The S.H.E.P.A.R.D. MISSION: Elite Dangerous Deep Space Exploration

Count me in.
Is there a Discord server?

CMDR Sylas Kaeler

Hi Sylas, Yes the discord server will be EdEx (Elite Explorers):

https://discord.gg/0t9DFHttXuE4HkFR

Once there, you can see the #shepard channel, and type !join to join

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Very interested in this.

Cheerz

Mark H

Hi rampant, are you on discord? Join the exploration server as it is a great way to stay in touch. Have you done an exploration mission before?

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Dear all interested cmdrs! SHEPARD is quickly moving forward and we are starting to get generate some interest!

For anyone interested, please join the discord server EdEx https://discord.gg/0t9DFHttXuE4HkFR
Once there, you can see the #shepard channel, and type !join to join

For anyone interested in staffing the mission, either as a coordinator or scout, please send me a private message in discord [my name is Parabolus]. We are currently looking for a few commanders to organize departure location and time zones, and once we have departed to coordinate meet-ups at basecamps every fortnight... We also need 2-3 scouts interested in departing a few weeks early (soon), to scout for basecamps, etc... I have heard from a few of you so please be sure to send me a direct message either through discord or on the...

NEW SIGN UP SHEET:
https://goo.gl/forms/CpOGqOm7lKPJNOvn2
 
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Sounds interesting, but can anyone explain to me how such a exploration mission works ?
are there specific Tasks assigned to everyone ?
is there some kind of attendance time ? what timezone is this in ?

what kind of minimum jump range is needed ? Sure, i know a few modules are mandatory for deep space exploration, but i will not gimp my ship to jump a few Ly further.

I actually have pretty much the same question. The Anaconda you showed, is this a requirement or we can fly w/e? If so, do we have some minimal requirements?

I am just not a big fan of Anaconda and also I am currently writing from my own expedition and I am not sure how much time I will would have to organize a different ship (assuming I will manage to get back before you depart).
 
Will think about it - it broadly fits with my more crazy exploration aim - finish off GNE possibly combined with the C3E then head out to BP and a couple of most distant stars (I don't think BP actually is the most distant star from sol isthmus reach (IIRC) is unless I'm mistaken (happy to be corrected)

katie my long range anaconda is slightly differently configured from your shepard ship (I don't have access to all the engineers you seem to:)). My personal feelings - I'd definitely armour the hull up - no weight penalty with low weight alloys and it's one thing that's likely to keep your ship going on ultralong distance trips. I'm really not sure you need 4SRVs - you can repair with mats but personal choice on how careful you feel you want/need to be/how crazy you're prepared to be:). I'm unarmed- realistically I don't see myself standing up to an enraged thargoid and as part of mydrion I'm signed up for doing my best to respond peacefully and non-provocatively to any alien contact (even to the point of loosing my ship). Similarly I'll boost/jump clear of any human commander (I survived contact with an attacking FDL player in the bubble as I was leaving)

One thing I really would consider changing about your design - you have low emission power plant - I can't remember if this improves or decreases your integrity but I'd seriously consider going for an armoured power plant to boost its integrity on an ultralong range trip. If it's A rated and you travel cold (shields off etc) I've not had many problems with heat and accumulated damage to your powerplant can't be repaired with an HMEF so with the armoured hull it could end up being what kills your ship/limits your trip. HMEFs can repair anything else that gets hot (for the rare times this happens) and you can refil those with some material collection.

(My powerplant rolls also led to reduced emissions as well, some even to increased powerouput although I didn't need it, didn't manage to get all 3 together so settled for stronger/more reliable and cooler)

Tom
 
Sounds interesting, but can anyone explain to me how such a exploration mission works ?
are there specific Tasks assigned to everyone ?
is there some kind of attendance time ? what timezone is this in ?

what kind of minimum jump range is needed ? Sure, i know a few modules are mandatory for deep space exploration, but i will not gimp my ship to jump a few Ly further.

The SHEPARD Mission, like most exploration expeditions are mostly independent in nature… with individual cmdrs deciding what ship to bring, what to do with their time, and if they want to get involved in ways other than simply a pilot. That being said, there are group activities and ‘meet-ups’ at waypoints and basecamps [planetary surface gatherings]. SHEPARD has a total of 37 waypoints, with roughly 1/3 of these as official basecamps occurring every 2 weeks or so. These are not mandatory – nothing is mandatory about the mission – they are just fun gatherings to escape Deep-Space Madness. Just like the main departure, we also try to accommodate different time zones for meetups (usually and East and West) to make sure everyone can participate. Same with regard to xbox, and we currently have a few xbox commanders involved in the planning of the mission and will be coordinating xbox cmdrs throughout the Mission.

