Where are they now?

[Danspy501st]

One of my favorite exploration pastimes is to find undiscovered systems and planets close to the Bubble. Of course this means finding many already discovered systems while looking for that needle in the haystack. Thing is, I don't recognize any of these "early pioneers". Every once in awhile I find a system that was discovered by a name I recognize from the Forum (Agony Aunt was the last one), but the vast majority are unknown to me.

I'm relatively new (started playing Elite last June), so I don't know the early players from kickstarter days unless they are still active in the forums currently. Where are these "pioneers" now? Are there many of you who have forum names different from your CMDR names, or are there really that many people who once passionately explored the galaxy who have since moved on to other things?

I actually enjoy encountering systems discovered by people I know from the forums or contacts made in-game, but it's so incredibly rare that this happens. Too rare...

I will be honest. The name you see for me here on the forums is the same in the game. So if you ever meet a player with the same name in the game, then you that it is me

 

[marx]

Then with the Gamma release (I think it was then) the whole galaxy was opened up, and the full release followed after a couple of months.
I remember predicting that someone would be at Sadge within a week, in practice I think it was considerably longer until ZR made it and got the enormous payout and instant-Elite rank - at that time Sadge was worth far more than it is now.

Looking back on it, here's the timeline:

3300 Nov 22: Gamma is released
3300 Dec 1: Zulu Romeo goes to Sagittarius A* (and back)
3300 Dec 16: Gamma is over, Elite: Dangerous 1.0 is released

Turns out your prediction was remarkably accurate. Sooo... when will we find Raxxla?


Oh, and I remember a couple of people glitching out of the pill too, around the curve, but Frontier fixed that very quickly.

Fun fact: Sag. A* was worth those many credits because of an error, as it used the value calculation of black holes (which depends on their mass). In essence, a supermassive black hole would get a supermassive payout. That was fairly quickly fixed by giving it its own category (as it should have been), but it was a nice gesture that they let ZR keep being the first to reach Elite in exploration this way.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I don't play much these days. Just when I'm not doing other things.

I remember Erimus (or was it Erimus?) getting stuck other side of the galaxy christmas time (buggy systems etc). And since it was christmas time, had to wait a few days (or even more) before they fixed it. Was it around the release time or later? I remember reading about it at that time (and hoping they would find a solution).

That was CMDR Kamzel

 

[Jaiotu]

I have three accounts and have done multiple resets on them. I've got lots of first discoveries but they are probably tagged with about a dozen different CMDR names.

 

[Jackie Silver]

Fun fact: Sag. A* was worth those many credits because of an error, as it used the value calculation of black holes (which depends on their mass). In essence, a supermassive black hole would get a supermassive payout. That was fairly quickly fixed by giving it its own category (as it should have been), but it was a nice gesture that they let ZR keep being the first to reach Elite in exploration this way.

Oh yeah, absolutely. It's hard to think of anything more befitting the status of Elite explorer than being first to return from Sadge, especially considering the jump ranges and limited route plotting and filtering we had back then.

I was never a long distance explorer to begin with and remember hearing the Bleia and Praei zones alluded to by people who had been past the Core: "if you've been there, you know..."

 

[Col Frost]

Jackie, I was proud of 88 systems in the bubble with my tags, but you have 1594

 

[marx]

Oh yeah, absolutely. It's hard to think of anything more befitting the status of Elite explorer than being first to return from Sadge, especially considering the jump ranges and limited route plotting and filtering we had back then.

In my opinion, the worst thing of that trip must have been the constant unavoidable interdictions, which slowly but surely wore down the hull. Surviving that is what I find the most impressive from that endeavour.
Historical context for everyone: the interdiction minigame was added only later, and at the start of the game, if you got interdicted, you dropped automatically. The hull damage from forced FSD drop-out was present, of course. Also at the very start, hostile NPCs would spawn all over the galaxy - and they didn't demand cargo either. They fixed the former quite soon, thankfully.

 

[Allitnil]

Just shows how the early bird gets the worm - I only got ED the day after it was released and despite having 23,472 first discoveries in that initial list not a single one is within the bubble.

 

[Fenris Wolf]

I managed a few in the Bubble in the early days, some I was quite pleased with on the original data-dump from Mr Brookes

Got these ones bookmaked, must go visit them again some day!

Huaveri - Dec 01 2014

Shingon - Dec 02 2014

Sui Xiao Gu - Dec 03 2014

Arabaka - Dec 04 2014

53 Aquarii - Dec 06 2014

 

[Sebastian Rooks]

I will be honest. The name you see for me here on the forums is the same in the game. So if you ever meet a player with the same name in the game, then you that it is me

Were you once a resident of the "Veil?" 501st seems awfully familiar to me...

Rooks o7

 

[Nick Sticks]

Hah, just come across a system out in the black tagged by Zieman, a name I know from the forums.
Even though I don't really know him it was like coming across an old friend.

 

[Fenris Wolf]

Hah, just come across a system out in the black tagged by Zieman, a name I know from the forums.
Even though I don't really know him it was like coming across an old friend.

It is nice isn't it.
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Except when you find their name on a star you've been travelling to for the past few days! *rofl*

 

[Col Frost]

It is nice isn't it.
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Except when you find their name on a star you've been travelling to for the past few days! *rofl*

yes I usually feel a mixture of rage, remorse
and then respect
lol

 

[Nick Sticks]

It is nice isn't it.

Except when you find their name on a star you've been travelling to for the past few days! *rofl*

Yeah. In the early days I headed out to visit a star in Orion (best I could work out) that my friends had registered in my name* for my 40th.
I was very disappointed that someone had got there before me and tagged it.

* I know these star chart registry things are not official but I do have a certificate and a nice star map.

 

[Jackie Silver]

Funny thing: I'm doing some research with my alt character into ELW values, and I'm following a very old list of ELW near the Bubble - it has some ELW listed inside the Col 70 Sector. It will be interesting to see what kind of pattern of exploration we see when some of the forbidden zones are finally opened...

 

[Fenris Wolf]

Funny thing: I'm doing some research with my alt character into ELW values, and I'm following a very old list of ELW near the Bubble - it has some ELW listed inside the Col 70 Sector. It will be interesting to see what kind of pattern of exploration we see when some of the forbidden zones are finally opened...

You want data sent to you? I think I've got the ELW values for eight of them listed in my spreadsheets.

 

[Traveller_GG]

It is nice isn't it.
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Except when you find their name on a star you've been travelling to for the past few days! *rofl*

....flames.... flames on my face....

 

[Jackie Silver]

You want data sent to you? I think I've got the ELW values for eight of them listed in my spreadsheets.

It's ok (thanks for the offer though!), I'm being picky about which ones I look at so as to control for variables, and I'm directly measuring their distance to the star also.

 

[Mengy]

I see a lot of names I recognize out in deep space. I also see a lot who are in my friends list but don't seem to play anymore. And then I too see a lot of names I've never seen before, neither in game or on the forums.

I once thought about compiling a list of commanders whose names I'd see out in deep space just to see how big a list it would be. An attempt to gauge just how many deep space explorers are really in the game, so to speak. Very much a long term kind of project.

 

[iain666]

Funny thing: I'm doing some research with my alt character into ELW values, and I'm following a very old list of ELW near the Bubble - it has some ELW listed inside the Col 70 Sector. It will be interesting to see what kind of pattern of exploration we see when some of the forbidden zones are finally opened...

I've definitely left a fair few tags in there...