Back in the Saddle
28 Jan 2021Sinisalo
I began my journey in Elite in 2017. I knew of the game, folks discussed it on the boards I frequent, and I saw screenshots that were beautiful. Good rep, beautiful graphics, a vibrant community. So I looked deeper. Learning of the various aspects and features, one thing in particular drew me in.Combat looked cool, and there are 400 billion star systems don't you know? I discovered I could become a trader, a combat pilot, an explorer, a pirate. Elite struck me as a story-generator, which appeals. Write your own story, blaze your own trail. But despite all of these attractions it was the notion that I could stitch my commander name across the galaxy that drew me in. By becoming the first to discover something, the commander name is attached for all time (or until Elite 2). I loved the idea of this, something permanent from a hobby so fleeting in its focus.
So I took the plunge. A Cougar and a Track IR were all I needed and were already at hand. Later I would add an X Box controller to the mix to handle FSS and DSS duties. And so began my Elite odyssey, now nearly four years on and over 1,500 hours invested. That's Bush League for some, but I only sink serious time in to what I think are great games. And Elite certainly proved to be a great game. But in a sense, it's greatness is also one of its issues for me. What I mean is that I have such a good time playing, that I play at too high an intensity. I begin to ignore all the other games on the rotation, focusing only on whatever goal I've set for myself in Elite. Elite becomes the only thing I play. And then, after doing this for 3 months or so, I burn out. Every year I play for 3 or 4 months, burn out, then shelve the game for the rest of the year while I move on to other things. Then, come spring time, I have the itch to play once again.
This year it's come a little sooner. Maybe it's the isolation from the pandemic, maybe it's the fact the big update is near (is it?). But I now find myself back in the saddle once more. Maybe I'll keep playing a little longer this time? The key is setting goals. As soon as I cannot think of a goal I'd like to reach, it's over. So I am continually setting short and long-range goals. Long range is Combat and Triple Elite, which isn't far now. Shorter goals are things like obtaining Inara badges, hitting cash on hand thresholds that I set arbitrarily, trying to think of a new ship to buy, which is a struggle. I want a new ship, but there are no ships I want. We need new ships! Setting goals keeps me engaged. But sooner or later the well runs dry.
But for now, I have the fire. And that's cool with me.