Hello, Commander.
I remember my first flight in Elite Dangerous. I trained a lot in the cockpit, including advanced unassisted flying.
But what truly stuck in my memory was my visit to the Memorial ship, a ship with a lore about him stealing something from the Targoids. It just so happened that he crashed into a high-gravity planet where he was in his Cobra MK3. I went to see him with the same ship. I remember the planet had such brutal gravity that every maneuver was a challenge.
Back then, the game didn't offer anything easy. Getting materials was hell; every module, every upgrade cost sweat and time, and I made my first travel ship, which is a piece of paper and jumps 76 light years, and I still have it. I avoided unsequenced stars to prevent them from being destroyed, but oh well. Those were good times in my solitary days.
Ships weren't like they are now, where you can fly a fully engineered one and roam the galaxy without fear, thanks to a self-maintenance unit.
Today, anyone can acquire an upgraded ship without much effort, but back in those days, every victory carried weight, every upgrade was a real achievement.
And I think that's one of the reasons I came back. It's not just nostalgia; it's the need to relive that sense of challenge in combat, in trade, among other things. Besides, I acquired a fleet that sponsored me and taught me many things.
The friendships I've made and the laughs we shared, among other things.
I think Elite has become a part of my life, and the family that forms within the fleet is what made me come back to the game and appreciate it. It was my first game when I was able to build a computer, and I liked airplanes and space things, and seeing a black hole is the most amazing thing, and seeing a unique layout or discovering it is great.
I struggled with writing, but I couldn't say it in less than 500 words or less.