out towards the Sentinel and Cinder Toffee mountains I made a simple statement - "Bridger Town is no longer behind us ... it's in front of us!".
Almost exactly 56 days later (at around 8:40pm) and accompanied by a group of my fellow circumnavigators, I bounded (quite literally) INTO Bridger Town, did a few laps of the race track and then once again lined up underneath those same solar panels, battered, bruised and tired but above all truly fulfilled, to celebrate the completion of my circumnavigation of Kumay.
It's been a genuinely amazing journey.
On the first night I tried (and failed) to complete that "hellish" climb of the Sentinel, ultimately losing an SRV on the mountainside and then flying to the top to witness Cmdr Malibu (and others) perched on the peak surrounded by astonished onlookers.
The next morning I started out afresh, foregoing the "twin peaks challenge" to put some distance between me and the start. I remember the moment the yellow mountain terrain finally gave way to the red desert plains beyond and feeling like my circumnavigation was now truly underway.
I remember the "first great nipple jumping festival" at the Grand Canyon Crater and the loss of further SRVs due to some ludicrous "big air" shenanigans. We were all so young and innocent back then, looking again at the 3D map now - our expedition had barely begun.
Beyond that was one of the most scenic parts of the entire circumnavigation, taking in as it did the Lithops Mesa, the Blue Cliff and Vein valley complexes and the first proper loss of an SRV (as opposed to those lost through meetup tomfoolery) while fliving through the latter with Tannnik Seldon. Somewhere along the route there I was also trolled by an NPC Anaconda into taking a leap of faith off a cliff edge while Mr Seldon watched and laughed!
Next came the "dreaded" Northern Route (rumours of which were filtering back from the frontrunners) which started out deceptively easy and then got progressively trickier despite its brilliantly detailed mapping by my part-time guide Cmdr Alice Cooper.
And then what felt like a major landmark, the Northern Polar region with my successful (and epic) climb of Sulphur Peak ..
.. and my less than successful climb of Manaslu Peak where, after battling for ours with the near vertical icy slopes ..
.. I finally lost my ship (which I'd recalled in a moment of desperation less than 50m from the top) to an autopilot error.
Now I was truly alone without a safety net but resolved to plough on towards O'Donnell Settlement with a vague plan to somehow gain passage back to Bridger so I could purchase a new ship to cover me for the rest of the trip.
I made it to O'Donnell (after an action packed final 100km or so fliving alongside Cmdr Agony Aunt) ..
.. and, after boarding Alice Cooper's passing ship and remote detonating my SRV to distract the guards ..
.. I was then ferried back to Bridger where I purchased a new ship and then returned to O'Donnell under cover of darkness to resume my journey.
By now numerous communications were being received from those down South of endless days spent in the dark and I knew that this expedition was soon to become a test of resolve but before that there was Kitten Face Vale (a joyous exploration of the two ears of the "kitten" as I recall), a glorious journey over the top of Claw Ridge, the Cliffs of Insanity and on through the Tusken Wastes and then a major detour to the West as I skipped Horeshoe Crater (should probably revisit that) to pay a visit to Kumay's largest crater which finally lived up to its name (after a rather disappointing first impression) by greeting me with a truly spectacular sunrise.
I'm not sure exactly where it started but it was somewhere around this point that I discovered a rather unsavoury technique for destroying the WANTED ships that I encountered along the way and developed an obsession for photographing myself next to their wrecked carcasses!
And then yes ... it got dark ... and it stayed dark. I made it to the South Pole where there's nothing to see other than what you take with you ..
(hang on ... I forgot, didn't I stare at that thing too long much earlier on in my journey and go mad for a bit? something about butter and being naked ... or did I just imagine that?)
.. and then on through various adventures in glorious narrow canyons, bounding across Knievel's jump and a slight detour through Zig Zig point before the first traces of daylight finally made an appearance once more.
With the end now drawing relentlessly closer I felt myself unconsciously slowing the pace at this point (reluctant for it to end) and thoroughly explored the glorious terrain of Grim Face crater, followed some stunning canyon routes and, yes, subjected more ships to my Hanibal Lecterish tendencies.
More stalling tactics as I veered off-route again, paying attention to the in-game surface map for the first time in the entire trip and heading East to catch a run of canyons that by-passed Corona Basin for a more rewarding trip North.
And so we come to the final days. Bridger now appearing on the HUD, truly no longer behind but in front. A series of crater mounds (and crater mound art) ..
