Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

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Broadsword
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Location: Cheshire, UK

Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Broadsword » Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:01 pm

WARNING - likely to be pic heavy, cos that's the point :D

I'm going to keep a picture log of a trip I'm making in Elite: Dangerous. It'll probably update intermittently, and since I don't know what I'm going to find I have no idea how things will go, but I thought it might be of interest to the E:D players...

Prologue

"Call me Broadsword. Some time ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no credits in my account, and nothing particular to interest me in the Bubble, I thought I would fly about a little and see the uninhabited parts of the 'verse. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before the suicide booths, and bringing up the rear of every sundiving convoy I meet; and especially whenever my melancholy gets such an upper hand of me that it takes a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately deploying my hardpoints within the no-fire zone, and methodically blasting away at the System Authority Vessels - then, I account it high time to get to get into the Long Dark as fast as I can. This is my substitute for a blaster pistol in the mouth..."
- 'Moby Dick', if Melville had been born in 3300CE

So, having played Elite: Dangerous for a while I've been yearning for something to do. I don't really want combat, as I get enough of that in DCS and CloD. Trading can be absorbing but it's really just a means to an end (money!), and I don't care enough about any particular faction to throw myself into Powerplay. What I do have is a passion for astronomy, and having spent many long, cold nights at the scope straining to catch a glimpse of some far-off nebula before the frostbite set in, I decided that exploration might be the game for me. And in a persistent universe with billions of stars there must be an opportunity for me to get my name on something, somewhere.

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Today Mount Broadsword, tomorrow the world!

To explore properly, I was going to need a good ship, and that meant credits, a lot more credits than I'd managed to amass by my bimbling, random trading. So for the last week I've been pushing my trades, finding better routes and using bigger ships until I scraped together enough credits to buy and kit out my chosen exploration ship. Yesterday I finally decided that I had enough creds, so I shipped my last load of superconductors to Ehecatl and prepared to set off in search of a station selling what I wanted.

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No, I won't haul away one last pile of radioactive spaceworm shit

I found my ship, a Diamondback Explorer, at Nourse Station in Esumindii. Sadly they didn't have all the gear I needed to kit her out, so her first flight was to go in search of an A5 Frameshift Drive for her.

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Available in any colour, as long as it's mustard

The forums told me that it wasn't always that easy to find these, but I got lucky on my first search - I picked out a very high population, very wealthy industrial system half a dozen hops away, that also happened to have a very pretty Earth-like world with an enormous ring system.

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It's nice, but probably best to build your cities underground though

Sure enough they had my top-class FSD to go with my top class Scanners, top class Field Maintenance Unit and top class Fuel Scoop. I left weapons off, since where I'm going I don't expect to meet anyone, and picked the lightest Life Support System they had, as I'm going to be well beyond any hope of getting back to a station if my screen cracks.

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Also, they didn't have the big life-support systems in the right colour

With the ship all set, I just needed a destination. My intention is to go all over, but first I need a little shakedown cruise. The Coalsack Nebula is about 500ly away, an easy enough trip in my new ride.

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To the left, garishly-coloured politics. To the right, a cold lonely death far from human companionship. A tricky choice...

In fact, if I took the economical route (116 jumps) I could even do it on one tank of fuel, but who has time for that? Instead I programmed a fast route of about 20 jumps. My tanks would be dry after the first five hops, but that's why I shelled out nearly 3 million creds on a fuel scoop that can fill 'er up fast as you like. With everything set, I released the docking clamps and lifted off, not knowing when (or if) I'd have to extend my landing gear again...

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Damnit, I meant to have a pee before we left

To be continued...
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I must go up to the skies again, to the peace of silent flight, To the gull’s way, and the hawk’s way, and the free wings’ delight;
And all I ask is a friendly joke with a laughing fellow rover, And a large beer, and a deep sleep, when the long flight’s over.

Boyezee
Posts: 3650
Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 8:56 pm
Location: Northamptonshire, England

Re: Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Boyezee » Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:07 pm

Nice Broadsword, look forward to keeping up with your adventures

I have been toying with getting this game for a while, it does look damn tempting...
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Krass
Posts: 391
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:30 pm
Location: Tannhauser Gate

Re: Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Krass » Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:33 pm

I got the game a while ago. Still stuck in 'bimble' mode with a distinct lack of credits and enthusiasm. Reading old Broadsword's shenanigans here about exploration of the far flung ether has my interest piqued.

