Gaming Embedded | My Month As A Fuel Rat

the universe of elite dangerous is harsh both  thematically and in practice it's a cutthroat   galaxy of mercenaries pirates war black markets  and ominous mysteries reeling from a history of   galactic conflict meanwhile its actual gameplay  can be just as tough to learn as its galaxy is   unforgiving this is because elite is underpinned  by a relatively strict commitment to pseudo   realism frontier developments has designed elite  not just as a space shooter but a space simulator   one that takes place across a one-to-one scale  recreation for a hundred billion star system   Milky Way galaxy and as such there are different  procedures for docking trading combat hauling   cargo and jumping between star systems all  things that take time to learn and take time   to do you can experience the galaxy by yourself  only ever meeting NPCs or pop into open play and   brave elites wild-west alike outer space where  you'll chanced encountering other players with   their own possibly questionable motives what  may surprise you is that born from elite steep   learning curve and unsparing simulation roots is  a player group whose attitude is really quite the   opposite the fuel rats interstellar samaritans  who stand in contrast to elites callous universe   their objective to help those in need specifically  players without fuel an elite running out of fuel   and stranding yourself in the middle of empty  space is a real and very common possibility   and it can come at a hefty price - it's a  grindy game and outfitting ships and flying   them places requires time and a lot of credits  elites rigidity coupled with its grind means   death can have severe consequences even once  players establish themselves with better ships   and a good amount of cash when you dine elite  your galactic insurance gives you the choice to   rebuy the ship you died in at a discount or  respawn and a free Sidewinder elite starter   ship whichever option you select you'll respawn  back at a space station depending on how much   money you have and what kind of ship you died in  Reeb eyeing your ship could be anything from an   annoyance to a sizeable dent in your in money  there are other consequences though some even   experienced players can't escape what if you're  out of fuel thousands of light years away from   the nearest Space Station what if you're carrying  tons of valuable cargo what if you collected some   high-priced bounties and plan on selling them for  cash if you die you lose any collected cargo or   bounty vouchers and if you're out exploring the  far reaches of the galaxy death means you're sent   right back to a space station your trip and all  the light-years you covered or cut short suffice   it to say death isn't great and you definitely  don't want to run out of fuel without it you can't   travel and eventually even your oxygen will run  out luckily this is where the fuel rats come in   if you're stranded and low on fuel call the fuel  rats and they'll scurry your direction refill your   ship and give you pointers on how to avoid running  out of fuel in the future the rats are a lifeline   out of interstellar dead ends and a far better and  cheaper option than waiting for your oxygen to run   out or self-destructing they've performed nearly  70,000 successful rescues saving commanders from   the bubble where you'll find most space stations  and populated star systems and even all the way   out to the Milky Way's most desolate extreme  edges over the years I've spent my fair share   of time in elite and have experienced it from  just about every standpoint I've hauled cargo   mined asteroids hunted bounties dog fighted and  aimlessly explored the Milky Way's giant cosmic   arms I've even needed saving from the fuel rats  but going on rescue missions and teaching players   that ins and outs of refueling and plotting that  I'd never experienced that is until January 2020   when I joined the fuel rats I spent a month and  only with the field rats but as one I trained as   a fuel rat hung out with them followed them on  rescues and made some rescues myself and even   interviewed a few there a group of volunteers  people from different countries with different   backgrounds and of different ages but all with  the same eagerness to respond to calls for help   the rats have been around nearly as long as elite  dangerous itself and began with an idea from one   commander surly badger a self-described grumpy  old fart who didn't desire leadership and wasn't   a fan of rule badger initially envisioned the  fuel rats as in anarchic collective of wildly   disparate commanders who have their own reasons  and agendas reflecting the overall randomness   and nastiness / glory of humanity this idea was  philosophically reinforced by what surly badger   called the doctrine of individual excellence a  belief in maximizing the power of a collective   through autonomous individuals the fuel rat's sum  this up as simply if we do our best individually   then collectively will be awesome well I think  the overall objective is to fuel those who need   feel it's so simple but if we are talking about  the ethos fuel ratting then I think it comes down   to like you know helping others helping those who  are in need just doing it without any ego just go   there and give them fuel and get out that's  commander orange sheets a longtime rat who   joined the group nearly as soon as they formed in  2015 the group's website and text chat are funded   privately and through donations and their in-game  service is free as well it was decided pretty much   from the beginning that there would be no set fee  for rescues meaning no mandatory transfer of cargo   or goods in return