That being said, there are more specifically defined roles with the mission. Currently we are looking for the following: BaseCamp Liaison [coordinates meet-ups during mission including various time zones] // Scout [locates potential POI and Basecamps] // Defense Fleet [armed explorers for defense] // Fuel Rats [carries limpets for emergencies]. If you use the official sign-up form you can request one of these roles, but neither are necessary…. Most cmdrs are merely along for the ride for the sake of exploration! Also be sure to fill in your time zone too!

There are loads of youtube videos out there that explain some of these expeditions, and I will be releasing a trailer for SHEPARD soon – you may also see this video for space madness jibberish during one of my independent nearby exploration missions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzsQeH5cQ24)

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I actually have pretty much the same question. The Anaconda you showed, is this a requirement or we can fly w/e? If so, do we have some minimal requirements?

I am just not a big fan of Anaconda and also I am currently writing from my own expedition and I am not sure how much time I will would have to organize a different ship (assuming I will manage to get back before you depart).

There is certainly no specific ship or build that each cmdr needs to bring, the SHEPARD Anaconda posted was my build for the mission and merely am example build. Please feel free to use whatever ship you wish, with whatever build. While there is no minimum jump range, I would suggest at least a 30ly jump (now that we have engineers) to get the most of the mission, especially around Beagle Point.

Toward the end of Leg-3 we are going to fly to the top of the galactic plane near the core through a massive Neutron Star field and White Dwarf Nursery, again here it a nice jump range is beneficial. If possible, I would aim for 40ly+, but again less would be fine if you want to carry more stuff – especially fighters might be fun after 2.2 for some friendly wing battles in deep space ;)
 
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katie my long range anaconda is slightly differently configured from your shepard ship (I don't have access to all the engineers you seem to:)). My personal feelings - I'd definitely armour the hull up - no weight penalty with low weight alloys and it's one thing that's likely to keep your ship going on ultralong distance trips. I'm really not sure you need 4SRVs - you can repair with mats but personal choice on how careful you feel you want/need to be/how crazy you're prepared to be:). I'm unarmed- realistically I don't see myself standing up to an enraged thargoid and as part of mydrion I'm signed up for doing my best to respond peacefully and non-provocatively to any alien contact (even to the point of loosing my ship). Similarly I'll boost/jump clear of any human commander (I survived contact with an attacking FDL player in the bubble as I was leaving)

One thing I really would consider changing about your design - you have low emission power plant - I can't remember if this improves or decreases your integrity but I'd seriously consider going for an armoured power plant to boost its integrity on an ultralong range trip. If it's A rated and you travel cold (shields off etc) I've not had many problems with heat and accumulated damage to your powerplant can't be repaired with an HMEF so with the armoured hull it could end up being what kills your ship/limits your trip. HMEFs can repair anything else that gets hot (for the rare times this happens) and you can refil those with some material collection.

Tom

Awesome thanks for the feedback!!! The map has been updated and is included in the OP. I'm glad we have slightly different builds... just want to clarify things and explain the decisions I made. The hull is armored up - it is a lightweight hull with heavy duty reinforcement upgrades... yeh that one is great free defense against harsh landings! I've gone back and forth on the amount of SRVs... I know I could 'get by' with 2, but I do like to challenge myself while out in the black. It keeps things interesting! Especially if I am exploring in a group... I think 3 would be a perfect number but that is 16 tons, and I can get 4 for 17tons! So I went with 4. The little bit of difference in jump range is nothing compared to the security I will feel when behind the wheel exploring mountain ranges and cliff edges ;)

I too usually travel unarmed, but this is a long mission and you never know what kind of alien species is out there - and if pure escape is even an option! With the lightweight engineer mods I was able to get all three weapons to be a total of 3.2 tons! Each MC is 0.8 tons, and the Pulse Laser is 1.6tons... the leightweight mod is sick! For 3 tons I will take them, powered off unless I need them! I'm still able to get 51.4ly fully fueled (56 tons of fuel) so I'm fine on range.

To each their own on the PP, for this mission I am going for a super cool build just in case, and it did not reduce the integrity any more than a non-engineered PP... while I agree the powerplant is vulnerable, I hardly notice too much damage even on long term missions... but who knows I might regret that decision!!!!
 
Please see the updated original post for the ship roster and roles.

If you have not already ***Sign Up Here!!!***
https://goo.gl/forms/CpOGqOm7lKPJNOvn2
 
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How exactly is one supposed to scan the light levels of the galactic centre to triangulate stellar migration or whatever? I have a detailed surface scanner and an advanced discovery scanner, not exactly KEPLER level technology though :D

Seriously though - It's nice that you've provided some context for the trip and I am actually very interested, HOWEVER

A little more detail of exactly what you are attempting to achieve (and how) would be nice - as for the images provided they're very pretty but I can't read the text due to the poor resolution and colour choices.
 
I hope I'll have engineered my ship up from ~45 ly to over 50 by the time the expedition starts. I didn't sign up for any specific role but as a general contributor whatever is needed when the time comes. Should I instead choose a specific role you think? I don't think I'll be able to be constantly on duty due to real life being kinda hectic so I don't want to disappoint anyone relying on me for a specific job. That said, the forum page looks marvelous and I'm really excited to be flying out with the expedition.
 