Looking forward to hearing more tales from our intrepid adventurer and intergalactic wordsmith :salute:
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“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”

Broadsword
Posts: 3124
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 7:54 pm
Location: Cheshire, UK

Re: Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Broadsword » Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:44 pm

Part One - A Zip Around the Sack

Leaving Copernicus dock behind me, I took a deep breath and pulled my nose around to face the first hop of eighteen that I'd programmed. As the Diamondback (name yet to be decided as I was in a rush to get going) centred on Ross 733, I realised that even from within the Bubble I could actually see my target slightly to the left of her nose.

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Well, shall we just call it a day and go back then?

I triggered my new A5 FSD for the first time and leapt 32.4ly closer to my goal. Everything went fine, nothing exploded, the power distributor didn't fall off the wall, so I kept going. Four hops in and the tanks were getting a little low, so I manoeuvred in to try my fuel scoop. It worked perfectly, and filled my tanks in about a minute whilst my temp never went over 60C. A successful trial.

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Knew I should have had that toasting fork attached to my medium hardpoint

Five hops later and she was getting thirsty again, so I settled in over a small M-class star. It was having a few solar storms but nothing that worried me too much, until suddenly an enormous flare erupted right in front of me. Thankfully it was far enough off to not damage me, so I completed the fill and got clear.

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Sorry, nuclear fusion via the proton-proton cycle always disagrees with me

Five hops later the Coalsack was getting pretty big. I did take pics as I got even closer, but by then all you could really tell was that one side of the sky had a lot more stars than the other, which is hard to show on a single pic, so I'm posting this one.

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Spacedust is the new black

Having reached the Coalsack I looked around for anything interesting in the immediate area. Just south of the dustcloud I saw a very bright B-class star which might be worth a visit. I wasn't the first to get there, and there were no life-bearing planets, but the system itself had an intersting mix of 'stuff'.

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God had been drinking again

Ten 'planets', six of which are L, T or Y class brown dwarfs and one of which is actually a K-class star, which should really be classed as a binary system but the mass difference between the huge B and the small G is enough to make it orbit like a planet. Three of the brown dwarfs have ring systems, as does the colossal Jovian moon of 'planet' eight. Worth a look, once we've refuelled.

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And maybe a popcorn maker on the large hardpoint?

The first planet seemed as good a choice as any, and proved to be a lovely sight, with an enormous rocky ring system.

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The Music of the Spheres is also available as an mp3 for those without a big enough turntable

I decided that I wanted a closer look, after all that's why I'd decided to bring shields all the way out here.

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Though no shields can make up for bad decision-making

And of course, once you've seen the individual rocks, there's a voice in your head that says, 'try to get in close to one of the big ones'. So I did...

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I know I dropped my keys here somewhere

Having entertained myself for half an hour flying in and out of the rocks, I decided it was time to leave. But where to go? My shakedown cruise had gone very well. I could return to the Bubble and sell my exploration data, then plan a new trip. But so far I hadn't come across anything that hadn't been seen by others before me, and the itch to actually make a discovery was in need of a scratch. Looking for something more distant, I noticed a nice small, not too obvious nebula out further out in the same direction - the Statue of Liberty Nebula...

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The Statue of Liberty Nebula in real life. You would, wouldn't you?

This little beauty is over 3000ly away, and must surely give me a chance of getting some firsts along the way. I can't set the course in one go, so I programmed in the first 600ly and settled back for the trip. After half a dozen hops I started to come across systems where no one else has been. They've mainly been collections of rocky or metallic worlds that might be ok for mining, but we're hardly running out of metals in the Bubble yet so I don't expect they're worth much. I did manage to see two completely water-covered worlds in close orbit around each other, teeming with unicellular life, which was pretty exciting if bland-looking. And a glowing cinder of a world with a surface temperature of 700k, and an atmospheric pressure of 14,000 atmospheres thanks to being covered in metallic volcanoes. Finally, after an hour of jumping and scanning, I saw something that looked worthy of diversion. The newly discovered planet was 2000ls from my entry point, but something about it looked intriguing. Could those be continents? Was that water? Could it be Earth-like?

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And do they sell booze?

I hopped over to it and ran my surface scanner, wondering if I might actually have been lucky enough to discover an Earthlike on my first trip out. Sadly, it turns out that it's just another metallic, albeit one with an interesting surface pattern. Disappointed, I pulled into orbit and decided it was time to have a sleep.

To be continued...
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I must go up to the skies again, to the peace of silent flight, To the gull’s way, and the hawk’s way, and the free wings’ delight;
And all I ask is a friendly joke with a laughing fellow rover, And a large beer, and a deep sleep, when the long flight’s over.

