A post like this a long time ago gave me perspective on the game and kept me going. It's a list of all the things a long-time player has done in game. I added useful links and hope this helps at least one other player set some goals and stay interested in this game for far longer than they thought.
I want to start by offering a view on the negativity that new players may encounter – that there's nothing to do in this game, it's too hard to learn, and it's too much of a grind. Pay attention to how many hundreds of hours those reviewers have put into this game. Let me emphasize: HUNDREDS of hours. I'd be happy if you get 50 enjoyable hours out of this game without grinding, I think you can go on to 200hrs of solid gameplay with some grind, and hit 1000hrs (well past your moneys worth) still with some grinding but lots of achievement, teamwork, and accomplishment. This is still the best space sim out there imho, and I keep coming back to it.
The secret? Space is big and lonely – Find a group of CMDRs to play with!
Here are my highlights from the past couple years that you might use to set some goals:
"Exploration":
- Visited Real Life (Some favourites: Heart and Soul, Bubble Nebula, Galactic Core)
- Billions of cr in carto data: out to two of the Galaxy, Colonia, SagA*, hunted over 100 along the way
- Completed in space Codex for a region
- Completed on ground "exobiology" Codex for a region
- Drew my name on the edastro ! (-11800, 22400)
"Lore Tourism":
- Visited All
- Ram Tah Guardian Lore
- Scanned all INRA bases
- Went to locations
- Many other abandoned base and shipwreck , like the current Azimuth Biochemical story
"Fun Events":
- Participated in Data, Trade, Combat Community Goals
- Did burning station rescues, helped with
- Did some – Sidewinder Fuel Finder, Sag A* Challenge
- Helped and with lore search
- Made some people's day with a fun Reddit
"Factions":
- Unlocked all
- Got to Powerplay Rating 5 (once, for the Li Yong Rui 3x carto data bonus)
- All Horizon engineers unlocked and G5 (thank you )
"Things that happened along the way":
- Federation full Admiral (see BGS below)
- Triple Elite (OK trade was a grind for me)
- Exploration Elite V
- Bought a … and parked it somewhere
- Flew every type of ship, spending many hours on and looking for
"Stuff I have barely touched!":
- Unlocking Powerplay Modules
- PVP
- Anti-Xeno Combat
- Mining
- The new SRV
- Photo Contests
- Odyssey Engineering
But what keeps me coming back:
- The (BGS): worked a faction to control a few new systems with a group of other dedicated players. This includes interactions with Powerplay groups and negotiations with other player groups (including answering calls for BGS help).
Parting words: "It's only a grind if you make it one," and "Are you sure you've done EVERYTHING in game?"
See you.. out there, CMDRs!