How exactly is one supposed to scan the light levels of the galactic centre to triangulate stellar migration or whatever? I have a detailed surface scanner and an advanced discovery scanner, not exactly KEPLER level technology though :D

Seriously though - It's nice that you've provided some context for the trip and I am actually very interested, HOWEVER

A little more detail of exactly what you are attempting to achieve (and how) would be nice - as for the images provided they're very pretty but I can't read the text due to the poor resolution and colour choices.

Lol - KEPLER Technology... hahahah

The SHEPARD Mission is first and foremost a fleet exploration mission - think Distant Worlds or the Galactic Nebula Expedition. This means, most of the time we will be flying independently, scanning systems (honking), and performing detailed surface scans of astronomical bodies that compel us. Where SHEPARD differs, however, are in two ways - duration and 'scientific' aims:

A) Duration
- The SHEPARD Mission is one of the longest of its kind. Taking 6 months to travel through the galaxy, which is longer than Distant Worlds & GNE Combined! There are two primary reasons for this. First is that SHEPARD is intended to be a pure exploration mission, where commanders take their time searching out unknown and unique points of interest in the galaxy, rather than simply jump scan / jump scan from waypoint to waypoint only looking at 'sights and wonders'. It is the hope, especially in the relatviely unexplored regions of Leg 2 & Leg 3 - that we will find some new astronomical anomalies (multiple black hole systems, binary Earth Likes, unknown planetary nebula)... The second reason that SHEPARD is so long in duration is that it is a return journey... which makes it roughly twice as long!

B) Scientific Aim - While I will be the first to admit, it is hard to do KEPLER scans of the galaxy, we can however achieve some level of astronomical contribution for the ED Galaxy. We hope to achieve this is 4 ways:

-First, throughout the trip it is encouraged that all cmdrs have EDDiscovery installed on their ships computers... this will allow system you visit to be logged with EDSM - the Elite Dangerous Star Map https://www.edsm.net/ which is a comprehensive cataloque of all visited and known stars in the galaxy. EDSM will also route and track our expedition and add our progress to a 3-D map of the galaxy. SHEPARD has just been entered into the database and you can track our progess here (https://www.edsm.net/expeditions/summary/id/13/name/S.H.E.P.A.R.D.+Mission).

-Second, we will climb to the top of the galactic ceiling at Waypoint 22 (just outside the Near 3k Arm in the Galactic Core). This trip will utilize the new Pulsar FSD boost technology (loads of NS and WD at this location), along with increased ranges from 2.1 and 2.2, to take us further up the ceiling than that which has ever been achieved in the history of mankind.

-Third, once we are up there we will perform our third and final Deep Image Scan. A Deep Image scan is a distant photographic scan of visible light similar to the Hubble Telescope. The process to compile one of these is to capture 8-10 super-high resolution photographs of the galactic core (4k high-res screenshots in solo mode), and then stitch these together. Once we have all three, it may be possible to 'triangulate' (used loosely here) or combine these photographs into a 3-dimensional image / model of the galaxy. Moreover, having these images may help with the galactic mapping project and EDSM - which will use our collective system scan data (see first point about EDdiscovery and EDSM) to trilaterate (triangulate) exact coordinates of systems in the galaxy. Trilateration is already happening on EDSM.

ESO Scan of Core using composite images:

ProYd5o.jpg


-Fourth and final, we have scheduled an endurance circumnavigation of a small planet during the journey. While this is a mostly fun endevour to help break space madness, we will use this information to create full map of the surface of a planet, with different regions, natural wonders, etc...

EMWatmz.jpg


It is the aim of SHEPARD to at least attempt to push the scientific limits of ED, and merge role playing with actually database creation. We have a series of event planned (climb to the ceiling / SRV Endurance Race / Christmas at Beagle Point) for SHEPARD that will not only distinguish it from some of its predecessors, but also make it fun. 6 Months is a long time out in the black - but again, that is also one of the things that will make SHEPARD Epic!!! We would love to have you on the mission, and hope that this makes some of the aims and means of SHEPARD a little more clear. Stay tuned for a trailer video soon!!!

For a crude example of one of the Deep Image Scans, see this video starting at 12:06 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzsQeH5cQ24
 
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It is the aim of SHEPARD to at least attempt to push the scientific limits of ED, and merge role playing with actually database creation. We have a series of event planned (climb to the ceiling / SRV Endurance Race / Christmas at Beagle Point)

there will be some awesome events in store at base-camps, rather than just parking up we will be getting out in the SRV's for some meaningful action, so don't forget to pack one!
 
Hello, I have a ASP Explorer with 33ly jump I guess that will be enough for almost all the way but, may I find any problem to plot the route with that jump range I any stage??
 
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