Bunny
Posts: 5431
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:56 pm

Re: Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Bunny » Wed Jul 08, 2015 4:53 pm

Brilliant write up - love the opening dialogue, reminds me of something Joss Whedon would have written for Firefly :nice:

I bought this at the same time as Farming Simulator 2015, and I've become slightly addicted to scooping up grain in FS at the moment. I did start the training for E:D and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I imagine I'd be more into the exploring/trading aspect - I think these traits point to a slightly OCD bent to a person's character - the sort of person who, as a child, would spend half a day looking for a four-leaf clover. Or, as my wife likes to call me, a 'pebbler' - someone who constantly stares down at the pebbles when walking along a beach, not knowing what you might find :D

Look forward to the next instalment!

“It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes I-16s.” - Douglas Adams


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Hindsight
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Location: Washington State

Re: Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Hindsight » Wed Jul 08, 2015 5:44 pm

This is awesome. I sincerely hope you keep this series going. I love E:D and while Ive never really done any exploration, it is very cool to read about someone else doing it!
A little bit of smart is much more effective than a lot of stupid

Broadsword
Posts: 3124
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 7:54 pm
Location: Cheshire, UK

Re: Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Broadsword » Thu Jul 09, 2015 2:50 pm

Part Two A - The Black Hole Boogie

Leaving behind the disappointing ball-bearing I continued my counterclockwise (or 'Widdershins' as the explorers call it) trek towards the Statue of Liberty Nebula. Star systems came and went in a blur of refuelling and scanning, with an occasional side trip to see something that looked a bit different (I am supposed to exploring after all).

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This one tastes funny too

In one system I came across another possible Earth-like, but it turned out to be just another weirdly-rusted ball-bearing.

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Maybe it'll fool the explorer's guild?

However, I was now far enough out that nothing I saw had been found by anyone else. I'm sure others have been this way before, but with so many star systems the chances of us ending up in the same ones are pretty low. Which is why plotting my next 500ly stint brought me a little excitement. By pure luck the star I picked for my next 500ly goal had a black hole as a secondary.

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Prua Drydaes - Prua Dydraes everywhere!

The next twenty hops sped past as I zeroed in on the black hole. This was what it was all about! Out here in the middle of nowhere I'd stumbled onto a real treasure. Since the black hole was the secondary in its system you couldn't search for it on the map, you could only spot it by mousing-over that particular star, something which I'd done purely fortuitously on my way to somewhere else. I should be in with a good chance of getting my name on this one.

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Damnit! Groose, who's butt did you kiss to get in here anyway?

Sadly, after hundreds of light years all alone, it turns out that this one system has been visited before. Still, there's a black hole to see, right? I refuelled at the hot young type O with a surface temperature of 98,000k, then set off to find the hole in space.

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Smokin'

I arrived in the region of the hole and started to hunt around, trying not to get too close. There were weird little white lights zipping around which I hadn't seen in other systems, possibly some sort of gravitational effect? Finally, by getting the hole between me and the Milky Way I was able to see the distortion.

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But instead I took this picture of a Klingon Warbird

Having gotten a bit of a feel for things, I decided to take a little risk and fly closer. This black hole weighs about 11 solar masses. In my mind I know that it's no more dangerous than a star of the same weight, and I've seen plenty bigger than that on my trip. But there's something mythical about the hole which makes me nervous.

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At least I can dump all those pee bottles I've been saving up

Of course, I couldn't usually get within 1000km of a star without burning up. The black hole's only effect on the surrounding space is its gravity. By definition it puts out no radiation, so despite being horribly close to it (close enough that if I turned off the engines I'd fall in immediately) I'm not heating at all - notice I'm only showing 19% on the sensor. At this point however I'm very glad that E:D doesn't model spaghettification. A quick back of the envelope calculation shows that at this distance from the hole I'm feeling a pull equal to about 188.5 million G But that's ok, because I'm in freefall, right? Just like the astronauts in the ISS who feel weightless despite still being very much in the Earth's grip, I shouldn't feel the pull of the hole, right? Whilst that's true, there's a little wrinkle. The gravitational field here is increasing so fast that the nose of my ship feels a bigger pull than the tail does. The difference in pull between two points ten metres apart here is more than 4000G :shock: , so if this was modelled my ship would instantly be pulled apart into a great long stream of atoms as the nose was pulled in much faster than the tail. I guess the same inertialess physics that stops me from being smeared into jam when I turn the engines on is also protecting my ship from being spaghettified. Thank you Lakon Industries...
Last edited by Broadsword on Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I must go up to the skies again, to the peace of silent flight, To the gull’s way, and the hawk’s way, and the free wings’ delight;
And all I ask is a friendly joke with a laughing fellow rover, And a large beer, and a deep sleep, when the long flight’s over.

