My first solo Cyclops kill in space ( so with a swarm) is surely something I ought to brag about!

It's only been about three weeks since I started proper Thargoid fights - i.e. Interceptors so I'm absolutely chuffed to bits to have done this. I suspect my thug technique will be found out against a Basilisk, but here's hoping!! Cr8m isn't shabby either

While my two daughters would demand that I be a Luxury Passenger Compartment for them, instead I see myself a their docking computer - it’s my job to make sure they get where they’re going and then home safely and that they’re happy.

Neutrons - terrifying that first time but with practice can be fun to ride the waves. EVA not advised.

Elite:Dangerous' complete galaxy model give us 400,000,000,000 stars to go and look at, so there's plenty for everyone.

When you visit a star system and scan it with your system scanner your ship will save the summary data of that system and you can then sell that data at a starport to a company called "Universal Cartographics" or UniCarti for short. A delightful perk is that if you are the first person to sell that data then UniCarti will put your name on that system's information page forever more as the First Discoverer for all the world to see. You can also map the bodies in the system and claim the "First Mapped By" moniker. Finally there's a "First Footfall" label but this doesn't require UniCarti involvement, just land and set foot on the surface.

I can hear you now, "let me go get my name in lights!". Well hold on there partner, not so fast. E:D has been around for over eight years, so a lot of the nearby systems have been discovered and labelled. If you want that lovely warm feeling of being a first discoverer, strap up your boots because the chances are you'll need to get at least 1,000 light years away from Sol to start seeing uncharted systems regularly. These days 1kly isn't so much of a trial but be prepared to go further if needs be. You should also consider getting off the galactic plane i.e. move up or down on the galaxy map by at least 200 light years. Things thin out, but so do the number of commanders.

Once you've filled your boots with exploration data and the space madness is starting to creep in, head home. BUT....be careful. If your ship for whatever reason is destroyed you will LOSE the exploration data with no recovery possible (remind me...what's the game called?). Tread carefully on the way to sell your data, play in Solo mode to avoid human pirates, and land cautiously. In extreme cases call the "Hull Seals" if you're dangerously low on Hull percentage.

On your way take screenshots of your interesting systems, or make notes. I use a spreadsheet with several tabs, but I'm probably not normal. However having the data to look back in can be very rewarding in time to come, I wish I had done so with my very early discoveries.

Above all else, have fun. Take the time to investigate that weird blobby planet, or those crazy rings. Look up the legend of Raxxla and investigate any eighth moons you see.

Lastly, post your photos. Put them on your favourite social media outlet of choice (Just About included!) - the community feedback is one of the most satisfying parts of the experience so don't miss out.

CMDR Evoflash

The Macedonica Principle (proper noun): The requirement for all explorers that use Jumponium to equip a mining laser as a countermeasure for accidently running out of materials.

Usage: "That's a nice build to jump far but you've forgotten the Macedonica Principle".

Marcellus ain't gonna like this....

For the upcoming release of Gladiator 2 I would suggest an initiative to include the public in the soundtrack.

Recall the original film - Gladiator - and it's shivers-down-the-spine moment when the Colosseum crowd all chanted "MAXIMUS! MAXIMUS!"...imagine if that sound was comprised of 50,000 combined submissions of fans who recorded themselves chanting "MAXIMUS!". So this time, fans are asked to chant a specific name - obviously no plot spoilers, using an app on phone. These are then submitted to the film company who using technical wizardry and genius combine the submissions and process to form a crowd chanting whatever it is they were asked to chant.

Fans then get to go to the film and tell everyone "see that bit! I'm there! That's me chanting!". Free enthusiam!

I'll add a few discoveries here.

My first and finest is the Tourist Beacon Location - "The Holy Twins", two binary ringed Earthlikes orbiting a Neutron Star. A miracle system in the truest sense. My only wish would be that the two planets were closer to each other.

I headed to my first Thargoid Ground Combat Zone this week where I encountered a dreaded HYDRA! The most deadly of all enemies in Elite Dangerous - other than real-life-work.

I detailed in the post below the final moments of its existance as I PUMMELLED it to bits, including the lovely, satisfying screenfilling explosion followed by the lucious sixty million credit bond that followed. WHAT A NIGHT.

Elsewhere, I managed to disgust myself with my desire for credits combined with morbid curiosity. Worse still...that outfit...