Great moments in PC gaming: Jumping to hyperspace in Elite Dangerous

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Great moments in PC gamingare bite-sized celebrations of some of our favorite gaming memories.

Year: 2014 Developer: Frontier

Whether you're a bounty hunter, an explorer, or a glorified space trucker, doing almost anything in Elite Dangerous means jumping between systems. It's one of the game's most basic interactions—something you'll do multiple times in order to complete a mission. As such, the mechanics of it are pretty simple: you plot your route on the galactic map, point yourself towards the target system, and hit a single button to start up the sequence.

But simple doesn't mean mundane. This is one of the most common interactions in the game, and yet it's full of wonder and ceremony. It starts when you first activate the jump, the onboard computer chiming in to announce «Frame Shift Drive charging». The drive spools up—an intense, bassy hum that builds in range and depth rather than volume. And then the countdown activates—your computer again narrating the process and ending with a dispassionate «Engage» that signals your departure.

Elite's version of hyperspace is known as «witch-space», a sort of mysterious, spooky alternate dimension that ships use to move between systems. This isn't just a lore-based handwave for explaining hyperspace travel—at least it isn't just that. As you travel through hyperspace, you hear the sound of wind, or perhaps ghostly whispers—hints that there's something here beyond your understanding of the universe. And then the quiet is interrupted.

Much of Elite's atmosphere is carried by the peerless sound design, but your exit from hyperspace—the sudden, violent arrival—is a visual shock too. The star of your target system rushes into view, forcing you to take immediate action to