.. and then a final celebratory run in to Bridger Town (accompanied by the expedition's official "Buur Pit" camera crew - thanks for everything guys!) and finally the END (which Doctor Introvertsius quite rightly reminds us is but a part of the journey).
According to my distance travelled figures I've covered some 7,300km and, as I said at the start of this ramble, it's been a GENUINELY - AMAZING - JOURNEY.
For every adventure and place I've mentioned I've probably forgotten three. If you were involved in one of those, apologies and please feel free to remind me. If you want to read (and see) more then it's all there in the #screenshots, #videos and #stories section of the Discord.
Thank you to all those who've shared those adventures with me (whether in person or through your stories here and in the Discord) and to those that are still going ... keep going, it's worth it!
Alec x
Yes it was a thoroughly enjoyable epic adventure!
@Alec Turner Congratulations on your completion 
. Great story and super shots!
. Great story and super shots!
@Caliber_az @Crank Larson
As I prepped my post for the circumnavigation of Salome's Reach on the Circumnavigation Club thread, I suddenly noticed that I am in fact not the first to drive this. Another group of commanders already completed it (I thought they were doing Beagle Point).
Anyhoo... I've decided to cancel my attempt as it seems insignificant now. I'll head back to Beagle Point and have a think on my next move.
As I prepped my post for the circumnavigation of Salome's Reach on the Circumnavigation Club thread, I suddenly noticed that I am in fact not the first to drive this. Another group of commanders already completed it (I thought they were doing Beagle Point).
Anyhoo... I've decided to cancel my attempt as it seems insignificant now. I'll head back to Beagle Point and have a think on my next move.
Bummer. This is the system that is furthest away from me? DRYAO AIN QL-Y DO
If it is I will probably do it anyways just for the claim of doing 2 circumnavigations with the most distance between them ( That and a couple bucks should get me a coffee somewhere) .
Caliber
Last week I was in the Guardian CG system. As you probably know, or suspect, it was a ganker heaven, especially during weekend nights.
At some point I visited the Guardian site and there was noone around. I landed, deployed SRV.
After couple of minutes two other players arrived. And then came the griefer.
I quickly dismissed my ship, but others were not so lucky (and had really poor shields).
Then the ganker started hunting my SRV amongst ruins.
Little did he know he was against Kumay veteran
Granted, it's really hard to hit SRV from a ship, because you can't lock on it. It's not easy to notice SRV with lights off from a distance.
Therefore it is also hard to find SRV you've lost sight of, when it moves faster than you would think possible
I must admit I had some fun escaping those ruins and watching from safe distance how that guy is looking for me under every rock before giving up.
But, what I really wanted to say is:
Circumnavigating Kumay (with all activities around it) was great fun.
Thanks Alec for organizing it.
You've put a lot of work and heart into this and you've been the Soul of this event.
At some point I visited the Guardian site and there was noone around. I landed, deployed SRV.
After couple of minutes two other players arrived. And then came the griefer.
I quickly dismissed my ship, but others were not so lucky (and had really poor shields).
Then the ganker started hunting my SRV amongst ruins.
Little did he know he was against Kumay veteran
Granted, it's really hard to hit SRV from a ship, because you can't lock on it. It's not easy to notice SRV with lights off from a distance.
Therefore it is also hard to find SRV you've lost sight of, when it moves faster than you would think possible
I must admit I had some fun escaping those ruins and watching from safe distance how that guy is looking for me under every rock before giving up.
But, what I really wanted to say is:
Circumnavigating Kumay (with all activities around it) was great fun.
Thanks Alec for organizing it.
You've put a lot of work and heart into this and you've been the Soul of this event.
Ya, I have said the same and am looking forward to whatever insanity Alec thinks up next. BTW I have forgiven you for stealing all the dancing girls for yourself, even though it was lonely when I arrived at Bridger Town. The girls did seem to have a smile on their faces for some reason.
Caliber
I will behave myself better next time
I promise not to make any of the girls, waiting to greet you on the finish line, madly in love with me.
If it makes you feel any better Alec got it worse. Not only there were no girls waiting for him with flowers, someone shot down his camera crew, when they filmed his glorious arrival.
Scary to think how they will greet those coming later...
lol. The pickins get slimmer and slimmer
Caliber
Caliber
I think that I must publish this crossreference link here as the most complete report summary of my off-road activities during the expedition
I'm still on course to join you at some point this weekend. I'll reach Luna's Shadow this evening hopefully (if not it will be Saturday morning). I am hoping to arrive at Beagle Point by Sunday lunchtime.