for the rats refueling a client  actually from the get-go it was discussed whether   the duties of free or is there any kind of way to  get payment but it was very quickly reattached no   payments because it's just much simpler if you're  a new player and you have started up and on your   first hour of flying you run out of fuel then you  don't have any means to pay anyways and if you're   some long-range Explorer who has ran out of fuel  in God knows how many thousands of light-years   from the bubble the rats who go there and rescue  them actually do get paid went a honk on the way   and then failed an exploration data the universe  pays us and also it's good karma this sentiment   seemed to echo with a lot of members members like  little fool a veteran feel rant with more than 750   rescues I personally don't want to have anything  in return from the clients mainly mainly because I   don't need any money in the game right now it's  really just a hassle like if someone wants to   give you stuff they mind like for it opals or  whatever it's just a hassle to pick up really   fast I don't see it's possible in the game and  I don't see it's necessary because in the end it   doesn't cost you anything to refute someone the  only costs your time I don't think that paying   in game is a good way or what would be a good way  to pay your real life time that's not how it works   for me when it comes to the galaxy's politics  wars and crime the rats don't take sides and   while members are working as rats player versus  player combat is strictly forbidden if rats are   attacked by another player fighting back is not an  option there's even a famous story about the first   rat ambushed and held hostage by a player group  of pirates the pirates the men at a ransom of   200 tons of platinum and the rats counter-offered  telling the pirates they'd take their rat back if   the Pirates paid them a hundred tons of gold and  three Snickers bars the Pirates opened fire on   the rat but it was an important building block and  who and what the rats are today as commander surly   badger wrote we cannot be the good guys if we take  sides assemble war fleets blacklist people who   don't play the way we want our actions speak for  us we have fuel you don't any questions any other   response eventually turns us into a war guild or  an extortion racket or encourages more pirates to   amuse themselves by wasting their time and ours so  barring you're over the age of 13 all players new   and experienced can join the rats and go ratting  a curious verb considering you're taking time to   help people on joining you'll be asked to read  their standard operating procedures guidelines   that cover how the group communicates coordinates  and execute rescues the fuel rats don't consider   the SOP rules but the SOPs shouldn't it can't be  ignored either deviating from the SOP happens but   only with sufficient reason additionally one  that strictly mandatory it's highly reckon new   rats complete various training exercises before  the attempt rescues a rescue is kind of split in   two phases the rescue itself and a debrief what's  the clients safe its then the rats job to show   them the basics of refueling and elite like how  to scoop fuel from stars or teach them about KGB   foam an acronym of sorts that lifts star types you  can scoop from of course part of understanding the   SOP and having some training under your belt is  also making sure your ship is outfitted and ready   to fuel ships an elite are highly customizable  each with differing slots for weapons supports   and optional internal compartments where you'll  put things your ship doesn't necessarily need   in order to fly like chill generators cargo bays  or hole reinforcements generally speaking how you   customize your ship really depends on your play  style and what kind of jobs you're interested in   whether they be combat or commercial as a rat  you'll need at least a fuel scoop a cargo hold   that can carry at least eight limpets and a fuel  transfer lipid controller with these three modules   installed you'll store limpets in your cargo bay  and fire them at players that need fuel which   transfers fuel from your ship to theirs while  rats do the endgame work eight dispatcher acts as   a liaison between clients and any rat assigned to  their case oftentimes dispatches a client's first   line of contact and instructs them how to proceed  while assigned rats jump to the clients position   this communication structure is important clients  may have questions or changes in their status and   rats need to jump and may have interruptions of  their own like attacks from other players or NPCs   dispatch however doesn't see what's happening  in game so rats still need to provide updates   on the in-game situation the fuel rats assign  clients case numbers and use a loose collection   of codes and abbreviations to relay information  back to dispatch resulting in easier and faster   updates for example the code one fuel plus means  a rat has successfully fuelled case number one   learning how to communicate effectively and  concisely especially while traffic is heavy took   me a little time to get right jumping between star  systems and leet is fairly simple but just active   enough that constantly taking your hands away  from the helm can really slow you down finding   the right groove between flying my ship scooping  if I needed to charging my next jump and updating   dispatch took me a while and came with experience  and observation in fact during my first few days   as a rat that's pretty much all I did I outfitted  my ship to rescue trained and observed noting how   the more experienced rats communicated and handled  tougher rescues