Luxury Tour
Logo by the CMDR Alistair Hope
The Luxury Tour, as its name indicates, was a circuit or rather a cruise around the human bubble. This unique trip allowed a hundred commanders to embark thousands of passengers to travel among the stars and nebulae, to visit the most amazing places on the Border. The main waypoints were all located in systems with asteroid stations, providing optimized comfort for passengers and their crew. It was the same for the maintenance of the Vessels.
Below you can observe the circuit in its Entirety. This one was created by Commander Alistair Hope. The yellow route went through the main waypoints, followed by a large majority of Commanders. The red route was including optional visits, adding number of light years to the counter but offering breathtaking landscapes.
Map of the itinerary by the CMDR Alistair Hope
Very rhythmic, each stopover was organized with thoroughness. Several activities were proposed based on the system and the configuration of the locations in which the fleet was Located.
- Mass Jumps:
These are coordinated FSD jumps. After consolidating the maximum number of Commanders into one instance (or several if necessary), a synchronized jump was triggered and recorded by the Streamers. This is a great classic of expeditions in Elite: Dangerous.
The system and exact location of each Mass Jump (always very close to the waypoint) was communicated a few hours before. These places could be the asteroid station itself, a beautiful point of view in space, or even a beautiful position on the surface of a planet. Commanders who were ahead of the waypoints were encouraged to look for the perfect location.
Mass jumps were provided at Waypoints: 0, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 17.
Photo taken during a mass jump by the CMDR Mist0
- Campfire:
The Commanders of the expedition gathered at the planetary coordinates fixed and communicated a few hours before. These coordinates were chosen for their particularly beautiful or atypical points of view. Commanders who were ahead of the waypoints were encouraged to look for interesting points of view.
Campfires were provided at Waypoints: 1, 7, 12 and 16.
Photo taken during a campfire by the CMDR[SCTS] W4z
- SRV Events
An activity involving SRV was organized between the volunteer Commanders. The terms of each activity were communicated a few hours earlier. Since all waypoints ‘ asteroid stations had repair services, the loss of SRV was not problematic.
Below, a non-exhaustive list of activities that could be proposed:
- SRV races
- SRV hike (climb a mountain for Example)
- Ravine Crossing
- SRV Boxing Match (on a narrow headland in general)
- SRV hunt: one or more SRV were hunted by others at high speed
The Commanders who were in advance on the waypoint in question were encouraged to search for adapted spots (ravines, mountains, narrow Headlands).
SRV events were provided for Waypoints: 2, 8, 10, 13 and 19.
Photo taken by the CMDR Melbus during a hike in SRV
- Fighters Events
An activity involving fighters was organized between the volunteer Commanders. All fighters events were organized on waypoints with an asteroid base offering a Outfitting service. This eventually allowed the fighters Bay to be bought in the bubble without taking it in its ship during the long journeys and to have it transferred for the event.
A non-exhaustive list of activities that could be proposed:
- Fighter race in a ravine
- Fighter race in an asteroid field
Hunter events were planned at Waypoints: 3, 5 and 18. The Multi-Crew allowed Commanders without fighters to participate.
- Imperial Eagle Race
For Commanders who wanted to, a special event was proposed at the end of the cruise at waypoint 15.
It was an Imperial Eagle race (purchased before the start), which could be transferred to the site thanks to the Shipyard service at waypoint 15 (system: Seaagull Sector DL-Y D3).
The equipment was fixed for all participants and did not have any engineering modifications (all the pilots had the same vessel).
Photo taken during the Imperial Eagle event by CMDR Kazahnn DRAHNN
The expedition was identified by the Galactic Mapping Project, despite the fact that it was a tourist cruise, as some of the Commanders who were part of it were experienced and keen exploration pilots. Several discoveries could have taken place:
However, the proper course of the cruise as a whole is to be nuanced with the end of it. Indeed, the return to the bubble was close and all the passengers expected to visit a last nebula and then return home after a pleasant and fabulous trip. But it was without counting on the sudden and brutal arrival of the Thargoïds. The first station of a long list, had just been devastated and the information had been confirmed by several galactic media. This famous race of aliens that we heard no more about, if not in children’s tales, had just made his comeback.
At that time, the fleet was around waypoint 18, in the Orion and Running Man Nebulae. Distress messages were arriving at all frequencies and the Admiralty decision did not wait. The ships of the fleet had to mobilize to participate in the evacuation of the station that had just been attacked. They all answered the call.
Photo taken by the CMDR Hanna Hunter during the evacuation of the first station attacked by the Thargoïds
Despite the danger of the Zone: no one knew if he could return safely, the vessels were not prepared for this type of exercise, and there was a limited number of seats in the cabins, etc… Everything was able to take place without any major problems. This improvised operation allowed the evacuation of thousands of People.
One thing is certain, travelers will still remember this cruise full of twists and turns! Rumors have been made that the fact that the fleet was in this part of the galaxy at the beginning of the invasion of the human bubble by the Thargoïds, would have been foreseen by the organizers…
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