Broadsword
Posts: 3124
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 7:54 pm
Location: Cheshire, UK

Re: Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Broadsword » Thu Jul 09, 2015 5:12 pm

Part Two B - I Really Don't Like Neutron Stars

Having survived my close encounter with the black hole, I fired up the Galaxy Map once more to plot another 500ly slice from my journey. I immediately noticed that within 100 light years of me there were two neutron stars. These were the primaries in their systems, and so could be searched for if you have good enough eyes. I figured this was how Groose had found himself in this neighbourhood, and that he'd then stumbled on the black hole whilst exploring the area. Sure enough, his name was all over the neutron stars too. Still, they've got to be worth a look, right? On the way over I spotted an interesting looking gas giant which had had all it's colour leeched away.

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I feel a bit overdressed

Its ring system turned out to be mainly composed of huge metallic boulders, and proved to be a fun playground to zip around in for half an hour.

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If only I'd brought my mining laser

But before long it was time to go visit the neutron stars. I only took one picture during my visit, it looks like this...

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BOOOOORING!

This was me a few seconds after arrival. Notice that I am currently about 40,000km away from this horrible thing (or about 40,000 times further than I was from the black hole). You can't really see any detail because it's only perhaps 10km across, but it's spitting out enough radiation (mainly xrays) to have my temp up to 51% and rising.

I tried to nudge a little closer but my Frameshift Drive just gave a groan and died, spitting me out into normal space. I fired it up again and turned my tail to the thing before throttling up, then watched my temps rise horribly as I fought againt the pull of the thing. It had less gravitational influence than the black hole, but the environment was so much hotter that my little Diamondback was struggling. I pity anyone who comes near these things in a less capable ship - the Diamondback runs cooler than anything else I've ever flown.

Finally we got aligned with the escape vector and pulled away with smoke coming off the instrument panels. I'd taken minor damage, and spent a minute repairing things before moving on. My autorepair unit is down to about 90% capacity now, but all systems are fixed. My hull (which can't be repaired in space) is sitting at about 97%, so not a real worry yet.

At the second neutron star I just scanned from a distance and then bugged out, I've learned my lesson. Then I set course to get me another 500ly towards my goal. On hop 107 out from Copernicus Dock I spotted something that might be of interest.

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At least one of those orange ones must have a chocolate centre

However, I'd jumped in around the hot white primary, and the planets were all circling the secondary, 92,000ls away. This side trip would really slow me down, and it would probably turn out to be another metallic anyway. Still, I'm supposed to be an explorer, so I figured I really ought to go. I aimed my ship at the K-class secondary, throttled up, and went to make a cuppa.

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Anarchy - also a good description of what happened in the cockpit

And there it was. The scratchy warble of the surface scanner had stopped with a ping and the panel lit up with the information that I had just discovered an Earth-like world. Holding my breath I circled in for a closer look.

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Quick, quick! Get the flag out!

It's certainly a pretty world. Here I am, 3500ly from home, gently orbiting a world that looks a bit like paradise. For long minutes I just looked out of the window, before remembering to read the full scan results.

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Likes: Seasons, Orbiting, Men With Ambition. Dislikes: Asteroid Collisions, Global Thermonuclear War

Well, she's a little small, but fairly dense so I think I'm right in saying that surface gravity will be about 0.73G. That accounts for her holding onto a decent atmosphere without any volcanism, but with an avg surface temp of 6C she's a little cold for my tastes. Maybe in the tropics there will be the odd beach day, but mostly it'll be too nippy for my tastes. No wonder most of the life here chooses to live in the seas. Nevertheless, I have discovered an Earth-like planet, and I think I should name her. Given that she's Earth-like, but cold and a bit low on atmosphere, I shall call her 'New Gravesend'. Time for some sleep now...

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To Be Continued...
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I must go up to the skies again, to the peace of silent flight, To the gull’s way, and the hawk’s way, and the free wings’ delight;
And all I ask is a friendly joke with a laughing fellow rover, And a large beer, and a deep sleep, when the long flight’s over.

Krass
Posts: 391
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:30 pm
Location: Tannhauser Gate

Re: Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Krass » Thu Jul 09, 2015 6:52 pm

Cast a couple of nets down there Broadsword.. must be plenty of fish in the sea at New Gravesend for a lonely traveller :salute:


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“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”

Ratty
Posts: 297
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014 2:14 pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: Into the Long Dark - a sort of Captain's Log

Post by Ratty » Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:04 pm

Enjoying reading these Broadsword!

ED might owe you some commission soon, I'm getting closer to buying this with every post :)
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