if I needed to summarize the   biggest lesson I learned as a fuel rat it would be  that context is crucial from structuring debriefs   to rescue techniques I found that solutions  and the best course of action for any given   situation were often dependent on the situation  itself firing a few limpet at someone may sound   easy and that's because in a vacuum it mostly is  elite has two main States's plays supercruise and   normal space supercruise is when you're traveling  around star systems flying at and far beyond the   speed of light in normal spaces when you're  flying around space stations are landing on   planets speeds in normal space are closer to that  of aircraft to give someone fuel you'll have to   fly to their position in supercruise drop in on  them in normal space and fire your fuel a bit but   ratting is highly contextual not every rescue is  a straightforward as finding a client and giving   them fuel with that said your basic standard  rescue could and in my experience usually did   go down something like this a commander runs out  of fuel goes to the fuel rods website to ask for   fuel and reports their commanders name position  platform and oxygen status once the call goes out   the client is prepped told to come to a full stop  and to disable all of their ships modules except   life-support this reduces how much fuel the client  ship consumes allotting the rats more time to get   there any rats willing to make the trip call their  jumps there is no schedule for rats the job is at   will and voluntary but if you call jumps you are  expected to begin jumping barring dispatch doesn't   assign you to the case or something comes up that  stops you from making the trip in which case you   need to report it to dispatch once rats have  called their jumps dispatch assigned specific   rats and instructs the client to send friend  requests to those rats through elite once the   requests go through the client is instructed to  form a wing with the rats essentially putting   all the players in the same party and activate  their lane beacon which reveals their position   once the rats reach the client stars rats should  see the beacon drop in on the client fill them up   and begin their debrief as the field rats SOP  say a rats fight isn't against other ships or   aliens but against time distance and delete zone  mechanics a rat and their client may encounter   bugs or trouble instancing all things the rats  have to contend with outside standard rescues   there are long range rescues and code Reds both  of which change up the fool rat formula as well   Code Red rescues perhaps the most complex or when  the client is on emergency oxygen if your ship is   so low on fuel that emergency oxygen kicks in it  means you can't move and when the counter runs out   you die here there may be more rats assigned than  the normal two possibly three or on rare occasions   more when a client reports their own emergency  oxygen or o2 they're ordered to log out to the   main menu which stops their o2 counter trouble  is at the main menu clients can see what system   they're in but they may not remember where in the  system they were or how much time their o2 head   left adding to the complications when you're on  emergency o2 elite forces you to wait 15 seconds   to log out so you can have clients log back in and  report their specific position but it'll cost you   time with code Reds there are a lot of variables  at play and the rats may have to coordinate based   off incomplete information one technique the  rats use is a bearing check if dispatch feels   the client has enough oxygen left and the rats  have reached the client system dispatch will   instruct the client to login set their beacon to  wing and send wing invites so the rats can get a   quicker read on their direction and distance  depending on a few factors including distance   and remaining o2 the client may be close enough  to stay logged on or ordered to log out leaving   the rats with an idea of where to fly I spent my  month as a fuel rat only in game and never did   attempt dispatching it's a job that can be calm  and chaotic sometimes both within a few minutes   no for me ratting was experienced enough and it  was enjoyable it probably won't surprise you to   know that helping people is nice the cheerful  reactions of rescued clients transcends language   barriers and really is one of the most unique  gaming experiences I've ever had especially for   a multiplayer title there are slow days times  I'd spend an hour or so just waiting I'd have   a show on in the background my galaxy map open  ready to type in the system of her next client   the other rats and I would chat about her favorite  ships and elite rescue techniques TV shows candy   bars all sorts of stuff but just as easily as the  day can be slow things can get busy - rat signals   appear out of nowhere clients gasping for fuel  across the bubble and beyond and suddenly you're   jumping into action ready to spend the next few  minutes half hour or more saving a client and   debriefing then my first fee rescues were a little  intimidating there's no real life consequences   to losing a client but you still don't want to  let anyone down especially when you're someone   who's seen that deflating gut-wrenching results  of dying in the middle of a long expedition and   failure the rats are not quick to point fingers  but they are quick to discuss how the situation   could have been handled differently debates over  procedure and a willingness to bluntly hash out   details and break down broken rescues certainly  made me want to become the best rat I could be for   successful rescues the first rat to transfer fuel  from their ship to the clients ship