What to do on a long journey

[HedCase]

Yesterday I thought I'd have a go at unlocking Professor Palin - 5000ly. I started off with good intention, I have an Anaconda specifically spec'd for exploration (just over 53ly jump) but never actually used it as such as my favourite ships are my A spec'd Python and FDL.

So I started my 121 jump journey to some god-forsaken star and an hour later I admit I was bored stiff with the constant jump-scoop-jump etc.

So much so, in fact, that i turned round with my tail between my legs to race back to civilisation.

So I wondered what you guys do to elevate the boredom? or maybe it takes a special kind of gamer to do it without getting bored?

One thing I'm puzzled about is that my stats show furthest distance from start is just a tad over 4,000ly!!

Say what? I have no knowledge of ever travelling that far from the bubble. Over the months I've played I've made a few journeys
outside the bubble but always give up because I get bored doing nothing but jumping. Weird.

I decided the Prof wasn't worth the hassle coz all he'll give me that I can't get from the engineers I've already unlocked is class 5 thrusters. I can live without them lol.

 

[TheHezz]

I feel your pain sir. I've recently taken on one of those take an explorer to get data passenger missions. Just under 20000LY trip comprising of approximately 300 jumps (and then the same back again).

All I've done to help pass the time is have Sky Go on my tablet to watch box sets.

 

[CMDR Mayhem]

Exploration in ED takes a special type of person(crazy). It's the main reason why I purchased this game. I love it.
BTW I just figured out that I can have Hutton Orbital Radio on in the background while flying on xbox if you download the Flvto Radio app. It helps me with the long trips.

 

[dreampage]

What I did when I went to Colonia was that I streamed music from Spotify. I listened to the music while in the game and not really paid attention to the actual gameplay. Just jumped, scooped, jumped, scooped... listening to some good music greatly enhanced the experience and I measured the time by the music tracks not the number of jumps. Just relaxed basically. The journey was over much sooner than I anticipated.

 

[verminstar]

Ive been to colonia and back about 5 times now in total...been to sag A twice but never got to beagle point...thats the one that got away from me, but thatll change later on in the year.

What to do to pass the time...canyon racing in an SLF...if ye have them cos they seriously fun. Breaking new land speed records in the SRV...mine is currently 110m/s. And a whole host of silly little things that most players wouldnt call fun without actually being there.

Exploration is not fer the weak minded...takes a very particular mentality to copver such long distances over days and weeks and sometimes months and even years in a few cases. I know a few who havent been in the bubble since horizons was first released and thats about 2 years give or take.

If yer not enjoying it, suicide back now as forcing yerself wont end well...fer you ^

 

[Fray]

The people who get the most out of exploration are those who don't just treat the Elite like a min-max engine bolted onto a set of game mechanics. It is not for those who want conventional gameplay loops or prescribed 'fun'.

Almost all explorers have a love-hate relationship with it, but that's part of the charm; the blend of 'longform' immersion across weeks, months, or, as Verminstar said, perhaps even years. Watching the galaxy model shift as you rise or fall above and below the galactic plane. Jumping around different parts of a nebula to get the best - or weirdest - view. Moments of beauty and discovery (of particularly curious systems or specific vistas) stand out because of the workmanlike monotony true deep space traveling demands. You have to give to exploration to be rewarded by singular experiences which become fond memories and stories to share with other pilots.

Knowing more about the cosmos helps, too, so you have context for why everything is the way it is. Then you can look at the system map and ponder the Stellar Forges creation, noting the star type, looking at the orbital distance of each planetary body and reflecting on how feasable that would be, and what would've occurred to create such a combination. Playing Elite helped my knowledge of the stellar life cycle - not because of what's in the game in terms of data, but using it as a jumping off point. The more you know of a star's life, death, and, often, rebirth, the more you appreciate virtually flying past them.

People need to be clear on whether they are traveling or truly exploring. Traveling is just jumping, sure. But to think of exploration as jumping is a mistake, and a sure fire way to get bored and frustrated.

Traveling far is just about daisy-chaining jumps and doing nothing but pinging the D-scanner for some extra pocket money. It's obviously quite dull, but it can at least be done speedily and efficiently. Exploration? Is about often having a set destination, but deviating along the way to investigate stars or nebulae that catch your eye. The journey, arguably, is the real draw - not the destination.

To me, exploration is and always will be the soul of Elite. How can it not be? Other games provide combat, trading, and ranking a plenty. But absolutely nothing else provides the slowburn beauty of wending your way between galactic arms over weeks or months, building up a series of screenshots of worlds and sights perhaps no one else playing the game will ever personally see.

...so in conclusion; either try to change how you think about the game, or just grin and bear it if all you're doing is fulfilling a task for an Engineer. Podcasts work wonders regardless of whether you're traveling or exploring. I've sometimes set a laptop open nearby to half-watch/listen to game LP's or video essays and all kinds of other stuff whilst on exploration stints of various distances (alongside the XB1 keyboard and flightstick/throttle it amusingly adds to a cockpit kinda feel).

 

[Ulaidian]

Exploration in ED takes a special type of person(crazy). It's the main reason why I purchased this game. I love it.
BTW I just figured out that I can have Hutton Orbital Radio on in the background while flying on xbox if you download the Flvto Radio app. It helps me with the long trips.

Brilliant! Cheers for the heads up for us Xbox players!

 

[CMDR Mayhem]

BTW Galnet Radio is on there also