Once I've checked in at BP for DW2, my plan is essentially to make an exceptionally slow journey back to the bubble using any excuse to stop on the way.
Maybe we could do some scouting to find some interesting rocks to drive round? I haven't been out exploring for a year at least, and having now got back into the swing of it, I'm very much enjoying it.If you guys haven't already seen it I highly recommend watching @PrimetimeCasual's video of their Semotus Beacon circumnavigation adventure ... I really hadn't appreciated what a truly epic undertaking it was. Very difficult terrain, almost entirely in the dark, around a moon not that much smaller than Kumay and with limited supplies of SRV's .... bravo PrimetimeCasual and co!
Source: https://youtu.be/zjjIGHt5CVE
I'm 500 km from Bridger now. Getting there slowly.
Awesome! I've taken the liberty of updating your position on the rosta as somewhere around Grim Face Crater. Any idea when you might finish? (we might be able to rustle up a small welcoming committee if the timing is right).
Oh right, yeah, sorry didn't update.
I'm hoping to get another 100 km done tonight, aiming for 100km a day at the moment. Weekend might be tight though, daughter's birthday. Anyway, early next week i hope.
I'm hoping to get another 100 km done tonight, aiming for 100km a day at the moment. Weekend might be tight though, daughter's birthday. Anyway, early next week i hope.
"The end of an expedition"
aka "Alec and the chipmunks"
Featuring Alec (as Alvin) and guest starring Cmdr Buur chipmunk and Cmdr Rheeney chipmunk.
Music by Bentley Rhythm Ace
Source: https://youtu.be/dIsPFK9ZQUA
aka "Alec and the chipmunks"
Featuring Alec (as Alvin) and guest starring Cmdr Buur chipmunk and Cmdr Rheeney chipmunk.
Music by Bentley Rhythm Ace
On the evening of 27th March 3305 I lined up (with a host of other drivers) on the startline of The First Great Planetary Expedition (just below the solar panels on the North side of the base).
As we rolled out towards the Sentinel and Cinder Toffee mountains I made a simple statement - "Bridger Town is no longer behind us ... it's in front of us!".
Almost exactly 56 days later (at around 8:40pm) and accompanied by a group of my fellow circumnavigators, I bounded (quite literally) INTO Bridger Town, did a few laps of the race track and then once again lined up underneath those same solar panels, battered, bruised and tired but above all truly fulfilled, to celebrate the completion of my circumnavigation of Kumay.
It's been a genuinely amazing journey.
On the first night I tried (and failed) to complete that "hellish" climb of the Sentinel, ultimately losing an SRV on the mountainside and then flying to the top to witness Cmdr Malibu (and others) perched on the peak surrounded by astonished onlookers.
The next morning I started out afresh, foregoing the "twin peaks challenge" to put some distance between me and the start. I remember the moment the yellow mountain terrain finally gave way to the red desert plains beyond and feeling like my circumnavigation was now truly underway.
I remember the "first great nipple jumping festival" at the Grand Canyon Crater and the loss of further SRVs due to some ludicrous "big air" shenanigans. We were all so young and innocent back then, looking again at the 3D map now - our expedition had barely begun.
Beyond that was one of the most scenic parts of the entire circumnavigation, taking in as it did the Lithops Mesa, the Blue Cliff and Vein valley complexes and the first proper loss of an SRV (as opposed to those lost through meetup tomfoolery) while fliving through the latter with Tannnik Seldon. Somewhere along the route there I was also trolled by an NPC Anaconda into taking a leap of faith off a cliff edge while Mr Seldon watched and laughed!
Next came the "dreaded" Northern Route (rumours of which were filtering back from the frontrunners) which started out deceptively easy and then got progressively trickier despite its brilliantly detailed mapping by my part-time guide Cmdr Alice Cooper.
And then what felt like a major landmark, the Northern Polar region with my successful (and epic) climb of Sulphur Peak ..
.. and my less than successful climb of Manaslu Peak where, after battling for ours with the near vertical icy slopes ..
.. I finally lost my ship (which I'd recalled in a moment of desperation less than 50m from the top) to an autopilot error.
Now I was truly alone without a safety net but resolved to plough on towards O'Donnell Settlement with a vague plan to somehow gain passage back to Bridger so I could purchase a new ship to cover me for the rest of the trip.