gets credited   with the rescue once I felt comfortable to go for  rescues I often found myself to be the second rat   to arrive on scene even if I beat the other rat  to the clients star system as evidenced by their   96% success rate the rats are exceedingly good  at saving people whether you're on PC Xbox or   Playstation and no matter where in the galaxy you  are the rats will do what they can to rescue you   for the few rats at the end of the day whichever  planet you're on that clients get saved is what   matters with that said it can certainly be tough  even frustrating to get your first few rescues in   especially for newer players who may not have  longer jump ranges the rats recommend at least   a 20 light your jump range before you attempt  rescues and I can attest to that when I began   my reading career Faraday my trusty ASP Explorer  had somewhere around a 45 Lightyear jump range it   worked fine for my own purposes but if I wanted to  be the first rat to make contact with clients I'd   need to upgrade my ship so after going through  some of elites more involved ways of upgrading   your ships jump range I boosted Faraday to about  60 light-years the effort paid off systems that   were four or five jumps away were now only two  were three commander alternative joined the rats   for the distant worlds to event in 2019 when more  than 12,000 players explored across the Milky Way   in essence collected 200 rescues I guess my advice  would be not to care if you are the first one that   fires a limpet because more often than not and  that's true for me and s4 for most other people   you will not be the first one do your best  try to improve how you are handling things   just work on yourself and on the things you can  improve and eventually you will get then after a   few tries I did end up getting my first rescue  and my time observing other rats turned out to   be just as useful as upgrading my jump range for  example one trick I learned early on which now   seems obvious was to not stop flying in elite 2  when you jump into a new star system your ship   appears and the vast majority of cases outside of  a star in my early playing days and even somewhat   today my first inclination was to either slow  down or fly into position where I could scoop   and throttle down nowadays an elite there's even a  super cruise assist module that'll slow your ship   down automatically when you enter star systems  but for normal cases there really isn't a reason   to slow down it takes time to accelerate an elite  time that's better saved by keeping your throttle   up and putting yourself in a holding pattern while  you wait to make contact what's more is if you're   in a wing there's an option called wingman nav  lock that even at full speed automatically drops   you at your wing man's location barring you're  close to them unlike flying to space stations   where you're forced to slow down then usually  enter few kilometers away nav lock will drop   you with your wingman much closer it's a great  and effective way to shave a couple precious   seconds off of a rescue but of course ratting  is contextual and not every technique fits all   scenarios on one rescue my second ever I had  a client stuck in a system with a teatari star   Tatari stars are both common and not scoopable  making them at least in my experience a place   commanders are often left stranded during this  particular call I got the client's wing invite   engaged nav lock began flying toward the clients  beacon and nav like pulled me into what I thought   was their position instead they were still 16 mega  meters away in in exclusion zone also known as   an EZ exclusion zones are essentially boundaries  around objects where elite automatically drops you   from supercruise forcing you into normal space  clients stuck in disease can make for mildly   tricky rescues if a client isn't on emergency  oxygen like mine wasn't they'll need to engage   their frameshift drive and enter supercruise for  newer players this can be somewhat confusing do   you jump away from an easy you have to make sure  you want target anything your ship has targeted   and point your ship toward an escape vector to  jump anything else and your FST charges heating   your ship up but your ship won't jump away if  you're stuck in a star's easy things can get a   little more nerve-wracking not only is there a  super bright ball of fire next to you but your   ship will get much hotter and start to spark and  smoke and even take some damage in all rescues   whether it's just to send a friend request or to  exit and easy dispatch won't just tell clients   what to do but how to do it and while educating  players about elite in its entirety may not be   strictly a part of a feel rats job I certainly  think helping players learn as a side effect of   it in this precise case of mind the client was a  new player and had dispatch not instructed how to   exit the ez we may have not been able to rescue  them I mentioned that before the things I like   doing with the rats education is the main thing  I mean it leaders a game that's not easy to learn   how to handle I guess I would put it it has a very  steep learning curve and there will definitely be   a lot of players that run into you problems like  running out of fuel in the middle of nowhere that   they feel they can't overcome and I guess a lot  of them will then just flat-out stop playing at   some point because they are overwhelmed helping  people that need advice that need direction but   at the same time want to learn how to to play the  game better and handle it in the right way is in   the long run beneficial to the community as well  luckily most of my rescues were fairly standard   