Someone Just Made The Aliens In Elite Dangerous Really Mad
Space sim Elite Dangerous is set in a mind-bendingly vast 1:1 replica of the Milky Way, with 400 billion star systems to explore. But this is no Mass Effect or Star Trek. Elite's galaxy isn't teeming with eccentric aliens with ridged foreheads, planet-sized extraterrestrial cities, and weird spaceships zipping back and forth. Much like actual space, it's big, quiet, and empty. A terrifyingly huge cosmic void that humanity has only managed to get the most microscopic of footholds in, in a region of space known as the Core Systems, or the Bubble.
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Humans basically have the Milky Way to themselves, but over the years an enigmatic, elusive new species—the Thargoids—have been creeping into their territory. I met them myself in 2019 while out on a trade run. I was pulled out of hyperspace and watched in horror as my ship was remotely shut down and creepy biomechanical ships appeared in front of me. Some players take these encounters as an invitation for a fight, but I just fled. I'm a lover not a fighter in Elite, and I doubt my puny little hauler would have stood a chance against them.
It was a shocking moment, because Elite is a largely uneventful game. I play as a trader, which means a lot of long journeys through space as I ferry cargo between orbital stations and planets. If that sounds dull, well, it is—but that's why I like it. It's strangely relaxing, and the flight model and atmosphere are so sublime in Elite that I don't mind the repetitiveness. So when those Thargoids yanked me out of hyperspace, I nearly jumped out of my seat. It was a sudden, unexpected surge of excitement and fear in the middle of a boring workday.
The increasing boldness
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