I made it to O'Donnell (after an action packed final 100km or so fliving alongside Cmdr Agony Aunt) ..
.. and, after boarding Alice Cooper's passing ship and remote detonating my SRV to distract the guards ..
.. I was then ferried back to Bridger where I purchased a new ship and then returned to O'Donnell under cover of darkness to resume my journey.
By now numerous communications were being received from those down South of endless days spent in the dark and I knew that this expedition was soon to become a test of resolve but before that there was Kitten Face Vale (a joyous exploration of the two ears of the "kitten" as I recall), a glorious journey over the top of Claw Ridge, the Cliffs of Insanity and on through the Tusken Wastes and then a major detour to the West as I skipped Horeshoe Crater (should probably revisit that) to pay a visit to Kumay's largest crater which finally lived up to its name (after a rather disappointing first impression) by greeting me with a truly spectacular sunrise.
I'm not sure exactly where it started but it was somewhere around this point that I discovered a rather unsavoury technique for destroying the WANTED ships that I encountered along the way and developed an obsession for photographing myself next to their wrecked carcasses!
And then yes ... it got dark ... and it stayed dark. I made it to the South Pole where there's nothing to see other than what you take with you ..
(hang on ... I forgot, didn't I stare at that thing too long much earlier on in my journey and go mad for a bit? something about butter and being naked ... or did I just imagine that?)
.. and then on through various adventures in glorious narrow canyons, bounding across Knievel's jump and a slight detour through Zig Zig point before the first traces of daylight finally made an appearance once more.
With the end now drawing relentlessly closer I felt myself unconsciously slowing the pace at this point (reluctant for it to end) and thoroughly explored the glorious terrain of Grim Face crater, followed some stunning canyon routes and, yes, subjected more ships to my Hanibal Lecterish tendencies.
More stalling tactics as I veered off-route again, paying attention to the in-game surface map for the first time in the entire trip and heading East to catch a run of canyons that by-passed Corona Basin for a more rewarding trip North.
And so we come to the final days. Bridger now appearing on the HUD, truly no longer behind but in front. A series of crater mounds (and crater mound art) ..
.. and then a final celebratory run in to Bridger Town (accompanied by the expedition's official "Buur Pit" camera crew - thanks for everything guys!) and finally the END (which Doctor Introvertsius quite rightly reminds us is but a part of the journey).
According to my distance travelled figures I've covered some 7,300km and, as I said at the start of this ramble, it's been a GENUINELY - AMAZING - JOURNEY.
For every adventure and place I've mentioned I've probably forgotten three. If you were involved in one of those, apologies and please feel free to remind me. If you want to read (and see) more then it's all there in the #screenshots, #videos and #stories section of the Discord.
Thank you to all those who've shared those adventures with me (whether in person or through your stories here and in the Discord) and to those that are still going ... keep going, it's worth it!
Alec x
Awesome post and thanks again for organizing the whole thing. In hindsight I wished I'd slowed down at the end and enjoyed things a bit more but I got in a hurry. I didn't have any traveling companions after the first few days and besides this thread I was traveling alone for the majority of the expedition. Plus I was just itching to get back into space, a month (or more) is a long time to turn your space flight simulator into a driving game. Especially in the southern regions where you hardly see the sun and the stars/core/nebulae were always there to be seen while I inch my way across this backwater rock. But then I'd come to a waypoint like Blue Cliff Valley or the Cliffs Of Insanity and I'd remember why I was doing this. The most interesting points were definitely on the first 2/3 of the journey so that may have led to me speeding up as well. The funny thing is that since then I've barely played the game, it's like now that I'm finished I don't know what to do with myself. I feel a little like Buzz after Apollo 11, I'd pumped myself up for the journey and put a month's worth of effort into this mind-blowing adventure and suddenly killing some pirates or delivering some biowaste just doesn't hold my interest. I did a few passenger missions and cargo runs, killed a pirate lord or two but since completing the circumnavigation about a month ago I've probably only put about 5-6 hours into the game. I think what I need is a good deep space exploration trip, I've been wanting to return to Sag A to check out that station out there and visit some other stops I missed on my first trip to the core. I was enjoying a nice little exploration trip out to the Heart, Soul and Bubble nebulae when I heard of this expedition and cut it short to get back for the start, so I think I just need to get back out there. I was kind of the same way when I returned to the bubble after my first deep space exploration trip but I eventually settled back into things.