perhaps my biggest mistake came on my first and  only attempt at a long-range rescue long range   rescues are defined as any client more than a and  light-years away from the bubbles edge if you're   jumping between two places in the bubble with a  60 Lightyear jump range that'll probably only take   you a few minutes to reach your destination but  if clients call from far out beyond the bubble it   could take hours to reach them even if you have a  longer jump range there was a client stuck nearly   15,000 light-years away from the bubble near the  galaxy's edge the max distance you can plot an   elite is twenty thousand light-years about a fifth  of the galaxy's diameter when I initially plotted   from the bubble I was unable to get to galaxy  map to set my route even though it's within that   twenty thousand light year limit now when you're  traveling around the Milky Way it's important to   keep in mind that star density is inconsistent  go above or below the galaxy's plane and there   are fewer stars to jump between if you have to  cross between galactic arms you might run into   dead zones gaps of near empty space that can  be tough to cross compounding the issue is   that elites galaxy map routes in a relatively  straight line it largely can't compensate for   turns you'll need to make or areas you'll need to  go around furthermore between me and the clients   location is a large area of locked star systems  frontier developments has certain portions of the   galaxy locked and no one knows for sure why though  it's often speculated the systems will be home to   future content what's important is you can't jump  through or into locked systems and there happens   to be a large area of lock systems near Barnard's  loop which was in between the client and me and   all of these factors coalesced into my bungle the  long-range attempt under suspicion that the locked   area near Bernards loop was given the galaxy map  Fitz I began my trip plotting toward the Crab   Nebula planning to use it as a halfway point where  I'd stop and route to the client's position turns   out it wasn't Barnard's loop that was stopping me  it was the gap between these two arms it had taken   me an hour or so to reach the Crab Nebula and the  client had already logged out and left the rats   online chat room without knowing whether or not  the client would get back on my only choice was   to loop down and around the gap adding hours and  thousands of light-years to my trip eventually I   found a route across the Galactic gap and into the  clients arm but it was late and I had the cough   luckily after I was asleep a more experienced rat  with a longer jump range was able to make contact   with the client jump across the arm from a closer  distance and save the client I learned a lesson   don't underestimate the vastness of the space  it sounds silly but a 60 Lightyear jump range   and plenty of exploration experience forged just  enough hubris in me that my long-range attempt   turned into nothing but hours of endless jumping  though the client was rescued after all I began   my month as a phil' rant as a nervous bright-eyed  and bushy-tailed recruit and at the end even while   exceedingly more confident knowledgeable and  capable I still had plenty of ratting wisdom   left to learn but maybe the most fascinating  thing about the field rats is why individually   if they do what they do all the rats I talked with  enjoyed helping people and teaching them the game   of course but they also have their own reasons to  I mean we all know that elite doesn't really give   you golds apart from hey get the ship or a rich  elite it's kind of nice thing to wait for a call   and have something to do and then what I what I  learned when I when I properly started being if   you read is that that it's mostly about teaching  people about the game and how not to run out of   fuel again and I just like like transferring  what I know and then teaching people stuff the   last thing I really like doing is I don't know  challenging myself basically so what I'm doing   right now in the few rates is mostly long range  rescues like several thousand light years out of   the bubble and that's for me mostly about how fast  can I get there well I personally enjoy each and   every rescue that happens whether it's succeed  or not every attempt is a cause for joy to me   since I've been around since beginning and so I've  been observing it and from day to day how it kind   of began and how it are we attracted more people  lots of new people coming in almost daily and then   might do one rescue or couple and then vanish  but some stick around and 10 new people join   it's amazing to see how much people are willing  to do good you know yeah you get to because you   know people you you meet currently lies people  and sometimes I just don't have anything else to   do in the game it's like end and game thing for  me the fewer Reds like if you are in the wrong   quote-unquote places in the game you will never  see another commander and what if you're at Z   value you always Oris you can like commander and  if you are into like exploration and things like   this then there is a really good way to see the  galaxy really because you're following commands   basically to where you would never have gone  otherwise probably I think in some ways surly   badgers vision all those years ago of the wildly  disparate group of commanders who share a common   goal even if for different reasons has come to  fruition so if you're ever out of fuel if you're   ever stranded in the a pathetic empty chill  of deep space give the rats a call they won't   ask for anything because to the fuel rats it's  simple they have fuel you don't any questions

Channel: The Gaming Discourse

Views: 929,430

Rating: 4.9506207 out of 5

Keywords: gaming, discourse, the gaming discourse, fuel rats, elite dangerous, elite, space, simulator, frontier developments, ratting, game, video games, dangerous, tyler freader

Id: MepXqkG5ES0

Length: 27min 39sec (1659 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 12 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Amekyras]

I belong to this group!

It's honestly amazing. I don't have time to watch the video right now, but some quick stuff about us:
- We refuse to take any payment or fight, we exist solely to help people

- There isn't really a power structure, a few people are administrators but they're mostly only there for the purposes of banning cats and officiating training and awarding of tails, or they work on our infrastructure or something. It's an explicitly anarchist organisation.

- If you can fly a ship, you can join! Our website and IRC server are here.

[u/dreaded_jack]

wow looks like a pretty awesome game I might have to buy it
Does anyone recommend it?

[u/Blue_Velvet_]

love this. thank you

[u/sludgebucket87]

I really want a commie experiment in eve online now

[u/[deleted]]

Virgin EVE Online vs. Chad Elite Dangerous

[u/anarchitekt]

Trippy. I just started playing the game. Love it.

[u/Weirdo_doessomething]

Oh yeah, i remember reading about this a long time ago!

[u/[deleted]]

Fuck awesome! I have not dabbled in anything other than Oolite but would give this a try if it can be run on linux